14 Great Mountains — These are the 14 formidable barriers strung across the sky on the Sichuan-Tibet Highway, and they serve as heroic waypoints measured inch by inch by Sobowo's "Cruiser" and "Polar Bear."
From Zhetongtang at 2,170 meters to the summit of Mount Dongda at over 5,130 meters, these 14 peaks — each towering above 4,000 meters — surge forward like giant waves one after another: Ga'ersi Mountain, Jianziwan Mountain, Kazila Mountain, Haizi Mountain, Zongla Mountain, Lawu Mountain, Jueba Mountain, Dongda Mountain, Yela Mountain, Anjiula Mountain, Sejila Mountain, Mila Mountain... each has its own temper — rubble, snow, black ice, dense fog, headwinds, steep grades, and endless "paperclip" switchbacks that stretch for dozens of kilometers, daunting even the bravest.