[Characters of Baiyue] Mustache’s mountain and sea adventure, Dai Changsheng
[Baiyue Characters] Little Mustache's Adventure in Mountains and Seas, Dai Changsheng
Text: Xueyang / Photos: Dai Changsheng, XHZ Xiao Huzi Adventure School FB
At the corner of the alley behind McDonald's on Xinsheng South Road, NTU, there is a coffee shop with a warm yellow glow. It has stood low-key with brick walls for 27 years. A simple small sign hangs by the door that reads "Shuokewu". For National Taiwan University students, it may just be an inconspicuous corner in their memories, but for rock climbers in Taipei, it symbolizes a warm sense of belonging - an old coffee shop run by fellow climbers.
Pushing open the nostalgic glass and wooden door, one of the top coaches in Taiwan's mountaineering world sits near the door . He gives me a very similar feeling to Xue Ke Wu: with a time-honored and lovely name, a simple style but a passionate heart. "Hi Snow Sheep! Sit down!" The man with a dark face, wearing copper-carved square-frame glasses and a short white beard, greeted me with a sonorous and powerful voice. It was Mr. Dai Changsheng, whom people called "Coach with a Little Mustache".
"At that time, I lived in Jade Mountain for a month and exercised every day. It was so great! You can't do that now!" "What about food?" "Ask friends to bring it when they go up the mountain!" The topic revolved around Jade Mountain and snow. I first knew about mustache when a friend recommended the snow training of "Mustache Adventure School". He is a Hakka child from Guanxi, Hsinchu. He played in the village stream since he was a child and developed a good swim skill. He also started diving when he grew up, which was his first outdoor life. "Many people are surprised when they know I can dive or go river tracing, 'Coach! So you can do this too!' But we were born in Taiwan, isn't this how it should be? There are mountains and seas!" These words are deeply imprinted in my mind. Yes, isn't this how it should be? When did mountains and seas become a distant existence?
Xiao Hu Zi was originally a chef. Because of his interest in diving and passion for saving lives, he joined the Waimushan Fishing Port Lifesaving Team at that time, the predecessor of the Keelung Special Search and Rescue Team. He also got to know Liu Kunyao, the core figure of today's Xinban Mountain Search and Rescue Team, which became his opportunity to join the mountain rescue operation.
His mountaineering career began unexpectedly during an accidental sightseeing trip to Hehuan Mountain. "Ah, I went there that time and I won!" These simple words expressed how deeply moved he was at that time. They pulled him out of the sea and into the mountains, and he even sold his diving equipment to his fellow mountaineers.
Perhaps it was due to his devoted personality, but inspired by the Hehuan Mountain, Little Mustache began climbing the 100 Peaks with the Northern Peak in 1988, and soon completed the 100 Peaks in 1992. During those four years, he not only followed the tour guide, but also went to classes after get off work, taught himself mountaineering knowledge and skills, participated in guide training, etc., to accumulate mountaineering knowledge and skills on his own. "I am a person who learns through practice." He will devote himself to what he learns for the sake of his interests, so he can always hone his own sky in various fields: after following Beiyue to Yushan Snow Field for training, he fell in love with ice and snow. Every winter, he would immerse himself in the world of ice, snow and rocks of Yushan to hone himself. He learned rock climbing from Liu Naixun and the RCC Rock Climbers Club. Whenever he was free, he would go to Longdong for practice. Because of rock climbing, he learned ropes and passed the IRATA Level 1 exam. Because he was good at climbing, ropes and water, he learned river tracing from Lin Zongsheng, the founder of Four Seasons River Tracing... There are too many things, and his eyes were shining when he shared these experiences.
In 1994, the Little Mustache Rock Climbing Restaurant officially opened, marking his transition from catering to full-time outdoor technical coaching. The tablecloth of this restaurant is a contour map, and in that era, it brought together mountaineers and rock climbers, making it a popular place. In 1989, Little Moustache finally organized a team, retired the restaurant, and transformed it into the "Little Moustache Adventure School", where he began to teach knowledge and skills about mountains, water and adventure full-time, and has been doing so for 20 years until today.
During the conversation with the mustache guy, I clearly saw his passion for "technology" and his love for the mountains and the sea: in order to allow himself to enjoy every detail of nature more freely and safely and explore the unknown world to his heart's content, he devoted himself very seriously to learning every field he came into contact with. He spent all his time going out into nature to hone each technique through actual combat, making them handy exploration tools, and gradually his strength was recognized by the entire mountaineering community.
In 1994, Xiao Huzi had the opportunity to climb Mount Everest with Gao Ming and the famous team, but halfway through the training, he found that this was not the climbing style he wanted, and finally withdrew and devoted himself to his adventure education. Because following the footsteps of his predecessors to climb mountains is not his purpose, adventure is the essence of his going outdoors.
"Isn't this how it should be when born in Taiwan?" For many years, Little Huzi has thrown himself into nature to hone his skills, filling his life with the nutrients of the mountains and the sea. The handshake I shared with the mustache man was thick and warm. My eyes followed the muscle lines upwards, passed over his solid chest, and stopped at his sharp eyes. If it weren't for his graying beard and hair, I wouldn't have thought that this was the look and body shape of a man nearly 60 years old.
Little Mustache broke the boundaries of the field, used mountains and water to train his skills and body, and continued to impart outdoor skills and knowledge; he passed on this adventurous spirit and life attitude that comes from the land and belongs to the Taiwanese people to countless students and future generations, silently irrigating the mountain and sea soul that belongs to this land.
