A Brief History of River Tracing in Taiwan

River Tracing
Written By Julian Furtak
a backpack lies on a cliff overlooking a massive waterfall in a granite canyon

River tracing was introduced to Taiwan by Japanese mountaineers who came to Taiwan to explore the island’s alpine creeks in the 1960s. In Japan, the sport is known as sawanobori (沢登り), which translates to “stream climbing”.

To be able to understand the essence of river tracing, we have to first understand the history of sawanobori.

Contents:
The Evolution of Sawanobori
The Birth of River Tracing in Taiwan
Modern River Tracing in Taiwan

 

The Evolution of Sawanobori

The Gorge-exploring Mountaineers of 1930s Japan

Most information available points to Kanmuri Matsujiro’s (冠松次郎) exploration of the Kurobe Gorge (黒部峡谷) as being the first documented record of mountaineering-style stream exploration in Japan.

Kanmuri Matsujiro (1883-1970) was a Japanese mountaineer and photographer who devoted significant time to exploring the Kurobe Gorge and its tributaries in the Northern Japan Alps in the 1920s. His now-historic photos of narrow gorges and ravines like the Hakuryu Gorge (白竜渓) and the Higashidani Ravine (東谷落口上流のS字峡) are still on display in museums in Tokyo, and his book on the Kurobe Gorge, which was first published in 1928, is still in print.

In 1930, another Japanese mountaineer and river explorer by the name of Jūji Tanabe (田部重治) published a chronicle of his journeys that would later be republished under the title Mountains and Valleys (山と渓谷).

These two events—the exploration of the Kurobe Gorge, and the publication of a mountaineering tome dedicated to river valleys—can be seen as pivotal in the formalization of sawanobori as a unique form of mountaineering.

Modern Sawanobori in Japan

In the time since one mountaineering photographer struggled through gorges and another became fascinated with the hidden worlds between peaks, the sport of sawanobori has matured much like rock climbing has in other parts of the world. For example, Japan’s highest waterfall, the 350-meter-tall Shomyo Falls (称名滝), was first climbed in 1972 by members of the Ashikura Alpine Club using 120 pitons and 22 bolts. Around 40 years later in 2016, the waterfall ascent was repeated solo by Japanese gorge-climbing legend Ryoji Onishi (大西良治). Ryoji also traversed the entire gorge surrounding the waterfall in the same trip. Even more recently, Japanese climber Toru Nakajima (中嶋徹) was successful in the first free solo ascent of Shomyo Falls. His climb was documented in the short film ACT ON REASON, produced by The North Face Japan.

The S-shaped gorge of the Higashidani Ravine which Kanmuri Matsujiro travelled through in the late 1920s.

An excerpt from Ryoji Onishi’s book 溪谷攀登 published by 山と溪谷社 (Yama-to-keikoku-sha). The book documents his sawanobori ascents and canyoning descents of various rivers in Taiwan and Japan. Notice the “sawanobori map” on the left.

ACT ON REASON

 

The Birth of Taiwan’s River Tracing Culture

 

A timeline of the development of river tracing culture in Taiwan.

1960s: Japanese river climbers visit Taiwan and attempt sawanobori-style ascents of Jade Mountain

The 1960s can be considered the beginning of Taiwan's river tracing history. Multiple Japanese teams traveled to Taiwan for mountain valley exploration.

Between 1963 and 1967, Japanese sawanobori teams traveled to Taiwan to climb Jade Mountain (Yushan) via three different routes: (1) the Laonong River; (2) the left branch of Nanzixian Creek; and (3) Shalixian Creek. They were attracted to the challenge presented by the island’s mountains, which are significantly taller and steeper than the Japanese Alps.

1980s: An intensive exploration of Taiwan’s alpine creeks ensues

This period was essential to the establishment of Taiwan’s own river tracing culture.

Between 1982 and 1992, Japanese climbing teams completed an additional 17 ascents of Taiwan’s high mountains via sawanobori routes. For the first time, some of these expeditions involved the participation of Taiwanese mountaineers. These local pioneers observed and learned from their Japanese leaders. They took the techniques, best practices, and equipment skills that they learned and began to refine them to better suit the exploration of Taiwan’s rivers.

Records of these ascents were published in Taiwanese mountaineering magazines further popularizing and formalizing the sport.

The mountains ascended during this period included Jade Mountain (Yushan), Snow Mountain (Xueshan), Mount Nanhu, Mount Beidawu, Dabajian Mountain, Mount Guan, and Qilai North Peak, as well as several other prominent 3000-meter peaks.

These expeditions established a bond between Japanese and Taiwanese river climbers that has continued to flourish in the present day. Each year, the most impressive sawanobori ascents and canyoning descents of Taiwan’s creeks are the result of cooperative expeditions involving both Taiwanese and Japanese mountaineers.

In 1983, Changhua County Mountaineering Association established Taiwan’s first river tracing club.

1990s: The development of Taiwanese river tracing associations and the first successful Taiwanese-led expedition

Stimulated by frequent visits from Japanese sawanobori teams over the previous several decades, Taiwanese mountaineers formed several river tracing associations of their own in the 1990s. This decade also saw a rise in river tracing expeditions by university mountaineering clubs.

In 1990, the Four Seasons River Tracing Association (四季溯溪), Taiwan’s most active river tracing organization was founded.

In July 1993, the first successful Taiwanese-led river tracing expedition ascent was completed when a team from the Four Seasons River Tracing Association climbed Lingming Mountain via Erhu Stream.

In 2000, the Republic of China Stream Association, another principal organization, was founded.

 

Modern River Tracing in Taiwan

Above: Photos from a joint Taiwanese-Japanese river tracing expedition to climb Qiakan Creek.

Central Mountain Range River Tracing Expeditions

In the years following the formalization of river tracing as a form of mountaineering in Taiwan, individuals and groups have undertaken large-scale projects to explore the wilderness of Taiwan’s mountain ranges.

Notably, a group of mountaineers led by Jasmine Li from the National Cheng-Kung University Mountaineering Association went on a series of expeditions to the remote streams of the Danda Major Wildlife Habitat.

These trips combined mountaineering and river tracing, and lasted as long as 17 days. In 2005, their 14-day expedition to the middle section of Hayilalo Creek (哈依拉漏溪) resulted in the discovery of one of Taiwan’s most beautiful and remote high mountain grasslands, Tanxi Valley. A detailed record of the Hayilalo expedition can be found on the Keepon forum.

Later in 2012, Ryoji Onishi and Jasmine Li collaborated on a full sawanobori ascent of Hayilalo Creek, photos can be found on Jasmine’s blog.

The Island of Mountains River Tracing Episode (2024)

In 2024, Taiwan’s award-winning Taiwan Public Television Service documentary series “Island of Mountains” produced an episode on Jasmine Li and the role that river tracing has played in her life. In the episode, the film crew follows her as she revisits Tanxi Valley for the first time since the original expeditions in the mid 2000s.

two mountaineers climb a 7 meter waterfall in qiakan gorge

A photo from a 12-day combined river tracing and canyoning expedition to traverse Taiwan by climbing the east side of the Central Mountain Range via Qiakan Creek (9 days), and then canyoning down Wanda North Creek (3 days) on the western side. Team members including Jasmine Li and Ryoji Onishi. All photos provided by Jasmine Li.

 

Island of Mountains: Tanxi Valley

 
Julian Furtak
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