I took the 8:30 am high-speed train from Xian Railway station (Y59; be there at 8 a.m.) to N. Huashan, arriving in 40 mins. Then a friendly car-driver took me to the west gate (Y20) in about 10 mins. I climbed up with 2 students that I met there. The itinerary above was very helpful. It was extremely hot >30 deg C and very hazy and oppressive and I sweated a lot going up to the N Peak. There are toilets along the way, and many places to buy drinks and snacks. Then there were thunderstorms throughout the afternoon but we continued and completed all 5 peaks. It was a safe trek, but there were some steep, wet steps and my friends fell down a couple of times. It took us 7 hours from the start to get back to the N Peak. We had just stopped to take photos. We intended to take the Soldiers Route back to the East Gate (from near the Cable Car entrance) but it was blocked with a notice "Forbidden to enter". My friends conjectured whether the route was actually blocked or if it was to promote the cable-car business. AAnyway, we did not risk it and took the cable car down (6 mins). A fantastic day.