Hiking – Mount Fuji
1st October 2005
3rd Time LuckyDan sent out a massive email to all the ALTs in Hida a month or two ago about a trip he was planning. He wanted to summit Fuji again although this time he would promise good weather. A few people got back and the date got closer. A week before the trip we thought only 8 people were coming. This quickly grew into a big 14 with 4 nearly full cars.Those climbing were - Helen, Mike, Niall, John, James, Beck, Jeremy, Dan, Risa, Tom, Chris, Tom, Aki and MyselfWe finally made it to the base of Fuji after numerous annoying stops for gas, bathroom breaks, getting lost, red lights seperating the group, mutinous cars, dogs running in the middle of the road, phone calls to pull over and where there was no reception beeping horns and flashing high beams. The drive took us 6 hours.A quick picture with all 14 people at 11:30pm and that was the last I would see of the group together. I was very happy about this as the group was far too large for my liking. Just after taking this group picture I picked up my camera but the strap snagged on something and it jerked the camera out of my hand landing back on the pole it had been resting on somehow screwing up the zoom mechinism. Obviously this annoyed me a lot as it's already my second camera in a couple months. I quickly got ahead trying to tire the agression I was feeling towards Olympus. This did not work of course and I just got more annoyed as the higher I went the more spectacular the view was. The sky was very clear and I could easily see the large cities of Fuji and Shizuoka to the South. After I had gained about 500 metres I came upon a station and sat down to have a quick rest. I got my camera out and after a little manipulation that I like to call the caveman got it working again. I was once again happy. I waited for a few minutes and 3 of our party showed up. This would be the lead group for the trip and mostly the people that I climbed with. They were John, Jeremy and the young gapper Chris who is just out of high school. We had a quick rest and again started up the mountain. The weather was holding and after 2 more stations we descided to have another break and maybe wait for some other people. We had a lot of time before sunrise so why not. Surprisingly the entire group showed up 30-40 minutes later. It was getting cold out and each stop I had to get my down jacket out to stay warm although even this did not keep me very warm and the only way to not get cold was to keep going. We started off again and were soon making our way up to the second last station just below the summit. We could see that the summit was under a thin layer of cloud but where we were just 200 metres below we were clear. It was about 3:00 am and our thinking was to wait here and see if the summit would clear up. We all got our warm clothes out and changed into dry shirts. Mike who had joined in with us pulled out a sleeping bag which was a great idea. I was a little jealous. We rested and slept for nearly an hour and then descided to make a go for the summit arriving sometime around 4:00am. The sun wouldn't come up until 5:40 so we had more than a little time. We went over to the East side of the mountain to look down on Tokyo. It was an amazing view as a very small cresent moon was just coming up. Well at least I thought it was a cool sight. The others were disapointed and thought the lights would be brighter. A few pictures and we retreated to the top station to stay warm out of the strong wind. The sky started to change colour around 5 and we quickly ran back to our previous spot and watched the sky turn from dark dark blue to a brilliant red. The clouds moved in on the summit again just as the sun was going to come over the horizon though but we had already snapped dozens of pictures. We found Dan somewhere during the sunrise and he informed us that Risa had turned back at the second last station because of altitude sickness. He said the rest would certainly make the summit which was good news. As the clouds didn't look like they would clear we started to make our way around the summit crater. We met a few people on the way and it was funny as they were almost all gaijin. There were maybe 30 gaijin on the summit with only about 10-15 Japanese people. Seems strange but then I guess closing the mountain to climber at the end of August turns more than a few people away. The wind was very strong going around sections of the crater rim and sometimes it fealt like it would almost push us over. At least it was no longer cold out as the sun was already raising the temperature even though we were in the clouds. We were soon on the ugliest summit in the world. I don't think they could have made this summit any worse. The weather station looks like a squatters settlement. A quick summit picture and we made our way back to the top station where after a quick break we started down the mountain. We were now a group of 5 with Dan and were going to descend a different route. This route is famous because the rocks are very small and you can pretty much just run straight down the fall-line. The descent was very fun and near the bottom we were able to run very fast in the loose rocks. The view was also amazing with the low hills below covered in a morning fog. As this was a differnt route down though at the bottom we would have to traverse a little to get back to our cars. Going along a ridge just before this little traverse we were blasted with the strongest wind I have ever experienced. It nearly pushed us right over. It was really quite amazing. But the thrill of the wind couldn't last forever and we were soon back at the cars just after 8:00am. Risa and Tom were both aready down the mountain and we found out that Risa had made the summit which was good. Turns out that she fealt better and descided to make a go for it. Strong girl. As Dan is a Nazi and his group was already down they left and drove staight back to Takayama withouth even stopping for an onsen. Jer, John and I were left to wait for the rest as Chris, Tom and Aki left a few minutes after Dan. On the descent I had been hoping to at least be able to spend a few minutes sitting in the sun waiting for the others however this wish backfired on me as the rest of the group didn't get down till well after 10am. They were all happy to have summited but fealt that it should have been over at the top without another 3 hours of going down. We had a quick onsen and then were on our way arriving back in Takayama at 5:30pm. I was in bed sleeping deeply at 8:00pm happy to finally have knocked this peak off in clear weather. I can't say if I'll be back to it's summit but at least I don't have to worry about getting up there in clear weather anymore.3rd time lucky
Hiking - Fuji
September 27, 2004
"A wise man will climb Fuji. A fool will do it twice"I guess that makes me a fool as I have now climbed Mount Fuji two times.Setting out at the way to early hour of 3:30pm Bill, Jenny, Angela, Dan, Risa, myself and a Japanese fellow left for Shizuoka to climb the symbol of Japan. Dinner was eaten at a rest area along the toll highway and after a quick break and near mutiny at Lake Suwa we set off. Dan's group of Risa and the Japanese fellow were certain that hiking the north side would be better. I told them that the south side was shorter and as it was so early if they did the north side they would be on the summit well before midnight. South Side it was. Mutiny Averted.We started hiking at 9:30 pm just taking it easy. Jenny didn't start out to well and the first few stations were very difficult but the view was amazing. We were really lucky for the ascent. We could see thousands of lights below us. Everyonce in a while there would be an explosion which Dan said was the military training however I thought it might be North Korea invading. Further up the mountain and after many long rest stops the clouds rolled in. We were above them for a while and it was interesting to see lightning flashes from above however lightning generally isn't a good sign when in the mountains. Getting close to the summit I went off ahead and upon getting to a station sat down to wait. Angela came up next surprisingly followed by Jenny who seemed to be doing great. But she wasn't wearing her backpack. Bill the gentleman that he is was carrying it on his chest. Reaching the 9.5 station (10 in total) the weather closed in and it started to drizzle. The temperature was pretty low as well. Probably around 5 celcius. Bill, Jenny, Angela and I sat down in a doorway and huddled under Angela's huge poncho for an hour waiting for the weather to get better. When it did we went for the summit reaching it at 3:30am in really thick and cold fog. We were all surprised to find nothing open at the top. It's only september people!!!!!!! We found a small overhang and once again huddled under the poncho trying to keep eachother warm waiting for the sun to come up. Risa was not doing to well and suffered a brief altitude sickness throwing up near where we were all sitting. She was also very very cold with uncontrolable shivering. Dan broke out his evergency blanket and she warmed right up. Wanting to warm up I went for a little walk among all the stores and found on the other side of a rock wall piles of new bells. It appears that they have fallen off of the walking sticks and instead of cleaning up the waste to take it off the mountain they were just dumped out of sight. I filled up my pockets and brought them back to everybody. Free bells. Yippee!!Sunrise came and we were all still alive however it was just a change in the shades of gray. Bill and I went for a walk around the summit crater to bag the true summit. We started out with the girls however we had no idea where the trail went and they didn't want to get lost. Walking around the crater was kind of sad as there was waste everywhere. Old cement foundations, used car batteries and every other kind of waste imaginable. They had also taken down any signs so we were a little confused as to where the trail went. But as long as we stayed along the ridge I assumed we would eventually get back to the area we started. And we did. But we were able to get the highest point which was next to a huge ugly weather station. Climbing up a ladder I was able to get a few metres higher than the actual summit. Take that Japan.Back at camp Dan and Risa were just packing up to go so we joined them and headed back down. Last time we were able to glissade most of the way however now that it is September the snow has long since vanished. I was surprised however to find that the trail down was quite a pleasent stroll. Mostly sand it was pretty easy to get a good pace going. We also dropped out of the clouds for a few minutes and got an amazing view with low clouds below us and high clouds above with the sun in the middle. Very beautiful. I made it back to the car in 2 hours and was shortly followed by Bill and then the ladies. A quick Onsen and then it was back to the Yama-shi. We stopped at an British Pub in Matsumoto for a much needed lunch. And then we were back home. The drive was very difficult as I was very tired. I was in bed by 8:30 and I slept for 12 hours. Very nice.
Hiking - Fuji
May 22, 2004
Friday after school I went to get my altimetre battery replaced as it was getting low. One moment I would be at 25373 metres and two minutes later I would be at -2324 metres with a temperature of 85 celcius. So I took that as a low battery as it usually means this. Went to a watch store and they opened it up and told me they replaced the battery however the watch never reset so I think they assumed the battery was not dead as it was still telling time. So I paid 1000 yen for nothing. But back to the journal. Matt was late as usual and we left Takayama at 5:30 on our way to Gifu city to pick Erik up. As we were late we took the expressway which only took an hour and a half. Very fast. Then when we got to Erik's apartment in true Erik fashion he wasn't there. Out shopping. So after eating the last of his bread he finally showed up and we were on our way. As Fuji is so far away we took the expressway which turned out to be 4 hours. But we finally arrived in the parking lot at the New Fifth Station at 1:00 AM and 2500 metres. The sky was clear and you could just make out the observatory at the very top. It was to dark though to make out any snow. We were undecided as to what to do. Nice weather do we hike. Or sleep till sunrise to see if there is snow. Erik on one side of the car got all his gear out and tele boots on and Matt and I got the tent set up on the other side of the car. After a short discussion and some good laughs we decided to sleep a few hours. There was no way I was hauling my gear up there if there wasn't any snow. Into the tent for a few hours sleep which was very difficult as the wind was howling, tent was flapping and there was an ever present fear that we would be run over by the speeding cars flying through the parking lot at all hours of the night. At 4:00 AM I couldn't sleep any more and was up and out of bed. Looking up at the mountain NO SNOW!!!!!!!! So we geared up for a hike. Erik had only brought flipflops and tele-boots so he had to borrow Matt's indoor gym shoes. But we were finally underway at 5:30. There was only 1 hiker ahead of us. The hike went great and we just took it easy. The wind kept us cool and the sun kept us warm. Near the top the clouds rolled in and the trail vanished in snow so we split up. Matt and I went straight up while Erik found the trail. This was my favorite part of the hike as we got into some cliffy parts and had to scramble up so gully's on nice rock. I was having a great time while Matt was cursing me. The rocks were beautiful covered in a little Ryme ice. Our route brought us right to the summit where after a few minutes Erik joined us. It had taken us 4 hours and it was now 9:30 AM. The wind was howling and we all dawned our cold weather clothes. This was a true Fuji experience. We were alone on the most climbed mountain in the world and couldn't see more than 10 metres. After a few pictures and good laughs (Matt kept loosing his glove) we headed down. We found some snow lines on the way down and had a good time sliding down. Near the end of one line however some rangers were waiting below. We were instructed that skiing/glisading is not permitted on Fuji and were told to get back on the trail. So we did what any self-respecting Gaijin would do and as soon as we were out of sight got back on the snow sliding most of the way back down.We were back at the car by 12:30. We all fealt great after hiking for only 7 hours with an elevation gain of only 1200 metres and a high of 3700 metres. No really I actually fealt great. Hit up an onsen and then drove back to Gifu. We didn't want to drive any further so went out for drinks in Gifu city. We were planning on catching the last train however 11:30 came to quickly and we ended up staying out till near 4:00 am. Climbing Fuji that morning is a great conversation starter. We had been up for 24 hours and it we all passed out quickly.So my impressions of Fuji-Beautiful mountain from a distance-Dirty ugly rubble pile from close-Anal rangers-Friendly people-Good times with good friendsWill I climb it again? NoWill I climb any of the other Japanese mountains I have climbed again? For Sure
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