Standing on top of the World!!

Japanese Wisdom has it that you are wise to climb Mt. Fuji once and a fool to climb it twice. However, most of the people who quote these words have never climbed the mountain. It is said that only one percent of the Japanese population ever climb Mt. Fuji. It is too high, too difficult, and looks much prettier and impressive from afar. However, I can count on my fingertips how many times I have actually seen Mt. Fuji since we moved here 18 months ago. (probably 6 times)

Last year, Brian climbed the mountain with his command. He made it up in a little over three hours, and down in an hour and a half. Most people take about 6 hours to get to the top. When he came home and said how difficult it was, I had to think twice about trying to do it myself. The climbing season for Mt. Fuji runs from the first of July until the end of August. We tried to go last weekend, but heavy wind and rains were predicted, and it would have been miserable...plus we were taking Patrick with us, so we knew the conditions needed to be better. We had one last shot this weekend, and we decided to go Sunday (August 31- Brian's 34th birthday). The weather looked good and we were prepared. The key to climbing Fuji is having the right shoes and socks. Boots are a must, as are wool or polyester socks (not cotton).

On the morning of August 31, we woke up at 2:00 am, and left the house at 2:30 am to drive to the 5th station of the mountain. This is where you begin the climb. The drive took us about 3 hours. We arrived, gathered our backpacks (filled with water, snacks, extra clothes, sunscreen, etc), and walked from the parking area to the fifth station. The fifth station is filled with tourist shops, selling the popular Mt. Fuji hiking sticks (at each station, there is a person with a barbecue like grill and a branding iron who will, for a price, burn an insignia onto the stick). We bought sticks for me and Patrick, and Brian brought his from last year. We also used the restrooms, where we had to each pay 100 yen (about a dollar). Toilets on the mountain cost 100 yen to use. Some can even be 200 yen.

We spent about a half hour at the fifth station, and once we applied our sunscreen, we were ready to go. It was the perfect day, and the sun was shining. It was cool up at the station, so we put on our fleeces. I will add video when I figure out the easiest way to do it. We have several video clips that we took.

It was time to get started, so at 6:20 am, we began our climb. The first of of the climb seemed fun and easy. The trail was wide, not very steep, and we were walking at a pretty good pace. We do not really remember passing through the 6th station. It may have been closed. We made it to the 7th station by about 8:00 am.





We had to basically climb up rocks to get to the 7th station. The station had places to sit and rest. We had a snack, got our sticks stamped, went to the bathroom, and we were on our way. Yea- we had made it to the 7th station. Well, not so- the 7th station went on and on. There were more parts of it, each a very steep, rocky climb to the next.

We were doing well. None of us needed to use the oxygen can that we bought. Patrick was a trooper. At the 7th station, he said his stomach hurt, but once he went to the bathroom, he was feeling well, and ready to continue. We were climbing over rock and very steep inclines at times. It helps to walk in a zig zag motion, so you are not walking uphill continuously. Somewhere before the 8th station, we reached a group of Japanese men, who were gathered around a sign. We realized the sign was the halfway mark (3000 meters) We had started at the 5th station, which was 2300 meters, so we had gone vertically halfway. I felt like we had been climbing for hours, so to think we had to do it again, and it would get harder, was discouraging. Nonetheless, we got our picture taken because we had accomplished half of the climb!








Somewhere around 10:30 or 11:00, we reached the 8th station. I was ahead of Brian and Patrick because Patrick was taking it slowly. I got to the 8th station, and sat down for a snack and drink while I waited for the. About 15 minutes later, Brian and Patrick walked up and the people at the station cheered for Patrick. Seven years old is very young to climb, so Patrick was an inspiration to a lot of people. Everytime we would ask him if he was okay, he would tell us he was fine and could keep going. We took a pretty long break at the 8th, and while we were sitting there, the fog and clouds broke, and we could look down to see what we had climbed. It was pretty amazing to see how far we had come.








Our goal was to make it to the top, and we all felt good, so from the 8th station, we kept going. The climb was getting grueling. We were getting tired. Each time we would see a station in the distance, we would think, "Could we be there?" At about 12:45, we reached the 8.5 station. From the 8th to 8 and half station, we put on our rain coats because it was getting colder, and very foggy. We couldn't see anything above or below us. The air was thin, and we had some drizzle, but not any big rain. Patrick realized that we still had a while to go, and at this station, he decided he was ready to be done. We had him drink some water and eat a snack, but he didn't seem to gain back any energy. He was done! He had made it to 8.5, the last station before the top. He did all but an hour of the climb to the summit. We are so proud of him and this huge accomplishment. At this point, though, I had a decision to make. Brian would start the descent with Patrick. He climbed Fuji last summer and made it to the top, so he was okay with me going on if I wanted. I had come this far. How could I stop. I had to be close, though I couldn't see anything. I almost started down with them, but something told me I had to do this. I was determined! I was a little scared to go by myself, but I knew there would be people climbing around me, so I would be okay. Brian had told me that there were a couple different ways to start the descent from the top, so I was concerned I woudn't take the right one. I said goodbye to my climbing buddies (Patrick and Brian) and began the last part of my climb. I climbed a few swithbacks, and ran into a few English speaking people who told me I had a good hour to the top. She told me that when I reached a small shrine, I would have a half hour to go. I was out of water, and Brian had my sunglasses (at this point, the sun came back out, It was bright, and I was warm).

I finally reached the small shrine, but I wanted to give up. I was literally having to move my legs in front of me with my hands. the last part of this climb was all on steep uphill rocks, where I had to find little grooves to step on with my feet. I called Brian (yes, my Japanese cell phone worked from the mountain) and told him I wanted to come down. When I hung up, an American man had heard me, and he told me to hang in and finish. He truly inspired me to make it. He told me we were close- maybe 25 minutes away. He stayed behind me patiently as I climbed slowly, very slowly. Finally, at about 2:30, I came around a last curve and I could see the summit. Just a short set of stairs and a Torii gate. Then the trail turned with the ridge on the left and a row of low buildings on the right. Vendors were lined up selling souvenirs. I immediately looked for the area where I would get my walking stick stamped. Got it- It says Mt. Fuji Top- Sunrise 2008. I then looked for water, which I was told they had run out of. I bought a lemonade instead. Then I was in search of the ramen noodles. I had been told that the best bowl of ramen could be found at the top. I was looking so forward to this because all I had eaten along the way was a couple of power bars, trail mix, and some fruit. Unfortunately, they had run out of ramen as well. Bummer!! I decided to walk around a bit, call Brian, and make my way to see the crater. The sun was still shining at the top, so I could see the crater. Quite impressive. I also ran into the nice man who I had met during the final part of the climb, and he took my picture, so I had proof that I had reached the Summit. I didn't spend a lot of time at the top because I had no idea how long it would take to get down, so I wanted to start out and try to join back up with Patrick and Brian.





I wish I had spent more time at the top. Supposedly there is a post office, and if you send mail, the return says Mt. Fuji. I didn't walk the 45 minute walk around the crater either. I was completely exhausted and I didn't want to walk any more than I had to because from what I had heard, the climb down is grueling as well.


I started down by about 3:15, and my friend Neil (turns out he is a Catholic priest in the Army, serving in Korea- no wonder I was able to go on and make it after I met him!! I had lots of prayers, I'm sure.) started down as well. At first, I didn't think it was too bad, but after an hour and a half of walking at a 45 degree angle on loose gravel, my knees and toes were cramping. About 1 hour and 45 minutes of walking down, I ran into Brian and Patrick sitting of some rocks waiting for me. What a welcome sight to see them! We said goodbye to Neil, who needed to catch a bus, and we continued down. Thank goodness we had our climbing sticks. Several times, I found myself slipping and falling backwards. The dust was horrible too. I think it is equally as difficult to come down. You are just working a completely different set of muscles. Finally, the trail leveled off, and we entered the woods where we had started. We had finally made it- it took us 3 hours to descend from the mountain. We were beat, but felt accomplished!!!

We are so proud of Patrick for going as far as he did- just 270 meters from the top. He never complained, never gave up, and gave a great amount of support to both me and Brian. What an inspiration! For me, I accomplished something I never thought I had the ability to do! Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that in 2008 at 35 years old, I would reach the summit of the tallest mountain in Japan. So, I say to all of you- challenge yourself, have faith in yourself, and dream big!! What a feeling it is!!!