Fuji

It was about 12:30 a.m. during our climb up Mt. Fuji, when I turned to my compatriots and said, "do you realize what we're doing? We're climbing Mt. Fuji." Not that it's really really hard, or anything that 1000s of other people don't do every day, but it means something. Years from now when people ask about my time in Japan I'll be able to say a lot of things, but none will get quite the same reaction as Fuji.

With all that in mind, the actual trip is quite long, arduous, and boring. Especially at night.

So here's the deal. I was going to climb Mt. Fuji with Mark (the China guy) but he found out he was going to be in Korea for the mountain climbing season (July-August). Despite this, I still wanted to go. SSGs Rafael and Martin heard that I wanted to go so we planned a trip. One of the cool things that people do on their Fuji trips is to start in the evening and climb all night so you're up on top of the world for the sunrise. Cool in theory, but we'll discuss some of the problems with this approach later on. Talking around with others who had been to the top already we found a good place to start and decided to leave ourselves about 7 hours to make the climb.

After this planning phase there needs to be some kind of physical preparation and I have to say I was at a loss. It's July at the bottom, and really cold on the top. You're going through constant exertion for hours at a time. It's the middle of the night and you're negotiating rocky terrain. All these concerns have to be addressed.

Clothing
I think I may have lucked out, but I think my clothing setup is quite effective for everything we encountered.

layer 1
Underarmor t-shirt, athletic shorts, wool socks, Boots
layer 2
Light windbreaker outfit
layer 3
Sweat Suit
Extras
Hat, Gloves, Poncho

Layers 1 and 2 are always worn. Where we started, especially during the night hours, is considerably cooler than the bottom of the mountain, and it just gets colder on the way up. If you have vents on the windbreaker keep them open because you will most likely sweat for the first few stations. At the last station before the top, take time and put on the sweat suit underneath the windbreaker. You may not feel you need it now, but the top is very cold and windy and doesn't have a very good place to change. July is the rainy season, so have some sort of water resistant gear at the ready. So that's clothes.

Illumination is important. Most people usually sleep during the night so you may not know it, but it gets dark when the sun goes down. Like...really dark. And that moon? Totally not as bright as the sun. Climbing up rocky terrain and loose volcanic ash is slow work that takes both hands for balance and assistance so a regular flashlight is not really a good choice. The perfect solution? A head lamp. Practical and stylish. I again pick this as the new wave of fashion even though my sister will continue to ridicule me. Only time will tell. In any event, I couldn't find a headlamp and had to settle for an army issue, angled, clip on jobby. It worked to a certain degree, but I wouldn't suggest it as a viable option over a good headlamp.

We planned for 12 hours of hard work. Army regs tell us that means we need 12 quarts of water. I don't know. I just brought some gatorade and drank it when I got thirsty. "Nutrition" was power bars. Mostly because they're easy and dense. I probably wouldn't do this combination again. All that unnatural sugar got me feeling a little queasy. Straight up water and some rice balls would probably work quite well.

The actual ascent

We started at the highest possible starting position. Sure you can start lower, but then we start talking about multiple days, and that no longer sounds like a whole bunch of fun to me. The starting station is a like a little tourist mall. A few shops, it looked like a few restaurants, and some other stuff. Most of it was closed during the night. One absolute must before the climb is to stop at one of these shops and buy yourself a Fuji stick. It's a walking stick. Not much more to it. Sturdy, pretty light, about 1.5 meters long. I can't imagine finishing the climb without having a stick to use. They really are that useful.

The path up the mountain is well marked and has several stations along the way. At these stops they sell food and beverages. The joke is "we should do this again and shotgun a beer at every station". That would not work, don't even think about trying it. Other things at the stations include pay restrooms, pay lodging (a mat in a small room full of other mats really), and a guy with a branding seal. This is neat. Every station has its own seal and for a couple bucks you can have the guy add a seal to your Fuji stick. If you bring enough Yen, you can have something like a map of the history of your climb. I'll have to do that next time.

Between the stations, the path varies from zig zags on loose rocks, to rock negotiation, to a few man-made stairs. I actually preferred the large rock climbing sections. No slipping and sliding, exertion was in short intense bursts rather than long slow burns, and it just felt more like climbing a mountain, you know?

There's really nothing to see on the way up. A lot of that had to do with it being, you know, dark. Even in the light, the actual mountain isn't all that spectacular. I'm sure the view is quite nice depending on cloud cover, etc., but it can't really be enjoyed at night. One thing that is quite fun is getting to know some fellow climbers. We didn't actually stop to talk really, but we kept pace with another group of American climbers. We passed a lot of Europey sounding folks and, of course, many Japanese folks as well.

We did pass quite a few people because we kept up an intense pace. If anything it proved to be too fast, but all three of us made it so I guess we shouldn't complain. We left at 9:30 expecting to climb for 6 hours and take about 30 minutes for breaks along the way. Not quite right. We climbed for about 4 hours and took about 1 hour for breaks. It still landed us at the top a bit too early.

So, you're up at the top of Mt. Fuji, it's very windy, you're cold and tired, most everything is closed, and there are 2 hours til sunrise. What do you do? We crammed inside the heated bathroom along with 15 other people. It was standing room only. I really didn't feel that good (cramped spaces have a tendency of doing that to me) so I made my way outside. I laid down in my cocoon of clothes in the driving wind and tried to sleep. Well, I think I knew I wasn't going to sleep, but lying down did feel quite good even though it was crazy cold. "Remember, cold is a state of mind. If you have the will to overcome the cold, it can't touch you." That's what our Drill Sergeants told us at basic. I don't buy it.

The sunrise was cool. It was cloudy and I think steam or something blows of of Fuji making it a little foggy anyway, but the sun is still quite brilliant over the horizon. You can walk around Fuji's crater, but we didn't really feel like it. We were ready to go. That and there was rain getting ready to fall. We switched into our ponchos and tried to stay ahead of it. No such luck, but fortunately it wasn't an excessively heavy rainfall.

The path down is long and painful. Ankles and Knees will be very unhappy with you. Every single step is jarring, but we figured out a pretty good way to speed things up. All those loose rocks on the way up were a pain, but on the way down, you can practically ski through them. It's a little bit uncontrolled, but it's fast and much easier on your joints. We did this whenever we could and made good time on the way down. About 2 hours instead of the usual 3 or 4 (or so I've heard).

And that was pretty much my Fuji experience. Will I go again? I guess maybe is the best answer. It's tough, but very neat. If I do go again I have a few better ideas to get more out of the experience. I think I would take the same route, but leave noonish. At the last station get a cot and sleep until 2 a.m. or so. Take the last couple of hours to get to the top in time to see the sunrise. I figure this way you're not as exhausted so you can enjoy the sunrise more. It also gives you a chance to see the mountain during the day and will probably keep the climb easier. I'd also probably try to go as late in the season as possible. This keeps it out of the rainy season and gives a better chance for a clear sky and view on the way up. Full moon or New moon? It'd be fun to see a sky full of stars on a New moon night, but the Full moon will help keep the mountain visible. I'll have to think about that one.

Pictures of the Climb