18 ~ 19 July, 2008
01
Yoshida (5th Station) >> Summit >> Yoshida (5th Station)
[Yuko, Yuko's mum and me. The first Mt. Fuji climb]
01
Yoshida (5th Station) >> Summit >> Yoshida (5th Station)
[Yuko, Yuko's mum and me. The first Mt. Fuji climb]
I climbed Mt. Fuji for the very first time in July 2008. I remember spending several hundred pounds on new hiking shoes, rain gear, spats, headlight, walking stick and other bits and pieces. I went with a friend from work and her mother. My friend Yuko had done her homework and planned everything. I just turned up in Shinjuku and we took a bus to the the 5th Station on the Yoshida trail.
I had imagined that the start point or 5th Station as everyone kept referring to it to be near the base of Mt. Fuji but it was in fact located at almost 2300m. My initial impression upon arriving at the 5th Station was one of surprise. There were 100s of people there. Most were climbers but there were scores of day visitors too milling around. It was like a tourist attraction half way up Mt. Fuji and this was definitely not something I had expected.
I remember leaving the 5th Station around 2 o'clock in the afternoon and the plan was to hike to about 3300m and stay in a mountain hut and then resume the journey very early the next morning and make it to the summit in time to see the sunrise.
The trail I discovered was well laid out and all we had to do was follow the other climbers making their way up. Coming towards us on the lower part of the trail were climbers who had already been up to the summit and were heading back to the 5th Station. Many of them looked more than a little tired. The pace was slow and easy and Yuko's mum who was 63 at the time found it necessary to stop frequently to catch her breath. I was just really excited about being on Mt. Fuji and was walking a little ahead of them enjoying the great views. A couple of hours later after being encouraged to go ahead at my own pace I continued and soon lost sight of both of them.
The Yoshida trail is the most developed and most popular trail on Mt. Fuji and there are numerous huts on the way up. Yuko had told me vaguely that we were staying somewhere near the 8th Station but I hadn't caught the name of the hut so I found myself asking about our reservation at each hut only to be told to continue to the next hut.
Around 3000m I got my first signs of altitude sickness. It was not too serious, just a severe headache so I stopped and rested outside one of the huts. By now it was also starting to get dark and I was beginning to worry about Yuko and her mum. Looking down, all I could see was a long line of people snaking it's way upwards but no sign of Yuko and her mum. The trail in parts had been a little difficult because I had had to literally clamber and haul myself over craggy rocks. I prayed that they were both fine.
I finally came across the hut Yuko had made reservations for. All I had to do now was wait for her and her mum to turn up. It seemed like an extremely long wait but they finally made it a few hours later. I was relieved to see that they were both fine and after something to eat we tried to get some sleep. The mountain huts on Mt. Fuji are fairly basic. The sleeping arrangements in this particular hut included heavy duty sleeping bags arrayed in long rows, one next to another. We were there for about 3-4 and with people constantly coming and going non of us got much sleep. By 1 o'clock the next morning we were all booted up again and ready to head head out and up to the summit.
When I stepped back outside I was struck by the sheer numbers of people queued up about 3 or so deep leading up the mountain and leading back down the mountain. Sunrise was not for another 4 hours so I figured we would have plenty of time to get to the top. We joined the queue and slowly shuffled along with everyone else. The shuffling continued all the way to the very summit. The trail continued to zig zag to the top but as we got closer to the summit the long line of climbers narrowed to a single queue. I stayed together with Yuko and her mum this time and just before 4:30 AM we passed under a shrine gate guarded by 2 lion guardian statues and climbed a few steps and found ourselves on the summit.
I had not really known what to expect on the summit but again I was surprised at the sheer number of people already there and others who continued to come up on the ascending trail. There was a shrine and various other buildings serving food and hot drinks. I went and got 3 cans of hot chocolate which provided some nourishment and helped to warm our hands. The summit was cold and very misty so that it was actually difficult to see out to the horizon. The 3 of us found a spot and waited and although we couldn't see the actual sunrise, about 20 minutes later the mist around the summit started to clear and we enjoyed the first rays of the morning sun.
About 20 minutes later the mist which had shrouded the summit seemed to just evaporate away and we could see all the way back down the mountain and the long line of people still making their way up. It felt great to see the sunrise at the very top of Mt. Fuji. The 3 of us then got some food from one of the huts and a short time later we headed a little way around the summit to look into the crater, take some photographs and then join the descending trail all the way back down to the 5th Station.
Coming down was actually a lot harder than I had expected. There were no rocky areas to walk over but we basically zig zagged our way down a lose shingle trail made up of broken lava rock. In places it was quite steep and it was necessary to watch my footing. Yoko's mum slipped and fell over a couple of times. Even though it was still very early in the morning, once the sun came up it warmed up very quickly and got surprisingly hot which required removing most of the extra layers of clothing we had all put on. We continued taking regular breaks along the trail and about 5 hours later all 3 of us were back at the 5th Station start point. My first Mt. Fuji climb was complete. Even before I had got to the top on this first climb, I already knew I wanted to come back again.
It had not been has difficult as I had expected. It was certainly not easy but a lot more manageable than I had been led to believe. Having the right equipment and keeping myself warm nearer the summit was what made it less difficult than it otherwise would have been. I saw many people young and old on the ascent who were suffering from tiredness or altitude sickness. The most impressive thing apart from standing on the summit and seeing the sunrise was the stoic resilience Yuko's mum showed. She was 63 years old and the climb I knew had been challenging at times but she never showed any signs of obvious discomfort and she never complained once.
Very special thanks to Yuko for arranging, planning and making the very first trip possible.