06 ~ 07 October, 2015
#30
Yoshida (5th Station) >> Summit >> Yoshida (5th Station)
[Very Very Cold]
#30
Yoshida (5th Station) >> Summit >> Yoshida (5th Station)
[Very Very Cold]
The official climbing season on the Yoshida trail had ended in the middle of September. I'd kept an eye on the weather to see if there would be an opportunity to visit one more time and round of my record to 30. The most important thing was for dry weather and in that respect this trip was absolutely perfect. The only negative was the low temperatures. The forecast was for -5C on the summit with a -12C wind chill with gusting winds the following morning.
I arrived at Fujisan Station just after midday and after picking up a few things from the 100 yen shop I went up to the viewing deck of the station building to get a better glimpse of Fuji. There was a band of cloud covering most of Fuji but the sumit itself was clear. It was a cold day but beautifully sunny and after a short wait at Fujisan Station I took the bus and arrived at the 5th Station around 3 o'clock in the afternoon. There were a lot more people than I had expected to see and for the next hour I just stood outside in the warm sunshine watching everyone taking photographs of themselves with the Fuji summit in the background. It was kind of fun watching everyone.
I had no real plan this time. I wasn't sure if I would set out late or early, whether I would go all the way to the summit or stay somewhere lower down until early morning. My decisions seem to be made for me because I discovered that once 4 o'clock came around the shops around the 5th Station seem to start shutting down and the day visitors started to slowly disperse. With the temperature starting to fall it seemed the most sensible thing would be to make a move. There was absolutely no one else that looked like they were going to be climbing and around 16:30 I decided to make a start and made my way away from the 5th Station at a slow gentle pace.
The autumn colours around the 5th Station were particularly vivid near the start of the trail. I met a handful of people people who had ventured a little way down the trail and a group of three who looked like they may well have gone up to the summit and were now returning. After that I saw no one at all. I kept a slow steady pace and continued moving. It only really felt a little cold but not as much as I had expected. I had not expected to see any huts open but way up ahead of me I could make out what looked like the lights of a hut. It seemed to be the only hut that was open because apart from this one hut the whole of Fuji was now shrouded in darkness. As I continued on up I stopped occasionally and looking back down I could make out what looked like the head light of another solo climber.
When I got to the the hut with the lights on it looked like it was occupied by several workman who appeared to be working on a hut a little lower down. They seemed to be surprised to see me and asked if I was going to top which I told them I was. After a quick break I continued no and about an hour later I came upon 2 tents that had been set up just outside one of the huts at around 3000m. As I made my way past the tents I heard someone from inside call out in English. I stopped and responded and discovered it was 3 Lithuanian climbers who had sensibly set up around the side of the hut and were planning to set out early morning to make it to the summit in time for the sunrise. I told them I would see them on the summit and continued on up.
It occurred to me several times as I headed further up that maybe I should also camp down somewhere other than the summit. The temperature was probably nudging close to zero but it didn't feel too cold although I knew it would feel much colder once I stopped. The last few times I had climbed Fuji I had diverted onto the Subashiri tral up to the summit but this time with no one else on the Yoshida trail ahead of me I continued on my way. The final hour seemed to take forever and it was just shy of midnight that I finally spotted the final shrine gate on the summit and the two guardian lions on either side. I was relieved to be on the summit but my main priority now was to get myself sorted out before I got too cold.
The actual temperature on the summit was probably as low as forecast but it didn't feel as bad as I had expected it would be. That said it was incredibly cold. I emptied out my pack and pulled on plenty of extra layers and then arranged my bivvy bag, sleeping mat and sleeping bag as quickly as I could Whenever the wind blew it felt really really cold. In the few minutes it took me to sort myself out my hands and feet suffered the brunt of the chill. I then spent the next hour recovering from the intense cold I felt. I found myself shivering quite violently and it actually occurred to me that I could actually freeze to death. However, once the circulation returned to my hands and feet, although it continued to feel intensely cold I felt adequately protected.
On the positive side, the night sky was incredibly clear and I saw many shooting stars. The moon was no where to be seen for the first few hours but in the early hours of the morning it finally made an appearance. It was a thin sliver of a moon but it seemed to be bright enough to cast it's light over the summit. Sleep was impossible and I spent the next 5 hours or so turning this way and that.
Around 4 o'clock I spotted someone walking in my direction and soon found out it was one of the three Lithuanian climbers I had met camped down further below. He was suffering the cold too and I directed him to go further along and to the side of a building on the summit. I would have been better of protected around the side of the same building too but the thought of setting getting out of my sleeping bag just didn't appeal. To give an idea of how cold it was, during the few hours I'd spent on the summit my drinks and the food I'd brought with me, had completely frozen solid.
By the time it started to get light, the other 2 Lithuanians and another 2 climbers had also made it to the summit. I directed them all to the side of the building a little further along on the summit. Just after 5 o'clock I got myself up and packed everything away as quickly as I could and joined the others around the side of the building, The wind was gusting and it felt incredibly cold. I had spent most of the night alone on the summit and even now there were only 6 of us, all foreigners, on the summit. As the sky continued to lighten up I moved back to the main viewing area not far from where I had been during the night.
The low temperatures had created conditions for what turned out to be a particularly beautiful sunrise. The hues out across the horizon and the cloud across the landscape were both really fantastic. The sun gently made an appearance from behind a bank of cloud across the horizon. More than the sunrise itself, it was the beautiful colours across a wide expanse of sky that I really enjoyed. I set up my small compact camera to take some video footage and snapped away as best I could while bracing myself against chill wind. Even after the sun was up it continued to feel incredibly cold.
I rejoined the others around the side and told them about the descending route but the 3 Lithunians had left their packs where they had camped so were planning to descend the way they had come up. Only one of the other remaining two decided to follow me down the descending trail. I said my goodbyes to the others and I headed down with someone who I would later share a bus ride down with. Joseba was my companion but for only a brief moment because he quickly opened up a gap on me on the first downward stretch and before I knew it he was just a speck way ahead of me. I had never seen anyone descend the trail that quickly and he wasn't even running. I had warned him to be careful at the junction which forked down to the Subashiri trail and looking way down ahead of me I could see that he had taken the correct turn and was on his way down the Yoshida trail and heading back to the 5th Station.
I was now all alone on the descending trail but the sun was out and it was slowly starting to warm up. As I continued on down I removed more of my layers. My frozen drinks were still largely frozen but I managed to sustain myself on what little was starting to melt. It felt strangely good to be on Fuji and have absolutely no one around me. Heavy rains and strong winds over the past week had left the trail strewn with small rocks and even as I made my way down the strong wind caused smaller stones to come rolling down the sides and add to the small rocks already on the trail.
I stopped very little and about 3 hours later I was coming off the steeper slopes and heading back towards the 5th Station. Amongst the trees again, it felt a lot better. It was good to feel the warm sunshine again and just by 09:30 I was back at the 5th Station. It felt really good to have survived the cold temperatures, seen a beautiful sunrise and made it back to in good shape. I headed to the restrooms to clean myself and then to large room set up for people to learn about the history of Fuji. I had looked over the posters and watched the video documentary many times but I never seemed to tire of it all.
I had stuffed everything in to my pack so I took everything out and was packing everything away again when one of the staff asked if I had climbed Fuji overnight. I told her I had and that led to me to telling her that it was my 30th visit to the summit of Fuji. She asked me if had been cold and I pointed to my drink bottle which was stood on the table and still almost frozen solid. I told her I documented my visits on my personal website and gave her the URL. I wished I had brought some of my Fuji photographs with me but with no space in my pack I had none with me. So I got her name with the intention of sending her copies of some of my favourite photographs when I got back.
I was mostly done repacking my pack and was then back out stood waiting for the bus. A few more people joined and the bus arrived I got on and got a seat at the back. It was the first bus and I was wondering where Joseba was, hoping he hadn't take a wrong turn a little further down from the junction. He was the last to get on the bus and spotting me he came and seated himself in the seat in front. Ordinarily I find myself nodding off to sleep but this time the journey back down was filled with stories of Joseba's travel adventures.
He was the same age as me and had taken a career break and was travelling all over the place. He was more the genuine traveler and had traveled across many countries through Asian. The most interesting he told me was his travels through Mongolia. My adventures seemed to be relative few and much closer to home. It was good to talking with Joseba passed by much faster than usual. Joeseba got off the bus at Kawaguchiko Station and I continued on all the way to Fujisan Station.
I had about an hour to wait before my train so I headed back up to the viewing deck on the top floor and sat down with a perfectly clear view of Mt. Fuji. My bananas had turned black because of the cold but my bread seemed to have recovered so I made myself a sandwich and enjoyed my first real bite to eat since the previous evening. It was then back down and onto the train and the long journey back home.
I had completed my 30th journey without too much trouble. It had been extremely cold but I had enjoyed the trip. I hope I will have an opportunity to climb again but for now 30 could well be the final Fuji climb.
I arrived at Fujisan Station just after midday and after picking up a few things from the 100 yen shop I went up to the viewing deck of the station building to get a better glimpse of Fuji. There was a band of cloud covering most of Fuji but the sumit itself was clear. It was a cold day but beautifully sunny and after a short wait at Fujisan Station I took the bus and arrived at the 5th Station around 3 o'clock in the afternoon. There were a lot more people than I had expected to see and for the next hour I just stood outside in the warm sunshine watching everyone taking photographs of themselves with the Fuji summit in the background. It was kind of fun watching everyone.
I had no real plan this time. I wasn't sure if I would set out late or early, whether I would go all the way to the summit or stay somewhere lower down until early morning. My decisions seem to be made for me because I discovered that once 4 o'clock came around the shops around the 5th Station seem to start shutting down and the day visitors started to slowly disperse. With the temperature starting to fall it seemed the most sensible thing would be to make a move. There was absolutely no one else that looked like they were going to be climbing and around 16:30 I decided to make a start and made my way away from the 5th Station at a slow gentle pace.
The autumn colours around the 5th Station were particularly vivid near the start of the trail. I met a handful of people people who had ventured a little way down the trail and a group of three who looked like they may well have gone up to the summit and were now returning. After that I saw no one at all. I kept a slow steady pace and continued moving. It only really felt a little cold but not as much as I had expected. I had not expected to see any huts open but way up ahead of me I could make out what looked like the lights of a hut. It seemed to be the only hut that was open because apart from this one hut the whole of Fuji was now shrouded in darkness. As I continued on up I stopped occasionally and looking back down I could make out what looked like the head light of another solo climber.
When I got to the the hut with the lights on it looked like it was occupied by several workman who appeared to be working on a hut a little lower down. They seemed to be surprised to see me and asked if I was going to top which I told them I was. After a quick break I continued no and about an hour later I came upon 2 tents that had been set up just outside one of the huts at around 3000m. As I made my way past the tents I heard someone from inside call out in English. I stopped and responded and discovered it was 3 Lithuanian climbers who had sensibly set up around the side of the hut and were planning to set out early morning to make it to the summit in time for the sunrise. I told them I would see them on the summit and continued on up.
It occurred to me several times as I headed further up that maybe I should also camp down somewhere other than the summit. The temperature was probably nudging close to zero but it didn't feel too cold although I knew it would feel much colder once I stopped. The last few times I had climbed Fuji I had diverted onto the Subashiri tral up to the summit but this time with no one else on the Yoshida trail ahead of me I continued on my way. The final hour seemed to take forever and it was just shy of midnight that I finally spotted the final shrine gate on the summit and the two guardian lions on either side. I was relieved to be on the summit but my main priority now was to get myself sorted out before I got too cold.
The actual temperature on the summit was probably as low as forecast but it didn't feel as bad as I had expected it would be. That said it was incredibly cold. I emptied out my pack and pulled on plenty of extra layers and then arranged my bivvy bag, sleeping mat and sleeping bag as quickly as I could Whenever the wind blew it felt really really cold. In the few minutes it took me to sort myself out my hands and feet suffered the brunt of the chill. I then spent the next hour recovering from the intense cold I felt. I found myself shivering quite violently and it actually occurred to me that I could actually freeze to death. However, once the circulation returned to my hands and feet, although it continued to feel intensely cold I felt adequately protected.
On the positive side, the night sky was incredibly clear and I saw many shooting stars. The moon was no where to be seen for the first few hours but in the early hours of the morning it finally made an appearance. It was a thin sliver of a moon but it seemed to be bright enough to cast it's light over the summit. Sleep was impossible and I spent the next 5 hours or so turning this way and that.
Around 4 o'clock I spotted someone walking in my direction and soon found out it was one of the three Lithuanian climbers I had met camped down further below. He was suffering the cold too and I directed him to go further along and to the side of a building on the summit. I would have been better of protected around the side of the same building too but the thought of setting getting out of my sleeping bag just didn't appeal. To give an idea of how cold it was, during the few hours I'd spent on the summit my drinks and the food I'd brought with me, had completely frozen solid.
By the time it started to get light, the other 2 Lithuanians and another 2 climbers had also made it to the summit. I directed them all to the side of the building a little further along on the summit. Just after 5 o'clock I got myself up and packed everything away as quickly as I could and joined the others around the side of the building, The wind was gusting and it felt incredibly cold. I had spent most of the night alone on the summit and even now there were only 6 of us, all foreigners, on the summit. As the sky continued to lighten up I moved back to the main viewing area not far from where I had been during the night.
The low temperatures had created conditions for what turned out to be a particularly beautiful sunrise. The hues out across the horizon and the cloud across the landscape were both really fantastic. The sun gently made an appearance from behind a bank of cloud across the horizon. More than the sunrise itself, it was the beautiful colours across a wide expanse of sky that I really enjoyed. I set up my small compact camera to take some video footage and snapped away as best I could while bracing myself against chill wind. Even after the sun was up it continued to feel incredibly cold.
I rejoined the others around the side and told them about the descending route but the 3 Lithunians had left their packs where they had camped so were planning to descend the way they had come up. Only one of the other remaining two decided to follow me down the descending trail. I said my goodbyes to the others and I headed down with someone who I would later share a bus ride down with. Joseba was my companion but for only a brief moment because he quickly opened up a gap on me on the first downward stretch and before I knew it he was just a speck way ahead of me. I had never seen anyone descend the trail that quickly and he wasn't even running. I had warned him to be careful at the junction which forked down to the Subashiri trail and looking way down ahead of me I could see that he had taken the correct turn and was on his way down the Yoshida trail and heading back to the 5th Station.
I was now all alone on the descending trail but the sun was out and it was slowly starting to warm up. As I continued on down I removed more of my layers. My frozen drinks were still largely frozen but I managed to sustain myself on what little was starting to melt. It felt strangely good to be on Fuji and have absolutely no one around me. Heavy rains and strong winds over the past week had left the trail strewn with small rocks and even as I made my way down the strong wind caused smaller stones to come rolling down the sides and add to the small rocks already on the trail.
I stopped very little and about 3 hours later I was coming off the steeper slopes and heading back towards the 5th Station. Amongst the trees again, it felt a lot better. It was good to feel the warm sunshine again and just by 09:30 I was back at the 5th Station. It felt really good to have survived the cold temperatures, seen a beautiful sunrise and made it back to in good shape. I headed to the restrooms to clean myself and then to large room set up for people to learn about the history of Fuji. I had looked over the posters and watched the video documentary many times but I never seemed to tire of it all.
I had stuffed everything in to my pack so I took everything out and was packing everything away again when one of the staff asked if I had climbed Fuji overnight. I told her I had and that led to me to telling her that it was my 30th visit to the summit of Fuji. She asked me if had been cold and I pointed to my drink bottle which was stood on the table and still almost frozen solid. I told her I documented my visits on my personal website and gave her the URL. I wished I had brought some of my Fuji photographs with me but with no space in my pack I had none with me. So I got her name with the intention of sending her copies of some of my favourite photographs when I got back.
I was mostly done repacking my pack and was then back out stood waiting for the bus. A few more people joined and the bus arrived I got on and got a seat at the back. It was the first bus and I was wondering where Joseba was, hoping he hadn't take a wrong turn a little further down from the junction. He was the last to get on the bus and spotting me he came and seated himself in the seat in front. Ordinarily I find myself nodding off to sleep but this time the journey back down was filled with stories of Joseba's travel adventures.
He was the same age as me and had taken a career break and was travelling all over the place. He was more the genuine traveler and had traveled across many countries through Asian. The most interesting he told me was his travels through Mongolia. My adventures seemed to be relative few and much closer to home. It was good to talking with Joseba passed by much faster than usual. Joeseba got off the bus at Kawaguchiko Station and I continued on all the way to Fujisan Station.
I had about an hour to wait before my train so I headed back up to the viewing deck on the top floor and sat down with a perfectly clear view of Mt. Fuji. My bananas had turned black because of the cold but my bread seemed to have recovered so I made myself a sandwich and enjoyed my first real bite to eat since the previous evening. It was then back down and onto the train and the long journey back home.
I had completed my 30th journey without too much trouble. It had been extremely cold but I had enjoyed the trip. I hope I will have an opportunity to climb again but for now 30 could well be the final Fuji climb.