Punks and Fuji

Attention... Due to the number of bullsnot smap (sorry, i've been here too long, SPAM) i am getting on this site (is no place sacred?) you must now log in and create a profile to post a comment (its free and realy causes no pain), although i dont think it will matter, the losers will still find a way to post crap.

On to bigger and better. Last week I had the opportunity to climb the tallest mountain in the country. The trek was actually delayed a week due to the fact that we couldnt get bus tickets out to the fifth station. But we could a week ago.

The we is Kiyoe and I. strange how we seem to be doing so many things together ne? We boarded the bus at 750 pm and slept most of the way on the 2 and a half hour drive. With on the bus were mostly foreigners, sleeping and talking about the adventure to come. One guy was actually drinking tall boys of asahi super dry beer. What the heck? Now I'm no expert, but i know that alcohol and high altitude as well as any strenuous exercise don't mix. i dont know if he ever made it to the top. Hehe... it gets better.

(second time to write this part) Fuji is not for everyone. The distance between the fifth station and the summit is over 1400 meters vertical distance. At 3776 meters fuji has caused thousands of altitude sickness cases. The weather patterns are fierce and its not uncommon to have snow while hiking. This being the case, many fail at their attempts. Even so, between 200,000 and 400,000 people climb the mountain each year (yes, depending on the web site, the number changes quite a bit. I have a feeling that this number comes more from sales of walking sticks and food purchases than reaching the top, since we witnesed many failed attempts and no one really counting people)

We reached the 5th staton at 1020, bought our stamped fuji sticks and started our journey around 1030. We started out in the thin wooded area and quickly moved above the timber line. Before we knew it we were almost at the 6th station. The view from these areas were amazing. even though it was dark, the lights of the cities and towns far below gave us the best views of the climb. we trudged on quite a ways, and soon the clouds rolled in. From here on our visibility was literally around ten feet.

Scott's rules for climbing Fuji:
1. Be determined. dont become a wuss halfway and turn around (going down of the ascending trail is not only rude, but very dangerous)
2. Drink water, not beer.
3. Take your time for goodness sake! the mountain will be there all day, pushing yourself too hard will cause altitude sickness and force you to quit
4. Eat food. chocolate. snickers, yum.
5. dont't smoke. sounds like an easy one right? huh, just wait.
6. Make small goals and then congratulate yourself with food. (honestly this is how we made it.

That being said we could often see the large floodlights through the haze, and made it our goal to eat a snack or take a ten minute break when we arrived. Thus we never said 'Its too far to the top', we said 'It's only another 100 meters to the next station!' Climbing in this way had us not even uttering a complaint the entire climb. At the eighth station (actually the 6th eighth station) we stopped for about half an hour to eat a warm bowl of ramen. It was here that we probably came closest to thinking about the possibility of waiting for more than 30 minutes before continuing. Two lareg tour groups both decided to quit. after 4 hours of hiking and only 300 meters vertical distance to go... they gave up because of the weather. chumps.

We march on.

It was cold. And it was windy. and seriously from here on there were bodies strewn along the trail, victims of the altitude and not being smart hikers. Every 10 meters there was someone else moaning or vomiting or sucking down bottled oxygen. I'm sorry folks, but what the hell? like i said, it all came down to common sense.

about an hour and a half later, we reqached the highest point in Japan, the summit of Mt. Fuji. From here we waited (in vain) for the sunrise, drank hot fluids, and i hiked to the post office. yes there is a post office at the top...

Sorry guys, gotta go to work!
To Be continued...