Mount fuji

As many of you may know me as the outdoorsy type that i am, I made it my mission when i decided to come to Japan to climb Mount Fuji. I figured i needed to start accumulating some personal goals at some stage in my life, and why not start with the highest mountain in Japan?!

Climbing mountains to the Japanese, is a means of paying homage to God and climbing Mount Fuji (FujiSan) forms part of a very important pilgrimage to some. Traditionally, the pilgrimage climb starts at the base, with shrines the whole way up and can take a few days to complete. As i had seen enough shrines to ensure Business Class into heaven, I would start half way up the mountain, at the fifth station, where all the sane people are. Initially, my plan was to climb to the seventh or eight station on the first evening, stay in one of the mountain huts and climb the remainder to the summit, during the night, to be there for the sunrise.

Nice idea, shame i hadn't done some proper research into that task before i left Tokyo. Mount Fuji is roughly about 100km west of Tokyo and when i finally got to Kawaguchi after 3 hours, i was a little more than disappointed to hear i'd missed the last bus for the day that would bring me up to the fifth station. Also, the official climbing season was to start on July 1st and as this was June 27th, the Japanese girl in the information office told me i wouldn't be allowed climb it anyway, with out official documents. To say i was disappointed and perhaps a bit rude, was an understatement.
Alos, getting any sort of concrete information about climbing it was really difficult, this ambiguous, shady mountain was not making life easy for me and my 'goal'. (Mountain 1 Farrier 0)

I stayed in Kawaguchi for the night and had to forgo my idea at climbing it at night and was hoping when i got to the fifth station, i might meet some other climbers. The previous day i'd met Liz and Dan, this deadly American couple who were planning on climbing it too. I bumped into them again at the bus stop and they nicely let me tag along with them on their climb. New friends and company! What do you think of that Mountain?!
(Mountain 1 Farrier 1)

We started out hike from the Fifth station at around 1030am. The weather was pleasant although I'd been told there was still snow at the top. The hike to the seventh station was a long, meandering incline that seemed to go on forever. Imagine the highest level on a treadmill.I figured i was somewhat fit from all the walking i'd been doing ,not to mention the pounds I had been pushing with the Beast, to be fit enough to do this. I think after the first hour, when my lungs felt like they were been physically wretched out my neck, it occurred to me that i might not be able to do it at all. I felt tears coming on and I was about to knock the whole idea on the head only Liz was having none of it and got me up to the seventh station in one piece! Nice try mountain. I also realised that i was probably talking a bit much, when i shut up, it got a little easier.
(Mountain 2 Farrier 2)

It was cloudy and cold at the seventh station, we stopped for some food then set off. Here the climb got rockier and much steeper. I really enjoyed this part, it was quite physical but it meant we had to go at slower pace, which suited me fine! Here we encountered the first of the mountain huts, as it was day, we would be completing the climb in one go, we didn't go into any, just stopped for little rests and off again.
When we reached about 3000mm, we came across the first snowy sections of the mountain. Fuji is shaped like a perfect cone, and some madzer was snowboarding down the side, another one on a mountain bike! It was shortly after this that the air started to get a bit thinner.....
Dan and Liz, at this stage, were complaining of minor headaches, it was difficult to know if our shortness of breath was from the altitude or just the general physical exertion. Oh dear.. (Mountain 3 Farrier 2)

Fortunately for me, my sister had provided me with a shocking amount of drugs for any circumstance before i left, so i took some altitude sickness pills earlier on in the day before we started ascending. Unsure if i'd given them anough time to start working, i hoped they'd kick in soon enough.
They did, i was fine! (Mountain 3 Farrier 3)

It was getting colder as we got higher, our breaks became more frequent and when we reached the 9th station, we met some people descending, that encouragingly told us we only had roughly another 1.5 hours to go. We'd been climbing for 3 hours by now. I don't know where i managed to muster the energy for that middle section of the mountain, probably from all the food I'd eaten in Tokyo. Dan was flying on ahead but Liz and I were finding it tough.
Finally after 4.5 hours, we heard clapping and cheers from shorlty ahead and knew we were near the summit (3776mm) It was cold and windy and after a short walk around we found the grater and it was spectacular. I'd never been inside a volcano before, it was about the size of a very large football field and went down roughly about 1000mm i'd say. Many before have fallen into it and died, which isn't suprising, it's quite dangerous. I'm very brave you know. Extra point for me for being so brave i think!
(Mountain 3 Farrier 5)

After getting out picture taken with some excited Japanese ladies and had some food we started to descend. This took about 3.5 hours. It was pretty tough as you were forced to run in parts on loose gravel and were using the complete opposite muscles to the ones you'd been flexing for the past few hours. We met a troup of about 100 Japanese climbers on their way up, all decked out in the brighest, newest mountain gear imaginable, everyone of them saying Konnichi wa, and bowing their heads as we pasted. Kind of strange but touching all the same.
It started to snow on our way down, a dirty trick on the mounains behave, but within the rules. Concilation point for the mountain i suppose
(Mountain 4 Farrier 5)

As we'd missed the last bus to Fujiyoshida, where we would be staying for the night, there was a possibility we might have an additional 4 hour walk, in the dark when we got back to the fifth station. Thankfully, Liz flagged down a taxi and we jumped in, just before the rain started.
(Final Score Mountain 4 Farrier 6)

After a lovely junk food meal of burger and chips with my new American friends, we went back to their hostel and i managed to get a room for the night. Possibly one of the best days of my life, i loved ever second of it. I'd like to take this oppertunity to thank Liz and Dan for letting me tag along on their climb, amd my sister for giving me the drugs and hiking boots necessary for the task!