Mt. Fuji, or What it feels like to be on top of the world, NOW with more goofy photos!

I thought I was SO ready. 

Team Fuji before the climb, looking very chipper and fresh. 

11:27 pm

This is where we started climbing--at 2400 meters, above the tree line and essentially above the clouds already.  For some reason I didn't think it was going to be THAT far to the top, but when we got there and saw the enormous peak looming above us, I almost panicked.  The first 15 minutes or so were really hard for me because I imagined a leisurely stroll up a dirt path, like Heidi in the Alps.  But it was much steeper than I had imagined from the very beginning, with lots of loose rocks. 

We were a group of five, so it was quickly evident that two of us were at the same time slowing down the three outdoorsy, athletic types and going way faster than was humanly possible for us to manage.  Once we got our two-way radios and split into two groups, it got considerably more fun.  We could poke along at our own pace (still pretty fast if you ask me) and take quick breaks the whole way.  We really enjoyed the walk as it was a full moon, we had a beautiful view of the stars, and there was a lightning storm in the distance that we could see from above.  It was such a cool experience. 

2:11 am.

We had SUCH a beautiful view, but it turns out that the moon isn't enough natural light to capture any of that.  This pretty much the only stop when I took pictures, as most of the time we were only interested in having some water and M&M's before powering on.  We started later than planned and really wanted to get to the top by sunrise.

3:47 am

Just before we got here, things started going painfully slowly.  I'll blame it on the altitude, but it might have just been sheer exhaustion from the hike and the fact that we were staying up all night.  These signs were really funny though, and somehow gave me a little added energy to move on (plus stopping for a photo meant stopping, period--we took every little break we could get).

 

Still having fun, but in the painfully strenuous stage.

4:37 am (50 minutes after the 30 minutes sign), and we made it to the top.  It was such a good feeling, especially when we called out our friends' names (it was super foggy and still dark--like a dream) and they were so shocked that we had made it.  When we left them, we had been about 20 minutes into the hike and were in a bad way so they assumed that we would be sleeping in the car when they got back.  Not so!  The fact that they assumed we wouldn't make it made the accomplishment that much more meaningful!

The high five heard around the world!

 

5:05 am, as the sun started to rise.  It was, of course, breathtaking in real life.  The pictures would never do it justice.  Plus, I was starting to get a headache from the altitude and stopped caring so much about taking pictures. 

5:08 am, the whole group, reunited.

 

5:11, team underdog.  We did it!

6:48 am, on the way down.

8:00 am.  The hike down was almost worse than the hike up because we were so tired and just wanted to be on our way home already!  Plus the sun was beating down so that cool mountain air didn't feel so cool anymore.  Still, it was nice to see the scenery.  Here is a scene of the mountain from the bottom up that looked much more impressive in real life.  Take my word for it, it was not the cakewalk that this shot makes it seem to be. 

Finished the round trip at 8:10 am, a mere 8 hours and 40 minutes after I started.  Sleeping all day on Saturday felt soooooo good. 

Comments

[Mom]

Wow. I'm impressed.

[Kevin!]

Woo! Great pictures. I never climbed the Fuj because I heard it smells like a big public bathroom, which must detract from the charm somewhat. But that pic of the torii gate in the clouds makes me think I hafta see this myself someday!

[Mariko]

Congrats! I always thought it'd be fun to try that. I can't imagine hiking all night, though!

[maeve]

wow - that must have kicked some serious @$$. One more thing to add to the "do before I die" list...

But seriously, congrats. What an amazing accomplishment!

[mina]

Love the photos, great job!

[kelly]

so fantastic that you did this... sounds like a truly wonderful experience! And, I bet the challenge factor made it that much more rewarding when you made it to the top!

I just started a wimpy Japanese class... any tips or resources you can recommend?

[kat]

You rule! What an amazing experience! I'm tempted to attempt it myself, but hopefully my commonsense will kick in and convince that it's a bad idea. A few years ago I climbed Mt Kinabalu in Borneo and I couldn't walk for a week afterwards.

[Carrie]

Bravo! Bravo!!

[elena]

awesome!