Climbing Mt Fuji! (july 19th-20th)

so a japanese quote about mt fuji goes a little something like this..

" a wise man climbs fuji once, a fool does it twice"

And i belive this quote is very true. On July 19th and 20th me and shiv set out to climb Mt fuji. I dont think he magnitude of what we were abotu to do, hit us untill be were about 1-2 hrs into the hike. We are so glad we did it, and heres a little recap of our adventure.

So, we go to the 5th station, in our bus. the 5th station is about 2700m up, and you are well in/over the cloud level. I went to the bathroom a few times, because im known for my small bladder, then we went upstairs to change and have a lunch before we set out on the hike. While in the tourist shop we ran into some other climbers in our group. they happened to be from calgary, and some other peeps on the climb were from toronto and georgia. small world.

The small lunch was not small at all, It was a hearty udon souo, tempura, rice, chicken kaarage, meat, and other typical japanese lunch bits. very filling , very good. Before lunch we had gone into separate mens and womens changing quaters to change. I didnt know exactly what to change into, so i slyly watched what the other women were doing, and followed suit. good work detective!

We started our climb at about 530 pm, and it was very easy, so beautiful and really relaxed. Our tour guide was keeping a super slow pace, that i only understood later on in the hike when i was so tired i could hardly walk. Our tour group consisited of about 30 people, about 6 gailjin and 24 japanese people. along the first part of the hike you could see "a peak" in the distance far up the mountain, but as we kept on walking, rest staion after rest station, i started to realize that this mounatin was so high, the peak just kept on going and going.

it was really hard to mentally prepare myself for fuji, because it just didnt end. It just kept on going, you have to be so positive, sing, smile,talk to your self, to push your self to finish. I was talking and singing in my head like a shizophrenic to keep my self focused on getting to the next rest staion, and then the next one.

As it got darker, we got to put on out head lights, a fun highlight to the trip. The terrian that we hike dup was not bad, it was not a hard hike by any means. Its the environment, that was challenging. It was the altitude and the nausea that really made the hike hard for me. I got really alitude sick, shiv felt a little nauseous. At first i thought it was all in my head, i pretty much refused to buy a 1500 yen cannister of oxygen. (what a waste i though!), but after feeling so sick and almost unable to stand, i thought maybe i might be lacking O2.

Altitude sickness felt (for me) like food poisoning. You stomach is churning like you are bad bad curry, and its so bad its making your head feel dizzy. I was walking at a slower than slow pace, and my heart was beating like i was running a marathon. Its the strangest feeling, that really makes you look at the people around you, the 60 and 70 yr old japanese seniors that are doing this hike, it makes you see everyone in a new light. like human machines,

Just getting to the next rest station was a big feat, shiv was motivating me the whole time, always staying positive and giving helpful hints about how to climb the course better. I looked at him and saw him in a whole new light too. he has really been preparing for this hike. and he was carrying way more weight ( camera equipment) than I was. Every time we had gone on a hike, he has always liked to carry his equipment, to make him self ready for fuji, and the uncomfortable nature of the hike. it paid of because he was able to hike, take photos and help my sorry buns up the mountain. go shiv!!!

We walked for what felt like 2 hrs, but what must have been 45 mins of so, then took a rest, and sat on the mountain. Sitting had never felt so good. I could just feel every muscle relaxing when i sat down at a rest station. catching my breath and just trying to breathe and relax my body was the most important thing for those 5-10 minutes we had.

A fond memory i have of fuji is gasping for air at one of the high rest stations, and seeing this japanese man smoking a cigarette beside me. here i am, unable to breathe 3000 m in the air, and here he is breathing and smoking. i could understand it. the human body is a magical thing.

We climbed from about 530 pm till about 1130 pm and then rested at a mountain hut. It was a really nice hut with warm bunk beds and a pack breakfast consisting of meat balls, rice and pickless. mmmm. I went to bed feeling like crap, and work up feeling a little less like crap. 3 hrs sleep had never felt so good, but i still had a bad case of altitude sickness. We started climbing and i was determined to be more positive than ever. My game plan was going really well till i had to stop and take a deep breath of air. Instead of yawning, i started puking all over the trail. I was so embarrased. time seemed to stand still, and i still could stop puking. i just remebr seeing head lights go past me.

A few minuted earlier, shiv had said he was going to go up front to the front of the pack to take some photos and that he would meet me when i caught up to him.
here is shivs recap; so i was at the front waiting for jan to walk past, i remeber seeing a japanese girl croched down at the back of the group and the I remeber hearing a tap. and i thought, "yeah!" they have running water up here, we can get a drink... and then it hit me, where is jan??? maybe jan was that japanese girl. AHHHH!!!!

so... after puking a few times and lindsay and john helping me get back on my feet i started the hike again. I was so dehydrathed from puking up all my food and water. my worst memory wa the hike leader asking me "dijobu??(are you ok??)" and me saying "yeah" and then puking continuously.

So i caught up with shiv, and he was in shock that i was the puking japanese girl. I felt like crap, but i was determined to finish this hike. the rest of the way up was pure concentration and positivity. that last grind was probably the hardest thing ive ever done. We got to the top at about 4 am, and the cheer, happiness and the overall amazing vibe at the top was enought to bring you to tears. climbing fuji is not a competitiion. its an experience. People share in this cause its not easy, but its something you do together as a team.

I pretty much wanted to get a hot vending machine coffee, and fall on the ground, but shiv secured a seat near the edge for us to watch the sunrise. I was bitter for a bit, but all that melted away when the sun started to rise on the horizon. the veiw was pretty much like watching the sun rise from a plane, but theres no plane!! it was unreal, cold and amazing. thereare food stalls, wending machines and souvnir shoppes on the top. only in japan!

The decent took FOREVER!!! it was a very rocky wash all the way down and i couldnt wait to get to the bus. we got to the bus about 8 am and then slept for 1 hr untill we went to an onsen resort type place for bath time the lunch. after the lunch we got back on the bus to osaka, and then the trip was over. high times indeed!!