２０１０ ７月１４日.７月１５日 水曜日.木曜日
I made it to the very top of Mount Fuji! 3776m above sea level!
Those 14 hours (8 hours climbing up, 6 hours going down) were a very tough journey for me. I've never expected it to be this difficult and dangerous.
The decision of climbing Mt.Fuji was sudden though. It was on Tuesday when my classmate, Kelly asked Valencia and me if I wanted to climb Mt.Fuji the next day. Valencia and I were uncertained but we really wanted to try it out, so after thinking for like three hours, we made up our mind. =) I was still very tired because I've just came back from Kyoto trip during the weekend, but I thought that I should not miss this opportunity because it's an once-in-a-lifetime experience.
At that night (Tues), I ran around my dorm trying to collect as many stuff from my friends & got advices from those who've been there before. Thanks DK mates! You guys are awesome!
Essential stuff for climbing Mt.Fuji (you can probably just give up if you don't have these):
2. Protein-bar/Snacks/Chocolates - to give you energy. I had a bite everytime I reached a standing platform. It really helped me.
3. Walking stick - to keep you stable + save your energy when going up + getting down (Highly recommended! especially during windy days) Got it from the Station5 stop for 1000yen only.4. Warm and water-proof clothing/ Backpack + very good HIKING SHOES
5. Water - I only needed one litre for the whole journey because throughout the end when I climbed up, I was basicly drinking rain =_=" Don't gulp a whole bunch of water in one go though (too much oxygen getting into your body might have a higher chance of giving you altitude sickness). I had little sip by sip during the journey, it helped a lot =)
On the next day (Wed), we went shopping for hiking shoes, food and warm socks after classes. After that I went home, took a quick shower and stuffed everything in the backpack. It was a little bit ギリギリ but we were glad that we made it to the 5.50pm bus.
After three hours of bus ride, we finally reached the 5th station of Mount Fuji. It was raining and kinda chilly so we went into the restroom and put on some warm clothes.
After getting ready and all excited.
Giselle, Alex, me, Valencia, Kelly.
Five of us (all girls) started climbing at 9pm from 5th station. It was raining so badly and the wind was so strong. It's probably the worst weather to climb Mt.Fuji. The higher we reached, the worse it became.
Station 6? not too sure..
We were still energetic. =)
My protein bar expanded because of the pressure.
After three hours, we reached the 7th station, Valencia was very tired and had problem breathing due to the altitude and she couldn't keep up with the pace. A guy named Michael whom we met at the beginning felt sick too. He wanted to go down so we asked Valencia if she wanted to go down with him because she might not be able survive in the coming journey. I'm actually very glad that Valencia went down with Michael, because what happened next was almost unbearable for me. I think Valencia kinda saved Michael's life too because the next day, she told me that Michael kept walking near the edge of the cliff, and if she hadn't warn him, he could have fell...
Valencia, you've done well! =)
The first three hours for me (from the beginning) was tiring but wasn't as difficult. But when we moved on from 7th station, we had to climb these slippery rock surface which is like 85 degrees - almost vertical. I'm really surprised that Mt.Fuji is open for public because it's just too dangerous!
Half-way through 7th station, I felt really tired and my head lamp wasn't bright enough to show me the way, so I actually went off the trail. I shouted for my friends and they stopped. They were standing above me and Alex told me (next day) that I was literally hanging by the cliff and we didn't know what's under us because it was too dark. Every step I took, I slided down a little bit because it was just too steep. After staying there for like 10min or so, I figured that I have to move on, so I grabbed on to any rocks I could find and successfully climbed up to where my friends were. It was very scary..
It didn't happen once but twice, and no one was around me at the second time because my friends were racing with time to see sunrise at 4.30am. I guess I wasn't as athletic and I was progressing slower, so they kind of left me behind because our pace were different. I didn't want to be a burden anyway, so it was ok =) I would feel bad if they needed to wait for me all the time. At some point, I didn't even recognise if it was sweat, rain, mucus dripping from my face. It was freezing and warm clothes didn't help anymore because rain got in and everything was wet, including stuff in my backpack.
I kept questioning myself "Shermayne, why did you get yourself into this?" because I would be sleeping soundly at that time if I chose not to go. During the journey, I kept thinking that this is really crazy and I couldn't believe that I was doing this. But I couldn't back out anymore so the only choice was to continue. I was praying a lot, asking God to keep me safe. I guess that's also where my strength and determination came from =)
I realised how important teamwork is because it was really difficult for me to go all the way up by myself. I could feel myself getting weaker and I was losing energy. 30min/an hour (just an estimation) before I reached Station 8, this young Asian guy from New York, Bernard (we met before starting the journey) came behind me and he accompanied me. He kept telling me 'You can do it', 'Keep going'. I was too tired to respond him but his encouragement at that moment was like music to my ears. Although he's a stranger to me, what he said really kept me going on and I felt like I was energized all of a sudden. I really, really wanted to thank him again and I regret not talking much to him when I last saw him at Station 8 on our way down. I wish I would have the chance to see him again because he's one of my life saviours.
When I reached the 8th station (it took about three hours from 7th to 8th), I was already very exhausted and I knew that it was almost my limit. But I didn't want to give up after I've gone this far. I told myself if I could get through this, I would have nothing to fear in life. I wanted to challenge myself despite of the weather and exhaustion. Then I continued.
I thought I could get rest at Station 9 but there wasn't any standing platform when I reached the 9th station, so I had no choice but to keep climbing. When I was climbing on rocks, a sudden strong wind knocked me down and I fell behind. I was literally being lifted up by the wind although I tried sticking myself to the ground. Fortunately I landed on my back (not my head) and I was lucky enough because there was a tour group behind, stopping me from falling further. I cut my knee (and luckily again, I was wearing a few layers so it wasn't bad). I tore the trackpants which I borrowed from my friend, Guen. (I'm still feeling really very bad about it because she didn't want any compensation)
At that moment I couldn't think of anything but to move on. I was so happy when I saw the entrance of the 10th station - the top. The feeling is really hard to be described in words. I could see sky changing from purple to pink and to orange but there wasn't sunrise because it was too cloudy.. My aim was to reach the top, not the sunrise, so I wasn't sad about it. Instead, the changing colours were the most beautiful thing I witnessed from the top.
Entrance of Station 10 - the top of Mt.Fuji
One of the last pictures I took because my camera died after that. Water got in and I could see ice forming in it. I spent at least ten minutes taking this picture because my hands were shivering so badly that I couldnt hold my camera right. But I guess this was the most valuable picture I've ever taken!
I was soaked in rain when I reached the top. I found my friends and they got me a bowl of ramen but I was shivering so much that I couldn't hold the chopsticks. My wallet and money was dripping in water too but I'm glad that the person accepted the wet 1000yen note. It was really cold. I'm glad that I didn't suffer from altitude sickness because it would make me feel worse. After trying hard to finish the bowl of ramen, I recalled what happened before and I started crying when I thought of how much effort I had put in. I could have lost my life. The first thing I thought of was my dad and mum. =( I thought I wouldn't see my family and friends anymore.
I slept for half an hour and we started descending from the mountaintop. It was still very windy and slippery. Three of them went ahead of me again because the rain and wind blocked my front vision and I didn't want to be knocked down again, so I slided down slowly. I started crying again and I really wanted to tell them not to leave me behind, as it's really scary going through this alone.. I yelled 'Wait!' for a few times and perhaps they sensed my feelings, they waited for me. Since then we moved down together. After an hour, the sky started clearing off and it stopped raining. The scenery was absolutely beautiful because we were above the clouds. The weather was finally good and I actually enjoyed going down.
I didn't do this on purpose. My shutter wasn't opening well. It was frozen.
But it looked kind cool, right?
My camera's crazy now though..hopefully it'll dry off and function well again =(
It was really an unforgettable experience for me. It's probably the craziest thing I've ever done. I'm very, very proud of myself though. I did well and I'm not ashamed to say that. =)
Although people might reprimand me of being silly as I climbed Mt.Fuji in that kind of weather (obviously I didn't see it coming), I don't regret it because I've learnt more about myself during this journey. It has definitely gave me a boost of confidence because I know if I believe in myself, I can do almost anything.
Now that I've conquered the highest mountain of Japan, what else would I be afraid of?
