Fuji
Date: October 2003.
Sent to washingtonclimbers@yahoogroups.com.
By Kristian Andaker
Photos here.
This Saturday, which still hasn’t ended for most of you people in Washington, a colleague from Microsoft Japan, Ken Tamaru-san, and I went up Fuji-san. It was Ken’s final ascent in the Japanese ‘Hyakumeizan’ (one hundred revered peaks of Japan) series, and my first.
Before attacking Mt Fuji, Ken and I tried to get as much information as we could about climbing it outside of the official ‘climbing season’, which is limited to July and August. The information we got was contradictory. Some said it would be fine until the middle of October, but others claimed I might not even be allowed to climb at all because there would be very severe weather conditions including snow, ice and winds strong enough to throw us down the mountain.
With this in mind, Ken and I carefully watched the weather the week before our planned ascent on Oct. 4th and didn’t finally decide to go until everything looked good on Friday afternoon (Fuji web cam: http://www.ybs.ne.jp/SKYEYE/CAM/fuji.jpg).
It turns out early October might be the best time of the year to climb Fuji-san. We had great weather, perfect temperature and met about 1/20th the people even Washington’s Mt Si throws at you on any given summer day. We enjoyed long stretches of empty trail and complete, serene silence broken only by the wind.
Because we didn’t know what to expect from the climb, we set out from Tokyo at 4am. We got to Mt Fuji at 5.30am after a small navigational mishap on the freeway, and started out from the trailhead around 6.30am after spending some time enjoying the view at Go Gome (5th station). The first 500m (1640ft) of elevation were shrouded in mist. I was initially afraid navigation would be an issue, even though we were equipped with a good map, compass and altimeter (thanks, Jerry and Karen!). But Fuji is the autobahn of hikes in July/August, seeing literally 100.000’s of visitors, and the hiking trails are dimensioned thereafter. With all the rock fall protection, arrows, ropes, concrete trail reinforcements and cabins along the way, there is no way one could go wrong.
At around 2900m, we reached Nana Gome (7th station), and was breaking out of the clouds. Around here Ken was starting to feel discomfort from his left knee. Ken has been hiking regularly since he was 7 years old, and is no stranger to recognizing how far that knee can be pushed. We decided to slow down the pace to ensure we could get to the top and down without having Ken on crutches on Sunday morning. We took our time, enjoying the sun, the silence and the occasional encounter with fellow hikers. After hearing reports of how this mountain resembles an ant hill in July/August, we were amazed at how much of it we had to ourselves. We ran into a Canadian, a few Americans, some French, Chinese and perhaps 10 Japanese. From the veteran Japanese hikers we learnt that early October indeed probably is the best hiking season.
At 3250m (10.663ft) we reached Hachi Gome (8th stations). This in the only ‘station’ that is open in October. They sell simple food and drinks and provide lodging for people who want to make Fuji a two-day affair. During regular climbing season, there are huts like this every few hundred meters of elevation, but Hachi Gome was the only one that wasn’t boarded up when we passed. It only had one person working there, and it didn’t seem there was any business going on.
Breaking about every 100m of elevation for water and to rest the knee, we kept the same leisurely pace that seemed to be the climber’s norm on this beautiful autumn day. At 11.30 or so, we reached the summit crater. To reach the actual summit (50m higher than the crater edge) you then stroll around the crater edge to the other side and hike up to the old weather station located right at the top. Getting there involved walking at an angle to compensate for the heavy wind gusts threatening to throw you off the ridge. This was the only time I felt happy I had prepared for much worse weather. The ice axe I had in my hand (without a doubt the only ice axe on Mt Fuji that day), let me think I could self-arrest if the wind should get the upper hand.
The summit at 3776m (12.388ft) has an awesome view down into the crater, as well as off to the horizon to the north and east. But to the south and west the view is blocked by an old rusted weather station that sadly occupies most of the summit.
We spent quite a while around the summit crater. Ken congratulated me on my first Hyakumeizan climb, and I congratulated him on completing the series of 100 peaks (out of which he did the first 99 some 15 years ago). After eating and drinking well and talking to others lounging in the sun up there, we headed down.
Going down, Ken’s knee was obviously in pain. The stretches of gravel were quickly passed sliding on our boots, but when the trail turned into concrete steps or rock, keeping weight off your left knee is more complicated.
Around 2pm, at 3000m, we ran into a Chinese hiker that had us quite concerned. This guy was hiking at this altitude, with clouds moving higher up the mountain with the wind, in nothing but a cotton dress shirt. He didn’t have a jacket, no gloves, no hat and no food. He said he was aiming for the top, and we didn’t manage to dissuade him. The best thing we could do was give him good advice about what to expect up there (more cold, more wind, perhaps rain and snow) and to let him know that Hachi Gome at 3250m was still open so he could take shelter there if the weather turned or darkness fell. He left us talking about finding the lake on Mt Fuji, which scared us even more, since there is no lake on Mt Fuji. We decided to let some officials know about this inexperienced but determined hiker when we got down to Go Gome (5th station, right by the parking lot).
Most of our descent was uneventful, except having to disappoint an American family at the very beginning of the trail when notifying them that Roku Gome (6th station at 2375m) was closed for the season. When they learnt their goal for the day was a boarded up hut, they turned around, disappointed that the walking sticks they got at Go Gome wouldn’t be getting the promised ‘Roku Gome stamp’.
After getting down to the car and enjoying some snacks (I was very tempted by the ‘whole Squid on a stick’ BBQ: see the pictures), we headed back to Tokyo and had a great Thai food meal in Shinjuku.
I don’t think I really understood how much I love Japanese bath tubs (deep, auto-filling and with great temperature control) until I got home that evening. Next time I do something outdoorsy in Japan, I’ll be aiming for an Onsen (hot spring) afterwards instead. The country is littered with them.
I learnt a few things about Fuji-san that weren’t apparent from any source of information before I went up:
· If you pick a day with good weather, October is probably the best time to climb the mountain because you avoid the crowds of July/August.
· Strong wind is the hazard to look out for if the weather goes bad. There are plenty of boarded up huts along the whole hike that would make excellent wind shelters. There are no glaciers.
· If you’re in good condition and set a quick pace, you can probably reach the summit in ~2.5 hours from Go Gome. With a leisurely pace it takes 4-5 hours.
· There are buses going between Go Gome (5th station) and Tokyo even in October. If you’re a Gaijin (foreigner) it is easier to take a bus than to drive. It takes about the same time and the cost is comparable to the road tolls when sharing a car between two people.
/K
