cat /proc/claus

So this weekend I have climbed Mount Fuji again. It was my third climb, but it also was probably the most taxing one, and probably due to a couple of tactical mistakes I made. It seems that the safer you are, more errors you are bound to make indeed.

There were some changes in the route from last year - Kawaguchi-ko station was reformed, and is much nice looking, but the bus clerks are much less nice. There used to be many shops which would sell fuji stuff, but now there is only one, and it is much more expensive.

The public bathrooms in fuji seems to have been improved, and in many of them now you can wait inside. On the other hand, they no longer sell hot chocolate in cans: they sell small paper cups with much less chocolate, and which you cant hold against your face or neck, for the same price (which was already expensive in the first place).

The climb was actually quite uneventful. We got to the gogome without any big problems, and spirits were high. We started the climb by 7:30. That was a bit early. Last year we started by 8:30 and arrived without problems at the top. The group split itself in three - three people dashed in front of everyone else, two people decided to take it slow, and the majority started climbing at your normal fuji-climbing rate.

By fuji-climbing rate I mean sometimes slow, sometimes fast, sometimes together, sometimes separated. Since it was a friday, Mt. fuji was quite empty compared with the other times we climbed - no lines of tourist groups waiting at small passes. After the 8th station, me and marilia started to straggle a little bit behind the “main” group, but still kept our pace. It was quite providential, for a flash rain started when we got near the last “hut”, and we managed to find shelter until the rain stopped. Those who were rushing ahead of us had to take the rain straight on while covering the last leg to the top. Somewhere on the climb I lost my walking stick (I think I lent it to someone) - too bad, I was planning on getting a collection of “top of the fuji” stamps.

However, once we got to the top, the problems started. Just as I got to the top, they called me to help one of the members of the group who was sick. He had altitude sickness, but none of us knew it, or how severe it was. All we knew is that he was claiming he couldn’t breath or move and was getting into a coma. Well, now, in a clear head you can realize that someone who is talking, and is lucid enough to say he is entering a coma isn’t having problems breathing, but tired as I was, I panicked, and started rushing to the shops to get some help (that was my first big mistake). All of the shopkeepers just said “get him the hell out of here”, and I found out that there are no first aid stops, or doctors, in the top of fuji. The priest of the jinja finally explained me the situation, and I (along with two other people from the group), dragged the “dying” climber back to the 8th station, when he promptly began feeling better. However, by that time I was too tired and disheartened to go back to the top, and we started our descent.

And that was my second mistake - since I started to go down first, the rest of the group fragmented. In pairs and trios, they started to go down at their own pace… and one person was left behind! He was tired (but not as sick as the one who had alt.sick), and was sleeping in a corner after the sunrise, and when he wokeup, everyone was down already. Luckly, he made it back, eventually. But without phone coverage, we had no news until early evening.

However, in the end it was not that bad. If the “group” and “climbing mount fuji” aspects of the trip were shippai, the “learning” and “personal” aspects were quite enriching. It is said that people are drawn together or torn appart by difficulties, and this trip, with all its problems, managed to draw me close to people who are important to me.

Also, I learned a lot of small lessons that can be useful to future climbings:

• The teruterubozu spell really works to make the weather clear.
• EVERYONE in the group should bring a flashlight - when Fuji is Packed with people, you can make do with one flashlight for two people in the group, but when it is empty, no way.
• If you arrive by the last hut before 2:00, stop there, and don’t leave until at least 2:00
• Jelly drinks are great for eating during the trail.
• Bananas should be kept in tupperwares, else they’ll go squishy and become too yucky to eat
• Do not run and jump once you get to the top. Well, not too much.
• Assign at least two people responsible for the whole group, so if one has to go down because someone is feeling bad, the other can take care of things.
• Make sure to put everyone together once every station. If the leading group is arriving there too early, tell them to slow down.
• Make sure everyone knows that they have to get together at the top before going down. The best would be for everyone to start the descent together, so that no-one is left behind.
• People who are good enough to talk, are good enough to go back down if they got altitude sickness.

Cheers, and on to the next adventure!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 22nd, 2006 at 2:00 pm and is filed under Personal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.