“A wise man climbs Mount Fuji once, only a fool climbs it twice”

~ Japanese proverb

I’ve always wanted to visit Japan, but somehow never had the opportunity to go there and climb its national icon. When I finally decided to go to Japan, it was already the end of May, quite late because the official climbing season was starting soon and the next 3 weeks were our last chance to avoid the crowds. But that didn’t worry me. I tried to convince myself, that I don’t have to prepare for this climb. It is only 3776 meters (12,388 feet), and I was already at the Mount Everest basecamp and at the top of Mount Elbrus. Mount Fuji sounded easy peasy.

We did not have the final climbing strategy until the very end because there were too many unknowns. We wondered if we would be able to go up and down in one day, if we had to take tents and sleeping bags and if the weather would be good enough to climb. One day before the planned ascent, we quickly prepared a plan: taxi at 5 am to the 5th station – Kawaguchi-cho, trek for several hours along the Yoshida trail (one of the four routes to Mount Fuji), an hour-long stop at the summit to rest and admire views and then run down as fast as possible to catch the last bus back to Fujiyoshida, the town where our hotel was located. We presumed, that if we succeeded in executing this plan, we did not have to take tents and sleeping bags and the climb will be a bliss!

We ascended in wide, lazy zigzags. The nature was very harsh, simply unearthly: volcanic gravel overgrown with living grasses that thinned with height. I counted on my fingers: 5th to 8th stations in two hours; only the 9th, 10th and summit stations remain. I estimated that in the next 90 minutes we would be at the top. I soon realized that I should have trusted more the experience of others than my arithmetic.

The first warning that my calculations were a little optimistic came when the sun disappeared behind the clouds and we were quickly enveloped in fog. The temperatures dropped quickly, a cold wind began to pierce my fleece and it started to drizzle. The climb has clearly became less enjoyable. I put on a raincoat. The breathing was getting more and more exhausting. I blamed my unpreparedness and stomach upset, never imagining that I was high enough to feel the effects of the altitude. Trying to cheer myself up, I asked a passerbyer how far it was to the top. Not far! – he replied. After a few minutes I was internally triumphant, although it costed me too much energy, being convinced that I was already on the top of Mount Fuji – on the top of Japan! The ecstasy was short-lived until I saw a wooden sign telling me that I had arrived at the 9th station. Exhausted, I insisted we stop for a snack and a rest.

My memory of what happened in the following hours is blurry. I just remember that it were hours. My toes went numb, but my working muscles were warming my body. We passed several people lying on the trail, retreating or resting. The climb became more and more difficult. Often I had to use my hands and knees to pull myself up on the rocks. The first snow and ice appeared.

When we reached the summit, the fog suddenly disappeared and we saw a view of Japan. It was all worth going up for that sight alone! I could barely breath, but I smiled at the camera proud of my achievement. Furthermore, after we celebrate the victory and finished all the snacks, we realized that we were only halfway done. We still had to shuffle all the way back down this very steep trail with swollen ankles, in 3 hours, the route that normally takes 5 hours to complete.

I couldn’t look at Mount Fuji pictures without flashbacks of misery and embarrassment for a long time –  but I also learned a lot. Before other climbing trips, I spent months preparing myself. Mount Fuji does not require that much training, but to experience this magical mountain as much as possible, it must be treated, just like generations of Japanese treated it, not only with infatuation but also with respect.

Reaching the top of Mount Fuji is an achievement that I am very proud of. It wasn’t easy, but I crossed off one of the places that I wanted to visit and experience of my bucket list. To this day, I am pleased that I did it, but it was by far my most underestimated mountain. Going back to the Japanese proverb cited at the beginning, especially its second half – I am not going to climb it again!

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