mount fuji
we made it in five hours from the fifth station. left at 10.30pm climbing through the night and got to the summit at half 3, an hour before the sunrise.
i felt like i was dying for the last part of the ascent....was on my hands and feet literally trying to drag myself up. when we looked down behind us we could see a trail of lights winding down the mountain from the torches of the climbers.
sunset was amazing, apparently it was the clearest sky they`ve had for a long time and everyone clapped and then stood in silence when it came up. mainly japanese and about a third were foreign tourists. we walked up to the craterand looked down. you can get right up to it, and it would be so easy to fall in, luckily we didn`t stay too long up there cos it was below freezing and the winds were battering everyone.
the descent was a non-stop hell, zig zagging steep dirt tracks that it was impossible to get a grip in. the worst thing was looking down below hoping for it to stop but seeing the other climbers criss-crossing the mountain side in a seemingly never ending torture. the view was stunning....you could see fuji five lakes, and looking up the mountain to the summit reminded me of how worthwhile it had been.
i haven`t slept for two days, but as it`s my last day i still have to do last minute shopping for presents.
then it`s back to work.
can`t wait.
i felt like i was dying for the last part of the ascent....was on my hands and feet literally trying to drag myself up. when we looked down behind us we could see a trail of lights winding down the mountain from the torches of the climbers.
sunset was amazing, apparently it was the clearest sky they`ve had for a long time and everyone clapped and then stood in silence when it came up. mainly japanese and about a third were foreign tourists. we walked up to the craterand looked down. you can get right up to it, and it would be so easy to fall in, luckily we didn`t stay too long up there cos it was below freezing and the winds were battering everyone.
the descent was a non-stop hell, zig zagging steep dirt tracks that it was impossible to get a grip in. the worst thing was looking down below hoping for it to stop but seeing the other climbers criss-crossing the mountain side in a seemingly never ending torture. the view was stunning....you could see fuji five lakes, and looking up the mountain to the summit reminded me of how worthwhile it had been.
i haven`t slept for two days, but as it`s my last day i still have to do last minute shopping for presents.
then it`s back to work.
can`t wait.