Through storm and rain to the top of Mt Fuji

Dear family, friends, fellow graudates and colleagues,

Saturday @ 12:00 I arrived at the level 5 camp of Mt Fuji (2200 meters) and after a short warm-up we began our ascend toward the top of the mountain at 3775 meters. I was accompanied by my Japanese friend Sakiko and 26 other motivated Japanese climbers. For the first 2-3 hours it was very foggy and we couldn't really see anything. 

After we got up above the clouds we had a few moments of semi blue sky. However, the moments only lasted very shortly and soon the rain started to pour down as we continued our journey up the mountain. As we continued up the mountain the climb became increasingly steeper and more 'rocky' and at times it was a litlle discouraging because of the heavy rain, the wind and the fact that we couldn't see anything.

Around 19:00 we arrived at the 8th station (app. 3300 meters), where we had to stay for a couple of hours before making the final climb towards the top. Staying at the lodge was an interesting experience. The lodge could fit app. 50 people in very few m2. I slept (as much as I could given the conditions) between 5 other Japanese poeple in a very tight space with no possibility to stretch my legs as there were lying 6 other Japanese people in the other end. Just the type of place for a fantastic off-site (I especially think this would be something for SFFT, TIFI and JRFH ;-) - I apologise for the inside joke). So after a decent meal we went to bed around 9 PM. I did actually manage to sleep a litlle before waking up at 2 AM in the morning. Due to extreme wind we had to postpone our final ascend to the top until 3:30 AM. At this time the wind was still very strong, but we had to leave in order to get to the top before sunrise. 

The final climb was pretty tough given the wind, but as we got closer to the top the wind stopped and the sky cleared up, which gave us the most spectacular view :-) The sunrise was so beautiful and the amazing view from the top of the mountain was definitely worth all the rain, wind and rocky climbing. 

After staynig at the top for a few hours we walked down from the mountain enjoying the great weather and the amazing view. After lunch back at 2200 meters we headed to a public hot springs bath to get refreshed and relax after the two day climbing adventure. I was back in my apartment around 10 PM pretty tired, but one amazing experience richer:-)