Fuji climbing buddy (July 2012) + introduction:)

fujisanletsgo

Hello,

This is quite out-of-the-blue, but I wasn't sure how to go about doing this a better way(>.<)""

My name is Chelsea. I'm a 20 year-old student from Galway, but I've been living and working in Japan for almost 6 months now! I love it:) I can speak German well and also a bit of Japanese too. Cycling, travelling and music are some of my hobbies!

Before I leave in August, I want to climb Mount Fuji, but not by myself(O.o) It would be too dangerous (I'm an asthmatic mountain-climbing-noob!) and it wouldn't be so fun!

I am trying to organise the trip by myself already, it's better to book things in advance, but I would love to have some company for the journey. I'm hoping to go in late July (in about 1 month) during the official climbing season.

Please ask me many questions, I'm happy to answer them as best I can:D

mikedragon32

Moved from Travel. You should get a better response here.

fujisanletsgo

mikedragon32 wrote: »

Moved from Travel. You should get a better response here.

Thanks, I appreciate it:)

hibby

fujisanletsgo wrote: »

Hello,

This is quite out-of-the-blue, but I wasn't sure how to go about doing this a better way(>.<)""

My name is Chelsea. I'm a 20 year-old student from Galway, but I've been living and working in Japan for almost 6 months now! I love it:) I can speak German well and also a bit of Japanese too. Cycling, travelling and music are some of my hobbies!

Before I leave in August, I want to climb Mount Fuji, but not by myself(O.o) It would be too dangerous (I'm an asthmatic mountain-climbing-noob!) and it wouldn't be so fun!

I am trying to organise the trip by myself already, it's better to book things in advance, but I would love to have some company for the journey. I'm hoping to go in late July (in about 1 month) during the official climbing season.

Please ask me many questions, I'm happy to answer them as best I can:D

Hi Chelsea, welcome to the forum! You asked for lots of questions, so here goes for a start:
What are you doing/where are you living in Japan? Why did you decide to come here? Were you studying Japanese in Ireland? What did you find challenging about living here?

fujisanletsgo

Thank you very much!

What am I doing/Where am I living? I'm teaching English to Elementary school children in Tokyo. I'm living near Tokyo myself:)

Why Japan? Short answer: 'Pokemon' Long answer: I am interested in Japanese language and culture and want to experience it first-hand.

Was I studying Japanese beforehand? I have been studying Japanese in university for just over a year now!

What do I find challenging about living in Japan? Finding Japanese friends, language barrier and the weather! (I'm as heat resistant as an ice-lollyXD)

hibby

Are you studying in DCU? How do you find your ability to cope in Japanese after a year of university study?

I've been studying for years (self-directed, not taught) and my ability to understand and participate in normal conversations is very limited. Also I can understand very little TV.

About the weather - everyone keeps warning me it's going to get much hotter and that I'm going to really suffer.

fujisanletsgo

Nah, not DCU:) I have to say studying Japanese has helped me immensely, even though I'm not very good at it, any effort to communicate is always appreciated. It's wonderful to be able to talk to the children too, they are very interesting^__^ I find people are much more open to me because I can speak a bit of the old Japanese:) I have to say I respect you very much for teaching yourself Japanese (I tried to do it and failed miserably!!!) it's a very difficult language to learn! I would say we're around the same level, watching Japanese TV is always a strange experience for me:p What are you focusing your study on? I focus on Kanji myself:) Apparently August will be hell on earth, luckily I'll be on my way home then!!

Giruilla

I climbed fuji two years ago, would def recommend you find a buddy to climb with. It really helps and actually not sure I would have made it on my own! I was really unprepared going up... overly confident. It gets absolutely freezing at the top so make sure you bring really warm clothes, even if its a scorching day at the base! Would recommend staying in a hut near the top for a few hours, and also maybe buying an oxegen canister in the shop too, seeing as you are asthmatic!
its all worth it as the views and feeling from the top are incredible.

good luck!

MrShine

I'll be climbing Fuji myself in a few weeks with the gf and a friend who's visiting. I really want to do it, but I'm dreading it. I'm fairly unfit, so I think it may kill me!

The heat is already killing me here, and I've been told this is nothing. If Fuji doesn't kill me, August weather will.

shindig-jp

MrShine wrote: »

I'll be climbing Fuji myself in a few weeks with the gf and a friend who's visiting. I really want to do it, but I'm dreading it. I'm fairly unfit, so I think it may kill me!

The heat is already killing me here, and I've been told this is nothing. If Fuji doesn't kill me, August weather will.

If you are doing Fuji-san this is the best season to do it. You'll need a warm jacket at the top, no need to say good boots and socks , but I've said it. water and if you say you're unfit ! get some small portable oxygen cylinders for the 12+ hour hike. A bag of carrots , oranges and crunchy apples will get you to the top . First Aid Kit and make sure you and climbing partners are well hydrated days before the trip and alcohol free.

NeonCookies

fujisanletsgo wrote: »

Before I leave in August, I want to climb Mount Fuji, but not by myself(O.o) It would be too dangerous (I'm an asthmatic mountain-climbing-noob!) and it wouldn't be so fun!

I am trying to organise the trip by myself already, it's better to book things in advance, but I would love to have some company for the journey. I'm hoping to go in late July (in about 1 month) during the official climbing season.

MrShine wrote: »

I'll be climbing Fuji myself in a few weeks with the gf and a friend who's visiting. I really want to do it, but I'm dreading it. I'm fairly unfit, so I think it may kill me!

I'm MrShine's girlfriend, and we'd be happy for you to join us if you want. We're going on July 10th/11th though, so early rather than late July. We haven't booked a mountain hut yet - I know we should do it soon if we want one, so must get on it! PM me if you're interested!

fujisanletsgo

I'd love to take you up on the offer (thanks so much, I appresciate your kindness!) but I'll be working those daysD: I've been looking up huts, and they are fillin gup V-E-R-Y quickly indeed!! I'm having trouble finding the dates I'd like! Good luck!

hibby

We're sorting out our own plans at the moment (wife, me and two dogs) and it looks like we'll be staying in the area of Mt Fuji from around Monday 9th to 12th/13th, and attempting the climb on whichever day the weather looks suitable.

We'll be doing a daytime climb and not using a hut. There are serious advantages to doing it during the day, and I suggest that you consider that option.

Mr Shine and fujisanletsgo - about the fitness level, I think you will be okay. We walked almost to the summit about 4 years ago (eventually had to turn back because the snow was too deep - in July!). The correct pace is really quite slow and it can be hard to get used to walking that slowly.

MrShine

hibby wrote: »

Mr Shine and fujisanletsgo - about the fitness level, I think you will be okay. We walked almost to the summit about 4 years ago (eventually had to turn back because the snow was too deep - in July!). The correct pace is really quite slow and it can be hard to get used to walking that slowly.

Walking slowly? I'm good at that!

hibby

We're probably going to make the attempt tomorrow, if the weather forecast looks suitable. We'll go for the Subashiri route, which is longer (starts at a lower elevation) and less crowded. We'll start walking very early to try to get up and down in daylight.

hibby

Didn't make it to the top, unfortunately. It turns out it's not an ideal mountain for dogs.

I hope the rest of you have an enjoyable, safe and successful climb.

mikesp

hibby wrote: »

Didn't make it to the top, unfortunately. It turns out it's not an ideal mountain for dogs.

I hope the rest of you have an enjoyable, safe and successful climb.

I'm sorry you didn't make it to the summit, but don't be disappointed, I'm sure you experienced things that unfortunately millions of people are going to miss because they won't have the opportunity to even be around Mt Fuji

Where did you start from? Which way did you try? How many days stayed getting used to altitude?

Was the dog feeling bad or someone just didn't let you go up with a dog?

Enjoy the rest of your trip!

hibby

We went up from the less-popular Subashiri route. It's longer and starts from a lower elevation, but it's more pleasant (the tree line on that side is around 2600 to 2700 metres, so you're walking through forest for the first while).

Dogs are allowed, and many dogs have gone to the summit, but there are some problems. First of all, the ground underfoot. It's a kind of rough volcanic gravel. Fine if you're wearing boots, but very hard on the dogs' paws. This would have become a serious problem, I think, if we had continued to the summit.

The more immediate problem was altitude. One of our dogs was very enthusiastic (as always) and running ahead all the time, eager to get to the top. The other one flopped over at around 3000 metres and couldn't continue walking.

We gave her a blast of the oxygen (surprisingly, the "mask" that comes with the oxygen bottle fits a dog's face very well) and then I had to carry her down the mountain. Which was no joke, believe me!

It was disappointing at the time (it's always hard to turn away from your goal) but the main thing is we're all alive and the mountain is still there for us to try again next time.

imitation

How did you get on fujisanletsgo ? I did the climb in July, needless to say it was a fantastic experience.

I did the sunrise climb, so we left at 9 PM midweek, arrived at the top at about 4.30 and left again at about 5.15. We didn't go with the huts in the end, which I was kind of glad about, they don't look too comfortable and my feeling was the longer I was at that height the more likely altitude sickness was.

The climb up was ok, bit puffed out towards the end from the lack of air, the trip down was problematic though, as fairly big and inexperienced Irish fellas we found the scree gives way very easily and the whole affair is hard on your knees. I would strongly recommend good trekking poles, I think its pretty likely I would have had to spend another 2-3 hours clambering about and resting without them. Likewise bring warm clothes, 0 c sounds awesome when its 34c in Tokyo. A change of shirt is probably a good plan too, I was sweating at the start of the climb but after 2 hours the sweat had become ice cold against my back.. not fun !

hibby

Hi imitation, that's some good advice, thanks. I agree about the poles. Well done on the climb!