we kept a better pace all the way up the first round of switchbacks up to the 7th station, where we lunched on trail mix and had a rest. there i took this picture of the next leg of the journey: [up from 7th station]. you’ll notice that the terrain changes a bit there from volcanic scree to large, clumpy conglomerates of rock which one had to climb over. that was definitely my favorite part of the climb: some 4th-class scrambling over really interesting rock formations. and, since i could now use my hands and arm muscles, my feet got a bit of a break. i found myself getting way too far ahead of the other three, however, and decided to slow down. it was at that point that the wind begain getting pretty bad. it was sustained, as i said, but the gusts were what really took us by surprise. if you weren’t holding on to something when they hit, you were easily blown off your feet. and, the wind carried with it tons of little dust particles and rocks which did there best to scrape the skin off our faces.
eventually we got through the scrambling part and made it to the 8th station (i don’t think i mentioned this, by the way, but there are 10 stations, and the 10th is at the summit. the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th are all fairly close, and then there’s quite a ways between the 8th, 9th, and 10th). [my dad and i at the 8th station]. after the 8th station there was a little more scrambling over the big odd-shaped rocks [side view of volcanic scree and rocky path], and then it turned into more crappy terrain and steep switchbacks.
from there it was pretty sustained until the top: sliding terrain, super-steep paths, harmful wind, and a beating sun that burned my neck horribly, though i didn’t realize it till later because the temperatures had quickly dropped into the upper 40s. i had given my dad his backpack back for the scrambling part of the climb, because i couldn’t do it with a pack on my stomach. soon i had to take it back because the steepness and the altitude were getting to him (i was starting to feel shorter of breath as well–we were probably at 10,000 ft. now). i took this picture, off to the right of the path, where you can see huge ice patches still there despite the sun (and i wondered what it would be like to slide down it!): [ice patches].
what felt like hours later we reached the 9th station, or thereabouts, and encountered michael, from the bus! he was on his way down, in shorts and a light sweater. he told us that he’d made it to the top in about 2:45, which was phenomenal. i was a little jealous that he’d had no companions to slow his progress, but then was immediately ashamed, since the whole ordeal was very much a father-son thing for me, and i wanted both me and my dad to make it to the top (which was why i had been carrying my dad’s pack of course–he’d suggested that i go on ahead and he could wait for me to come back down, but i would have none of that!). anyway, he warned us of the winds at the top and then kept jogging back down.
finally, not too long after that, we caught a glimpse of the wooden shinto gate that marked the entrance to the 10th station, a few hundred feet above us. then, we knew that we would be able to make it. and, a long time later (having to stand still and take cover with the howling wind, we were not moving very fast), we were there! [shinto shrine gate and lions at 10th station entrance]. and once through the gates, we crested the lip of the crater and were able to see the inside of mt. fuji. the winds were phenomenally powerful (around 100mph, we estimated), and we had to keep low to the ground in order not to be blown off our feet. we had a thermometer, and it was in the 30s, so very cold! [my dad and i with crater in the background].
i took a short video with my digital camera at the top, showing that we had actually made it. it’s a little big (5mb), but you can download it here: [video from the top]
also, i took a panorama shot from the top, which is kind of hazy because of the wind and elevation, but here it is: [panorama from the top]
