Mount Fuji Was Amazing! ~First Summit Challenge~

I went climbing on Mount Fuji.
However, I only made it to the mountain hut at the 7th station,
and because I started showing symptoms of altitude sickness, I didn't reach the final goal...

This was my first attempt,
and although I thought I had prepared quite well, I was completely underprepared.
I'm writing down a few notes for when I eventually try again.
I hope this serves as a reference for those around 60 years old who don't usually exercise and are attempting it for the first time.

Mount Fuji is a volcano

First of all, it was more rugged than I had imagined.
No, it was more like, there's no path here, it's a sheer cliff! Can humans even climb this!?
There are many rocky areas that feel like that.

The illustration is smiling, but there is absolutely no room to smile.
It's dangerous enough that if you slip your hand, you could easily slide down several meters.
If you let your guard down for even a second, it feels like you could easily fall.

It didn't turn into the worst-case scenario, but
in reality, I fell several times and lost my balance,
leading to an accident where I hit my face on a rock.
(There was no bleeding, just an 'ouch' moment, haha)

Around the 6th station, it's a gravel slope.
The gentle slope is only at the beginning, and steep slopes continue for hundreds of meters.
The gravel is sand made from crushed lava, which feels completely different from paved roads and is difficult to walk on.

Around the 7th station, it's a rocky area.
The rocky area is where lava once flowed, eroded by rainwater into complex, uneven shapes.

Honestly, it's not a path, it's a rocky cliff.
There are chains and ropes to mark the course, but they aren't there to support your body weight.
The only things supporting you are the rocks and your own physical strength.
Nature is unforgiving.

I didn't climb past the 8th station, but
it looks like you're climbing up vertically steep rocks.
Just seeing the first rocky area at the entrance to the 8th station made me feel faint (haha).

Seeing it like this, you can really feel that Mount Fuji is a volcano.
No, it's nothing but a volcano.
Everywhere you look, there are traces of lava flow.
And rocks, stones, and gravel created by the collapse of lava.

Mount Fuji is an active volcano that is still active today.
It wouldn't be a surprise if lava started flowing out at any time.
It was also a valuable experience where I felt the reality of a Mount Fuji eruption.

If you look at a photo of the entire view of Mount Fuji, you can tell that:
- The base is gentle (though when you actually go there, it's still a steep slope)
- The area near the summit looks like the angle increases sharply (this is the rugged rocky area, almost a cliff)
It was a rugged mountain that you definitely couldn't climb with a hiking mindset.

Even in a place like that, elementary school-aged children, young people, and the elderly
and many foreigners are all climbing while huffing and puffing.
It's amazing; I respect everyone who is climbing it!

Comprehensive physical strength is required

If you are aiming for the summit of Mount Fuji, you need comprehensive physical strength.
From the 5th station to the 7th station (near the very top),
it is an elevation difference of 700m, but it took over 3 hours.
During that time, I was drenched in sweat the whole way; it's tougher than running.

You need enough strength to be able to climb to the high parts of a field athletic course multiple times with ease.
The rocky terrain continues for meters, even tens of meters.

I have never run a full marathon, but it feels like that level of intensity.
I think you need at least enough physical strength to be able to run a half marathon with ease.

This time, I had been doing muscle training for two months beforehand.
- Squats at home
- Climbing the stairs in my neighborhood (about 5 floors of a building) all at once
Something like that.

My thighs and calves were relatively okay, but
when I was lying down at the mountain hut on the first day, the soles of my feet cramped (lol).
I must have been putting pressure on the soles of my feet while bracing myself on the rocky terrain.
It was my first time having muscle pain in the soles of my feet, haha.

The issue is comprehensive strength.

What kind of physical strength is needed to summit Mount Fuji?

• Cardiopulmonary capacity (getting used to several hours of aerobic exercise)

  • Not having your breathing disrupted even during long periods of exercise

  • Maintaining equilibrium in blood flow, perspiration, etc., and being able to endure for a long time

• Balance ability (inner muscles and sense of equilibrium)

  • Being able to shift your weight in the intended direction while maintaining posture on complex rocky terrain

  • Being able to quickly recover your posture from situations where you are about to lose your balance

• Endurance (the strength to keep climbing mountain paths and cliffs for several hours)

  • Being able to move while maintaining balance even when tired

• Muscle strength

  • Leg muscles were somehow okay thanks to squats and walking

  • I needed to train my whole body's muscles, like back and arm muscles, in a balanced way

was lacking.

"The whole body is laughing" - A phenomenon where you have no strength and cannot maintain balance

There is a saying, "knees are laughing", but in my case, it felt like
my whole body was laughing.

When you are exhausted, you can't even climb simple stairs of about 10 meters normally.
(It feels like climbing one step at a time, taking time, and adjusting your posture, which takes a lot of time.)

Because my body wouldn't move as I wanted, I couldn't keep my balance, and
on rocky cliffs, I was scared and my body wouldn't move forward.
Since I had to move while balancing little by little, it consumed a lot of energy and made me even more tired.

Breathing and blood flow (measures against altitude sickness)

I got out of breath immediately, and my heart was pounding.
I couldn't breathe enough, which seems to have led to altitude sickness.

Due to the decrease in oxygen concentration at high altitudes and shortness of breath,
blood oxygen levels drop, and blood flow to the brain increases
→ intracranial pressure rises → cerebral edema (swelling of the brain) occurs,
which seems to be a vicious cycle that leads to altitude sickness.

Sweating and hydration

The amount of sweat was at a level I had never experienced before.
Hydration also needs to be done strategically and systematically.

I brought snacks like Calorie Mate and chocolate (Pai no Mi), but
I didn't have the slightest bit of energy to eat them lol.
It was all I could do to drink water, and I didn't know how much I should drink.
(Maybe hesitating because I didn't want to have to go to the bathroom was also not good?)

I finally understood what it means when people say that your innerwear will be completelysoaked, after actually going there.
I learned for the first time that humans are animals that sweat this much lol.
I see athletes sweating profusely while competing, and it's really just like that.
If someone who doesn't usually exercise suddenly gets drenched in sweat, their body can't keep up.

I need to research what kind of training is effective from now on.

Prior risk assessment and comprehensive strategy

Naturally, I prepared with the image of climbing all the way to the summit (optimistic planning),
but my assumptions regarding risks were insufficient (pessimistic risk assessment and countermeasures).

No matter what you do,
unknown challenges are always accompanied by risks.

Rather than imagining the worst-case scenario,
it is important to properly list and prepare for realistic risks that could occur.
This time, I looked at too many examples of people who successfully climbed Mount Fuji, and
examples of people who gave up or retired midwayI didn't look at much.

It seems that about 30% of people get altitude sickness when climbing Mount Fuji.

I need to collect proper statistical data, verify it, and take countermeasures,
but from what I've looked into, it seems that quite a lot of people get altitude sickness.

Even people who are confident in their physical strength can be at risk of altitude sickness,
and the veteran in his 40s who climbed with me this time, who has reached the summit many times,
said he felt a little nauseous, which I suspect was a symptom of altitude sickness.
(Still, it's amazing that he reached the summit through sheer willpower!)

There were about 100 people at the mountain hut where I stayed, and 8 of them retired.
I think making a courageous decision is also important.

By the way,
about 20 people were still there in the morning, so it seems many people also challenge it from the morning.
It seems about 70 people left during the night.

When I went to the bathroom at night, seeing them leaving one after another,
I felt incredible energy.
I thought, 'They're going to climb this cliff!?'
I truly respect them.

I was able to see a beautiful 'sunrise' from the mountain hut as well.
I was lucky that the weather was good!

By the way, it's 5:00 AM.
What you can see below is Lake Yamanaka.
The clouds are flowing and changing one after another.

The sunlight is getting stronger and stronger,
from a night of shivering in the cold to a morning where I'm so hot I take off all my outer layers.

It was a fulfilling time and space, different from the ground.
The beauty and the threat of nature.
Everything was wonderful!

When I came down to the area near the 5th station,
the fog made the air feel mystical and quiet, which was also wonderful

Before arriving at the 5th station, while I was spending time relaxing,
I unexpectedly ran into the team members who had been to the summit!

In the end, we were able to reach the goal together (lol)

While thinking that I would like to challenge it again someday...

This article was written by
Shigeki Kawahara, a "Future Realization Partner" who increases revenue pillars
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