Back at last...it's been a while

Greetings one and all, it has been quite a while indeed. Finally have internet access in de gaff so it's rock and roll. I am sure you are shaking with excitement and anticipation at the thought of reading some more scintillating posts on my birding exploits and how much work sucks...So, instead I will spare you the adrenaline fuelled read and tell you the most exciting thing I have done in the last few weeks. And what is that I hear you ask?? Well, apart from a whirlwind visit of my former work colleague Mel Ball, I climbed Mt. Fuji over the weekend of September 16. Standing at 3776m in height, it was a daunting and overwhelming experience. It will probably be up there with one of the best and worst things I have ever experienced.

Having rented a car with 4 of the lads (AK, KC, TM, and PJ), we set off at 1am from Osaka on Saturday morning and reached Fuji-shi at about 5am, staring right up at Mt. Fuji as we entered the city boundaries, the clear skies allowing Venus to shine bright in the eastern sky, peeping over the horizon just before the sun came up. It looked ominous and quite scary but we were glad, in a way, to see that there was no snow on top. The Japanese official climbing calendar is from the begining of July to the end of August. Climbing anytime outside this is deemed to be dangerous and crazy. Although this may be the case in the depts of winter, a couple of weeks outside the window was surely going to be fine. Seeing as they think you are crazy if you swim in the ocean in June, when the kids are still in school and the water is only a balmy 15 degrees, I didn't think Fuji would be too much of a problem.

We camped on the shore of Kawaguichi lake (see above) on the northern slopes of Mt. Fuji that morning and got some sleep before driving around to the other lakes for a feast of beautiful countryside and tree-covered slopes. We availed of one of the onsen (hotspring baths) for an hour to relax and prepare for the climb. The area surrounding Mt. Fuji is truly beautiful. We were lucky that the rain and typhoon which was forecast for that weekend, had not yet arrived on the shores of Honshu. Although cloudy, it was dry. That was the main point. We stocked up at a local 7/11 convenience store, conveniently situated near the US Marine Base on the base of Mt. Fuji before heading up to the 5th Station of the Fujinomiya trail, placed 2500m up the mountain. The drive up the mountain side was spectacular, with immense hairpin bends and steep corners. The view from 5th station was spectacular, Fuji-shi and Tokyo in the distance, lighting up the night sky (see below for Fuji-shi). We put on all our clothing we brought and decided to begin climbing at 8pm as we noticed groups heading up. This would turn out to be a big mistake at one juncture of the climb.

The initial climb from 5th to 6th station was not difficult and we were soon in our stride. PJ and I decided to plough on at a good pace, leaving the boys to take it at their own pace. We were soon at 7th station, only the beams from our head-lamps lighting the way, making sure we had the guide-rope in our sights at all times. It was incredible be climbing Mt. Fuji in the dark, particularly when we turned off our head-lamps and just sat for a rest in silence, listening to the wind and feeling the mist from the low cloud that surrounded us. When the cloud lifted, the view was amazing. The silence was moving. When we reached 8th station at 10.30pm, we realized we had at least 4 hours to kill before we needed to make a break for the summit (ala Malory style). It was at 8th Station (3200m) that the low levels of oxygen began to take effect, with light-headedness and shortness of breath obvious. It was also bloody cold. Exposure was also digging into the bones and I was starting to freeze. We discovered that the first aid hut was open so we clambered in and the 5 of us huddled together to try to keep warm which although painful at times, good fun all the same. At about 2.30am we decided to make for the summit. Again, PJ and I headed off at our own pace and reached the top at 4am...the final half-stage was gruelling, my head was spinning, the pain in my lungs and the shortness of breath very apparent now. When finally reaching the top, it was such a good feeling. I started reflecting on the amazing feats of people who have climbed Everest and the likes of the incredible Tom Crean who went through such hardships in the most atrocious of conditions to get to a safe place. I then realized how amazing these people are. Here was I battling with my own will, forcing my self to make the next step, scrambling up the rocks, making sure I made it to the top to witness dawn rise over the valleys below.

It was with great relief and frozen bones that I witnessed dawn rise over the valleys below. With ice on my clothing, hat, and the bag I borrowed from SW (me and the bag on the summit below), I looked over an incredible sight, the Izu islands in the distance, cloud creating a halo around the peaks of the volcanic creation nestled in the Pacific ocean. With only the sound of the wind and annoying gaijin voices, I marvelled at the view. It was mindblowing. The light was very poor due to a lot of cloud stretching out as far as the eye could see but it was still beautiful. I would highly recommend anyone who comes to Japan to climb Mt. Fuji. The view alone is worth it.

While three of the boys went off down the Gotemba route, I went back down the Fujinomiya trail, the same way we came up. I wanted to get back to the 6th and 5th stations to do some birding so I knew I would have time with the boys going down Gotemba. It only took 2hours to get back down and the views going down were also amazing. I was passing many many people begining their climb of the mountain on my way down. I think they are braver souls climbing the beast in the daylight rather than doing it at night. If I was climbing her during the day, I probably would have given up and gone back down. It's better not seeing what is ahead. Some parts of the climb are practically veritcal!! The colours of the soil was also beautiful, the volcanic green, black and reds mixing in to make an alien landscape.

And so with aching limbs and a near broken spirit from lack of sleep and exhaustion, I got down to 6th station and sat on a rock watching a Japanese Accentor singing from the top of gorse-like vegetation, and hearing a bullfinch call in a tree a small way below. Lizards ran beneath my feet and the clouds still hovered below me, stretching out over the Pacific. The silence and sun warmed my weary body and I felt total contentment for the first time since I was seawatching off Hokkaido a month earlier...it is moments like this that Japan reveals to me what a marvellous country it really is.

Carmo's Diet: this week I have mostly been eating antibiotics, anti-inflammatories and anti-cold medication

Carmo's Birds: ohh, it's been good; JAPANESE ACCENTOR; HOUSE SWIFT; SOOTY FLYCATCHER; BROAD-BILLED SANDPIPER; Bullfinch*; Culew Sandpiper* brings my Japanese list to 279 species!!

Carmo's Birds for Byrdy: Evangeline Lilly