Mt. Fuji: The Summit

At the summit of the mount. I got a mild mountain fever attack -- rather than risk, decided to descend immediately. There are no life savers up there! Marcos ankle snapped and we had to carry his luggage and his beaten ass all through the descending. There was nothing to see at the summit except frost, rain and amazingly heartless and cruel hut managers. I used to dream of doing Mt. Kenya! 5200 metres - I must have been crazy. I call this the toilet scene. We took shelter in one of the ''toires'' on the way up the mountain from the cold, wind and rain. The place was really stinky but we would opt for it anyday over the harsh cold and rain or the 5000 Yen huts where you get so badly treated.

Mount Fuji: New Release

Getting darker, rainier, colder and we were all getting hungry and thirsty. Castillo kindly shared his rice rolls and water. This was before Marco's ankle snapped and my mountain fever attack.
From left Castillo, Yush, Marco and Prof. Kavanaugh. We were starting out the trek and we were all in high spirits. Little did we know what is to come.

Background: I just laid my hands on this photos that perhaps reflect one of my most memorable events in Japan. In July of 2005, we took one of the biggest risks of our lives (at least according to Castillo (1st from left)) ... and decided to climb Mt. Fuji 2700 metres. The Japanese say climbing Fuji San for the first time is brave. Doing it for a second time is dumb. I entirely agree. Above photo was in one of the many ruthless pay by the minute huts on top of the mountain where you seek shelter from cold and rain. We were soon in for a shouting Japanese match for taking a nap! You pay to relax but your eye lids must stay open! Outside temperatures were in the negatives, not to mention the storm and the whistling wind. I did not have adequate clothes and my sweat turned to ice. It was terrible. The grins you see are like mascara-- they hide an awful lot.