Climb to the Summit but no Sunrise (Mount Fuji III)


So we joined this human climbing chain (at this altitude, the trail had narrowed to 2 persons wide), and started our slow ascent. The winds were getting stronger, and at about 2am, it started to drizzle, then the drizzle turned into a medium rainfall (the kind that seems to last forever).

From here on, the climb became very difficult. Many people were starting to feel the exhaustion and sleepiness; we started to see more people rest at the side of the trail, some had even fallen asleep and their friends were trying to wake them up - some threw up (we could tell they had eaten noodles), some would fall asleep while walking and then suddenly wake up just in time to catch their balance and not hit the ground. I also fell asleep (for less than a minute) standing up a few times when the line wasn't moving.

You have just enough energy/mental-focus to command your leg to take the next step and keep balance, but the rest of your brain is just numb/shut-off. By 4am, we were still another hour away from the summit, and the clouds below us started to glow very lightly. We would not be able to see any sunrise unfortunately, because the clouds were too thick. By 5am, we reached the summit at 3,776m.

It was great to finally break out of the human jam and walk freely. The rain had become heavier, and like most others, we headed for the 'rest hall / food hall' for shelter, a place to sit down (benches) and hot food! We had Udon and some vegetable/fish-cake soup (oden).