- What can we say? The man likes his phone more than his health.
You know how the famous saying goes. Rescue me from Mount Fuji ones, shame on you; rescue me from Mount Fuji twice, shame on me.
What? That’s not how the saying goes?
Well, perhaps it should be. It sure is a fitting way to describe the adventure of this hapless mountain climber.
A mountain climber in Japan had a streak of bad luck recently. He had to be brought off the famous Mount Fuji twice within one week.
The first time was a genuine misfortune. He lost some of his climbing equipment and fell ill on the mountainside, becoming unable to come down on his own.
The second time, however, was avoidable. The climber got sick on Mount Fuji again after he climbed back up — to try and find his lost cellphone.
An Attempt Was Made
Our questionable hero is a 27-year-old Chinese man. He’s a college student living in Japan, and he is an enthusiastic mountain climber.
Enthusiasm doesn’t directly translate to skill or preparedness, though.
On April 22, the man set out to climb Mount Fuji, the famous stratovolcano on Japan’s main island of Honshu. At 12,389 feet high, the mountain is as challenging as it is iconic.
At first, the man was doing just fine and climbed to an elevation of more than 9,800 feet. Unfortunately, at that point, the mountain started to get the best of him.
He started feeling ill due to altitude sickness, which is caused by falling oxygen levels in the blood. He wanted to turn back, but somehow managed to lose his crampons.
Those are spiked attachments fixed to the bottoms of climbing boots to provide more traction on icy rocks. With his gear gone and feeling sick, the man had no option but to call for help.
Fortunately, help came. A helicopter picked the man up and took him to a hospital.
Where’s My Phone?
The man recovered in the hospital for a couple of days before being discharged. At that point, he had an uncomfortable realization.
He couldn’t find his phone. The last time he had used it had been up on Mount Fuji.
That was where the phone had to be still.
Well, he sure wasn’t about to buy a new phone. So, the man set up the mountain again four days later — to try and retrieve his lost cellphone.
Surprisingly, he made good progress, quickly advancing back up to 9,800 feet. And then he came down with altitude sickness, again.
Another mountain climber discovered the sick man and alerted the authorities. With that, a helicopter picked him up once more and took him back to the hospital.
We wish we could hear the conversations he surely had on his second trip down the mountain.
Officially Closed
As if this whole incident wasn’t bad enough, it gets worse. The man wasn’t supposed to be on Mount Fuji in the first place because all the trails to up the mountain are currently officially closed.
Fuji is a very popular mountain climbing location. However, despite its seemingly harmless looks from afar, it’s a very challenging climb.
So much so, that it’s foolhardy to try it in anything but ideal conditions. That’s why the Japanese government shuts the mountain down from September to July.
There are only two months in the climbing season. Outside of that, you’re not supposed to be up there because the conditions are simply too hazardous.
If you do try to brave Fuji in the off-season, you risk getting stranded on the mountainside. Just like our reckless hero.
Following his double attempt, the police of Shizuoka Prefecture reiterated their advice that people not try climbing Mount Fuji outside the official season. Not only if the weather temperamental and the mountainsides snowy, but all medical facilities along the trails are also closed.
And for the love of all that’s good, if you forget your phone up on the mountain, leave it there — it’s cheaper to buy a new one than pay for the unnecessary helicopter ride home.