Looking back 7 years in Kofu

I am looking back my 7 years in Kofu.

■　Arrived beaten

I came to Kofu for my husband's second job transfer, and I was deadly beaten when I was arrived here; I had a miscarriage and no hope of having a baby, had lost my job, totally dependent to my husband's income which was very uncomfortable to me.

I tried hard but could not find a job that made me even more unhappy. Reluctantly I started work as a yoga instructor, which gave me only 1 tenth of what I had earned before as an English speaking software engineer.

Nothing else to do, I started to hike the mountains since I thought if there was nothing else to do I might as well do something I can do only here.

So on the sunny days, I went to the mountains, on the rainy days I read the books on the mountains.

■　Healing

The hiking was at first healing... I felt as if I am meditating while I hike.

I climbed Mt.Kitadake in solo, and Mt.Daibosatsu solo in winter, those were my first mountains.

■　People

The difficult was to find out where to hike, and other difficulty was people.

Older people prefers to go to hike with a group of people and they pays to a guide.

But I did not have money to pay a guide and first of all, I did not find any reasons to go with a guide...since I was comfortable going to the mountains by myself.

■　Mt.Houou 3 peaks

Moto and I had started to go by our own and the Mt.Houou had became the last mountain my husband Moto and I went together.

Mt.Houkou does not require any training but just long. Long snow ridges... 7 hours to get to the hut.

Do I like to go further ahead on mountaineering?  My answer was yes, and his answer was no.

So from this mountain on, we stopped going together and my mountain climbing had became mountaineering rather than hiking. I had training.

I asked moutain professionals for their teaching the mountaineering skills.  I paid for the training course, which I had to make money by working in the mountain hut for a summer.

■　Pain

I had to purchase a lot of things; a good pair of winter boots, harness, helmet, tent, draws, climbing shoes, a pair of ice axes, ice screws... I had some money in the bank but all gone!

What was difficult was Kofu is not the place for shopping. The equipment is expensive and I had to sometimes travel to Tokyo using expensive travel cost.

But the saving money is one thing I had to give up.

■　Mentors

I met my first mentor at Mt.Mitsutoge while he was teaching his new apprentice.

He had tried me by asking me to create magic X. I did. I passed his exam and became his apprentice.

The last climbing with my first mentor was ice climbing lead climbing practice in Kadokaba ice fall, and he seemed a bit sad.

■　Hiking era

I had joined two local alpine clubs then, but club was sort of old fashioned and rather bothering than helping.

Even though I joined the club, I did not try to rely on it, so I kept going to the training and education outside the club which brought me people who are more active and has similar mind.

So I started to go to the mountain with those people I found there, and the club became meaningless.

I had spend a lot of time in the gym and mastered belay, went there two times a week at least for 6 months, and had experienced minor mistakes that every beginner should experience such as reverse click.

I was sad since I could not goto the mountains and instead stay at gym but I did not have enough arm power so I needed that time.

I had hard time finding people to go to mountains with. They are too old or too young, sometimes too ambitious so I might get killed.

■　Iwata san and sawa nobori era

I met many people and some became to go out with, and that is largely because I know the worth of going out with that person.

So many people meet the same person I met but they pay no attentions to.

I went to Sawanobori, shower climbing Japanese style,  when I was not climbing then, and I appreciated the leader who took me to the sawa.

■　finding a new strength

From these time on, the climbing has become a project, something similar to work that I have to pour my energy on, to achieve something.  So my achievement should be majored on how much I achieved at the mountains and climbing.

The wild things, like sleeping in the sleeping back while rain like dog, or by the fire to keep yourself warm... were totally new things to me that I never imagined myself wanting to do, but I found myself I was adaptable than I thought, and had no problem at all spending time in the woods.

I found the strength I never thought I had. I can even sleep in the snow in my tent alone.

■ Training era

My partner back then said it is about the time to focus on my climbing skills, so I decided on concentrating on free climbing.

I felt this was a big expense toward my climbing in the mountains... because I never thought I enjoy indoor gym as much as I enjoy strolling around the woods.

It was too bad the last summer we had so much rain and I could not climb the rock outside, like Ogawayama, and instead I had to go to climbing gym, but I became a better climber, that's for sure.

My finger hurts when I climb too much in the gym. I learned to listen to my body rather than other climber who gives me instructions; After all we never have the same body, same power so we all must walk our own road.

Then, November came, the season ended. I had an opportunity to go to Green climbers home in Laos and that made me believe that I love the climbers and those kind of people who travel around the world.

That was an eye opening event to me. I was so lucky to have Tony as my belay partner who knew Japanese culture and western culture both.

In a way, my struggle with the local Alpine Club or the people who wanted me to pay for a guide, had been a struggle with traditional Japanese style communication and me, Western oriented Japanese. I was early educated in the states, so the influence was strong.

Japanese climber I was with then are often put me down since I could not climb as high grade as they could, so I was intimidated but in Laos I was so happy nobody to put me down and everyone cheered me and liked me.

You don't need to be 5.15 climber to have a fun in climbing...

Since I started to enjoy climbing itself, my climbing grade has gotten better. It was a cultural and denial from the fellow that put me under the pressure and when those obstacle has removed I could grow fast.

I had spend my climbing days doing my training, even rest days I did some training.

I could not go to the mountains so it was the days pretty much like monk, I was strict to myself, I even checked my weight which I rarely cared for last 10 years or so, since I never were overweight.

■　flow

The rock climbing season has ended and ice has started. This year I was totally lucky that I had a partner I can climb twice a week with.

Twice a week in 12 week means 24 times and I had other climbing mates so I climbed about 35 times this season, that is a lot as a ice climber but considering gym climbing that is norm.

I climbed ice about 10 times a year before so my ice climb bank account has became as big as 3 years. So considering how often I climbed ice this year, my ice experience is as much as 6-year climber.

I felt ice was much more fun than rock since there is no reach problem. I am a short person so it is difficult to get ahead in the rock.

Now in the ice climbing I can climb pretty much of anywhere.

■　Dry tooling

As my ice climbing get better, I started to seek more challenge and now it seems to be dry tooling.

Dry has a fewer climbing population and much more difficult than ice.

■　where I live seems not to matter

I have this time relocation to Fukuoka due to Moto's 3rd times job transfer and it seems so sad that being removed from Kofu, since I 'm put away from the mountains which I was into so much but,  considering dry tooling practice is difficult anywhere, there might be not much difference where you live.

People have their own private wall so I just need mine.

■　my Journey

So this was the journey I had.  I was a just a hiker, and moved onto snow, using pickel and crampons, from just walking to climbing.

I had been working on the climbing and now I feel a bit settled. I am a climber now.

And realize I have forgotten the fact I came here at first beaten and down.

■　priority

There were some setbacks too.

I have definitely put my career lesser priority, since I could not work as an software engineer and a technical writer.

Now I have a certain success as yoga instructor but I don't have a base.

My marriage too since Moto does not climb with me.

So career and marriage had been put aside now it may be the time to take care.

■　Knowing myself

I had learned about myself a lot.

I perform better with younger than older since I was a first child
I am more of western value than Japanese values
I look forward
I train myself well
I get interested in the ideas and facts than things
I am an active learner which is hard to find
I am self-teaching
I have a high people skill
I love to be alone and be with close friends rather than being in a group
I don't care about what I own
I am not good at gears and sharpening
I am good at finding niches and who get along well with whom
I love water, snow, ice, cold over heat
I love coffee, wine, and Sake. I am good at tasting
I am a good host
I am a good guide
I am good at making contacts
I have strong information gathering skills
new and old I have insight

I was successful as a yoga instructor and thinking about what was good, I work alone in the yoga teaching.

■ passion

These past 7 years, my passion was on the mountain and climbing and I felt the time was the best time in my life definitely.

I learned,

it is important to adapt to the new environment.

Do what can you do at the time.

live simply so you have a resource to be creative.

meet people, love and laugh, eat together and create the time worth remembering.  Live your life and let live.

when in rain, rain is good, when sun is up, go and climb.

Whatever you are doing there is a way.