“Mezurashii, na” he says when he notices me, although he’s probably referring more to my antiquated glacier goggles than my gaijin-esque appearance. I know who he is, of course – a retired maths teacher, better known to locals as “the legendary Ohnishi-san”, now over ninety years of age and still climbing Monju almost every day.
And if this should sound somehow monotonous, take a look at his photo album and be amazed by the biodiversity of this miniature Meizan.
We fall into a typical mountaineer's conversation. Ohnishi-san’s done quite a few of the legendary Hyakumeizan. About two thirds, I think he says, as he gives me some beta on Shikoku's Ishizuchi-san, my next objective.
But their summed altitude can’t compete with the metres he’s put away on Monju. This week, he tells me, he’ll hold a celebration to mark his six thousandth ascent.
And before I can calculate that he’s climbed the equivalent of two hundred Everests or more, just on Monju, he gives me a nod, leans into his poles and starts on down. If you want to be as fit, or as venerable, a mountaineer as Ohnishi-san, there’s no time to waste in idle chatter.
And before I can calculate that he’s climbed the equivalent of two hundred Everests or more, just on Monju, he gives me a nod, leans into his poles and starts on down. If you want to be as fit, or as venerable, a mountaineer as Ohnishi-san, there’s no time to waste in idle chatter.
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