Climbing Down Mount Fuji

I learned a lot about teamwork climbing down Mount Fuji - lessons that still shape how I think about leadership training and team building today.

When I was studying in Japan as a university student, a few of my classmates and I decided to take a trip to climb Mount Fuji. It’s not considered a difficult climb by any means, more of a long uphill hike than anything. I clearly remember being passed by some elderly hikers in their 70’s, so that gives you an idea of the challenge (plus my fitness level at the time).

We started our trek partway up the mountain, hiking from around 5 in the evening until around 9pm. We stayed in one of the lodges on the mountainside and got a few hours’ rest before waking up at midnight to finish the ascent.

We reached the peak at sunrise, took some photos, and started climbing down with our group. Within 30 minutes, a lady in her 60’s slipped in front of me and rolled her ankle. I helped her up, but she couldn’t put any weight on her foot. Being that high on the summit meant no rescue vehicles could come, so we’d need to find a way to help her down.

At that moment, four young members of Japan’s Self Defence Forces caught up with us, and we made a plan. I dusted off some of my first-aid skills from my years of lifeguard training, splinted her ankle with my beloved Cleveland Browns sweatshirt and some nearby wood, and we made a gurney out of our hiking sticks and jackets. I sent my friends ahead, and exchanged jokes and stories with the military crew as we took turns carrying the lady down the mountain.

The climb down was much harder than the climb up: loose soil, a steep descent, and the fact that we were carrying another human. But we made it, and I watched the auntie get carted off in the ambulance, a twinge of sadness hitting as I realized my jumper was still tied to her leg.

I was proud to quickly organize a team and help someone in need. More than anything, I realized that effective team development training doesn’t just happen in classrooms or offices - it comes alive in unexpected places, whether on the slopes of Fuji or inside an escape room training environment where teams must collaborate under pressure.

Even better? A week before I left Japan, I received a package at my homestay. Somehow the auntie had tracked me down and sent back my Browns sweatshirt along with a beautifully written thank-you note. A reminder that when people come together to solve problems, whether on a mountain or in an escape room Singapore setting, the bonds we create and the gratitude we inspire last far longer than the challenge itself.