Why Did a Student Risk Life Twice on Mount Fuji Just to Retrieve a Lost Phone?

Ever lost your phone somewhere so well-hidden you considered scaling a mountain twice just to find it? Well, that’s exactly what happened to a 27-year-old Chinese student visiting Japan, who found himself in quite the sticky situation on Mount Fuji—twice within four days! Imagine surviving a harrowing helicopter rescue only to bravely (or foolishly?) decide to hike back up because, well, your phone’s still missing. Talk about dedication to the digital life or maybe just a serious case of “Can’t live without my device” syndrome. To make matters wilder, both attempts happened outside the usual climbing season, when the mountain’s services are basically ghost town—no signs, no huts, just the raw, icy wild. The question is—how much trouble is too much trouble for a lost phone on Japan’s most iconic peak? Let’s dive into this bizarre rescue saga that’s as much a cautionary tale as it is an unexpected comedy of errors. LEARN MORE.

A Chinese student visiting Japan had to be rescued from Mount Fuji twice in four days, having made a second attempt to climb the mountain because he’d lost his phone the first time.

Local media says that on 26 April, an emergency call was put in to summon rescuers to Mount Fuji when other climbers saw a 27-year-old man collapse after suffering from altitude sickness while he was attempting to descend the mountain.

The man was conscious and able to talk to rescuers, and it turned out it wasn’t the first time that week he’d been in this situation and in need of rescue.

It transpires that the man, a student, had needed to be rescued via helicopter from the same mountain just four days earlier on 22 April before having the rather daft idea to climb it again.

At that time, the student had said he’d lost his crampons – spiky metal frames you can fit to your boots to gain a better grip in slippery conditions – and thus couldn’t climb down the snowy parts of the mountain.

“Now where do I last remember having my phone? Oh s**t…” (David Mareuil/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Four days later he tried climbing back up the mountain to look for his phone after realising he’d lost it, but it is unclear whether he managed to actually find it before he needed rescuing again.

The 27-year-old did successfully make it to the summit the first time he climbed the mountain, while the second time he reached an altitude of about 3,000ft before collapsing and needing help once more.

Both of his attempts to scale Mount Fuji were made outside of the typical climbing season which goes from July to September.

When it’s the off season climbing trails are closed and many of the signs on the mountain are removed, with first aid stations, huts and toilets also shut during this period.

People running into trouble and needing rescue is a common enough factor when it comes to mountain climbing, though those brought to safety don’t normally go back up the mountain for another crack at it (or to find their lost phone) a few days later.

The climbing trails are meant to be closed during the off season (STR/JIJI Press/AFP via Getty Images)

Even professional climbers can run into trouble as they get stranded in inhospitable conditions and have to hope that someone comes along and spots them.

CNN reports that Mount Fuji has had growing problems with ill-equipped climbers who attempted to scale the mountain without requisite gear.

Some people have tried climbing it while wearing sandals or flip flops, while others have not even brought water with them on the climb.

There’s also the dangerous trend of ‘bullet climbing’ where people attempt to scale the mountain and get back down in a single day.