"The Whole Class Climbs Fuji"

The old teammates were now at the age of weddings, and every time they gathered for one, Fuji came up again. The idea stopped being a joke. It became a plan with a slogan: the whole class climbs Fuji together. Sugita could walk, but Japan's highest mountain is 3,776 meters of loose volcanic rock. His teammates meant it anyway, and word spread to others who had known him. The number who signed up grew to about 80.