My education
I was taught the early stage climbing education in Sangaku Sougou Center, in Nagano. It is the mountaineering educational school, run publicly by Nagano prefecture.
Why? Because, alpine clubs in local area can not function anymore for they are getting older, no one to teach young brad.
I started the mountains at age 38 as a substitute for my classical ballet as my regular exercise, and I was only interested in snow. Summer time, the mountains are very crowded and uncomfortable, so I did not have experience in alpine rock.
But I had experience in snow mountain I spend 3 years prior to the school.
In the mountaineering school, I was taught from rappel in the snowy mountains. Belay was using snow bar and bolart, so huge runout is just considered normal, it is impossible to set running every 3 m...
I did not have sport climbing experience at all so it took me a year to understand belay in free climbing... it is not the same in the mountains, where you are mostly walking than climbing.
I was one of 5 women in 35 participants and 2 women had left in the first day. So there were only 3 women in the 1 year course. The teacher of my team of 4 was one of the cheif of rescue team in Yatsugatake mountains. I was the strongest walker in my team, the other member was all male but they weren't getting used at walking in the snow.
Soon I had my first climbing mentor Suzuki. He was the wisest mentor I ever had. At his, I climbed very introduction of alpine rock, like Mitsutouge, or Jyogo sawa to Iou mountain... or Sawa nobori.
so I am no expert in Free climbing nor Sport climbing. Those climbing style was not aimed, it was only used to reinforce my basic skills in the mountains.
Now I am an ice climber since my second mentor was so, but this is too, for me, it was a choice of safety. As I learned snow, I soon realized that I am too old and too weak to keep going up for the snow mountains. so I switched to climbing. Because it was safer and still I can spend my day in a mountain. So I was not a person who take half an hour only to get a head lamp out of my backpack, from the beginning.
Japan's crag
so I spent my early time in Yamanashi, and climbed ice falls mostly. The summer time was dull time, I spend my most time in practicing yoga and climbing gym was not a place for me at all...
I loved mountains for its beauty... the gym? I went there only because it is necessary... I was good ice climber according to my mentor, better than men who are good at in the gym. In ice climb, you dance on the ice so there aren't much to share in the climbing gym.
It was only in 2016 that I met Yoshida, a famous free climber, the first full-time climber in Japan. I needed to learn how to climb trad. so I went for him. I could climb 5.10 in that year so my mentor took me to Insubone Korea.
Kyusyu ... a time capsule
Until I came to Kyusyu, I was not at all aware of crag situation in local areas of Japan.
Kyusyu, the crags are bolted by bolts called "cut anchor".... it looks as regular bolts but it is not.
This is the cut anchor. Who can tell? I noticed this by trying to provide bolts to developer. He did NOT know FIXE.
It has 5-15kN strength when freshly installed, it is about the same as red camelot, and the bolts are 40 years old now. Very dangerous.
In my free climbing education, I was taught I should NEVER fall until I clip 3 draws.
In fact, if I can not clip 3 times, with confidence, I should never even try. I was taught this but even in Yamanashi, young climbers are falling without worrying about bolts might be broken. Kyusyu? even more so. They are competing. which is not my cup of tea.
In Kyusyu, I was called as Chicken for the same reason I was loved in Yamanashi
But I witnessed so many scary habits in Kyusyu... like using grip belay with ATC, belaying only one hand, belay device was not attached to the body, sitting while belaying, wrong grading, huge runout...
Old rustic bolts was only one things... there seemed tons of problems. Basically lack of climbing education, i.e., "Modern"belay and self-rescue rope work, seemed missing.
and people were competing how bold they were by jumping off from those 40 year old rustic bolts and if you don't, they bully you calling you as chicken. OK, let them.
So this was what I am experiencing in Kyusyu, it is too childish and I consider my life worth much more than those foolishness.
so called "experienced" climber in the "famous" alpine club gave me this photo, and me in the left... WHAT??? why two climbers climbing? We went there 3 so only one is belaying for two climbers... So this photo froze me and I never seen them again. It was the first time I climbed with them as a newbie, and I had to lead.
Lesson; never trust old climber till he shows his truth!