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Sailors to Scale Mt. Fuji Four Times in 24 Hours
Brock A. Taylor
YOKOSUKA, Japan (NNS) -- An officer assigned to Commander, Submarine Group (COMSUBGRU) 7 is preparing for a special charity event -scaling Mt. Fuji four times in 24 hours on Sept. 1.
Lt. Doug Szwarc, a native of Pittsburg, will lead three other enthusiasts in an attempt to ascend and descend Japan's most notorious landmark multiple times.
The other three climbers are Lt. Robert Lovern, also of SUBGRU 7, Chief Mass Communication Specialist (SW/AW) Michael Raney of Fleet Public Affairs Center Det., Japan and Luke Nelson, a civilian who works for Morale, Welfare and Recreation sports.
Szwarc says the event is dubbed "Fuji for Charity," and its goal is to raise $10,000 for two organizations: Shunkou Gakuen, a local orphanage and the Guardian Ad Litem project based out of South Carolina.
"We're not doing this to build up our egos. If anything it's going to deflate them," Szwarc said.
Last year, Szwarc scaled the mountain three times in 24 hours with his friend Lt. Jeff De Groot. The personal quest soon turned into a fundraising event.
"It was kind of an afterthought. Jeff and I thought, 'Hey it would be cool to climb Fuji three times' and we thought while making these plans we might as well do it for charity. It makes a lot of sense," Szwarc said.
Szwarc and De Groot accomplished the three climbs with 22 minutes to spare. Szwarc says that even though it may sound like they were pushing the envelope he admitted they took their time. After carefully planning out this year's climb, Szwarc is confident of the group's success.
This year, with a little more planning and organization Szwarc increased the donation goal to $10,000.
"[Last year] we got up to like $500 then we were thinking hey we can get up to $1,000Â…blew right past $1,000 dollars and it kind of grew exponentially without us really doing anything. That's why we thought this year $10,000 was obtainable."
Szwarc didn't want to give up trying again this year even though De Groot transferred. He decided to recruit a new teammate, which soon turned into an extra three.
Lovern, an avid climber, Raney, a seasoned marathoner and Nelson, an accomplished triathlete, look forward to the endurance challenge, but acknowledge the main focus is helping others.
"I've been in Japan for a couple of tours now. I've climbed Mt. Fuji a few times and I've raced up it a couple of times. I was looking for a new, miserable experience and this fits the bill," Raney said. "I'm sure we're going to be challenged both physically and mentally. It's definitely going to be a test of our endurance. But, this event isn't about us or Mt. Fuji - it's about the kids."
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