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Hyakumeizan Challenge
Welcome to the website for the Hyakumeizan Challenge,
'Japan's 100-Mountain Trek', a trek undertaken by 3 young men
named Tom Fearnehough, Paul Briffa, and Ben Davies in 2001.
They set out from England for Japan in early February, and
returned on 19 December 42 weeks later that same year after
having climbed 98 of an intended 100 mountains and having
walked 6986km (4341 miles) from the south to the north of
Japan to "clear a path to a safer world" by raising money
and awareness for Adopt-A-Minefield(UK)™, and for the
Association for Aid and Relief (AAR - Japan).
Message from the team
Being able to share our trip with so many people around the world
has been a great experience for us, and we hope that you have enjoyed
following and sharing it with us, or if you have only just discovered
it for the first time, then that you enjoy it now.
Minefield Adoption in Afghanistan
The money raised by all the sponsors of the expedition in the UK
was passed on to Adopt-A-Minefield who through the United Nations
demining programme have used it in two areas. Part of the money was used for the adoption of the Afghan Technical Consultants Team 7 in Afghanistan. This is a mobile team of deminers and helped fund
their clearance efforts in Ward-10, Kabul, and Lagmani village in Charikar district for two months. You can read more about their efforts here. Money was also used to clear a minefield in the village of Ou Chrey, Cambodia, allowing about 150 families to live more safely.
Thanks to all who have helped this become possible, and to all
those who supported us with the trek.
Plans for the site
Though the trek is now finished, we hope to be able to maintain
this website as the expedition
section and diaries
may prove to be helpful to anyone searching for information on the
Hyakumeizan mountains, mountaineering, hiking, or travelling in Japan. We hope too that
it will also continue to encourage you to donate
money to our nominated charities so that they can continue to fund the clearance of
minefields
and help the recovery of landmine survivors. Their contributions
help to save lives, allow children to play freely outside, and enable people
to rebuild their homes and to safely cultivate their land.
Past Tense
We rely on your indulgence of the inevitable fact that as you
explore the site you will encounter much written in the present
or future tenses that is now in the past. We hope that this brings
the expedition to life, and makes it still as vivid while you read
about it as it was for us when we experienced it then.