Stephen Fellows- Mountains

In Religion and ecology Eisenberg is always talking about the mountain as a bastion for nature and the tower as man’s attempt to triumph of the mountain and nature. Today we had a speaker come into class and discuss his journey up Mt. Fuji. However, his story sounded a lot like it mixed Eisenberg’s tower and mountain. Mt. Fuji has become a tourist’s mountain. People are climbing it to experience a religious or spiritual feeling but many climb it just to climb it. They have industries that make money off of these peoples’ attempt at a spiritual experience. He even said that during the peak climbing season the line to the top moves like a roller coaster line. The mountain is supposed to be wild. Eisenberg says that Mt. Sinai the mountain that Moses climbed is supposed to remain wild. Nobody is supposed to climb it. While I can understand that people want to have a religious experience climbing a mountain and being close to nature is it worth doing if it has been commercialized. How is it that people while climbing Mt. Fuji can throw trash on the side of the path and not realize that they are destroying the idea that the mountain is wild? Or that by making money they can preserve the pilgrim experience. Throughout history people have gone on pilgrims and many times they are supported by the kindness of others during it. Or they are rich and give generously. But why is it that in modern times even pilgrimages are turning into a commercial opportunity to make money.