This is absolutely mortifying to watch.
I couldn’t imagine being in this guy’s shoes…
I mean, first of all… I can’t even imagine free climbing up the side of a mountain, one wrong move away from death, but to throw a bear into the mix? Forget it…
Imagine being an avid rock climber, just going out and doing one of the things you love on a beautiful day in the mountains, until it almost becomes the day you meet your maker.
I guarantee you that’s the exact thought that raced through this rock climber’s mind during this terrifying situation.
This rock climber was recently filming his climb up Mt. Futago in Chichibu City, Japan, and as he was making his descent down the side of the mountain, he looked up and saw a bear staring him dead in the eyes.
You can hear the terror in his voice as he screams out, and the bear lunges towards him, in full-on attack mode.
It looks like the bear made an attempt to take a bite out of the guy, but the rock climber was able to swat him away right before he got bit, sending the bear to the rock ledge below him.
However, the bear wasn’t done, as it lunged right back up the mountain for the guy’s feet, but once again, he was able to kick the bear multiple times before it finally gave up and ran off in the other direction.
By the end of the fight, it appears that the bear was equally as terrified, as you can hear it wailing as it runs off into the distance.
In the footage, you can see a bear cub come running by, looking for mom, meaning that the bear was probably nothing more than a mama bear protecting her cub. But nevertheless, you don’t want to encounter a mama bear anywhere… let alone on the side of a mountain.
I’d say that odds are not in your favor at that point.
Needless to say, I can imagine this guy was counting his prayers as he continued to climb down… and then probably had to change his drawers once he reached the bottom
He explains his reaction in the caption of the video:
“Instead of fear, I switched to the feeling that if it was coming, I had no choice but to face it… keep screaming and intimidating, pound with hammer fist, front kick.
Looking back at the video, it seems that the bear attacked me to protect the cub. I invaded bear territory, but since they attacked me, I defended myself with self-defense.
I learned karate when I was a child, but I liked mixed martial arts now, so maybe I could use hammer fist instead of punches.”
My God…
Check it out:
