Mount Fuji Fun... A Climb To The Top

Part 1: The Ascent

Like many people I am a lover of adventure and always on the lookout for the next challenge/experience to partake in. Unfortunately my schedule doesn’t always permit the time for me to be as adventurous as I’d like, so by the time summer came along I was craving a big adventure and that adventure turned out to be climbing Japan’s #1 Mountain! Now I must admit I probably didn’t do as much preparation and precision planning as I should have (I’m guilty of being impulsive as well as adventurous) and though it was a once in a lifetime experience, as you’ll read further on you’ll see that some better preparation wouldn’t have gone amiss!

Before I recount my personal adventure up Mount Fuji, I thought I’d give some basic background info on the mountain and the various climbing options.  The Mountain is 3,776 metres tall and is famously the tallest in Japan! Climbing season is from July-September each year and there are 4 trails to choose from. The trails differ in distance, terrain, busyness and are all accessible from different areas of Japan. Each trail has several stations (rest points), mountain huts, food services/ vending machines, and costly toilets (300 yen to use at the top!), but most importantly all mark how much longer is left to climb! Typically it is easiest to climb over 2 days, e.g. climb to the 8^th station on day 1, stay overnight at a hut and climb early the next morning just in time for the sunrise at the top. So that’s what normal people do, but for those who are experienced climbers, or like me slightly crazy, you can “bullet climb” all the way to the top through the night, still reaching the summit in time for the sunrise but without sleep.

Pre-climb selfie

So that’s your basic info, now back to my own experience…

I climbed Fuji-San with just one other friend. Neither of us had climbed a mountain before which meant this was a pretty big challenge for us both. We decided to climb the Fujinomiya trail (a notoriously rocky trail, but the easiest for us to travel to) and as aforementioned we boldly decided to bullet climb to the top. Pre-climb research warned us of altitude sickness, low energy and drastic weather changes, so our backpacks were stuffed with water, sports drinks, snacks, clothes etc. and of course climbing in pitch black meant a torch was necessary too. We arrived at the starting point around 7.pm and as recommended we first gave ourselves time to adjust to the altitude, took a few pre-climb selfies and then set off on our highly anticipated adventure.

Poor quality pic of twinkly Shizuoka 

Minus our impaired vision and anxieties about falling off the mountain (lol so dramatic) climbing the first few stations was great. We got to admire the twinkling view of Shizuoka from afar, had some pretty funny conversations and were excited about what would be in store at the summit. On the trail we also saw several other “bullet climbers” just enough to feel safe but not so many that we got stuck in a human traffic jam. Perfect! It was only around the 8^th station when things began to get tough. The temperature had now rapidly dropped (I’m talking freezing cold even by English standards) and rain had begun. This paired with the fact that the Fujinomiya trail is basically a heap of steep volcanic rock (which is cool to look at but not climb) meant we were performing gymnastics just to stay balanced.

Sadly the weather only got worse and by the 9^th station I was soaked. At this point my friend was in terrible shape, she was absolutely drenched, exhausted and in pain, leading to her decision not to continue upwards. She decided to rest at the station hut, but prompted me to continue with the climb…I was going it solo. The last hour’s climb was hard but better than stations 8-9. The trail was now so steep it may as well have been completely vertical and the downpour meant the terrain was extra slippery. None of that mattered though as just knowing I was so close was enough to push me on!

My "I made it to the top" selfie

The summit shrine

Upon reaching the top I was ecstatic, my head was in the clouds (haha literally) and I was filled with a sense of accomplishment. In my elated state I nearly didn’t notice how bad the weather had actually got. Unrelenting rain, wind determined to blow you over and an Antarctic like temperature. Add the thick white pane of fog that had crept its way in and it was bye bye pretty views of the sunrise and hello packed mountain hut! It didn’t matter too much though, I had defeated the terrible weather and made it to the top of the tallest mountain in Japan.
Mount Fuji-0, Annie-1.