owl_of_minerva - Oct 8, 2024 2:27 pm Date Climbed: Jan 20, 2024
Successful January summit approximately on the Fujiyoshida trail.
Body? i could barely walk for 48 hours after. it was 8+ hours of frontpointing, which I should have prepared better for with lots of running on stairs.
But otherwise my experience was adequate to summit with my Ozzie guide, who did not see the need for us to rope up. It was a bit concerning at times though with how exhausted my calves and quads were and how hard and icy the surface is. There is almost no snow above the halfway point.
We started at about 2 a.m. while it was -20 F. I started with base layers, insulated jacket, heavy rain pants, overjacket and down over pants. By 5 am I packed away the overjacket and overpants, but they were very useful at the start. I slept in my Valandre Odin NEO (rated to -27F) and in the guide's Samaya tent which worked well. High winds persisted all evening and night, and morning, I recommend ear plugs. We tented on the platform next to the 6th station, so a little cheating.
We started near 大文司屋, the parking lot at 35°24'49.2"N 138°45'30.1"E. This was an 8,101 ft ascent total, done in about 36 hours total from leaving the car to return. 4-5 hour hike the first day from parking lot to the 6th station, and the second day was about 12 hours of climbing station 6 -> summit -> car with more time in there for setting up and taking down camp, rest, food, etc.
The views were gorgeous at sunrise and coming down, but we summited at about 10:30am, and whiteout conditions already moved in, which surprised my guide, who has summited Fuji dozens of times in the winter. White out conditions chased us down the mountain for a couple hours, then we found clear, and the views were incredible at that point. Fuji does feel like an island of white in a sea of green in January.
wmolland - Jul 27, 2024 7:26 am Date Climbed: Jul 9, 2024
Via Yoshida Trail
Screamingly windy on top and really most of the way up. But totally worth it!
Domtron - Jul 3, 2024 3:41 am Date Climbed: Jul 2, 2024
Mount Fuji
Took nearly 9 hours to climb including about 5 hours to summit. The trail was all carved out of the volcanic rockfall. Some parts were a rock climb over rock formations. The trail was very well supported with mountain huts every few hundred meters that provided provisions and sleeping quarters. I've never seen anything like it. All of us experienced some form of mountain sickness toward the top.
KLAYMAN - Mar 16, 2024 5:14 am Date Climbed: Mar 7, 2024
Winter climbing
in a group of 7 people
Candace66 - Jan 13, 2019 1:51 pm Date Climbed: Aug 17, 2008
Route Climbed: Yoshida Trail Date Climbed: september 2018
Climbed the Yoshida Trail in 1 day from Fuji-Subaru Line 5th station. Hiked along the complete crater rim to Kengamine Peak. Official climbing season was already over, but that was rather a blessing :-) Good weather, a bit windy on the summit.
Climb up Mount Fuji to prepare for a trip in the Bernese Oberland
wyatt_meyers - Oct 24, 2017 1:54 pm Date Climbed: Jul 3, 2017
Beautiful sunrise hike!
Experience of a lifetime to say the least. Started hike around 10 and was at the last station (8th?) by 1245. Didn't sleep just bought the cheapest menu item until they kicked me to the cold. Sunrise was incredible, most people were late. Try being up 30-45 before actual sunrise as the elevation and ocean makes the sunrise start way earlier than actual sunrise time. I had to run to the top from the last station so I wouldn't miss a second of it.
Night hike of Gotemba. Perfect conditions. Left a bit too early, had to wait at summit for sunrise. Sand route on way down is either not marked or has do not enter sign at it's highest point. Recommend asking but staff about where tontine it to avoid going down all the switchbacks.
bruno baschung - Aug 6, 2016 9:08 am Date Climbed: Jul 26, 2016
fujiyosida route
Nice ascent do Fuji (after an unsucessful previous attempt late august 2015 due to heavy rain and winds). this time weather was +/- acceptable. Going very slowly in 4h up to 9th station (3418m) then next morning to the top reached at 4.40 in just 2h20. The hike is nice and technically very easy. 645.4 hpa on the top.
beautiful view on crater from Kengamine (highest point), still some snow Inside the crater.
Bruno baschung
bobbyfm - Jul 26, 2016 8:02 am Date Climbed: Jul 13, 2016
Yoshida trail
An easy hike. Me and my friends reached the summit on the 12th but the weather was bad - rainy and foggy and we decided to sleep in one of the huts and go to the highest point on next morning.
BLong - Aug 2, 2015 11:36 pm Date Climbed: Jul 13, 2015
Night climb
I had a blast climbing Fuji through the night: calm and peaceful, without the hordes of the day, Milky Way ablaze. I was hoping to climb slowly and nap outside in order to summit at sunrise, but it was too cold out to bivy so I broke down and spent the $55 to sleep at the 8th station for a few hours.
Hiker4life - Feb 28, 2015 9:12 pm Date Climbed: Aug 25, 2009
Fuji freeway
I started hike from the 5th station at 5 PM and arrived at the 8.5 station at 8 PM. After about 2 hours of sleep I joined the hordes on the remaining hike to the summit at 3:30 AM. It was only about an hour to the summit where hundreds of people (mostly Japanese) gathered for the sunrise. Clouds obscured most of the views unfortunately. I made the short walk over to the true summit and was back down at the trailhead by 9 AM.
andre hangaard - Feb 10, 2015 3:39 pm Date Climbed: Jun 25, 2014
Preseason climb
Me and my girlfriend Åsa wanted to experience a quiet Mount Fuji far away from the crowds we had heard of. Therefore we climbed it before the season started. For a proper acclimatization we camped two nights on the mountain. We started out from the town of Fujisan and took a taxi to the Yoshida trailhead. After a night in the lush Yoshida forrest, close to the 5th. station, we continued up until above the 9th station at around 3.500m where we pitched our tent on a little outcrop beside the trail. From there it was a short hike up to the summit and we enjoyed a beautiful sunrise all alone on the mountain. Although there was lots of snow and some part of the trail was icy. The true summit, Kengamine, was hidden in thick fog but we finally found it when walking around the crater ridge. It was marvellous when suddenly the fog lifted and we were blessed with sun and blue skies.
One note for off-season climbers though: Be sure to bring enough water as all huts are closed.
HawkeyeHuff - Jan 26, 2015 4:32 am Date Climbed: Aug 26, 2001
Mt Fuji
Met my friend Jim Lundgren and his daughter Ashley from Moscow, Idaho to hike up Fuji. We arrived at the mountain about 7pm on Saturday, August 25th after four hours in trains/bus from Tokyo. After climbing for awhile at a healthy pace we realized we needed to slow way down, taking long stops at the various stations, to arrive at the top for sunrise (We didn't want to be exposed at the top for several hours waiting). Met people from USA, Europe, Australia and Asia. I was surprised at the number of people who smoked during rest stops! Trail was somewhat steeper than I expected. We got to the top just after sunrise at 6am. Visibility was pretty poor - it is more days than not I'm told. Descending trail was in great shape and we got down pretty fast.
Took the Yoshida trail, starting at daylight. Really enjoyed the trek up, stopping at the huts (which were starting to close up, or make preps for it), trying to converse with locals, getting the "touristic" walking stick stamped, everything. The views at the summit were muted because of the clouds sitting at about 9k ft. However, the weather was fantastic, completely sunny above the cloud ceiling, a bit of a brisk wind, but overall very lucky. Not too bad with crowds going up, but passed quite a bit heading down that afternoon. The 5th station was a mad house at the base when I returned, however. Get in your bus line early, as they fill up quick, and are in short order this time of year.
Wanted to hike Fujinomiya originally but the weather and timing didn't match up, so I elected to try for the Yoshidaguchi trail.
Started walking from the Fujisan train station and arrived at the Sengen Shine around 4pm for the official start of the hike. The lower stations were great but hiking at night there was not too much to see. The train of people and the desolate landscape after the 6th was a bit depressing. Altitude sickness kicked in pretty bad near the top and I slowed to a crawl. Summit at 5:30am, just after sunrise. Terribly boring descent and bused out slightly disappointed but proud.
ZeroFC - Jan 18, 2014 11:56 pm Date Climbed: Jan 18, 2014
Winter Climb
Winter season solo ascent. Second weekend in a row to make the climb - Weekend prior had to turn at station 8 because of wind conditions over 110km/h that would not let up. Yesterday was successful.
Yesterdays conditions in terms of wind was much better but temperatures were below -15c before taking wind chill into consideration which showed temps of 35c. Lots of hard snow/ice above station 8. Knowing how to self arrest is crucial. It was more challenging than I expected.
Done in a 24hr period.
JeremiahJohnson - Oct 27, 2013 10:39 pm Date Climbed: Jul 23, 2013
Fuji-San
Climbed Fuji-Chan via the Gotemba Route with one experienced Mountaineer and 2 inexperienced hikers (all Japanese). Left at 7PM to hike under a full moon in hopes to reach the summit by sunrise. Unfortunately, I was the only person in our party that was able to summit to watch the sunrise. We were on the trail for 18 hours total due to the inexperienced hikers needing lots of rest stops. Super fun, although somewhat of a long slog...
owl_of_minerva - Oct 8, 2024 2:27 pm Date Climbed: Jan 20, 2024
Successful January summit approximately on the Fujiyoshida trail.Body? i could barely walk for 48 hours after. it was 8+ hours of frontpointing, which I should have prepared better for with lots of running on stairs.
But otherwise my experience was adequate to summit with my Ozzie guide, who did not see the need for us to rope up. It was a bit concerning at times though with how exhausted my calves and quads were and how hard and icy the surface is. There is almost no snow above the halfway point.
We started at about 2 a.m. while it was -20 F. I started with base layers, insulated jacket, heavy rain pants, overjacket and down over pants. By 5 am I packed away the overjacket and overpants, but they were very useful at the start. I slept in my Valandre Odin NEO (rated to -27F) and in the guide's Samaya tent which worked well. High winds persisted all evening and night, and morning, I recommend ear plugs. We tented on the platform next to the 6th station, so a little cheating.
We started near 大文司屋, the parking lot at 35°24'49.2"N 138°45'30.1"E. This was an 8,101 ft ascent total, done in about 36 hours total from leaving the car to return. 4-5 hour hike the first day from parking lot to the 6th station, and the second day was about 12 hours of climbing station 6 -> summit -> car with more time in there for setting up and taking down camp, rest, food, etc.
The views were gorgeous at sunrise and coming down, but we summited at about 10:30am, and whiteout conditions already moved in, which surprised my guide, who has summited Fuji dozens of times in the winter. White out conditions chased us down the mountain for a couple hours, then we found clear, and the views were incredible at that point. Fuji does feel like an island of white in a sea of green in January.
wmolland - Jul 27, 2024 7:26 am Date Climbed: Jul 9, 2024
Via Yoshida TrailScreamingly windy on top and really most of the way up. But totally worth it!
Domtron - Jul 3, 2024 3:41 am Date Climbed: Jul 2, 2024
Mount FujiTook nearly 9 hours to climb including about 5 hours to summit. The trail was all carved out of the volcanic rockfall. Some parts were a rock climb over rock formations. The trail was very well supported with mountain huts every few hundred meters that provided provisions and sleeping quarters. I've never seen anything like it. All of us experienced some form of mountain sickness toward the top.
KLAYMAN - Mar 16, 2024 5:14 am Date Climbed: Mar 7, 2024
Winter climbingin a group of 7 people
Candace66 - Jan 13, 2019 1:51 pm Date Climbed: Aug 17, 2008
Day hike from Station FiveDay hike from Station Five
il.rocciatore - Oct 2, 2018 2:28 am
Route Climbed: Yoshida Trail Date Climbed: september 2018Climbed the Yoshida Trail in 1 day from Fuji-Subaru Line 5th station. Hiked along the complete crater rim to Kengamine Peak. Official climbing season was already over, but that was rather a blessing :-) Good weather, a bit windy on the summit.
chaselanphear - Sep 26, 2018 8:17 pm Date Climbed: Jul 22, 2018
Mount FujiJapan's Highest Peak
markhadland@gmail.com - Jul 3, 2018 4:04 pm Date Climbed: Jul 3, 1999
Fuji-SanClimb up Mount Fuji to prepare for a trip in the Bernese Oberland
wyatt_meyers - Oct 24, 2017 1:54 pm Date Climbed: Jul 3, 2017
Beautiful sunrise hike!Experience of a lifetime to say the least. Started hike around 10 and was at the last station (8th?) by 1245. Didn't sleep just bought the cheapest menu item until they kicked me to the cold. Sunrise was incredible, most people were late. Try being up 30-45 before actual sunrise as the elevation and ocean makes the sunrise start way earlier than actual sunrise time. I had to run to the top from the last station so I wouldn't miss a second of it.
GlennD - Jul 14, 2017 8:21 pm Date Climbed: Jul 15, 2017
Gotemba RouteNight hike of Gotemba. Perfect conditions. Left a bit too early, had to wait at summit for sunrise. Sand route on way down is either not marked or has do not enter sign at it's highest point. Recommend asking but staff about where tontine it to avoid going down all the switchbacks.
bruno baschung - Aug 6, 2016 9:08 am Date Climbed: Jul 26, 2016
fujiyosida routeNice ascent do Fuji (after an unsucessful previous attempt late august 2015 due to heavy rain and winds). this time weather was +/- acceptable. Going very slowly in 4h up to 9th station (3418m) then next morning to the top reached at 4.40 in just 2h20. The hike is nice and technically very easy. 645.4 hpa on the top.
beautiful view on crater from Kengamine (highest point), still some snow Inside the crater.
Bruno baschung
bobbyfm - Jul 26, 2016 8:02 am Date Climbed: Jul 13, 2016
Yoshida trailAn easy hike. Me and my friends reached the summit on the 12th but the weather was bad - rainy and foggy and we decided to sleep in one of the huts and go to the highest point on next morning.
BLong - Aug 2, 2015 11:36 pm Date Climbed: Jul 13, 2015
Night climbI had a blast climbing Fuji through the night: calm and peaceful, without the hordes of the day, Milky Way ablaze. I was hoping to climb slowly and nap outside in order to summit at sunrise, but it was too cold out to bivy so I broke down and spent the $55 to sleep at the 8th station for a few hours.
Hiker4life - Feb 28, 2015 9:12 pm Date Climbed: Aug 25, 2009
Fuji freewayI started hike from the 5th station at 5 PM and arrived at the 8.5 station at 8 PM. After about 2 hours of sleep I joined the hordes on the remaining hike to the summit at 3:30 AM. It was only about an hour to the summit where hundreds of people (mostly Japanese) gathered for the sunrise. Clouds obscured most of the views unfortunately. I made the short walk over to the true summit and was back down at the trailhead by 9 AM.
andre hangaard - Feb 10, 2015 3:39 pm Date Climbed: Jun 25, 2014
Preseason climbMe and my girlfriend Åsa wanted to experience a quiet Mount Fuji far away from the crowds we had heard of. Therefore we climbed it before the season started. For a proper acclimatization we camped two nights on the mountain. We started out from the town of Fujisan and took a taxi to the Yoshida trailhead. After a night in the lush Yoshida forrest, close to the 5th. station, we continued up until above the 9th station at around 3.500m where we pitched our tent on a little outcrop beside the trail. From there it was a short hike up to the summit and we enjoyed a beautiful sunrise all alone on the mountain. Although there was lots of snow and some part of the trail was icy. The true summit, Kengamine, was hidden in thick fog but we finally found it when walking around the crater ridge. It was marvellous when suddenly the fog lifted and we were blessed with sun and blue skies.
One note for off-season climbers though: Be sure to bring enough water as all huts are closed.
HawkeyeHuff - Jan 26, 2015 4:32 am Date Climbed: Aug 26, 2001
Mt FujiMet my friend Jim Lundgren and his daughter Ashley from Moscow, Idaho to hike up Fuji. We arrived at the mountain about 7pm on Saturday, August 25th after four hours in trains/bus from Tokyo. After climbing for awhile at a healthy pace we realized we needed to slow way down, taking long stops at the various stations, to arrive at the top for sunrise (We didn't want to be exposed at the top for several hours waiting). Met people from USA, Europe, Australia and Asia. I was surprised at the number of people who smoked during rest stops! Trail was somewhat steeper than I expected. We got to the top just after sunrise at 6am. Visibility was pretty poor - it is more days than not I'm told. Descending trail was in great shape and we got down pretty fast.
Steve Hufford
Anchorage, Alaska USA
Walkoutnow - Sep 19, 2014 6:17 pm Date Climbed: Sep 12, 2014
Great experienceTook the Yoshida trail, starting at daylight. Really enjoyed the trek up, stopping at the huts (which were starting to close up, or make preps for it), trying to converse with locals, getting the "touristic" walking stick stamped, everything. The views at the summit were muted because of the clouds sitting at about 9k ft. However, the weather was fantastic, completely sunny above the cloud ceiling, a bit of a brisk wind, but overall very lucky. Not too bad with crowds going up, but passed quite a bit heading down that afternoon. The 5th station was a mad house at the base when I returned, however. Get in your bus line early, as they fill up quick, and are in short order this time of year.
bwilldur - Sep 10, 2014 12:53 pm Date Climbed: Sep 8, 2014
Yoshidaguchi at Night, No hutWanted to hike Fujinomiya originally but the weather and timing didn't match up, so I elected to try for the Yoshidaguchi trail.
Started walking from the Fujisan train station and arrived at the Sengen Shine around 4pm for the official start of the hike. The lower stations were great but hiking at night there was not too much to see. The train of people and the desolate landscape after the 6th was a bit depressing. Altitude sickness kicked in pretty bad near the top and I slowed to a crawl. Summit at 5:30am, just after sunrise. Terribly boring descent and bused out slightly disappointed but proud.
ZeroFC - Jan 18, 2014 11:56 pm Date Climbed: Jan 18, 2014
Winter ClimbWinter season solo ascent. Second weekend in a row to make the climb - Weekend prior had to turn at station 8 because of wind conditions over 110km/h that would not let up. Yesterday was successful.
Yesterdays conditions in terms of wind was much better but temperatures were below -15c before taking wind chill into consideration which showed temps of 35c. Lots of hard snow/ice above station 8. Knowing how to self arrest is crucial. It was more challenging than I expected.
Done in a 24hr period.
JeremiahJohnson - Oct 27, 2013 10:39 pm Date Climbed: Jul 23, 2013
Fuji-SanClimbed Fuji-Chan via the Gotemba Route with one experienced Mountaineer and 2 inexperienced hikers (all Japanese). Left at 7PM to hike under a full moon in hopes to reach the summit by sunrise. Unfortunately, I was the only person in our party that was able to summit to watch the sunrise. We were on the trail for 18 hours total due to the inexperienced hikers needing lots of rest stops. Super fun, although somewhat of a long slog...