[IkemenTommy]

I'm thinking about doing this this year. I am highly stressing on the word *think*. I believe it opened up on July 1 as usual. Has anyone else done it? If so, any tips or advice? Thanks.

[gomichild]

I've done it. Don't try if they think a typhoon might hit. Also it's not a mere stroll up a mountain - it's pretty grueling so you need to be fit or hiking a few of the smaller ones beforehand for suitable training.

It's damn cold at the top.

The way down is harder than up. Lots of small rocks. If you have knee or ankle trouble make sure you have supporters.

Get one of those torches on a headband. They look dicky but are totally useful.

Bring at least 20,000 yen more than you think you'll need.

I think it's definitely worth doing though.

[maraboutslim]

My experience (in 1992?) was almost exactly as described here. It was below freezing on the way up just before sunrise and then really hot on the way down. And going down does indeed suck way more than going up.

[osopolar]

I made the climb in 2004, nearly 5 years ago to the day. hehe.

It was one hell of a climb.. not for the weak of heart or faint, as the air does get pretty thin up there.. the night and early morning was damn cold.. make sure u bring something to keep you warm at night. and a headlamp. and maybe a walking stick as well. and some extra cash.

As UG & GC have said, the way down was harder than the way up.. maybe try skipping every few steps or something, so u don't strain your knees or ankles..

but damn worth it.
-oso

[Taro Toporific]

[Samurai_Jerk]

I have no idea why anyone wants to climb Mt. Fuji. Not because I'm againt a tought mountain climb. But I have not desire to spend a night humping it up a crowded trash-strewn tourist trap. Sounds fucking awful.

[maraboutslim]

Well, the good thing about climbing at night is that you can't really see anything. It's only when the sun comes up that you get a full understanding of just how ugly that mountain really is. But by then you are just enjoying the view from the mountain, and not paying much attention to fuji itself. Until you twist your ankle for the first of one hundred times on the way down. From then on, fuji can do no right.

[alicia454]

I love climbing Mount Fuji, and I done so and reached the summit on 3 separate times. But it is always a lot harder and more painful than I expected. And yes, the climb down is way worse than the climb up, and I always end up quite sore for days afterwards.

The above advice is really good, but I would also stress to bring the sunscreen, and keep putting it on after you pass the cloud ceiling. The first time I climbed Mount Fuji, I spent too much time at the summit, walking around the crater and such, and developed Sun Stroke the next day, with massive blistering sunburns all over my face, neck, and arms. (Even though it is cold at the summit, the UV there is super strong.) The second time, I underdressed and became ill after spending the night at sub-zero temperatures at the summit (10th station). And the last time, I climbed from the southern Fujinomiya route and assented too quickly and got altitude sickness, which passed after resting in a hut for a few hours.

The extra money is very much needed. The huts are expensive but the are there for a reason. Unless you are some super fit athlete with tons of high altitude climbing practice, plan on spending 2 days to climb and descend, and having to sleep in a hut.

In addition, I would also stress not to bother to bring any food up, other than a light snack. Although more expensive, you can buy hot food and cold drinks at any hut on the mountain, including at the summit. Also, in my experience, you lose much of your appetite during the climb and decent, so you consume a lot less food, but you make up for that by drinking a lot more than expected.

Key items to bring include: extra money, flashlight + spare batteries, gloves, warm layered clothing including waterproof jacket/poncho for wet sub-zero weather, good hiking boots, gloves, heavy cloth to wrap around lower legs, mole-skin or other type of bandages for foot blisters, hat, scarf, lots of tissue paper, alcohol gel or antiseptic wipes, a couple of meal replacement bars, decent map, and a copy of the bus schedule. Key in mind that after descending, so many people get stranded overnight at the 5th station, because they miss the last bus.

Be very careful when descending from the summit, since the different climbing trails converge there, so if you take the wrong trail or wrong turn, you could end up in dozens and dozens of kilometres away from where you wanted to be.

BTW, I would not recommend the Gotemba sand slide eastern trail, unless you really hate yourself. Especially when it is cloudy, you can hike for hours and it still looks exactly the same, as if you have not moved, like some type of horrible twilight-zone nightmare. And you sink in so deep into the volcanic sand and stones, that you have to take off your boots every 10 minutes or so to dump them.

[MeinJapanLongTime]

Well...you're in Japan, so you should at least do it once because it's the one things all your friends will ask you if you ever return to the US or wherever you're from.

Did you climb Mt Fuji? How was it?

I'll echo the sentiments above. I've been up it twice. The first time my wife stopped us because she couldn't breathe and we came back down around the 7th or 8th station. The second time I left the wife at home and made it to the top on a night climb. It took me a slow 10 hours to get up the mountain and a short 3 foot bashing hours to come back down. My feet were bruised amd blistered even with my good hiking boots.

- Dress in thin layers
- A good shade hat helps
- Be prepared for rain
- The headlamp thing is useful since it keeps your hands free for climbing
- Bring a can of oxygen. If you start getting that tell-tale headache, it can relieve the symptoms for a short time while you look for a place to rest or decide to turn around and go back down. When I went up the second time I gave up my can to a member of our group who was trying to fight through it and finally gave up. He appreciated it greatly despite having to give up the climb.
- Protect your feet. You only get one set.

I haven't been on a day climb or on one of those start at stage 1 climbs so I can't really comment on those. I did enjoy the night climb very much--but I won't do it again. ^_^

[baka tono]

Ive climbed it once and if I ever did go again I would bring gaitors! I went down the Gotemba side and thought it was fun.

[Taro Toporific]

[SIZE="3"]Official Climbing Season of Holy Mount Trashmore starts today![/SIZE]


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[Kagetsu]

I did the treck from Kawaguchiko... twice (well, completed it once, the first time I was still recovering from surgery).

The once you get close to the summit, the terrain is dangerous... but the experience was great.