Climbing a Volcano:: Mt. Fuji

     Nate and I climbed Mt. Fuji this week! We took turns with our neighbors and watched each other's kids so the couples could do it together. Climbing Fuji is a long day!  We left our house at 2:45am and drove 2.5 hours to the 5th station village which is where you start the climb.  Our excitement and ignorance at the start helped us push through some bad weather in the beginning.  Less than ten minutes into the climb we got into a storm and it started raining which turned into sleet and got very windy and cold.  After a few wardrobe changes (we had rented hiking and rain gear thankfully) an hour later we made it thru the rain and wind. The rest of the climb was much nicer but it was very cold as we got towards the top.  Climbing season is officially over September 15th because the mountain gets lots of snow and ice most of the year. We started climbing at 6am and it took us 5 hrs 42 minutes to get up the mountain and 3 hours to get down.  The 5th station is at 7562 ft and the summit is 12,388 ft.

Sunrise at the 5th station. This is where we parked and bought our walking sticks!

About 5 minutes before the huge rain cloud rolled in! 

Yay the storm passed and we were able to get up the mountain at a steadier pace.  We wore ponchos on our backpacks to keep them dry.

For a few Yen each you can get stamps on your walking sticks at the huts along the way.  Getting stamps at the huts is a huge motivator and lots of fun!

I just finished huffing and puffing before this photo in front of the Tori gate!

First stamp/brand of the day!!

There are a few "hotels" (I use this term loosely) on the mountain  so you can climb, stay the night, eat some hot ramen, and see the sunrise in the morning from the top of the mountain.  I would have loved to see the sunrise from the summit but sleeping so close with strangers is not my idea of fun. 

You can see the guy on the left putting on another stamp!

Getting closer to the Summit

Some points were a bit scary, you could just fall off the side of the Moutain, eeeek!

The last few steps!!!

About to go thru the tori gate to sacred grounds, summit of Fuji-san! The last hour to this point were tough! Nate and I couldn't believe how the altitude affected our endurance. We would feel good one second, then take 3 steps up and be completely exhausted, out of breath, and dizzy!

We did it! 

Our Japanese friends we made along the way. We kept passing each other back and forth and always ended up meeting at the huts.

From the summit with my best friend.

Nate had a warm bowl of curry udon and I had a delicious bowl of pork miso at the summit!

Headed down. Zig zag after zig zag just like this!

Made it back to the 5th station! 

Back at the car just before sunset.  We had time on the way home to go to a traditional Japanese Onsen (hot spring bath) to warm up and relax our weary legs in the hot tub, ahh!  Plus their was a great view of the mountain from there.

Climbing Fuji-san is an experience I will never forget - so many memories from that challenging day. The views from the mountain, being in the clouds and watching the clouds form were amazing but there was also something beautiful about the terrain.  Maybe it was the lack of oxygen but we thought the mountain was gorgeous, even the barren trails and black rocky paths. It was a very rewarding experience to hike that crazy thing and if you are ever in Japan it is a MUST DO!

I love this picture of Fuji framed by cherry blossoms. 

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