Short story:  Arleen, Rolf (colleague) and myself climbed Moutn Fuji.  We did it in about 7 hours.  We started at night inorder to experience the sunrise from the top.

 It was about 6 months ago during a visit to Hokkaido, Japan when I decided that climbing Mout Fuji would be my next goal in life.  I already had trained hard in order to maximize my 4 day snowboarding trip, and now I decided that I had to increase my training efforts in order to climb Mount Fuji.

 Research and information - Naturally, I started out by asking my colleague and friend many questions about his successful climb up Mt. Fuji.  I also searched in Wikipedia and for web pages containing information which I could use to prepare and understand what was invlovled in reaching the top of Mount Fuji. 

 Some basic facts:

Mout Fuji us a Staratovolcano that has a elevation of 3776 meters above sea level.

The official climbing season in July 1st - August 31st.

It is the goal for most climbers to start during the evening and reach the top to witness the sunrise.

 

Physical Fitness Preparation - I did everything I could to increase my leg strength and cardio vascular endurance.

Equipment preparation - The best purchase for my trip was the LED headlamp that I bought at REI-Mont Belle (Japan REI).  I already had a good outdoor backpack and Nike ACG outdoor hiking shoes/boots.  My snowboarding pants and Camelback backpack would also come in veryhandy  Reasearch indicated that it was important to carry 2 litres of water, winter/rain/cold weather clothing and food.  I packed about 8 granola bars, 1 pack of assorted dried fruits and 2 litres of H20.  I packed my 35 litre backpack with all the items and devised a way to integrate the camelback.

 Mountain access - I carefully monitored the weather forecast and chose to climb on Friday, 28 June 2006.  The weather was to be cloudy and a slight chance of rain.  One day before our climb, the weather forcast changed and predicted rain for Friday and Saturday.  Fast forward, we had no rain at all.  I booked us a bus from Shinjuku station to the Kawaguchiko 5th station.  The bus arrived at the 5th station at about 1900, which gave us some time to buy some last minute items and the souvenier wood trkking poles. At each station, you can get a stamp burned in to commemorate your Mout Fuji Climb.

 AscendingTrail - There are 3 trails that can be used to access the top of Mount Fuji.  Most climbers start from the 5th station.  The trail starts of in a wooded area and soon turns to a boring rocky climb with rocks varying in size from dust to boulders.

 Team Members - Our expedition team consisted of Rolf, my colleage and friend who is a company transferee from Sony Germany.  My wife and best friend.  We decied to do this together.  Lastly, I had the honour to be a part of this team.

 The Climb - We started our ascent at about 1924 hours. 

 Start - From the 5th station everyone was fresh and eager to get started.  We came upon the climbing safety station just after the trail transitioned from trees to only volcanic rocks.  Here we were given an English map detailing the names and positions of each of the 11 stations between station 5 and the top.

 Middle section - 7 - 8th station.  By about the 7th station the trail changed from rocky dusty switchbacks to a boulder and rocky zig zag semi-climb.  There was no actual rock climbing, but we often had to use our hand to help balance and negotiate up the trail.  The trail was well marked with small signs and arrows.  The $20 LED headlamp was an invaluable item to illuminate the trail, leaving our hands free.  By this time all laughing and joking had ceased and everyone was concentrating on climbing.  We were alone on the trail during the climb, but at each station there were people numbering in the 20-30's resting.  At one of the rest stations we met Dylan and Peichen from Sacramento, CA.  They were on a business trip to Japan and planned to climb Mt Fuji before they returned home after this one week businees trip.  The climb up to the 8th station and our rest "hotel" was a tough climb.  Most of the trail was steep and jagged.  At anytime you could look up and see the lights of the next station and also get and idea of the distance and steep angle.  We pushed and fought our pain with each step.

 Rest - It was about 0007 hours when we reached Fujisan Hotel.  Rolf was exhausted (he admits to only doing about 2 weeks of  physical training).  We checked into the Fujisan "hotel" which was actually a large room with tables and bunks for about 500 people.  There was no individual rooms or cabins.  It was just long bunks that slept 40 people side by side.  We sat and ate for about an our and slept for another hour.  We were back on the trail by 0200.

 Final push - The final climb from station 8 to the top was a human traffic jam of about 500 people.  The pace was slow.  We ften had to stop and wait for the line to accordion and slinky.  This slow pace was probably good for our endurance, but it was a mental torture at times.  As the sun started to rise, I could see the peak and I just wanted to pick up the pace and climb faster.  Rolf had likened this to Tokyo, having to always wait in lines and queues.  Just before 0400, we reached the Torii gate and the top of the mountain.  Rolf was a mre few breaths alive, Arleen was relieved that it was over, and I was happy that we made it to the top with no rain, injuries and before sunrise.  We quickly found a spot to drop our gear, rest and recover.  We had about 30 more minutes until the sun was to punch through.  We took this time to take a few pictures.  The sun came out about 0430 and it was an amazing sight.  Words cannot describe the joy that overcomes you.  Still most of us were tired and we quickly retreated into the mountain top shacks that served hot drinks and some hot ramen or udon at 200% inflated prices.  Even the toilets were pay toilets.  Since it was quite cold up top, the price for the warm food and rinks was worth it.  After more rest and pictures, we started our decscent and return to station 5.

Decsending trail - The trail down, is a baren volcanic rock trail consisting of swicthbacks and loose rocks.  It was a common sight to see people tripping and slipping as they walked down.  The scenery was breathtaking as you looked down towards Lake Kawaguchi and the nearby towns.