Popular Post gerard 6 Posted April 30, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted April 30, 2014 Well, I climbed up Mt. Fuji and skied down on April 27th and thought I’d share in case others wanted to do the same. First off, it is a doable spring hike. A fair number of people head up around the golden week period. It’s not particularly dangerous, although I’m sure it could be if the weather was bad. We did the Fujinomia route on the south side and that definitely seems like the best route off-season. The road had been cleared and was open to the fifth-station parking lot at 2400 meters. There was a number of groups camping in their cars or tents and others arrived through the night (waking me up periodically in my tent). This year there was deep snow well below the fifth station so the entire hike was on snow but in other years, the snowline can be higher. The hike up was very straight forward. Since it was a little cold, the snow was hard and not practical for skinning. Walking it with crampons was the best way to go. Doing it in boots alone would have been technically possible but I think I would have wasted too much energy slipping and sliding to make it to the top. An ice ax is not necessary but definitely makes you look cool. In my case, my ski poles gave me something to lean on. Spending a night at 2400 meters as we did is probably a good idea, but still, coming from sea level, you can expect the altitude to be a significant factor. At first, I plowed up the hill, stopping for a short break around 3000 meters before arriving at the 8th station, feeling great at 3250. Approaching the 9th station, however, short distances suddenly started to seem very long. At 3410 meters (the 9th station), I realized that I was getting pretty tired and in need of a longer break. The push from there up to the summit was a long, slow, pain-session. We arrived at the rim of the crater over 6 hours after starting and then I walked around to the true summit at 3776 meters. I was slightly light-headed and generally very tired and short of breath. I had no headache, but felt pretty sick to my stomach and couldn’t eat or even drink. As impressive as the scenery was, I was eager to get down. For the descent, most people walked down, while others skied or boarded or even slid on their butts. Skiing seemed like the best option to me despite having to lug up the extra weight. Since there was mention of one or two serious accidents in other threads, I guess it shouldn’t be recommended for inexperienced skiers. The pitch is not steep but it’s very consistent, and the scale is pretty huge, of course. Riding down with a heavier pack, at altitude, and on very hard snow is tricky. You wouldn’t want to get going a little too fast and then suddenly loose it and slide into sharp volcanic rock. On this particular day, it was a little cold, so the snow didn’t really soften until the bottom half. The skiing was less than spectacular but it definitely got us down quickly. Upon arriving at the parking lot, I lay in the fetal position in the snow for 15 minutes, thinking to myself, “…yeah, I’m done with mountains!” Of course, that was just a high-altitude delusion. I recovered pretty quickly, driving down the mountain. Next time I’d like to do it a little slower, maybe spending two nights at 2400 meters to acclimatize. I still think doing it off-season, on snow is the best option, much better than dealing with crowds of people and having to walk on that volcanic rock and dust the whole way, up and then down. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
634-maru 4 Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 Sounds like some good initial preparation for a future Mt Granview hike! Link to post Share on other sites
NECK 14 Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 Good job Ger Link to post Share on other sites
gozaimaas 61 Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 Stunning. Nice summit! Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 nice one Ger Was the snow really icy at the top or did it give somewhat? Link to post Share on other sites
seemore 66 Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 Nice Ger well done Link to post Share on other sites
gerard 6 Posted April 30, 2014 Author Share Posted April 30, 2014 nice one Ger Was the snow really icy at the top or did it give somewhat? It gave a little but it was really variable. It was basically chalky up top and in mid-mountain sections it was starting to re-freeze a bit. I expected a nice zone of perfect spring conditions but it was unpredictable. The bottom was probably the best. Link to post Share on other sites
Alexander L 80 Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 Nice. Great work. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Metabo Oyaji 71 Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 Fantastic. Beautiful. Link to post Share on other sites
onehunga 26 Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 Based on what you saw, would it be possible to ski around Mt Fuji. ie start at one point on the top and descend like a cork screw around the mountain. Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Pow 52 Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 Fabulous. Thanks for sharing. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
gerard 6 Posted April 30, 2014 Author Share Posted April 30, 2014 Based on what you saw, would it be possible to ski around Mt Fuji. ie start at one point on the top and descend like a cork screw around the mountain. Hmm.... If you really want a challenge, try scouting out a gnarly line down the west face. Try it mid-winter. Naked. Link to post Share on other sites
muikabochi 208 Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 Yeah very interesting. Link to post Share on other sites
snowdude 44 Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 Thanks for sharing. I noticed Tuesday when I was at Fuji safari that Shizouka side had almost no snow on it. Yamanashi side is still all white. Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 Thanks for sharing. I noticed Tuesday when I was at Fuji safari that Shizouka side had almost no snow on it. Yamanashi side is still all white. That's because Shizuoka side is south facing, is it not? Link to post Share on other sites
snowdude 44 Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 Of course thats why but just saying it was brown. Im used to seeing a white Fuji until well into June. Link to post Share on other sites
gerard 6 Posted May 1, 2014 Author Share Posted May 1, 2014 Maybe you were looking at the wrong mountain, Snowdude. Let me just upload a couple more pics.... Link to post Share on other sites
gerard 6 Posted May 1, 2014 Author Share Posted May 1, 2014 Here's a pic of the true south side, taken last Saturday afternoon. Here's the parking lot at 2400 meters. There will be snow for a while yet. Link to post Share on other sites
Alexander L 80 Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 that does look white. Link to post Share on other sites
Slippery Jim 65 Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 Well done, Ger Link to post Share on other sites
Mick Rich 78 Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 Great job Ger!! I've climbed it with the masses in the summer but would love to have a crack at it on a snowboard! How many boarders did you see there or was it mainly skiers? Link to post Share on other sites
gerard 6 Posted May 2, 2014 Author Share Posted May 2, 2014 Roughly speaking, boarders, people on full length skis and people on mini-skis were evenly split. Mini skis, actually, didn't seem like such a bad option. Never thought I'd say that! Link to post Share on other sites
Thundercat 60 Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 Thanks for sharing. I noticed Tuesday when I was at Fuji safari that Shizouka side had almost no snow on it. Yamanashi side is still all white. I guess I don't live in Shizuoka then considering how much snow there is on it now (btw, I do live in Shizuoka!) Link to post Share on other sites
pie-eater 207 Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 It's all jolly confusing! Are you all talking about the same island of Japan? Link to post Share on other sites
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