The image above shows what climbers need to wear on Mt Fuji in winter, and includes full insulation, winter alpine boots with crampons, helmets and ice axes. If you don’t have this admire the mountain from town. Note that the photo shows a day in perfect conditions.
Between November and April Mt Fuji is not a hike, it is a full winter alpine ascent. Every year climbers from around the world attempt it and most are turned back, by a mix of unpreparedness for the conditions and lack of knowledge of the strategy. People have died in the attempt.
From town it should be clear this is no place to be in sneakers and with a few granola bars, and climbers that are successful up there wear full 6000m gear. Temperatures and windchill usually sit around -15c, and winds below 40kmph are considered good. The effort is always long, but the days are always short, and even the fastest ascents always involve time in the dark. The fastest we have a done a round trip to the summit and back is 10 hours, which works out at about 7000kcals spent in the effort.
But, for those prepared for Mt Fuji it is a major achievement, and a real test of a climbers capacity. We have had climbers who have summited Everest who turned around on Fuji, not having all the right pieces lined up when it came to climbing independently. We use a well-tested strategy that is absolutely doable for the well prepared climber, setting you up for the best shot at climbing Mt Fuji by true alpine means. Never easy, an attempt shows you exactly where you are as a climber, using a method bestowed on us by elite Japanese climbers.
Please note that our teams use very specific strategies, that do not cater to taking care of others unless a genuine emergency. We can be identified by the camel stickers on our helmets, and cannot be responsible for climbers not on our teams, which includes providing lifts back to town. It is an established ethic of alpinism that climbers be self-sufficient, which includes having enough food and transport to and from your objective.
