Tag: mt fuji

JAPAN'S BEST ALPINE TRIPS BEGIN HERE

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MT FUJI EARLY WINTER

every year we complain about out-of-season mt fuji ascents being claimed as winter ascents. normally we call fujis winter season as starting about the 2nd week of november, when it freezes out and any precipitation that lands will stay for the duration. but this years very different. on the back of crazy weather over the…
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MICRO EXPEDITIONS AS PREPARATION

every year we get requesting to join expeditions to tibet, china, turkistan, iran etc. most requests begin with something similar along the lines of the grades they climb and some names of routes, peaks and locations. climbers a bit more switched on then say how many days out a year climbing they do. yes these…
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Mt FUJI. ‘OFF SEASON’ vs ‘WINTER’

on mt Fuji not all ascents are equal – ‘winter’ and ‘off season’ are not the same thing. this is what Mt Fuji should look like in true winter conditions; snow way below the treeline – easily down to the 1st station at 1400m all roads closed, potentially from Nakanocha freeze level well below the…
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Fuji has first ‘official’ snow cap

Fuji has its first official snow cap. They generally don’t count light dustings.   https://youtu.be/oQIk8kOeOl8 A little later than last year, but good to see snow coming in.  

WINTER 2016 / 17: Mt FUJI

every winter ascents of Fuji get more in demand, but the mountain doesnt get any easier. to keep it safe and doable, we limit the number of trips we run up there, and focus on genuine big mountain-style ascents, treating the peak like we would any other big alpine objective. this means; trips are often…
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Mt FUJI ICEFALL: DAMN, JUST MISSED IT

the ice fall inside Mt Fuji’s caldera is real. it exists. and the last 2 winters we have documented it – tho missed it both times despite a spectrum of dates. we know it forms in mid to late spring, but being so hard to check on…well, you know. +/-70M, interesting access, no good top…
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2015 / 16 WINTER THAT WAS

2015/16 was a strange winter. conditions were strange, the atmosphere was strange, the locations were strange. it may be part of a greater cycle…or maybe its not. to go with the strangeness, we spread ourselves over a large spectrum this winter. avoiding being too focused in a season that had a large degree of unpredictability…
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EATING ON FUJI: CONSTANT CALORIES

Mt Fuji as we do it is a single huge push up and back in a day. we start at the bottom and return to the bottom, hopefully via the summit. at its most streamlined its still a 10hr round trip, covering 2500m of vertical gain, and all of it is cold, wind-strafed and upwards.…
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Mt FUJI CALDERA ICEFALL

it’s like posting a photo of a yeti. disputed by many who claim its a myth, the Fuji caldera icefall indeed exists, albeit fleetingly and crazy hard. 70m? WI6?? ‘involved’ access: Mt Fuji’s caldera ice is rare. this photo was taken probably a week or 10 days after its prime, but note the lack of…
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ASAMA+FUJI: WHAT YOU NEED

the asama-yama / fuji-san back-to-back is never easy. its a 2 day exercise in suffering and strategy with no easy way round it. physical condition plays the major role, shared with the weather, but perhaps more than any trip we run your gear choices have a big effect on the outcome sleek, light, simple and…
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