Mt Fuji Climb, Fujinomiya Trail

Mt Fuji Climb, Fujinomiya Trail

Heat. [Music] [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. All right, just got to my hotel here. It’s uh what the heck is it called? to find your sorry forgot the name of it but uh quick taxi ride from the station got here and uh it’s got my Oh, nice room. Holy big difference from the one at um Shinj Shinjuku. Wow, this is a real nice hotel. There’s my hotel. There you go. Do have to translate the I will have to look up the name of this thing. Sorry, guys. Huh? It’s not in English anyway. Uh, so just out front here, I’m going to the grocery store right there. I got to get some snacks. I got my peanut butter, my jam, some protein bars, some little chocolate bars, little snacks and duads uh to keep me uh happy as I climb that mountain. Fuji is apparently that way, but um it’s overcast. [Applause] All right, I just come back from the uh store. It’s actually across the street. It’s very handy. And this is uh mostly what I’m going to bring um up for the climb on Fuji. So, uh some bread sliced. We’re going to have some jam, peanut butter. These are scones. Uh I’m going to bring some cookies. Uh, this is uh freeze-dried banana, strawberry, and a bunch of protein bars. I don’t need that. So, just assorted protein bars. High calorie. Uh, about 160 170 calories each. And uh I love bananas, but they’re way too much. It’s just uh it’s not worth the me carrying all that weight. So, I’ll just have that before I go. And then uh lots of uh lots of water. So I bring two of those. Each one’s uh 1 mil, I believe. What do we got here? 900 900. So it’s 900. So about 1 mil. So I’m pretty sure like one mil 1,000 or one liter is about uh one pound. So I’m trying to go bare minimum. And then uh yeah, I’ll have to show you guys what I’m I’ll pack for like clothing and cold weather, wet weather gear. But this is basically my food. I’ll bring most of that with me. Obviously not packing the peanut butter and jam. I’ll just make the sandwiches. No point. But look, all right. This is my kit that I’m taking up Fuji. A quick rundown what we got here. So it’s my pack. I’ve had this pack for years. I’ve used it for many, many different trips and hikes and climbs. It’s quite durable. Uh so that’s what I’m using. Uh we got here is my fellow Raven shorts. These are great shorts. Open them up here for you. What the heck? There we go. Yeah. Fall Raven shorts. It’s got this uh I don’t know it’s corduro type materials or they’re pretty uh pretty durable, but it’s got stretchy material in the areas where you need to stretch when you’re like say walking up steep rocks and that. It’s uh it’s very um maneuverable if that’s the word. These are my uh fall Raven uh cold weather pants, rain sort of wet weather. They are um a very thick material. It’s almost like canvas, but it’s not. This is what they call a G1000. Where is it? Right there. And then what you do, you get some um wax that you get from the store when you buy their hands and you put a couple coats of wax on that. So, it gives it a very good water repellency. I wouldn’t say they’re waterproof, 100% waterproof, but I’ve had them in the rain and the the water just sheds right off. So, they’re pretty cool. And again, these are um uh open up again. These are pretty sweet pants. They are they have this zipper here where if it gets too hot, you can open that up and vent it out. You can see the multiple pockets everywhere. It just it’s very well designed. Uh reinforced knees. And then on the bottom here, they got these cuffs where you can adjust the cuffs where you can make them much tighter around your ankle and the less chance of any whether it’s snow or loose rocks or whatever else getting into um into your boot. Apparently on Fuji when you come down the loose volcanic rock uh kicks up and gets inside your boot. So, they recommend gators, but I’m just going to wear these pants on the way down. Well, probably the way up, too, when it gets colder. But, uh, and on the way down, I’ll just cinch up the the, uh, ankle part, and then that should keep all the debris out. Uh, t-shirt. On the way up, this is going to be a sort of a moisture wicking workout type t-shirt because it’s down at the at sea level here. It’s I think it’s 25°. So, um, yeah, I’m not going to need any Hely Hansen winter stuff. So, I have two, uh, one Hely Hansen and one similar. It’s not Hely Hansen. This is a Hely Hansen, uh, a very a wool long sleeve. That’s for the very cold weather. So, I’ll save that for when we get to the top. And then, uh, I think you have to wait a little bit, watch the sunset. So, that I’ll be wearing this at the top. This is sort of mid midweight. So, it’s sort of in between the summer workout and the winter. So, this would be like in between. Couple pairs of underwear. Uh two pairs of socks. Socks going up, socks going down. And then these are just socks for um uh when you sleep up at station 8. I’m going to have a nap up there and then uh carry on to the summit from there. conflicting reports as to whether you get a sigma bag or or some kind of blanket or tarp or I don’t know something to to hold to wrap over you. And uh I’m still not clear what’s available. So I’m not going to free. So I’ve got that and um where are they? There you go. So I can wear this heli hansen if I need to. And then I got these long johns. lightweight, just a a pair of long johns I’ve had forever. Uh, two pairs of gloves. So, these are waterproof. The lightweight waterproof, not keep your hands warm in cool weather, but not in cold weather. These gloves I’ve used u many times on many hikes where I live and then also um when I did the climb up in Taiwan. Uh, it provides some warmth. What I like about it, if you’re scrambling up rocks, this is all leather. Very soft uh cowhide leather. And uh it’s those are freaking these are awesome gloves. They’re great. Protect your hand when you’re scrambling. Of course, a toque. You need that. What were the gear? So, got uh these Panagodia uh rain pants. And then my what is this? Uh or what is it? Uh outdoor research waterproof jacket. So, I’ve got my waterproof layer. These following pan should provide most of my uh waterproofing, but again, in a in a downpour, especially in the wind is driving the rain. Um, these pants won’t cut it. There’s water repellency, but not not 100% waterproof. So, I have my waterproof pants for backup in case it gets too crazy up there. And of course, I got my lightweight. This is like a midweight um down jacket. Feather feather down. I’ve used this many times. It’s great. It’s lightweight. Easily rolls up and provides some great warmth. So, it’s not for, you know, super like 20 30 below weather, but you know, if it gets down around freezing, uh 32 Fahrenheit, 0 Celsius, this jacket would more than enough handle that that I can put on my layers, so I’m good to go. Yeah. And then I just a hat, lightweight hat, keep the sun out of my eyes, sun off my head, and just a Yeah, like I said, a couple pairs of underwear. So that’s it. I stuffed all that in there. And then all the food and crap and some water and my camera gear. And uh that’s going to be it for um going to be it for Fuji. We’ll see uh see how it goes. All right, we just uh arrived here at the parking lot of the fifth station uh sorry not yeah fifth station parking lot of Fuji Fuji Mino Moninoya um trail head. So that’s not bad. It’s uh that’s Fuji right there. So, we’re just heading over to uh get checked in. Uh show my permit, which is a QR code you download when you apply online and uh then we’ll officially start. So, we just got to get all the logistical stuff done. But it’s not a bad day. Uh I fell asleep in the taxi. It was kind of nice. Well, that was easy. Uh they get dropped off by a taxi at just down there and these little huts here um is where you register. I I guess you can pay here. So it’s 4,000 yen but I did all that online. Uh probably months I just registered beforehand. It’s pretty easy to do. And then this little hut here I just show you take a picture QR code. Get to the little hut there. uh show you a picture of the QR code in Bob’s uncle. They get a little uh bracelet, little white bracelet says that I’m paid and I’m good to go. And this is the trail head. Let’s do this. All right. Wish me luck. Blue. Okay. This is all a sandy loose rock. All gravel or sorry volcanic rock. So it’s interesting. Interesting type of terrain. Bit challenging coming down. I think we put it the low 20s right now. Everybody’s dressed in long sleeves and pants, but uh that could be more for protection from the sun than um anything. So, this is what the trail looks like. It’s not uh it’s certainly not a easy walk this part. It’s uh lots of scrambling. Just take your time. It is considered the steepest and most difficult of the trails. Hence, that’s why I took decided to take it. It’s also the shortest. But yes, that begs the question. Even though it’s short and it’s steep and you have less distance to the summit to travel, you’re probably traveling that distance slower than if you were doing a longer trail at a more gentle slope. Would that be easier in terms of speed? Would you get to the summit quicker? Cuz it’s a gentler. You can go faster or steeper and shorter which is quicker. You can see the clouds moving in. Going to hit with that in a few minutes. I think there’s a access road here. I think that’s uh is used to supply all the huts and possibly for medical evacuation. Just arriving at a hut over there. I guess it’s six and that’s where we started. See a park line down there. So, what do we get 20 minutes officially into it? We’re not I don’t think we’re high enough for the altitude affect me, but it’s just a pretty steep uh non non-stop. Just a steep incline there all the way from the from the uh parking lot. So, stop here at this at this hut number six. Catch my breath, get some water. All right, that’s some info for you. It’s a sixth station and then uh new seventh station. So, seventh station is uh 1k away, so not very far. So, looks like they got toilets up here. snacky stuff. You can buy these. I’m not going to bother, but you get these sticks and then uh as you as you stop at each station, they burn in some kind of I don’t know message that signifies you’ve reached that station. It’ be good to for hiking if you don’t have one, but well, I don’t know what I’m going to do with it when I finish. Pretty nice little souvenir, but I’m no desire to pack that home with me. So, that’s not too bad place to hang out, relax. It’s like watching uh or looking at what people are wearing their uh hiking gear or lack thereof. Most of the people I’ve seen so far seem to be kitted up. Kitted up pretty good. This is good. Yeah, I can see if you can watch those clouds. They’re slowly coming up this way. So, we’re going to be uh in the mist in probably the next 5 10 minutes, I think. And it continues. It’s nice to see uh nice to see these kids like, you know, families bringing their young kids. I would definitely do that if uh well, I tried with my daughters to do some hiking, but uh they really didn’t take to it. So, at least I tried. Looks like that’s the next hut up there. Uh it’s hard to see, but it’s is uh way up there. The trail zigzags. It’s all probably uh hut number seven. That’s not too bad. It’s just kissing the cloud cover up there. And beyond that, you’re sucked in. So, it may have to layer up. But right now I feel very comfortable. There you go. Vending machine. Mount Fuji is always a vending machine. [Music] And here come the clouds rolling in. Rolling in the deep thick clouds. We’re heading up there. Just in case you don’t know where you’re going, they got little signs here to remind you. That’s where we’re headed up there. And as you can see, it’s quite rocky. Um, yeah, sprained ankles, I think, probably number one thing on up here or broken ankles for sure. And the proper footwear is a must. ankle support. Spend a little extra money and get some good footwear. I don’t know what grade that is, but uh maybe some engineer can figure it out. But it’s uh it’s fairly steep. I don’t know, 30 40° I’m guessing, maybe more. Some sections more, but uh that’s just one of those one of those hikes you just got to take it slow. just because of the train and also because of the altitude. There’s an old guy down there. He’s got a huge pack and he’s stopping. Look like he’s 60some and he’s stopping every 10 ft. Little worried about him. I’m off duty officially retired officially, but still I still have that desire to help people. Let’s hopefully he’ll next station. It’s We’re getting there slowly but surely. Okay. Certain type of etiquette. I can’t remember if who has to yield to who. Are you recording YouTube? So, I don’t know if I yield to people coming down or they yield to me going up, but hey. Did you get to the top? Good. Yeah. Congrats. Did you stay overnight? Yeah. Yeah. Was it cold? No, it’s not cold. Are you going to stay? Yeah, in 8. Yeah, hot eight. And then summer in the morning. Yeah. Looking forward to it. Right on. Congrats. Congrat. Thank you. Here I am. The only one in shorts. Oh, there’s one guy. There you go. One guy in shorts and t-shirt as well. So, there’s two people. Me and this guy coming down. The only ones I’ve seen so far and shorts and t-shirt. Hardcore, right? This is what it looks like on Fuji. This trail, even though it’s considered the steepest and most difficult, a lot of people like to try it. So, it’s I think it’s ranked in the second most popular and you can see lots of people. Lastly, I’m in no rush. I have to be at my hut by 6:00 tonight and I’m already at station 7 here. So, I’m making a really good time and I’m not pushing myself. Nice, easy, gentle, relaxed pace. Lots of breaks. So, feeling good. Actually, feeling pretty good. Just going to let this crowd of 30 or 40 people pass and then I’ll uh take a break up here and uh grab some food, maybe a snacks. And then the next station is eight, which I’m not sure where it is. I see some structure way up top there. I don’t know if that’s it or not. Station seven. This is when I can get the It took me but uh we’re here. Let’s show you inside. These are uh are you okay? Yeah. It’s good. Do you have wash hands? No. No. There’s no water. So, only sanitizer. You have sanitizer? Yeah. Where? Over there. Oh, perfect. Thank you. Like water or something. Yeah, he’s got a vending machine there. vending machine. I guess I don’t people staying overnight here. Come here to eat water. Get the sticks burnt. CocaCola. Cool. We got some food up here. That’s pretty cool. All right, had a good rest here. Use the toilet here. Clouds moving in. So, the altitude here is 2,780 m. Uh, so I have to convert that to feet. But, um, yeah, we’re getting up there pushing pushing 9,000. So, I’m starting to I don’t feel any altitude sort of effect right now. At least I don’t think I do. Anyway, it’s cuz I’m rested. Although I showed I’ll show it in the video the um pulse oximter. It’s only at 87%. So even though I don’t feel that deprived of oxygen, obviously there’s lack of oxygen here. So all right, we’re going to head up show you what the crowds look like. Speech. Speech. Speech. passed a couple people below behind me. One young chap from Finland. He says he doesn’t think he can make it. I tried to encourage him, you know, take lots of breaks, lots of water. But yeah, this is uh this is no joke. This is a pretty freaking good workout. But like I said, if you prepare, you know, train at home and uh you know, just take it easy. Don’t try to rush up. It’s not a sprint. You’ll be all right. Lots of brakes, lots of water. Bob’s your uncle. But this particular section, holy, it’s kicking my ass. All right, let’s continue on. YouTube. YouTuber. Say, “Hey, YouTube.” Hi. Hi. What’s your channel? All right. This is pretty cool. So, I’m no geologist, but uh I’m going to say this is a cool a uh lava flow that’s frozen. Not not frozen, but it’s uh cooled. So you can see very cool. All right. All right, there you have it. 3,000 m. Mist is starting to roll in. It’s hard to pick it up on camera. That didn’t If I didn’t know any better, I’d say probably going to rain soon, too. All right. All right. Station eight. Here I come. I think this is where I’m spinning. Well, [Music] quick video. Thank you. [Music] [Music] Looks like there’s two different where lava flows. A big one and a one on top, smaller one. That’s so cool. They’re very, very cool. Beautiful. Very freaking awesome. Reminds me of uh was doing some hiking around uh big island of Hawaii sort of on the the big uh I can’t remember the name of the the volcano there with the observatories on top. That was pretty cool. This kind of reminds me of that. So that big white house up there, I think that’s going to be station 8. I think that’s where I’m camping, staying overnight. So um yeah, still got it. Doesn’t look that far, but it’s still a pretty pretty good slog up these rocks. So, it ain’t going to be easy, but we’ll get there. All right, Mount Fuji 2025. This is the this uh particular section here. call it the broken ankle section or whatever you want, but man, it’s just uh if you’re not paying if you look away, you’re not paying attention for a second, your boot can get stuck and wedged in these little little cubby holes here, cubby holes, and uh man, you go over your ankle, you’re done. So, yeah, it’s a whole section here. It’s uh guts to tell you why. You got to pay attention for the whole for the entire hike. But this that this section here is particularly gnarly if I do say so. And as any good climber or hiker should do, you take note because this is the way we’ll have to come back down. So yeah, just got to be mindful. I certainly hope well that’d be all right. It’ be fun actually. I like a good challenge. But I certainly hope the summit push in the morning later tonight or tomorrow early morning the train isn’t as bad like this. I wouldn’t want to be going through this at night. That would be foolish in my opinion. There’s a interesting section here. Big ass boulders probably ejected from one of the eruptions. Pretty cool, man. Just getting being on a mountain or volcano when it erupts and these [ __ ] things are flying through the air. That’s interesting. I don’t like it. That is so cool. Yeah, Train’s uh definitely changing a bit as we get higher up. Need uh Itchy Boots from her YouTube to explain all this to me. She’s a geologist, trained geologist. So when she goes on trips, sometimes she gives a little geology lesson on wherever she is. So itchiba, if you haven’t been to Fuji, Mount Fuji, come here and explain what I’m looking at. I’m very interested to know. Anyway, this is cool. Yeah, this is a this trail definitely lives up to its name and reputation for sure. And definitely using these little ropes to help pull my sorry ass up these [ __ ] steps. How cool. Look at that. I I know not too many people talk about the the landscape and geology, but kind of fascinating. All right, let’s keep going. I tell you, retired. I’m [ __ ] retired. I can do what I want. It’s kind of cool. Like that feeling. I can [ __ ] do anything I want. whenever I want, wherever I want, with whoever I want. That is freedom, my friends. That is something to work for. That is something hard earned, let me tell you. I’m planning on this for many, many years. Okay, station 8. Let’s do this. All right, my friends. This [ __ ] better be station eight. Good. [Music] So the trail continues I don’t think we’re doing that anymore. We’re going to take a take a break. There’s a toilet. Oo, lovely aroma. I don’t know who gets the chosen to do that duty, but pity that guy. Probably goes home and clothes smell like sewer. All right, that’s all the stations down there. We’re station eight. Time for something to drink. All right, made it here. Eight station. We are at the 3,250 m or 10, 662 ft. So, uh, yeah, high altitude will start taking effect, but I don’t feel anything. Uh, like I said, I’m taking my high altitude medication. I got to take another one now. um started taking them yesterday and and all day today and uh don’t really feel like obviously it’s more difficult to catch your breath when you’re going up up these uh steep trails but uh I don’t feel like laded dizzy or anything like that. Um only reason I’m coughing is cuz people around me are smoking. I do a quick video. I don’t want to get anybody, but uh this is uh where you crash for the night or for a few hours. Anyways, this is my bunk down lower right. Bathrooms are through there. Just get an idea what they look like. It’s got a little foam mattress and a little blanket. And that’s about it. So, it’s not too bad. Good setup. They’re very wellrun. Uh, bathrooms are 24 hours, so if you stay, you don’t have to pay. Um, they wake you up at 1:30 for get ready to go to the summit, but so I’ll probably get up a lot sooner than that. All right, let’s get settled in and get some rest. So, apparently the girl that got me check into my bunk said uh they call your name, said she’ll um she’ll come to my bunk to the bunk house and get me. So um I guess I’m just going to wait before uh before I can eat. So as it clouds is uh it’s definitely getting a little cooler. The sun’s not not out anymore. So Oh, I’m stole my shorts. Love the footwear. Hey, that kind of matches the inside of my jacket. All right, I’m going to back my bunk, lay down, and hopefully she calls me. Worst case scenario, something screws up. I got lots of food. I brought lots of sandwiches, so I’m good there. But It’s about what 1:30. Just uh starting uh the next uh section of this uh climb. You can see the lights up there. This will be the final push for the summit. I’m estimating hopefully 3 hours. Sunrises at 4:30. Take a rest up there and then uh make the long journey back down or heard 5 6 hours down which uh we’ll just take it easy. Don’t ruin my knees. So So at 1:30 it’s not very cold out. It’s probably I don’t know 10 Celsius. It’s not as uh cold as Taiwan was. Taiwan was freezing. So, um, this is not too bad. So, got some layers on, but not too much. Don’t want to overdo it. So, all right. Here we go. Next stop, station nine. See you there. All right, guys. I think we’re approaching the ninth station. Holy, this hike, this climb is no [ __ ] joke. I don’t know if we’re maybe 11,000 now. I’m not sure. Man, you feel good out of the gate and after five minutes your legs are like, “Nope, no. I’ll work too hard for you to get to station eight. I got nothing left for you for the rest of the way. So, you just got to take it easy.” Oh, what is this? Oh, cool. All these coins and stuff. How cool is that? Oh, let’s put one in, guys. 100 coin. All right. Keep the gods happy. There we go. I think it’s uh Sajama, the god of Fuji Mountain. So she keep me safe and uh I will look after her trails and respect where I walk. This what it looks like. We’ll uh start making our way to the next station. station 10. And uh before we go, we let’s uh use the toilet. Yeah, while it’s here, might as well use it. Take a second. Sorry. Where Well, unfortunately, I’m uh stuck behind this large group of about I don’t know 50 50 climbers. So maybe I can work my way past some, but I’m no rush at all. We’ll uh keep going. I guess station 10 is the next one. I have no idea how far away it is. No problem. All right. Northern upward. All right, we’re at another station here. I haven’t got a clue if this is station 10 or maybe station 9 and a half. Not sure. It’s not not a very big one. But uh just looking up the hill here. Holy [ __ ] We got a long way to go. You see the lights? I don’t know. They probably won’t pick up on the camera here, but they’re just like little dots way the [ __ ] up there. We’ll still go a long way to go. All right, so we’ll take a break here and then we’ll uh we’ll carry on. Man, what a suck. All right. I don’t care. Come on. Are you good? All right, guys. Look at we made it. Summit of Fuji. [ __ ] yeah. Another mountain conquered. Another bucket list item. I can check off. This is a tough one. Just got to make my way to the ridge over here. Get a better view of the sunrise that’s coming up. Holy, what a [ __ ] slug that was. [Music] So, I think we’re at uh 12,300 ft. Um I’ll have to convert that to meters, but uh yeah, this is it. The crater is right over here. We’ll take a look at that in a sec. But uh this has been a bucket list item for [ __ ] years. You know, world famous Mount Fuji. Here I am. This is crazy. Don’t want to get too close to the edge here. I just uh thinking about that. I think she was a Brazilian, young Brazilian. I don’t know if she was a model or not, but she was uh climbing up some volcano somewhere in Indonesia or somewhere and uh she got too close to the edge, fell down and uh managed to survive. I think 4 days, but then uh she died cuz uh I don’t know, it took too long to get to her. Or maybe there’s uh the gases suffered gases down there. I’m not sure. Lack of oxygen, but it was sad story. So anyway, I ain’t going any closer to the edge, but this is what it looks like. Pretty freaking cool. This is I don’t know. What’s up? All right, we’re at station seven. We’re getting there. Uh, station six down there. And then station five, you can see buses down there. That’s where we’re headed. So, we’re getting there. Knees are a little sore. They’re not terrible, but they’re a little sore. So, just taking it easy and uh just sort of stopped for a 5m minute break up on halfway up the trail there. So, all right, we’ll take a break here and then uh carry on to station six. But I think we’re at station six. 2500 m and it is 20 to 10. So, man, oh man, exhausted. One more station to go. All right, I’ll chat with you guys later. I got to get some uh drink some water, get some snacks, and then uh one more push. One more push. One more. Yeah, I guess so. Downhill to station five, and that’s the end. So, see you there. All right, made it 10:07 station 5. We are uh completed Mount Fucci. Holy [ __ ] that was log. That was uh that was no easy hike, that’s for sure. Uh unfortunately, between uh station six and station five, the heavens opened up. Holy [ __ ] Big ass raindrops and it just came bucketed. So, uh, little damp, but it doesn’t matter cuz the hike is over, so I’m not too worried. Yeah, 10:07. So, I have to add up how long it took to get to the top and then how long it took me to get to the bottom. I am bloody exhausted, but I did it. Fuji conquered. And, uh, we’ll see what other adventures we can get into. All right, chat with you later.

In this video I will take you along on my journey to summit one of the worlds most recognizable mountains, the iconic Mt Fuji. We start in Shinjuku, Tokyo and board the Romancer train to the town of Gotemba near Mt Fuji. Here I will stay overnight and prepare for my attempt for the summit and will show you the food and clothing needed to have a successful climb. I arrive the next morning at the base of Mt Fuji, station 5 and the start of the Fujinomiya trail the steepest and considered the most difficult of the 4 trails. I check in at the trail head hut with a prepaid QR code then begin my ascent. In this video I will show you what type of terrain and conditions to expect between each station (Mtn huts) from station 5 to the summit, station 10. (actually there are 8 stations in total) Also show the sleeping arrangements, the toilets and food and water available on this trail. This was one of the most difficult climbs I have done to date and as my body screamed at me to stop my mind just told me to push on. The high altitude effects on Fuji are ever present and must be managed properly and the will to summit must never override your safety and commons sense. This is an extra long video but in it you will see and experience what it is like to climb this legend and hopefully gain some tips and ideas for your summit attempt. Always respect and be mindful of local traditions and it is common to make a small offering at the Torii gate as you enter this sacred place. Enjoy.

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