So I guess Hadyn had a slightly different recollection of our events and had some pictures to back his story up.
Coldest day ever didn't stop our group from showing off their legs on the highest mountain in Japan. The weather had said it would be overcast with slight winds. Suited up in cardigans, shorts and trash bags as rain slickers we started up Fuji-san at 5:00am in quite surprisingly unpleasant weather.
We received plenty of smirks and gapes as we began our climb. We were so poorly outfitted that instead of receiving greetings by fellow excursionists up the mountain, we received the Japanese equivalent of crossing themselves as we passed. We finally got to a point where someone returning from the top spoke English and convinced us to back down with other Japanese nodding emphatically in the background.
I finally understand how people die on Fuji. They are unprepared. We were so cold that we couldn't stop for more than a few seconds to catch our breath before starting to freeze. Unfortunately, pausing was key to making it all the way up and down this mountain. Having enough energy for the more grueling and icy down climb was essential, but we would not have been able to pause long enough at the top to rest before descending because it was literally freezing at the top.
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I had no doubt that everyone in our group could physically climb this mountain easily, but doing it safely was another question. I have been all the way to the top and back, but this second trip was far more difficult despite it being twice as short. I was literally blown off the rocks, into the air, twice. And I am not a small thing. Every step you were fighting the wind plus the ascent. Realizing our dilemma was worsening at each rising station we finally started back down after reaching over half way. Had we been a little (a TON) more prepared for the weather this would have been doable, miserable but doable. As it was, our shorts and cardigans were soaked and we had no other intelligible choice but to wrap it up. At least we can say, we climbed Fuji!
Here is the greatest Fuji Ascent Video ever
FYI