I plan on climbing Mount Fuji on September 6th and have already booked a tour but I was wondering about which gear items are really necessary and which are superfluous. The reason behind this question is that I want to travel as lightly as possible (meaning that I don´t want to pack too much stuff in my luggage). I already read quite a few articles about that, but I´d really like to hear the opinion of forum users who already climbed mount Fuji. I know that water resistant and "breathing" clothing is important, but what about a walking stick? Is it that important?
If you are young there is no need for a walking stick. I have climbed it twice, once in athletic shoes and once in Merrell hiking boots. Both were just fine for the hike. You can get by with a backpack as all items you need are available there. Have fun!
How did you get there ? I mean which is the best way to travel up to there? Is it really comfortable?
-snip-
At the time I was living in Tokyo as an ESL teacher. One time we road with a student, the other I took the train and bus. I'd suggest you take the train and spend the night at a hostel. We stayed at K's House Mt. Fuji. It is a good spot as close to the Mt. The hike is comfortable and K's was too, maybe a bit pricey, but it is Japan and everything is. There are vending machines on the way to the top of the Mt. for beverages and refreshments. When we drove there we stayed at a waypoint halfway up Fuji so we could summit at daybreak. It is crowded and bring a light for the climb in the dark. It was semi-cloudy and that is a risk when you daybreak it. But still an incredible time.
Thank for everyone's feedback! I just came back from my trip so I can report a little bit about my experience. In the end I booked a tour to be on the safe side and I personaly think it was a good thing because that way I was sure to be able to have a place to stay for sleep at one of the hut at the 8th station. I met a french girl in Tokyo two days before I climbed mt. Fuji and she told me that she had to climb it without resting because the huts were full. Even though I was already a bit off season, there were really a lot of hikers that day. Our guide told us that during the whole week no one made it to the top because of bad weather. And a friend of mine who went one day later didn't made it either. But luckily we did...
I thought I had brought enought clothes to stay warm, but my body was reallys cold around the top. The strong wind was also part of the reason. I climbed without walking sticks and didn't miss them at all, but they might have been usefull for walking down. I fell down quite a few times because the slope was quite steep mand slipery at times.
All in all it was a fabulous experience and one of the highlights of my trip, even though I felt pretty tired afterwards...
0 Response to "Recommended gear for climbing Mount Fuji"
Post a Comment