A Wise Man Climbs Mount Fuji Once

We just came back from scaling Mount Fuji along the Yoshida trail. The summit is 3776 meters. In contrast, the top of Marmot Basin is 2612m, Sunshine Village is 2730m, Edmonton is 668m, and Izunokuni (where I am living) is 98m. Fuji is an active volcano that last erupted 302 years ago. Luckily it did not erupt while we where there. Our climb had a healthy mix of wind, rain, clouds and cold along with a pinch of sunshine.

Saturday, the day we started the hike, was the first day Fuji was open this year. After 3 hours on 4 different trains and a bus, we arrived at the fifth station. We essentially started our hike in the dark:


We arrived at an 8th station hut at 10:00pm to sleep there overnight in hopes of watching an epic sunrise from the east facing side of Fuji. The sun rose at 4:30am, and it mostly went from black, to dark grey, to a lighter grey, and eventually a pure white. People watching the sunrise cheered during the very fleeting and rare moments that the clouds opened up momentarily to provide any view other than pure white. This view lasted about 8 seconds before the fast moving clouds returned in front of us:


See that white sky? This was our view for 99% of the ascent.
Only a few hours to the summit!

We eventually climbed out of the clouds. This is nearing the summit:


This, my friends, is the summit of Fuji at about 8:00am. I've always found that there's something special about being at any significant summit. Despite the "blow-you-over" strong winds, I found a certain peace up there.
I could sit here all day.

Yet another 4 second opening in the white-out clouds, this is the crater at the summit:
Sorry, no lava.

We lucked out with good timing and decent weather. We packed a good amount of clothes, food and water, without packing too much. I should have, however, followed my mother's advice that I have stubbornly refused since the age of five. Sunscreen: should've put it on.
I also burnt my hands, so my 10-year-running glove tan is gone!