Mt. Fuji

Temperature at the top was about 60 degrees F, not bad

Temperature at the 5th station when we arrived, cold, foggy and wet

Climbers coming up and coming down as as the two trails meet

Snack and catch your breath time

Rene getting his stick stamped on the 7th station

Are we there yet?

The rock climbing was tough, thank god for my trekking sticks

Give me some oxygen please!

Group photo at 3250 meters high

Tam taking a fall, the decent was very slippery with the loose lava rocks

I am happy to report, we are back home safe from our Mt. Fuji climb adventure, and what an adventure it was.  Thanks to great hiking boots and other rental equipment we had no problems or black toes to report.  We began our journey at 4:30 am, meeting at the bank parking lot to be able to catch the train to our destination.  Once arriving we took a bus to the 5th station.  Driving was not an option for this weekend since the road up to the 5th station was closed to traffic.  We started our climb at a late 9:40 am.  We were on a time schedule due to the train schedule out of Fuji, so we knew we may not be able to make it to the top due to the expected Saturday crowds.  It quickly became obvious as we started our climb that most of the people were coming down the mountain and opposed to up.  They had done the night climb and looked exhausted.  By the look on their faces, we knew a tough climb was ahead.  No crowds, perfect weather, what more could a climber ask for.  It was incredible, but one of the toughest climbs I am sure I will do in my lifetime.  The climb was overall grueling.  Going down was just as bad as going up.  I took two falls coming down.  As for going up, my heart was beating fast and we did have to use our oxygen, but escaped altitude sickness.   I can't say the same for some of the small kids climbing the mountain.  Unfortunately, due to time constraints, we were just 300 meters shy of getting to the top.  We could see the summit as if it was just a touch away, but we knew looks would be deceiving, and that it would take us at least another 1.5-2 hours to climb. We started our decent right above the 8th station.  If we had more time, there was no doubt on my mind we could have made it.  Oh well, as far as I am concerned we made it.  If you asked me if I would do it again, I would probably say no tonight, but maybe tomorrow.   Total climbing time:  7 1/2 hours