Off-Season Climbing on Mount Fuji, Japan
In Japan, the iconic and sacred Mount Fuji presents a grave danger to unprepared climbers outside its official July-August season. Lured by the mountain’s beauty, off-season tourists often attempt ascents without professional guides or proper mountaineering gear. They quickly encounter extreme and volatile conditions, including sudden whiteout blizzards, treacherous ice on the trails, and plummeting temperatures. This leads to fatal falls, severe hypothermia, and disorientation. While mountain rescue services perform frequent and perilous missions, many climbers tragically succumb to exposure on the slopes, underscoring that Fuji’s serene appearance belies its deadly, alpine nature for most of the year.
Climbing bans on Fuji exist to prevent solitary freezes – bear distance rules in Banff exist to prevent solitary feasts. Flip the page to thrill-seekers breaching safety zones with black and grizzly bears, paying the price with savage attacks that leave blood on the trails…
