JAPAN. FULL WINTER Mt FUJI ASCENTS AND ANOTHER CLIMBING TRADITION

WE RUN THE ONLY Mt FUJI WINTER CLIMBING TRIPS, BASED ON A MIX OF JAPAN AND HIMALAYAN EXPERIENCE. MOST PEOPLE READING THIS WILL HAVE HEARD OF JAPANESE CLIMBERS, BUT ALMOST NO ONE KNOWS THE ALPINE CLIMBING IN JAPAN THEY COME FROM, SO WE AMALGAMATED THE BUSINESS ALPINE CLIMBING JAPAN IN ORDER TO MAKE THE CONNECTION. FOR EXAMPLE ALMOST NO ONE RECOGNIZES THE BLURRY IMAGE IN THE PHOTO SHOWN ABOVE, SHOWING A SIDE OF MT FUJI FAR REMOVED FROM THE TOURIST VERSION, HOME TO SOME VERY SERIOUS ROUTES. WE FIND JAPANS CLIMBING TRADITIONS SO UNIQUE AND FASCINATING WE DECIDED TO BASE FROM THERE, TO INTRODUCE FOREIGN CLIMBERS TO THE MOST UNIQUE STUFF THEY’VE NEVER HEARD OF.

FEW WILL HAVE HEARD THAT JAPAN HAS THE HARDEST ICE ROUTES IN ASIA, OR THAT THERE ARE 2000m MIXED ROUTES, 400m WALLS AND 3000m FACES THAT HAVE NEVER SEEN FULL WINTER ASCENTS. THAT MUCH OF JAPANS MOUNTAINS ARE SURPRISINGLY REMOTE AND WINTERS INCREDIBLY COLD IS SOMETHING NEW TO MOST CLIMBERS, AND STARTS TO HINT AT WHY JAPANESE CLIMBERS HAVE SUCH A HARDCORE REPUTATION ABROAD.

WE ACQUIRED ALPINE CLIMBING JAPAN, AN EXISTING BUSINESS THAT HAS RUN CLIMBING TRIPS TO JAPAN SINCE 2009, DURING COVID WHEN WE NEEDED SOMEWHERE TO HOLE UP AND CLIMB. IT PROVIDES A YEAR-ROUND ENVIRONMENT FOR CLIMBING ICE, ROCK, PEAKS AND FACES THROUGHOUT THE SEASONS, THAT TRANSLATES DIRECTLY TO OUR TRIPS IN TIBET AND XINJIANG.

FOR CLIMBERS MAKING THEIR FIRST FORAYS INTO EXPEDITION CLIMBING JAPAN IS THE IDEAL SPRINGBOARD, WITH SERIOUS ASCENTS IN A FOREIGN CULTURE HAVE THE ENTIRE SKILLSET CLIMBERS WHO HAVE ONLY CLIMBED AT HOME NEED TO LEARN. UNLIKE THE VERY SAFE, DEVELOPED AND ACCESSIBLE IMAGE JAPAN PRESENTS OF ITS CITIES, THE MOUNTAINS CAN BE EVERY BIT AS WILD AS ANYTHING FOUND ELSEWHERE.

WE HAVE COME TO USE WINTER CLIMBING ON MT FUJI AS A TEST PIECE, FOLLOWING EXAMPLES SET BY JAPANS ELITE CLIMBERS WHO SHOW US THE REASON. WHILST CLIMBING MT FUJI IN SUMMER IS IRRELEVANT TO ALPINISM IN MOST WAYS, THE MOUNTAIN IN WINTER IS A WHOLE OTHER MATTER. WE HAVE SEEN CLIMBERS CONVINCED THEY ARE ‘FAST & LIGHT’ FLAIL WHEN CLIMBING MT FUJI, JUST AS WE HAVE SEEN MANY RETREAT FROM THE COLD, THE EXPOSURE, THE TECHNICALITY AND THE COMMITMENT. EVEN THE TRAIL ROUTES DEFEAT MANY AND THEY HAVE A HAND RAIL, WHILST THE MIXED ALPINE ROUTES CAN TAKE UP TO 4 DAYS IN CONDITIONS THAT FEEL LIKE 6000m.

WE COME TO THIS KNOWING FULL WELL WHAT KARAKORAM AND HIMALAYAN WINTER CLIMBING IS LIKE, AND RATE CLIMBING MT FUJI IN WINTER BY ITS ALPINE ROUTES AS WORTHY. THE VERY SERIOUS CONDITIONS MINUS THE AFFECTS OF ALTITUDE MAKE IT THE PERFECT PLACE TO TEST OUT GEAR, SYSTEMS AND THINGS LIKE SNOW CAVES – WHAT WORKS HERE IS A GOOD BET FOR WHAT WORKS ON K2.

MOST TRIPS WE DO IN JAPAN ARE A WEEK LONG, TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE COUNTRIES UNSURPASSED TRANSPORT TO BE ON THE MOUNTAIN SOMETIMES WITHIN HOURS OF ARRIVAL. MOST TRIPS ALSO HAPPEN MID-WINTER, BETWEEN TRIPS TO TIBET, XINJIANG AND THE GOBI DESERT, AND WHEN THE MOUNTAINS ARE THEIR QUIETEST.

THESE ARE THE TRIPS FOR CLIMBERS WANTING TO SEE IF OUR BIGGER HIGH ALTITUDE TRIPS ARE FOR THEM, WHERE THEY GET TO STEP AWAY FROM THE COMMERCIAL INDUSTRY AND TRY SOMETHING OUTSIDE THE ORDINARY. JAPAN REQUIRES NONE OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE HURDLES AND EXPENSES THAT CHINA DOES NOR THE TIME TO ACCLIMATIZE, AND CAN LINK DIRECTLY INTO OUR BIG TRIPS IN STYLE, METHOD AND GEAR.

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