On Fuji Winter

Surprisingly, how little information about climbing the winter Fuji worldwide network. Separate reports of brave entry from all over the planet tell about the incredible complexity of this, it would seem, a simple top of the official season.

It is clear that the year for a year is not necessary, and the level of snow furnishings, wind, cloudiness. In short, the whole list of winter mountain trouble changes absolutely unpredictable.

We will assume that we were lucky. We saw Fuji-san almost without snow, passed through light clouds and almost never frozen. In mid-January, completely out of the flood.

Six-hour moving from Tokyo to Fuji Eshid – then the test. Repeatedly freezing on the next gesture waiting for the change of train, thought to return to Shinjuku and spend the last day in Japan, studying the nightlife of the capital. But love for the mountains rearranged.

It was suggested to go from Fuji Eshida. We suggested elementary logic – on the map, taking into account the absence of buses from Cavagutiko, the distance to the top from the city feature was about 25 km, against 30-32 km from Cavagutiko. In addition, a sharp rise in winter means low-snow cover and a chance to a high forest area. Run ahead, I will say that the calculation turned out to be one hundred percent faithful.

Arriving in Eshid watches at 7 pm, started searching for housing. Youth hostel turned out to be as usual, closed for the winter. Two hours of wound circles around the town showed – there are 2 working hotels and superdomy rek. In the end, I was stripped by the hotel near the station, Sushi was laughed in the Convery restaurant and fell away.

Filtered – slept for 4 hours. Slightly breakfast, captured the remnants of the evening whiskey, power engineer, a couple of chocolates, boiled water and went to search for a mountain.

The occasion was simply found, the benefit, navigating the track above all silence. A couple of hours after the start, the highway ended, and the track began to essentially.

Long road on the highway.

Parallel to the highway goes track, but to go through it in the presence of a solid coating is somewhat lazy.

Track is replete with pointers, cards and barriers.

Throughout the track – ruins, graves and memorable stones. This is the western tip of the infamous suicide forest.

Here, we perceived this barrier as a prohibition on the passage of track. And in fact, the track turned out to be very left. There were just a road work.

Thanks to the accidental approach to the territory of road works, it was possible by a short crab barbell to get out immediately to the third lifting station. Saved minutes forty time.

Slowly finish whiskey at the start track.

The sun hid in clouds, the zone of sustainable snow cover began.

Got out with a bulk – here he is, track. Nearby steps begin.

Abandoned church. After opening the bus track on the fifth station of Cavugti, the old tracks mad strongly.

Through the cutting drifts of the cutting – on New Year’s holidays on Fuji, not one dozen enthusiasts are clearly risen.

The fourth station was not seen. On the fifth – the same ruin. Here we met a seriously equipped pair of Europeans.

Forest zone rises very high. Recent bushes reach 2700. Here we are overtakening snow clouds.

Quickly pass through cloudy.

Finally, the clouds seemed to the vertex. Rather, the tops, because the route shows a few elevations on the edge of the crater, and the most top is a little right.

The most oblivion of the station is the sixth. In height, it is equal to the fifth station of the Kawaguti route. We are just standing on the road connecting two stations of different routes. To the fifth station Kawaguti here is about half an hour walk.

At the exit of the flattering, a strong wind blew. It became difficult to stop – quickly frozen limbs. Immediately remembered how I stormed in Kilimanjaro sneakers.

Between the sixth and seventh stations – the only operating temple on the route. For the winter, of course, closed.

A small lava plateau, practically free from snow – his simplicity blows up. Some sign laid by stones.

It happens that for a couple of minutes, visibility almost disappears.

Seventh Station View. It seems from her to the top – nothing. But it just seems.

Shadow from the top falls on the clouds.

Seventh! There is an emergency center here.

There is a feeling that Krater Fuji can travel by car. At least to the seventh station there is a completely rolled road, which then goes the travert up for the nearest ridge. In terms of buildings, the mountain resembles the beginning of the track anywhere in the Himalayas – literally there is no place where the steps, stone barriers against landslides, the foundations of old buildings and quite acting buildings.

Big view of the perimeter of the crater on Google Planet Earth shows at least four groups of buildings around the edge. But the stairs are only two, and both – from Fuji Eshid.

Steps begin here – first it is just boards, sticking. Over the eighth station – already stone sections, inside which are fixed with full-fledged structures from fittings and wood.

Before the eighth station, the steps are rushed with snow. Becomed begins. Here we are slightly conquered, especially on the descent.

The eighth station is a complex of stone structures that guide water flows and holding the slopes from shuffling.

Looked like a valley with fortifications in the eighth station.

The sun went down the crater, for all calculations it was time to descend. One distillation remained to the top, but the distance to the ninth station supposed about one and a half hours of good work with his feet. In view of the late start of climbing, we did not have one and a half hours.

Barely managed to descend to the first station – they decided not to cut down the dangerous bulk and, finally, we saw the station-mounted station 1 and 2. That’s how the start should look if you go "In the right one":
Monkey gates – all that remains from once a prosperous temple. From 1929 to 1964th, Fuji Eshida route was the main for lifting. Beach bus went to the temple. Until 1929 travelers were brought to the temple on horseback, so the starting platform of the track in the Japanese is called "Relief horse".

After the opening of the Kawaguchi line, all the track buildings came to decline. The full-fledged sixth station remained, and she lives at the expense of tourists coming from Kawaguti buses to spend the night and meet dawn on Fuji, passing by simple steps instead of working on the lava bulk of the most mass route.