Climbing Mt. Fuji at Night

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/50 sec, f/4.5, ISO 220 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Wow, What a View

just after sunrise, just prior to a typhoon blowing in

at 3,205m (10,500') elevation, on Japan's Mt. Fuji

I moved to Japan in 1989, and the person who met me at the airport in Tokyo was Krish Kulkarni, a graduate student at Tokyo
University, and the twin brother of Ram Kulkarni, my best friend at my own graduate school in America. I had most recently
met both of them a year ago in Tokyo, and last week met Krish and
his family as they vacationed in Japan.

Climbing Mt. Fuji was high on the list for Krish's 19-year-old son Vishnu, and they kindly invited me along.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/2500 sec, f/5.6, ISO 12800 —
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Our Hotel

Kawaguchiko Hotel (河口湖ホテル)









Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 44mm — 1/2500 sec, f/6.3, ISO 720 —
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View From The Back Window

Krish's back was bothering him, and despite a massage in Kyoto from Ken-chan that helped a lot, he decided to sit this climb out, knowing that I'd
be there to look after his family. Anyway, Krish had already climbed Fuji twice in his life, which is more than enough.

There are various trails up Fuji, but the only one open this early in the season was the “Yoshida Trail”. One reaches it by
road to the “5th Station” at about 2,300m (7,500'), then hikes the remaining 1,476m (4,800') of vertical climb.

Our plan was to climb at night, so as to see the sunrise from the top.

We didn't make it.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — 1/800 sec, f/2.8, ISO 12800 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Our Last View of the Mountain

at least, our last non-close-up view,

on the drive up toward the “5th Station”








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/50 sec, f/4.5, ISO 1100 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Scenic View

on the drive up








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 0.6 sec, f/4.5, ISO 12800 —
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At the Parking Lot

Mt. Fuji Yoshida 5th Station

In the past I've had very good (skill) with slow-shutter hand-held shots, such as
this,
this, and
this, but my luck (skill) wasn't here on this hike; the shot above,
and other slow-shutter hand-held shots are all pretty bad, sorry.

At about 8pm, the three of us (Krish's wife Nilu, son Vishnu, and me) headed out from the parking lot.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/6 sec, f/2.8, ISO 12800 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Starting the Hike Proper

with Nilu Kulkarni and Vishnu Kulkarni








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/50 sec, f/2.8, ISO 6400 —
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Half an Hour In

at the “6th Station”

photo by Vishnu Kulkarni








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/4 sec, f/2.8, ISO 12800 —
map & image data — nearby photos

What We Saw

for most of the night.... nothing more than a string of lights

At various places along the trail are huts that seem to be privately-owned businesses that offer lodging,
and food/drink. They have bright lights, so you can see those dotting the path going up, as well as the
lights of the climbers slowly moving like fireflies in between.

Early on we didn't meet many others on the trail, except a few descending from having seen the sunset,
and the occasional few fast-paced hikers that passed us. I was astounded at how many people completely
ignored my hearty “good evening” as we passed on this relatively unsteep early section. It's possible that
a few had earphone in and didn't hear me, but for the most part I think some people are just jerks.