Conquering Fuji

Climbing Fuji had been on my mind for a long while—just knowing that it’s possible for an average hiker to scale its iconic mass was enough to keep it in the forefront of my thoughts every time I gazed at it.  It towers above the surrounding hills, sometimes masked with haze, sometimes awash in sunlight, its textures vibrantly sharp, but always larger than life—a waiting colossus on the horizon.  In fact, I’d wanted to hike it as soon as possible after arriving in Shizuoka city the summer before, except that I had literally set my bags down in my new apartment a day or two after the official hiking season had closed for the year.  You can climb the mountain at any time, however July and August make up the period when it is relatively snow free, particularly the coldest area near the summit, and considered the safest.  I’m no mountain climber and therefore had to contend with waiting for a year to go by before I could finally set out to hike Fuji-san.