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Climbing Mt Fuji in Japan is a reasonably serious climb (for ordinary people). At 3600m you need to think about altitude acclimitisation and it's best to sleep

Climbing Mt Fuji in Japan is a reasonably serious climb (for ordinary people). At 3600m you need to think about altitude acclimitisation and it's best to sleep overnight on the way up. The achievement is only undermined by the fact that there is a literal queue of people in front of you for the entire ascent, and by the fact that after completing the climb you are greeted with a vending machine at the summit!

wenc 6y ago
Like most people, my first thought was "how do they restock those machines?" Turns out the summit of Mt Fuji has civilizational amenities, and there's actually a vehicle that goes up to the summit via a trail. https://www.flickr.com/photos/182302882@N05/48439659072/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/182302882@N05/48439659072/
NikolaeVarius 6y ago
Thats about 12,000 feet. You dont need altitude acclimatization for that, it'll just suck a decent bit more than normal. I just went backpacking at 13k+ feet without any prep, it was fine outside of needing to take more breaks.
- umvi 6y ago
  It really depends on the mountain, which you should always research beforehand. For example, I climbed Mt. Massive in Colorado (second highest peak and >14k feet) without any special training or problems (I normally live near Washington DC). If you are in reasonably good shape (i.e. you run regularly) then you should be fine. Yeah, I stopped to catch my breath a little more frequently the higher I got, but it was a totally manageable 8 mile round trip.
- Green_man 6y ago
  This can depend widely on the altitude you are acclimated to (what altitude do you live at, how regularly do you hike/climb/run near the target altitude, etc.), as well as how quickly you go. For some, finishing the mountain without having to overnight on or near it is more convenient, but others might overnight so they can go faster on summit day without getting altitude sickness. Side note (I'm not saying this applies to above comment): I'd caution anyone to take 12,000 feet seriously, it's a serious altitude and you want to think in terms of turnaround times and eventualities, not "I'm getting to the top no matter what".
- IkmoIkmo 6y ago
  That's not true. Plenty of people get sick on this mountain, it's not the norm and plenty of elderly and children climb this mountain, but there's definitely a not-insignificant number of people who could not handle the altitude without acclimatisation, among which many who're in perfectly fine health. Your personal experience does not refute any of that, just google Mt Fuji Altitude Sickness.
- vkou 6y ago
  I live at sea level, and I've been up to 10,000 feet five times. I've felt fine for four of them, but the fifth time, some light physical activity (~60 minutes of walking) put me flat on my ass, made my feet feel like lead, and made me want to do nothing other than to lie down and sleep. Different people react to altitude differently.
- rconti 6y ago
  It just depends. I live at sea level in the bay area but regularly spend a week at a time at 8000ft near tahoe. I've never thought twice about it. When we went to Peru, we flew in to Cusco which is around 11,000ft which seems like "not that much higher"; however, the decrease in pressure and O2 content is exponential, the the transition between "no problems" and "some problems" may be abrupt. My wife is fitter than I am, but seemed to have had more issues on our first few days, despite us both taking Acetazolamide (although we didn't bother until after arrival). Another factor is that speed of ascent factors into onset of sickness; flying in to a high altitude can be worse than ascending over a period of days, as it takes time to acclimate. Physical fitness doesn't seem to have a lot to do with how a given person will respond to altitude. I believe women and older people are slightly more likely to respond poorly, but it's kind of a crapshoot. We hiked over 15,000ft but it definitely sucked at times -- tingly hands and feet related to the drugs, I believe. Funny thing was, after > 1 week at that altitude, we both stopped taking our drugs the morning of our departure. Our flight was delayed by a few hours and by 1pm I started feeling the onset of symptoms again, wishing I had taken my dose that morning.

wenc 6y ago

Like most people, my first thought was "how do they restock those machines?" Turns out the summit of Mt Fuji has civilizational amenities, and there's actually a vehicle that goes up to the summit via a trail. https://www.flickr.com/photos/182302882@N05/48439659072/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/182302882@N05/48439659072/

NikolaeVarius 6y ago

Thats about 12,000 feet. You dont need altitude acclimatization for that, it'll just suck a decent bit more than normal. I just went backpacking at 13k+ feet without any prep, it was fine outside of needing to take more breaks.

umvi 6y ago
It really depends on the mountain, which you should always research beforehand. For example, I climbed Mt. Massive in Colorado (second highest peak and >14k feet) without any special training or problems (I normally live near Washington DC). If you are in reasonably good shape (i.e. you run regularly) then you should be fine. Yeah, I stopped to catch my breath a little more frequently the higher I got, but it was a totally manageable 8 mile round trip.
Green_man 6y ago
This can depend widely on the altitude you are acclimated to (what altitude do you live at, how regularly do you hike/climb/run near the target altitude, etc.), as well as how quickly you go. For some, finishing the mountain without having to overnight on or near it is more convenient, but others might overnight so they can go faster on summit day without getting altitude sickness. Side note (I'm not saying this applies to above comment): I'd caution anyone to take 12,000 feet seriously, it's a serious altitude and you want to think in terms of turnaround times and eventualities, not "I'm getting to the top no matter what".
IkmoIkmo 6y ago
That's not true. Plenty of people get sick on this mountain, it's not the norm and plenty of elderly and children climb this mountain, but there's definitely a not-insignificant number of people who could not handle the altitude without acclimatisation, among which many who're in perfectly fine health. Your personal experience does not refute any of that, just google Mt Fuji Altitude Sickness.
vkou 6y ago
I live at sea level, and I've been up to 10,000 feet five times. I've felt fine for four of them, but the fifth time, some light physical activity (~60 minutes of walking) put me flat on my ass, made my feet feel like lead, and made me want to do nothing other than to lie down and sleep. Different people react to altitude differently.
rconti 6y ago
It just depends. I live at sea level in the bay area but regularly spend a week at a time at 8000ft near tahoe. I've never thought twice about it. When we went to Peru, we flew in to Cusco which is around 11,000ft which seems like "not that much higher"; however, the decrease in pressure and O2 content is exponential, the the transition between "no problems" and "some problems" may be abrupt. My wife is fitter than I am, but seemed to have had more issues on our first few days, despite us both taking Acetazolamide (although we didn't bother until after arrival). Another factor is that speed of ascent factors into onset of sickness; flying in to a high altitude can be worse than ascending over a period of days, as it takes time to acclimate. Physical fitness doesn't seem to have a lot to do with how a given person will respond to altitude. I believe women and older people are slightly more likely to respond poorly, but it's kind of a crapshoot. We hiked over 15,000ft but it definitely sucked at times -- tingly hands and feet related to the drugs, I believe. Funny thing was, after > 1 week at that altitude, we both stopped taking our drugs the morning of our departure. Our flight was delayed by a few hours and by 1pm I started feeling the onset of symptoms again, wishing I had taken my dose that morning.