Hiking in Japan: Climbing up and skiing down Mt. Fuji (富士山)

To climb Fuji in the snow has long been a dream of mine. But to ski down it? That took it to a whole new level. In the Japan Times: www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2017/06/09/travel/pleasures-perils-summiting-mount-fuji-off-season/
Special thanks to David Niehoff of Kanto Adventures (www.kantoadventures.com) and The Japan Times for supporting this adventure.
Get insured: hoken.montbell.jp
Extra footage // also in this video, Matt Gotschall: kzbin.info/door/WejB98ecnt-dGaN15FaeDw
Music by Lakey Inspired

[@OscarBoyd]

Skiing from 09:00

[@coloradoboy1014]

Talk about earning your turns!

[@cynthiaxu4844]

so cool!!! ski down!!!

[@farmerch]

Hi David, cool to see you climbing Mt Fuji in all kind of youtube clips :)

[@amrittwanabasu4709]

How good should you be at Skiing / Snowboarding to go downhill? I'm fairly good at Snowboarding and can do some black diamonds on the course, but I've never done Backcountry. Asking this to plan what I need to do to make this happen.

[@OscarBoyd]

hi! you should be comfortable skiing variable snow conditions in the backcountry. The snow quality is very mixed on the way down and can range from hard ice to soft slush and you should be confident skiing in all of them before you try skiing/boarding Fuji.

[@amrittwanabasu4709]

@@OscarBoyd Thanks a lot for the reply. Seems like I have a lot to work on before the Snowboarding from Fuji san.

[@binbow6486]

That`s cool!

[@pabloyagani]

great video mate , me and a few friends are going next year can't wait . how much does it roughly cost for a guide up to the summit and back ? and what camera did you use for the video ? subbed :)

[@OscarBoyd]

Depends on the size of the group you have! Check Kanto Adventures' website for prices and booking! Was a Sony RX100V. Cheers!

[@cassiuswortmann7003]

What time of the year did you climb - April-May?

[@OscarBoyd]

mid-May!

[@olexy84]

Hello Oscar, I will be climbing mount fuji in next 3 weeks. Is it legal to go over that fence? I know that I need to send a fax to police station etc. I' m still thinking about taking my drone to the top because it seems to be quite windy up there. Thanks

[@OscarBoyd]

It's a discouragement rather than a legal barrier. The fact you report your climb to the police and they don't immediately come up and arrest you for committing a crime is proof enough. And insurance works still, which it wouldn't if you were committing a crime. Best of luck with it and careful with your drone, it's definitely too windy to fly on a lot of days.

[@olexy84]

Hello my friend. Thank you for your reply. I sent the message to your guide but they weren't really helpful but anyway could you tell me what insurance you had that day? I checked a few companies but they've got * (if the road is closed, etc.) the cover isn't valid. As we spoke before regarding that gate I'm confused now. You can go but there is a sign to not to go. Thanks again so much

[@boredomtheadventure]

Great video! Looked like a great trip!

[@OscarBoyd]

Thanks! Enjoying your videos too!

[@xYukiNeko]

Nice! I climbed it in summer last year. but wouldn´t it be possible to both ski up and down? Cross country skiis are way lighter than alpine skis and you could use them to walk down and up. Has anyone else attempted this?

[@OscarBoyd]

You mean touring skis as opposed to cross country skies? In theory you could, though it is a steep climb, and the path up has less snow in spring than the gully you ski down. So even if you had touring skis for a spring climb, you would have to carry them about half of the way up, so it might not make us much difference as you'd hope.

[@walterusrex194]

in what month have you been there?

[@knight2255]

Nice drone shots!

[@OscarBoyd]

Cheers! Glad you liked them.

[@katiejanejohnson9075]

What time of year was this?

[@OscarBoyd]

mid-May!

[@neosamurai5374]

Just we aware viewers that Mount Fuji is strictly a NO FLY drone area - your guide should know this! Last July on Fuji we witnessed a Chinese guy have his drone confiscated by authorities almost the moment he launched it. In all other national parks a permit is required which is problematic if you can't read/write Japanese.

[@OscarBoyd]

Neo Samurai thanks for your comment. I’d be interested to see where these regulations are written as according to the government’s own fly zone map, Mount Fuji requires no permit. I’ve also checked against regulations on the civil aviation bureau’s website, where the aforementioned map can be found, and it makes no mention of the National Parks rule. Neither does the official Fuji-san website mention the prohibition of drones. Cheers!

[@FELiPES101]

someone needs touring skis/boots

[@OscarBoyd]

too right