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3 bodies found in Mount Fuji crater; another also dies while climbing
SHIZUOKA/KOFU©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.
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Mr Goodman
Rip
Sounds like some climbers were not authorized or qualified
JeffLee
Three bodies separately got inside inside the crater around the same time? That sounds bizarre.
As for the professional climber, if you've got a heart disease, then you should find another profession.
TokyoLiving
Could be...
Bib
One of them has likely been there for a month, the other several days. It’s a bafflingly vague story. Is the pro climber the man from Maebashi?
hooktrunk2
Such sad news. Rest in peace.
Outside the regular climbing season which starts July 1, I don't believe you need "authorization" (meaning the proposed permit) to climb Mt. Fuji. There is nothing in the article that says they weren't "qualified". Other news sources mention that volcanic gas might have been a culprit, probably from a fumarole, which makes sense if they entered the crater. Fujisan's crater has no way of ridding itself of the gas except for up and if it was sulfur gas, it would settle at the bottom of the crater and could incapacitate an expert the same as it would a novice.
A lot of people don't know they have heart disease. A quick search on line shows he looked really fit.
tora
In the last couple of years, numbers of perfectly fit young people keeling over due to heart issues seem to be really increasing. This is just the latest example.
commanteer
That was my first thought. Fumaroles are interesting to be around but an unexpected burst of gas can kill everyone around it instantly. Better to give them wide berth. Every couple of years I hear about climbers and hikers being killed this way.
Bib
So there are actually four dead. The pro climber who was with friends and got ill and died. Then the man whose wife called….missing since the 21st. Other stories say there is also a car that’s been parked since last month at one parking area…so likely one of the others…and no info on the last one. This is a disaster of a story. Were they near one another? Is one area especially dangerous? Gas releases, maybe?
In any case be careful and take any mountain seriously.
Antiquesaving
As previously mentioned the article is vague!
No proper information, but previously as member of a mountaineering club, I have been up Mount Fuji off season, the club must be officially registered, and application must be submitted, route must also be submitted and approval must be obtained for each member participating in the climb!
So unless rules have changed, it is possible he and his companions had permits, but nothing is mentioned either way!
As for his heart condition, if he knew and decided to do this anyway, well either he ignored the danger or he had approval from his doctor!
A "rock climber" and a "mountain climbers" are very different things, and no idea if he is really the former and not the latter!
Mountain climbers AKA mountaineering, are more likely to have more equipment, and follow a mapped out route avoiding rock climbing if possible and if it is unavoidable then safety equipment is use
Rock climbers do just that, they like the challenge of climbing rock faces some with equipment others without.
If he knew he had a heart condition and decided to do this then it wasn't a good idea because another difference between Rock climbers in mountaineering. Is that the former rarely go to high peaks and remain where oxygen is plentiful challenging Rock faces, hey mountaineer will go high into low oxygen areas which is very bad for your heart and the reason why I stopped many years ago!
Bib
It took me about 5 minutes to find this.
https://explorersweb.com/i-choose-climbing-keita-kurakami-dies-on-mt-fuji-after-years-with-heart-condition/
He knew he had a major heart problem but refused to treat it because he’d have had to quit climbing.
commanteer
Sounds like an impressive guy with a passion. “I thought that giving up climbing would be a choice I would regret later on,” he told a Japanese magazine in 2022. “Even if I lived to be 70 or 80 without climbing, would that really be a happy life for me?”
BeerDeliveryGuy
It could have been a series of failed rescue attempts where initially it was only one climber who fell and the rescuers succumb to whatever the cause was one by one.
BeerDeliveryGuy
A very similar incident happened about 10 years ago, at the same crater. Some extreme skiers fell into the crater, and a professional climber who attempted to rescue them died as well.
Kaowaiinekochanknaw
RIP
Bib
BeerDeliveryGuyToday 08:29 am JST
The story doesn’t make it clear, but they likely died days apart, one a few days ago, one a month ago, and no info about the third. The pro was with friends and fell ill and died in hospital. This is a terribly researched and written story,
Fighto!
Tora -
As another poster pointed out, this climber had a long-standing heart condition. Can you cite any medical studies that show "perfectly fit young people" are increasingly dying due to heart issues over the past couple of years? Nope?
I didn't think so.
RIP to these climbers.
Antiquesaving
Well that is one way of looking at it!
Faced with the same dilemma a little over 20 years ago, I thought, Do I want to be there for my children, do I want to see my children get married and possibly see any grandchildren? How would my death affect my family including my parents and siblings?
The decision didn't just affect me, but has repercussions on others.
For me, it was simple, my family was more important than my enjoyment of mountaineering!
Lastly having previously worked in search and rescue, do I want to be responsible for endangering the lives of those sent to rescue me or recover my body?
This is not just a haphazard thought!
In recent years due to the increase of high risk activities like freestyle rock climbing (no safety equipment) and Base jumping in remote areas.
Many popular places are now no recovery zones, this means the authorities will not risk the lives of their rescue team members to recover those killed doing these activities in these off limits areas
I guess it is a personal choice and who or what you prioritize!
Seigi
Never underestimate the mysterious volcano called Fuji!
3RENSHO
A poorly-written article indeed, in total contrast with the informative link provided by poster Bib at 08:14 am JST
...magnificent photographs!
owzer
Not qualified, maybe. But you don't need authorization to climb.
Mr Kipling
Fuji is hardly a "climb".... its a walk up well made pathways of about 5 km.
Antiquesaving
From the official Fuji website
https://www.fujisan223.com/en/three_rules/
You need permission off season!
WeiWei
No you don’t, it’s a national park and people are free to roam it anytime and any day of the year. There is no law requiring a permission to go into the nature. Just because they write it on a website does not make it a law.
You are requested to submit a climbing plan with the police but that is also not a requirement.
wallace
Do I need a permit to climb Mt. Fuji during the off-season?
Permits are not required but the prefectural police department requests that a climbing form be filled out and submitted in case of an emergency. This is especially true for those attempting a climb between November and April.
https://www.fujimountainguides.com/faq.html#:~:text=Contrary%20to%20popular%20belief%2C%20climbing,that%20the%20trail%20is%20closed.
Antiquesaving
There is a reason for a climbing season!
Fuji in the off season is brutal! There are no open rest stations, no water no toilets and snow and ice!
I have been up 3 times only once in season.
The other times off season with a recognized mountaineering club and permission.
I would not describe it in any way as just "a walk up".
If we are talking about starting at the 5th station in season, plenty of available water, rest stations open, summit open, yeah it is a hike (not really a "walk") but not so difficult!
We are talking off season here, nothing is open, no rest stations no resupply for water, no place to warm up or shelter once you reach the top!
The month if June was mostly rain on the mountain and add in the still melting snow at the peak , wet volcanic hash is not going to make the climb any easy walk up!
Garthgoyle
It's a gray area. But not, you do not need permission to go to Mt. Fuji during the off season. In fact, the mountain huts are currently operational and in business and taking people, but the "official" climbing season hasn't started yet.
Antiquesaving
ok then take it up with Shizuoka prefecture and Yamanashi prefecture that own the website I linked and say you do need permission.
But I guess you also missed the part where as of this year You will need a reservation and have to pay a fee on the Yamanashi side to climb during this year's season.
If as you claim:
Then on opening day, why not go to the Yamanashi trails and try getting in without paying or reservation and let us know how it goes!
Take a look at who owns that website!
Mt. Fuji World Heritage Div., Culture and Tourism Dept., Shizuoka Prefecture
AKA the prefecture government and yes they do make the rules!
Antiquesaving
Now let's see
https://www.fujimountainguides.com/faq.html#:~:text=Contrary%20to%20popular%20belief%2C%20climbing,that%20the%20trail%20is%20closed
A private organization site
Or
https://www.fujisan223.com/en/three_rules/
Mt. Fuji World Heritage Div., Culture and Tourism Dept., Shizuoka Prefecture
A government site!
You can decide which to believe!
Antiquesaving
If you are looking for income tax information and a random site says one thing and the official government site say another thing, which to you believe?
The same thing applies here, the random guide says one thing the official government site says a different thing, which do you think is correct?
Antiquesaving
Judging by the votes, I am guessing that JT readers are correct and the prefectures are wrong!
So which one of you is going to tell Shizuoka and Yamanashi they are wrong?
owzer
I give myself permission.
wallace
The article is about four climbers dying on Fujii. Sympathy for their loss and their families.
virusrex
No it is not, the climber had a long history of hearth problems not just a couple of them, covid is the well described cause of the increase of cardiac risk on young people, but that would not apply in this case.
falseflagsteve
Well, it doesn’t sound very safe to me at all. Perhaps it should be closed to the general public to prevent more tragedies.
Garthgoyle
People die hiking and climbing in other mountains across Japan every year, including ski resort and within their boundaries on the slopes for beginners.
Closing outdoor activities is not the way to go just because accidents could happen.
nandakandamanda
A British climber with a heart condition died of a heart attack at the top of Mt Vesuvius just a couple of days ago. Was he trying to prove something to himself by climbing a famous mountain? I guess such a challenge is a tough choice if you have a health condition.
tora
Umm he had it since 2021. That's not a long history at all. 2021.
didou
It looks like the police was just checking the paths, but not there for any rescue effort. And what happened to his friend ?
Anyway, I climbed Mount Fuji a few days before the official opening back in the days, it is common at this time of the year to see more and more climbers. No need for any authorization all year long, but I am not sure anymore as a local decret was past last year. Many trained mountaineers do Fuji in winter, some transmitting their plan to the local authorities.
Otherwise, with the snow than can be left near the top, there is a danger not to ignore.
But three bodies where inside the crater. Strange they all felt into the crater. Some gas as the posters above mentioned might be the trigger.
hooktrunk2
For those who haven't been to the top, this is what the crater looks like. The photo is probably from near the weather station and probably taken in August.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/Hasshinpo_of_Mt.Fuji_40.jpg
hooktrunk2
I mentioned gas as a possibility earlier, but now they are saying that the weather was stormy with snow on the 21st.
I've been up there before in the wind on a clear day and it is crazy cold. Perhaps they ventured into the crater to escape that wind. I was up on the rim. This was on July 1 in 2012, the first day of the climbing season. I had been in August the year before and it was delightful. Anyone thinking of climbing next week, be prepared for a cold you've never felt before.
https://news.tv-asahi.co.jp/news_society/articles/000356870.html
fooliojp
Fuji-san must be dangerous, I've heard you need a permit to view and climb it these days...
Glad I ascended it a 'FREE' person!
diego
losing their own lives for a day trip! this is insane!
Max Sped
Mr Goodman: "Sounds like some climbers were not authorized or qualified" - No such thing when it comes to where and when you may which to walk, explore, climb; in free, democratic countries. Sounds like you are not qualified and / or authorised to make comments about which you obviously know little about. Also I get the feeling that you've spent too long in Japan and assimilated the Japanese assine obsession with following rules thought up by anachronistic desk-bound bureaucrats.
Ah_so
I think that OP was trying to refer to a well-known conspiracy theory linked to the COVID vaccine. But as you noted, there is no evidence for this.
Claire
This is terribly sad. I am truly sorry for their families. My twenty six year old daughter and a few friends intend to climb Fuji this summer. They are hiring a guide. She's healthy and athletic with no known health issues. But after reading this I am slightly concerned.