Is it ok to climb Mt. Fuji with children?
The minimum age for climbing Mt. Everest is 16 (from the Nepal side) and the minimum age for climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro is 12. Ok, Mt. Fuji is not THAT difficult, but let’s be clear, it’s also not a Sunday stroll in the park. Having been climbing mountains since my Boy Scout days and having scaled all of the 24 highest mountains in Japan, I can honestly say climbing Mt. Fuji was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done in my life. The trail gets quite steep above the 9th station, involving some moderate rock scrambling which requires giant steps, even for an adult. And when it rains, the rocks can get very slippery. The winds can get so strong, some hikers literally get blown off the trail, and this risk of injury is obviously much greater with little munchkins. When I climbed Mt. Fuji, I saw many kids, some appearing as young as 6 or 7, and who seemed to be part of some organized outing, like a school or scout trip, etc. But many of them had frowny faces & were obviously in a lot
