A reverent ascent

A group gathers at Mount Fuji's Yoshida Trail to begin their attempt at the summit.

“It's just this one, big kind of group pilgrimage,” Guttenfelder says. “They all look after each other and make sure everyone is taken care of, and everyone gets to the top.”

Masses of vibrantly clad hikers snake towards the summit. A torii gate marks the boundary between the sacred and profane.

White arrows clearly mark the path forward on the Yoshida Trail.

The view from a lodge on the trail reveals an seemingly infinite expanse of clouds.

Groups of climbers pass coffee shops and lodges on their way up.

Climbers often purchase commemorative walking sticks that are branded or stamped—often with Shinto or Buddhist symbols—at each stage of the climb.

Visitors stop at the eighth station lodge on the Yoshida Trail. “All the [infrastructure] that they have in place [is] not just convenience,” Guttenfelder says. “It's done that way so that everyone can do it, and share it.”

There are no shoes allowed in the lodges where climbers sleep.

Hikers are packed together in close quarters before the summit attempt on the second day of the climb.

Scores of climbers slowly make their way towards the summit.

“It was snowing, raining, sleeting, wind blowing,” Guttenfelder says of his most recent climb. “[But] everyone was toughing it out together.”

Though many climb Mount Fuji for recreation, it remains imbued with the sacred. “There is a lot of symbolism—there are temple gates, there are people doing prayers and rituals, Shinto shrines at different stages in the climb,” Guttenfelder says. “There's a temple on the top, people go in and do prayer rituals.”

Groups of people gather before the push to the summit.

Headlamps pierce the darkness on the final ascent.