Back in the mid-1980's I took a group of Boy Scouts on a hiking trip to the top of Mount Fuji (12,388 feet.) We wanted to see the sunrise from the summit, so we started climbing in the late afternoon, caught a catnap somewhere around the 8th station, and somehow managed to make it to the top just as the sun was coming up. Of course we weren't the only climbers that particular day - we had plenty of company on the trail including at least one group of seniors well into their seventies. It was pretty embarassing when they climbed right past us without any huffing or puffing. There were also a number of hikers carrying mountain bikes over their shoulders. When I asked what they were up to, their polite answer was that they had biked to the 5th station and wanted to take their bikes to the top for a once in a lifetime photo op.
At the time I was naive enough to believe them at their word. It was only later that I found out that people actually mountain bike down from the summit. Officially the mountain trail to the summit is closed to bicycles during the annual July/August climbing season - which means attempts have to be made either just before or just after the season. As far as I know, no one has attempted the descent on a Kickbike - at least not yet.
A simple Google search turns up several websites documenting bike descents, and a few of them include great photos of the views - both on the long climb up, and the quick, bumpy ride back down again. I've included links to some of the best sites I've found so far-
Biking Mount Fuji, Japan - Mountain Bike Bill: Includes lots of great photos, and a detailed writeup of Bill's two Mount Fuji climbs, one with and one without the bike.Fuji by Mountain Bike - Randy Biddle: Very good writeup along with suggestions on when to climb and what to bring.
Strong Arm Expeditions - Keegan Reilly: Ascent of Mount Fuji by a paraplegic climber powering a four wheeled 'bicycle' with his arms. Reilly ran into a number of problems, including some bureaucratic fumbling, but managed to overcome all obstacles and made it to the summit. In a newspaper interview after the climb he said, "Limits are often set by society. People are told what they are capable of and told that some things are too dangerous to achieve. But the only limits are those you set for yourself. If you have a dream, you need to chase after it."
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