Climbing season opens on Mt. Fuji:

The mountain’s registration on the world heritage list is expected to attract more climbers this year.

About 350,000 to 400,000 people climb the mountain every year, according to the Yamanashi prefectural government. File Photo of Mt Fuji

Climbers flocked to Mt. Fuji on Monday as Japan’s highest mountain opened for this year’s climbing season following its addition to UNESCO’s World Heritage List last month.

At the 3,776 m summit, climbers cheered as the sun broke through the clouds around 4:40 am on Monday.

They trailed up the mountain which straddles Shizuoka and Yamanashi prefectures after three of its four climbing routes opened on Sunday midnight.

Another route from Fujinomiya, Shizuoka, will be completely opened by midnight next Sunday.

The mountain’s registration on the world heritage list is expected to attract more climbers this year, so the authorities will face a greater challenge in ensuring adequate safety measures for them and promoting environmental protection.

To help preserve the environment and fund safety measures, the two prefectures will charge a 1,000 yen admission fee on a trial basis for about 10 days from July 25 near the half-way points, and conduct a survey of climbers about the admission fee.

About 350,000 to 400,000 people climb the mountain every year, according to the Yamanashi prefectural government.

As it takes about six hours to climb the mountain by the Fujinomiya route and longer by the other routes, most climbers stayed overnight at mountain lodges to catch the sunrise from the peak.

A ceremony was also held at a Shinto shrine in Fujinomiya to pray for the safety of climbers, with Shizuoka Governor Heita Kawakatsu and Fujinomiya Mayor Hidetada Sudo attending.

Arunima aims at Seven Summits:

She is the country’s first woman amputee to climb Mount Everest in May

         Arunima Sinha, first Indian woman amputee to climb Mount Everest, interacting with students in the city. 

Arunima Sinha, the country’s first woman amputee to climb Mount Everest in May, said that it was the false accusations levelled against her in connection with the train fall she suffered in 2011 that ignited her zeal to scale great heights.

Talking to journalists on the sidelines of a private school function here on Tuesday, the 26-year-old said: “The accusations created the fire in me. They made me strong, resolute and determined towards my goal. I wanted to prove to the world that I am a true sportsperson and I have done that today.”

Ms. Arunima lost her left lower limb after the train fall between Lucknow and Delhi. Though she claimed that a gang had pushed her out when she resisted its attempt to rob her, the police suspected that it was either a case of suicide or an attempt to evade punishment for ticketless travel.

Asked about the stage of the police case, she said: “I don’t know that. Ever since I lost my limb and started walking with a prosthetic leg, I had been working only on my goal of conquering the 29,000 feet summit. Now that it has been achieved, my next goal is the Seven Summits.”

Seven Summits is a term used to describe the highest mountains in the seven continents of the world and scaling all of them is considered to be a challenging feat by mountaineers. She was in the city to interact, shake hands and pose for photographs with students of Velammal group of schools.