During Golden Week of 1999, 26-year-old Tom Fearnehough and six friends skied down Mount Fuji. A Japanese man had attempted the same feat the year before and plummeted 2,000 meters to his death. Fearnehough and his friends, however, were better prepared.
With crampons on their boots, the seven JETs hiked all night under a full-moon sky to reach the 3,776-meter summit. At sunrise, they worked their way around the icy crater and found their point of descent. With ice axes securely strapped to their wrists to stop any fall on the icy slopes, Fearnehough and his friends descended into the golden morning light. For the next 60 minutes, the expert skiers enjoyed an experience of Mount Fuji that few will ever know.
Such adventure is not unusual for Fearnehough. Last December, he completed a 6,986-km trek across the Japanese archipelago, climbing 98 mountains en route, just two short of becoming the first person ever to complete the hyakumeizan (100 famous mountains) course completely on foot.