It was a 22-hour hike from the sea to the top of Japan's highest peak, starting out in scorching summer heat and ending with the temperature near zero.
Joe Pournovin and Linton Rathgen's crazy idea was shared by six others at 6:15 a.m. July 17 when they met together at Tagonoura Beach near the foot of Mount Fuji in Shizuoka Prefecture.
The goal was to reach the top of the 3,776-meter-high volcano from the beach rather than the fifth station, the way it's usually done.