Hikers will have to pay for helicopter rescues
From next year, anyone who attempts to climb Mount Fuji out of season and requires a helicopter rescue will have to pay for the service. The BBC reports this, citing the authorities who manage the northern side of the mountain.
The fee is part of a series of measures introduced by Japan’s Yamanashi prefecture to discourage careless or poorly prepared climbers.
A similar rate, equal to 8,000 yen (about 47 euros) every five minutes, is already in force in the nearby Saitama prefecture for other mountainous areas and will serve as a reference.
Yamanashi authorities will also require those who intend to climb Fuji out of season – the period from the beginning of September to July of the following year – to submit a detailed climbing plan.
“We ask the public to refrain from attempting climbing out of season. We hope these measures will make people think better about what it means to climb Mount Fuji in winter,” Yamanashi Governor Kotaro Nagasaki said on Monday. However, no fee has been announced for helicopter rescues.
