Long climb

Climbing an active volcano, so much respect to these heroes.

From the footage I've seen it appears that operations are based at the top of one of the ski runs (Mikasayama, Ontake Prefectural National Park?) which is already quite "near" the top and where one of the main trails start. From memory and looking at the huts and approach in the photo, it seems this is correct. If so, you can drive to this point. The actual hike is not so long from there but can be tiring if you go straight up (the "Winter" route) with heavy gear.

Looks like the wind is blowing the "right" way too. Which is why a lot people who go to Ontake don't realize even it's a volcano, because they don't notice the rotten egg smell which is quite obvious if the wind blows the "wrong" way.

Bless you boys. I hope they become internationally famous heroes like the "Fukushima 50".

My heart goes to out to everyone involved in this unfortunate situation...the recovery teams, the victims, and the families.

V.J well said, the families need closure.