Climb the Most Exotic of the Seven Summits
NOVEMBER 2007- ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL CLIMB!
and we have successfully and legally guided more climbers up Carstensz than any other western guide service in the world.
Carstensz Pyramid is located in Indonesia , on the island of West Papua (formerly Irian Jaya). This is the highest peak in the Australasian continent and one of the most difficult of the seven summits to gain access to. The climb itself involves fifth class rock climbing on a beautiful limestone summit ridge to gain the 16,023 foot/4,884 meter summit. Carstensz Pyramid is the highest in the Suriman mountain range that transects the island and sits next to the glaciated, Ngapulu Jaya. The view looking over the jungle and beyond to the blue Pacific Ocean from the summit of this mysterious mountain is a rare and very special experience.
Papua is one of the most exotic and fascinating places in the world. We often have the opportunity to visit with the local Dani people, in which thewomen wear only short skirts of woven orchid fibers and the men still wear the traditional penis gourd and little else. This indigenous tribe provides an amazing contrast with our modern society. The Dani tribes of the fertile Baliem Valley had no contact with western civilization until a missionary, Loyd van Stone, spectacularly parachuted into their midst in 1954.
For three of the last six years, Carstensz Pyramid was inaccessible to climbers. Mountain Trip owner and guide Bill Allen led one of the last expeditions in to the peak prior to its closure. We have been working closely with a local outfitter who has put in countless hours to find a safe, legal way to gain access to the mountain. The result is that we can provide several legal access routes to Carstensz Pyramid. Instead of illegally sneaking in, as some outfitters advertise, we have three other legal options for accessing the mountain that we guard fairly closely. Please feel free to contact us about these other options. Using these approaches we have enabled 44 climbers to reach the summit on 8 successful expeditions from 2005 through 2007. We were thrilled to be the first guide service in North America to gain access to the peak and are certain that we provide you with the best chance for reaching the summit. No one else has the experience to run as safe an expedition to Carstensz as Mountain Trip.
We climb a route up the North Face of Carstensz Pyramid which joins the summit ridge before proceeding to the summit. The climb is on beautiful, sharp limestone. Most of the climb is scrambling, but there are technical sections up to 5.8 in difficulty and some strenuous climbing on free-hanging fixed ropes. We fix ropes on much of the route to gain the summit ridge, which aide us on the descent. The summit ridge is a beautiful, exposed, knife-edged ridge with some really interesting climbing. You'll need to have some rock climbing experience prior to coming to Carstensz and please plan on doing some rock training before the trip. Call us for suggestions on specific skills that you should be comfortable with to be successful on this climb. The island is very rainy and you should expect to be travelling and climbing in the rain at times. If we have extra days at base camp we can climb nearby Ngapulu Jaya, which still has remnant glaciers which makes for a strange juxtaposition on this equatorial island.
Access to Carstensz Pyramid involves a lot of logistics and many permits. As of August 2007, we have several good, legal ways to access the mountain, which eliminate many potential headaches. We also have multiple helicopter options that we have used for the past three years. In any case, all of our Carstensz expeditions begin and end on the lush, tropical island of Bali , in a 5 star resort. This is a wild trip in one of the most fascinating parts of the world. Due to the historical fragility of the ability to aquire climbing permits, we are not certain how long this window of opportunity will continue to be open, so please call us if you are at all interested. We can arrange for a post-climbing side trip to visit Dani villages in the remote highlands of Papua. This is a mind-blowing way to wrap up an already incredible experience.
One of the most sacred skills of a Mountain Guide is the ability to control the subjective factors that could affect the success of an expedition. By controlling the subjective factors, success or failure is then dictated primarily by objective factors such as weather, altitude or health. The unfortunate reality is that on Carstensz Pyramid, we have much less control over the subjective factors than we do on any of our other expeditions. We cannot guarantee that a given expedition will be able to reach the mountain, although we believe that we have a much better chance of getting you there than anyone else. Our ability to access the peak is affected by the bureaucratic chain in Jakarta , helicopters that are occasionally unavailable, military and police officials in Papua, and the political situation on the island, which sometimes seems to change overnight.
We are committed to providing only safe, legal access to the mountain and to protecting the money that you invest in the trip. We have cancelled expeditions in order to protect our clients and we will do so in the future. We have a solid grasp of how the many levels of this trip operate and will not recklessly attempt to run an expedition without a firm belief that it has a good chance of success.
Indonesian government royalty fees
All expedition organizational requirements
All climbing and trekking permits
All scheduled land transport in Indonesia
Scheduled flights to and within Papua (fixed wing and helicopter)
All team equipment
All expedition staff, including local support and Mountain Trip guide(s)
All meals from Dempassar to Dempassar
All supplies necessary to make a safe and strong bid for the summit
Air travel to and from Indonesia
Hotel accommodation and meals in Indonesia except per the itinerary
Entry visa for Indonesia
Personal clothing and equipment
Personal trip insurance (WE VERY STRONGLY RECOMMEND TRIP CANCELLATION INSURANCE)
Customary gratuity for local staff and guides
Misael O. descending the Summit ridge on a snowy ascent in 2005.
**Thanks to Kay LeClaire and Kiko Guzman for the use of their photos!
