Winter 2010 - The Alpine Club of Canada

And Carstensz Pyramid makes six...
by Gordon Hopper
After Elizabeth Tertil and my
thwarted attempt at 8,400 metres
on Everest in 2009 because of a
rescue we had to instigate and organize,
and also due to the early arrival of the
Monsoon within hours of the rescue, we
decided to tackle the only other summit
left on our quest for the Seven Summits,
namely Carstensz Pyramid in West
Papua or Irian Jaya, Indonesia.
There is controversy as to which
mountain is the seventh summit. Some
say that the Australian continent is all
that should be considered, while others
believe the Island of Papua is on the
same continental shelf as Australia.
Mount Koscuiszko, at 2,228 metres and
apparently accessible to the summit
by Landrover before it became a park,
is hardly worthy of the status. I think
the majority of climbers would agree on
Carstensz being the true seventh summit,
as well as the most technically demanding
of all the Seven Summits.
From Calgary it took eight flights to
reach base camp on this remote, most
southerly island of Indonesia. You must
have the necessary government permits
before even seeing the mountain otherwise
you will be turned away. Therefore,
it is essential to go with a reputable
outfit. After waiting a few days in the
town of Nabire for suitable weather, we
took the 75-minute flight by helicopter
Base camp.
photo by Gordon Hopper.
from sea level to the base camp at 4,200
metres. You can also walk through the
jungle for six days but this is fraught with
major problems with the local tribespeople
demanding extortionate increases
in payments for portering and crossing of
their areas of jungle halfway through the
trip. One must remember that they were
cannibals in the not too distant past and
they insist on portering your kit across
their lands. Other problems include drug
resistant malaria as well as the gambit of
other nasty tropical diseases, plus daily
temperatures of 30 to 40 degrees C with
100 per cent humidity.
After a thrilling helicopter flight that
took us over the jungle and a giant open
pit copper and gold mine— flown by the
only helicopter pilot willing to fly the
route—we set up our camp, ate and rested
to prepare for our 3 a.m. wakeup call, as
an early start is best to avoid the usual
daily afternoon tropical deluge.
After breakfast, our group of six and
local guide left in the dark for the base
of the 600-metre rock wall of up to 80
degrees which led on to the summit ridge
of the mountain. The ascent entailed rock
climbing with the assistance of an
ascender on fixed ropes. Soon after
attaining the ridge, we came upon our
first major obstacle, a 30-metre Tyrolean
traverse on ropes over a very deep gash on
the ridge with a 600-metre drop off on
Climbers gear up on Carstensz.
Hopper.
photo by Gordon
each side. This caused lots of entertainment
as well as major adrenalin release.
It was rather strenuous on the forearms
pulling uphill against the friction of a
loaded carabiner, and I have to admit
to having my eyes closed for half of the
traverse. We then proceeded along the
ridge and came upon two unanticipated
surprises, which consisted of two very
exposed gaps. However, after reassurance
from our guide we, one by one, took
the plunge and crossed these obstacles.
Fortunately the rock had a very rough
surface and provided excellent grip. It
was then an uneventful final 50 metres to
the summit.
We had lots to celebrate, as for one of
our members it was the final of the Seven
Summits, for four it was number six and
for one it was the fifth. There was lots of
sun and thin cloud around the summit
with almost no wind, which is most
unusual for this mountain.
After about an hour of celebration and
picture taking, we started our descent.
We again negotiated the three adrenalin
releasing crossings and reached the
60-metre, 80 degree rappel down the first
rock wall. Soon after commencing our
descent on this wall, the afternoon rains
started, along with thunder. Fortunately,
the thunder did not come too close as we
had lots of metal hardware attached to
our harnesses. Following an uneventful
but rain drenching descent, we reached
base camp where we changed into dry
clothes and disappeared into our sleeping
bags for the evening and night,
24 Alpine Club of Canada Gazette Winter 2010