We received word that 100% of the team reached the summit of Carstensz Pyramid (4884 m / 16,024 ft) at 10:40 AM local time on October 17, 2018 (about 10 hours ago) and have all safely returned to base camp in the Yellow Valley!
We should have some pictures and details to share shortly.
This morning the Carstensz Pyramid climbing team flew by helicopter from the town of Timika, Papua up to their base camp in the Yellow Valley. The base camp is located at an elevation of 4285 m / 14,050 ft. That’s quite a change from the sea-level beaches of Bali just a couple of days ago! Today the team will spend some time hiking around the area of base camp to acclimatize to the new altitude. The weather is looking favorable and everyone is ready for a great day of climbing.
At 4,884 m (16,024 ft.) above sea level, Carstensz Pyramid is the highest point between the Himalayas and the Andres. As the team climbs tomorrow, they will have views of the nearby Grasberg mine, the largest gold mine and second largest copper mine in the world.
Hello from the frontier town of Timika, on the island of New Guinea! Today we are in the easternmost province of Indonesia. We have registered with the local authorities and obtained permission to attempt nearby Carstensz Pyramid. If the weather is suitable for helicopters tomorrow, we will fly in the early morning to our base camp in the Yellow Valley. From there we will acclimatize to the 14,000 ft. elevation and prepare for the ascent.
Wikipedia fun fact: Did you know that New Guinea is the world’s second-largest island? The eastern half of the island is the major land mass of the independent state of Papua New Guinea. The western half, referred to as Western New Guinea or West Papua or simply Papua, formerly a Dutch colony, was annexed by Indonesia in 1962.
pictured left to right: Chad, Gary, Richard, Garrett, Jim, Joel in the ‘climbers cafe’ in Timika, where past climbing teams have summit photos on display.
Today our team of climbers for Carstensz Pyramid made final preparations to fly to the Island of Papua, a 4.5-hour flight from Bali. It’s been a nice couple of days enjoying the Island of Bali, and we are excited to get things underway! We’ve conducted equipment checks, reviewed our logistics and itinerary, and are hoping for good weather once we get to Papua! Myself and our team of 5 climbers will join with our two Indonesian guides for our ascent of Carstensz Pyramid. We look forward to arriving in Timika tomorrow and preparing for our journey to the Yellow Valley base camp!
One of the Seven Summits, Carstensz Pyramid was developed by the collision between the Australian and Pacific tectonic plates and the rock formation that exists today is composed of limestone that rises from the thick forest below to just over 16,000′. This mountain ascent will be a exciting adventure filled with many challenging rock formations. Along the ascent the team will push through multiple glacier fields across the mountain such as Carstensz Glacier. Upon reaching the peak the summit will typically be free of ice. The team’s rock climbing ability to ascents includes mostly 5th class terrain on fixed ropes. Stay tuned as this expedition kicks off!!
Our Carstensz Pyramid team reached the summit and has now returned to Bali today, after a helicopter flight early this morning from the base camp. The weather over the last 48 hours since we got down from the summit has been very stormy, so we were laying low at our base camp until the storm passed and the clouds and rain cleared up for a brief window to let the helicopter fly in. Most of the kitchen and dining tents in the base camp were destroyed in the wind storm, but our personal tents held up fine throughout the storm, thanks to the great engineering from Mountain Hardwear for our Trango 3 tents!
The climb was an epic day on the tallest peak in Australasia, a rock pyramid jutting out of the surrounding jungle landscape. We departed before dawn, climbing up the route over varying degrees of steepness on sustained slopes until we reached the summit ridge. We then traversed the ridge to the famous “abyss” crossing, where we tip toed across a wire cable to the other side. That wasn’t the crux, as there were a couple more challenging crossings where we literally had to leap across to the other side! We lucked out with great weather the whole day and reached the top around 9 AM, then began the long series of rappels back down to base camp. This has truly been an epic adventure! We are all now on our way home after a wonderful time in Indonesia, climbing one of the world’s “7 summits“!
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Carstensz Pyramid weather has our climbing team positioned at base camp for another day. Garrett checks in below via satellite phone and relays that George and Audrey are enjoying the adventure while they wait for their return helicopter flight. Pictures coming soon!
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Garrett checks in with the Carstensz Pyramid team after a safe descent from the summit yesterday. Currently our team is socked in at base camp waiting for suitable weather to fly back to Timika and then to Bali. Stay tuned!
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Carstensz Pyramid team reaches the summit at 4,884m / 16,024ft! Listen to the audio dispatch below as Garrett checks in from the summit. Reports of variable cloud cover and stable climbing conditions. Way to go team!
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Our autumn 2017 Carstensz Pyramid expedition has launched!! Our team flew by helicopter and arrived safely at Yellow Valley base camp today. Listen in below for a audio dispatch from Garrett and climbers Audrey and George as they prepare for the ascent. Onward and upward!
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After a few days patiently waiting for the sky to clear we are off to the mountain! Carstensz Pyramid here we come!
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Our autumn 2017 Carstensz Pyramid expedition has launched!! Our team flew by helicopter and arrived safely at Yellow Valley base camp today. Listen in below for a audio dispatch from Garrett and climbers Audrey and George as they prepare for the ascent. Onward and upward!
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After a few days patiently waiting for the sky to clear we are off to the mountain! Carstensz Pyramid here we come!
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