Australasia, Irian Jaya, Carstensz Pyramid, Irian Jaya (New Guinea)

Publication Year: 1987.

Carstensz Pyramid, Irian Jaya (New Guinea). This is the highest peak (5030 meters, 16,503 feet or 4884 meters, 15,023 feet) in Australasia. We pursued it as a part of Pat Morrow’s successful quest to climb the highest mountain on all seven continents. Access was complicated by the existence of Papuan nationalist rebel activity in the Indonesian province of Irian Jaya. No foreign climbing parties have received permission to climb Carstensz for some years. After 17 months of negotiation between Canada’s External Affairs Department, Indonesia’s Department of Social Cultural Affairs and the Indonesian Army, permission was obtained for a joint trip with the Mapala Club of the University of Indonesia. We flew to the transmigration settlement of Timika, traveled by Jeep to the mining town of Tembagapura at 6500 feet. There we added ten Moni and Dani porters and five local soldiers and proceeded up the aerial tramway to the Freeport Indonesia copper mine. We established camp at the foot of the Meren Glacier and then moved to the base of Carstensz in the Yellow Valley (13,500 feet). Carstensz resembles a giant rock flake of prickly limestone. We proceeded up the north face along Heinrich Harrer’s 1962 first-ascent route. After three roped pitches and a scramble up a gully, we reached the knife-edged ridge. Working through notches, using three rappels and climbing out on the south face with moves up to 5.8, we reached the summit at 1:15 P.M. on May 7. The slow descent repeated the ridge line rappels and finished with three rappels after dark. The party consisted of Canadian Pat Morrow and his wife Baiba Morrow, Indonesians Adi Seno and Titus Pramono, and me.

Stephen Fossett