The first time I ever heard of Carstensz Pyramid was in 2006. I was visiting my sister Noelle Hardt, in Anchorage, Alaska and we, together with her husband, Ty, were buying supplies at the REI store there. It was December and Ty and I were planning to climb Wolverine Mountain as part of the training for our upcoming attempt on Denali the following spring.
It is common knowledge among Alaskans that Denali is the high summit for North America. It is a point of pride. "What are the other high summits that make up the seven summits," I asked Ty at some point. He wasn't sure. We eased over to the books isle and found one that listed them; North America - Denali (Mt McKinley), South America - Aconcagua, Africa - Kilimanjaro, Europe - Elbrus, Antarctica - Vinson Massif, Asia - Everest, Oceania - Carstensz Pyramid. "What? Oceania? Isn't that where Atlantis is," I asked. "Shouldn't Australia be in there somewhere?"
The high summit for Australia is Mt Kosciuszko. At just 7,310 feet tall, it is little wonder the climbing community went looking for something more substantial to define the high summit for this region. The search was expanded across Oceania, which is not a continent but rather a geographical region consisting of numerous lands - mostly islands in the Pacific Ocean, including the continent of Australia. This broader survey includes New Guinea, the world's second largest island, and thus Carstensz Pyramid which stands at a more respectable 16,023 feet tall. The legendary climber Reinhold Messner is believed to be the first to include Carstensz (also known as Puncak Jaya) in the place of Kosciuszko. Though many Climbers wishing to lay claim to the Seven Summits have chosen to stand atop both Carstensz and Kosciuszko to eliminate any debate, it is widely agreed that summiting Carstensz Pyramid alone will suffice.
Carstensz Pyramid is named after Dutch explorer Jan Carsteszoon who first sighted the glaciers on the peak of the mountain on a rare clear day in 1623. The sighting went unverified for over two centuries, and Carsteszoon was ridiculed in Europe when he said he had seen snow near the equator. People laughed so hard they made snorting noises through their noses.
In 1936 a Dutch expedition reached the summit of Carstensz at the east glacier peak. However, the subsequent melting of that glacier left the east peak lower than the "Pyramid Peak", a result that would not only prompt Al Gore to exclaim "I told you so," but also rob the Dutch Expedition of their first summit claim. Heinrich Harrer (of Seven Years in Tibet fame) seized on the opportunity and, in 1962, led an expedition to the summit of Carstensz Pyramid.
Carstensz Pyramid is considered the most "technical" climb of the Seven Summits. In contrast to the typically drawn out grind up a snow-covered slope as characterized by the other mountains, Carstensz involves a bold frontal assault of the rock north face. Added to this is the remoteness of Carstensz itself, the nearest village airstrip being a five day jungle trek from the mountain. That trek passes through the tribal lands of various indigenous peoples, most notably the Dani. These tribes have a long and storied history of cannibalism exacted upon one another. Though it is generally accepted that such practices have come to an end, the frequent local flare-ups of hostility combined with broader geopolitical dysfunction have resulted in access to Carstensz being closed completely in 1995 and more recently in 2005.
Each of the other climbs I have done had it's own unique twist, demanded something different in the way of training or equipment. Carstensz promises to take that aspect quite a bit farther. In the course of this Blog I intend to dedicate specific entries to Training, Diet, Jungle Camping, Rock Climbing, The Tribes, The Route, The food and the various other challenges. Join me!
