Considered by many to be the most exotic of the Seven Summits, Carstensz Pyramid towers above an equatorial rainforest jungle populated by people that have had little contact with the western world. The combination of amazing and ancient cultures, a beautiful yet remote mountain and a hugely complex bureaucracy to deal with certainly keep this mountain in a different category than most! PrerequisitesThe Carstensz Pyramid climb will involve a fair bit of climbing on technical rock, with short sections of class 5.8. The rock climbing is only on summit day, and there will be options for using "fixed" ropes for the steeper sections. Climbers attempting Carstensz should have previous outdoor rock climbing experience equivalent to Rock 1 or Rock 2. Lead climbing experience is not required. The summit is over 4,800 meters so acclimatization will be essential while on the climb, though previous high-altitude experience is not required.
Location
Carstensz Pyramid, the highest mountain in Australia/Oceana, is located 4 degrees south of the equator in the Papua province of Indonesia on the island of New Guinea. The province of Papua, in the western half of the island of New Guinea, was previously called Irian Jaya until 2005. The eastern portion of the island is the Independent State of Papua New Guinea. New Guinea is the world’s second largest island after Greenland.
Equipment list for Carstensz expedition
The following personal equipment is required:
- Boots - sturdy leather backpacking or light mountaineering boots (1 pr)
- Approach shoes - shoes for the lower mountain approach and around camp (1 pr)Sleeping bag - good to minus 10 Celsius range (1)
- Sleeping pad - Ensolite or Thermarest type (1)
- Backpack - internal frame, approx. 30-50 litres (1)
- Light weight hiking pants (1 pr)
- Hiking shorts (1 pr)
- Expedition style outer shell jacket with hood - Gore-Tex style (1)
- Full-zip outer shell pants (or bibs) - Gore-Tex style (1 pair)
- Thermal underwear for summit day - top and bottom, Poly-pro, Capilene, etc. (1 pr)
- Insulating pants - fleece or pile (1 pr)
- Lightweight gaiters - optional, good for keeping scree out of boots (1 pr)
- Gloves (medium weight) - wool or poly-pro (1 pr)
- Gloves - leather climbing/rappelling style for rope work (1pr)
- Expedition style gloves or mitts w/removable liners (1 pr)
- Socks - synthetic, wool or wool blend (2-3 pr)
- Warm parka - down, fleece or pile (1)
- Sweater or vest - wool, fleece or down (1)
- Toque/warm hat - wool or fleece (1)
- Hat with sun visor (baseball cap, etc) (1)
- Bandannas (1-2)
- Glacier style sunglasses with side shields and nose shield (1 pr)
- Headlamp with extra batteries
- Personal kit - (toothbrush, foot powder, skin cream, pee-bottle, etc.)
- Personal 1st aid
- Misc. personal items (camera, book, cards, journal, walkman, blister kit, medications, etc.)
- Water bottles/hydration system - minimum 2 litres. No hydration systems for summit day, they will freeze - traditional water bottles only
- Sunscreen and lip screen (min. 30 spf & waterproof)
- Collapsible ski/walking poles (1 pr)
- Large duffel bag with lock (1)
