One of Seven Summits

Carstensz Pyramid:   Highest Mountain in Australasia

Elevation:  16,023 feet (4,884 meters)

Mountain Range:  Western Sudirman Range

Country:  Indonesia

Carstensz Pyramid, or Puncak Jaya (“Victory Peak”), is the highest mountain on the island of New Guinea on the Australian Continent in Oceania.   Carstensz Pyramid is the highest point between the Himalaya and the Andes and the highest island peak in the world.  The peak is located in what is called the Sudirman Range, or the Dugundugoo, in the western central highlands of Papua; the Indonesian western half of New Guinea (New Guinea is the second largest island in the world after Greenland).  The pyramid is a huge grey limestone monolith with rough serrated surface edges and cracks that open and extend from the base to the summit ridge.  The trip getting to the mountain is one of the most difficult of the Seven Summits to gain access.

West Papua (formally Irain Jaya) is one of the most exotic, fascinating jungles of the Belien Valley. The local tribesmen of the Dani tribe still wear the traditional penis gourds with little else.

Our route incorporated a lot of logistics and many permits.  We flew by fixed wing aircraft from the city of Manado, on the island of Salawesi, to the island of Pulau Biak and on to the Papuan town of Wamena.  We then flew by a Russian helicopter from Wamena to Zebra Wall where we trekked to base camp.