- Winston Churchill Memorial Trust

Supported by:
Australasia 3 Peaks
Glacier Expedition
2010
Papua Province, Indonesian New Guinea
Expedition Report
EXPEDITION LEADER: RICKY MUNDAY CA
PREFACE:
The purpose of this report is two-fold:
1. To comply with the requirements of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust (WCMT) that
Fellows’ should submit a report within six months of completing their travels. The report is
an essential part of the Fellowship and gives Fellows the opportunity to focus on what
has been achieved and how the experience overseas will benefit others in their
community and profession
2. To record my experiences and key expedition information in one comprehensive
document in order that others can share in, benefit from and be inspired by my
experiences
While this report is intended to be read by the Director General, Council members and Trustees
of the WCMT, it is also being shared with the huge number of stakeholders who supported me
in the preparation and execution of this expedition.
During the course of planning and undertaking this expedition I faced some formidable
obstacles. I always tried to face these obstacles in the knowledge that I had the full support of
the WCMT and this gave me a deep sense of resolve and confidence. Throughout the
expedition I was conscious that I was representing WCMT to the world and I was honoured and
privileged to do so.
While the expedition cannot be considered a success when measured against the expedition
objectives that I set, many positives can be drawn from the expedition. I would encourage other
people to learn from my own experiences and draw inspiration from some of Winston Churchill’s
own words, which have had a profound impact on my outlook. The sentiments below not only
helped me specifically on this expedition, but can easily apply to obstacles we all face in
everyday life.
"Never Give In"
"This is the lesson: never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never—in nothing,
great or small, large or petty—never give in except to convictions of honour and good
sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the
enemy."
2
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Aims of the Project
1.
Location
2.
Background to the Project & Objectives
3.
Itinerary
4.
Expedition Overview
a. Pre-expedition phase
b. Expedition phase
5.
Success Factors
6.
Logistics
7.
Finance
8.
Personnel
9.
Training
10.
Public Relations
11.
Sponsors
12.
Charity
13.
Supporters
14.
Science
15.
Bibliography
16.
Acknowledgements
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5
6
7
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AIMS:
The expedition took place in November/December 2010. The expedition had 3 aims:
1. Mountaineering – Become the first person to safely summit the three highest peaks in Australasia
in one expedition
2. Scientific - Support ongoing scientific research on the recession of New Guinea’s glaciers by
verifying the existence/extent of ice caps on the three peaks and creating a photographic and
data record for analysis
3. Community - Raise a substantial sum of money to support disadvantaged young people
The expedition leader has extensive climbing and/or wilderness experience and experience of living,
working and travelling in remote areas. Although a standalone expedition, it was also the second leg of a
long-term project to climb the three highest peaks on each continent, which has never been completed or
even attempted.
3
1. LOCATION:
The Indonesian archipelago spans 5,000 km and includes some 17,500 islands. On the archipelago’s
far-flung Eastern fringes sits the world’s second biggest island, covering an area of 786,000 km², more
than three times the size of the UK. By any measure, the island of New Guinea is simply enormous.
Ignored for centuries, it remains ethereal, conjuring up images of dripping montane forests, Stone Age
tribes and tales of intrepid expeditions into a lost world inhabited by cannibals and exotic Birds of
Paradise. Along the spine of the island runs a chain of mountain ranges that stretch almost 1,600 km and
which rise to almost 5,000m, where atmospheric pressure is roughly half that at sea level.
These central ranges have formed a formidable barrier to many expeditions over the last hundred years
and contain the highest mountains between the Himalayas and the Andes. The combination of extreme
height and equatorial latitude also generates an exceptionally high rainfall – up to 5,000mm per year.
The tallest peaks hold permanent equatorial
glaciers, which are currently receding
dramatically due to the impact of global
warming. Mapping of the province is either
non-existent or incomplete.
Fig 1: Location of Indonesia: Papua is the most Easterly province
Fig 2: Relief map of Papua showing extent of Central Highlands
The island itself is split politically in two: the eastern half hosts the state of Papua New Guinea (PNG),
which gained independence in 1975, having previously been under United Nations and Australian
administration. The western portion, formerly Dutch New Guinea, was brought under Indonesian control
in 1963, in controversial circumstances. Initially named Irian Jaya - “victorious hot land” – the western
half of the island now incorporates two Indonesian provinces; West Papua comprises the Bird’s Head
Peninsula in the western extremity; the sparsely populated but much larger Papua Province lies to the
East and borders PNG. This province is huge, but is home to only two million people, a population
density of only 4.7 souls per square kilometre. The UK, in comparison, which boasts a population of 62
million, has a population density of 255 people per square kilometre. The island’s political divide is a
source of ongoing tension, particularly in the central highlands where the expedition took place, where
native Papuans representing disparate pro-independence groups frequently clash with Indonesian
security forces. A small band of separatist guerrillas, the Organisasi Papua Merdeke (OPM), or Free
Papua Movement, still operates near the PNG border.
4
2. BACKGROUND TO THE PROJECT & OBJECTIVES:
The Pegunungan Maoke range on Papua is home to the 3 highest peaks in Australasia. Papua
province’s three highest mountains have the distinction of being the highest in Indonesia, the highest on
the island of New Guinea and the highest in the continent of Australasia. The island of New Guinea sits
on the Australian continental plate. This explains the predominance of marsupial fauna on the island, in
stark contrast to many of islands in the archipelago to the west, where mammals prevail. Geologists
believe that New Guinea became separated from the Australian mainland only 20,000 years ago; the
shallow Torres Strait now covers the land bridges. New Guinea’s position also explains why Mount
Kosciuszko on the Australian mainland, which Dick Bass climbed to complete the first-ever round of the
‘Seven Summits’, no longer makes the list. Puncak Jaya (4,884m), formerly called Carstensz Pyramid
after Dutch explorer Jan Carstensz - who was the first to identify the peak’s glaciers in 1623 - has taken
Kosciuszko’s place. Therefore, the three highest mountains on the broadly-defined continent of
Australasia are:
A. Puncak Jaya (Carstensz Pyramid - 4,884m - 4°05'00“S., 137°11'00“E)
B. Puncak Trikora (4,750m - 4°16'00“S., 138°41'00“E)
C. Puncak Mandala (4,640m - 4°42'35“S., 140°17'25“E)
Mountaineering Objective - From a mountaineering perspective, there are only two recorded ascents of
Puncak Mandala and no record of anyone having attempted to climb Papua’s three highest peaks in one
expedition. This expedition planned an ascent of Puncak Mandala from the North. The expedition also
planned to attempt the rarely climbed American Direct route on Carstensz Pyramid.
Scientific Objective - During the 20th century, these three peaks are known to have supported glaciers.
Since the 1970s tropical glaciers have been retreating quickly. This retreat has been mapped using
advances in satellite imagery. In 2008, the World Glacier Monitoring Service, under the auspices of the UN
Environment Programme (UNEP), published the first Global Glacier Changes: Facts and Figures report.
This highlighted that the average annual melting rate of glaciers appears to have doubled after the turn of
the millennium. If the trend continues, it is possible that glaciers may completely disappear from many
mountain ranges in the 21st century. Both parties also warn that data gaps exist in some vulnerable parts of
the globe, undermining the ability to provide precise early warning for countries and populations at risk. My
scientific objective was to help fill one of these gaps. A better understanding of the changes in these small
ice masses would provide a vital record of climate change information in this remote region.
Puncak Jaya is known to still support glaciers and these are heavily studied; Puncak Trikora supported a
small ice cap which disappeared during the period 1939–62; Puncak Mandala held an ice cap that
researchers believe disappeared entirely before March 2003. However, research on Mandala has been
limited to a desktop review of existing satellite imagery from 1973 to 2007. My expedition aimed to verify the
existence and extent of ice cap cover on the ground on all three peaks to support this vital ongoing
research. I would create a photographic record of the current extent of glaciers for analysis by scientists at
three institutions, as follows:
Dr. Andrew Ruddell – World Glacier Monitoring Service; Dr. Andrew Klein – Texas A&M University; Dr. Mike
Prentice – Indiana University
UNEP believe that there is mounting evidence that climate change is triggering a shrinking and thinning of
many glaciers world-wide which may eventually put at risk water supplies for hundreds of millions of people.
My expedition would support research that aims to reduce uncertainty over the sensitivity of the tropical
troposphere to various forcings, which is a first-order uncertainty in global climate model predictions of the
greenhouse effect. This would inform future climate change strategy, which would influence both human
population and biodiversity conservation strategies.
In addition, I planned to collect water and other samples to assist with ongoing research into past climate
change in the western equatorial Pacific on behalf of Dr. Andrew Henderson (University of Glasgow).
5
3. ITINERARY:
Date
Day
From
To
Details
19-Nov
1
London
Jakarta
Scheduled flight on Emirates 16:35 departure to Jakarta via Dubai, arriving
15:45 on 20th November
20-Nov
21-Nov
2
3
Jakarta
Jakarta
Jakarta
Jakarta
22-Nov
4
Jakarta
Jayapura
Arrived in Jakarta 15:45, booked into Hotel Ibis Arcadia
No flights out of Jakarta to Jayapura available today so I made
preparations in Jakarta, including applying for a second passport and
ensuring that my paperwork was in order. Also booked return flight from
Jayapura to Jakarta for 3rd January 2011
Fly to Sentani Airport on scheduled flight with Lion Air leaving Jakarta at
22:00 via Makassar on Sulawesi. Arrived Jayapura at 07:30
23-Nov
5
Jayapura
Jayapura
24-Nov
6
Jayapura
Bime
25-Nov
7
Bime
Jayapura
26-Nov
8
Jayapura
Jayapura
Met the Kepala Desa (headman) from Oksibil at Sentani airport at 10:00.
Travelled to Hotel Sentani Indah for discussion re access to Bime. Second
meeting in afternoon where access was confirmed after I completed
Puncak Trikora and Carstensz Pyramid. Booked Trigana Air flight to
Wamena for 27th November.
27-Nov
9
Jayapura
Wamena
28-Nov
10
Wamena
Wakikama
29-Nov
11
Wakikama
Semalak Cave Camp
30-Nov
12
Semalak Cave Camp
1-Dec
13
Semalak Cave
Camp
Semalak Cave
Camp
Checked in at 06:00 for 08:00 scheduled flight to Wamena with Trigana
Air. Meeting with local agent (Justinus Daby) to negotiate fee for Puncak
Trikora logistical support. Agree a price of $1,200 to depart the following
day (28th Nov). Check in to Hotel Baliem Pilamo for one night.
Depart hotel 08:00 - 4WD for 2 hours to Lake Habbema (3,400m). Trek to
Wakikama Camp (4.5 hours) and reached camp at 15:00 (3,301m).
Left Wakikama at 08:00 - 6 hours trekking to reach Semalak Cave Camp
at 14:00 (3,740m).
Depart 06:00, trek to locate access to Trikora Summit ridge for 9 hours,
unsuccessful, back in camp at 15:00. Max altitude 4,114m.
2-Dec
14
Semalak Cave
Camp
Wamena
3-Dec
15
Wamena
Jayapura
4-7
Dec
8-Dec
16-19
Jayapura
Jayapura
20
Jayapura
Jayapura
Last local agent confirmed that although he was running a December
departure, his clients had refused me permission to join.
9-Dec
21
Jayapura
Jayapura
10-Dec
22
Jayapura
Jayapura
11-Dec
23
Jayapura
Jakarta
12-13
Dec
14-Dec
24-25
Jakarta
Jakarta
Made contact with Bime local representatives and arranged to return to
Bime the next day (10th Dec). Booked flight with AMA for 12:00.
Phone call at 07:20 from Bime representatives. Meeting called for 08:30.
At this meeting, I was informed that I would have to pay a $5,000
administration fee to return to Bime. I immediately cancelled the expedition
and informed the representatives that I would return in July. Booked flight
from Jayapura to Jakarta as my existing return flight was not available until
16th December
Flew on Merpati scheduled flight from Sentani airport to Jakarta, via Biak
and Makassar, arriving Jakarta in late evening. Checked into Hotel Ibis
Arcadia.
Day in Jakarta, picked up second passport from British Consulate
26
Jakarta
London
Semalak Cave Camp
Arrived Jayapura 07:30 and visited office of Adventist Mission Aviation,
who had agreed to support me to secure a travel permit. Checked in to
Hotel Sentani Indah and booked flight for next day to Bime in the Star
Mountains.
Flew on chartered flight (chartered by two Indonesians) to Bime in the Star
Mountains at 09:00, arrived 10:00. Spent night in District House in Bime.
Tour of Bime village in the early morning and asked to leave on mission
flight at 10:00. Returned to Hotel Sentani Indah.
Summit attempt: Depart 06:40. Trekked in and located route to access
summit ridge of Trikora. After 2 hours, gained ridge at 4,467m. Traversed
ridge for 1.5 hours to high point at 4,638m at base of rocky pyramid.
Impossible to progress without technical climbing equipment due to
steepness and exposure. Descended back to Semalak Cave camp,
arrived in camp 13:45.
Departed from Camp at 07:00. Trek for 4.5 hours back to Lake Habbema
for vehicle pickup. Returned to Wamena via 4WD and arrived back at
Baliem Pilamo Hotel at 14:00. Debrief with local agent and booked flight
for 07:00 next morning (3rd Dec)
Check in at 06:00 at Wamena airport for scheduled Trigana Air service to
Jayapura. Arrived back at Hotel Sentani Indah at 09:00. and checked in
again. Received email from international Carstensz Pyramid agent
advising that the expedition was cancelled (due to depart 5th December).
Contacted all local agents to ask if they had any December departures
running. Also contacted Freeport McMoran (mining company) to request
access through their project area. Permission denied.
Stuck in Hotel Sentani Indah awaiting responses from local agents
Scheduled Emirates flight departed from Jakarta at 00:15 via Dubai and
arrived London Heathrow at 11:35 END EX
6
4. EXPEDITION OVERVIEW:
Pre-expedition phase:
Expedition planning began in October 2009, after I had already spent 4 months working in humanitarian aid
in South Darfur, Sudan. In 2008, I had organised and attempted to climb Africa’s 3 highest peaks within 3
weeks (Africa 3 Peaks Expedition). The expedition team (me and two friends) were thwarted only by icy
conditions halfway up the technical climb on the North Face of Batian on Mount Kenya, which made further
progress unsafe. Otherwise, the expedition was a huge success – we raised over 6,000 GBP for a
childrens’ home in Kenya - and inspired me to keep planning ambitious expeditions to the other continents
with a long-term ambition of becoming the first person to climb the 3 highest peaks on each continent
It quickly became obvious what a challenging expedition this leg would be as my research highlighted an
almost complete lack of mapping for the mountain ranges concerned, the political instability in the region
and the difficulty of even getting close to the mountains. I remained hopeful, however, that with luck and
perseverance I could give myself a great chance of success. I made contact with a wide variety of people,
including the last British team to attempt (and I believe the last people to visit) Puncak Mandala in 1999. I
made connections with researchers in the UK, USA and Australia with a view to establishing any data
requirements they had and it quickly became clear that the glaciers of Papua required careful investigation.
Connections were made with various local agents who operated in and around Papua to determine the
likely cost of logistical support and again it became obvious that this would be a major financial undertaking.
I was very grateful therefore when WCMT awarded me a Fellowship in January 2010 because this ensured
that the expedition would at least be feasible financially.
I began to assemble a team and from early on Carol Sparks, who also worked in humanitarian aid in Sudan
agreed to join me for the Puncak Mandala leg of the expedition. My research had indicated that Puncak
Trikora was the easiest of the three peaks both logistically and technically and I decided that I could, if
necessary, attempt this peak solo if I was unable to find any other expedition partners. I therefore focused
my energies on pulling together a team to attempt Carstensz Pyramid.
In June Carol and I undertook a 5-day Lead Climbing course in North Wales to ensure that we both had the
necessary skills to cope with the technical climb on the South Face of Puncak Mandala. More details on this
can be found in the ‘TRAINING’ section.
On 23rd May I had a major boost when my cousin Mark McGowan decided to join the expedition for the
Carstensz Pyramid leg. Mark had been one of the UK’s top climbers in the late 1980s and early 1990s and
having him on board would help me from a technical climbing perspective and potentially also in raising the
profile of the expedition. Toward the end of August I got more good news when an Australian medical
student (Pei Lew) agreed to join the expedition following a post from me on UKClimbing.com. This meant I
had my team of three and an agreed budget of $18,000 for this leg of the expedition from a local agent. UK
expedition companies typically charge around 11,000 GBP for running a Carstensz Pyramid expedition so
this was a very substantial saving. Of course every time a new member came on board there was quite a
time investment from my side to update the sponsorship pack, grant applications and the press material.
Nevertheless, I now felt more confident than ever that we could achieve the expedition objectives as
planned.
At the start of August, one of my sponsors connected me to a specialist in expedition PR and following a
meeting I decided to engage her to manage the expedition PR and maximise our profile. This is covered in
more detail in the ‘PUBLIC RELATIONS’ section of the report.
In early August I also attended an intensive one-on-one Overseas Medical Intervention course in the UK
that gave me a good grounding in how to deal with any potentially life-threatening situations in a wilderness
setting. Again, more detail is provided in the ‘TRAINING’ section.
7
Sadly, in mid-August Carol pulled out of the expedition for personal reasons. This meant that my initial
objective of climbing Puncak Mandala from the South was no longer feasible for safety reasons – it would
have been far too risky to consider a solo technical climb in such a remote area. Therefore, my planning
shifted focus from an approach from the South via Sumtamon to an approach from the North via Bime,
which was much less technical but no less remote.
Unfortunately, on 21st October I then received a message from Mark telling me that he could no longer
commit to the expedition for financial reasons. This was a bitter disappointment as he had five full months
months to develop a fundraising strategy and also because I had worked hard to get us both fully sponsored
clothing. Finally, on 31st October I received a message from Pei Lew telling me that she was also pulling out
because she was required to register for the next year of her medical degree in Sydney on 6th December,
the date we were planning to leave Jayapura. With only a couple of weeks left before I was due to fly to
Indonesia to start the expedition, I found myself in a very difficult position. The local agent had advised me
that no-one else had committed to our expedition and I had to cancel with him as I couldn’t afford to pay
$18,000 by myself. I therefore began a frantic process of trying to find a local or international agent who was
planning to run a December departure that I could piggyback on. After a year of planning and with many
sponsors and supporters on board it was a very difficult situation to manage. To complicate matters I was
also trying to hand over my professional responsibilities to my replacement in Khartoum and I had precious
little free time to tackle the pressing expedition issues.
After spending a couple of weeks in the UK in late October and early November I made contact with an
international expedition provider and he agreed that I could join his 6th December departure to Carstensz
Pyramid. Unfortunately, this required that I pay a fee of $10,500, which I did reluctantly; however, this was
realistically my only chance of reaching Carstensz Pyramid. It also required another change in my itinerary
as it was earlier than I had planned so I shifted Carstensz Pyramid to the second leg of the expedition and
planned to climb Puncak Trikora last. Finally, in mid-November, having picked up all of my sponsored kit
and two weeks later than originally planned due to the decision to tackle Puncak Mandala from the North
instead of the South, I set off for Indonesia on 19th November 2010 with a huge sense of trepidation about
what lay ahead but relief that finally the expedition would start.
Expedition Phase:
Due to the complicated situation regarding the changing team composition and the flexibility in my itinerary,
I hadn’t made any internal flight bookings from the UK. I knew from my professional experience and
previous expeditions that in developing countries there is a high level of flexibility locally and so it proved. I
had to spend a couple of days in Jakarta because the flight out to Jayapura were either full or prohibitively
expensive but it gave me a chance to finalise some paperwork and make sure I had everything that was
required to obtain my travel permit, which I would do in Papua.
The reception staff in my hotel were able to assist with flight bookings to and from Jayapura through a local
travel agent and my tickets were delivered to me in the hotel. . I was committed to be as flexible as possible
to give myself the best chance of success. I knew that Carstensz Pyramid must be my priority, not only
because it swallowed about 70% of the expedition budget, but also because that is where all of the verified
existing glaciers on the island are located. In order to achieve the second expedition objective to create a
photographic record of the glaciers, I needed to get to them first! I did have some flexibility after Carstensz
because although my flight back to the UK was booked for 4th January 2011 I had no commitments until
17th January, when I would fly out to Berlin to be briefed on my new job as Finance Delegate for the
German Red Cross in Bangladesh.
Due to the fact that my carefully laid plans were thrown into disarray at late notice, my mission pilot Bob
Roberts was unavailable at this time; however, he put me in touch with his son Eric who flies for a Catholic
Mission organisation in Papua (AMA), who proved to very helpful. In fact an AMA pilot was flying on the
same flight as me and I approached him at the airport and he took me to the AMA office. The AMA
Operations Director, also called Bob, proved to be immensely helpful and arranged for me to be taken to the
local Police HQ to have my travel permit processed. He also booked me on a flight the next morning to
Bime airstrip in the Star Mountains!
8
Besides my excitement, I was also conscious that I was really flying into unknown territory - I knew almost
nothing about Bime and even one of the AMA pilots I spoke to could only tell me it was a grass airstrip at
about 1,800m. He couldn't tell me if there was a police post or how many people lived there or any other
basic information.
Nevertheless, it seemed that the gods were smiling on me - at the airport, I was able to fill my fuel bottle
with Kerosene and because two Indonesians had chartered the flight, I didn't have to pay a penny. The
Cessna Caravan was stripped out so I was pushed right up at the back seat for the 1-hour flight to Bime. As
we took off over Lake Sentani, I could see a lot of deforestation around the city and lots of palm oil
plantations, but within a few minutes we were gaining altitude over unbroken forest as far as the eye could
see. For the most part it was undulating terrain, punctuated by broad, brown, sweeping rivers. After about
25 minutes, we started to pick up altitude again and the towering clouds in the distance signalled that we
were approaching the Central Highlands. Very soon, the earth began to appear crumpled and we started
crossing deep ravines and sharp, forested ridges. I spotted an airstrip carved out of the mountain away to
the left and thought that we would bank left to line it up. To my surprise, we headed straight for a high ridge
ahead of us and as we popped up over it I saw Bime airstrip directly ahead of us on the westerly slopes of a
steep-sided valley. As we sped in for a bumpy landing I caught my first sight of the local villagers and my
stomach leapt - I suddenly realised that as soon as the plane took off again I would be here alone in one of
the world's most remote locations with no way to communicate with the local people!
The plane rolled to a stop at the apex of the runway and turned in a tight circle. The pilot, an Indonesian
named Arnold, disembarked and opened the doors and I followed the two other passengers out. I didn't
want to approach anyone directly for fear of offending them so I waited until Arnold had run his checks and
asked if he could translate my purpose. The local Kepala Desa (headman) stepped forward and Arnold
explained that I wanted tiga orang (three men) to accompany me to Puncak Mandala. The headman
seemed to suggest that this was OK. Then another villager stepped forward and asked in (very) broken
English if I needed help with my bags. His name was James and he told me he spoke Pidgin English and
that he was the only person in the village that did - he was employed in the Kantor (District Office) as
assistant to the District Officer, who was absent. That was a stroke of luck for me because when I explained
that I had brought a tent, he insisted that I would stay in the District House, meaning I would at least be dry
and comfortable for one night.
To my surprise, the District House had running electricity. James explained there was a small water
powered turbine further up into the mountains that provided Bime with 24 - hour electricity! The house I was
staying in was a simple wooden affair with two small bedrooms and a living area. It also boasted an indoor
latrine, which I was grateful for. Very soon, James abandoned me and I understood that he would speak
more with the Kepala Desa to figure out if we could leave the next day. In late afternoon when a villager
turned up at the door - he didn't speak English but was very enthusiastic and it was clear that he wanted to
join me on the trek to Mandala. After an animated conversation that somehow made sense despite neither
of us speaking the other's language, Manius left, and I spent some time testing my satcomms again (they
worked!) and cooking some food. A little while later James arrived again with food that his wife had
prepared (rice and vegetables). All the rice that was available in the village has to be flown from Jakarta
because they can't grow rice in the Star Mountains – the staple diet is potatoes. James disappeared again
and I waited patiently for him to return so that I could ask him about the plan for the next day.
After dark, James and several others turned up to the District House. James informed me that he had been
in radio contact with Oksibil, the capital of Pegununggan Bintang (Star Mountains) regency. The Kepala
Desa from there had decided that I couldn't proceed and James informed me that he would fly into Bime the
next day to discuss my options.
9
PUNCAK MANDALA (4,640m) is the
highest mountain in the Pegunungan
Bintang (Star Mountains) Regency of
Papua. The entire Star Mountains region is
very isolated and due to the lack of
infrastructure and development the area is
only accessible by missionary flight. Due to
the remoteness and inaccessibility, I had
set aside 3 weeks for this leg of the
expedition. The northern aspect of the
mountain appears like a giant swelling in
the forest. It can be reached by trekking in
from the northern village of Bime along
local hunting trails. Nevertheless, an
Austrian team attempting this route in 1996
failed to even reach the mountain – the
approach was too arduous.
In stark contrast to the gentle incline from
the north, the steep limestone cliffs of the
South Face present a true challenge to the
committed climber. The first expedition to
reach Mandala’s summit described the view
to the south as like looking into a
“stupendous abyss”. This description
inspired the first and only team to find a
route up the steep southern cliffs – in 1990,
Bruce Parry and Mark Anstice reached the
summit after trekking in from the south
coast of the island. Due to one unplanned
change in the expedition team when Carol
Sparks withdrew, my plan to complete the
second ascent of the South face was
abandoned – I therefore attempted to reach
the summit via the jungle-clad northern
slopes.
I planned to fly into Bime, the nearest
village with an airstrip to the north. On
arrival at Bime, I planned to follow local
trails for a week, heading generally southwest and crossing several rivers. With no
existing photographs of the route and the
tree-line extending to 4,000m, I would have
relied on sketch maps provided by a party
that previously failed to reach the summit
due to a hailstorm. However, I would also
have sent daily GPS readings via BGAN or
satellite phone to my UK Base Manager
Iain Mackay, who was tracking my progress
on Google Earth.
After a promising start, this was a real blow and I had a sinking feeling
that things would not go smoothly. My mood was quite black and I
started thinking that James and the others were only interested in how
much money they could extract from me. At about 7 p.m., I went to
bed but had quite a troubled sleep because I couldn't stop thinking
that this could be a disaster for the expedition.
Next morning, James turned up to the house around 7 a.m. to tell me
there had been another change of plan – now, the Kepala Desa would
fly to Jayapura the next day and James and I would fly to meet him
there. I explained to the best of my ability (with the enormous
language barrier) that I hadn't known that I needed permission from
Oksibil and that had I known I would certainly have done so. I think
one of the reasons why it was difficult to gain access was because
James's boss, the senior District Official of Bime District, was on
leave. I got the impression that James did not want to get himself into
trouble and lacked the authority to make any decision. Therefore, he
would discuss the situation by radio with anyone who would listen.
Having accepted that I would be staying only one more night in Bime,
James then asked if I wanted to have a look around the village and
local area. I jumped at the chance; up to this point I had really just
stayed in the District House because I wasn't sure what was
appropriate and what wasn't – for example I knew from previous
expedition reports that often the women in villages are hidden from
visitors and I didn't want to offend my hosts any more than I had
already done just by being there.
With James, Manius and his two kids we left the compound and
walked up the path adjacent to the airstrip, then crossed a small river,
following a path cut into the steep hillside. At the top of the small ridge
was another small settlement and there I was introduced to the Kepala
Desa of this settlement, who was sitting on a log and handling a large
parang (knife). He had visited the District House the previous day and
was happy to meet me again. There were a few children sheltering
from the hot morning sun under a simple wood and grass structure.
Two young men approached and explained as best they could that
they attended school in Borme, some distance away, but that they
were back in Bime for the school holidays. They were dressed like
Gangsta rappers but were very friendly. They spoke extremely broken
Pidgin English but joined us with a small posse to visit the local District
school, which was set in a prominent position on a nearby west-facing
hillside.
The school was formed of 3 wooden buildings; each Grade had their own classroom with simple wooden
desks and a blackboard. Nixon was one of the students from Borme and he told me he was in Grade 3 and
was 16 years old. I was constantly surprised when I asked people their age to discover that I was much
older than most of them. For example, James was only 26 years old and I would have guessed he was
probably 40. Similarly, I would have guessed that Nixon was in his mid-20s. I guess it's still a very harsh life
in the Star Mountains, even if you live in a village next to an airstrip. Although they now have 24-hour
electricity and access to satellite TV, access to basic healthcare is limited and there is a huge reliance on
the few missionary organisations that serve the various remote airstrips that are spread around the Star
Mountains.
Primary education in Papua is now free to all pupils, thanks to the Government working in partnership with
NGOs. However, parents then have to start paying 50% of school fees beyond this and University education
10
must be fully paid for. There are several missionary organisations that sponsor bright pupils but for most
Papuans, it's exceptionally hard to access those opportunities and jobs are very scarce and hard to secure.
Nevertheless, I was happy to see that the local community has a school and to meet a couple of younger
men who had been able to experience life beyond Bime. Although the traditional way of life has almost
disappeared in Bime itself (I only met one elderly man who was wearing a penis gourd), it's unfair to not
give poorer communities the chance to develop as they wish.
Just as we were planning to walk to another local community, James was called back to Bime from across
the small valley – he was required to take an urgent radio call. We sped back across to Bime itself and
James asked me to wait back at the District House again. After about half an hour, James reappeared with
more news – I was now to leave Bime immediately – there was an AMA flight flying into Bime in half an hour
and I had to be on it. The previous day, I had joked with Arnold, the mission pilot, that I would call him to
come and rescue me. Now, it seemed like he was coming to rescue me after all, but against my will. I
packed my kit up as quickly as I could, gently reminding James that he still had my titanium cooking pot and
spoon. I knew when he offered to wash it the night before that he had his eye on it and thought it would
make a fine addition to his cookware collection!
I hauled my kit up the path to the top of the airstrip and waited at another of the wood/grass shelters where
about 25 people from the local community were waiting. I was able to take a couple of photos with Nixon
and was asked to take a photo of one local villager's rock collection, which I happily did. Very soon, the low
drone of the Cessna's engine could be heard in the distance. In no time at all, the small plane was zooming
to a halt at the top of the airstrip. It's fair to say that Arnold was surprised to see me! He said it was no
problem for me to hitch a ride back to Jayapura, so I climbed in with promises from James that we could fix
this. I wasn't sure how that would happen, given that I had no way to contact him or, in fact, anyone from
Bime. During the flight, I started to review my options:
1. Give up on Mandala and enjoy some rest at the hotel in Jayapura and explore the local area.
2. Try to meet the Kepala Desa at the airport in Jayapura, request his permission to go back and return
to Bime immediately.
3. With permission, postpone Mandala to the end of the expedition and figure out instead how to get to
Wamena to attempt Puncak Trikora.
I quickly dismissed Option 1 from my mind. I decided that I would decide between Option 2 & 3 after (I
hoped) I was able to talk to the Kepala Desa the following day.
The views across the mountains on the flight back were just as mind-blowing as the way out, but my mind
was preoccupied by how to figure this situation out. Once we landed back at Jayapura, I immediately tried
to track down Bob, the Operations Manager, who had quickly become a key figure in my life! Unfortunately,
he was not in his office, but at least I knew that the KD was flying tomorrow from Oksibil, which was at least
something to work with.
I spoke to Bob and tried to explain my position and he agreed to phone me in the morning once the arrival
time was confirmed. This information reduced my stress levels a bit as I now had a clear goal to focus on –
to convince the KD that I should be allowed back. During the early evening, as I was trying to write my diary
on the hotel terrace, two Papuan men approached me and asked if I knew of an American who had wanted
to fly to Bime. I explained in my best Glaswegian accent that I was that American. One of the men spoke
passable English and explained that, although his family was originally from Bime, he studied across the
border in Papua New Guinea. I invited them to join me and then 3 more Papuans appeared from nowhere
and joined us. My life was becoming truly bizarre at this point and I had to pinch myself to check I wasn't
dreaming.
The young man who spoke English explained that his father was a representative of the KD and had been
asked to come to find what my intentions were, in order that he could report back. I now had a way to
definitely setting up a meeting. I explained clearly that I was very sorry that I had not asked permission and
that I was very grateful that they were giving me this opportunity to explain myself.
11
By next morning, I had decided that rather than wait for the KD to
come to my hotel, I wanted to meet him off his flight. This was
because I wanted him to know how important he was in my eyes
and also because I had about $5,000 cash in my room and a huge
amount of equipment and didn't want them to see any of this.
Not long after I arrived at the airport, the KD appeared with a big
smile and as I stepped forward to shake his hand, he grabbed me in
a bear hug, although given that the typical Papuan is less than 5
feet tall, it was around my waist rather than my chest. I was really
happy that he was pleased to meet me and also very happy that I
had made the decision to meet him at the airport. He took me by the
hand and ushered everyone into a taxi. Although he didn't speak
any English, I felt confident that I could work something out with
him. I'd already decided that the maximum amount of money I could
realistically afford to pay for a 'permit fee' would be $500, but
wanted to negotiate to around $300.
At the hotel, I ordered tea for everyone and we started a discussion.
They explained that we would have a break in the discussions
around 1 p.m., in order that I could get some rest. I explained again
my position and then explained that I was respectfully asking his
permission to complete the important project. This time I explained
in detail that I was in Papua on behalf of the Winston Churchill
Memorial Trust to photograph Papua's glaciers and also pointed out
that Her Majesty the Queen was patron of the Trust, which really
seemed to make an impression. With a flourish, I produced my
Letter of Support from the Director General, asking for any
assistance that they could provide. This turned out to be a master
stroke and I suppose that is exactly why the Trust issues such a
letter in the first place. I also explained that if the KD was kind
enough to give me permission to return to Bime and allow me to
access Puncak Mandala, I would have to postpone my visit until
after I had completed the Carstensz Pyramid leg of my expedition.
He agreed to consider this as part of the decision-making process.
After I had finished explaining my position, they informed me that
they would now leave to discuss amongst themselves and would
return at 1 p.m., and that I should get some rest (I must have looked
tired). I was feeling pretty low through a combination of lack of sleep
and a heavy cold that had come on the day before and I would have
jumped at the chance to get some rest, but I decided to take the
calculated risk to go back into Sentani town to book a ticket to
Wamena for the following day. I was pretty sure that the KD would
allow me to visit and felt I could convince him that I should postpone
to the end of my trip. I therefore wanted to make sure I could fly to
Wamena in the Baliem Valley as soon as possible to make an
attempt on Puncak Trikora. I took a taxi directly to the Trigana Air
ticket office to try to figure something out. Luckily, I was able to book
a ticket for the 08:00 flight the next day to Wamena and also booked
a return flight for 4th December, which would allow me to meet up
with the Carstensz Pyramid team ahead of the scheduled 6th
December departure.
12
STAR MOUNTAINS
Governance
Although my local contact in
Bime (James) described ‘Enus’
as the Kepala Desa of Oksibil, I
later became aware of his real
position. Damianus Lepki was
elected in October 2009 as one
of
10
District
Assembly
members of the Star Mountains
District Assembly. He is also the
Deputy Chairman of Parliament
of Pegunungan Bintang (Star
Mountains) Regency
Geography
Western
and
central
are
mountainous with highest peak
Mandala 4,640m above sea
level. The Regency has an area
of 15,683 sq.km. and is located
between
140°05’00”
141°00’00” East Longitude and
3°04’00” - 5°20’00” South
Latitude. Bime District is the
largest area of 3,458 sq.km or
equal to 22.05% of the total
area. Batom District is the
smallest district with an area of
440 sq.km or 2.81% of total
area. In 2005 the amount of
rainfall in the Star Mountains
was 1,960 mm. The number of
rainy days in 2005 was 212
days, while in 2004 there were
237 days of rain.
Population
Population density in the
Regency was 6 persons per
sq.km in 2005. In 2007, there
were 6,023 households in Bime
District with a total population of
21,601 (compared to 95,601
people in the Regency as a
whole). In 2007, 2/3 of the
Regency’s population had never
attended any school and there
were only 60 schools in total. In
comparison, there were 109
churches!!
Health
In 2006, there were only 7
doctors across 2 Districts in the
Regency
My plan now was to fly to Wamena and then try to arrange logistical support on the ground. In email
correspondence with a couple of local agents from Wamena, they had offered prices that were way over my
budget – I really wanted to organise a Trikora climb for less than $1,000 but wasn't sure if this would be
possible. As a last resort, I was prepared to hire a 4WD vehicle and driver myself and try to engage a local
Dani as a guide en route.
Back at the hotel, the Bime representatives returned just after 1 pm. The KD produced a number of
documents for my perusal, including a very useful map, something that I had struggled to get hold of in the
UK despite visiting the library of the Royal Geographical Society. He also had some historical geological
and other scientific reports from European bodies, the most recent being a geological expedition from Frei
Universitat Berlin in 1982. A couple of these documents included a photograph of the glacier on Mandala's
summit that was taken in the early 1950s by a US reconnaissance flight. I had seen a copy of this
photograph in a book written by the first party to summit Mandala in the 1950s (a large-scale Dutch
scientific expedition). However, I have never been able to find any other photographs of the summit, glacier
or no glacier.
The KD then started to expound (through the interpreter) the following extraordinary facts about Mandala:
1. It is the highest and most important mountain in New Guinea
2. The glacier is permanent, will never melt and has been there since God created the Earth
3. The mountain is needle sharp and impossible to climb – I would be unable to take a photograph of the
summit
4. Bime is 1,300 km away from Mandala
5. Despite the distance above, it can be reached in two days walk from Bime
6. I would need a team of at least 20 porters because so many were likely to die on the way
7. Even with all my specialist clothing, the cold would blow most of it off and I would probably also die
I thanked him for the information and told him that if I could get a photograph of Mandala, it would be a huge
news story in the UK and that was why I wanted to save Mandala until last, because it was so important. I
explained that I hoped to build my strength on the first two mountains to be ready to tackle such a mighty
mountain. Regardless of the fact that I would be walking to my certain death, he agreed that I could try to
reach Mandala and supported my project. He then produced an official 'permit', which reads as follows:
Subject: Main connection of the people of Stare Mountain District of Papua and the Sub-District of
Bime and the whole of Republic of Indonesia.
With the Respect of Hon. Mr. Richard, I'm the Member of Star Mountain District. On behalf of my
people in Bime Sub-District, we would like to ask you,
What benefit will we get apart from your travelling to Bime sub-district and the resources and
minerals there?
Please, our motives is that you must help us and developing our sub-district of Bime so that we may
work together and help each other by multilateral/bilateral system.
Thank you very much
I took this to mean that I had free access to Bime and all the villages en route to Mandala. I was asked to
pay just a small token of appreciation in travelling expenses that amounted to less than $70. I actually really
enjoyed meeting the KD and he seemed genuinely pleased that I would return to Bime. The only small
problem I foresaw was that he told me he would keep me in Bime for one month and advised me to send an
email to my new employer explaining that I would not be returning to Scotland. At this point, I began to
consider that maybe I should just marry a girl from the Star Mountains and raise pigs for a living.............
13
Day 9 - 27th November - It was another early start and the check-in queue at the Trigana Air counter
gave me goose bumps – it reminded me of the check-in desks for local flights at Khartoum Airport in Sudan.
However, I soon realised that, unlike in Sudan, there was some order behind the chaos. When I checked in,
I was told me my flight would start boarding in 10 minutes, which was 1 hour 45 minutes ahead of schedule
– luckily my biggest fear in life is missing a flight so I'm always at the airport in good time and I made it on
OK.
The flight into Wamena is incredible – the plane has to pass through an opening in the mountains and
suddenly the whole Baliem valley opens up in front you. The Baliem Valley was only discovered in 1936 by
coincidence by a mail aircraft and had a self-supporting agricultural system of high standard, despite having
had no previous contact with the civilized world. These days, Wamena is home to 10,000 people but due to
the lack of transport infrastructure all goods have to be flown in, which pushes prices up and makes life
expensive for the local residents.
I had been advised by my PR Alex that if I could seek out a Japanese man called Fuji he could organise my
trip to Trikora. I never found the café where he was supposedly based but I found another café and was
amazed to discover a wireless internet connection. I decided to try to phone both of the guides that I had
previously been in contact with now that I was in Wamena and had my travel permit, to see if they would be
willing to negotiate.
The first guy I called had come highly recommended on several internet forums, but when I tried his number
it didn't connect. The second guide answered and I arranged for him to come to the cafe to discuss a trip.
He spoke really good English and over a cup of tea (and several cigarettes for him) he explained that he
had been sponsored by a missionary priest through school (which is how he had learned such good
English), that he had 7 children, including 6 daughters and that each time one of his daughters marries he
receives pigs as a gift from her husband's family. It really pays to have daughters in Papua. The local
population come from the Dani tribe and he explained that very few people now live the traditional way.
Then, we started to negotiate. I explained my position that I didn't have a large budget and that I wanted to
be as quick (while staying safe) and as lightweight as possible. Over email his lowest price had been $1,750
but his opening price was this time was $3,000 and I immediately told him that if he didn't give me a serious
price I would simply fly back to Jayapura the next day. I don't actually have access to lots of cash in Papua
so I told him my limit was $1,000 and eventually we settled on a price of $1,200, which I was relatively
happy with. I know that the most expensive part of the trip was renting a 4WD vehicle for the 2.5 hour drive
to Lake Habbema and back. The cost of fuel in Wamena is prohibitive since, like all other goods, it has to be
flown in from Jayapura.
Officially, Lake Habbema and Puncak Trikora are off-limits to tourists but this being Indonesia;
anything is possible at the right price.
14
Day 10 - 28th November - Puncak Trikora Day 1: Lake Habbema to
Wakikama
PUNCAK TRIKORA - Located
240 miles WNW of Puncak
Mandala,
Puncak
Trikora
(4,730m) sits SW of the worldfamous Baliem Valley in the
Jayawijaya Range, only a few
days trekking from Wamena,
which is the largest town in the
Papuan highlands with a
population of c. 10,000. The
Jayawijaya Mountains are the
central part of the Pegunungan
Maoke Range. The Baliem
Valley was only discovered in
1936 by coincidence by a mail
aircraft and had a self supporting agricultural system of
high standard, despite having no
previous contact with the
civilized world.
Puncak Trikora was planned to
be the least technically difficult
leg
of
this
expedition.
Nevertheless, at 4,730m high,
this mountain is only marginally
lower than Mont Blanc and so I
would be severely tested by the
effects
of
altitude.
The
percentage of oxygen in air
remains essentially constant
with altitude at 21% up until
70,000 feet (21,330 m), but the
air pressure (and therefore the
number of oxygen molecules)
drops as altitude increases —
consequently, the available
amount of oxygen to sustain
mental and physical alertness
decreases above 3,050m.
At 5,000m, marginally above the
height of Trikora, the barometric
pressure is nearly half the sea
level value, meaning only half
the number of oxygen molecules
is available Therefore the body
has to work overtime to absorb
as much oxygen as possible to
lessen the impact of this deficit.
I woke early (05:30) just to make sure that my kit was packed and to try to
grab a quick breakfast before the scheduled 7 am pick up from the hotel.
Outside the hotel, the vehicle was already waiting with my Indonesian
driver and I was pleased to see it was in good condition. I wasn't sure what
state the road would be in but was glad that at least the first part of my
'budget' trip would be trouble-free. After 20 minutes I texted the local agent
to ask where he was. During my previous expedition in Indonesia in 1994, I
had experienced the phenomenon known locally as 'rubber time' so I wasn't
too upset to learn that the guide was still buying food. He eventually turned
up after 45 minutes with the guide/cook and 2 porters, one of whom looked
rather old and frail. The arrangement was that there would be 3 porters; the
3rd porter was planned to be an acquaintance of the elderly porter but he
hadn't shown up so instead we left the elderly porter and jumped in the car
to find a friend of the guide/cook who lived near the local market. It didn't
take him long to agree to earn a bit of spending money and after a quick
stop to buy more provisions we sped off West on the road into the
mountains.
Initially, the road was in good condition and was passable by 2WD. We
drove past smallholdings and schools that, although traditionally built, were
in good order and the Indonesian flag was prominently displayed. After
about 15 minutes of driving out of Wamena, we stopped at an Army
checkpoint; despite my concerns about being denied access, the soldier
manning the checkpoint was happy with my Surat Jalan and my permit
from the Forestry Office and we were allowed to proceed. By now, the
driver, his friend and the guide and porters must already have smoked
about 5 cigarettes each – lung disease rates in Indonesia in general and
Papua in particular must be among the highest in the world.
The road surface soon became much rougher and although it was a graded
road, it would have been impossible for a 2WD vehicle to progress. Luckily
it was dry; otherwise it would have been very difficult even for a 4WD
vehicle to ascend. As we climbed up the winding road into the mountains,
we passed small groups of Papuans walking either towards or out of
Wamena. There were several small settlements hidden by the vegetation,
but which were identifiable by the breaks in vegetation that allowed
villagers access. There were several small logging camps by the roadside,
where a few Papuans brandishing chainsaws were busy sawing logs into
planks. It was clear that most of the forest around Wamena had already
been denuded and it really felt like I was travelling through a frontier. Papua
feels like it's on the brink of something big, either for better or worse. So far,
the only traditional dress I had seen was an old man in Wamena selling
tourist trinkets – every other person was wearing Western clothes in
different gaudy combinations.
We stopped at a viewpoint where the forest opened up and there was an
incredible vista across the broad, flat Baliem Valley, where I stopped to
take a few photos. It felt really exciting to know I was the only Westerner
making my way through this frontier and into an area that was really offlimits to tourists. The fact that I was going with a ragtag bunch of Papuans increased the sense of
adventure. The reality was that no Indonesian official knew I was headed so if someone decided that I
should disappear then only my daily contact with Iain Mackay, who knew my co-ordinates and plans in
details, could help get me out.
15
After about an hour and a half of progress up into the mountains, I started to get good views of the Snow
Mountains to the south. This far into the mountains, there were no real forestry operations. In actual fact, we
were now deep into the Lorentz National Park, hence why I had to apply for a forestry permit to access Lake
Habbema. Officially, deforestation is illegal in this Park, which is a World Heritage Site that stretches for
over 150 kilometers (km), from the central cordillera mountains in the north to the Arafura Sea in the south.
In the distance, I caught my first glimpse of Lake Habbema, which sits in a broad alpine valley. To be
honest, it was a bit disappointing, but that's not surprising when you consider that I'm from Scotland, which
boasts many incredibly beautiful lochs. I think the fact that the landscape was scarred by the white sand of
the road (which soon splits and runs all the way to either Timika or Tiom) spoiled my impression.
We soon stopped on the road when the guide was happy that we were at the right spot. As it turned out, we
were in the wrong spot and as the vehicle sped off back to Wamena I had a sinking feeling that things might
not go as smoothly as planned. The 'guide' (Wameak, which means Little Pig in Dani) and one of the
porters headed west down the road to find the path, while the other porter headed east. My agent had
assured me that the guide, who was in actual fact a cook, had been to Trikora many times before. This was
stretching the truth more than a little.
Meanwhile, I sat down on my pack and waited while they hooted and hollered at each other from a distance
before they decided the porter to the East had found a suitable path. As I trudged slowly uphill in the
morning sun, I found myself breathing quite heavily. Habbema sits at an altitude of 3,400m and the effect of
the lower oxygen pressure on my physiology was obvious. I was also carrying my big pack (around 20 kgs)
because I wanted to build up a base of mountain fitness on this first leg of the expedition, having had
precious little chance to train while working in Sudan. One thing I was not wearing at this point, however,
was sun-cream, which I was later to regret.
We trudged slowly down the steep slope that ran south from the lake to a broad, boggy plain. To the south
was a scrubby forest, beyond which were a series of rocky ridges ridges, and beyond those ridges Puncak
Trikora was shrouded in cloud. The porters pace was initially slow. Two of them wore flip-flops and the third
walked barefoot. The flip-flops were discarded whenever we crossed really slippery ground, to be replaced
by...er...nothing – they preferred to go barefoot and as I followed in their footsteps I could see that the big
toe was slightly splayed compared to my own foot, which helped balance on e.g. tree roots. We seemed to
be heading slightly to the West of Puncak Trikora, which seemed strange to me, and Wameak seemed
unsure of himself but obviously didn't want to lose face so early in the trip. So we continued to walk in the
same direction and I already started to lose my faith in his guiding abilities and his judgement.
After a while, we reached the forest at the other side of the plain and started to ascend through the shrubby
trees. There were visible footprints so it was obvious that people used this route, however it was clearly
heading too far West. At this point Wameak decided that we had veered slightly off course and decided to
change direction. We had been heading up into the mountains to a village called Brumu, which was under
rebel OPM control. The Free Papua Movement (Indonesian: Organisasi Papua Merdeka, abbreviated OPM)
is an indigenous organisation established in 1965 to promote self-determination and secession of West
Papua from the Republic of Indonesia. The movement is outlawed in Indonesia, and raising the Morning
Star flag and speaking in support of OPM goals are similarly outlawed.
Wameak also decided that the forest was too thick to walk through (it wasn't), so instead we walked back
the way we had come for half an hour and then spent another hour walking East to meet the actual path
that we should have taken all along. It was really infuriating to know that I had been under the equatorial
sun for an hour and a half for no reason, and that I had used up energy walking with a heavy pack to boot.
Once we hit the right path it was easy to follow up through the forest and about halfway up a shallow slope
we hit a heathery open area with many tree stumps – in the centre of this area was a raised, flat, grassy
mound with a traditional A-frame shelter built from branches with space for a small tent adjacent. We had
reached Wakikama (3,301m).We had walked for 4.5 hours and arrived at camp at 3 p.m.
As I pitched my wee GoLite tent above the shelter, the porters collected wood for the cooking fire (hence
16
the many tree stumps). I had brought with me from the UK a selection of freeze-dried meals, which required
me to simply add boiling water to the pouch, stir, and then wait for 10 minutes. My food included a selection
of breakfasts and main meals and I had only requested Wameak to provide me with some lunch. Once the
fire was going, my water had been boiled and I was tucking into my bland, rehydrated food, Wameak
unveiled his wok with a flourish and in no time at all was cooking up freshly boiled and egg-fried rice and
noodles with garlic, sardines and cabbage. It smelled and looked amazing, but I stubbornly refused to eat it
as I chewed down hard on my stodgy foil-packed dinner. In that one moment of extreme clarity, I knew that
Wameak's true calling was as a cook and not as a guide, and I resolved to only eat his freshly cooked food
from them on, starting with breakfast the next morning. I also resolved to ignore every navigational decision
he made henceforth.
I made one huge mistake while we were having dinner and while the porters smoked another 20 cigarettes
each. I had brought with me into the shelter my new Montane softshell, which was one of the items that
Montane had very generously donated. Wameak stared at it with his beady eyes and then asked if he could
borrow it as it would be very cold at night. As a humanitarian aid worker I had no choice but to accede to
this request. I said goodbye to this shiny new bit of kit with a heavy heart. I retired to my tent and had the
first opportunity to test my satcomms in the field. I set up my laptop and BGAN in my one-man tent and was
able to check emails and update the expedition facebook page. Simply amazing!
I settled down in my waterproof goosedown sleeping bag and waited to drift off with the sound of the porters
jabbering away in the background. Two hours later, when they finally shut up, I was also able to grab some
sleep, but woke up cold in the middle of the night. I had to add some layers – 3,400m, whether in the tropics
or not, is not a warm place to be once the sun drops below the horizon.
Day 11 - 29th November – Puncak Trikora Day 2 - Wakikama to Semalak (Cave) Camp
Today, we were walking to Semalak (Cave) Camp, from where I would make my attempt to climb Puncak
Trikora. We woke at 06:30 and Wameak produced a delicious breakfast, which looked suspiciously similar
to the dinner he had prepared the previous night; nevertheless, it was a big improvement on my freezedried fare and I devoured breakfast with two cups of sweet tea. The camp had a very small stream running
close by but the water was standing and brown and I didn't really want to drink it, either purified using my
water purifier or with iodine.
It looked like it would be another clear and hot day. Wameak told me it would be a very long walk today, and
I tried to put my sunburned neck (which had kept me awake most of the night) and my almost empty water
bottle to the back of my mind.
We climbed south out of the forest for about 15 minutes before the porters decided it was already time for a
break at the top of the ridge. Having such a serious nicotine addiction is not conducive to trekking long
distances. After a 10-minute break, we progressed onto a series of ridges the ran generally south but we
occasionally had to descend a ridge into a short, steep valley and climb up to another ridge to continue our
southerly progress. It was clear that we were making good progress and we could see Puncak Trikora in the
distance, hovering above a broad valley that was accessible by a break in the mountain wall, down which a
small river flowed. One of my porters (Junus, who was the 'substitute' porter) was the strongest in the party
and I followed him – Wameak the guide set a slower pace and as I no longer trusted his path-finding ability,
I was happy to stick close to Junus to find the best path.
After 3 hours walking under the hot sun, we stopped at a small waterfall in a wooded valley to fill up my
waterbottles and to have a rest stop. Wameak produced a pack of digestive biscuits, which we all ate
hungrily. I scoffed 10 biscuits and started to feel like a Papuan! What I was already finding remarkable was
just how much food the Papuans could consume at one sitting – having read Marks Anstice's book 'First
Contact' to prepare for the expedition, I was aware that I needed to be careful with food and to make sure
that porters didn't consume all their food and help them plan ahead. . However, last night and this morning I
was stunned by the heaped platefuls they ate (at least twice as much as me) and when Wameak confirmed
that all the biscuits were now finished (he had only bought two packets), I began to worry slightly about
having enough lunch for the remaining days.
17
We spotted some fresh bootprints heading south on the small path. Although I was surprised to see that
there would be tourists climbing Trikora (which is still rarely climbed), I was a bit relieved to know that we
could ask detailed questions about the route. We climbed over a small rise and Wameak pointed out a small
cave in an escarpment in the distance. We headed slightly downhill towards it and could soon see a tent
wedged in the left-hand end of the cave and a tarpaulin flapping in the wind to the right, supported by
wooden stakes. Smoke was issuing from behind the tarpaulin so we knew there would be porters sheltering
from the wind behind the screen.
We climbed up a short, steep slope into the cave, which was about 50 feet wide, 8 feet high and 12 feet
deep. The roof of the cave, which was caked black with the smoke of hundreds of fires, sloped back
sharply, so that as you entered you had to crouch lower and lower to reach the back of the cave. The floor
was spread with grass to make it more comfortable. Although the cave would provide excellent shelter from
the rain, because it was effectively open to the front, it funnelled the wind that blew down the valley, hence
why the incumbent porters had erected a tarpaulin for shelter. As I sat wearily down on my pack, my Dani
team introduced themselves to the two others, who were from the Lani tribe and appeared much younger
than my porters. The Lani porters explained that one Indonesian tourist was climbing Trikora with one guide
and one other porter. They had set off at 5 am and were expected back late in the afternoon
.
Soon, Wameak was doing what he did best – cooking up a storm. As I was pitching my tent the Indonesian
tourist returned from his climb, and although we acknowledged each other briefly, he immediately entered
his tent to rest. I decided that was a splendid idea so I did the same. Wameak and I had discussed the
possibility of walking up towards Trikora in the afternoon to try to identify the best access route. I thought
this was a great idea, but as the afternoon wore on, it became clear that this would remain an idea and
would not be put into practice as we were both exhausted from a long, hot walk. I consoled myself with the
knowledge that he would interrogate the other guide and porter for vital navigational information that would
help us the next day. Unfortunately, I forgot to consider Papuan male pride, which meant that under no
circumstances would a Papuan male ever show a sign of weakness (such as admitting he didn't know the
path to the mountain), even if that sign of weakness could help save his or his client's life.
I had brought with me a rough sketch map drawn by one of my email correspondents, who had visited both
Puncak Trikora and Puncak Mandala 20 years before. I had tried to find any reliable mapping of the three
mountains for several months but had come up with almost nothing. I had visited the Library of the Royal
Geographical Society in London in January and made copies of what was available, but these consisted
mainly of old maps from expeditions in the 1950s that had no contour lines and very little in the way of
detail. Therefore, I was relying heavily on local knowledge to help me find a safe route up the mountains.
Late in the afternoon, the Indonesian tourist re-appeared from his tent and he explained that he was a
mountain guide who had guided on Carstensz a few times and he was surveying Trikora with a view to
running commercial trips. After Trikora, he was planning to walk for a week down to the Asmat region in the
south, where the tribes still lived relatively traditional lives. I showed him my sketch map and asked him
some questions about the route onto the mountain. The sketch map didn't bear much resemblance to the
physical geography that I could see with my own eyes and he confirmed that he had some difficulty finding
a way up to the summit ridge. He also confirmed that there was a lot of scrambling once on the ridge and at
least some sections that required technical climbing. He wasn't exactly sure which of the several rocky high
points on the ridge was the actual summit. My worst fears were confirmed. He had taken 10.5 hours to
ascend and descend with a guide who had apparently been strong and fit and who did in theory know the
mountain and had been there before.
My situation, on the other hand, was less advantageous. I didn't have my mountain legs, my guide was
unsure of the way and I would have to try to ascend alone. My discussion with him seemed to confirm that
we should skirt West along the base of the mountain to find a path up to the summit ridge and then follow
the ridge East. I spent a very restless night worrying about whether the easiest of the three summits I would
attempt (in theory at least) would even be possible.
18
Day 12 - 30th November - Puncak Trikora Day 3 - All Hope Gone
I rose next morning at 04:45 and could barely eat any breakfast. Whether this was down to altitude (we
were now at 3,700m), nerves or lack of sleep I couldn't be sure, but I couldn't face much food in the morning
and was keen to get moving. Wameak and Junus were going to accompany me to an unspecified point,
after which I would continue alone.
We followed a clear path heading south-west from the cave along a valley. After an hour of gentle ascent
that kept Trikora to our left-hand side, Wameak spotted a break in the first escarpment and headed off the
path over some boggy ground to try to find a path. I could still see boot marks heading south west on the
actual path, but the language barrier prevented us from really understanding each other. My frustration with
the situation began to grow and after Wameak had been gone for about 45 minutes with no sign of finding a
path, I gestured to Junus that I had had enough. I asked him to bring me the lunch food and gestured to
indicate that I would continue along the path and try to skirt round a subsidiary peak that protected Trikora's
north-facing buttress to look for a safe way up. I thought I could see path up to the summit ridge high up
behind this subsidiary peak. I felt like the time wasted so far would be fatal to my attempts to even get on
the mountain and I preferred moving positively to sitting around and waiting for the guide to identify the
path. I was sure if he found a path it would most probably be the wrong one anyway.
I set off to skirt round the minor peak over grassy ground that got steeper and steeper. As I traversed, I
realised that the ground ahead was becoming steeper and steeper and so I decided I may as well climb to
the top of the minor peak to at least gain a good vantage point to survey the ground ahead. The porter had
shouted across to Wameak and they followed me at some distance. It was hot, sweaty work to plod slowly
up this waterlogged peak, which was riven with many narrow but deep fissures that I had to cross with care.
Eventually, I reached the crest and was joined some time later by the two others.
My hopes of spotting an obvious break in the buttresses ahead were dashed – I really couldn't see any
feasible way to get on this mountain! Ahead and slightly to the right was a steep, 100m high grass-covered
rampart and Wameak identified this as the route I should take to gain the summit ridge. He explained that
two Japanese climbers had climbed this way using ropes and climbing gear. Although the route got less
steep near the top, it looked atrocious and would have been incredibly risky, especially in the wet. I decided
to call this Plan B and explained that I wanted to explore all other options before committing to this.
Therefore, we continued to skirt West and South along the base of Trikora's flank. We were now off the path
and had to cover broken ground where every footstep had to be placed with care. It sapped a huge amount
of mental energy, knowing that every footstep could lead to a plunge into an unseen hole. We walked like
this for two hours and as we progressed slowly, I always expected to see round the next corner a break in
the wall that would allow easy access to the summit ridge. I identified a col where we should be able to see
down into a valley that ran south and from where I hoped to identify an accessible route. As we sat on the
col, I looked south and saw that Trikora's buttresses seemed to run unbroken into the distance. It was clear
that it would take too long to reach a ridge at the bottom of the valley that may have given me good access
to Trikora's ridge. I was completely despondent. We had walked for four hours, it was increasingly hot and
now we would have to retrace our footsteps with no prospect of getting on Trikora today. I had been
desperately scanning the wall to my left for any possible access routes and could see that even if I
managed to climb up some of the steep and exposed corners, I would still have faced an unknown but
steep route above to gain the summit ridge.
We trudged back to the rampart that Wameak had identified and I began to feel weaker and weaker. I
explained that there was no way I would be able to attempt that route today. We had already walked for four
and a half hours across difficult ground, I was feeling weak and my breathing was very rapid. My heart rate
was 120 bpm and I was not going to risk being stuck halfway up Trikora when I had no clear exit strategy. I
was starting to feel nauseous and was now struggling to keep pace with the two others. We had decided to
walk East, this time keeping Trikora to our right-hand side, to recce a path for the next day.
19
Although this sounded good in principle, my physical
condition was not good and I was starting to run low on water.
From my previous experiences at altitude I knew how easy it
was to become dehydrated and how badly this could affect
my performance.
I tried hard to keep pace with the others and became
frustrated and angry with Wameak. I began to feel more
nauseous and finally knelt down and threw up. I explained
that I was going to head immediately back down to the cave –
I should have told the others to accompany me but I also
wanted to make sure I had some possibility to get on the
mountain the next day, so I allowed them to continue on with
their search for the right path. I wanted to find the place where
Wameak had gone off the path earlier in the day, because I
thought if I found that boggy ground where he had explored
then I would just head East to hit the path. However, I didn't
want to have to climb back up the energy-sapping subsidiary
peak that I had climbed earlier. I made my second big mistake
and made my way down to the edge of the escarpment to find
a way down to the boggy ground.
The ground below was steep and I wasn't sure what I would
face after the initial easy descent. I crept my way down beside
a small stream through thick bush. I was grabbing handfuls of
bush, tree and grass to cover the steep ground and realised
soon that I had made a serious error. I was on my own, with
no way to contact the others; I was weak, dehydrated and I
had no idea what lay below me as the ground dropped off
sharply. However, my adrenaline was kicking in and I had to
trust in my own abilities. Most of the trees and tree stumps
were dead, and therefore brittle, so I grasped clumps of grass
and bush for safety. At one point, I had to swing out over the
stream 20 feet below and this was the worst moment of all – I
was only holding on to two clumps of grass and as I gingerly
found a foothold below to make it on to relatively safe ground
I breathed a huge sigh of relief. I followed the ravine down for
another fifty feet and then saw the welcome sight of a more
gentle slope that ran down to the boggy ground below. At this
point I started to both relax and curse myself for my own
stupidity. It was a stark reminder of how easily one bad
decision can snowball and lead to a very dangerous situation.
Once I was on the boggy ground I had to make my way back
uphill to reach an exit route from the escarpment. It was souldestroying having to trudge back uphill in my physical
condition, but eventually I spotted the path and knew that I
just had to stumble along it and it would eventually take me
back to the cave. I finally reached the cave one and a half
hours later to find all the others asleep. I crashed out, and
only rose when I heard Wameak asking if I wanted tea. I was
annoyed that he had not boiled any water so that I could
rehydrate. I had lost a huge amount of fluid both from
sweating and from water vapour in my breath. The Papuan
porters didn't sweat and drank infrequently and couldn't seem
to appreciate how important it was for me as a Westerner to
20
Global 3 Peaks
The Seven Summits are the highest
mountains of each of the seven
continents. Since Dick Bass became the
first person to climb all Seven Summits
in 1985, 198 climbers are now
recognized to have joined the elite club.
However, many more mountain climbers
aspire to complete the seven ascents,
but the expense, the demands placed on
fitness, the physical hardship and the
dangers involved are often greater than
imagined.
Popularisation of the Seven Summits
has not been without its detractors, who
argue that it tempts the ambitious but
inexperienced into paying large sums to
professional guides who promise the
"seven", and that the guides are
therefore pressured to press on toward
summits even to the detriment of their
clients' safety.
Alpinism author Jon Krakauer (1997)
wrote in Into Thin Air that it would be a
bigger challenge to climb the secondhighest peak of each continent, known
as the Seven Second Summits. This is
especially true for Asia, as K2 (8,611 m)
demands greater technical climbing
skills than Everest (8,848 m), while
altitude-related factors such as the
thinness of the atmosphere, high winds
and low temperatures remain much the
same. To date, no-one has successfully
climbed the second Seven Summits.
At the time of writing, a number of worldclass mountaineers are seeking to be
the first, including: Hans Kammerlander
(Germany, still to climb Dyctau, Mount
Tyree & Puncak Trikora); Piotr Pustelnik
(Poland, no info but has sumitted K2);
Fredrik Strang (Swedish, no info, has not
summited K2) and Christian Stangl
(Austrian, recently lied about successful
K2 ascent). In addition, a FrenchCanadian doctor, Dr. Andries Botha, is
currently attempting this challenge, but
has yet to climb either K2 or Mt. Tyree)
The Seven Summits and the Second
Seven Summits are remarkable aims in
their own right. However, my long-term
objective is to become the first person to
climb the 3 highest peaks on every
continent. This is a challenge so extreme
that no-one has ever contemplated it
before. This Australasia Peaks Glacier
expedition was the second leg of this
unique challenge, which I hope to
complete over the next 10-15 years.
have access to copious amounts of fresh water. But I was too tired to fight with them so I quietly drank my
tea, refused any offer of food and sank back into my tent.
As I lay in my tent, I began to convince myself that it was now impossible for me to get up this mountain. I
was still feeling sick, dehydrated and tremendously weak. I decided that I would make a token attempt on
the sketchy climb up the rampart in the morning (depending how I felt) and that I would fail, head back to
the cave, pack up and get the hell out to Wakikama. It seemed like the only option. After some snatched
sleep, I made up a diluted Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS) drink, took half a Diamox tablet (a prescription
diuretic that prevents and reduces the symptoms of Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS)) and managed to eat
some fried noodles. It was now 17:30 and my improving mood was helped further when Wameak explained
that they had identified the correct path to get on the mountain. Although I still wasn't completely convinced
that I could get on the mountain, my black mood was lightening and I resolved to at least try. I had come
this far and overcome so many obstacles already to be in this remote and beautiful part of the world and the
mountain was right there in front of me. When I checked my emails there were so many messages of
support that I knew I couldn't concede defeat just yet. Now, I just had to get on with the part that I had spent
over a year preparing for – actually climbing the mountain!
Day 13 - 1st December - Puncak Trikora - Summit Day
I lay in my sleeping bag and looked at my watch – 04:00, then 04:30 and I still couldn't force myself outside.
Despite my earplugs, I could hear the porters preparing breakfast but it was 05:50 before I forced myself out
of my cocoon to face today's challenge. I had asked that the porters boil some water the night before
because I wanted 3 fresh litres to take onto the mountain, but they hadn't done this. We wasted some time
boiling fresh water, which was annoying on several levels, but the clear skies and pink-tinged clouds quickly
banished my negativity. My appetite had returned and I ate a huge portion of rice and noodles. Somehow,
whether the Diamox was taking effect (I'm sure it was because I felt pins and needles in my hands and
forearms, one of the side-effects) or not, I felt immeasurably stronger. Perhaps it was just that I had
resolved myself to giving it everything today.
We set off late (06:40), but I had my headtorch and enough warm kit to see out a night on the mountain if
necessary. Instead of following the path southwest in the next valley as we had yesterday, today we forked
off the path directly towards the mountain. Boot prints in the mud convinced me that we were now on the
right path, which boosted my confidence further. We were trekking towards the scrubby forest again and
soon we were ascending steeply through mud and tree roots. At the top of this short climb (4,100m (04
15.224 S, 138 40.115 E)) there was a firepit where porters had obviously been keeping themselves warm
on earlier climbs. This was followed by another short forest section and then we came to the first buttresses
on the mountain itself. From a distance this looked suicidal - from up close it just looked plain stupid. I was
faced with a steep 50m – 60m grass-covered, near-vertical slope. It was a really uncomfortable experience
and required me to grab handfuls of wet grass to ascend, which was not an enjoyable experience after
yesterday's debacle. I prayed it wouldn't rain today, otherwise the descent would be a nightmare.
I slowly followed the guide and porter up and gladly reached the top of the climb and safe ground (approx.
4,200m (04 15.310 S, 138 40.157 E)). From the top of this slope, the views northwards back past the cave
and towards Lake Habbema were sensational. It was possible to see from this height where historic ice
flows had carved and shaped the earth. From the top of the grassy slope, the path meandered left to the
foot of a buttress into a small valley that ran south from Trikora. It was one of several parallel valleys but this
most easterly valley allowed the only easy access to Trikora's upper reaches. The path led up through some
rocky ground and then as the ground became boggier we passed a boulder, on top of which sat the
propeller shaft from an AMA aircraft that had crashed several years previously on the mountain, killing the
missionary pilot and a local woman. This marked the end of the small valley and now we turned right (West)
along a larger valley that ran parallel to Trikora's summit ridge, which was now high up to our left.
The valley climbed and narrowed in the distance and as we ascended it became more rocky. We walked for
about 40 minutes and my confidence increased with every step. I still wasn't sure how I would gain the
actual summit ridge but the sun had stayed behind some light cloud and I was feeling strong and knew that
21
we had made good progress. We reached a point where two large boulders stood guard at the foot of a
steep scree slope top our left that led to a steep chimney, and up to the ridge itself. We made our way up
the scree slope and started to ascend the chimney for about 25m. It was a bit dicey but at least I had my
boots to provide grip on the rock; in contrast the guide and porter went up barefoot. (04 15.704 S, 138
39.907E, altitude 4,467m.) Again, I kept my fingers crossed that the rain would stay off because I didn't
want to descend that chimney tired and wet.
As we gained the summit ridge and the guide and porter stopped for the inevitable rest, I checked my
watch. We had made it this far in only two hours from the cave and I had a feeling that I was going to make
the first of my three summits. Wameak and Junus would go no further. The sharp limestone would have
been too much even for their feet. Wameak started complaining of a headache and I agreed that he should
descend immediately with Junus. He told me he would descend the chimney and walk down the valley we
had just come up to a small cave, where he would rest and see if his headache improved. I didn't want to
take any chances with the altitude so had no choice but to send him down. It left me somewhat exposed up
on the ridge, but I felt there wasn't much they could have done for me up on the ridge. Had I fallen and
broken a bone, it would have been very difficult for them to extract me and they would probably just have
made their way to the nearest missionary station to alert the authorities, In any event, I had my satphone
and could have given my co-ordinates immediately to Iain Mackay in the UK who would have contacted my
insurance company and Helimission to arrange extraction by helicopter.
I estimated that I could move rapidly along the summit ridge and expected to reach the summit in about one
hour. I still wasn't sure which of the two rocky summits was higher, but based on my discussion with the
Indonesian climber the previous day (he had told me to stay just off and behind the ridge to make it easier),
I felt like there must be a route that would allow me to reach both summits and take GPS readings to
determine which was higher. Just to the West was another summit that looked relatively straightforward to
climb but I dismissed this as it looked significantly lower than the rocky summits in the distance to the East,
which would occasionally float behind the clouds that were slowly building.
As I made my way carefully along it, the summit ridge itself was initially broad, grassy and rocky After 15
minutes, the ridge then started to narrow and for the next 20 minutes involved lots of rock-hopping with
some scrambly moves, then started to become quite exposed. The exposure then increased and the ridge
started to become very narrow and required some difficult down-climbing over quite exposed terrain to pass
obstacles. Being up on the knife-edge ridge alone in the clouds was exhilarating, but the sense of vertigo
could not be ignored. I took time to route-find and started to question my sanity. There were some cairns on
the ridge that did help with navigation round obstacles, but typically I only spotted them after I had already
decided which route to follow round obstacles. The terrain reminded me of the Cuillin Ridge on Skye, with
dark exposed rock and huge drop-offs to either side. Although the very sharp limestone gave good holds, it
was tough on my fingers and hands.
As the distance to the first rocky spire decreased and I began to see just how exposed it was, from about
250m distance, I began to have major doubts about whether I could or should continue. I took 5 minutes to
sit down and remind myself that I had faced other more difficult challenges in the past and overcome them.
And I kept telling myself that things normally looked better once they were right in front of you. The mental
aspect of climbing mountains or undertaking expeditions is the toughest thing for me to manage. I know
from my own experiences that it's incredibly easy to talk yourself out of trying something difficult or beyond
your normal comfort zone and I've had to fight against those feelings of self-doubt for most of my life. I feel
lucky to now know that I can push myself further than my own thought patterns try to convince me of, but I
still have to go through that mental process and to remind myself each time that I have to try. I wish other
people could understand that their main limiting factor is fear of failure. For me, it's so much more liberating
to try something and fail than to always wonder what I could have achieved if my fears hadn't held me back.
As I got closer to the base of the rocky spire over increasingly difficult ground, I estimated that the spire was
probably about 30m high. I was now well beyond my comfort zone and the exposure on that spire was
horrific. When I got to the foot of the spire I decided to carefully think through my options – I came to the
conclusion that, although I may be able to get up (horrifically exposed as it was), it would have been
absolutely hellish to get back down and any slip would have been fatal as I would have fallen hundreds of
22
feet. For me, the risk of attempting to climb it solo was too high. The spire was connected to the next peak
on the far side by another horrendously exposed ridge. I was already tired from the concentration required
to get to this point. If I had a climbing partner and some technical equipment I would definitely have tried to
summit; as it was, I decided that I had reached my limit. I was quietly satisfied with my efforts. After a
terrible day the day before, I had found my confidence and fitness, and although I had missed out on the
summit, I felt like it was the right decision in the circumstances. I took a GPS reading at my high point (04
15.778 S, 138 40.511 E, altitude 4,638m), took a few photos and then started to descend.
Scientists have known that the ice cap on Trikora disappeared sometime between 1939 and 1962. That
gives some indication of just how infrequently this mountain was climbed during this period. Snow does fall
on the mountain but the warming of the Earth's troposphere ensures that this snow cover is only transient.
As I started to descend, it began to rain lightly. I tried to move as quickly as possible because I was aware
that the two difficult down climbs (one on rock at the chimney and the other down the steep grassy slope)
would be much more challenging in the wet. I had a bit of trouble following the route around obstacles again
on my way back along the ridge, and was conscious of where I was placing my feet due to the long drop-off
behind the ridge itself. Soon enough, I was past the difficult ground and back to stepping from rock to rock
and could get into an easy rhythm. After about one hour, I had made it back to the broader, grassy ridge
and was heading towards the lower peak that lay West of the chimney. At the foot of this peak, I spotted a
small cairn that marked the start of the chimney and I started to make my way carefully down.
On the first short section that was less steep, I made my way down facing out, feet first and half-slid, halfclimbed down the slope. It then became steeper and I had to down-climb, facing into the rock. Although
there was a scree slope beneath that ran out to the small valley below, I was still careful because any fall
here would not be fatal but any broken bone would be a massive issue in this remote location. About five
metres from the bottom of the chimney, I had to move over to the left-hand side to find the easier ground.
As I was reaching to move my left hand up and across to a good handhold, the rock that I was holding with
my right hand broke free and I felt myself falling backwards. Instantly, I grasped at another rock with my
right hand and as I did so, I also managed to grab onto something with the outstretched left hand and
managed to hold myself against the fall. Not good. I carefully picked my way down the last few moves to the
scree slopes and, using my trekking poles as supports, I made my way quickly down into the small valley
that I had earlier walked up.
As I made my way down the valley, I looked for the cave where Wameak had said he would wait, but
couldn't identify it. I shouted but there was no response. I walked down the valley for about thirty minutes,
looking for anything that would jog my memory. I felt certain that the propeller shaft would be visible from
this valley but there were so many small ravines off to my left and they all looked the same. I explored a
couple of them to try to identify a path but they all ended in steep drops to the North. I was becoming tired
and frustrated again that the guide and porter had left me alone on the mountain. Finally, I explored the
second-to-last ravine, then realised that it was the wrong one. I climbed up a small ridge and looked down
into the last valley, expecting to be disappointed, when I caught sight of the propeller shaft sitting on a rock.
Excellent! I had found the route get down.
I followed the path down the initially grassy and boggy ground, then into a rocky path that lay close to the
mountain wall. It ended abruptly at a grassy ledge and as I looked down into the forest 50 m below I saw
Wameak next to the firepit and Junus collecting firewood. I shouted and gesticulated to him – I was now at
the top of the steep grassy climb and was not impressed that they had gone down this and had not waited
for me. I wasn't exactly sure where the route started and I frantically tried to ask Wameak whether I needed
to move left or right to start the down climb. His response was that I was at the correct starting point and I
should just come down. With my blood boiling, I removed my rucksack and launched it over the edge,
aiming at a small ledge 20 feet below. I didn't want the extra weight to potentially drag me off or the bulk to
put me off-balance. My rucksack cartwheeled well beyond the ledge and stuck in a bush halfway down the
slope. I really didn't care – I knew we could retrieve the rucksack later and I was more interested in getting
down safely.
23
I inched forward to the edge of the slope and peered over, trying to identify any safe footholds. It was a
horrible experience – again, I had to grab handfuls of grass to gently lower myself over the edge and hope
that they would take my weight. I immediately realised that I was a few metres too far to the right and
couldn't believe my guide had left me in this position. I inched carefully over to the spot I had climbed up
earlier and then very cautiously made my way down, grabbing handfuls of grass with each move. When I
finally reached the bottom , I hurried through the forest and up to the small hill where Wameak was warming
himself at the fire. Although he probably understood very little of what I screamed at him, he was left in no
doubt that I wasn't happy with him and hopefully he learned a few good Scottish swearwords as a bonus.
I was pretty subdued for the rest of the walk down the mountain – the clouds had closed in and it had
started to rain steadily so I was quite cold and just wanted to get down to the cave to get a hot brew and
some food. We made quick progress down the mountain and turned the corner into Camp at about 1.45
p.m. It had taken me seven hours or so to get up and down – it was hard to compare with the Indonesian's
ascent the previous day because I don't know how far along the summit ridge he climbed, but I felt we had
set a good pace. The plan now was to leave early next morning to make our way back to Lake Habbema – I
asked Wameak what time we should expect to arrive at Habbema and he said 3 pm, so I texted the agent
on my satphone to request pickup for that time. When we tried to figure out timings I was sure he was
overestimating how long it would take us but I didn't want to underestimate so followed his advice.
During the afternoon we ate noodles, rice and cabbage and drank tea and Wameak recounted the story of a
20-year old Indonesian climber (with no travel permit) who had been climbing Trikora using technical
equipment. One of his climbing nuts (used to wedge into cracks in the rock, thus protecting the climber form
a fall) had failed and he had fallen badly. His Lani guide had made his way to the nearest mission station to
report the accident, leaving the climber lying badly injured on the mountain. The Army dispatched a
helicopter to the site and he was later flown to hospital in Jakarta. No doubt he would also have been
heavily punished for not having the correct papers to be there!
Day 14 - 2nd December - Puncak Trikora - Lake Habbema - Wamena
We set off from Semalak at 7 am sharp. I had plenty of water and was keen to make good progress to get
back to Wamena as soon as humanly possible. I wanted to get clean, have a Coke and get back to
Jayapura to prepare to meet the Carstensz team on 6th December. I needed to clean my clothing
(especially the softshell that Wameak was still wearing for the fourth night and day in a row!) and kit, book
my flight to wherever I would meet the Carstensz team and I also wanted to bring my diary and blog up to
date. One of the aims of the WCMT Fellowships is to share my journey with as many people as possible
and I had the opportunity to do that.
I felt pretty sure that we could cover the ground back to Wakikama pretty quickly. My idea was that when we
got there I could then call the local agent to ask him to dispatch the driver and vehicle to save us hanging
around. With lighter loads (we'd eaten almost all the food) and with our mountain legs, we raced down the
valley, over, down and up the series of ridges and soon we were descending into the forest towards
Wakikama. We arrived just after 9 am. I fired up the satphone to see if Justinus had acknowledged any of
my messages; he hadn't. I then tried to call him on the number I had stored, but it wouldn't connect. I
decided to check the number against the number that Wameak had stored in his mobile, but because he
had left his phone switched on during the entire trip, his battery was flat. This had the potential to become a
very difficult situation. If I had no way to contact Justinus and if he had never received any of my messages,
we could be stranded at Lake Habbema with little food and no way to get back to Wamena other than on
foot.
I checked my own mobile and although it had been playing up for a couple of weeks (mysteriously switching
itself off and on) it thankfully fired up and I was able to check the number I had stored for Justinus. I realised
that I had made a mistake when adding his details to my satphone and was really annoyed with myself for
this stupid mistake. I quickly dialled his number and after a long delay he answered. I tried to explain as
quickly as I could our location and likely time of arrival at Habbema (12 noon). He told me that, having not
received any word from me, he had sent the vehicle and driver that morning to Habbema in the expectation
that we would have spent the night at Wakikama – the driver had been waiting since 8 a.m. I tasked Junus
24
with the job of getting to Habbema as quickly as possible to try to find the driver, since we were taking a
different (i.e. the correct) route back. At least I knew that if we made it safely to Habbema and found the
driver that we should be back in Wamena in the mid-afternoon. I also asked Justinus if he could arrange to
bring my flight back to Jayapura forward one day from 4th to 3rd December, so that I could get settled in my
hotel and get myself organised.
Junus set off in front of us but we followed closely behind at a steady pace. We were all keen to get back,
for different reasons. The guide and porters had wives and children; my motivation was just to get to the
next mountain. We had to cross a boggy, flat valley to reach the foot of a steep, tree-clad ravine. It took us
about 45 minutes to cross the valley and at the foot of the ravine ran a broad, shallow and slow-moving
river. It was quite picturesque and although I would normally have tried to find the shallowest part to keep
my feet as dry as possible, I plunged straight in and waded through the water, since I felt we were so close
to the end of the trek. The path up the ravine initially followed a small stream that fell sharply from the valley
in which Lake Habbema sat. With the sun beating down on my neck again it was hot work to follow the
narrow, steep path, which soon turned sharply away from the left hand bank of the stream to climb a series
of narrow, switchback turns that took about 25 minutes of exhausting and hot work to ascend.
I felt certain that Habbema would be in sight once we reached the crest of the valley, which was coming
closer and closer as the ground became less steep. Wameak would climb for just a few steps, then stop
suddenly. I found this incredibly frustrating because it would spoil my rhythm. I prefer to keep going at a
steady pace and find my mind wandering off into different directions. This ability to take my mind off
whatever my body was doing was being constantly interrupted and made the final climb much less bearable
than it needed to be. As we breached the crest, instead of the welcome sight of Habbema in the distance
and the road back to Wamena, I looked down into another boggy plain that I estimated would take another
hour of fast marching to cover. At this point, my contempt for my guide reached a zenith. I quietly fumed
while we plodded through the mud and every utterance from Wameak was met by stony silence. I started to
believe that whenever he was faced with a decision between 2 paths, he would always choose the more
difficult path. The porter, on the other hand, seemed to take the easier path, so I started following him
instead, because I trusted him more.
Finally, just when I started to despair of ever reaching the road, I caught sight in the near distance of the
sandy ribbon that would deliver me back to Wamena. It was a huge relief. As I slumped onto my rucksack at
the side of the road and removed my wet boots and socks, I wondered where the porter who had gone
ahead, Junes, had got to. Wameak started to light a fire and was hollering into the distance, but no reply
was heard. We waited by the roadside for half an hour, then in the distance we could see sand being kicked
up by a vehicle and before long a 4WD pulled up beside us. There were about 10 or 12 local tribespeople in
the back of the pickup and it took me a few seconds to register the Indonesian driver and then recognise
Junus's smiling face in the front seat. It was our vehicle! They had picked up some villagers who were
making their way down the road into Wamena, which would take them 2 or 3 days walking. I noticed that a
few of the tribespeople were armed; two of them carried rifles and others had parangs, but thought nothing
of it. The villagers disembarked and as we started loading our kit into the back, the driver explained politely,
but with a tangible sense of exasperation, that he had been waiting here since 7 a.m. Ouch. I felt sorry for
him but what could I do? We had got there as quickly as humanly possible and it had taken us less than 4.5
hours to walk from the Cave back to Lake Habbema.
We jumped into the truck and started driving. After about 10 minutes, we stopped at a makeshift shelter by
the side of the road – the driver and his friend (who was also in the vehicle, for safety, I guessed) hadn't
eaten since very early morning and we had a small amount of food left. Therefore, we let them prepare a
hot meal of noodles and cabbage and as they cooked and ate, the villagers started to pass us and make
their way up the steep road ahead. Once the drivers had eaten their fill (about 40 minutes later), we jumped
back in the car. The driver seemed determined to make up for lost time. He was going flat out but seemed
to know the road well enough, so I never felt particularly unsafe. Having worked in the field in South Darfur,
I was used to covering very rough ground at relatively high speeds. We soon caught up with the group of
villagers again and a few of them started flagging us down. It would have been impossible for us to take
them all in the truck now and as we passed one of the villagers on the left hand side, the driver seemed to
slow down as though he was going to stop. The man began to gesticulate and shout angrily and this
25
persuaded the driver to pick up speed again as we passed him. I could see the villager’s face flashing with
anger as we passed and then I watched in the wing mirror as he threw his parang with all his strength at the
back of the vehicle as we accelerated past. It was a terrifying moment for me. If we were to break down now
or further up the road we could have found ourselves in a very serious situation.
As I sat in the car trying to collect my thoughts, my first thought was that these were OPM rebels, which
would explain the weapons and the aggressive attitude. I was really glad that we were moving at high speed
away from the mountains. I began to rationalise a bit more and instead came to the conclusion that they
were most probably just villagers who really didn't fancy walking all the way to Wamena and had missed the
chance of a free ride. However, before my brain had fully processed the incident, we had to pass quite a
few other groups of Papuans on the road and each time I caught sight of them a little chill would run down
my spine until we were safely past. It was with a huge sense of relief that I finally reached the Baliem
Pilamo Hotel at 2pm. The driver had done a great job of getting me back safely in good time.
Figure 3: Google Earth route to Puncak Trikora with altitude profile
Day 15 - 3rd December– Wamena – Jayapura - Ready for Carstensz Pyramid
It was an early check in at 6 am for the first flight out of Wamena at 7 am. I caught a bicycle rickshaw
outside the hotel and asked 'berapa' (how much)? The rickshaw driver said 'seppulu' (10,000 rupiah, just
over $1). I feigned disgust and said I would rather walk. He then offered 'tiga ribu' or 5,000 rupiah and with
my new-found confidence in Bahasa Indonesia I decided to negotiate further, since it was such a short
journey. 'Tedak (no)! I will pay only dua pulu ribu', which every Indonesian knows means 20,000 rupiah.
Somehow, I had managed to negotiate the wrong way. I figured this out on the journey and my smugness at
playing hardball so effectively soon turned to mild embarrassment. Given that I am about a foot taller than
the average passenger, I was awkwardly wedged under the fabric shade with two bags sticking out at
strange angles. Ah, to be a tourist in Papua.
The check in counter for Trigana and the other airlines was an MDF structure with holes cut out for check-in
windows. The system (such as I could make out) was for all the passenger tickets to be lined up on the
26
counter in the order that people turned up. About half an hour before the flight, an Indonesian staff member
arrived and all hell broke loose. People started waving their tickets in his face and demanding to be included
on the passenger list. I was grateful that I had arranged the previous day for my name to be on that list. As it
turned out there was plenty of spare seats on the first flight so everyone who wanted to get on board got a
seat.
This time I had a window seat and was privileged to have amazing views across the central highlands.
Cloud was lying in the valleys but the rugged, emerald and still-growing peaks of New Guinea stood proudly
above the cloudbase. The 45 minute flight passed quickly and before I knew it was landing back at
Jayapura. I now felt like an old hand and was able to assist a Western couple with luggage collection.
Instead of hailing an overpriced airport taxi for the 10-minute journey back to the hotel, I walked out of the
airport and jumped one of the local minibuses that serve as the local transport network. Similar in size to a
matatu in Kenya, these minibuses are different in that you just tell the driver where you want to go and he
will drop you off and then return to his regular route.
As we approached the Sentani Indah Hotel there were a huge number of blue banners lining the street and
fluttering in the breeze. I had returned in the middle of the PAN's Papua branch's 5-year political
conference, and was grateful that I had made my reservation as Room 131 was still available. Although I'd
like to believe that this was due to my important status as a VIP guest, I was pretty sure it was more to do
with the fact that the toilet leaked and the room was at the very back of the hotel.
I was feeling really ready for the next challenge and excited to meet up with the Carstensz expedition team
after so long on my own. I was hoping for an email from the European agent as he was supposed to send
me details of where I would meet the team in Papua and I had come back as soon as possible from
Wamena specifically for that purpose. Having had my team pull out on me just a few weeks before I left the
UK, I had no option but to pay him as he was the only agent that I knew of (local or international) who was
running a December expedition.
I was really happy to see an email in my inbox from him (via Iain Mackay) and opened it expectantly. To my
shock and massive disappointment, the email was telling me that the expedition had been postponed. I was
gutted and my brain started to kick into emergency footing. I think that, although I doubt myself sometimes
and worry too much about small things, I am quite good at coming up with creative solutions in an
emergency. His email stated that the trip may go ahead on 19th December but I had now lost all trust in this
man, since he had only given me three days’ notice of cancellation. I sent an email to him directly stating
that I required immediate reimbursement and that he had left me in a very difficult situation. I needed to get
my hands on the money in case I could find another solution so that I could, if necessary, pay another
(local) agent.
I sent an email to Iain Mackay and asked that we discuss options later that day when Iain had a break from
work. I communicated with a friendly local agent that I had built a good relationship with to identify any
agents now running an expedition in December. She gave me an email address of one and I sent a
message asking if I could get on their expedition. As far as I could see, I now had the following options:
1. If local agent said yes and the Carstensz expedition began 19th Dec or later, I would arrange a flight back
to Bime as soon as possible and attempt Mandala first. This would depend on the Czech agent reimbursing
me his fee, which he claimed he will do the next day.
2. If local agent said yes and the Carstensz expedition began before 19th Dec, it would not be worth trying
to get to Mandala before Carstensz and I would figure out a short term-plan to save money and wait for
Carstensz
3. If local agent said no, then I would arrange to fly to Bime as soon as possible, try Mandala and then plan
to go back early to the UK and postpone Carstensz until possibly next summer
4. Ask Freeport McMoran (who operate the Grasberg mine adjacent to Carstensz) if they would allow me
access through their project area to Base Camp to at least collect some photos of the glaciers. During my
27
research, they had already refused me access, although they have in the past supported expeditions
collecting data for the same researchers that I support. I emailed my contact there to gauge their reaction
The local agent sent me a message to tell me that they would ask their client if I could join the private
expedition and told me they would contact me on Monday with an answer. This meant being stuck in
Sentani over the weekend in the middle of a political party conference, which was truly bizarre. However, it
was the first time I had seen other guests at the hotel.
Days 16 – 20, 4 – 8 December, Stranded in Sentani
Saturday and Sunday were spent contemplating a lot about what had happened so far and what may or
may not happen over the next few days. I was really frustrated because there was really nothing I could do
except wait for confirmation from the international agent (re refund) and the local agent (re potential
Carstensz departure) before I could really plan my next move. I spent some time over the weekend trying to
catch up with my blog and updating the expedition facebook page with photos and videos so that people
could share as much of my experience as possible.
I tried to remain positive over the weekend and also sent emails to a couple of production company contacts
I had about the possibility of producing a documentary of the expedition. I also reconnected with Dr. Mike
Prentice of the University of Indiana, who I was providing glacier photos and elevation data for to update
him on my position and he wished me luck and told me he would have loved to join me on the expedition,
which I appreciated.
On the 7th December, I received confirmation that the refund from the international agent had hit my
account, which cheered me up from my misery. I felt trapped in the hotel and Sentani had no real tourist
sites to speak of. I was concerned about haemorrhaging money the longer I stayed in the hotel. There was
no-one else to hang out with or speak to and my frustration and sense of isolation was starting to wear me
down. I phoned the local agent and he told me he still hadn't heard back from his clients but would know by
Wednesday 8th December. This was a big blow. I decided to walk into Sentani proper just to get away from
the hotel.
On Wednesday 8th, I got the email I was dreading – the local agent confirmed that his clients had refused to
allow me to join their expedition. It was a crushing blow. However, I immediately started trying to create
something positive out of this disappointment. I decided to postpone Carstensz Pyramid until after my
contract with German Red Cross i.e. until July 2011. At least now that I knew either way I could plan to
access Puncak Mandala. I wasn’t sure of the correct protocol now – should I contact the Bime
representatives before I booked my mission flight, or book the flight and then let them know that I was going
back? I decided to check the flights first, since the weekend was approaching and I knew they wouldn't fly
on a Saturday or Sunday. I decided to try to arrange a mission flight back to Bime for Friday morning i.e.
10th December. I sent a message to Bob Roberts from Adventist Aviation to ask if he was around. He
phoned right back to say he was on the way to Jakarta for dental treatment so instead I sent a text to the
other Bob, the Ops Manager at AMA, and also to Eric Roberts, the AMA pilot, to ask if a flight was available
for Friday.
Realistically, I didn't know how many days I would need for Puncak Mandala as none of the Bime
representatives were clear on either the route or how many days walk it would take. The last person I knew
who attempted this route failed to make the summit due to a hailstorm, after 5 days of walking from Bime.
However, when I had showed his sketch map to the Bime locals and representatives they told me that the
names of some of the villages they passed were wrong. I know that Mark Anstice and Bruce Parry had
some trouble on their attempt from the south when they were taken partly up the wrong valley so I would
plot my progress carefully using GPS to make sure we'd be heading in the right direction at least. I planned
to take max 5 porters but again knew that I may have more forced on me by the community. I hoped that I
could leave the day after I arrived (i.e. Saturday), but again I didn't expect it would be a straightforward
process. Hopefully, I could get in and out in a maximum of 3 weeks.
28
I sent a text to Titus's father informing him of my plans and I got an immediate response asking how many
of the delegation I wanted to take back to Bime with me. The answer was that I planned to take only one,
Titus himself (to translate and help with negotiations). He then sent another message telling me that Enus
would fly to Sentani on Friday (the day I planned to fly), which troubled me a little bit.
Day 21 - 9th December - Back to the Star Mountains?
During the morning, the hotel staff arranged a car and driver to take me on the 1-hour drive to Jayapura to
try to change USD to Indonesian rupiah (not possible in Sentani) as funds were getting a bit low after so
long in this hotel. The Sentani/Abepura/Jayapura conurbation is really not set up for tourists and there is
only one Bank in Jayapura that changes money. At the Bank, I was told that two of my $100 bills were fakes
and couldn't be exchanged. Also, this was not a good time to find out that there is a daily exchange limit of
1,000 USD (which didn't apply in Jakarta)! I had hoped to change at least $1,500 to make sure I had a small
float of Rupiah for any unexpected emergency payments.
I still hadn't heard back from AMA so I called Bob Ops Manager and he told me he was in Merauke and
would not arrive back in Sentani until Friday afternoon. He told me to go to his office and visit his assistant,
who I knew from my last trip. The trip to exchange money took three hours in total and then I rushed to the
AMA office at the airport. I explained to Bob's assistant that I was hoping to fly the next day and to my relief
she confirmed there was a flight and that there were four confirmed passengers. I tried to explain that I may
fly with one other (Titus).
My next stop was the supermarket. Bob Roberts had advised me to take a 10 kg bag of rice as a gift to the
community and I also bought some Indonesian cigarettes as gifts for either my porters or the community
leaders from the villages I passed through. I also stocked up on lots of chocolate, which I had missed on
Puncak Trikora. I rushed back to the hotel in good spirits that at last my luck seemed to be changing. I
packed my kit that evening and ate my last big meal at the hotel. I checked a press release that my PR
wanted to issue recounting my attempt on Puncak Trikora and tried to get some sleep. I was really nervous
about going back to the Star Mountains after my last visit and the fact that there were so many factors
beyond my control. I had no idea if I would make more progress or if I would get stuck in Bime or another
village en route. I didn't know how much the porters would expect to be paid. I had received a lot of useful
information from several correspondents but no-one had visited the area in the last 10 years so I was still
going back into the unknown, although I was very happy that I would at least have one other Englishspeaker to help this time.
Day 22 - 10th December - the plot thickens
I was awoken at 07:20 by a phone call to be told that the Bime delegation would be coming to my hotel. I
was really annoyed by this because I hadn't had breakfast or packed all my kit. It also meant that my plan to
fly to Bime with the translator Titus had obviously changed. I told Titus, while trying to remember that he
was just the messenger, that they must not come until after 9 am because I wouldn't be ready.
At 08:30 he called again to say they had arrived. I told him they would have to wait because I wasn't ready
and after a quick shower I headed out to the terrace to figure what was going on. Enus was in Oksibil so it
was just Titus, his father and two others with links to Bime. I shook hands and tried to smile and then asked
if everything was OK. I was assured that it was, apart from the small matter of an administration fee that I
had to pay immediately before I left for Bime. Titus told me it was 50,000 Rupiah, which seemed very
reasonable (about $6). I then asked if Titus was ready to fly and he said no, because he had to go back
across the border to Papua New Guinea because his Indonesian visa would expire in a few days. This was
a real blow. I wanted him there to help me arrange porters and negotiate with each village kepala desa on
the trek in and it would be so much harder without him.
I then started asking questions about how to pay the porters, because the fact was that I only had about
$1,200 in rupiah since the bank had only changed $1,000 for me the previous day. I had been planning to
offer the porters about 100,000 rupiah per day (about $11), which I felt was very fair considering the remote
community they lived in. I estimated 10 days with 5 porters would cost about $550, which was affordable. I
29
still had to pay for my own AMA flight, which would cost me another $250. So, I had a little bit of spare cash
that I hoped would be enough to see me through back to Jakarta (since it was inconvenient to travel to
Jayapura to change money). Titus' father was constantly on the phone with Enus as the discussion
developed to check and confirm details.
Titus told me first that Enus would fly to Sentani the next day (but I knew he couldn't because it was a
Saturday) and would then fly to Bime. Realistically, the earliest that he could be there would be Tuesday. I
would therefore be in Bime for 4 nights with no prospect of leaving until Enus arrived. This was quickly
becoming a ridiculous and unrealistic situation. I started to think for the first time about cancelling my flight
that day because it made no sense for me to fly out only to be stranded in Bime. I explained this to Titus
and this was relayed to Enus. His next plan was that I would go to AMA and meet his brother Nas and be
accompanied by one of the Bime representatives (from out of nowhere, four other people had now
mysteriously appeared at the negotiating table). This would now involve me flying out and paying for a
return ticket for me and Enus' brother and a single for the other Bime representative – total cost to me was
$750 for the tickets. I explained again that I really had only a small amount of money and that I couldn't in
reality afford to pay those tickets and then also pay the porters etc.
Throughout the discussion, Titus mentioned several times how important it was that I paid the
administration fee. I couldn't see what the problem was and reassured him that it was OK. I understood why
I had to pay and would do so willingly. Finally, Titus confirmed that Enus had advised that I pay the porters
300,000 Rupiah per day ($33). Total cost to me would be $1,666 just for porters. Clearly, I didn't have the
funds to pay this and I calmly (I think) explained that I would not be able to travel to Bime now and would
have to fly back to the UK. This got their attention and I was asked again to pay the admin fee while they
came up with a new plan. I reached into my bag and pulled out a 100,000 rupiah note and said I would
happily pay double what they had asked. I looked up into blank faces. Then it dawned on me. Papuan
people tend to forget about the last 3 zeros when they are talking about money – they were asking me to
pay 50,000 thousands! 50 million rupiah is the equivalent of about $5,500!
I closed my notebook and tried to remain polite. I asked Titus to apologise to his father and Enus for wasting
their time. I explained that I was here as an individual, a guest in their country and that there was no way I
could ever afford to pay that amount. Immediately, Titus' father was on the phone to Enus and explained
that I could instead pay a fee of 15 million ($1,600) and that I could pay the porters around 50 – 100,000
rupiah per day. Although this was much more realistic, it was still beyond my means and I resolved at this
point that any further negotiation was a waste of time and that I would leave Papua as soon as possible.
I explained to Titus that I would have to postpone my trip back to Bime – I would come back in July to
attempt Carstensz Pyramid and I started to form a plan to also keep two weeks free to come back to Bime. I
really wanted Titus on board as he spoke good English and he confirmed that he had two weeks of school
holidays at the end of July/beginning of August. It was obvious that everyone was disappointed and that
they really did want me to come back to Bime, but their greed had defeated them. I had a very heavy heart
but a very clear head as I explained my position. Titus asked me what they could have done better. I
explained that I (and other tourists) would understand an administration fee but that they had asked for far
too much money. I told him that if they had discussed the administration fee earlier in the negotiations, we
could have agreed a position and I could have changed more money or arranged a transfer into Indonesia
and that it was not appropriate for them to come to my hotel just before I fly to try to extort money from me.
Titus seemed to understand and was very apologetic about the whole situation. Finally, I brought from my
room a 10kg bag of rice and some cigarettes that I was taking as a gift to the community in Bime and
instead, gifted them to his father as a sign of my understanding and co-operation.
Titus and I then agreed to keep in touch between now and July and to make concrete agreements before I
go back. That afternoon, I booked a ticket out of Jayapura to Jakarta and changed the date of my return
flight to the UK. It had been an incredible, exhilarating experience but left me with a sense of frustration and
disappointment since I had failed to meet my original expedition objectives. And it definitely felt like
unfinished business.
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LATITUDE / LONGITUDE:
Date
Name
Lat/Long
Altitude (m)
23-Nov
Jayapura
2°34'38.40"S
140°32'17.90"E
86
24-Nov
Bime
4°17'9.65"S
140° 7'29.98"E
1,800
25-Nov
Jayapura
2°34'38.40"S
140°32'17.90"E
86
27-Nov
Wamena
4°5'51.00"S
138°57'4.00"E
1,865
28-Nov
Wakikama
4°10'58.20"S
138°41'30.42"E
3,301
29-Nov
Semalak Cave
Camp
4°14'26.40"S
138°40'10.20"E
3,740
Highest trekking
point
Summit Ridge expedition high
point
4°14'26.40"S
138°40'10.20"E
4,114
4°14'26.40"S
138°40'10.20"E
4,638
30-Nov
01-Dec
02-Dec
Wamena
4°5'51.00"S
138°57'4.00"E
1,865
03 - 10Dec
Jayapura
2°34'38.40"S
140°32'17.90"E
86
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5. SUCCESS FACTORS:
The purpose of a Churchill Traveling Fellowship is to widen an individual’s experience in such a way that he
or she grows in confidence, knowledge, authority and ambition, and to bring benefit to others in the UK
through sharing the results of their travel experience. This is to be achieved through:
• the inspiration provided by the individual’s example – his or her subsequent performance and
achievements
• the dissemination and application of new knowledge, different perspectives and innovative solutions
In order to determine whether the purpose of the Fellowship was achieved, it is important to measure not
only whether the expedition objectives were achieved, but more importantly how I attempted to achieve
them. The qualitative factors relating to the Fellowship outweigh any quantitative results that may or may
not be achieved.
Relevant factors to consider are:
i)
How far the purpose of the Fellowship was achieved
Confidence: It is difficult at this early stage to determine whether the purpose of the Fellowship was fully
achieved, given that it requires measurement against future achievements. However, while I experienced
frustration and disappointment on the expedition, I also discovered hidden strengths while dealing with
complicated negotiations. I had the confidence to fly into a remote location alone and negotiate directly with
the local community. Thereafter, I negotiated with a delegation from the District Assembly of the Star
Mountains and I did this with self-belief, a cool head and a great deal of patience. I also had the confidence
to make the tough decision to walk away when it became clear that access to Puncak Mandala would be
impossible within the expedition timeframe and budget. Prior to the expedition, during the planning phase, I
was able to build relationships with equipment sponsors and media representatives to raise the expedition
profile. I plan to build on this experience and those relationships over the next 10-15 years in pursuit of my
long-term goal to be the first person to climb the three highest peaks on every continent. The confidence
that I have gained from my experience in planning and undertaking this expedition also has a direct impact
on my chosen career. I have recently started a contract with the German Red Cross working on Disaster
Risk Reduction projects in Bangladesh and there is no doubt in my mind that my personal ambitions and
experiences during the preparation and execution of this expedition both helped me secure that role and
have given me the confidence to fulfil it to the best of my ability.
Knowledge: I certainly left Papua with a much deeper understanding of the local political environment and
a keen sense of just how complicated it can be to negotiate access to the mountains of Papua. I also have a
good understanding of the logistics required to undertake an expedition in Papua, which will stand me and
others in good stead in years to come. In terms of scientific knowledge, although I did not complete my
intended scientific objectives, the knowledge I developed in relation to the impact of climate change on
glacial recession in the tropics will stand me in good stead when planning future expeditions. My visit game
me new perspectives on the political situation in Papua and the struggle for self-determination. This struggle
for self-determination is something that I also experienced during the 8 months that I worked in Darfur and
is likely to become an issue with global focus in the coming years, especially as the Arab world and the
African continent undergo further democratisation. In addition, recent events in the Arab world have
indicated that developing technologies and their impact on globalisation are likely to give voice to a new
generation of dissidents and I feel like I had a unique insight into a region where some form of uprising
whether violent or peaceful, is likely to occur during my lifetime.
Authority: Very few climbers visit the remote areas that I visited on this expedition. Carstensz Pyramid,
being one of the Seven Summits, is visited relatively frequently. However, Puncak Trikora is very rarely
climbed by Western climbers and Puncak Mandala has only a handful of recorded ascents, the last being in
2000. I was the first Westerner to fly into Bime (other than mission pilots who just fly in and out) in many
years. Therefore, I have the most up-to-date knowledge of those areas of any current adventurer or climber.
Since the expedition, I have had enquiries and correspondence from people all over the world, including the
United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, the US and the UK. As this report will be disseminated through several
32
channels, I expect this to generate more enquiries for information on the possibilities for mountaineering in
Papua. In January 2011, WideWorld Magazine chose mountaineering in Papua as one of their top 10
adventure destinations for 2011 and chose this expedition as one of their favourite attempts of 2010.
Ambition: As I stated in my original application, this expedition was also the second leg of my long-term
project to climb the three highest peaks on each continent. This is a hugely ambitious undertaking and
although on this expedition I was not able to meet my original mountaineering objectives, it has only
increased my belief that over the long-term this is an achievable goal and I am firmly focused on achieving
this. Over the last eighteen months I have made connections with a number of other adventurers and
expedition planners and enjoy being part of this network of ambitious and dedicated people, some of who
are previous Churchill Fellows.
Benefits to the UK: As stated above, sharing my experiences with others is a huge part of why I enjoy
undertaking expeditions and I have had enquiries from many sources over recent months. Unfortunately,
my international work in humanitarian aid places certain limitations on the possibility to directly share my
experiences through lectures or school visits. However, the use of developing technologies such as social
networking sites and the expedition webpage ensured that the expedition reached a large number of people
(see Figure 4 below), and will continue to do so. I know from receiving direct emails that the expedition has
inspired people. I give two examples below of messages received in the last few months:
“Hello Ricky, how are you? I've been reading your blog, how's the trip going? It sounds like it is tough but if
anyone can do it, it's you :) It's very inspirational to read.”
Louise Bonnar, Deloitte
“Hi Ricky, I’ve not seen you since school but find you totally inspirational! I am vice chair for a charity in
Scotland "the SSC" but what you do is amazing!”
Douglas Currie, Vice-Chair, SSC
Inspiring people is a huge part of why I undertake these expeditions. I want people to understand that they
can set themselves remarkable goals and through a combination of self-belief, hard work and persistence
they can at least partially achieving them. As I indicated in the Preface, Churchill’s own words strike a chord
with me here:
"Never Give In"
"This is the lesson: never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never—in nothing, great
or small, large or petty—never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield
to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy."
This sentiment, and the feeling that I have unfinished business in Papua, is what is driving me to return this
year. Although I pushed as hard as I could to make the expedition a success, there were too many external
factors that I could not influence, such as team members pulling out at short notice and the last-second
cancellation of the Carstensz Pyramid leg of the expedition by the international agent. Now that I have
current information directly from the ground, and with the expedition research already completed, I feel very
confident about returning to Papua to complete my original objectives, in line with Churchill’s words above.
On a side note, my UK Operations Manager, Iain Mackay, has recently decided to establish his own
business offering Adventure and Expedition Training services. While he has extensive military and civilian
leadership experience, this was at least partly influenced by his role in supporting me from the UK on this
expedition.
In summary, I believe that the purpose of the Fellowship was largely achieved. This is especially true if this
expedition is considered as a reconnaissance. Returning to Papua would enable to me to meet most of the
original expedition objectives and bring much greater benefits to the UK in terms of scientific understanding
and the ability to support disadvantaged young people in the UK to experience their own overseas
expedition and develop their own characters. It would also give me the opportunity to meet my original
mountaineering objectives as part of my long-term goal.
33
ii)
The adequacy of the grant
Please see the ‘BUDGET’ section of the report for a full breakdown of expedition expenses. WCMT
generously supported the expedition with a grant of £6,500. My original budget of £27,457 was based on a
team of three (£9,152 per person). I submitted a final budget estimate in August showing total expedition
costs of £11,491 just for my costs. Actual expenditure amounted to £14,535, despite not reaching Carstensz
Pyramid. However, eligible costs that WCMT funding was planned to cover were £5,517. The main
variances were due to the engagement of a PR firm for 3 months, which was not originally planned (see
‘PUBLIC RELATIONS’ section for more details) and additional kit costs, which were borne personally by
me. Had the Carstensz Pyramid leg been completed and had a return to Puncak Mandala also been
feasible, the total eligible expenditure would have been in the range £12 – 13,000. The grant would
therefore have covered approximately half of eligible costs. This reflects the logistical and political difficulty
in reaching Papua and demonstrates how difficult it is to accurately budget for such an expedition when
accurate, current information is not available.
iii)
Suggestions for future Fellows
Papua province and Indonesia as a whole have almost unlimited potential for future Fellows to investigate.
This is not just limited to future expeditions in the Exploration, Adventure & Sport category. Indonesia
consists of an archipelago of over 17,000 islands and is the world’s most populous Muslim country. Despite
this, the population consists of distinct ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups. Nevertheless, Indonesia has a
shared national identity defined by a national language, ethnic diversity, religious pluralism and a history of
colonialism including rebellion against it. Indonesia's national motto reflects this: “Unity in Diversity”.
Geographically, Indonesia has vast areas of wilderness that support the world's second highest level of
biodiversity. There are incredible opportunities for future Fellows across all categories and I would strongly
encourage any future applicants to consider Indonesia as a destination.
iv)
My dissemination plans
Regarding the continued dissemination of the expedition, I am still in discussion with a production company
about the possibility of producing a documentary of the expedition. The main obstacle to this is the time
constraint I face in reformatting all of my video footage due to my heavy workload in Bangladesh. This
would be a great opportunity to share my experiences and I am actively following this up. The fact that I am
planning to return is a huge selling point in potentially producing a documentary. The figure below illustrates
user statistics for the Australasia 3 Peaks glacier expedition Facebook page, which was the main tool used
to share my experiences. The page continues to attract additional ‘Likes’ and I will continue my PR activities
over the coming months in the run-up to my intended return to Papua. I also secured a broad range of
media coverage and this is highlighted in the ‘PUBLIC RELATIONS’ section of the report.
34
Figure 4: Australasia 3 Peaks Glacier expedition facebook page user statistics
35
6. LOGISTICS
A: Permits - I made contact with a number of agents in Indonesia and experienced expedition leaders prior
to the expedition to assess what permits would be required. The information I collated indicated the
following:
i.
Puncak Mandala – previous expeditions to the area had been undertaken (the last in 2000) with no
official climbing permit necessary, although it was necessary to obtain a standard surat jalan
(travel permit) for the Pegunungan Bintang (Star Mountains) Regency from the police. I obtained
my surat jalan as soon as I arrived in Sentani with the help of staff from Associated Mission
Aviation (AMA). This was obtained from the Sentani Police HQ (about 10 minutes away from
Sentani Airport by motorbike) and covered the Star Mountains, Jayawijaya Regency and Timika.
The cost of issuing the SJ was about 20 USD but there is no fixed fee and you pay what you feel
is appropriate.
ii. Puncak Trikora – although officially off-limits to tourists, I obtained price quotations by email from
two local agents based in Wamena. It was necessary to have both a surat jalan for the
Jayawijaya Regency and a permit from the Forestry Ministry to enter Lorentz National Park. This
was issued by the local Forestry Office in Wamena. The trip was organized under the guise of a
bird-watching trip by the local agent that I selected. His contact details are:
Name:
Telephone Number:
Email:
Justinus Daby
+628134486395
justinusdaby@yahoo.com
Figure 5: Local agent Justinus Daby who arranged the Puncak Trikora leg of the expedition
He was able to organize the logistics of the trip overnight and the price of the guide he provided
reflected my limited budget. I would recommend any future expeditions to Puncak Trikora to
insist on an English speaking guide with a thorough knowledge of the route to, and up, Puncak
Trikora
36
iii. Carstensz Pyramid – in order to access Carstensz Pyramid it is necessary to obtain a climbing
permit, which can only be done through a local agent who has contacts with the relevant
Ministries. In addition, the local agent liaises with the local tribal groups through whose land II
would have to pass. This is an expensive and time-consuming process. The current security
situation is unstable so trekking in at this time is not always possible. It used to be possible to
charter a helicopter for a direct flight to Base Camp but in the last two months this has been
impossible. I actively sought to engage with field scientists either in the field or based in research
institutions both in Indonesia and worldwide for advice on travel in Papua province. I engaged
with the following local agents regarding Carstensz Pyramid:
Bob Sumoked - tinggigunung@yahoo.com - http://climbcarstenszpyramid.com
Cost - $6,000 each from Sugapa (party of 3)
Notes – there was a warning posted on several internet forums about using Bob and another
agent, but a Norwegian team used him in 2010 and gave great reports and he answered many
emails from me quickly and accurately. I had arranged a team of three and Bob agreed to run an
expedition for us (I told him he could find others if he wanted). However, my two team members
pulled out for financial and educational reasons in late October, which left me scrambling around
to get on another expedition.
Priestly Rumagit - info@carstensz-expedition.com - http://www.carstensz-expedition.com
Cost - $9,300 for private expedition (one person)
Notes – I corresponded with Priestly for several months and she was very helpful in trying to help
me find an expedition using her network of contacts. She is very quick to answer emails or
messages and I plan to use her company’s services in 2011.
Leonardo Padeatu
Indonesia Trekking - carstensz@indonesia-trekking.com
Cost - $8,500
Notes – When I contacted them at the end of October they apparently had a group from Korea
consisting of three persons who planned to go and one climber from US. Over the course of a
week (with one month to go before exped), they couldn't confirm it would run and then I got an
email saying it was postponed, at which point I contacted Petr Jahoda, the international agent
who let me down)
Ferdinand Tabaluyan
Adventure Indonesia - carstensz@cbn.net.id - Mobile Number: +62 813 4444 3352
Cost - c. $12,000
Notes – I was given his details by Priestly (see above) when I was stranded in Papua after my
international agent cancelled – he had a private exped running in December but the client
refused to allow me to join, which was the last chance to get to Carstensz Pyramid in 2010.
International Agent:
After my two team members pulled out at short notice, I had to cancel the private expedition I
had planned with Bob Sumoked (local agent, above). No other local agent was planning an
expedition in December and therefore I contacted an international agent (Petr Jahoda) and he
confirmed that he was planning a December 5 th departure, which would have allowed me to
complete the Carstensz Pyramid leg of the expedition. This was confirmed on 5th November at a
cost of $10,500.
Three days before the expedition was due to depart and after I had flown back to Jayapura from
Puncak Trikora, he cancelled the expedition. I would strongly advise anyone considering using
his services not to www.carstenszpapua.com
37
B: Equipment – All of my equipment was carried in checked luggage. A full list of equipment carried is
found below. For communication with Base in the UK, I carried a BGAN (Thrane & Thrane Explorer 500,
supplied by Spectra Group) and satellite phone (IsatPhone Pro, provided by Inmarsat). Network access was
generously provided by Satcom Group. By building strong relationships with outdoor equipment
manufacturers I was able to keep equipment and clothing purchase costs to a minimum. For more
information on support provided, please see the ‘SPONSORS’ section.
Item
Detail
CLOTHING (FOR CLIMBING)
o
UNDERWEAR. midweight baselayers x 2
o
TROUSERS.
o
INSULATED JACKET. Lightweight
o
DUVET JACKET. Waterproof
o
SOFTSHELL JACKET.
o
WEATHERPROOF JACKET. Goretex/eVent shell
o
WEATHERPROOF TROUSERS. As above
o
WARM HAT. Heavyweight fleece / windproof membrane
o
INSULATED GLOVES. Insulated mountain gloves.
o
FINGER GLOVES. 2 pair synthetic contact gloves.
o
WATERPROOF SOCKS. 1 set Goretex
o
SOCKS. 4 sets
o
MOUNTAIN BOOTS. Lightweight (crampon compatible)
o
GAITERS
o
MOUNTAINEERING SUN GLASSES. Full UV protection.
o
TRAIL SHOES. For trekking in forest
GENERAL EQUIPMENT
o
RUCKSACK. 75L Expedition size
o
DAYSACK. 35L
o
EXPEDITION KIT BAG. 100/120 L
o
DRYBAGS
o
TENT. Lightweight, robust 2 man shelter
Montane Bionic Long Sleeve T
Montane Terra Pants
Montane Prism
Crux Plasma
Montane Mantra
Montane
Montane Atomic DT
Montane Atomic DT Stretch
Montane Mitts
Montane powerstretch gloves
Sealskinsz
Smartwool/Bridgedale
Scarpa Charmoz GTX
Outdoor Designs
Julbo
Salamon
GoLite Quest 75L sack
GoLite Peak 35 L pack
Mountain Equipment
Aquapac
GoLite Arcadia 2-man
GoLite Eden 1-man
CRUX Torpedo 500
Outdoor Designs
ThermaRest Neo Air
MSR Whisperlite
MSR Titanium Kettle
MSR
Westlers freeze-dried rations
Platypus
MSR Miox
Leatherman Kick
Exped Quad
Petzl Zipka
Canon PowerShot G11
Sony HD HandyCam + spare battery + memory cards
o
SLEEPING BAG. 3 season waterproof down bag
o
BIVI BAG. As a back-up on Carstenz/Mandala
o
SLEEPING MAT. 4 season inflatable mat
o
STOVE. Lightweight
o
COOK SET. Lightweight
o
TITANIUM SPOON
o
MOUNTAIN FOOD. Separate budget item
o
WATERBOTTLE. 2 X 1L bottles and/or bladder
o
WATER PURIFIER
o
PENKNIFE.
o
TREKKING POLES. Lightweight, collapsible compact poles
o
HEAD TORCH. & spare batteries
o
CAMERA. Compact Digital
o
VIDEO CAMERA.
COMMUNICATION EQUIPMENT
o
BGAN
o
SATELLITE PHONE
o
EXPEDITION Laptop
o
SOLAR PANEL
CLIMBING EQUIPMENT
o
ROPES. 1*12m ropes for any short abseils on descent
o
HARNESS.
o
HELMET.
o
BELAY PLATE
o
5 QUICKDRAWS.
o
5 SINGLE SLINGS.
o
1 DOUBLE SLING.
o
2 COREDELETTES.
o
KARABINERS. 5 screwgate.
o
ASCENDERS. For fixed rope
o
DESCENDER. Figure 8 for abseiling
Thrane & Thrane Explorer 500
Inmarat IsatPhone Pro
Dell Ruggerdised Latitude ATG D620
Brunton SolarRoll 14
Peztl Corax
Petzl Elios
Peztl
Petzl
Petzl
Petzl
Figure 6: Expedition kit list
38
Figure 7: Kit ready to be repacked in Jayapura
C: Food & Drink – Food for the field was planned to be a mixture of freeze-dried, imported food brought
from the UK, and locally bought produce. On Puncak Mandala, I planned to rely on local produce (sweet
potato and spinach), supplemented with 1 freeze-dried meal each day and then 3 freeze-dried meals a day
after that. For Puncak Trikora, the local agent made arrangements in Wamena, which has a full selection of
fresh and canned foods available. Freeze-dried food was taken as a contingency. For Puncak Jaya, I
planned to use a mix of local produce and freeze-dried food. I bought privately from an advertisement on
UKclimbing.com 70 freeze-dried pouch meals (40 dinner / 30 breakfast) made by Westlers. These are
pouches to which boiling water can be added and left for 10 minutes. I left a selection in my hotel in
Jayapura in storage for when I return in July.
I also brought with me an MSR Miox water purifier and used this to purify my water on Puncak Trikora. I
would highly recommend this piece of equipment.
D: Transport–
International: London to Jakarta return
The European Union lifted a two-year ban on four Indonesian airlines, permitting Garuda Indonesia,
Mandala Air, Airfast Indonesia and PremiAir to fly within EU airspace. However, I flew with Emirates on 19th
November with a short stopover in Dubai and an anticipated return date of 4 th January 2011, at a cost of
£763.39. Emirates have a bigger checked baggage allowance (30kg) than any other airline that flies this
route. The ground staff were very flexible and despite having double the permitted weight of carry-on
baggage I was allowed to proceed without paying excess baggage charges. Due to the expedition finishing
early, I was able to change the return date to 14th December with a change fee of approximately £70.
Regional: Jakarta to Jayapura
I booked my flight to Jayapura when I arrived at my hotel in Jakarta on 20 th November. Given the flexibility
in my itinerary this was not a huge issue, but I did have to spend two days in Jakarta to find a relatively
cheap flight (£130). The carrier was Lion Air and the flight was via Makassar on Sulawesi. My return flight
was booked on Batavia Air for 3 rd January. Both bookings were made through a local travel agent with the
support of my hotel reception staff. Again, due to the early end to the expedition, I had to rebook my return
flight to Jakarta from Jayapura. I was unable to rebook with Batavia so booked with Merpati at a cost of
£172.34. I plan to use my original Batavia ticket when I return to Papua in July. I did have to pay excess
39
baggage on both the outward and inward legs of the journey as the luggage allowance was only 20kgs.
However, in both cases I was able to negotiate down from 10kgs to only 5 kgs.
Local: Jayapura to Bime return
I flew with Associated Mission Aviation (AMA) to Bime airstrip in the Star Mountains. During the planning
phase, I had been corresponding with Bob Roberts of Adventist Aviation in Jayapura, who had very kindly
offered to support me by flying me into Bime airstrip. Unfortunately as the timing of the expedition changed,
Bob was out of the country when I arrived but had put me in touch with his son Eric, who is a mission pilot
for AMA out of Jayapura. He in turn, put me in touch with Bob, the Operations Director and I was able to
arrange both my travel permit and my flight with his support. I am immensely grateful to all three for their
support.
Sentani Airport
Komplek Bandara Sentani
Jayapura, Papua 99352
Telp : 0967 - 591675 / 592654
Fax : 0967 - 592508
Email : info@ama-papua.com / amapapua@yahoo.com
Website : www.ama-papua.com
Local: Jayapura to Wamena return
I flew with Trigana Air, who operate several daily services between Jayapura and Wamena. Their main
ticket office is located just a few minutes from Sentani airport. The cost of a return flight from Jayapura to
Wamena was £62 and the flight time is only 45 minutes. Flights can be easily changed at no cost up to 24
hours in advance. Any local agent or travel agent can make these arrangements with minimal fuss.
E: Accommodation
In Jakarta, I stayed at the Ibis Arcadia Jakarta (room rate approx. £40 pppn)
In Sentani, I stayed at the Sentani Indah Hotel (room rate approx. £32 pppn)
In Wamena, I stayed at the Baliem Pilamo Hotel (room rate approx. £50 pppn)
In Bime, I was accommodated for one night at the local Government House, which was a three-roomed
wooden building that is normally used by the local Government official (who was on leave when I stayed
there)
Figure 8: Government House in Bime
40
On Puncak Trikora, I slept in my GoLite Eden 1-man tent, which I would recommend highly to anyone
looking for a spacious, lightweight one-man shelter. The porch is quite spacious for such a small tent and
lots of kit can be stored there.
F: Use of Porters – I planned to engage local porters from Bime on approach to Puncak Mandala, both to
ensure my security and to assist with route-finding and load-carrying. I used two Dani porters and a
cook/guide on Puncak Trikora. In Papua, it is always advisable to hire some local porters to bring some
economic benefit to local communities and to improve security due to the local political situation and to
minimise language difficulties.
G: Mapping – Reliable, up to date maps of New Guinea are not readily available, even for Carstensz
Pyramid, which is climbed relatively frequently. Through the Royal Geographical Society and other sources,
I was able to source the following maps:
1. Western Sudirman Range – adapted from 1501 AIR SERIES - JOINT OPERATIONS GRAPHICS (AIR)
SCALE 1:250 000 (sheets SB53-4, SB53-16) – showing location / proposed route on Puncak Jaya
2. Map of Wamena / Baliem Valley / Lake Habbema / Trikora
3. Google Map relief print showing location of both Puncak Mandala and Bime airstrip, which
4. Indonesia 1:100,000 topographic maps - Nederlands Nieuw Guinea – 1956 (Sheet 19-Y, Oriongebergte)
5. Sketch maps of:
a. Route from Bime to Abom to access Mandala
b. Route from Wamena to Puncak Trikora
c. Topography of Puncak Trikora
These sketch maps were provided by Franz Kvech, who travelled to the base of the mountain from the
South. However, the sketch map of Puncak Trikora did not directly match with the topography I found.
In addition, I was able to obtain a copy of the following maps from the Royal Geographical Society:
Indonesia 1:250,000 maps - "Series HIND 644" (Irian Jaya); 1947 Juliana – Gebergte E14
41
7. FINANCE:
Budget
Actual
INCOME
Fundraising
Personal Contributions
X1
Grant income
X2
Corporate Sponsorship
X3
Fundraising events
X4
Unrestricted
GRAND TOTAL INCOME
5,700
7,250
500
500
0
0
6,200
7,750
5,291
6,785
5,291
6,785
11,491
14,535
EXPENDITURE
TRAVEL
ACCOMMODATION
FOOD
EQUIPMENT
PERMITS / FEES
A1
International travel
700
1,363
A2
Internal flights
530
437
A3
Excess Baggage
500
74
A4
A5
Vehicles
Visas
200
50
1,980
111
192
2,178
B1
Hotels/guesthouses
390
592
390
592
C1
Expedition Food
158
158
C2
Other food
90
149
248
306
D1
Climbing Equipment & Clothing
450
1,681
D2
General Equipment
200
1,220
D3
Communication Equipment
E1
Climbing Permits
500
273
1,150
3,174
5,340
853
5,340
853
INSURANCE
F
313
0
PR /ADVERTISING
G
290
5,844
TRAINING
H
360
931
MISCELLANEOUS
I
375
657
CONTINGECY 10%
J
1,045
0
11,491
14,535
GRAND TOTAL EXP
The major unbudgeted expenditure was the engagement of a professional PR agency to maximize media
coverage. This decision was taken because in the last few months leading up to the expedition I was
working for two different humanitarian organisations in Sudan and had extremely limited time to commit to
PR activities. Please see the ‘PUBLIC RELATIONS’ section of the report for an analysis of media coverage.
42
8. PERSONNEL:
Ricky Munday CA (Expedition Leader, Finance, Logistics, PR) is a 34year old British Citizen working in humanitarian aid in Bangladesh.
Having won 3 Scottish league championship & 2 Scottish Cups with
Glasgow Hawks RFC from1999-2008, he has switched his focus to
outdoor challenges. Achievements include completing the Marathon
des Sables and organising and leading a two-man expedition to Khan
Tengri (6,995m) in Kyrgyzstan. In 2008, he organised and led the Africa
3 Peaks expedition, which attempted to climb Mount Stanley (5099m),
Mount Kenya (5199m) and Mount Kilimanjaro (5895m) in 20 days. This
event raised over £6k for a children’s home in Nairobi, where he had
spent 4 months working on secondment. Ricky has an Honours degree
in Physiology & Sport Science from the University of Glasgow.
Ricky is an Advocate of Nite Watches and is planning a return expedition to Papua in 2011. Following this,
he hopes to travel to either North America or South America in 2012 to continue his quest to become the
first person to climb the three highest peaks on every continent.
9. TRAINING:
Ricky undertook the following training courses to prepare for the expedition (both funded by the Winston
Churchill Memorial Trust):
Lead Climbing Course (5 days, North Wales, June 2010). This course was delivered by the Rock Climbing
Company www.rockclimbingcompany.co.uk, which is owned and run by Sylvia Fitzpatrick and Simon
Marsh. He was joined on this course by Carol Sparks, who pulled out of the expedition for personal reasons
Figure 9: Carol Sparks being instructed on the Lead Climbing course in North Wales
43
Advanced medical training - Course delivered over 1.5 days in August by Dr. Ross Anderson and covered
the following topics:
i.
Legal issues of medical care and training
ii.
Measuring vital signs
iii.
Vital signs – normal values
iv.
Refresher on first aid protocols –(c)ABCDE
v.
CPR
vi.
Safe airway position/airway manoeuvers
vii.
Bleeding / haemorrhage control
viii.
Dislocations
ix.
Fracture management
x.
Head injury/c-spine special considerations
xi.
Wound assessment, cleaning and management (practical on butcher prepared meat)
xii.
Pain management
xiii.
Fluids
xiv.
Management of common and rare but severe illness in remote locations
Dr. Anderson delivers courses on behalf of Adventure First Aid www.adventurefirstaid.co.uk
Medical supplies and a comprehensive expedition First Aid kit were prepared and delivered by Nomad
www.nomadtravel.co.uk
44
10. PUBLIC RELATIONS:
Between April and July I had been working both as Project Coordinator for Johanniter International
Assistance and part-time Finance Director for Fellowship for African Relief (FAR Sudan). This placed huge
constraint on the time available for expedition planning, especially the time I had available to focus on
generating media coverage. Due to this constraint and the increasing scale of my ambition, I decided,
following a sponsor meeting in August 2010, to engage an expedition PR specialist to maximize media
coverage and take some of the workload off my own shoulders. Therefore, in August, I engaged Alex Foley
of Alex Foley PR www.alexfoleypr.com, who had an impressive network of contacts and vast experience of
expedition PR. This was a huge financial risk for me as I agreed to pay £1,880 per month (total cost £5,640)
personally to promote the expedition. This added almost 50% to the expedition budget.
Date
Outlet
Country
Details
Achieved
by
Oct-09
The Independent
UK
Ricky mini-profile in Great Britons article
Ricky
May-10
Third Sector Magazine
UK
Expedition mentioned in News Item
Ricky
May-10
Gunung Bagging
Indonesia
Expedition mentioned on 3 pages
Ricky
May-10
Outer Edge Magazine
Australia
News item on expedition
Ricky
May-10
Get Out There Magazine
Canada
Press Release published in full
Ricky
May-10
Trek & Mountain Magazine
UK
Short article on expedition
Ricky
May-10
Raleigh International website
UK
Article on expedition launch
Ricky
Jul-10
WideWorld Magazine
UK
Ricky wrote feature article
Ricky
Aug-10
Thunder Bay Chronicle Journal
Canada
Carol profiled in 'Where are they now' section
Ricky
Aug-10
SCRUM Magazine
Scotland
Feature article on expedition
Ricky
Aug-10
PNG Attitude
Sep-10
Evening Times
Nov-10
Neilson Adventures blog
Nov-10
Etravel Blackboard
Nov-10
WideWorld Magazine
Nov-10
Adventure Travel Magazine
Nov-10
Scotsman
Nov-10
Scottish Field
Nov-10
SGB Sports & Outdoor
Dec-10
Dec-10
Dec-10
Expedition News
Dec-10
WideWorld Magazine
UK
Jan-11
The Herald Magazine
Scotland
Jan-11
Australia/PNG
Article on expedition's scientific objectives
Ricky
Scotland
Feature article on expedition
Ricky
UK
Article on start of expedition
Alex
News article
Alex
UK
Profile of Ricky
Alex
UK
News article
Alex
Scotland
Short news article
Alex
Scotland
Feature Article
Alex
UK
News article
Alex
Montane Website
UK
Ricky featured as sponsoree
Ricky
Nite Watches Unite page
UK
Ricky featured as Nite Watches advocate
Ricky
News article
Alex
Trikora update
Alex
Feature article on Ricky
Ricky
Papua chosen as one of top 10 adventure
destinations for 2011 - expedition mentioned as
one of their favourite attempts of 2010
Ricky
Australia
Open
WideWorld Magazine
UK
Figure 10: Media coverage for Australasia 3 Peaks Glacier Expedition
The table above demonstrates that of 25 media ‘hits’, 16 out of 25 (64%) were generated by Ricky alone
and 9 out of 25 (36%) were generated by the PR firm. Although the expedition finished early, which limited
the opportunities for post-expedition PR activities, this was a poor return on a huge personal investment and
no benefits were delivered in terms of new sponsorship, film or publishing opportunities. I would strongly
advise future expedition leaders to carefully consider whether the engagement of a professional PR firm is
worthwhile and to agree fixed deliverables upfront. Copies of all articles are available on request.
45
11. SPONSORS:
TREKKING SPONSOR
The expedition is grateful for the support of the following expedition sponsor:
Formed in 1997 to develop and operate new build internationally branded hotels, BDL
is now one of the UK’s largest multi-brand hotel management companies. Specialising
in managing hotels for asset owners, we manage more than 30 hotels in locations
across the UK and Ireland. BDL has a proven track record in delivering global brands
such as Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express (Intercontinental Hotel
Group), Ramada Encore (Wyndham Hotel Group) as well as un-branded hotels under
the BDL Select umbrella.
COMMMUNICATION SPONSORS
The expedition is extremely grateful for the support of the following kit and equipment sponsors:
The Spectra Group (UK) is a leading provider of voice and data services
in areas where either none exist or where high intensity conflicts, natural
disasters, pandemics or terrorist attacks may have destroyed existing
networks. They provided me with a ruggerdised expedition laptop and
satcomms training as part of our satellite communications capability.
Inmarsat has stood at the forefront of mobile satellite services for 30
years. They are internationally recognised as pioneers in their field and
they continue to introduce new technologies that redefine the standard
for their industry. They supplied us with a BGAN terminal to allow us to
send live updates back from the field and a satellite phone for emergency
use.
CLOTHING SPONSOR
Montane is a company owned and run by people with a passion for
outdoor performance sports which challenge and inspire. Montane is
one of the most specialised outdoor clothing brands, being at the
forefront of innovative, lightweight design and the use of the most
technologically advanced fabrics. I was very fortunate that Montane
provided full clothing sponsorship to the expedition.
Montane supplied the following clothing:
- Terra pants
- Bionic t–shirt long sleeve
- Mantra softshell.
- Atomic DT stretch jacket
- Atomic DT pants
- Prism Insulated jacket
I have used Montane clothing on expedition in the Tien Shan mountains of Kyrgyzstan, the Africa 3 Peaks
expedition (Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania) and now in Papua and it has never let me down.
46
KIT SPONSORS
The expedition benefitted from the support of the following kit and equipment sponsors:
GoLite is the premier global manufacturer of lightweight, innovative and
sustainable equipment designed specifically for outdoor athletes. GoLite
is committed to building a truly sustainable business, one that minimises
its environmental impacts and produces its products in factories that are
fair, safe, and non-discriminatory. GoLite supplied the expedition with
tents and packs.
Nite watches are issued to UK Special Forces and feature a rare
illumination technology called GTLS (Gaseous Tritium Light Source). I
was delighted to welcome Nite Watches on board as the official
expedition time keeper – Nite supplied me with a VISION VS2, which
stood up well to the challenging conditions in the forests and mountains of
Papua.
.
Aquapac manufactures top-quality, waterproof, protective cases. The
montane rain forests of the central highlands of New Guinea get as much as
5,000mm of rainfall per year (compared to 700mm in Edinburgh). So I knew
it was going to be wet. And Aquapac kept my equipment dry.
CRUX is a small, specialist brand dedicated to developing
product specifically for climbing. The design philosophy is simple
- crux products are to be tough, light and functional. Their
waterproof down sleeping bags & clothing provided optimal
protection against the challenging conditions we will face in the
mountains.
First Ascent are exclusive UK agents and distributors of outdoor
equipment for the following brands:
First Ascent supplied the following kit, with a substantial discount:
MSR Miox purifier, MSR Whisperlite Internationale stove, MSR Fuel Bottle, Platypus Big ZIP SL (2 litres),
Thermarest Neo Air mattress. All of this kit stood up well to the demands of an expedition to the Papuan
highlands.
I would like to extend a huge thanks to all of my kit, equipment and expedition sponsors for their unwavering
support.
47
12. CHARITY:
Raleigh run expeditions in the UK and other countries for young people
aged 17 - 24, with the purpose of providing experiential learning and
personal development through adventure, challenge, and through
community, environmental, and development projects. Raleigh's Youth
Agency Partnership Programme exists to support young people who
would otherwise not be able to access the opportunity to join an
expedition, usually due to external factors such as economic or social
exclusion. Ricky wanted to create opportunities for other disadvantaged
young people to have life-changing experiences, by fundraising for and
supporting this programme. (www.justgiving.com/aus3peaks)
Unfortunately, due to the expedition finishing early, I decided not to pursue the charity fundraising as it felt
unfair to ask people to donate money until I get the opportunity to go back to Papua in 2011. This will be a
major initiative during 2011. I will definitely return to attempt Carstensz Pyramid and I am still negotiating
with community representatives to visit Puncak Mandala.
13. SUPPORTERS:
Winston Churchill Memorial Trust - Sir Winston Churchill’s legacy lives on
through the work of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust. Annually the Trust
awards over 100 grants to individuals who wish to undertake studies relating to
their interest, education or profession. WCMT believes the inspirational journey
benefits the Fellows and others in the UK through knowledge sharing; achieved
primarily through personal development and dissemination of the benefits of what
they learn on their travels. Ricky was awarded a 2010 Travelling Fellowship as
Leader of the Australasia 3 Peaks Glacier Expedition.
Alpine Club of Canada Environment Fund - The purpose of the Fund is to
provide support that contributes to the protection and preservation of mountain and
climbing environments. This expedition was made possible in part through a grant
from the Alpine Club of Canada’s Environment Fund. The expedition was awarded
funding to buy photographic equipment to help create a photographic record of ice
cap cover in the region.
We were successful in our application to the Lyon Equipment Expedition Awards
2010. We're very grateful to Lyon Equipment for their support. Lyon Equipment is
the sole UK and Ireland distributor for the following brands: Petzl, Beal, La Sportiva,
Exped - the highest quality products from the worlds’ leading manufacturers.
The Jeremy Willson Charitable Trust (JWCT) is a charity set up
in tribute to and memory of Jeremy Willson. The charity helps
people and projects that reflect Jeremy’s passions in life:
athletics, geology, adventure and the environment. The
expedition was awarded a grant of £750 against expedition costs
and we’re very grateful to JWCT and the Willson family for their
support.
48
British Mountaineering Council is the national representative body for
climbers, hill walkers and mountaineers in England and Wales. The
Expedition was ‘approved’ by the BMC. This means that the expedition
carried the official endorsement of the BMC.
The Royal Scottish Geographical Society is the foremost charity in Scotland
which promotes an understanding of the natural environment and human societies.
RSGS aims to reinforce the importance of Geography in schools and wider
education, by underlining its relevance in national and global issues of public
concern and helping to frame the debate around these issues. The Expedition was
‘approved’ by RSGS.
Foreign & Commonwealth Office - The British Embassy in Jakarta is supporting the Governor of Papua
Province to try to set the economic development of the province onto a sustainable low carbon pathway and
to ensure that it stays that way. The aims of our research are pertinent to this objective.
49
14. SCIENCE:
The uncertainty in tropical tropospheric climate change over the last 30-plus years contributes
significantly to the uncertainty in global climate model predictions. The recent and on-going recession of
the glaciers of Papua is a response to tropospheric climate change and so a potential source of
important climate-change information for a remote region. Tropical mountain glaciers have received
attention because glaciers are now widely accepted as reliable recorders of climate-change over
decadal and longer timescales.
The 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessment noted that, like glaciers
worldwide, tropical glaciers have been in a state of retreat from their mid-19th-century maximum. Since
the 1970s, coinciding with the beginning of the Landsat satellite era, tropical glaciers have been
retreating quickly. Moreover, the smallest tropical glaciers appear to be the most affected (Lemke and
others, 2007). While glaciers in the Andes and in East Africa have received the most recent attention,
work on the last remaining glaciers in Papua has been more limited. Advances in satellite technology
and methods for detecting and analyzing glacier areas have enabled researchers to better document
the retreat and demise of these small ice masses. A better understanding of the temporal changes in
these small, and quickly disappearing, ice masses may aid in gaining better knowledge of the exact
climate–glacier interactions in this region.
The western New Guinea glaciers overlook the western Pacific warm pool, a center of warm water that
generates El Nino disturbances and the largest heat source to the global atmosphere, which influences
climate from India's monsoons to the Amazon's droughts. Strategic location, the sparseness of climate
data there, and the potential for a long past record are three reasons for the importance of New Guinea
glacier history.
While Puncak Jaya’s peak is free of ice, there are several glaciers on its slopes, including the Carstensz
Glacier and the Northwall Firn. Being equatorial, there is little variation in the mean temperature during
the year (around 0.5°C) and the glaciers fluctuate on a seasonal basis only slightly. However, analysis
of the extent of these rare equatorial glaciers from historical records show significant retreat since the
1850s, indicating a regional warming of around 0.6°C per century between 1850 and 1972. As
previously mentioned, the glacier on Puncak Trikora disappeared completely some time between 1939
and 1962. Since the 1970s, evidence from satellite imagery indicates the Puncak Jaya glaciers have
also been retreating rapidly. The Meren Glacier melted away sometime between 1994 and 2000. In two
years alone, between 2000 and 2002, the remaining glaciers lost more than 7% of their area.
Researchers estimate that since about 1850, as heat-trapping industrial emissions accumulated in the
atmosphere, Puncak Jaya's ice has shrunk from covering 7 square miles to less than 1 square mile.
Klein and Kincaid speculate that the glaciers on Puncak Jaya will disappear within the next 50 years.
Dr. Mike Prentice, an Indiana University paleoclimatologist, or climate historian, believes temperature
increases in the New Guinea uplands have far exceeded the 1-degree Fahrenheit average rise
recorded globally in the past century. Glacier recession on Mt. Jaya, Indonesia in 1972, 1987, 2000,
and
PUNCAK MANDALA – Ice Cap Mystery
Puncak Mandala is composed of massive limestone units that dip to the north, causing the peak to be
asymmetric, with steep southern cliffs (which we will attempt to climb) and much gentler slopes to the
north. It has been known to have glacier cover since 1909, when the earliest observation of snow cover
on the peak was recorded and a sketch of the ice cover was made. Oblique aerial photographs taken in
1945 by the United States Air Force show a small summit glacier lying to the north of the peak on the
gentler northern slopes. In 1959, the Dutch expedition climbed the peak and estimated the glacier to be
approximately 100m thick, while photographs taken in 1959 show the ice cap to be semicircular in
shape. None of these observations enabled the ice loss to be calculated. Allison and Peterson (1989)
were able to identify the ice cap on early 1980s MSS images, but these were of insufficient quality to
map its extent.
50
Therefore, until 2008 the current state of the small ice cap on Puncak Mandala was unknown. In 2008,
Klein & Kincaid used freely available satellite images archived within the United States for the period
1973 to May 2007 to determine if an ice cap remained on the peak. Despite being partially obscured by
cloud, a small area of snow/ice (approximately 10,000–12,000sq.m) could be visually identified on the
peak in an image acquired on 6 April 1989. Further visual analysis of a cloud-free image acquired 4
months later on 4 August 1989 indicated a snow/ice extent of approximately 15,000 sq. m on the
summit. However, a cloud-free image of Puncak Mandala summit acquired on 12 March 2003 showed
no snow or ice present. They concluded that the entire ice cap must have disappeared entirely before
March 2003. Given the almost constant cloud cover on these mountains and the paucity of reliable
satellite images, visual verification of the existence of an ice cap is essential to inform the researchers’
conclusions. This expedition planned to attempt to confirm the extent or existence of icecaps on the
peaks and create a photographic record for further analysis. We had also plan to collect water samples
for Dr. Andrew Henderson from the University of Glasgow to support his research, which focuses on
using isotope composition of lake sediments to reconstruct changes in precipitation or evaporation and
changes in air mass sources.
However, given the local difficulties encountered in trying to reach Puncak Mandala, and the
cancellation of the Cartsensz Pyramid leg of the expedition by the international agent, the scientific
objectives were not met. It is planned to complete these at the earliest opportunity, starting July 2011.
15. BIBLIOGRAPHY:
There follows a short list of relevant publications that I used in compiling some of the information in the
planning process.
References:
Klein, A.G. Kincaid, J.L. and Merritt, K.E. in revision. Assessing the accuracy of mapping small tropical
glaciers: a comparison of glacier mapping techniques applied to the glaciers on Mt. Jaya, Irian Jaya.
Remote Sensing of Environment
Klein, A.G. and Kincaid, J.L., 2008. On the disappearance of the Puncak Mandala ice cap, Papua.
Journal of Glaciology, 54(184): 195-198.
Klein, A.G. and Kincaid, J.L. 2006. Retreat of glaciers on Mt. Jaya, Irian Jaya determined from 2000 and
2002 IKONOS satellite images. Journal of Glaciology 52: 65-79.
Klein, A.G. and Isacks, B.L., 1996. Mapping glaciers with SPOT imagery and GIS. In: S. Morain and
S.L. Baros (Editors), Raster Imagery in Geographical Information Systems. OnWord Press, Santa Fe,
New Mexico pp. 219-225
.
Kincaid, J.L. and Klein, A.G. 2004. Retreat of the Irian Jaya Glaciers from 2000 to 2002 as Measured
from IKONOS Satellite Images. Proceedings of the 61st Annual Eastern Snow Conference, Portland
Maine, June 9-11, 2004. pp. 147-157.
Prentice, M.L., Lindgren, E., Bates, M., submitted, Temperature change across New Guinea since
1950: Implications for tropical climate change. Geophysical Research Letters.
Prentice, M.L., Hope, G.S., Maryunani, K., Peterson, J.A., 2005, An evaluation of snowline data across
new guinea during the last major glaciation and area-based glacier snowlines in the Mt. Jaya region of
Papua, Indonesia, during the LGM. Quaternary International, 138-139: 93-117.
Allison, I. and J.A. Peterson. 1989. Glaciers of Irian Jaya, Indonesia. In Williams, R.S., Jr and J.G.
Ferrigno, eds. Satellite image atlas of glaciers of the world. US Geol. Surv. Prof. Pap. 1386-H, H1–H20.
51
Background Reading:
Global
Glacier
Changes:
facts
http://www.grid.unep.ch/glaciers/pdfs/6_1_2.pdf
and
figures
report
(UNEP)
Philip Temple 1962 Nawok (London, Dent & Sons)
Heinrich Harrer 1964 I Come from the Stone Age (London, Rupert Hart-Davis)
LD Brongersma & GF Venema 1962 To the Mountains of the Stars (London, Hodder & Stoughton)
Robert Mitton 1983 The Lost World of Irian Jaya (Melbourne, Oxford Uni Press)
Mark Anstice 2004 First Contact (Eye Books)
16. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
In addition to the individuals and organisations noted above, I also sought detailed planning advice from
the following people, who all have extensive expedition experience in Papua, or have assisted with
logistical support/advice:
Mark Anstice - second successful ascent of Puncak Mandala and first from the south
Dr. Barry Craig – Curator of Foreign Ethnology, South Australia Museum
Henk van Matrigt - brother of the Franciscan Mission in Jayapura, and entomologist
Bob Palege – Papuan Guide on Mark Anstice Mandala expedition
Doug Allrich – Papua Program Manager, Mission Aviation Fellowship
Debbie Fisher, RAAFAIS Distribution Coordinator, Australian Defence Force
Richard Williams Jr. - Geoscience Information Services
Roger Crawford - creator of relevant webpages on www.summitpost.org
Mike Shepherd – retired University teacher, member of 1965 Star Mountains expedition
Dr. Chris Ballard – Australian National University
Di Gilbert - Mountaineering Instructor and holder of the MIC (recently summited Carstensz Pyramid)
David Hamilton – High Mountain Guide
Nicola Stewart – 2nd Political Secretary, British Embassy, Jakarta
Rob Daniel – First Secretary for Climate Change & Economics, British Embassy, Jakarta
Bob Sumoked – Indonesian Travel Agent
Martin Holland – Leader of FX-pedition to Borneo, 2010
Franz Kvech – experienced Papua traveller, including Star Mountains
52