Alpine Endeavors

Carstensz Pyramid/Puncak Jaya

Carstensz Pyramid from the Yellow Valley. The route starts atop the yellow scree pile 1/4-way in from the left side of the photo.

On April 10, 2006 at 2pm, John Cutts, Amy Meredith, and Marty Molitoris successfully climbed Carstensz Pyramid, the highest peak in Papua (West New Guinea). Carstensz Pyramid is also know as Puncak Jaya and has an elevation of 16,223 ft. It is one of the seven summits, and has been closed since 2002, only being reopened this year.
Amy, John and Marty trekked 6 days through the jungle along the Sugapa Trail from the Moni village of Pogapa to get to the base of the mountain. Once there, they attempted the mountain on April 8th, but due to a fair amount of snow and inclement weather had to retreat after making it to the crux notch. They rested and returned on the 10th only to have the same weather again, but this time continued, at times through snow beyond their knees, to the summit!

Some photos and brief story below:


A view of the terrain on the way in. Leaving sea level and heading into the mountains.


Rain below


A view of our airstrip in Pogapa.



Looking over the pilots' shoulder at the airstrip - consisting of a 15 degree slope. It was a very exciting landing...



Arrived in the village of Pogapa.

Our incredible Moni Porters;
Philamon, Stepanus, Freddie, Zeramia, Peter, Davit


Cutting the way through the jungle


A typical view for a few days between the villages


Approaching a rattan bridge that had to be crossed.


The swaying, rattan bridge.



A regular welcome with warm smiles, and lots of staring.


No room at the inn, our Mega Lite being inspected by our neighbor.


The Moni in traditional wear.




The high plateau we reached just after climbing out of the jungle on the wall of roots.


A quick rest, we are now getting near the mountain.





The turquoise pools near the international base camps in the Meren Valley , looking back down from the the final ridge on way to the Yellow Valley. That was a steep, long, uphill...


The mountain and the narrow Yellow Valley below.


Farther down the Yellow Valley


W orking our way up the intial slab ptiches


Climbing up the giant corners, enjoying the sunshine (while it lasted)


After reaching the shelf, we encountered a good amount of snow.


The snow kept getting deeper and deeper, and the visibility quickly diminished.


John climbing up out of the crux notch.


Amy climbing up out of the crux notch.


Crossing the second notch/step after the Yellow Tower



John and Amy on the summit, unfortunately, the weather didn't allow for any views.


Marty and Amy on the summit. If you could read the altitude on the watch, it would read 16,250' (a little off).
Many thanks to Rock and Snow for all their support!



We are currently planning a trip to Carstensz for spring oo 2008, limited to 4 guests. If you have been thinking about climbing Carstensz, please give us a call for more info.