Carstensz Pyramid

August 15, 2019

CARSTENSZ PYRAMID

Door to door – 2 weeks
Route – Normal
Elevation - 4884alt

CARSTENSZ PYRAMID – August 15, 2019

Door to door – 2 weeks (we got stuck for 18 days waiting for the weather, so it took us almost 1 month)
Route – Normal
Elevation – 4884alt

DAD, I SEE NOTHING… HUH?! WALK SLOWLY AND FOCUS ON YOUR FEET…”

On July 25th we set off, full of enthusiasm, for the final summit of the Mrika Seven Summits project. I was more ready than ever. The dream was coming true.

In Bali we met with Anuja and from there we headed to Timika – Papua, Indonesia. When we arrived at the small airport, we met the guides who took us to the hotel.

The only way to get to the base camp was by helicopter, so we woke up early the next morning and headed to the small airport, ready to start the short but difficult expedition.

Usually, the main problem in Carstensz is the bad and rainy weather, so we stayed in Timika for 18 days waiting for the weather to improve. Every day was the same routine: waking up in the afternoon, going to a small drug store in Timake and eating a slice of pizza, spending some time in the store, and returning to the hotel to play cards for hours, as the place was not safe to be outside after 5pm. Then we would go back to our rooms and talk to family and friends until the wee hours.

We began feeling the need to exercise, but we could do nothing but motivate one another. This waiting put us to the test, but we are the ones who respect the rules of the mountains and await their call.

After 18 days of waiting, we finally flew to base camp. Jackson, Regan, and Alfindo were waiting for us with smiles on their faces. We arrived early in the morning and rested throughout the day and got ready to set off for the summit at 3pm. I started feeling nausea. Dad had severe leg pain, but neither he nor I stopped.

We were approaching the summit, and the adrenaline and fatigue kept increasing. When we got to the traverse, about 1.5 hours before the summit, walking along the rope, right in the middle of it, I lost my eyesight for a few moments… I don’t even know how to explain it today. It was maybe from altitude sickness, due to the rapid change from coastal to high altitudes, or from stress, fatigue, or the excitement for the long-awaited moment… I don’t know…

I called out to Dad that I couldn’t see, I heard him sigh for a moment, but I didn’t stop… Walk slowly and focus on your feet – he told me.

I was just a few steps away from the summit, I could see it, and the fatigue disappeared from my eyes and my emotions betrayed me, tears of joy, tears of pride began to flow from them. After all those challenges, we finally achieved our goal.

Mrike, we made it, right? Dad asks me, walking in my direction… Come here and hug me first – I tell him…

When we started the descent, I felt really bad, I started getting dizzy and I lost all my strength. Heavy rain started, and some inevitable small waterfalls were created on the descent wall, making everything even more difficult.

After a few hours of descent, we finally made it to the camp. Everyone went to the dinning tent, only I went to sleep, overcame by all the exhaustion and nausea. I vomited all through the night, and I couldn’t even move. At the break of daylight, I got some sleep, but not for long.

The helicopter had departed and would arrive at the camp in 40 minutes. We got ready in half an hour, packed our tents and gear. We listened once again to our song, which we would listen to when we’d wake up and go to sleep, “Imaging Dragons – top of the world”, and in the meantime the helicopter arrived and took us back to Timika, thus successfully completing our expedition…

As the last summit of the project had been successfully conquered, the long-awaited moment had arrived, making this expedition the most special of the happiest moments of my life.