The Climb – April 2007

About Carstensz

• Feet 16023 Meters 4884
• Latitude, Longitude - 4� 05' South Latitude, 137� 11' East Longitude
• Location - Sudirman Mountain Range, Papua Province (Irian Jaya), Indonesia, Oceania. It is part of the longest mountain chain in the world which runs for some 1800 km. Irian Jaya occupies the western half of New Guinea. This island is located immediately south of the equator, and is the world's second largest island, following Greenland.
• Location of the Nearest Major Airport - Wamena
• First Documented Ascent - Heinrich Harrer, with Temple, Kippaz, and Huizenga, 1962
• When to Climb - February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November
• Time to Summit - Depending on route, two weeks plus.
• Level of Climbing Difficulty - Likely the most challenging climb of the 7 summits. This is a trip of extremes from the rainforest to the snowy summit.
• This expedition involves not only challenging the mountain peak, but also gives one the opportunity to interact with the ancient indigenous population of Indonesia. The region's native people are the Dani tribesman. They are most skillful guides and, even having been introduced to westerners in the 1960's, still lead a very traditional lifestyle. Tourism has not arrived in many of these regions.
• The mountain was named after Jan Carstensz, a Dutch explorer who was the first European to sight the peak