Carstensz Pyramid is the highest mountain in Australia and Oceania. It is the eight summit in the Seven summits project (7 summits on 7 tallest mounatins on 7 Continets). Carstensz Pyramid is situated in west Papua (now named Papua province Indonesia). This Indonesian Province was calledIrian Jaya till 2005. It lies in New Guinea, which is the world"s second largest island.
Carstensz Pyramid
About Carstensz Pyramid
At 16,023 ft. (4,884m), Carstensz Pyramid, or Puncak Jaya ("Victory Peak"), as the Indonesians call it, is located in the western central highlands and is the highest peak in Oceania, Australiasia continent. The mountain was named after Jan Carstensz, a Dutch explorer who was the first European to sight the peak. In 1962, Heinrich Harrer became the first foreigner to reach the peak. His book, I Come From the Stone Age, provides excellent reading about climbing Carstensz and other peaks in the area, as well as his experiences of living with the Dani.
The route on Carstensz Pyramid follows a series of gullies up the north face for 500m of solid rock before breaking out on the ridge. Riddled with notches, the summit ridge undulates for half a kilometer from this point to the top. One of the gaps is 20m deep, and we rappel this overhanging pitch and leave a rope fixed to jumar on our return. On our descent, we rappel short distances and down-climb most of the way. The rock is extremely good, rarely loose, and provides good friction even in wet weather.
The rock-climbing difficulty on Carstensz is up to 5.8 for short steps, but most of the climbing is scrambling. It is important that you have basic rock-climbing skills and are comfortable with rappelling and jumaring. Short technical sections have fixed lines allowing you to either free climb or jumar. These fixed lines have been a crucial part of our 100 percent success rate.
In the highland areas, daytime temperatures should range between 75° and 85° F, with most evenings about 45° F. Expect warm afternoon showers, which may turn cool if encountered on a mountain pass. Closer to Carstensz, snow or inclement weather may occur. Temperatures can range from 28° to 60° F with sunshine occasionally in the mornings, then rainfall in the afternoons and evenings. Winds are variable and can be strong.
Carstensz Pyramid or Puncak Jaya or Jaya Kesuma
Carstensz Pyramid, called Puncak Jaya by some, and Puncak Jaya Kesuma or only Jaya Kesuma by others, is located to the west of the central highland called Jayawijaya and Sudirman Mountains. It is the tallest mountain in Australia and Oceania. Technically this means that Carstensz Pyramid is the tallest mountain between America and the Himalayas.
Officially it carries the name of its discoverer – of John Carstensz, who was a Dutch sea-farer. In 1623 he brought news to Europe about the snowbound mountain right on the equator, but no one believed him. He was the first European to see Carstensz Pyramid with his own eyes.
Indonesian communists called it Puncak Jaya (the summit of victory), even though this name belonged to a different summit which was considered to be the highest (Nga Pulu). Yet another name for Carstensz Pyramid which is also often used, is Jaya Kesuma. This name is used in books published by Mapala University. However, these days Indonesia uses (rather inconsistently) both names of the mountain – Carstensz Pyramid and Puncak Jaya.
Snow mountains on the equator
Carstensz Pyramid – Middle Peak
Carstensz Pyramid – Puncak Jaya (4884 m, 16023 ft), Puncak Mandala (4640m, 15223 ft), and Puncak Trikora (4730m, 15518 ft), are the three tallest and most well known mountains of west Papua. Carstensz Pyramid is the tallest of them, and it belongs to the Snow Mountains (Pegunungan Maoke in the local language). They are situated in the west of the central highland Jayawijaya.
The legendary tropical Snow Mountains are situated in the middle of endless jungles in West Papua. They are the logical ending of Cembalo Plato. Out of the three mentioned mountains, only Carstensz pyramid belongs among them. Although the massif of the Snow Mountains is not too high, and it lies 4 degrees south of the equator, it contains four relatively large glaciers. The largest of them is not the Carstensz Glacier, but Meren Glacier which fringes the Nga Pulu peak (4862 m, 15951 ft). Some Indonesians call this peak Puncak Jaya, because it was long considered to be the highest peak of Papua.
And where does the name Snow Mountains come from" There are not only glaciers on the summits, but the reason is also the fact that snowing is not unusual there. Tropical snow storm often bring snow to areas situated as high as 4000 m (13123 ft).
Graceful wall of Carstensz Pyramid
Carstensz Pyramid - Wall
The wall of the Carstensz Pyramid is about 500 – 600 meters (1640 – 1968 ft) high. In the upper part it is traversed by a gigantic ledge, in which to big culoars went. The bottom part of the wall – approx. 300 m (984 ft) is „neatly“ bowed at an angle of 10 – 15°. The upper part of the wall is approx. 80 m (262 ft), and it is almost vertical. The peak crista of Carstensz Pyramid is largely rugged and exposed. Some climbers say that the wall of Carstensz Pyramid is as sharp as glass, and they are not far from the truth.
Source:http://www.carstenszpapua.com