The report of Vladimir Kotlyar about climbing the Carstensz Pyramid, with photos of Irina Zisman

Vladimir Kotlyar, a guide of the 7 Summits Club talks about the recent visit to the island of Papua.

 Team of the 7 Summits Club, consisting of Irina Zisman, Michael Kornev, Gregory Sadetsky and Vladimir Kotlyar visited several places in Western part of the island of Papua New Guinea from 1 to 11 March and climbed the most mysterious and difficult of the 7 summits - the great Pyramid of Carstensz.

 On a sunny day, back in 1623, Dutch researcher Jan Carstensz saw a glacier on the banks of hot New Guinea from afar. Returning to Europe, he announced his discovery, for which he was ridiculed.

Almost 400 years have passed since then, and now any traveler can personally verify that Jan Carstensz was not at all an inventor and the glacier in the tropics was not a figment of his imagination or hallucination caused by excessive consumption of rum.

 The glacier really exists and is situated near the highest mountain of Australia and Oceania, named in honor of its pioneer Pyramid Carstensz. The second name of this mountain - Jaya, which translated from Indonesian means Victory.

The world has become more accessible, now to get to the other end of geography is not necessarily to go sailing on a sailing boat for months and years.  You can get on a plane, sit in a chair, and you're in a different country, a different culture, a different world. And although "McDonald's" and "Starbucks" climbed almost everywhere, the world is still beautiful and diverse.

A couple of flights and we get from -15 to + 35°, from snow - covered and cold Moscow - in green and stuffy Jayapura, from native Russia in far New Guinea.

In some places of this island are some persons eat people, somewhere in the depths of the jungle tribes still living as primitive people. And somewhere instead of guys with bows and spears, you can meet guys with machine guns who are fighting for independence from Indonesia.

But we don't need the jungle, we need the mountains, our goal is Jaya, our goal is Victory.

Some days we have been acclimatizing, visiting a tribe of Papuans, walking to the lake at 3200, where for more productive acclimatization, having a swim. On the fifth day not to meet guerrillas, we fly by helicopter to base camp on 4200. After lunch I spend training with the team on the ropes.

In the morning of the 6th day we put on harnesses, hang carabiners and other climbing rattles and begin to climb up. The rock wall is full of flow streams, and sometimes become to the river. The mountain does not get bored, only tired of jumaring - and you're walking on steel cables over the abyss, breathed and op, you need to jump somewhere. In short, climb the Carstensz is a fun, albeit wet))). The breaks in the clouds sometimes, the views are spectacular.

Five and a half hours of work on wet ropes and rocks and we stand on top. For me, this is the sixth summit of the project "7 summits". The descent reminded me more of a canyoning than mountaineering. In the camp we were waited by hot tea and the watermelon beautifully cut out in the form of a flower. We wondered in honor of what we get watermelon flower, in honor of the ascent or in honor of March 8th. Agreed that the watermelon is dedicated for the only girl in our team - Irina. Together we go on not the first climb, but first time on March 8)).

That's how climbers celebrate international women's day!

P. S. the Glacier we saw and witnessed the opening of Jan Carstensz))))).

Do travel, love life and appreciate the beauty of this world! V. Kotlyar.

Irina Zisman after the return sent us pictures in high resolution, we have done a separate gallery. See here ( 47 photos)