waiting for flights

The boys are in Manado for a day, flying out tomorrow (the 19th) to Singapore. In the mean time, they're going out to a nearby island to see the sights under the water. I'd guess the heat makes being in the water preferrable to sweating on land. I know they all want to get home to their families, but it doesn't sound like they're suffering too bad. Check out their hotel at www.ritzymanado.com !

Safely in Timika

The team is safe and sound in the town of Timika after an adventurous trip through the Freeport mine. I'm not sure of the details, but it sounded like something from a Bond flick. It may have been as exciting as the climb...It took a bit of hiking, five vehicle transfers, and about 20 hours to complete this leg of the expedition.
They will get some sleep and then visit a local village in Timika tomorrow. Yippee! They're one step closer to home!

Back at Base

The team is back at base camp after a gruelling 21 hour climb. Since my last report, they've rappelled down 13 lengths of rope - six of which were in the dark - before they were at the bottom of the route.
It's 8:00 in the morning for them and today they'll be making arrangements for leaving the camp; perhaps they will be back in Wamena this evening.
Mark sends out a "Happy Mother's Day" to his wife Valerie! Bill also says "Happy Mother's Day" to his wife Sharon and all the mothers of his 14 grandchildren! They'll be talking to you soon!

On top of the world!

Well, this part of the world anyway. The team called in at 12:30 a.m. and reported having been on top. Todd couldn't get a clear signal on the sat phone at the summit, so he tried and got through after descending through the more technical bits. They had only rapelling left to do. The weather was holding and they hope to make it down sans rain. Congratulations to the Mountain Trip team! Bill Burke, Mark Luscher, and Todd Rutledge have summited Carstensz Pyramid.
Once they make it back to the modern world, Todd will pick up writing this blog again and give us all the details.

Heading out for the Summit

And they're off! At 10:00 Colorado time ( 1:00 a.m. expedition time) the team began their climb. The connection was poor, but I heard that everything was "great" and something about "...warm...moon...good light." It will be a long day for them. Send thoughts of strength and endurance to them. I'll update when I get a call from the summit!

Aclimatizing in the rain

The group spent the night witnessing a brilliant lightning storm which followed a day's worth of rain. They plan to hike a ridge on a peak to their south tomorrow, and attempt the summit of Carstensz the next day. Everyone is doing well, recovering from the travel lag and gaining altitude. Tomorrow they'll get more serious. That's all for now. I'll update when they begin their big day (which will start between midnight and 2 a.m. (their time).

At Base Camp

Todd called from the satellite phone this evening and reported that they were finally at base camp. Although they have been enjoying the local culture, I got the impression they were glad to be in sight of their ultimate goal. In Wamena for most of the day, they their experience sounds other-worldly; very dark skinned natives that wear head dresses of feathers and penis gourds and little else...
The plan is to rest, then climb a neighboring peak or two before making the big one-long-day push up the pyramid.

in Jayapura

Hi folks,
This is Todd's wife Lisa writing now. Todd called from Jayapura this evening. The crew is doing great, but tired of traveling and trying to get comfortable on airport furniture. They're scheduled to fly to Wamena tonight, and stay at the Wamena Hotel. If all looks good with the weather, they will fly on the Russian helicopter tomorrow to base camp and finally get some rest. Todd reported that the further they get into Papua, the wilder the scene gets, "We're not in Kansas anymore..." The jungle canopy is older and thicker with dramatic volcanic peaks rising out of it. (I can't wait to see the photos.)

We are on the move!

The sun is setting in beautiful pastels over the ocean and our bags are packed in anticipation of tonight's flight to the island of Papua.

Today we travelled to a 1300 meter volcano called Gurung Pahua in order to stretch our legs after sitting in airplanes for a couple of days. En route we visited a local market for some insight into local culture.

Our visual and olfactory senses worked overtime as we strolled amongst stalls exhibiting roasted bats and live chickens. Small roast dogs seemed to be pretty popular as well and there were all shapes and sizes of fish to be purchased. We seemed to be the life of the party and received warm smiles and numerous requests from folks to take their pictures. It was really fun and reassuring that we were welcome in this interesting yet unfamiliar environment.

Following the market visit (no one was quite brave enough to try the dog or bat), we drove to the trailhead for the Gurung Pahua. The trail wound increasingly rough up through fields to densely vegetated second growth jungle. At the summit we were able to look down into a smoking caldera! It was a nice way to get some exercise and see some of the forces that shaped these islands at work.

Lunch was grilled fish served whole on the plate while yet another organ player sang Indonesian love songs in the background. Indonesians do enjoy live music.

We are scheduled to leave our hotel at midnight to board a flight for Papua. The plan is to fly to Jayapura and then on to Wamena where we hope to spend tomorrow night. The following day we will try to helicopter in to the mountain.

Greetings from Manado, Indonesia

Mark Luscher and Bill Burke were both on the flight from Singapore to Manado, Indonesia, and fortunately all of our respective bags arrived with us! Our local outfitter, Franky, Kowaas, met us at the airport and drove us into the bustling coastal city of 450,000 people. We are staying at the Hotel Ritzy which isn't quite as "ooh-la-la" as the name implies, but is pretty nice by Indonesian standards. We are all trying to adjust to the hot and humid equatorial climate.

Bill had a great time in Australia on his way to meet up with us. He climbed Kosciosko just before some bad weather moved in and descended to celebrate by enjoying a jazz fest in Sydney. Hopefully, his impeccable timing will continue and help us to get in to our objective without delay.

Our plan is to fly to Jayapura, the capital of Papua, tomorrow and then continue on to the town of Wamena, at the edge of the cloud shrouded highlands. From there, we plan to fly in a large Russian helicopter to our base camp at the foot of Carstensz Pyramid. We'll acclimatize for a few days and then try to climb the peak.

So far, things look good for our team. We have all the right permits and the helicopter is on standby. We are going to join Franky for dinner this evening and enjoy some of the local seafood that the island of Sulawesi is famous for. Bill is looking forward to sampling some of the colorful chiles that we saw street vendors hawking.

Whenever you arrive in a new country one of the first things you need to do is to change money so you have some of the local currency. Apparently, in Manado, that means a head-spinning trip through increasingly narrow streets to pull up in front of a small, rice shop. We made our way to the back of the shop, past huge sacks of rice and beans. A friendly fellow with a calculator then gave us the "best rate in Manado," and traded us stacks of Indonesian rupiah for our greenbacks. I am officially a millionaire!

Our May Expedition is in Singapore

Well, I'm in the airport in Singapore, following a restful 17 hour flight from the US. Bill Burke and Mark Luscher are supposed to meet me here for the last leg of our respective journies to Indonesia.

Bill began his trip a few days before Mark and I. He flew to Australia to climb Kosciosko bfore meeting is to attempt Carstensz Pyramid.

I have just enough time to get another cup of coffe before meeting the guys at our gate. This is definitely one of the nicest airports I've ever visited. They had\ve free internet and free movies!

Hmmm, Denver International could learn a thing or two....