PUNCAK MANDALA (4,640m) is the highest mountain in the Pegunungan Bintang (Star Mountains) Regency of Papua. The entire Star Mountains region is very isolated and due to the lack of infrastructure and development the area is only accessible by air transportation. Due to the remoteness and inaccessibility of Puncak Mandala, we have set aside 6 weeks for this leg of the expedition. The northern aspect of the mountain appears like a giant swelling in the forest. It can be reached by trekking in from the northern village of Bime along local hunting trails. Nevertheless, an Australian team attempting this route in 1996 failed to even reach the mountain - the approach was too arduous. In stark contrast to the gentle incline from the north, the steep limestone cliffs of the South Face present a true challenge to the committed climber.

The first expedition to reach Mandala's summit described the view to the south as like looking into a “stupendous abyss”. This description inspired the first and only team to find a route up the steep southern cliffs - in 1990, Bruce Parry and Mark Anstice reached the summit after trekking in from the south coast of the island. Due to an unplanned change in the expedition team, our plan to complete the second ascent of the Soth face has been abandoned – we will attempt to reach the summit via the jungle-clad northern slopes.

Base of map by onearth.jpl.nasa.gov (modified with geographic names by Papua-Insects)

We plan to fly into Bime, the nearest village with an airstrip to the north. On arrival at Bime, we will engage porters from the local Ngalum tribe. If we are accepted and supported by the local community, we will be at much less risk of being targeted by any Papuan separatist groups. We'll follow local trails for a week, heading generally south-west and crossing several rivers. With no existing photographs of the route and the tree-line extending to 4,000m, we will rely on sketch maps provided a party that previously failed to reach the summit due to a hailstorm.

PUNCAK TRIKORA - Located 240 miles WNW of Puncak Mandala, Puncak Trikora (4,730m) sits SW of the world-famous Baliem Valley in the Jayawijaya Range, only a few days trekking from Wamena, which is the largest town in the Papuan highlands with a population of c. 10,000. The Jayawijaya Mountains are the central part of the Pegunungan Maoke Range. The Baliem Valley was only discovered in 1936 by coincidence by a mail aircraft and had a self supporting agricultural system of high standard, despite having no previous contact with the civilized world.

Puncak Trikora is basically a trekking peak and is the least technically difficult leg of this expedition. Nevertheless, at 4,730m high, this mountain is only marginally lower than Mont Blanc and so we will be severely tested by the effects of altitude. The percentage of oxygen in air remains essentially constant with altitude at 21% up until 70,000 feet (21,330 m), but the air pressure (and therefore the number of oxygen molecules) drops as altitude increases — consequently, the available amount of oxygen to sustain mental and physical alertness decreases above 3,050m. At 5,000m, marginally above the height of Trikora, the barometric pressure is nearly half the sea level value, meaning only half the number of oxygen molecules is available Therefore, the body has to work overtime to absorb as much oxygen as possible to lessen the impact of this deficit.

PUNCAK JAYA (CARSTENSZ PYRAMID) (4,884m) is located in the Sudirman Range. It is the highest mountain in Indonesia, the highest on the island of New Guinea, the highest in Australasia and the highest in Oceania. It is also the highest point between the Himalayas and the Andes and the highest island peak in the world. It was named ‘Carstensz Pyramid', after Dutch explorer Jan Carstensz who first sighted the glaciers on the peak of the mountain on a rare clear day in 1623. When Indonesia took control of the province in the 1960s, the peak was renamed Puncak Jaya (Victory Peak) and was not climbed until 1962. It is a moderately difficult climb on the standard route up the north face and along the summit ridge. The area is highly inaccessible, requiring a 60-km hike from the nearest village with an airstrip to the base camp (either Sugapa to North or Ilaga to the East), which usually takes about five days each way.

The face of Carstensz Pyramid (Photo©JahodaPe­tr.com) Image obtained from the University of Maryland Global Cover Facility

Base Camp can be reached in a one-hour flight by chartering a helicopter from Nabire, on Papua's west coast. However, we intend to approach it on foot, by trekking in from either Sugapa to the North, or Ilaga to the East. Neither approach route is straightforward and reliable mapping is scarce. Local Indonesian operators effectively run a cartel to allow expeditions access to base camp, which allows them to dramatically inflate prices (I have recently been quoted $21,000 per person!). Negotiations with local tribal leaders in Sugapa and with the local leader of the OPM in Ilaga can be tortuous and expensive. Last year, an expedition organised by a UK-based company tried and failed to negotiate access through these villages; flying back to the town of Nabire and chartering a helicopter at the rate of $4,500 per hour was their only other option.

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