Everyone should be either back at home or darn near, so I am going to stop entering updates on this blog.

Please check it out over the next week or so, as we will post photos from the expedition.

I hope you've enjoyed the dispatches.

Cheers,

Todd

Back in Wamena!

The team is back in Wamena, having flown out from Carstensz Base Camp this morning. They are all heading back to Dempasar to catch slightly delayed flights home.

Waiting on Weather....

The team is hunkered down in Base Camp, waiting for the weather to clear so the helicopter can fly in to get them.

Bill reported that everyone reached the summit!

Congraulations to Cliff, Lorenzo, Michel, Armand and Mike! Good job to Bill as well, for his second summit of the peak.

If the weather improves, they will fly out to Wamena and boogie on back to Bali.

This trip is an excellent example of how from the midst of apparent chaos and improbability, success can be found by those who persevere.

SUCCESS ON CARSTENSZ!!!!

At about 7 pm MST, Bill called from the summit of the highest peak in Autsralasia! He said it was a partly cloudy day, but amazingly, they had no rain on the entire ascent. The message did not detail if everyone made the top, but I'll post specifics later today.

The climb to the summit involves about an hour hike to the base of the route, Initially, you climb up a gully system of rock chimineys and big corners. A hike up some loose scree puts you at the base of the last pitch of 5th class climbing before the summit ridge.

The ridge is the business, with BIG EXPOSURE in spots and some real rope trickery to bypass a few deep clefts along its spine. Fortunately, the rock is the most amazing limestone and provides climbers with very secure footing and sharp handholds.

The views from the top on a clear day are impressive. The vista follows the maze of neighboring peaks away to the most lush, dense jungle canopy you can imagine and then beyond, to the Pacific Ocean. It is not a result of altitude alone that makes the summit a breath taking place to stand.

Congratulations to all the climbers who reached the summit. Your patience and faith in us is truly appreciated.

THE TEAM IS AT BASE CAMP!!!

Patience paid off for our group of guys attempting Carstensz Pyramid. Yesterday they were able to legally fly into the Lakes Base Camp via the huge Russian Kamov helicopter.

Bill reports that it was the most beautiful day he'd seen at Base Camp and that the team might try to push for the top today. As Bill's been in there two times before, it must have been quite a day!

Things work at their own pace in Indonesia and sometimes things just don't work out. Fortunately, Bill has a good sense about how the system works and his patience won out this time.

Hopefully, the guys will get on top on an equally glorious day.

Good luck to all of you.

Here is the latest email from Bill, received this morning:

We are in Wamena hoping to fly tommorow to basecamp. We have been
delayed one frustrating week, but everything seems to be in place to go smoothly from here on out.

Yesterday we went to a Dani village outside of Wamena and witnessed a
"mock battle". It was very impressive, and even the most jaded world
travellers really enjoyed it as an authentic experience. Everyone will have great photos and videos of that adventure.

We will fly on the Russian Kamov helicopter early in the morning tomorow, and hope to summit within a couple of days. Wish us luck with the weather, and we all hope to be home soon.

Sorry for the lapse in posts. I've been away from the office for a few days.

I heard from Bill. The team had run into some logistical hurdles on the first attempt to fly in to Carstensz via helicopter. They arrived in Jayapura, on the coast of Papua, to find that a necessary, government issued flight authorization, had not yet arrived. Without this piece of paper, they cannot fly legally to the mountain. They then flew over to Timika for some R & R and to look at other options for getting to the peak.

Bill called yesterday an said that it looked like the flight authorization should arrive today. I haven't heard anything this morning, but am keeping my fingers crossed that they will be flying in to Base Camp ion the next short while.

Everyone is maintaining pretty good spirits, despite the frustration of things not turning out as planned.

Bill called this afternoon from Jayapura, on the island of Paua. The team is waiting for some paperwork to arrive from Jakarta so the helicopter can fly to Carstensz. This expedition is a logistical challenge and often runs into delays that are unforeseen.

Hopefully, we will receive word that they are at Base Camp in the next day or so.