Climbing the World to End Alzheimer's
Carstensz Pyramid
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2011 Climb Dispatches: Vinson 2010 | Aconcagua 2011 | Everest 2011 | Denali 2011 | Elbrus 2011 | Kilimanjaro 2011 | Carstensz 2011 | Kosciuszko 2011
I climbed seven of the eight Seven Summits in 2010/11. It took 18 airlines, 58 flights, 116,112 miles flown, 120 time zones and 201 nights away from home over 322 days to raise awareness and research funds for Alzheimer’s, and to honor my mom, Ida Arnette, who was taken by this disease in 2009. Read the 7 Summits overview.
Summited October 22, 2011
Oceania: Carstensz Pyramid (16,023'/4884m)
The ‘newest’ of the 7 summits when Reinhold Messner challenged Dick Bass’s summit of Australia’s Mt. Kosciuszko as the highest peak in Oceania. Carstensz Pyramid on West Papua (irian Jaya) in Indonesia’s New Guinea is now consider one of the 7 but most 7 Summiteers try to bag the walk-up Kosciuszko as well.
The Dutch explorer Jan Carstensz first sighted the peak in 1623. It was first climbed by Austrian Heinrich Harrer and team in 1962. Carstensz is considered the most exotic of the 7 Summits surrounded by dense jungle and rumors of cannibals! Even though it is near the equator, snow sometimes graces the limestone slopes.
Click on any picutre to enlarge
The climbing is consider the most technical of the 7 Summits requiring rock scrambling a short section of 5.8 rock climbing with fixed ropes and a Tyrolean traverse across a 50′ gap. This involves pulling yourself upside down across a suspended steel cable. But the real challenge is just getting there. Often the road is closed to climbers by the owners of the Freeport mine thus requiring a 5 day hike to reach to base of Carstensz. Instead many teams charter a helicopter. Obtaining permits and travel logistics can be quite difficult.
The second highest mountain in Oceania is Puncak Trikora also in New Guinea at 15,580’/4730m and is 100 miles east of Carstensz.
Carstensz Resources:
Memories are Everything®
Alan Arnette is an Alzheimer’s advocate for individuals, their families and anyone impacted by this disease through his professional speaking, climbing and website.
His objectives for the Memories are Everything® climbs are:
- Educate the public, especially youth, on the early warning signs and how to prepare
- Increase awareness that Alzheimer’s Disease has no cure
- Raise research money for Alzheimer’s non-profits
He has completed two major projects:
- NO CURE, always fatal
- No easy, inexpensive method of early detection
- 3rd leading cause of death in the US
- New case every 68 seconds, 4 seconds worldwide
- Impacts more than 5+m in US, 25m+ worldwide
- Devastating financial burden on families
- Depression higher for caregivers
- Issues are increasing rapidly as population ages
The Alzheimer’s Immunotherapy Program of Janssen Alzheimer Immunotherapy and Pfizer Inc. funded my climbs for the 7 Summits campaign and ongoing efforts between November 2010 and November 2012. All money I raised then and now from donations goes directly to the organizations I have selected. During the campaign, content posted here was my own but subject to certain limitations in conjunction with the support of the AIP.
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