{"id":47534,"date":"2025-03-02T16:56:50","date_gmt":"2025-03-02T23:56:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/?p=47534"},"modified":"2025-04-01T15:53:36","modified_gmt":"2025-04-01T21:53:36","slug":"two-dead-on-carstensz-pyramid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/2025\/03\/02\/two-dead-on-carstensz-pyramid\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Dead on Carstensz Pyramid-Update with Video"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deaths on Carstensz Pyramid, one of the Seven Summits, are rare, but two women tragically lost their lives on March 1 while descending during a storm. The 4,884-meter (16,024-foot) peak poses challenging logistics and is the most technical of the seven, requiring basic rock climbing skills for primarily 5th-class\u00a0terrain on fixed ropes.<\/p>\n<h2>Unselfish Rescue<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_45509\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-45509\" style=\"width: 225px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/1-7-scaled.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-45509\" src=\"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/1-7-225x169.jpeg\" alt=\"Carstensz Pyramid\" width=\"225\" height=\"169\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-45509\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Carstensz Pyramid Headwall<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>First made public on his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/garrettmadison1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">social media page<\/a>, Garrett Madison of Madison Mountaineering reported that he, Tashi Lakpa Sherpa and fellow guide Ben Jones of Alpine Ascents International quickly climbed the headwall upon hearing of at least five people stranded and in trouble.<\/p>\n<div class=\"xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs x126k92a\">\n<div dir=\"auto\">Garrett noted:<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a\">\n<blockquote>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Rousing my longtime friends Ben Jones &amp; Tashi Lakpa Sherpa, we assessed the situation, made a plan, taking with us hot water, altitude medicine, food, and rescue gear. We made good time, as we had summitted with our teams two days ago and were acclimatized, reached the two lifeless bodies after about 45 minutes climbing up the route. Ben confirmed they had no pulse.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">We continued climbing up to the ridge, passed the cable traverse and the first \u2018step across\u2019 section then found the other 3 climbers huddled together. They were alive but appeared hypothermic and fatigued: confused, unable to move on their own, normal symptoms given the situation. We began warming them, administered Dexamethasone, provided hot water with electrolytes, GU energy gel (Roctane), and warm \/ dry clothing. We began the descent, working together, and made relatively good progress, reaching base camp mid afternoon, while other guides worked to bring the 2 bodies down.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">We were lucky, blessed with great weather today, arriving in base camp just before the rain started. It would have been another story if the typical \u2018heavy rain \/ wet snow\u2019 was falling\u2026<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Interview with Garrett Madison from Carstensz Pyramid:<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><div id=\"kgvid_kgvid_0_wrapper\" class=\"kgvid_wrapper kgvid_wrapper_auto_left kgvid_wrapper_auto_right\">\n\t\t\t<div id=\"video_kgvid_0_div\" class=\"fitvidsignore kgvid_videodiv\" data-id=\"kgvid_0\" data-kgvid_video_vars=\"{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;kgvid_0&quot;,&quot;attachment_id&quot;:&quot;47543&quot;,&quot;player_type&quot;:&quot;Video.js v8&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:&quot;640&quot;,&quot;height&quot;:&quot;360&quot;,&quot;fullwidth&quot;:&quot;true&quot;,&quot;fixed_aspect&quot;:&quot;vertical&quot;,&quot;countable&quot;:true,&quot;count_views&quot;:&quot;start_complete&quot;,&quot;start&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;autoplay&quot;:&quot;false&quot;,&quot;pauseothervideos&quot;:&quot;true&quot;,&quot;set_volume&quot;:&quot;1&quot;,&quot;muted&quot;:&quot;false&quot;,&quot;meta&quot;:true,&quot;endofvideooverlay&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.alanarnette.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/12\\\/summitcoach-e1483568572550.jpg&quot;,&quot;resize&quot;:&quot;true&quot;,&quot;auto_res&quot;:&quot;automatic&quot;,&quot;pixel_ratio&quot;:&quot;true&quot;,&quot;right_click&quot;:false,&quot;playback_rate&quot;:&quot;true&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;2 Dead, 3 Rescued on Carstensz Pryamid: Interview with Garrett Madison&quot;,&quot;skip_buttons&quot;:[],&quot;nativecontrolsfortouch&quot;:&quot;true&quot;,&quot;locale&quot;:&quot;en&quot;,&quot;enable_resolutions_plugin&quot;:false}\" itemprop=\"video\" itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/VideoObject\"><meta itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/2-Dead-3-Rescued-on-Carstensz-Pryamid-Interview-with-Garrett-Madison-1_thumb1.jpg\"><meta itemprop=\"embedUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/2-Dead-3-Rescued-on-Carstensz-Pryamid-Interview-with-Garrett-Madison-1.mp4\"><meta itemprop=\"contentUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/2-Dead-3-Rescued-on-Carstensz-Pryamid-Interview-with-Garrett-Madison-1.mp4\"><meta itemprop=\"name\" content=\"2 Dead, 3 Rescued on Carstensz Pryamid: Interview with Garrett Madison\"><meta itemprop=\"description\" content=\"2 Dead, 3 Rescued on Carstensz Pryamid: Interview with Garrett Madison\"><meta itemprop=\"uploadDate\" content=\"2025-03-02T18:11:23-07:00\">\n\t\t\t\t<video id=\"video_kgvid_0\" playsinline controls preload=\"metadata\" poster=\"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/2-Dead-3-Rescued-on-Carstensz-Pryamid-Interview-with-Garrett-Madison-1_thumb1.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"fitvidsignore video-js kg-video-js-skin\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<source src=\"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/2-Dead-3-Rescued-on-Carstensz-Pryamid-Interview-with-Garrett-Madison-1.mp4?id=0\" type=\"video\/mp4\" data-res=\"720p\">\n\t\t\t\t<\/video>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"kgvid_below_video\" id=\"video_kgvid_0_below\"><div class=\"kgvid-viewcount\" id=\"video_kgvid_0_viewcount\">496 views<\/div><div class=\"kgvid-caption\" id=\"video_kgvid_0_caption\">2 Dead, 3 Rescued on Carstensz Pryamid: Interview with Garrett Madison 12 Dead, 3 Rescued on Carstensz Pryamid: Interview with Garrett Madison<\/div><\/div>\t\t\t<div style=\"display:none\" id=\"video_kgvid_0_meta\" class=\"kgvid_video_meta kgvid_video_meta_hover \">\n\t\t\t\t<span class='kgvid_meta_icons'><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<span id='video_kgvid_0_title' class='kgvid_title'>2 Dead, 3 Rescued on Carstensz Pryamid: Interview with Garrett Madison<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a\">\n<h2 dir=\"auto\">15 Person Team<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a\">\n<div dir=\"auto\">\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Further details were published today in the <a href=\"https:\/\/jakartaglobe.id\/news\/two-female-hikers-die-at-papuas-carstensz-summit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jakarta Globe<\/a>. Authorities identified the deceased as Lilie Wijayanti Poegiono from Jakarta and Elsa Laksono from Bandung, both aged 60. They reported that the women died from acute mountain sickness and severe hypothermia. They were part of a 15-person group that included members from Turkey and Russia, along with five Indonesian guides.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They flew by helicopter to the base camp on Wednesday, February 26, the standard method due to security concerns about hiking through the dense forest. They departed for the summit on February 28 at 4 a.m. However, an intense storm with snow, rain, and high winds moved in, which is typical since the area is a rain forest as the group descended from the summit on Saturday.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Madison and team rescued three climbers identified as Indira Alaika, Alvin Reggy Perdana, and Saroni. Local authorities reported that they were flown by helicopter, along with their deceased teammates, from base camp.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Rare Deaths, Not Unheard of<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_45524\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-45524\" style=\"width: 225px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/1-9-scaled.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-45524\" src=\"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/1-9-225x169.jpeg\" alt=\"Carstensz Pyramid\" width=\"225\" height=\"169\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-45524\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Old Tyrolean Traverse on Carstensz Pyramid<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Carstensz is recognized as a safe climb due to its short duration, the use of helicopters today, and a better approach to crossing a deep ravine than the traditional Tyrolean traverse.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At least two fatalities have occurred in recent years. In October 2024, a Chinese climber named Dong Fei tragically fell to his death during his descent. He was using an Italian hitch\u2014also known as a Munter hitch or friction hitch\u2014for rappelling down the headwall instead of a conventional belay device like an ATC or figure-eight. Additionally, on September 29, 2024, an Indonesian climber of Chinese descent reportedly died from what appeared to be a heart attack.<\/p>\n<h2>Recently Re-Opened<\/h2>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since 2019, Carstensz has been closed due to conflicts in Western Papua between the Indonesian government and Free Papua rebels. Indonesian authorities have restricted foreign visitors to the region around the peak and national park, citing safety concerns.<\/p>\n<p>My condolences to the families of the deceased, and a massive hat tip to Garrett, Tashi, and Ben for their unselfishness in giving aid.<\/p>\n<p>Climb On!<br \/>\nAlan<br \/>\nMemories are Everything<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>The Podcast on alanarnette.com<\/h2>\n<p>You can listen to #everest2024 <strong>podcasts<\/strong>\u00a0on <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/2uu2RcE9WiFKzSGl50oFKY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Spotify<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/the-podcast-on-alanarnette-com\/id1567287947\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Apple Podcast<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breaker.audio\/the-podcast-on-alanarnette-dot-com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Breaker<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy81MTc3MjdlYy9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw==\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Google Podcasts<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/pca.st\/otq8ztfv\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pocket Casts<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/radiopublic.com\/the-podcast-on-alanarnettecom-G2R7r0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">RadioPublic<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/alan-arnette1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Anchor<\/a>, and more. Just search for &#8220;alan arnette&#8221; on your favorite podcast platform.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<blockquote>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">Preparing for Your Climb is more than Training<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitcoach.org\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-24764 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/cropped-silverheels_2008_020.jpg\" alt=\"summit coach\" width=\"200\" height=\"79\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left; padding-left: 120px;\">If you dream of climbing mountains but are not sure how to start or reach your next level, from a Colorado 14er to Rainier, Everest, or even K2, we can help.\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitcoach.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Summit Coach<\/a><\/strong> is a consulting service that helps aspiring climbers throughout the world achieve their goals through a personalized set of consulting services based on Alan Arnette\u2019s 30 years of high-altitude mountain experience and 30 years as a business executive. Please see our prices and services on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitcoach.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Summit Coach website<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Deaths on Carstensz Pyramid, one of the Seven Summits, are rare, but two women tragically lost their lives on March 1 while descending during a storm. The 4,884-meter (16,024-foot) peak poses challenging logistics and is the most technical of the seven, requiring basic rock climbing skills for primarily 5th-class\u00a0terrain on fixed ropes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":45516,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[11,802,7],"tags":[438,803,804,544,805],"class_list":["post-47534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-7-summit","category-carstensz-pyramid","category-climbing-news","tag-7-summits","tag-carstensz-pyramid","tag-death","tag-garrett-madison","tag-tashi-lakpa-sherpa-ben-jones"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/1-3-1-scaled.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47534","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47534"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47534\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}