Book Excerpt (fr Carstensz Chapter)



(pix: below the summit ridge, near the 'crux')



"The only protection I have is this icy 10mm rope, fixed and anchored somewhere up by previous expedition teams.  The problem is that – my safety device called “Jumar” has LOST its bite and grip!  In other words -“walang kuenta!”  

I was almost unprotected, with real possibility of falling down to the nearest anchor point. Falling down is a sure way of abruptly ending the expedition, in a not-so-very-nice-in-fact-very-bloody fashion.

I was tiring my legs fast and so out of desperation – I decided to “rope climb” by pulling the fixed rope with my wet gloves and manage to move up one or so meters.  But there’s more to go and the giant wall didn’t seem to offer a friendlier route. 

I quickly realize that what I did was stupid -  with just one little mistake, I could have slipped and end up falling to the last anchor point, or worse, fall down the entire length of this thousand foot wall!

I aimed to climb the 7 Summits – and not die in one of them.

With a failing safety device and a challenging rock wall ahead of me – I knew that my next wrong move could be my last…"