Distances along the way

Route details

The highest point in Oceania is the Carstenz Pyramid (Punjak Jaya). Located in Irian Jaya, also known as West Papua, Carstenz rises to a height of 4,884 metres (16,023 feet). The first ascent of this mountain was achieved by Heinrich Harrer in 1962, chronicled in his book titled: "I Come From the Stone Age."

Given the human powered restriction on the Six Summits Project, climbing Carstenz required a sea-to-summit approach, meaning overland travel in West Papua. The independence movement there, and the opposition of local tribes to destructive resource extraction from their lands, has created an uncertain environment for travel. All recent ascents of Carstenz to our knowledge fly to a nearby settlement, then receive a helicopter ride to the mountain. One party had to receive a total of nine(!) permits even to fly in.

Planning a climb so far in advance with such strict permit requirements and so high an uncertainty made the logistics impossible. The local contacts were not able to extend any help beyond the next few months. So a compromise was necessary: Carstenz would be climbed in the future when there would be peace on Irian Jaya.

The human powered circumnavigation will now make landfall in Australia following a single-handed crossing of the Pacific Ocean by rowing. There, Kosciuszko (2,228 metres - 7,310 feet) in southeast Australia will offer a more accessible alternative to Carstenz.

Background

In 2003, we reached the summit of Denali (Mt. McKinley): Stage 1. Later, between October 3rd and Christmas of 2004, Erden covered 3,980 miles across the Continental USA over 82 days. He achieved this Göran style from Seattle to Miami, towing his personal climbing gear.

The original plan was to move the ocean rowing boat around the world on a continuous path starting and ending in Miami. When further research discouraged the Miami departure, and the Panama Canal proved a barrier, Erden's plans took a turn to leave from near San Francisco. Land phases would be introduced, and the boat would have to be shipped from one side of a continent to the other.

Before continuing on with the Six Summits Project, Erden took a sabbatical, and rowed solo across the Atlantic Ocean. The row had started in Lisbon as a pair, arriving at Las Palmas in the Canaries on December 11, 2005. Erden later continued solo from Las Palmas until the island of Guadeloupe, becoming the 33rd person to cross the Atlantic Ocean east to west singlehanded. The same ocean rowing boat will now be used on the Pacific Ocean.