I mentioned in a recent post a current attempt by Ted Fairhurst to climb all of the volcanic seven summits. He is now in Papua New Guinea. On his Facebook page he has reported a successful ascent of Mount Giluwe. At 4368m (14330ft) it is the highest volcano in Australia/Oceania .
He has reported:
“After 11 hours of hiking up through dense jungle and grassy equatorial highlands following a ridge over many hilltops we arrived in the rain at basecamp. Monday October 9 we climbed up a steep couloir (about 65 degrees on the upper 150m) to the summit of Mount Giluwe. The climb was pretty straight forward but more exposed and technical than I was expecting. There was little room for error in some places. We were mostly in slow drifting engulfing clouds but the jagged saw-tooth mountains would gradually appear out of the mist. The whole landscape has a fairy tale beauty.
“I shared a sincere special affinity with my Papuan guide and porters. Under a tarpaulin shelter built on the edge of a miniature forest on the grassy sloped highlands they started a fire in the rain and cooked on the coals sweet potato, corn & rice. Papuans are gentle and friendly and so willing to help. Unfortunately life expectancy is only about 45 years because of a poor lifestyle and lack of modern infrastructure. “
He seems to have been a bit unlucky with the weather given that it is still the dry season there but that is the tropics for you. The summit provides some truly magnificent panoramas as this video shows:
Ted has Pico de Orizaba (in Mexico) and Ojos del Salado (on the Chile/Argentine border) to do. But first he tackles Mount Sidley in January 2018. If and when I have any further news, I will update further.
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