September 25, 2013
Climbers crossing the Plateau (Jason Edwards)
IMG leader Dan Zokaites reports that the team reached Camp 4 up on the Plateau and are continuing towards Base Camp.  It continues to be very challenging hiking for the team.   Now they have reached 12,000 feet in this limestone karst terrain, with lots of water, sinkholes, waterfalls, and swampy areas. Thoughts turn to the famous Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer and his team who pioneered this overland route and made the first ascent of Carstensz back in 1962, If you want to read a real adventure story, track down his classic book “I Come from the Stone Ageâ€.
Eric Simonson