Conquering Mountain Tops

Mount Wilhelm is the highest mountain in Papua New Guinea. Climbing to the 14,790 foot summit is hard work, but on a clear day you can see both the north and south coasts of the mainland.

Drew, Nick and Shane at the summit.
In December 2006, Drew Bandy joined a group of guys for a climb to the summit. A slide-show of his expedition can be seen by clicking on the following link:

http://bandyministry.org/wilhelm

Drew writes, "Usually, when someone says base camp you think of a camp at the bottom of a mountain that you intend to climb. However, this was not the case for me. I couldn't even see Mt. Wilhelm from base camp. It was in the neighboring valley. But after 4 hours on the road, 3 hours in the back of a truck on horrible back-roads, and 3 more hours of hiking through the jungle, you aren't really noticing much apart from food and sitting."

"It took us various modes of travel and about 8 hours to get to base camp. The 3-hour hike to base camp was not particularly difficult, but it was a long way to walk with a fully loaded backpack. . . "

"We slept for 4 hours and woke up at midnight. We got our things situated, got our flashlights, prayed, and were off by 1 in the morning. It started off easy and we soon got the hang of hiking with very little light. . ."

"As day broke, we had to stop and gape in awe. I managed to pull myself into a conscious enough state to enjoy one of the most spectacular things I've ever seen. Above me was a perfect, clear, starry night sky with a crescent moon and shooting stars. The sky gradually faded lighter and lighter down to the horizon as the sunrise came into view. It was a beautiful night, and an amazing sunrise at the same time, which no picture could ever convey. You really feel on top of the world when you can see both night behind you and day ahead of you simultaneously. It is a sight that I'll never forget and is the highlight of my trip."

Interesting facts about Mount Wilhelm:

During the Second World War in the early hours of May 22, 1944, an American F-7A (a converted B-24 Liberator) named "Under Exposed" crashed into the mountain while flying too low. All crew were killed and most of the wreckage landed in the topmost lake although some can still be seen today.

Numerous people have died attempting to climb the mountain including an Australian Army Sergeant, Christopher Donnan, who died in December 1971 when he fell down a steep slope. There is a plaque at the point where he was last seen.

In August 1995 an Israeli backpacker died after he sprained his ankle and stayed behind while his group continued. He subsequently wandered off the track and fell into a ravine in the pre-dawn darkness. His body was found about a week later.

More recently, on the 30th July 2005, Wilhelm took another life. 58 year old Bob Martin suffered a massive heart attack just below Christopher Corner, around 30 minutes from the summit.