Two Irish mountaineers are en route to Indonesia to climb the most difficult of the world's seven highest summits - the 4,884m (16,025ft) Carstenz Pyramid.
Ian McKeever and Grania Willis left Ireland for Asia yesterday as part of Mr McKeever's attempt to break the world record for the fastest ascent of the highest peaks on each of the seven continents.
The lecturer and broadcaster has climbed three peaks so far and hopes to have all, including Mount Everest, completed by June 27th. Ms Willis, The Irish Times equestrian correspondent, was the third Irish woman to climb Mount Everest and the first Irishwoman to do so by its north face in 2005.
The Carstenz Pyramid is not only technically difficult but also very difficult to reach within the Surdiman mountain range in Irian Jaya. The pair have hired the services of a mountaineering guiding company, Adventure Peaks Ltd, for the challenge. There has been no recorded Irish climb of the mountain, first ascended in 1962 by the late Heinrich Harrer.
Disagreements over geographical definitions of the seventh continent, Oceania, have sparked debate within mountaineering circles as to whether the "seventh" highest peak is the 2,228m (7,310ft) Kosciuzko (Snowy Mountains) in New South Wales, Australia, or the Carstenz Pyramid.
Mr McKeever hopes to raise €1 for each of the 140,000 feet he ascends for the Irish Osteoporosis Society and the Sophia Housing Association. Ms Willis, who only made her mind up to travel last week, hopes to raise funds for the Irish Hospice Foundation.
