Sumantri

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The Sumantri (also Soemantri ) is a 4870 m high mountain in the Indonesian part of the island of New Guinea ( Papua province ), he is part of the Sudirman Mountains in western Maokegebirge.

More recent evidence suggests that the Sumantri is the second highest mountain in the Australian- oceanic continent and therefore belongs in mountaineering to climb the Seven Second Summits series. The few kilometers south west Carstensz Pyramid with 4884 m the highest mountain of the continent and is part of the much better-known series of the Seven Summits. Because of measurement and definitional problems are or were other mountains in the Vergangheit as candidates for the Second Summit viewed from Australia (See Section mountaineering ).

Geography

In the western Maokegebirge has several of the highest peaks of the island of New Guinea. The Sumantri is the highest peak in North Wall Firn, a mountain chain that runs from northwest to southeast and the northern boundary of a glacial valley ( Meren Valley) forms. Its southern boundary is nearly parallel to the ridge line of the Carstensz Pyramid dar. The North Wall Firn falls to the northeast very steeply to the low-lying tropical vegetation zones.

During the 20th century, several research expeditions have documented the rapid glacier retreat in the Meren Valley and the peaks of the Sumantri is now an ice-free summit. A few hundred meters southeast of the rocky summit of Sumantri away is the slightly lower, covered by glacial ice summit of Ngga Pulu. It is now regarded as good evidence that the current secondary summit Ngga Pulu few decades ago due to a larger ice cover towered over the 4884 meter high Carstensz Pyramid itself. For the next few years a complete melting of all glaciers in the region is expected.

Alpinism

In 1623, the Dutch seafarer January Carstensz discovered from his ship off the southern coast of New Guinea, the high and then heavily glaciated peak in the interior. These were later called Carstensz topping ( Carstensz mountains), from 1912, the first expeditions to the area. As the first climbers there, the Dutch Anton Colijn, Jean-Jacques Dozy and Frits Wissel were active, they climbed 1936 the neighboring Ngga Pulu. Whether it is also climbed the rocky summit of Sumantri not known. The first ascent of Sumantri took place at the latest in 1962 by Heinrich Harrer and Phil Temple, whose expedition was previously managed the first ascent of the Carstensz Pyramid.

At the beginning of the 21st century, the mountains of New Guinea moved increasingly into the spotlight of the international mountaineering, it was about the first ascent of the second highest mountains of all seven continents (Seven Second Summits ) and later the three highest mountains ( Triple Seven Summits ).

Due to inaccurate measurements numerous peaks and pass altitudes in New Guinea were not exactly known. To make this were the significant changes in the ice cover important areas, which resulted in significant changes in height to some extent.

Recent research showed that the peak of Sumantri was not only higher than the other candidates for the title of the Second Summit of Oceania ( Puncak Mandala, Puncak TRIKORA, Ngga Pulu and Ngga Pilimsit ), but that he with 350 meters for a four-thousand well enough topographic prominence has to be recognized as an independent mountain.

Previously, the main protagonists had other mountains favored in the race for the title of " First to the Second Seven Summits". The South Tyrolean mountaineer Hans Kammerlander held the Puncak TRIKORA for the correct peak of the Ascension series. Austrian Christian Stangl had chosen the Ngga Pulu 2007. The German Alpine chronicler Eberhard Jurgalski spoke according to his own research from the Puncak Mandala. The race for Seven Second Summits reached over a longer period repeatedly by scandals and debates in the international press.

The staff of the U.S. Internet platform Peakbagger.com published in 2012 a list of the Seven Second Summits, in which the Sumantri was listed as the second highest mountain in Oceania for the first time. After K2 scandal of 2010, Christian Stangl was forced everyone to thoroughly document his and, if relevant to climb several peaks to be for sure that the right was there. He returned then to New Guinea back, ascended the Sumantri and made Surveying with GPS. He then confirmed the new findings and had its own line-up correct accordingly.

Also Eberhard Jurgalski, the Commission of the Guinness World Records and various international alpine journalists have now recognized the status of the Sumantri second highest mountain of Oceania.

Regardless, there is a second, in professional circles also recognized variant of the Seven Second Summits, in which only the Australian mainland is regarded as a continent. According to this census, Mount Townsend ( 2209 m ), the Second Summit of Australia (see details Seven Second Summits ).

The ascent of Sumantri to be via the south face and is for experienced mountaineers no greater difficulty is, for the north wall are no inspections documented. Access to the region is difficult because of the Papua conflict.