Dispatches

May 20th:

Hi Folks!

Kim left yesterday from Manado and I just wanted to congratulate her on doing such a great job getting to her 5th of the "Seven Summits".  On our way back to Manado we had a wonderful dinner on the ocean in Makasser.  There was a great band playing.  

Kim says she will be joining us on Vinson this winter!  Hopefully Everest in the spring?!

What a great trip it has been.  It really is a 007/Indiana Jones type of adventure!  It was great to  reflect on the trip yesterday while we were doing some world class snorkelling at the Bunaken Island National Park and eating grilled fish on the beach.  The scenery above and below the water is fabulous.  The volcanoes rising out of the water are dramatic and the coral reef surrounding the nearby islands are very diverse.  We have had an incredible adventure in a wild and crazy part of the world! 

Some of the best memories would include:

-The friendly locals.

-Unlimited seafood!

-Climbing high quality limestone under a full moon and looking out at glaciers(!), oceans and jungle right near the equator.

-Watching Kim jumar the 45' free-hanging section on the ridge 2x faster than I did!

-Visiting a Dani tribe in Wamena and taking pictures with them.

-experiencing such a different part of the world.

Our Indonesian support staff, Franky and his crew, were great hosts and much credit goes to them for running such a smooth trip. 

Thanks for tuning in!  This is Casey signing off from Indonesia. I hope to see you climbing with me in the N. Cascades this summer!

May 18th:

Hello its Casey and Kim reporting from Timika.  We had a wild and adventurous trip out of basecamp and relaxing in a nice 5-star hotel in Timika. We are hanging out for the day waiting for our bags to arrive and tomorrow we will fly from Timika to Manado.  We are just enjoying another sunny day. This afternoon we will take a cultural tour of the city.  We send our love to everyone back home and we will talk you all later. 

Casey

May 14th:

Hello, this is Casey reporting from Carstenz Pyramid Basecamp.  Success!!  Kim and I summated at 8:45am this morning!  The two of us raced up the route, and for somebody who has never rock climb, Kim did an absolute incredible job.  We were the first on the summit! 

The day before she excelled at all the activities that I set up for her, Jumaring, rappelling, transitions at anchors so she was very prepared for the climb.  The route was long, exposed and beautiful.  We are now hoping to fly or find our way out of basecamp tomorrow or the next day.  And we are hoping this beautiful weather will continue, we never had a drop of rain and we hope the blue continues to shine.  We send our love to everyone back home, and we are doing great.  We will talk to you in a few days, hopefully from Manado. 

Cheers, Casey 

May 12th:

Hello, This is Casey reporting from Carstenz Pyramid basecamp.  We flew from Manado to Jarapuru and then all the way to Wamena in a day.  Kim did awesome and we spent the afternoon in Wamena. We visited a local tribe and saw some sights. Early the next morning we jumped in a Russian helicopter and flew to basecamp at 13,000 feet. 

Today is a rest day, since we flew straight to 13,000 feet the previous day.  We will take a short hike and check out the route. We are looking forward to good weather and a great summit day.  Kim wanted to let her friend (can't make out the name) that chex mix was a great hit and is finding its way into people's sleeping bags.  Hope everyone back at home is doing well. 

Casey

May 9th:

Hello from Manado!

This is Casey sending a quick report filling you in on what's happening.  Today we did gear checks and then went our a tour of the highlands.  We went to a large open-air market with produce and various meats....dog, bat, snake, wild boar, etc.!  After that we climbed Mahawu Volcano(the views were great) and checked out some hot springs. 

Tonight we are planning to fly to Jayapura and then quickly connect to Wamena.  Wamena is in the Baliem Valley where the Dani Tribes live!  Should be exciting.  People running around with penis gourds and grass skirts!  Hopefully we can catch the russian helicopter from there and fly all the way to basecamp. 

Kim wanted to send her love back to the US to her kids and her "Lover" in Denver!

I will call in the next couple days with an update!

Cheers, Casey  

May 8th:

Hello this is Casey reporting in from Manado in North Sulawesi, Indonesia!

Wow what a quick change from the high Khumbu region to a hot and humid tropical island surrounded by volcanoes!

I flew from Kathmandu yesterday and went through Delhi(120+ degree heat...) and Singapore on my way to Manado.  In Singapore I met Kim and we had a smooth flight and airport transfer to The Ritzy(!) Hotel here in Manado.  We overlook the oceanfront from our rooms.  Franky met us at the airport and took us to a great market to exchange our money.  Tonight we will hang out and go for some seafood with some other friends climbing the mountain. After breakfast tomorrow Kim and I will do a gear check and then explore the town a little.

We will be traveling for the next couple days before reaching our destination, Carestnesz Pyramid base camp. Tomorrow evening we are planning to fly to Jayapura and then Waimena in the Papua/Irian Jaya region before hopefully jumping in a Russian helicopter to fly to basecamp.  The adventure begins!  This is the area famous for it's Dani tribes and a very remote and unique part of the world!  It is even said that there are still tribes people that have never seen westerners before. 

Franky is upbeat about being the first legal group of climbers on the mountain this year.

We send our love to friends and family back home(HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!).  Hopefully everything continues to go as smooth as it has so far!

Talk to you soon.

Casey Henley 

p.s. We wish Khalid and Joe could of made it!