Mount Wilhelm
Encyclopedia
Mount Wilhelm is the highest mountain
in Papua New Guinea
at 4509 metres (14,793 ft). It is part of the Bismarck Range
and the peak is the point where three provinces intersect, Simbu
, Western Highlands and Madang
. The peak is also known as Enduwa Kombuglu in the local Kuman language, a Papuan language.
The mountain is on the island of New Guinea
, which incorporates Papua New Guinea
and the Indonesia
n province of Papua
. It is surpassed by Puncak Jaya
, 4884 m (16,024 ft), and several other peaks in Indonesian Papua.
Some sources claim Mount Wilhelm, 4509 m (14,793 ft), as the highest mountain in Oceania
(or Australia
), on account of Indonesia
being part of Asia
(Southeast Asia
). A Seven Summits
list sometimes includes Mount Wilhelm.
, climbed the Finisterre Range
, south-east of Madang
, and named the Bismarck Range after the German Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck
, and the four highest peaks of the range after him and his children: Ottoberg, Herbert
-berg, Marienberg and Wilhelm
-berg. Otto-berg seemed to Zöller to be the highest of the range, but it was later discovered to be only 11600 feet (3,535.7 m) and the distant Wilhelmberg was much taller.
It was not until August 1938 when Leigh Vial
, a government patrol officer, and two Papuan New Guineans made the first recorded ascent. It was noted by Vial that even though the mountain was close to the equator, snow existed on top of the mountain at the time of ascent.
F-7A (a converted B-24 Liberator
) named "Under Exposed" crashed into the mountain while flying too low. The aircraft left from Nadzab airbase, close to Lae
, and had been assigned for a reconnaissance mission to photograph Padaidori Island in Dutch New Guinea. Around 0400 the plane crashed into Wilhelm at about 13000 feet (3,962.4 m) above the twin lakes. All crew were killed and most of the wreckage landed in the topmost lake although some can still be seen today. The only remains at the site are from the plane, as all bodies have been recovered.
, suffered a massive heart attack just below Christopher Corner, around 30 minutes from the summit.
Mount Wilhelm is the most accessible mountain to climb in Papua New Guinea. There are two routes to the top. By far the most popular is an easy to moderately difficult climb, depending on fitness, from the village of Keglsugl at the end of the road from Kundiawa
in Simbu
province. There is also a harder hike and climb from the village of Ambullua in the Western Highlands province.
The Keglsugl route involves climbing up and through a mountain rain forest and then along an alpine grassland glacial valley to the twin lakes of Piunde and Aunde (male and female name). This takes from between three to five hours. At Piunde there are two huts, one being an old Australian National University
monitoring station and the other an 'A-Frame' hut. Though not a technical climb, once past Lake Aunde (the uppermost lake, which feeds Piunde), there are at least four sections where sure footing is essential; in wet weather various sections can be treacherous. Climbers should not underestimate the altitude and rocky terrain to the top.
The climb to the top is usually undertaken in pre-dawn, normally around 12:00 midnight. Ascent and subsequent descent can take anywhere from nine to 24 hours. Reaching the peak at dawn allows better chance of clear weather.
The other route from Ambullua is a much harder 4-day hike. Both hikes should not be undertaken without guides. Young men in Keglsugl will act as guides for a fee of around 50 Kina.
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
at 4509 metres (14,793 ft). It is part of the Bismarck Range
Bismarck Range
The Bismarck Range is a mountain range in the central highlands of Papua New Guinea. The range is named after the German Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck. From the 1880s to 1914 this part of the island was a German colony....
and the peak is the point where three provinces intersect, Simbu
Simbu Province
Simbu, also known as Chimbu, is a Highlands Region province in Papua New Guinea. The province has an area of 6,100 km² and a population of 259,703 . The capital of the province is Kundiawa...
, Western Highlands and Madang
Madang Province
Madang is a province on the northern coast of mainland Papua New Guinea. The province has many of the country's highest peaks, active volcanoes and its biggest mix of languages...
. The peak is also known as Enduwa Kombuglu in the local Kuman language, a Papuan language.
The mountain is on the island of New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
, which incorporates Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
and the Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n province of Papua
Papua (Indonesian province)
Papua comprises most of the western half of the island of New Guinea and nearby islands. Its capital is Jayapura. It's the largest and easternmost province of Indonesia. The province originally covered the entire western half of New Guinea...
. It is surpassed by Puncak Jaya
Puncak Jaya
Puncak Jaya or Carstensz Pyramid is the highest summit of Mount Carstensz in the Sudirman Range of the western central highlands of Papua province, Indonesia . Other summits are East Carstensz Peak and Ngga Pulu...
, 4884 m (16,024 ft), and several other peaks in Indonesian Papua.
Some sources claim Mount Wilhelm, 4509 m (14,793 ft), as the highest mountain in Oceania
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...
(or Australia
Australia (continent)
Australia is the world's smallest continent, comprising the mainland of Australia and proximate islands including Tasmania, New Guinea, the Aru Islands and Raja Ampat Islands...
), on account of Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
being part of Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
(Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
). A Seven Summits
Seven Summits
The Seven Summits are the highest mountains of each of the seven continents. Summiting all of them is regarded as a mountaineering challenge, first postulated as such and achieved on April 30, 1985 by Richard Bass .-Definition:...
list sometimes includes Mount Wilhelm.
Discovery
Mount Wilhelm received its name in 1888 when a German newspaper correspondent, Hugo ZöllerHugo Zöller
Hugo Zöller was a German explorer and journalist.He attended the law studies and in years 1872 to 1874 travelled to countries in Mediterranean Sea region. In 1874 he became a journalist for Kölnische Zeitung.In 1879 Zöller started his travels around the world. The result was a two volume book Rund...
, climbed the Finisterre Range
Finisterre Range
Finisterre Range is a mountain range in north-eastern Papua New Guinea, at . The unnamed highest point of the range , which is ranked 45th in the world by prominence, is usually quoted at 4,175 m, but SRTM data suggests that it is nearer to 4,120 m...
, south-east of Madang
Madang
Madang is the capital of Madang Province and is a town with a population of 27,420 on the north coast of Papua New Guinea. It was first settled by the Germans in the 19th century....
, and named the Bismarck Range after the German Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck
Otto von Bismarck
Otto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg , simply known as Otto von Bismarck, was a Prussian-German statesman whose actions unified Germany, made it a major player in world affairs, and created a balance of power that kept Europe at peace after 1871.As Minister President of...
, and the four highest peaks of the range after him and his children: Ottoberg, Herbert
Herbert von Bismarck
Herbert, Prince of Bismarck was a German politician, who served as Foreign Secretary from 1886 to 1890. His political career was closely tied to that of his father, Otto von Bismarck, and he left office a few days after his father's dismissal...
-berg, Marienberg and Wilhelm
Wilhelm von Bismarck
Count Wilhelm von Bismarck was a German counselor, civil servant and politician, who served as a member of the Reichstag from 1880 to 1881 and president of the Regency of Hanover from 1889 to 1890...
-berg. Otto-berg seemed to Zöller to be the highest of the range, but it was later discovered to be only 11600 feet (3,535.7 m) and the distant Wilhelmberg was much taller.
It was not until August 1938 when Leigh Vial
Leigh Vial
Leigh Grant Vial DSC was an Australian patrol officer and coastwatcher in Papua New Guinea during World War II. While a patrol officer he became the first white person to climb Mount Wilhelm the highest mountain in Papua New Guinea.-References: - Australian Dictionary of Biography Online...
, a government patrol officer, and two Papuan New Guineans made the first recorded ascent. It was noted by Vial that even though the mountain was close to the equator, snow existed on top of the mountain at the time of ascent.
WWII Bomber crash
During the Second World War in the early hours of May 22, 1944, an AmericanUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
F-7A (a converted B-24 Liberator
B-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...
) named "Under Exposed" crashed into the mountain while flying too low. The aircraft left from Nadzab airbase, close to Lae
Lae
Lae, the capital of Morobe Province, is the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is located at the start of the Highlands Highway which is the main land transport corridor from the Highlands region to the coast...
, and had been assigned for a reconnaissance mission to photograph Padaidori Island in Dutch New Guinea. Around 0400 the plane crashed into Wilhelm at about 13000 feet (3,962.4 m) above the twin lakes. All crew were killed and most of the wreckage landed in the topmost lake although some can still be seen today. The only remains at the site are from the plane, as all bodies have been recovered.
Climbing deaths
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. On 30 July 2005 58-year-old Bob Martin, a board member of PNG Tourist Promotion Authority and General Manager (Marketing) of Air NiuginiAir Niugini
Air Niugini Limited is the national airline of Papua New Guinea, based in Air Niugini House on the property of Jacksons International Airport, Port Moresby. It operates a domestic network from Port Moresby and Lae, as well as international services in Asia, Oceania, and Australia. Its main base is...
, suffered a massive heart attack just below Christopher Corner, around 30 minutes from the summit.
Ascending
Kundiawa
Kundiawa is the capital of Simbu Province, Papua New Guinea, with a population of 8,147 . It lies along the Highlands Highway approximately halfway between Goroka and Mount Hagen, respectively the capitals of the Eastern Highlands and Western Highlands provinces.It is a relatively small town,...
in Simbu
Simbu Province
Simbu, also known as Chimbu, is a Highlands Region province in Papua New Guinea. The province has an area of 6,100 km² and a population of 259,703 . The capital of the province is Kundiawa...
province. There is also a harder hike and climb from the village of Ambullua in the Western Highlands province.
The Keglsugl route involves climbing up and through a mountain rain forest and then along an alpine grassland glacial valley to the twin lakes of Piunde and Aunde (male and female name). This takes from between three to five hours. At Piunde there are two huts, one being an old Australian National University
Australian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
monitoring station and the other an 'A-Frame' hut. Though not a technical climb, once past Lake Aunde (the uppermost lake, which feeds Piunde), there are at least four sections where sure footing is essential; in wet weather various sections can be treacherous. Climbers should not underestimate the altitude and rocky terrain to the top.
The climb to the top is usually undertaken in pre-dawn, normally around 12:00 midnight. Ascent and subsequent descent can take anywhere from nine to 24 hours. Reaching the peak at dawn allows better chance of clear weather.
The other route from Ambullua is a much harder 4-day hike. Both hikes should not be undertaken without guides. Young men in Keglsugl will act as guides for a fee of around 50 Kina.