An Active Volcano... A Mountain Goat... and Me! (Part 2)

So the last post left us climbing Merapi, an active volcano in Central Java, we were at the third and last checkpoint staring up at the summit before us. 

View of the summit from the 3rd checkpoint.

As we stood at the last checkpoint staring up at the summit I was thinking, "OK so this must be as far as we can go 'cause there is no way we are going to be climbing up that huge pile of ash and razor sharp rocks."

Then, the group pressed on and as we approached the huge pile of ash and rocks I was more and more convinced that we would not be going for the summit.  There was one moment where we passed the point of no return, but I am still not quite sure at what point that was since we all silently pushed on and headed up, knowing full well how disastrous a fall would be.

Bill climbing up the ravine of ash & rock.

Now I want you to have a better grasp of this mountain than we did so here is a little about the terrain we were climbing in.  The slope was steep enough at points that as you climbed you could easily reach straight out in front of you and use your hands to steady yourself or in the rare instance pull yourself onward.  I say the rare instance because the ground was nothing but ash and razor sharp rocks that had been deposited by the eruption only a year before.  So as you grasped for rocks that seemed anchored well enough to pull yourself up, they would almost immediately give way in the loose ash, throwing you slightly off balance and sending a large sharp rock tumbling toward the person right below you.  Now you could choose to climb up in one of the many ravines running straight up the mountain, this seems much safer right... because you could at least hold onto the sides of the ravine to brace yourself.  Well that's what I thought too... until I tried it and found the entire ravine wall to be composed of the same loose ash that just breaks away with the slightest touch.  So your best bet was to make sure of your footing as you climbed, but there in was one of the biggest problems.  The entire slope of the mountain was covered in loose ash not so much unlike sand at the beach.  Have you ever tried to climb a mountain of sand on a 50-60 degree slope?  Let me just say that it is tough.

Getting closer!

Ok so there we were climbing the mountain when all of a sudden we realized that we were taking one of the worst possible paths to the top!  We were trying to climb along the ridges instead of the ravines to get to the top.  This discovery meant only one thing... we had to climb laterally to the closest ravine to continue upward.  As I began to make my way to the ravine about 10- 15 ft to my right, I knew immediately that this was not a good idea and wished that we had started in a ravine instead of having to make corrections and climb down into one.  I safely made it about 3/4 of the way there before I slipped!!  Every moment and thought felt in slow motion.  I planted my right foot and slowly began shifting my weight to it.  As I did the ash under my foot gave way and my body reacted by quickly adjusting my weight to my left foot.  Evidently the adjustment was made to quickly causing my left foot to begin to slide, stirring up a cloud of ash as both knees hit the mountain.  My hands were useless since the rocks they were clinging to weren't anchored by the ash, so they immediately began to grasp for anything as each rock just tumbled down the mountain as well.  At first I just slid a bit and very slowly but as I tried to stop and correct myself, my speed picked up.  So there I was sliding uncontrollably in a cloud of ash down the slope of the volcano.  Luckily I was last in the group so I didn't bowl anyone else over, but that also meant I had no hope of stopping until I either hit a large firm rock that was rooted deep enough to stop me or until I hit the bottom.

Eventually I did stop, and I am still not quite sure how that happened since I was still surrounded by a sea of ash on a steep volcanic slope.  I believe it was the hand of the LORD that kept me from being severely hurt in that moment, because once I stopped and checked myself for injuries I was surprised to find that my pant leg was the most cut up part of me.  So I downed some water, dusted off my ash covered hands, and proceeded to retake the 8 meters (about 25 feet) of mountain I had just lost.  It was fairly smooth sailing the rest of the way to the top.  I mean sure there were plenty of moments when I would look down and think "Ok if I slip here, there is a good chance that I could die!", but I was determined to conquer that mountain and look down into it's heart!!!

Almost there!

As we neared the top and climbed out of the ravine we had been in, my heart began to beat a little faster for two reasons:
#1- Every time I looked down I couldn't help but think "I got up here and now I am never going to get down again!"
#2 - The view was absolutely incredible!


Then we finally did it!  We took that mountain and stared down into it's heart!  It was such a great feeling, the sense of accomplishment, the sense of doing something that you have always wanted to do!  There was also a not stop rush of adrenaline being pumped through my body as I stood there on the rim of the volcano, as I looked back down this huge precarious slope at where we had come from and then shifted my gaze to just on the other side of me and peering down onto the top of the lava dome that was at least a 1/4 mile straight down below me. 

My friend Sid took this picture.  I am the second person from the right.  Notice the sheer drop off into the heart of the volcano.

Sid is the guy on the far right, he was like a mountain goat, always jumping around from rock to rock.  Notice the steep slop covered in loose ash and pebble.  The lighter gray line along the ridge is the path we walked along.

The heart of the beast!

View of Mount Merbabu from the top of Mount Merapi.  You can also see the third checkpoint far below, on the right side of the picture

So here we are, on top of the world... now... how do we get down without killing ourselves?

Still to come: the run down the volcano, the monkey sighting, and the sweet sweet feel of a bumpy ride home.  Check back later for the third and last installment of the Merapi climb.