Brightest of Silver Linings: Climbing Carstenz Pyramid in Papua at Age 65

Masheter’s second book describes her completion of her Seven Summits quest in 2012, becoming the oldest woman to do so - Kilimanjaro (1972), Aconcagua (2007), Everest (2008), Denali (2009), Erebus, Vinson (2012), Kosciuszko (2012), and Carstenz Pyramid (2012); as well as Cho Oyu (2005) and Mont Blanc (2014). Here she tells of her first attempt and ultimately successful ascent of Carstenz Pyramid. Few people have heard of Carstensz Pyramid, a sharp fin of limestone 16,000 feet above sea level, surrounded by mountainous jungle in Papua, a part of the world wracked by political and tribal violence, where kidnappings of climbers still occur. Why bother to climb such a troublesome, little-known peak? Masheter describes her decision to climb Carstensz Pyramid at age 65, how she prepared for and experienced the strenuous hike through the jungle, the steep climb up a limestone wall of 2,000 feet, the hand-over-hand Tyrolean traverse, the challenges, joys, and lessons learned on the “other side of nowhere.”