Height-Intermezzo: Mount Agung
10 Oct 2015. It was
01:15 in the morning and deep dark when I arrived at the parking area of Pura
Pasar Agung. A man came up to me, and asked whether I was Chris. So there he
was, my mountain guide for that night, bapak Mangu, with his relaxed smile that
almost hid his upper row of teeth. A few minutes later we started the ascent. We
made a good speed, no too fast, saving energy to reach the top. I was not sure
whether I would make it. But with a few breaks, some water, bananas and
chocolate bars, there was enough energy. Only after a long field of large rocks,
quite steep, and not without danger, I was having some doubts whether I should
continue. This was at the peak of exhaustion, and it would still be 45 minutes
to climb. But so close to the peak one doesn’t want to give up. Just before
sunrise we made it to the top.
About half or
2/3 of the way up to the peak on Mount Agung stratovolcano
Fellow
climbers on that day on their way to the peak
Mountain Guide
bapak Mangu who led me the way to the peak at 3031 meters over sea level
The real challenge was getting down. For the first
two hours, balancing on the rocks and being cautious not to fall, still with weak
legs from the ascent, and the other two hours the pain in the feet, the toes to
be particular. The ground consisted of loose gravel, and later it was a bit softer
and dusty but not much less steep or slippery. My shoes gave up, and fortunately,
the soles were not completely detached, but still held by a few strings. The
last hour was the toughest. Knees were weak, tighs evenly, toes were feeling like
the nails wanted to come off. Pak Mangu had to help for a few meters, and I had to walk backwards for the final 500 meter
or so to bear the pain. When I reached the temple at the foot of the mountain,
watching up, I could almost not believe I have made it. Now, in daylight, I
would never have thought to climb to the top of this majestic volcano.
Viewing the
sunrise over far away Mount Rinjani in Lombok…
…and seeing
a range of volcanic peaks in Bali, among them Mount Batur, in the opposite
direction, lit by the early sun rays and being shadowed triangle-shaped by
Mount Agung
Ice cold wind
and clouds at the peak, resting with some fellow trekkers, enjoying the hot tea
of pak Mangu with some biscuits and bananas
View from the peak, it was a cloudy day
The adventure
was not yet finished, and I would need to postpone my sleep for another 6
hours. The car run only for a minute until it stopped on the way back, just in
the middle of nowhere on a steep forest road down from the slopes of the mountain,
30 minutes from the next village, at least 1 hour from the next town. Based far
away, it took the rental guy of my car 6 hours to show up. But great that he
did. I had already suspected injection issues, because electricity, oil and
water was ok. He had brought a mechanic that reminded me of an artist, and his
art was to fix cars. He detached the petrol tank in the middle of the forest
and changed the petrol pump. I thought that kind of job needs a garage, and
could not believe my eyes the way they helped themselves, lifting the car, and
finally the tank up again. The engine started running just when dusk broke, I drove
home, got my legs treated with hot oil by my wife, and slept very, very well.
The tree-line
looks far, but it is hours of trekking away, and the way down was the hardest,
with a mix of exhaustion and toe pain
I survived,
but not my shoes
When I
watched up in daylight, I would not have imagined I could make it, and was
surprised by myself
And this is
how the adventure actually was extended by a whole afternoon