A story of two little pigs and their adventures: Climbing a volcano

Now if there’s one thing that Indonesia definitely has more of than any other country, it’s volcanoes.

Given Yogyakarta's proximity to Mount Merapi, one of the world’s most active volcanoes, we simply couldn’t resist the temptation to try and climb it. So on Friday 27 May 2011, together with Horst and Manuela (a Swiss friend) we set out to do just that.

Standing at 2,968m high, Merapi straddles the border of Central Java and Yogyakarta and has erupted regularly for centuries. It erupted in 2006 killing around 5,000 people and causing hundreds of thousands to be evacuated and only a few months ago multiple eruptions occurred between October and November 2010. Despite the fact that last year’s eruptions were the strongest recorded since the late 1800s, only 353 people were killed due to the government’s preparedness and forced evacuations. Jogja and surrounding towns were covered in ash for two days causing havoc.

Nevertheless we were assured that there had not been much seismic activity since March and it was probably safe to climb. Probably.

We were picked up by a driver at around 10pm and driven for about 2 hours to a village called Selo at the foot of the mountain. Due to its elevation, Selo was quite chilly compared to what we had experienced in Indonesia so far. The ideas was to set off at 1am, climb through the night and reach the high plateau just below the summit at dawn just in time for sunrise.

After arriving in Selo at midnight we drank some tea, rested for an hour and then began climbing with 2 guides, torches and no snacks (worst decision ever!). The climb started off very easy on a sealed road. However, this didn’t last long and we found ourselves scrambling up a very worn and slippery path in the dark. Every so often our guides would check the sulphur levels to make sure it was safe to continue. We were pretty quick moving and made it quite far up the mountain, so the guides suggested we hang out in a cave for a bit while we waited for the sun to rise. It was quite an exhausting climb and every time we took a break, we would cool off very quickly in the cold air so we sat by a fire and warmed ourselves for about half an hour and then started the climb again to the plateau.

We made it to the plateau just in time for an amazing sunrise! We could see all the surrounding villages and volcanos.

Sunrise on Merapi

Some of us on the plateau with the summit in the background

Candice:

After admiring the sunrise there was an option to climb all the way to the summit of the volcano, which virtually means you can see into the mouth of the volcano. I said no way! First of all there was no path, as the recent eruption had destroyed it; this meant that the only way up was to scramble up loose ash and rocks from the last eruption. I did not care about seeing the mouth of the volcano anyway, which I thought was a highly dangerous activity. However everyone else wanted to go so Nat went with them and I went back down the volcano with one of the guides.

On the plateau. Behind Candice is Mount Merbabu in the distance, a dormant volcano.

Now I will let Nat tell you how his climb to the summit went. But this is how it went for me. As I was climbing down the volcano the others were climbing to the summit with the other guides. The other guides continued to radio my guide to update him on the condition of the volcano. Supposedly, if at any point the volcano was too active (thus dangerous) they should turn around. My guide told me “oh the other guides are really tired it’s so hard trying to get up all the loose ash and rocks.” I’m thinking, ok, well I am glad I decided not to climb to the summit. Then my guide said “…oh no…listen to this sound.” He let me listen to his radio, at this point the other guides at the summit were radioing my guide and saying “oh the volcano is making such a strange noise, listen how loud it is, it sounds like a helicopter.” I asked my guide “is that normal, the noise the volcano is making?” He said “no, I’ve never heard it in my 15 years of climbing the volcano! It’s really weird, the guides are scared. I think the volcano is too active and they should not stay long.”

Nat:

After I left Candice I quickly realised that I had made a stupid decision. So far the fact I was wearing Converse Chucks hadn’t been too much of an issue, but as soon as I started the summit ascent I began slipping and sliding in the loose dirt. As I scrambled up the steep incline I was frequently losing my footing as my shoes had virtually no grip. At least Horst and Manuela had runners. There was also another couple climbing with their guide who had proper hiking boots.

Do not ever wear these shoes to climb a dangerous mountain.

As the morning sun began to heat up the rock face, we continued to labour up the slope. At times I would frantically scramble upwards as a foothold gave way and other times I would be using every ounce of whatever rock climbing experience I had not to fall. I wished I had worn gloves as my palms began to get cut from sharp rocks. The further up we got, the more determined we became to reach the top, even though I almost slipped and fell climbing laterally twice. I began to wonder how we would get down.

Climbing to the summit

In hindsight it was an extremely dangerous exercise and the guides should have known better. At times those climbing ahead would dislodge bowling ball sized boulders that would come rolling down the mountain narrowly missing my head. Smoke that stank of sulphur was seeping out of cracks in the rocks.

When we finally reached the summit, we were overjoyed. And boy was it worth it. The view was absolutely spectacular! We were on the rim of the crater which was basically like a wall which we could barely hang on to. The guide told me that the last eruptions had blown away the opposite lip of the crater and we could now see for miles into the distance. Although the lava had cooled into new rock, no one had yet dared set foot into the crater due to poisonous gasses and the fact that the mountain was still unsettled.

Scenes from the summit

The strangest thing of all was the fact that the mountain was roaring. It sounded like a waterfall or something, like it was just about to erupt. Sulphurous smoke was rising into the air and occasionally the wind would whip it into my face. It stank of rotten eggs.

Climbing Mt Merapi

Descending was easier than I thought it would be. We basically slid down the summit, trying to avoid sharp rocks. Given the eruptions had totally altered the landscape, the guide really had no idea where he was going. When we reached the plateau, I offered up a silent prayer that we were all safe. Unfortunately the journey to the summit and back had taken about 2 hours and we still had the rest of the mountain to go. It was a grueling trek down. We finally arrived back in Selo just after noon! All in all, we had been hiking, climbing and walking for over 10 hours through the night with no sleep. And I was filthy.

Descending from the summit

Candice:

So later on when everyone made it down safely, I discovered that in true Indonesian style the guides had never let on to Nat and the others that the noise the volcano was making was abnormal, and that they were scared, and that maybe they should go back (because generally speaking Indonesians don’t like conflict and they are always saving face). So instead they continued on because they didn’t want their clients to be unhappy with what they saw.

Nonetheless, we’re both happy we’ve done it and it was definitely an unforgettable experience!