Australian Screen

Teacher’s notes

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This clip shows a group of climbers, three men and two women, successfully reaching the summit of Puncak Jaya in Papua. One of the climbers reports their achievement on a radio telephone. The filmmaker explains in voice-over what his thoughts were at the time of the climb, including the recollection that the mountain walls he was looking down from had, at one time, kept the local people, the Dani, safe from outsiders.

Educational value points

• The clip features Puncak Jaya that, at 4,884 m, is the highest mountain on the island of New Guinea, the highest point in Indonesia and one of the so-called 'seven peaks’ for climbers who aspire to conquer the highest peaks on all seven continents. Part of the Dugunduguoo, or Sudirman Range, the mountain is considered sacred by the local people. The peak was first climbed by a European mountaineer in 1962.

• The five successful climbers of Puncak Jaya seen in the clip were led by the Australian climber and author Lincoln Hall (1956–) who climbed the summit of Mt Everest in 2006 and then collapsed on the mountain where he was left, it was assumed, to die. His death was reported to his family. He was later found hallucinating and frost-bitten but alive and conscious by another climbing party and was rescued.

• The footage reveals the exhilaration experienced by the climbers as they reach the summit of this challenging mountain climb. The Puncak Jaya climb requires a 100 km trek of 5–6 days through cloud and rainforest, over hilly terrain in almost constant rain, just to get to the start of the ascent, which includes a climb up the north face, a 3,050-m cliff. Most modern-day climbers are Westerners on pre-arranged adventure travel tours.

• The Dani people referred to in the clip are believed to have been living in the Central Highlands region of Western New Guinea (the Indonesian province of Papua, formerly known as Irian Jaya) for more than 40,000 years, and are one of the most well-known ethnic groups in Papua because their home in the Baliem Valley is a popular destination for tourists. 'Dani’ is a generic term applied to all the tribes of the Baliem Valley.