AL Blog: Volcano climb

Mt Batur is an active volcano. In 2009 it was throwing off ash but the last big eruption was in 1968. The caldera is filled with a huge lake (10 x 13 km), which we could see after sunrise from the summit.

We started walking at 3.30am, first through soft volcanic soils and jagged lava beds with scrub tufts but this was only for about 20 minutes. Then the climb started, a real climb! The gradient for many sections was about 70 degrees, which I could only guess by seeing the random dots of torches of other trekkers lining the route ahead of us. The star world was phenomenal, when we had a few 60 second rests we gazed up to see the twinkling.

Wayan led the way, I was behind him and Mum was behind me. We all stumbled on the large pumice pebbles and rocks, it was easier when I could lock my heel onto a sturdy rock . I actually found it easier to keep the momentum going, but Mum preferred a few little stops for water. Our backpacks only had cameras and water so at least we weren’t carrying extra kilograms.

Mt Batur is a sacred mountain and it was special seeing all the guides stop for a few minutes to pray to the mountain spirits on the way up. The spiritual world is part of everyday life in Bali.

Mum and I always travel with our hiking boots, and we really needed them this morning. Mum wondered what we would tick on the customs forms coming back to Australia?!?!!

At 4.30am Wayan said, trying to be encouraging, “in 20 minutes we will be half way”. Mum didn’t think it was encouraging! We kept climbing and scrambling upwards.

Mum explained how she saw the climb metaphorically. It’s important to have a vision or a goal (the summit) which can sometimes be challenging (the climb), but it’s also important not to get overwhelmed by the magnitude of the goal. Keep it in distant sight but focus on the now, and the few steps in front (it was actually all we could see because our torches only gave up a 0.5 metre radius of light). How every step counts, knowing you’re putting in the effort and are getting closer to the goal.

She also told me some idioms:

“put one foot in front of the other”

“don’t look too far ahead” – because in our case, you might fall off the path down the small cliffs.

Ok, so we reached the summit 20 minutes before sunrise. It was very cold at the peak but we were then given hot chocolate and coffee with condensed milk, AND hot boiled eggs – which were cooked in the hot steaming holes from the volcano!

Whilst we waited for the Earth to spin towards the Sun, we talked and listened to other trekkers. I loved the thought that we ALL had just climbed for 2 and a half hours, we were all huddled waiting for the Sun and we all came from different parts of the world (there were people from Guinea-Bissau, a country I’d never heard of before – in Western Africa, Korea, Japan, France, Columbia, China and of course, Australia!).

foreground: caldera lake, background: Mt Rinjani (Lombok)

Then the climb down, or rather it was a slide down. This was harder for me because on the way down there was nothing to lean into, going up I could slant my body on a 45 degree angle, but coming down I had to lean back 120 degrees for balance. The extra pressure on my knees was not comfortable, Mum's knees were a bit like jelly too!

Here are some photos coming down, obviously my photos going up would only be black!