Why Have a Hall of Fame?

Although looking at lists of mountains like the Ribus is always secondary to the actual experience of being out there in the mountains – enjoying the fresh air, the scenery and the exercise – there is an undoubted pleasure in keeping track of the peaks you’ve visited. Unlike in several other countries where mountain climbing is equally – or more – popular, there has not to our knowledge been any attempt to create a record of people’s hiking achievements in Indonesia. The Ribus are based on objective criteria (i.e 1,000 metre prominence) and so we hope to utilise this to keep a record of people’s hiking achievements – if they want to be included.

Given the immensity of the challenge of climbing all the Ribus (and the fact that nobody knew where they all were until now) it is pretty much impossible that anyone will have climbed all 193 of them! Indeed, we think that at present no single person has reached the top of more than about 50 Ribus, although it is probable that at least 100 peaks on the list are relatively accessible and have been climbed on at least several occasions. Perhaps 50 Ribus or more are visited by hikers on at least a weekly basis during the dry season.

Hall of Fame Criteria

If you have climbed 20 or more Ribus (excluding Spesial peaks) you can join the Gunung Bagging Hall of Fame. If you would like to be added, please contact us with a list of your bagged Ribus and Spesials, and including any “significant attempts” when you came close but failed to reach the absolute summit for some reason.

There can be many reasons for failing to reach the summit:

• Volcanic activity (or the weather) can make it too dangerous to reach the highest point. The trek to Merapi (Central Java) is an example of a relatively straightforward hike to the summit area of a volcano, but not to the summit itself (which was completely altered most recently in the 2006 eruption). Hikers who visited the highest point prior to 2006 (Garuda’s Wing) can reasonably claim to have reached the summit if they managed to get their head above the highest point of the huge piece of rock. At present, however, the highest point is part of the new lava dome which is simply too dangerous and utterly irresponsible to visit. It is inevitable that the situation will change again at some point in the future.
• Technical climbing skills are required. Gunung Raung (East Java), Puncak Trikora (Papua) and Egon (East Nusa Tenggara) require climbing ropes and/or intermediate rock-climbing skills in order to reach the highest point.
• Dense vegetation / jungle / no trail. Some peaks are covered in dense vegetation. Occasionally, finding a route to the top can be very difficult, if not impossible without a machete. Trails become overgrown quickly and if tops are not visited for a number of years the vegetation can become so dense that there is no trail whatsoever. Papandayan and Galunggung (Beuticanar), both in West Java, are notable examples. Marapi in West Sumatra is not baggable by any conventional route, although a handful of hikers have apparently opened up a new trail which does reach the summit from a totally new direction. We hope this site will help encourage new hiking routes and the regeneration of old, forgotten trails.
• Not knowing where the summit actually is. A less common and more humorous reason for not reaching the highest point will be simply that you didn’t know where the very top was, perhaps due to excessive vegetation or a very flat mountain top with several peaks of seemingly similar elevation. Even a guide might not actually know where the true summit is and they can even get you lost.

Of course, reaching the highest point is not the most important part of going for a hike and considering the dangers you may face it is occasionally unwise to attempt at all. However, we want to keep this list as stringent and professional as other mountain lists worldwide. For Gunung Bagging purposes, (and despite probable accusations of pedantry!) this means that if you haven’t reached the highest point then you can’t claim to have ‘bagged’ it. However, be sure to mention such attempts in your email to us so that other hikers know what to expect on tricky or particularly active peaks.

“Gunung Bragging!” – The Hall of Fame List

Initially, 20 Ribus did not seem like a large number of peaks to have as a threshold for joining the Hall of Fame, but there appear to be surprisingly few people who have climbed 20 or more. There are a substantial number of people who have climbed between 12 and 18, Indonesians and expatriates alike, so hopefully people will be inspired to climb some new Ribus. In order to allow more time for the word to spread about the existence of the list of Ribus, publication of the first edition of the Hall of Fame will be in December 2010. Thereafter, the list will be updated at the end of every year. The format is as follows:

Difficult Peaks

Many of the Ribus and Spesials are very hard to conquer! This is due to a number of reasons. The highest point may be in dense vegetation with no path whatsoever, part of an active lava dome, on a knife-edged crater rim or ridge, in a tribal conflict area or require moderate rock climbing skills or a hike of two weeks or more! Here is an initial list of some of the trickier summits that we know about so far – please see individual mountain pages for more details. N.B. Most peaks in Kalimantan and Papua are likely to be very difficult. We hope to make updates as and when we have new information. We also hope to conduct expeditions to these summits if/when it is safe to do so.

Java:

Papandayan (Malang) – The summit is in dense vegetation and there would appear to be no trail there at present. Machete and patience required.
Galunggung (Beuticanar) – The summit is rarely-visited and so the trail is vague and overgrown. In June 2010, Gunung Bagging conducted an expedition along with Napak Rimba hiking club from Tasikmalaya to re-open the trail. It is currently marked from Telaga Bodas with yellow and blue string but is likely to become overgrown again soon.
Parang – The summit is in dense vegetation. Machete required.
Kelud – The summit rocks require rock climbing skills – ropes are probably needed.
Lamongan (Tarub) – The summit is in dense vegetation. In October 2008, local hiking enthusiast Pak Iwan Erfanto led what was probably the first expedition to the summit of Tarub from Klakah via Lamongan, taking 4 days there and back.
Merapi – this highly active volcano is too dangerous at present – the highest point is part of the new lava dome which emerged in 2006. Prior to 2006 it was possible to reach the highest point, Puncak Garuda. After the lava dome emerged Puncak Garuda was no longer the highest point. In May 2010, what remained of Puncak Garuda collapsed completely. The lava dome remains the highest point of the mountain.
Ijen (Merapi) – Whilst Ijen crater is very popular with visitors, the top of the massif, Gunung Merapi, is hardly ever visited. It is a great place – there are several sandy craters to explore. The highest point is covered in dense vegetation and would require a considerable amount of time to cut a path to with the use of a machete. Java Lava either reached the summit or got very close indeed in 2006 but since then all attempts have been thwarted by the density of the vegetation.
Baluran – This mountain peak is very rarely visited and there is only a vague trail through the dense forest. You need to contact National Park staff well in advance to try to arrange local help in cutting a route up the mountain.
Sumbing – The highest point of the crater rim is mildly difficult to reach. Confident scramblers should have no difficulty.
Guntur (Masigit) – The summit is in dense vegetation.
Raung – The highest point of the crater rim is difficult to reach. It requires a very long hike in and ropes for rock climbing.

Sulawesi:

Karangetang – The volcano is incredibly active and dangerous.

Sumatra:

Marapi – The summit is in dense vegetation. It is not accessible from the usual route to the crater from Kotobaru. The common approach goes to Puncak Merapi only. A rarely used approach from Kacawali in the north – first opened by a hiking group from Padang University – is the only route to the true summit which is crowned with a triangulation pillar.
Tujuh – The climb to the summit is very steep and has apparently only been climbed once or twice.
Seulawah Agam – trekking agencies currently unwilling to hike there due to Aceh militant groups training in the area.

Nusa Tenggara Timur

Egon – The highest point of the crater rim is difficult to reach. It requires good scrambling skills over very exposed and slippery terrain. Rob Woodall made a complete circuit of the rim in August 2010 and Wolfgang Piecha reached the summit on a Java Lava trip in April 2009.
Lewotobi – Apparently you are not allowed to climb to the very top due to poisionous gases.

Kepulauan Riau

Daik – At present, nobody has reached the top of the mountain. Apparently it is a very difficult rock climb.

Papua

Trikora – Ropes are needed for a rock climb at the very top.
Arfak (Umsini) – There is a current conflict between two neighbouring tribes which makes access to the peak rather difficult.
Carstensz Pyramid, Puncak Jaya – Indonesia’s highest mountain is very expensive – especially for foreigners – and rock climbing skills are needed.