A summit from the valley to the sky

My Photo scholarship 2010 entry

Indonesia | Saturday, October 16, 2010 | 5 photos

Our small but excitable group of explorers met in Bali to the news our trek to the summit of Gunung Rinjani was compromised.

Overnight the 12,224 ft volcano on the Indonesian island of Lombok began erupting.

Nonetheless we set out to see how far we could go.

After a short flight and a sketchy drive through some incredibly beautiful and remote parts of Lombok, we met our guides and porters over banana pancakes in Senaru.

During the first hours we passed many locals going about their business, with women carrying crops on their heads, to kids scrambling among the trekkers in an attempt to score sweets.

Once through the Rinjani gates - a random yet excellent opportunity to buy a cola and some crackers from a local trader - the climbing took a steep turn, seemingly up into the clouds.

Fortunately the local wildlife, including snakes, monkeys, birds and an animated guide named Agus, kept our minds off the task at hand.

As the day drew on the air grew colder and noticeably thinner. The fitter trekkers were able to maintain a reasonable pace, and with the rumbling - akin to a jet engine and a drum beat - growing ever louder we were keen to hit the rim before sunset.

We arrived, awestruck, on the rim as clouds began to fill the valley.

To be on the flanks of an erupting volcano, as she spits her glowing lava into the air is fascinating, awesome and terrifying all at once.

I still love to share the tales and images of this adventure, and as photos do, the pictures bring back many memories.

I continue to aspire to discover and share stories of the worlds most amazing, inspiring and challenging experiences through photograpy. This scholarship will provide another incredible opportunity to see and shoot a rare gem before it is lost forever to modernisation.