Mount Suckling Explained

Mount Suckling
Other Name:Goropi
Elevation M:3676
Prominence M:2925
Prominence Ref:[1]
Ranked 106th
Range:Goropu Mountains
Listing:Ultra
Location:Papua New Guinea
Map:Papua New Guinea
Coordinates:-9.6692°N 149.0108°W

Mount Suckling or Goropi,[2] is the highest peak of the Goropu Mountains, part of the Owen Stanley Range in south-eastern Papua New Guinea. It lies about 250km (160miles) east of Port Moresby. Situated on a relatively narrow peninsula, it lies only about 60-1NaN-1 from the sea to both the north-east (in the direction of Collingwood Bay) and the south.[3] While not the highest peak in the Owen Stanley Range (Mount Victoria is the highest), it is the most topographically prominent peak in the range, and it is in fact the third most prominent peak on the island of New Guinea.[1] The peak rises above the timberline, while its lower slopes are well-forested.[4]

The Maisin people inhabit the area around Mount Suckling.[2] As of 1972, Mount Suckling had been "very inadequately explored" by Westerners. Norman Cruttwell initiated an expedition to the peak, which eventually reached the summit after several unsuccessful attempts. They found the peak "so inaccessible that [they] had to be dropped by helicopter into a gorge at 1500m and find [their] way to the top." They climbed via the south spur of the mountain, named "Goe Dendeniwa"; the second word means "red" and refers to the uniformly red color of the rocks and vegetation on the spur.[5]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Papua New Guinea Ultra-prominent peaks. peaklist.org. 2010-11-20.
  2. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3654/is_199603/ai_n8736029/pg_19 John Barker article
  3. National Geographic Atlas of the World (revised sixth edition), National Geographic Society, 1992, .
  4. Web site: Conservation International Newsletter . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070927015349/http://www.cimelanesia.org.pg/docs/melnews/MelanesiaNews%20Newsletter%20Issue%202.pdf . 2007-09-27 .  
  5. Web site: Vireya Rhododendrons - Archive - Cruttwell, N - Plant Hunting in Papua New Guinea . pdf. 2007-06-26 . Norman E. G. Cruttwell . October 1988. Proceedings of the Fourth International Rhododendron Conference.