Merapi's activities after last January's eruptions

By Bambang M Photos by Tarko Sudiarno

MAGELANG, Central Java (JP): It was a bright starry night. From Jrakah, Boyolali, red-hot molten lava could be seen clearly flowing from the crater of Mount Merapi. It flowed down along the southwestern slope of the mountain, creating a very beautiful spectacle.

At daybreak that Wednesday (May 23), a team from the Research and Development Center for Volcanology Technology (BPPTK) had planned to climb to the top of the mountain. This was the first official climb of the 2,968-meter volcano after its activity escalated in January. BPPTK head, Syamsul Rizal Wittiri Seis, said the purpose of the climb was to check if the volcano had returned to normal or not.

The climb by the seven-strong team, which was led by the center chief, was also joined by 10 reporters. Five porters accompanied the team to carry instruments and supplies.

The team and other participants gathered at Merapi Observation Post in Jrakah and then they walked about five kilometers to Selo village, where the climbing would start from the northern slope of the mountain. This was a safer path as the lava belching from the volcano only flowed down the southern slope.

It was precisely 1.30 a.m. when the path taken by the mountain climbers became increasingly steeper. Nobody felt cold anymore due to the exertion of the difficult climb. At certain points, they had a break and had something to eat or to drink.

Some of the climbers had brought boiled eggs from home. Strangely, it was later found that the yolks had liquefied slightly. "Spirits residing in the volcano have sucked out the essence of the eggs," said Mbah Guno, one of the porters. To ensure that all the eggs would remain good, one should have been placed on a slab of stone as an offering to the "spirits" guarding the volcano, Mbah Guno said.

The group arrived at Bubrah Market (about 2,700 meters) at around 7 a.m. the next day. Formerly a crater, Bubrah Market is believed to be the "market" from where the spirits residing in Mount Merapi obtain their daily needs. From here, the climbers would continue to climb to the top of the volcano. This leg of the journey was the toughest as the path was stony and had a slope of almost 70 degrees. Yustinus Salistyo, a staff member of BPPTK, said the crater that the climbers would visit was formed as a result of an eruption in 1954.

After walking for about one hour, the climbers finally made it to the top, which is better known as Puncak Garuda. No plants were visible. As far as the eyes could see, only rocks were visible along with some equipment owned by BPPTK such as a telemetric seismograph and a temperature telemetry. "These instruments are damage-prone owing to the corrosion brought about by the high temperature of the crater, said Syamsul.

As the top of Mount Merapi was made up of piles of lava cauldrons from previous eruptions, we could see and set foot on a number of cauldrons located at the top such as Kawah Mati (no longer active), Kawah Gendol and Kawah Woro. At the bottom of Kawah Woro, a number of holes, whose temperatures went as high as 800 centigrade, were still belching out sulfuric smoke.

This smoke made breathing difficult. It was also from here that we could view a cauldron resulting from the eruption in 1994. Thick smoke gushed out from the small gaps between the mountain rocks.

A number of BPPTK officials would later collect gas samples from a number of holes still emitting smoke in the Woro Crater. Measurement of the SO2 content of the gas would enable us to determine whether the volcano, which, until the climb the day before, had been given the alert status could be declared to have reverted to normal status. The sample collected would also tell us whether or not magma would still likely emerge from the cauldron.

Other BPPTK members tried to take a look at a cauldron resulting from the 2001 eruption. The team would examine the extent to which the cauldron had cracked. Magma always flows through the cracks. "The cracks will enable us to predict in which direction the cauldron will develop."

After the examination and testing was completed, the group had a brief rest under the shade of large slabs of stones at Garuda Peak.

Close to 1 p.m., the climbers got ready to climb down. It turned out the way down was as difficult as the way up. Worse still, the team members were really very tired after walking a distance of eight kilometers all night long. From afar, smoke was still seen billowing from the crater of Mount Merapi.