"7 Summits + 2 Poles" project news

The weather was changeable today, there was no significant precipitation. But most of the time the groups were in a fog.  Our guides Alexander Dorojukov, Dmitry Semenov and Evgeny Fedyunin worked with groups.  All three groups ascended to the area of the Refuge Eleven, to a height of 4100. There is a lot of snow on the slopes, the training turned out great.  Ascent-descent, movement on fixed ropes, self-arrest.  All three groups are relaxing now at the National Park Refuge.

This week, three groups of the 7 Summits Club will try to climb to the top of Mount Elbrus. Last week, not all participants succeeded, the weather on the day of the ascent was quite bad. Now we hope for its improvement. However, the first day was rather stormy. Our guides Alexander Dorojukov, Dmitry Semenov and Evgeny Fedyunin work with groups. On the first day, they all climbed the slopes of Mount Cheget to the Ai cafe (2700m). In the afternoon, the participants were preparing for tomorrow's ascent to the slopes of Elbrus. At the rental point of the 7 Summits Club, they were able to take the missing equipment.

The expedition members relax in the club room and share their impressions with the hosts. And outside the tent windows there is a view of the base camp and the bad weather. In the final part of the broadcast, the head of the expedition, Alexander Abramov, appears. It is time for chess tournament that will day after tomorrow.

Alex Abramov, President of the 7 Summits Club, Head of the Everest expedition, reports from Nepal:

Christ is risen! Today, Alexander Abramov's team on Everest made an acclimatization climb to the base of the section of the route called "Lhotse wall". It started snowing. Visibility is gone. We went down to Camp 2 and celebrated Easter here.

The entire Lhotse wall was covered in ice. And stones were flying down the slope. Now everything is covered with snow. It's good. The stones will not fly. But it will be avalanche-prone.

Victor Volodin, the guide of the 7 Summits Club, reports from Nepal:

Good afternoon, dear friends!

  For some reason, I couldn't transmit the information in time, but we, the 8000 Club group, are doing well. So, I'm reproducing the chronology of current events. At that time, when everyone was still asleep, our group of workers went to the parade at the crack of dawn on May 1 with the slogans "peace, labor May", but got lost and climbed the Khumbu icefall at night. So with jokes and a good mood, and favorable weather, we came to the first camp. In the evening, the wind picked up, which fluttered our tents and banners all night. By morning, the vestibule of only one tent had burst. Marching so joyfully and merrily, we met our holiday. 

 May 2 turned out to be a good day too, the weather is not very hot, otherwise you can roast yourself on this section of the way. The site is quite simple and safe, we come to the second camp (6500), everything is organized at the highest level and plus faster Internet.

  May 3 turned out to be a good day too, we're just lucky.  We get up slowly, have breakfast and go to the third camp. The task is not easy, it is necessary to overcome a steep ice slope, and most importantly, do not get hit by free-flying stones. But it bypassed us, and we successfully cross the boundary of 7 thousand above sea level. We safely descend to Camp 2 and have a second overnight stay at 6500. The third camp has not been set up due to strong winds and will be set up just before the assault. 

  On May 4, we collect our clothes, ourselves, have breakfast and slowly begin the descent to the base camp, where we are met by the camp administrator Lena, a hot shower, and delicious food.

  May 5 is a holiday - Christ is risen, and we are greeted festively in the morning by Sherpas with decorated Easter eggs. After a long and hard work, especially since the weather is starting to deteriorate, we decided to fly to Namche Bazaar for a vacation. The loss of height of two kilometers and the restoration of strength is necessary for high-altitude ascents. The participants feel great.

The team of the 7 Summits Club, led by Alexander Abramov, overcame the Khumbu icefall and climbed yesterday to Camp 1. The height is 6000 m. The climbers spent a windy night there.

And today they moved to Camp 2 at an altitude of 6500, where they have high-speed Internet and have the opportunity to transmit information and images.

Alexander Dorojukov, a guide of the 7 Summits Club, reports from the Elbrus region:

Greetings from the Elbrus region from the band "Don't Panic"!  Yesterday we achieved our goal. We climbed Mount Elbrus the top of Europe. It's a pity that it's not a full team, but it's not bad either. The weather was very fun, but interesting.

Dmitry Semenov, the guide of the 7 Summits Club, reports from the Elbrus region:

 Greetings from the Elbrus region! Our group climbed the highest summit of our country, as well as Europe's Elbrus Western 5642m. Unfortunately, not all of them. The weather was not the best.

The final rotation of the acclimatization cycle is the ascent to the Pastukhov Rocks. Four groups of the 7 Summits Club went out on the slopes of Elbrus today in order to climb as high as possible. The weather was great in the morning. However, when the groups began to approach the Pastukhov Rock massif, the weather turned bad. Visibility disappeared, it became damp and cool. Therefore, our groups stopped their ascent in different places of the rock massif.  Group guides: Alexander Dorojukov, Alexey Lonchinsky, Dmitry Semenov and Evgeny Fedyunin. Tomorrow is a day of rest for all participants and guides and preparation for the assault on the top of Mount Elbrus. As well as a day of weather observation. It depends on whether the assault will be scheduled for Friday or postponed to Saturday.

Evgeny Fedyunin, the guide of the 7 Summits Club, reports from the Elbrus region:

 Hello everyone! Today, the group "8 Summits" of the 7 Summits Club climbed to the Refuge National Park, at an altitude of 3900m. We went higher to the ruins of Refuge-11, to a height of 4100m, and held snow classes and classes on the technique of movement on fixed ropes there! We worked out self-arrest and everyone was happy!

Lunch and dinner from our chefs are, as always, amazingly delicious. Tomorrow we will continue the high-altitude acclimatization.

Alexander Dorojukov, the guide of the 7 Summits Club, reports from the Elbrus region:

Greetings from the Elbrus region from the band "Don't Panic"! Our program continues as planned. Today we walked to the Refuge at Eleven and learned to distinguish an ice axe from crampons. May is unrealistically warm, pens are running. We are working on, hello everyone!

Dmitry Semenov, the super-guide of the 7 Summits Club, reports from the Elbrus region:

 Fizkult-greetings from the slopes of Elbrus! Today, our group "Tear out the eye" held training sessions on the snowy terrain in the area of Refuge Eleven (4070 m). We worked out movement in ropes, self-arrest during a breakdown, using an ice axe. The weather and the condition of the group are excellent.

So the climbing season on Elbrus has begun. At once, three groups of the 7 Summits Club began their acclimatization on the slopes of Mount Cheget. Our guides Dmitry Semenov, Alexander Dorojukov and Evgeny Fedyunin work with them. The weather is very warm, there are streams everywhere from the remaining snow. Everything is turning green a little bit. All the groups walked to the Ai cafe at an altitude of 2800. After lunch, participants visited the rental point, where they took the missing equipment.  Tomorrow, there will be the ascent to the refuge situated already on the slopes of Elbrus.

The 8000 Club guide Viktor Volodin reports from the Everest Base Camp:

I finally had the strength to give information! We, the 8000 Club team, are doing great. We went to 6100, then to the second camp at 6500, spent the night, acclimatized. It wasn't easy, but we coped and today we went down to the base camp, where we were very well received and fed, thanks to Lena Abramova.

The 8000 Club guide Viktor Volodin reports from the Second Everest Camp:

Good day to all! Today is April 26th and we are at an altitude of 6500, in the Second Camp. As always, we have the best of everything and even at this height there is Internet. And only with us.

Today, the Everest-24 team, led by Alexander Abramov, held training sessions on the ice. The participants showed excellent results. The day after tomorrow, the team leaves for the Khumbu icefall.