"7 Summits + 2 Poles" project news

Lyudmila Korobeshko, expedition guide and company director of the 7 Summits Club: Today, Monday, March 13, the expedition of the 7 Summits Club to Pyramid Carstensz begins. This is the most mysterious and hard-to-reach mountain from the 7 Summits project.

 This morning  the main part of the team and most of the expeditionary cargo depart from Geneva. In the plane there will also be a legend of world basejumping and baseclimbing Valery Rozov.

I personally already have halfway to the goal of our trip - the island of Papua New Guinea - specifically, I am in Hong Kong.

And one more participant of our expedition and a part-time star of world mountaineering, a man who made  no oxygen climb on all 14 eight-thousanders - Maksut Zhumayev - is already waiting for us on that island, in the town of Timika, where he arrived this morning.

The next day we all should meet in Timika and go straight to the foot of the Pyramid of Carstensz. We'll see how it goes. Follow our news!

Our New Year groups climbers on Mount Vinson (guide - Alexander Abramov, guide-intern - Vladimir Kotlyar) shares their  impressions.

Eugene Lesnitsky offers a wonderful video clip, we have not seen such  Antarctica before!

And our foreign members Nicolas Magnin (France) and Krzysztof Sabisz (Poland) published a selection of beautiful photos. Plunge into the world of the Antarctic summer, New Year, in which the sun never sets, cosmic landscapes and beautiful people ...

Full photo gallery here

Lyudmila Korobeshko, a guide and director of the 7 Summits Club: Today the group Pili-Pili Manga (translated from Swahili means "black pepper") leaves home. Yesterday our Tanzanian friends prepared a romantic farewell breakfast for us and in the Millennium camp  they gave us a farewell concert. We were not in debt, answering them by Russian folk dancing. All were pleased with each other. Today we take off for home.

For our tandem "Sturdy and Powerful" (Sergej Larin and Vladimir Kotlyar) – today is a great day of drying. We're getting ready to leave home. But first, we need to prepare equipment to preserve it for a year in Mendoza.

Lyudmila Korobeshko, a guide, director of the 7 Summits Club: Pili-Pili Mango Team today February 24 at 6.45 reached the roof of Africa. Our climb we decided to dedicate the 100th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution and the 167th anniversary of the abolition of slavery in Zanzibar.

   On the very spot where it joins routes Marangu (Coca-Cola) and Machame (Whiskey) at Stella Point, we have combined these two drinks and solemnly drank.

Lyudmila Korobeshko:

Since morning we congratulated our men on the holiday, the Day of Defender of the Fatherland. At night we go to the summit bid. Local guides promise one meter of snow on top. Let's see and check ...

Lyudmila Korobeshko from the slopes of Kilimanjaro: We have come to Karanga ("Peanuts") camp at 4050. Everything is in the fog. Today we will brew beer instead of wine.

Yesterday's hike  from  Shira Camp to Barranco Camp:

Our two groups: large - under the leadership of Vladimir Kotlyar and small - under the direction of Sergei Larin successfully reached the summit of Aconcagua and descended safely to base camp Plaza le Mulas. Our congratulations! Climbing has been made ahead of schedule, due to the completely of the weather in the area.

 Vladimir Kotlyar, "... we caught the window. We have already on Aconcagua winter came with rain and storm ... ".

 Sergej Larin: "I would like to add that you need to climb to Aconcagua in January ..."

Dear friends!

 The 7 Summits Club announces for the summer of 2017 a new festival dedicated to the program of climbing the highest peaks of all continents - "Seven Summits".

Dates of the festival: June 24th to July 2th, 2017

Location – Polyana (Glade) Azau in Terskol village, the slopes and the summits of Mount Elbrus.

The festival will consist of two parts.

The Official Part:  29th June – 2th July

 Meeting of climbers on the "Seven Summits", the presentation of medals and diplomas, awarding ceremony.

The Informal Part: 24th June – 29th June

Mass ascent on Elbrus, setting a Guinness record.

 We want to make the main event of the festival a gala evening with the presentation of medals "All Seven Summiter" and the relevant certificates. All Russian SevenSummiters will be invited, as well as special guests, the climbers on the "Seven Summits" from the various countries of the world.

  But no less important, we believe…

A mass ascent on The Mount of Elbrus

In order to establish the Guinness record for the number "seven summits climbers" gathered together on the same mountain.

 Also in the festival program scheduled: speed races (competitions) on Elbrus, presentations and guest speaking, exhibition of photographs, best films and movies awarding, cultural program ...

And a lot of communication with fans to collect the summits in an informal atmosphere.

To participate in the festival "Seven Summits", except for Russian climbers  we will invite to the first Seven Summits climbers from each country, first  of the project, as well as other authors of unique achievements. We expect coming many interesting guests, new acquaintances, “a sea of communication”!

We would be grateful for any comments and suggestions for the organization of our festival.

 Program here

 Especially welcome sponsorship!

Write to us at: info@7summitsclub.com

Lyudmila Korobeshko: The first day of the ascent was not easy. 30 minutes after the beginning of the path we were in a terrible downpour. We were soaked to the skin. For 5 hours we sailed in the 3000, gaining 1,200 meters in height to the first camp. Now we relax, drink whiskey, check the oxygen and pulse. Pulse has increased from the indescribable beauty of the surrounding mountains and the night sky ...

Lyudmila Korobeshko: Today we begin the expedition 7 Summits Club on the highest point in Africa - Kilimanjaro. The selected route - Machame, one of the most picturesque. Expedition Guides vice president of the Mountaineering Federation of Russia, Ivan Dusharin and director of the 7 Summits Club Lyudmila Korobeshko are ready for the meeting members of the expedition.

  During stay and preparation in the camp Plaza de Mulas, our climbers from groups with guides Vladimir Kotlyar and Sergei Larin walked to the glacier. And, of course, they looked for a visit to the artist Miguel, in his unique picture gallery at 4200. After that,  groups went up to the camp Canada, where they set up tents and sat in them to wait out a strong wind with snow and rain. For tomorrow the weather should be better and the joint team plan to go up to the camp Nido de Condores where they check, survived or not our big tent, staged by Alexander Abramov...

3 groups of the 7 summits Club are now in the Kilimanjaro region. The first group (Leonid Pak) has made a successful ascent earlier than planned and went down. They then go on Safari.

 The second group – it is Wil Fakhretdinov, solo or single program with a local team of guide, cook and three porters.

 A large group of 11 people (from Volgograd) follows the route 2 days after Wil..

 Today the next group on Kilimanjaro starts. Members of the expedition will  climb the summit with the guides from the 7 summits Club  Ludmila Korobeshko and Ivan Dusharin

 At the same period, a group of 7 people starts for  the program “Climbing Mount Kenya”.

 And despite the fact that weather forecasts do not look very optimistic, in reality it is not so bad. We hope that all our climbers will get lucky and all will end well.

Two of our team, working strictly according to the plan, went up to the camp Plaza de Mulas at 4,200 meters. Vladimir Kotlyar and Sergei Larin are working in the role of guides from the 7 summits Club. Both groups successfully completed the cycle of acclimatization at camp Confluencia, went under the South wall of the Aconcagua and finally climbed to the base camp.

So far so good, everything is good...

Vladimir Kotlyar: The team named as "The tactic of trump ten" came and met in Mendoza. We are ready for adventure!

 The permits are obtained, we go to a rental for crampons.

 A group named "Tartar and Larin" also begins an expedition.

 All together they go to Penitentes. Groups will work independently, but cooperate!

February - it is not only the third month of winter with snowfalls, thaws, the constant change of temperatures and gloomy days, but also the end of the summer, as well as the best time to climb the mountain peaks near the equator and in the Southern Hemisphere!

Now there is the busy season of climbing for Kilimanjaro, Kenya, Orizaba in Mexico, Chimborazo in Ecuador.

In this February  there will be around 30 PAX from the 7 Summits Club to climb Kilimanjaro in six different groups. You can still join one of our groups right now, do not delay your plans for later.

Many our clients have already managed to climb Mount Kilimanjaro this year and send their photos and reports. Following photos sent to us by Anton Pavlov, who just has returned home after a successful ascent.

The other climbers are already flying in the direction of Tanzania, or are packing their backpacks.

Sergey Larin, a guide of the 7 Summis Club:  

The climb was difficult. We were waiting for weather for four days. Then the one-day window has appeared, but it was necessary to begin (the first two days) in difficult weather conditions. In the first day porters refused to start. But as a result, I think, they were satisfied that they managed to reach Nido de Condores. It is good that we have put up earlier a big stationary tent – it has helped out us, because in this place to put tents on such weather is problematic. In day of summit bid some teams turned back, some refused. But the team named “Good, Bad and Angry” has shown an excellent spirit and strength of mind that has allowed to achieve result. Now we already are sitting and we waiting for a helicopter on Plaza de Mulas.

Sergey Larin: …. We climbed on top of Aconcagua …. went down to the Cholera camp. We all are fine. Detailed information - from Plas de Mulas. See you! Sergey Larin.

 Page of Facebook of Vasily Shakhnovsky

 Weather also created great difficulties. Strong wind didn't cease all the time of ascent, frequent and dense snow reduced visibility to several meters, the hard frost added to "pepper" to feelings.

 Nevertheless, in 12 hours the group reached top. The way back took about 2,5 hours. All people exhausted returned to the camp from which began the final storm. After a dinner, hot tea and spending the night in tents, next morning, they begin descent to the base camp. It is possible (if everything develops favorably)  tomorrow, having taken rest in the base camp, they will go down, having finished a route.

Group (all members) reached the summit of Kilimanjaro. All went down, everyone is healthy and happy!

Photo Anton Pavlov on the top!

In recent days, the storm was raging on the slopes of the highest mountain in South America,  rare  for local conditions. Now the weather forecast give a chance, and we have no time for waiting. Our team under the leadership of Sergey Larin enters  for the decisive attempt to climb Aconcagua…