"7 Volcanoes" project news - Page 2

Greetings from sunny Mexico! Today, the "Equipo de Orizaba" group set off for an acclimatization climb to La Malinche Peak. The route from the entrance to the National Park to the summit took us 5 hours and 42 minutes. We climbed faster than expected. The route is very picturesque: it begins in a pine forest, then passes through a small section of alpine meadows, and then reaches the rocky pre-summit area. The summit itself is compact; our entire large team (17 people) barely fit on top.
Afterward, we descended along the same route we had climbed. Tomorrow, we'll travel to the base camp at Orizaba Peak. The group guides are Andrey Berezin and Valery Myasoedov.

Greetings from sunny Mexico! Yesterday, the "Equipo de Orizaba" group visited the Teotiocan pyramids, some of the oldest in the world. Afterward, we had lunch at a picturesque restaurant located in a natural grotto. After lunch, we headed to the hacienda in the town of Soltepec. Tomorrow, we'll set off on an acclimatization climb to the summit of La Malinche, at 4,200 meters. Guides Andrey Berezin and Valery Myasoedov.

The 7 Summits Club super guide Olya Rumyantseva reports from Mexico:
Greetings from Mexico from the Axolotl and Friends group! Today we had an acclimatization day on the slopes of Volcan Orizaba. After spending the night at base camp at 4,200 meters, admiring the starry sky and the huge moon, we went for a short walk after breakfast. We ascended to 4,750 meters, the location of our summit camp. Everyone is in great spirits and feeling great. The views are stunning.
After lunch, we checked our gear. We adjusted our crampons to our boots and our harnesses to our climbers. Tomorrow we will ascend to the summit camp and set out tonight for the ascent to Orizaba's summit.

Greetings from sunny Mexico! The ascent of Pico Orizaba (5,536 m) has begun. We met all the participants today. We settled into the hotel and had a gear check. In the evening, we had a welcome dinner. Tomorrow we'll travel to Soltepec, visiting the Teotiocan pyramids along the way.
Group guides: Andrey Berezin and Valery Myasoedov.

The 7 Summits Club guide Olya Rumyantseva reports from Mexico:
Greetings from Mexico from the "Axolotl" group! Today we left civilization behind and climbed the slopes of Orizaba, where we'll spend the next three days. Today was a day of travel. First, we arrived in the village of Zoapan, where our partners' base is located. We picked up the missing gear. We loaded everything into jeeps and drove along a very winding and dusty road. But at least it offered beautiful views. We settled into base camp at 4,100 meters.

Greetings from Tanzania! We continue publishing our Kilimanjaro expedition diary.
Day 2. We arrived at the gate, completed all the paperwork, ate, and set out on a trek through the beautiful jungle. Today was one of the most beautiful treks on the entire route, although each day was unique, beautiful in its own way.
The trail ran through equatorial forest with giant trees, vines, lichens, and tree ferns for almost the entire day. Closer to camp, the forest gave way to thickets of giant heather. Along the way, we were accompanied by monkeys, bridges, and waterfalls.
We rose above the clouds. We arrived at Mandara Camp at 2800 meters, at the upper tree line. We settled in, discussed our plans for the next day, and settled in for a well-deserved rest.
7 Summits Club guides Alexander Dorojukov and Leuan Atabiyev.

The 7 Summits Club guide Olya Rumyantseva sends a message from Mexico:
Greetings from Mexico to everyone from the Axolotl group! Our group is the first of many the 7 Summits Club groups this fall to travel across Mexico, from summit to summit, toward North America's highest volcano, Orizaba.
Yesterday, we warmed up by climbing pyramids. Today, we had another acclimatization day and our first volcano, La Malinche. At almost 4,500 meters, we summited it as a team after a wonderful walk through a beautiful forest, a long climb over rocks, and even some rock climbing at the end.
The climb to La Malinche was challenging for everyone, but everyone accomplished the task brilliantly. Tomorrow, better acclimatized and almost rested, we will climb to the first camp on the slopes of the Orizaba volcano.

 Greetings from the slopes of Kilimanjaro in Tanzania! Everything is on schedule; our group is descending to the gates of the national park and should be back at the hotel today for a celebratory dinner and party celebrating the end of the program.

While we wait for details and photos from the group, we are publishing the travel diary of Sergey Sedov, who reached the summit of Kilimanjaro in three days.

 Sergey Sedov:

Arriving a day late, I decided to catch up with the group immediately. The expedition organizers were understanding and provided me with a local guide, porter, and transportation, for which I am eternally grateful. My physical condition allows me to undertake long treks upward, and in the end, Francis and I ran from the entrance to the national park to Horombo Hut in one day—or more precisely, six hours—covering 19 km and gaining 2,300 meters in altitude (from 1,450 to 3,750 meters).

 Having met the group there, the guides and expedition organizers and I discussed the option of continuing the climb separately at our own pace. Francis supported my idea of going to Base Camp the next day and immediately attempting the summit. This was his first attempt, but he was confident in both himself and me. I had arrived on Kilimanjaro after the Nepalese mountains and was well acclimatized with plenty of altitude to spare.

 The next day, when the group set out on an acclimatization radial hike, we continued our trek and reached Kibo Base Camp in three and a half hours. There we had lunch, held a briefing, and headed off to prepare for the summit push.

 We set out for the summit push at precisely midnight. We walked at a steady, confident, and steady pace, taking our time. We took our first short break at 3:00 AM, rested at 4:00 AM at Gilmansa Point, and then leisurely trudged to the summit, reaching it precisely at 6:00 AM. A blistering gust of wind awaited us there, so after quickly snapping a couple of photos, we descended at 6:15 AM. We had plenty of energy, the sun was warm, and our legs ran naturally down. In the end, the descent took only 1:40.

 At Base Camp, we changed clothes, packed our things, and set about executing another daring plan: to descend to the very entrance of the national park not just in one day, but before 5:00 PM.

 On the way back, we met our guys and wished them a successful summit push. In Horombo, we took a quick lunch break, in Mandara we treated ourselves to another half-hour rest, and by 4:40 PM, Francis and I were hugging at the entrance to the national park.

 I won't lie, the last few kilometers were incredibly difficult. By this point, everything was aching, but we persevered, kept up the pace, and continued down. It's no joke, we covered 40 km that day, including the summit push.

 In total, the entire program took us just three days. In short:

44 hours from start to summit.

4,450 m – elevation gain during this time.

34 km – ascent.

40 km covered on summit push day.

Total time: 54 hours 40 minutes.

Total distance: 68 km.

 Also on the descent, halfway between Horombo and Mandara, we met a legend of our mountaineering, Uncle Vitya, whom we had recently seen in Namche Bazaar and Kathmandu.

 In conclusion, I want to say that I didn't initially plan to set any records or chase time. It just happened that way. Appetite comes with eating. I want to thank the 7 Summits Club team for their flexibility and prompt problem-solving. I especially appreciate the exceptional level of organization—I had access to exactly the same facilities as the rest of the group the entire time.

And Francis and I became very close during this time. It even felt like we spent much more time with him than just three days.

 To be continued!

Photos and videos by the author - Sergey Sedov

The 7 Summits Club Guide Olya Rumyantseva reports from Mexico:

Greetings to everyone from Mexico, where we are beginning the climbing season on Orizaba! Today, the first large group, with the very Mexican name "Axolotl," began their journey to the summit of North America's highest volcano. We began our journey by exploring Mexico's most famous pyramids—the Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon in the ancient city of Teotihuacan. Or rather, we tried to begin with a hot air balloon ride over the pyramids. But, alas. There was fog all morning, so the flights were canceled. And those balloonists who did manage to take off saw nothing but fog. We weren't too upset; we did some exercises with the hot air balloons as a backdrop, and then went for a walk around the pyramids and listened to amazing stories. Later in the evening we moved to the La Malinche volcano, which we will visit tomorrow for acclimatization.

Hello everyone! Recently, there were reports online of unrest in Tanzania related to the presidential elections and the usual disgruntled opposition and unrest related to it.

To quell the unrest, the internet was shut down throughout the country, and our guides sent short updates on the expedition's progress only via text messages. The situation is now improving, and communication is being restored.

 Our group is fine, everything is according to plan. The team is currently summiting and descending.

 But first things first.

 Expedition Diary

 Day 1. Our guides arrived in Tanzania and are fully prepared to welcome the group. Our team was unable to depart as scheduled the following day due to flight cancellations and delays due to the situation in Tanzania. But we managed to overcome the situation, and the entire group assembled in Moshi, the meeting point before heading into the mountains.

 Only one member arrived a day later than the group and was catching up individually. Looking ahead, I'll say that, due to his excellent physical condition and acclimatization in the Himalayas, our Sergey caught up with the group in one day instead of the planned two. He gained such momentum and got into the swing of things that he couldn't stop, overtook the group, and climbed Kilimanjaro in three days instead of the planned six. Sergey is now back at the hotel with a new summit on his list of accomplishments and is waiting for the rest of the guys at the hotel tomorrow.

You can't imagine how much joy it was to see and meet everyone at Kilimanjaro Airport. After all, difficulties bring a team together and unite.

 All the formalities have been completed, the equipment has been selected and checked, the introduction stage has been completed, the first batch of photos for Instagram and Stories have been taken. Note: Friendship won the high jump competition with the Maasai. The Maasai have a tradition that the strongest man is the one who can jump the highest.

Guides: Alexander Dorojukov and Leuan Atabiev.

Alexander Abramov, leader of the "Super Dogs on Elbrus" expedition, reports from the Elbrus region:

 The Super Dogs project on Elbrus. SUMMIT!!! Today, October 18th, a historic event took place. Three Sherpa dogs, Mingma, Pemba, and Lhakpa, reached the summit of Elbrus, working as sled dogs. They pulled climbers Alexander Abramov, Viktor Simonov, and Ilya Gladkikh.

As a result, the team of three dogs and three climbers ascended from an altitude of 5,100 meters to the summit in 3.5 hours. It's interesting that these dogs pull sleds in winter, but they've never been to the mountains. So, Elbrus is their first summit as dogs. The weather was terrible. After the summit, we descended in a blizzard and 50 km/h winds.

The route was in rough firn conditions, with some ice in places. The dogs proved themselves heroes.

The 7 Summits Club President Alexander Abramov flew to Moscow for 24 hours. Our captain took part in the 7 Summits Club's 18th anniversary celebration and was back at the Elbrus Refuge this morning. The weather is excellent and sunny, but windy, and the slopes are icy. Temperatures at the summit are forecast to be -30 degrees Celsius with winds of 50 km/h. Tonight, the group will attempt to climb Elbrus on dogsleds.

Alexander Abramov, leader of the "Super Dogs on Elbrus" expedition, reports from the Elbrus region:

 Today, the 7 Summits Club Super Dogs team climbed to our Refuge ("National Park") on the slopes of Elbrus at an altitude of 3,800 meters. Everything was covered in snow. They were digging out the cabins. The dogs were the main attraction on the cable car.

We settled into the shelter. We were in the cabins, our Chukchi sled dogs were on the snow. Everyone was comfortable.

Today, we made a test hike with the dogs to Refuge 11. The dogs immediately started pulling up, just like they would in a sled on snow. The speed was actually twice as fast as without the dogs. They pulled even better on the snow than yesterday on the rocks at Cheget. And they're less distracted. So far, the experiment is going great.

Tomorrow we'll try to climb Pastukhov Rocks. The weather, frankly, is bad. A blizzard. But the dogs are used to it. In Chukotka, in winter, they pull sleds and sleep outside at -50 degrees. So, Elbrus is a real treat for them. It's like a resort. But they're not climbing alone...

Alexander Abramov, leader of the "Sherpa Dogs on Elbrus" expedition from the Elbrus region:

 Today, October 14th, we made our first acclimatization ascent with dogs to the slopes of Mount Cheget. The result exceeded all expectations. All four dogs moved briskly upwards and pulled reliably. The ascent speed doubled. We reached the Ai Café in an hour and a half. The dogs are all renowned. They've been on the North Pole, but this is their first time in the mountains. Well done!

Tomorrow we're climbing to the refuge at 3,800 meters. There, we'll acclimatize the dogs and the participants for three days. The dogs have protective goggles. They don't like them much, though, and try to rip them off. I hope they get used to them.

 And there's another problem: these are running sled dogs. They pull not only up but also down. And that's dangerous. So we're getting used to each other. And we're trying to agree that the dogs will walk down together and not drag each other down. We're filming a movie.

Alexander Abramov, Viktor and Makar Simonov, Ilya Gladkikh.

Alexander Abramov, leader of the "Sherpa Dogs on Elbrus" expedition from the Elbrus region:

 Today marks the beginning of a new and unusual expedition for the 7 Summits Club to Elbrus. We will be climbing with Sherpa sled dogs. The thing is, the Chukchi sled dogs have been given Sherpa names: Mingma, Pemba, Pasang, and Lakpa. Their owner, the renowned polar explorer Viktor Simonov, believes they are ready to climb Elbrus. We are once again breaking new ground in mountaineering. The hardest part today was checking the dogs in as luggage. It took all day. We rescheduled our tickets twice, thanks to Aeroflot for being so accommodating!

The expedition stayed at the Povorot Hotel and began preparing for the Elbrus climb. The hardest part so far has been figuring out how to train the dogs to wear glasses. They're still a novelty for them. The group is scheduled to summit Elbrus in a week.

Today marks the beginning of a new and unusual expedition to Elbrus by the 7 Summits Club. We'll be climbing with Sherpa sled dogs. The Chukchi sled dogs are named after the Sherpas: Mingma, Pemba, Pasang, and Lakpa. Their owner, the famous polar explorer Viktor Simonov, believes they're ready to climb Elbrus. We're exploring a new direction in mountaineering again. The hardest part today was checking the dogs in as luggage. It took all day. We rescheduled our tickets twice, thanks to Aeroflot for being so accommodating!

 It's now 9:40 PM. We'll arrive in Mineralnye Vody at 1:30 AM. So, I'll send photos of the dogs tomorrow. For now, just our exhausted faces.

We face a second problem: finding crampons for our dogs.

Alexander Abramov, leader of the "Sherpa Dogs on Elbrus" expedition.

Greetings from Adyl-Su to everyone from the guides of the 7 Summits Club! Following our exercise regimen, we started the morning with a formation. Dmitry opened the lineup today. After that, we headed out to the slopes of Elbrus. The snow fell nonstop, accompanied by gusts of wind. We were the only ones on the slope. Apparently, there aren't many people here who enjoy being trapped in the snow!

We tramped through the snow, made our way through drifts, and demonstrated our belay skills. We checked the slope for avalanche danger. Overall, we lived up to our title of super guide, and our examination committee confirmed it.

Your super guides: Alexander Dorojukov, Evgeny Fedyunin, Dmitry Semenov, Kristina Putintseva.

Greetings from the 7 Summit Club guides from Adyl-Su! Early in the morning, we set out through the Dzhantugan alpine camp towards the Kashkatash Glacier. We showed each other how to properly cross rivers and navigate scree slopes. The higher we climbed, the more interesting and varied the terrain became, and an incredibly beautiful panorama from the glacier to the forest valley opened up before us. On the glacier, our examiners gave us very interesting tasks, so we didn't have time to get bored or freeze. We jumped into crevasses, pulled each other out…

All in all, we completed the tasks successfully, finishing everything before dusk.

 Your super guides:

Alexander Dorozhuk,

Evgeny Fedyunin,

Dmitry Semenov,

Kristina Putintseva.

Greetings from the super guides in the Adyl-Su Valley! There was a very strong thunderstorm last night that lasted all night... Luckily, the clouds began to clear in the morning, and we went to the rock module exams. We demonstrated our ascent and descent skills, organized rescue operations, and climbed various rock routes. Our examiners, strict and attentive, kept a close eye on us, and we joyfully completed all the tasks!

 Your guides:

Alexander Dorojukov, Evgeny Fedyunin, Dmitry Semenov, Kristina Putintseva.

The 7 Summits Club Guide Boris Egorov reports from the Elbrus region:

I thought I'd rest somewhere by the sea after climbing an eight-thousander, and then head back to Nepal, to Ama Dablam. But the mountains wouldn't let me go: I rushed to the Elbrus region for my guide certification. And there were new locations: the Dzhan-Tugan rock laboratory, the Kashkatash glacier, and the good old snow on Elbrus. I passed all my tests with flying colors. It's great when you love what you do!