7 Summits Club company news

Explorersweb (By Angela Benavides). Kazakh Vasili Pivtsov, Alex Sofrygin and Ildar Gabassov bagged the summit of Khan Tengri in northern Tien Shan, yesterday. This is only the third ever summit of the peak in winter - the two previous took place in February - yesterday's success is the first in the deep cold of January.

“Without exaggerating, winter conditions in Northern Tien Shan are usually harder than in winter Karakoram,” said ExWeb's correspondent in Kazakhstan Andrey Verkhovod, who provided the news.

Members of CSKA (Kazakhstan Army Sports Club) Vaso, Alex and Ildar summited Khan Tengri (7010m) yesterday at 2:30pm local time, and made it safely back to C3 (at 5,900m on the col between Kang Tengri and Peak Chapaev) for the night.

Fast push up the northern route

The entire climb was done in full winter time and rather fast: the team was airlifted to Khan’s north side BC on Jan 8th, and set up the two lower camps during their acclimatization process up the normal northern route which, in spite of the “normal” tag, is rather hard: 5b in Soviet scale, and with the most difficult section (mixed terrain, a steep couloir and a wind-exposed ridge) from 6,700m to the top.

Expedition leader Maxut Zhumayev had to be airlifted back to Almaty due to acute pulmonary problems.

Vaso, Alex, Ildar and Dmitry Khonin launched the final summit push on January 16. They set up C3 on Jan 18 and spent the following day waiting out a wind storm. Three of the climbers topped out yesterday in very hard weather that forced back Dmitry. The climbers were expected back in BC today.

First time in the coldest month

After Pobeda, Khan Tengri is the second northernmost 7000er in the world. The only two previous winter summits on Khan Tengri (in 1993 and 2002) were achieved in February, when conditions are not as tough as January’s.

The expedition was mainly supported by Kazakhstani Ecological Union Tabigat, led by Mels Eliusizov, and hoped to raise attention towards the Winter Asian Games that are due to start on January 30, in Kazakhstan.

Our friend the president of the Federation of Mountaineering of Azerbaijan Israfil Ashurly continues to show incredible activity. Recently, he completed an international course judges of ice-climbing and going the entire season to do the judging at various competitions in different countries. In the winter he will take a course of ice climbing in Chamonix. And at the end of March, Israfil will go to the Himalayas, where he join an expedition led by Alexei Bolotov, that will climb Kanchenjunga. By the way, Alexei has already climbed 10 eightthousander, and puts the real aim of completion of the program of 14 eight-thousanders in the near future. Important, he's got K2 behind him..

Together with the 7 Summits Club Israfil Ashurly made climbing Mount McKinley, Aconcagua, Vinson, Everest, Carstensz, Cho-Oyu.

Israfil in our office

 Three Ukrainian mountaineers Vladimir Roshko, Nicholay Shimko and Dmitry Nechiporenko from the city of Sumy have been trapped in a snowdrift on the Mount Blanc since Thursday (11th of January) spending Sunday night, their fifth night outside. Around 13:30 on Monday (17th of January), a PGHM helicopter managed to take off in the direction of the Col de Brenva towards the Mont Blanc to rescue the stranded climbers. Rescuers found the three men at 4300m in good health although somewhat famished!

 Bad weather including strong winds has prevented rescue teams to successfully extract the stranded climbers. The three Ukrainian climbers left Wednesday morning on a ski tour up the col de la Brenva, by Thursday the three men found themselves stranded at 4303 meters due to deteriorating weather conditions. Fortunately the team were well equipped and in good health so decided to set up bivouac.

"The weather conditions were extremely difficult again on Sunday, with cloudy weather and strong winds. But these seasoned mountaineers have high morale and improved weather conditions are announced for late Monday morning" should make a rescue possible says the PGHM in Chamonix. Chamonet.com.

On the way back at Budapest

The whole group went down to Mendoza, after a hard climb of Aconcagua. Strong winds brought a lot of trouble to our climbers. Six of our climbers were forced to go down faster than expected. They benefited from a rescue helicopter, as they had frostbite. No serious injuries, but for any risk elimination. The group is now preparing to celebrate the birthday of our best, beloved guide Viktor Bobkov. He is 50 years old. We wish him health and new summits !

Reached the summit: Denis Abuev, Igor Barabeshkin, Alexey Boutin, Alexander Viktorov, Igor Kadochin Pavel Laktyushkin, Boris Pavlov, Igor Cherkashin. As well as our guides: Victor Bobock and Olga Rumyantseva, and local woman-guide Mara Bareibo.

Victor Bobok was born in Ukraine in 1961. He has a degree in economics. Victor began mountain climbing in 1978. Master of Sports in mountaineering. In the national team of Russia he has climbed a record route on Everest on the north face in 2004. In 2009, Victor climbed Everest from the south. The first Ukrainian ascended the Seven Summits in 2006. He lives in Moscow and has 6 children.

Call. Short information from Victor Bobok, directly from the summit of Aconcagua. Eight members of the expedition reached the summit: Denis Abuev, Igor Barabeshkin, Alexey Boutin, Alexander Viktorov, Igor Kadochin Pavel Laktyushkin, Boris Pavlov, Igor Cherkashin. As well as our guides: Victor Bobock and Olga Rumyantseva. Plus one local guide, thanks to him ! Weather conditions are very heavy, strong winds, fog and cold. But it was the same all season. The average success rate on Aconcagua at this moment is around 20%. We have - 70% ! We wish to our team a successful descent and waiting forward messages already from lower camps.

Other members of Alexei Vaulin, Nadezhda Goncharuk, Alexander Smirnov and Alexander Savotkina refused to climb for different reasons, but they are okay.

It is the second week of strikes against the rise of gas prices in Punta Arenas and the surrounding areas in southern Chile. All transport routes from the city and in the city are blocked. Barricades. Shops and institutions are closed. Cars and trucks go through the city, continuous signaling, with demonstrators, drumming on pans and basin. Cormorants and penguins huddled on abandoned piers and look with amazement at the crazed city.

 Yesterday, Saturday, 15th of January, we made a second attempt to fly to Antarctica on the Union Glacier. For this purpose it was necessary to walk 25 km through 4 strike cordons. After the passage of the first cordon, our group of 19 people divided into several groups. We were warned that those who will not reach in time - that does not fly. Pensioners went on military equipment (79-year-old former U.S. Senator and former French Prime Minister), the French went by sea. We walked a part of the way between the cordons, then we drove by a passing car, the last segment after the 4 th cordon we went at a luggage truck.

After two hours of waiting in the airport, head of the ALE Company Peter MacDowell announced that a flight is delayed for 3-4 days, due to the breakdown of one of engine. Peter suggested three options: to hang, strangle or shoot himself. Or:

1. Wait for the next departure

2. Move Antarctica for the next season

3. Get their money back.

We chose the first one!

Unfortunately, Michail Karisalov was forced to fly home, ending the expedition, on business reason.

Hello ! I am pleased to greet you from Antarctica. The latest climb was over on January 5, and since then we sit on the Union Glacier camp, expecting our fourth group, which will arrive on the Vinson Massif. And we look forward for Igor Grishkov, which must fly from Punta Arenas to climb Mount Sidley. We, I, Alexander Abramov, who has a birthday today, Coco Popescu and Mario Trimeri. In the area of Union Glacier is very fun, there are more than 70 people sitting in the camp. Due to the fact that earlier in the week in Chile began rioting and strikes, our team was not able to fly from Punta Arenas. 50 people could not get to the airport. Finally, yesterday, they broke through the barricades, walked 30 km and reached the airport. But it is occurred that a plane engine was broken.

Union Glacier - it's just an ideal place for mountaineering in Antarctica. Around is a set of mountains, which no one has yet climbed. Many climbers make ascents right now.

A lot of interesting people is now in the camp. Every day, everyone gathers in a large tent, where there is a big TV, computers. People regularly give lectures, telling what they know about Antarctica, about the world around us, about the Globe, about global problems. We watch movies, play cards. Perfect weather, no wind, the sun shines. Snow shines around. The temperature outside is minus five - minus twelve, and in tents - plus. We are here for 11-12 days, in principle, we do not complain. We are fed well. So do not worry for us. We are waiting for the next group and still hope. .

Igor Grishkov came in this Chilean city the first from this group. He should go with Alex Abramov to the highest volcanoes of the Antarctic continent, Mount Sidley. Then he, with Andrei Belov (a pilot of IL-76), met the rest of the group, going on Mount Vinson. This is Michael Karisalov, Vadim Nadvodnyuk, Nikolai Stepanenko, Mikhail Turovsky.. In this group, all members are experienced hikers and climbers, so they are easy to learn in this southern city, visited penguins, well, the best local restaurants. As long as everything goes according to plan and perhaps a few hours later they were already fly to Antarctica.

Alex Abramov with Coco Popescu and Mario Trimeri rest on the base camp of Union Glacier. In warm and comfortable conditions, they are preparing for a new challenge, flight to the enigmatic volcano Sidley. Alex Abramov have a lot of talking with the guides from other companies. So Abramov is discussed with Vern Tejas a new idea: to sail to Antarctica on a yacht, then to ascend the Erebus and then go by ski to the South Pole. Cool idea !

Maxim Bogatyrev remains at the base camp of Vinson, protets tents and waits for an arrival of friends. .

HIGH RISK: Lonnie Dupre cites historic climbers as inspiration. January 7th, 2011-- Polar explorer Lonnie Dupre departed today for the Kahiltna Glacier located at the base of Denali, aka Mount McKinley, in Alaska. Dupre is attempting the first solo January ascent of Denali.

By adn.com. A Minnesota man known for his polar adventures got an extra day Wednesday to think about -- and fatten up for -- his quest to become the first person to make a solo ascent of Mount McKinley in the dead of winter.

A storm delayed Lonnie Dupre's plans to leave Talkeetna for the mountain. He said in a telephone interview that he'd use the time to shovel in more calories to fuel his body for a trek that is likely to last three or four weeks.

If the delay also fueled his anxiety over the high-risk climb, he wasn't letting on.

"It's good to have a little bit of nervousness going into it, because you always have that going into a project that's on the edge," Dupre, 49, said. "But once you get there and kind of get in tune with your environment, then you begin relaxing.

"... I'm not even thinking about the summit, actually. I'm just thinking about getting out there and doing some winter camping and moving my little legs in the right direction."

Dupre hopes to go where few men and no women have gone before: to the top of 20,320-foot McKinley in the winter.

To make things more interesting, he plans to go alone and in January -- something that only a few others have tried, none of them successfully.

Of the 16 people who have stood atop McKinley between the winter solstice and the spring equinox, only four made the trip alone, and the body of the first -- Japan's Naomi Uemura, who died on his descent -- remains somewhere on the mountain.

Only one team has reached the summit in January, when 5 1/2 hours is it for daylight -- Russians Artur Testov and Vladimir Ananich on Jan. 16, 1998. On March 8 of that same year, Japan's Masatoshi Kuriaki reached the summit to become the fourth man to make a solo winter ascent.

No one has successfully climbed North America's tallest peak in the winter since then, though there have been several attempts.

"We always seem to have anywhere from one to four or five people each winter," said Missy Smothers of the Denali Park Service. "It's exciting, but we always hold our breath."

And for good reason.

There are no rangers and no base camp operations on McKinley during the winter, when whiteouts, howling winds and deep snow make travel more treacherous than usual. Of the 16 who have summited in the winter, two died on their way down. Another four died on their way up, including a member of the expedition that put Dave Johnston, Art Davidson and Ray Genet on the summit in March 1967, marking the first winter ascent of the mountain.

Dupre, who lives in Grand Marais, Minn., knew about some of Denali's winter history when he decided this summer, shortly after his first McKinley climb, to make a solo winter attempt.

"Actually, Naomi Uemura was an inspiration to me years ago because he was first a polar explorer," Dupre said. "I knew about his death on Mount McKinley back in 1984, and it's always been on mind -- Naomi and that mountain -- since 1984."

Dupre worked as a commercial fisherman in Bristol Bay from 1983 to 1986, a period during which he spent the winter of 1985 by himself in the Brooks Range.

"That started everything rolling," he said. "I've been running around the Arctic and polar regions now for 25 years."

Dupre's resume is an impressive one. In 2006, he and Eric Larsen of Grand Marais traveled 600 miles from Canada to the North Pole, pulling and paddling canoes over shifting sea ice. In 2001 he and John Hoelscher of Australia became the first people to circumnavigate Greenland, dogsledding and kayaking the 6,517 miles in three stages. In the winter of 1991-92, he and Malcolm Vance of Shishmaref mushed 3,000 miles from Prudhoe Bay to Churchill, Manitoba. And in 1989, he was a member of the Bering Bridge Expedition that mushed and skied 1,000 miles along the Siberian and Alaska coasts.

"I love winter," Dupre said.

He knows how to travel, camp and survive in temperatures that plummet well below zero.

But he isn't a mountain climber.

"I did a little training prior to June and then came to Denali," Dupre said. "We had some basics of mountaineering, and we just decided to be cautious and take our time and we were successful. We made it to the summit in 13 days.

"... As I was traveling up the mountain, I started thinking maybe I should make an attempt to do Denali in the winter."

Along the way, Dupre met Vern Tejas, who in March 1988 became the first person to make a successful solo winter ascent of McKinley. Uemura made it to the top of Denali on his solo trip in February 1984, but because he died on his way down, his is not considered a "successful" ascent.

"I visited with Vern quite a bit on Denali last spring," Dupre said. "I picked his brain a little about snow caves and about the route."

Back in Minnesota after his climb, Dupre started planning a return trip to McKinley. He contacted Tejas and Testov, who may be Denali's most experienced winter climber, having made four attempts and succeeding once. Last March, Testov and partner Christine Feret spent 12 days trapped in a snow cave at 10,000 feet before turning back.

"We threw a bunch of information back and forth, and I think I've got a good game plan," Dupre said.

Dupre said he chose to climb in January not so much because he could make history with the first solo ascent in the dead of winter but because he thinks he might get better weather than if he waited until February or March, when there is more daylight.

"I've done a lot of travel in the winter, and the dark part doesn't bother me," he said. "When I did a little research, I learned there's a little less precipitation in January, which means less snow, which means better visibility."

He'll pull a sled packed with 175 pounds of gear and supplies up the popular West Buttress route. He said he has enough food and fuel to last 38 days, though he's hopeful he won't be on the mountain that long.

"My first goal is the 7,800 (foot) mark, which is before you start climbing up the glacier," Dupre said.

After that, his plan includes stops at 9,700 feet, 11,200 feet, 13,500 feet, 14,200 feet, 17,200 feet, "and then the summit," he said.

Mount McKinley winter ascents

A climb is considered a winter ascent if the summit day falls between the Dec. 21 winter solstice and the March 21 spring equinox. Though numerous winter attempts have been made, only 16 climbers have made it to the summit. Six have died in the attempt, including three Japanese climbers who died on the West Buttress somewhere between 16,000 and 18,200 feet on Feb. 22, 1989.

Nine expeditions have put men atop McKinley in the winter:

• Feb. 28, 1967 -- Americans Dave Johnston, Art Davidson and Ray Genet, West Buttress route. Team member Jacques Batkin of France died on the ascent.

• March 7, 1982 -- England's Roger Mear and American Mike Young, Cassin Ridge.

• March 11, 1983 -- American Charlie Sassara and Robert Frank, West Rib. Frank died on the descent.

• Feb. 12, 1984 -- Japan's Naomi Uemura, West Buttress. Uemura vanished on the descent between 16,000 and 18,200 feet. First solo ascent.

• March 7, 1988 -- American Vern Tejas, West Buttress. First successful solo ascent.

• Feb. 20, 1989 -- Austrians Steinmassle Helmut, Helmut Mittermyer and Laserer Walder, West Buttress.

• March 11, 1989 -- American Dave Staeheli, West Rib.

• Jan. 16, 1998 -- Russians Artur Testov and Vladimir Ananich, West Buttress. First ascent in dead of winter.

• March 8, 1998 -- Japan's Masatoshi Kuriaki, West Buttress.

Source: Denali National Park

Our story began with a casual conversation. Ken Huff was telling a friend about the time he climbed Mount Kilimanjaro a few years ago. It was, Huff told his friend, "an absolutely phenomenal experience."

Well, ya think? Kilimanjaro rises 19,341 feet above Tanzania. It is the highest mountain on the continent of Africa; climbers who reach its peak can look down on the clouds.

That experience alone can put any number of things into perspective, including the relative importance of "fame" — in this case, the 11 years Huff spent in the National Football League as a guard for the Baltimore Colts and Washington Redskins.

"You feel so insignificant. You're so high up. You see the majestic view, the sun coming up over the sea of clouds," Huff said. "You realize you really are on top of the world. We're put on this planet — this huge, wonderful planet — and we're just passers-by."

Huff's friend wondered if he'd ever again want to tackle the mountain. He thought about it a moment, then answered, "Yes, if we did it for a reason instead of just doing it."

Grand ideas are born from such moments. Huff, indeed, is going back to Kilimanjaro in February and he'll take several companions along for the climb, among them former Buffalo Bills and Hall of Fame guard Joe DeLamielleure, 59, and a gentleman named Tommy Rieman.

Rieman is a sergeant in the U.S. Army and was awarded the Silver Star after he was shot twice and sustained 11 shrapnel wounds during a battle in Iraq. He also helped set up a perimeter during the battle so medics could safely evacuate other wounded.

Rieman spoke at the Hall of Fame dinner when the Super Bowl was in Tampa two years ago. DeLamielleure was in the crowd that day and the two have been friends since.

"Joe's always up for something crazy," Rieman said.

That's certifiable. Recently, DeLamielleure and a couple of college roommates rode bikes about 2,000 miles from Michigan to Mexico for a good cause. It was the first time he had done something like that. Who's going to back down from a mountain now?

"He called me up and said, 'I want you for this,' and I'm like, 'OK,' " Rieman said. "Neither of us has climbed before, but if you can achieve the summit you can do anything. That's the message we're trying to send."

As if surviving two bullets and 11 pieces of shrapnel while saving several fellow soldiers isn't message enough.

"Sometimes when I get introduced, they call me a hero. Hero, my butt," DeLamielleure said. "I'm an entertainer. I'm an offensive guard who played football. Tommy guards our country. Hearing his story got me very motivated."

That's how it works. One step leads to the next one, and now the reason Huff needed to climb Kilimanjaro again has been realized. He and his fellow hikers will raise money to benefit Wounded Warriors, a private operation that provides help to severely injured soldiers.

"I don't think God put me in the Hall of Fame just because I played football," DeLamielleure said. "We can do a lot of good with our notoriety."

If you can think of a better gift in this season of giving, it must be really special.

"Just because someone is wounded, life isn't over," Huff said. "There is still a lot they can do. I played golf about a month ago with a triple-amputee — lost both of his legs and one arm. He has three artificial limbs and he's a single-digit handicapper, and I'm lucky to break 100."

Huff, 57, and friends are counting on the publicity from this climb to spur donations for the cause. They've set up a website — bootsandcleatsonthesummit.com — to provide additional info about the project as well, of course, as a place to contribute money.

There are many Wounded Warrior chapters, including one in Clearwater. You may have seen them at such events as the Gasparilla Distance Classic. They are amazing people, both those who give and those who receive.

That takes us back to the mountain, which serves as both a metaphor for this story and real-life challenge. Kilimanjaro can be tamed, but not without a fight. An estimated one-third of those who try to scale it fall short. Recently, Martina Navratilova abandoned her quest to get to the top when one of her lungs collapsed in the thin air.

"It's the most physically demanding thing I've ever done, all (NFL) training camps included. It's all because of the lack of oxygen and altitude," Huff said.

"The last mile you hike, they wake you up at midnight and you start hiking at 1 a.m. because there's more oxygen in the air at that time. You arrive at the summit at sunrise, above the clouds. It's hard to describe what that is like. You are literally on top of the world."

That's where we came in. Someone asked Ken Huff if he'd climb Kilimanjaro again and he answered yes. All he needed was a reason, and now he has one.

"I just like doing stuff," he said.

It's a lot more than just that.

"People take for granted the freedoms we have," DeLamielleure said. "We have to remember the sacrifice these guys have made for us. We have to help them."

By JOE HENDERSON | The Tampa Tribune  Published: December 24, 2010

January 6, Alexander Abramov, passed the information from the base Union Glacier .. The Polish part of the group had already flown to the mainland. Alexander Abramov, Coco Popescu and Mario Trimeri are resting on the base. They are waiting for a new group, which is scheduled to be flown the 10 th of January and ready to fly to the area of the volcano Sedley. Maxim Bogatyrev stayed at the base camp of Vinson.

By the way, we congratulate Maxim Bogatyrev with a completion of the project Seven Summits! We wish him to replenish his collection of summits, climb its for second and third time, reach Carstensz, and the Poles!

Actually, it is the entire message. We are very pleased and we congratulate our guides Alexander Abramov and Maxim Bogatyrev. And the team: Zygmunt Wladyslaw Berdychowski, Roman Ludwik Dzida, Daniel Mizera, Malgorzata Bozena Pierz-Pekala (all – Poland), Crina “Coco” Popescu (Romania), Mario Trimeri (Italy).

We hope that all arrive safely at the Union Glacier Base, and then their ways will separate. Alexander Abramov, Coco Popescu and Mario Trimeri will fly to the other side of Antarctica, to climb the highest volcano of the continent Mount Sidley. Maxim Bogatyrev will our next group on Vinson and the Polish team will fly home.

Good luck!

Hello!

It is Alex Abramov, from Antarctica. Beautiful weather. December, 31 has been changed to January 1, 2011 ... Yesterday we flew to the base camp of Mount Vinson ... Rangers from ALE company gave us a super holiday party. They laid a table just on the snow, out of tents. Can you imagine: the New Year party, which takes place in the sun, among the white snows of Antarctica, among the mountains. View of the Vinson, the weather is pretty ... Vern Tejas played harmonica. All danced who could, we drank champagne, bottles of 6-7, then throw the whiskey in the pot. Here are a few teams: Alpine Ascents, Adventure Consultants, International Mountain Guides ... In general, all Americans, and only we – not Americans. We have a team of Polish, Russian, Romanian and one Italian. Well, in general, international team, mostly talking in Russian, English, Polish, Romanian and Italian .. In general, all are very happy. And tomorrow we're going to move to High Camp. Well, in general, we have fun here ...

Super.

Goodbye!

Photos from 20056 expedition

Hello, today the 29 th of December. Ilyushin came ... Some of our clients has departed, a part of our team, part of the Ukrainian, has remained in Antarctica ... to work on their plans. Now a new group arrives, I'll be working with them on the Mount of Vinson, two weeks. January 10th expedition to the highest volcano of Antarctica Mount Sidley will starts. Good mood, I was able to bathe, wash, even socks and underwear ... some... So, life is good. In Antarctica, the weather is fine, the sun is shining, no wind. Everything is super.

Goodbye!

Good luck!

Happy New Year, Happy New Year!

The new team arrived. Coco cried: her dad stayed on the continent, now his role should be to take on Alex Abramov.

Thу Team: Zygmunt Wladyslaw Berdychowski, Roman Ludwik Dzida, Daniel Mizera, Malgorzata Bozena Pierz-Pekala (all – Poland), Crina Popescu (Romania), Mario Trimeri (Italy)

Unloaded, settled and began to celebrate the anniversary of our second gude Maxim Bogatyrev.

Maxim Bogatyrev turned 35 !

We send heartfelt congratulations to him ! We wish to successfully climb to the top of the seventh!
Max - a real hero, a great climber, guide, big fan of the sport, bright and strong personality.
Good health and good luck to you!

The management of ALE announced that a flight of the aircraft from Punta Arenas to Antarctica will be held on December 29. On the eve of the last of team members arrived in this Chilean city. It is "the best rating (18 points) of the members of the 7 Summits Club” 58-year-old Italian, Mario Trimeri. & Summits Club international team led by Maxim Bogatyrev finalized preparations and awaits commands.

Good luck to you !

Group members: Zygmunt Wladyslaw Berdychowski, Roman Ludwik Dzida, Daniel Mizera, Malgorzata Bozena Pierz-Pekala (all Poland), Crina Popescu (Romania), Mario Trimer (Italy). Guides: Alex Abramov and Maxim Bogatyrev.

We stay on the highest peak in Antarctica: Alexander Abramov, Dmitry Kolotiy and Andrey Podolyan. We have a strong, powerful team, climbing was done very quickly. The weather is perfect, I never have seen such weather on the Vinson. Now we're going to undress from the waist up for making pictures. Undress completely is impossible because of the harness. Ten minutes later Donetsk team will begin to approach. For Sergei Kovalev it will be the completion of the program "Seven Summits". This evening and at night we hope to celebrate this event already in the base camp. We have there 4 bottles of vodka. On the way we collect intermediate camps, and leave all equipment at the base camp for the next our group. We want to fly the 28 th to the Union Glacier and we have a chance ...

Best regards !

Thank you for your support!

Photos from the expeditions of previous years

www.737challenge.com.  27th December 2010. Richard Parks completed the first leg of his world first 737 Challenge this morning, arriving at the South Pole and completing the first of 3 poles he will face during his 7-month race to climb the highest mountain on each of the world’s continents and venture to The South and Geographical North Poles.

Richard arrived at the pole at 6.10 am UK time, 3.10am Chilean time and 7.10pm local time.

Richard will now stay on the South Pole, the southernmost point on the surface of the Earth until January 1st to ensure he reaches all poles within the same calendar year, ensuring his world record is complete at the end of the challenge.

The world's 3 Poles are The South Pole, The Geographic North Pole and the summit of Everest. The top, bottom and roof of the world. Today marked a historical day for Richard and his incredible world first expedition.

Richard Parks
BORN IN PONTYPRIDD, WALES, 14TH AUGUST 1977.
Richard Parks is a former Welsh international rugby player, earning caps against South Africa, Fiji, Scotland and Ireland. He also represented the Barbarians and Wales Sevens on the IRB world circuit and in the World Cup.

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December 26 Two teams of Austrian and German television (ORF and ZDF) have passed the midpoint of their media race "Wettlauf zum Südpol". The full length of the route - 400 km. In accordance with the plan at half-way a stop has been made. Primarily for medical purposes. Doctors banned from further participation Alex Serdyukov from the team of Austria due of frostbitten fingers. They are confident that everything will be without serious consequences. Last part or route, Sabrina Grillitsch, Tom Walek and Hermann Maier will go at three. This is a minimal quantity for allowed for finish.

Hello !

Today, 26th of December. The full team climbed to the High Camp and now ... the main thing is, that we all got it, and tomorrow in the morning, at 9 a.m., we start for climbing the summit. To raise flags sponsors on the top, who has this flags. Well, in general, the weather is excellent, the mood is perfect, we ate, drank ... well, not without it…

Dima showed enthusiasm, broke a saw and two shovels, digging up our tents from ... from the snow ....

Well, in general, everything is OK, tomorrow at 9 a.m., we go. The mood is great. And  27 th of December we want immediately to get down to the base camp. We hope to fly next day to the Union Glacier.

Bye, everyone !

Good luck !