At 11 pm Moscow time, our friends from the Transglobal Car Expedition arrived at the North Pole. This is a significant milestone in their incredible journey. There are still many challenges, worries, and problems ahead, but we can take a moment to celebrate! We congratulate our friends and are proud to call them our friends. Good luck on your way, and may fortune smile upon you!

 On March 28, the staff and friends of the 7 Summits Club and the 8000 Club summed up the results of the last season at the Winter 2024 After Party. We talked about our achievements over the past six months in Antarctica and South America. Those who closed the "Seven Psummits" and "Seven Volcanoes" programs over the past year were awarded.

And then we met the onset of a new season of climbing and trekking. Our climbing teams on Everest (two groups), Dhaulagiri, Lhotse and Kanchenjunga were solemnly conducted! Thanks to everyone who came and shared this little holiday with us!

The Transglobal Car Expedition continues despite the fact that one of its leaders, Alexander Abramov, had to leave it for a while due to the lawlessness of the Canadian authorities.  On March 21, the team covered 63 kilometers across the ice of the Arctic Ocean and got 55 kilometers closer to the pole. Now there are less than 700 km to the North Pole! The expedition set up camp at 83 degrees 47” north latitude. Fuel supplies are expected to be received from the air here.

 In general, the pace of progress has been stable over the past 10 days, thanks to the ice reconnaissance service. Only a couple of days were hampered by the lack of visibility and ice hummocks. One day there was a need to stop for a small repair. In general, cars do not fail.

The diary...

The Transglobal Car Expedition continues despite the fact that one of its leaders, Alexander Abramov, had to leave it for a while due to the lawlessness of the Canadian authorities.

March 1–5, 2024

We've left Resolute, Nunavut, the last community on our route before the North Pole. It was hard. We have to have everything we need for two to three months! But we are ready.

 166km achieved on the way to the North Pole, which is a really good pace. A few bits of difficult ice, but we think our satellite and radar images are helping a lot.

 March 6–10, 2024

We had interesting days working on our vehicles with the windbreak of the abandoned Isachsen weather station. We took breaks by exploring the buildings, but of course leaving everything intact as we found it. We also took a terrific trip a few km away to see a C-47 that crashed in 1949 with all eight on board suffering only minor injuries. A haunting but beautiful icon in the white desert.

 Then we got our first real taste of pack ice and open leads. There was a good amount of ice chipping to make a route over the pressure ridges, then we got to an open water lead that we were planning to cross - getting the boat ready - but it opened so much wider and so quickly that we elected to look for another route.

The Transglobal Car Expedition continues despite the fact that one of its leaders, Alexander Abramov, had to leave it for a while due to the lawlessness of the Canadian authorities.

 From the Diary:

February 28-29, 2024

We were prepared for big challenges on the ice, but by good planning from our ice team and great images and data from Siku.org, we were able to navigate to relatively good flat ice with only a handful of difficult pressure ridges.

 On the Day 50 we've covered just over 200km incredibly fast. We had to cross a couple of large pressure ridges including with the fording ladders - a really technical challenge.

 However, we made it to Resolute Bay in early afternoon on February 29. We will spend a couple of days here in the lodge doing small repairs then head north. This will be the last community we will see for about two months until we cross over the North Pole and get to the south end of Greenland. There were great days with some very smooth ice and only one small mechanical issue. The team stopped northwest of King William Island near the coordinates where the Franklin Expedition ships were beset by ice for two winters and eventually abandoned in 1848. We observed a moment of silence for the lost 129 men and flew the Explorers Club flag.

On February 22, at 14: 00, the Transglobal team of 13 people on all-terrain vehicles "Emelya" started from Cambridge Bay in the direction of Resolute Bay and further to the North Pole. Thus, began the Arctic stage of the Transglobal expedition. The team mastered the technique, overcoming the first kilometers of the route in difficult conditions, with strong winds and almost zero visibility in the white haze. They had to do some maintenance on the trailers along the way, but overall, everything is going well. The satellite image shows that gray, uneven ice awaits ahead, which means slow driving. We inflated the tires manually to prepare for icing.

The first stage of the expedition was by car and ended in the settlement of Cambridge Bay in the far north of Canada. Here the team received a warm, cordial welcome - the local authorities staged a real celebration. The cars from here set off on their way back, and the expedition transferred to Emel's all-terrain vehicles.

The Transglobal Car Expedition continues despite the fact that one of its leaders, Alexander Abramov, had to leave it for a while due to the lawlessness of the Canadian authorities.

The Canadian town of Yellowknife has long been a landmark for the expedition. After all, it meant the completion of the first stage of the global journey, the "USA – Canada" stage. Here, in the last great stronghold of civilization, the team spent more than 10 days. It was impossible otherwise, it was necessary to thoroughly prepare for the most difficult and problematic part of the entire super route, the "Arctic" stage. In Yellowknife, in particular, they bought a large amount of frozen fish, traditional for polar travel.

The team left Yellowknife on the morning of February 8th. After about 100 kilometers, the trees finally disappeared, the expedition came into the untouched tundra. There are no roads here anymore. They drove a little more and set up camp just in the middle of a snowy desert. This was the beginning of the second stage.

In the following days, the target was the village of Nunavut. The cars got stuck in deep snow several times, and we had to use winches.

There were sunny, beautiful days in the Arctic tundra, and by evening the temperature dropped to -32 °C. All participants are in a good mood – the main team is heading to the meeting place with Yemeli's team. On February 11, the expedition crossed the Arctic Circle. It's very serious.…

Which is more suitable: 3 by 20 or 2 by 30? The man seems to be in the prime of his physical and intellectual powers. That means two by thirty. On the other hand, there is youthful enthusiasm, lightness and indefatigability on the face. How can all this be combined with the number 60? Yes, it's just a start to new records, to the title of "most-most" in another "weight" category. We wish our captain new victories, ideas, desires and opportunities! Good luck, heavenly mercy, weather on request, happiness in all respects!

Andrey Muravyov, a participant in several of our programs, sent us a message from far away Australia. There, by climbing Kosciuszko Mountain, he successfully completed the "Seven Summits" program, climbing all the highest summits of all continents. The 7 Summits Club cordially congratulates Andrey and wishes him good luck in achieving new goals!  For example, why not complete the "Seven Volcanoes" as well?  Or add some eightthousander? Andrey is an entrepreneur and traveler, a native and pupil of Buryatia, who now lives in Moscow. We hope that his career as a "collector of summits" will continue with the participation of our company.

 Andrey Muravyov from Australia:

Yes, I decided not to delay and finish the project "Seven Summits - Seven Continents" this year. Mount Kosciuszko, the highest point of the continent of Australia, is located here.

And even though the Mountain is the most technically simple and not high (2228 m) of the entire "star seven", now it is very difficult to just get here, taking into account the circumstances. I climbed the first peak of Kilimanjaro in Africa in 2017.

Accordingly, seven summits of all continents of the world have been reached in seven years; it seems to me that this will be a good result.

Congratulations on the International Mountain Day! Friends, love adventures, give yourself vivid emotions, love nature, go to the mountains! And let's do everything to preserve the beauty of the mountains for us and for our descendants!

 We keep calling you to the mountains! The 7 Summits Club is always ready to help you organize mountain trips around the world. Follow the updates of our programs.  Mountains should give us the happiest moments of our lives, and giving people happiness is our mission!

   If possible, leave the mountains clean after you!  And in general, do everything possible to keep the mountains a territory of freedom, a territory where you can meet with pristine nature, a place of joyful meeting with friends, a place you want to return to, where you want to bring children, where everyone will be happy!

The International Mountain Day on December 11 was established by decision of the UN General Assembly in January 2003.  Every year, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) at the United Nations, responsible for this holiday, determines the themes of the year.

It all started with an August 2022 video message to me from Alexander Abramov and Fyodor Konyukhov.

They were then "sitting" with a group of climbers on Mount Damavand in Iran. And, as usually happens, there was a conversation about the 14x8000 program, its implementation in the world and in our country. It turned out that I had been the leader of this program for 21 years and there was "no one close", but at the same time I had "stopped" high-altitude mountaineering since 2016.

 They called for "shaking up the old days", making another attempt to climb K2, and took over the organization and financing.

I replied to him: Alex, hello everyone! I am glad to see and hear! You don't let me live up to my age!

Yes, let the young people be puzzled by the question and solve it! It's so cool!

And I'll bend over there and fuck who needs it! I will also make a negative image for Russia! Hugging everyone!

In previous years, there were also conversations on this topic, with the same Abramov, with the famous athlete and guide Sergei Baranov. Sergey, addressing me, said - Listen, now mountaineering has become not the one that you "walked". Everything has become easier, go ahead, and I'll find the money.  But the brakes were "sitting" inside me and I refused.

 But this time Alex convinced me - Listen, Serega, I saw how some girls could not overcome the Baltoro glacier, walked, "died". And then I find out that they climbed K2! The mountain has changed, everything will be fixed, you will be helped by Sherpas to carry the cargo, plus oxygen. This year (2022) 180 people did it!

The last phrase especially impressed me.

- How is it, did they put an "elevator" there!?

I was all in doubt and decided for myself that I needed to "check" my body. Judging of the Kazbek races was scheduled for September. And I decided to make a full-fledged ascent to the top from the Karmadon gorge along the standard route 2B of the difficulty category.

We spent the night from October 13 to October 14 at the Khvaltish Hotel at an altitude of 1613 meters. It is located on the shore of the Gergebil reservoir. So far, only the first steps have been taken here to improve this promising place. We had dinner and breakfast in glamping dome tents near the hotel. There's nothing wrong with the food here. In the evening we were pleased with dancing by our friends! And in the morning there was exercise, breakfast with coffee and a long journey... Dagestan is bigger than you think. This picturesque, hospitable republic largely consists of objects of interest to tourists. You can spend a month here, but you won't see everything. This is true. But we simply did not consider it possible to ignore the oldest city of the Russian Federation, the millennial Derbent. Of course, the walls erected in the sixth century are impressive. Yes, indeed. We had a wonderful guide who courageously coped with a large group surrounded by hundreds of other tourists. At the end we had a very hearty meat lunch with fragrant local wine. And back to the buses – to the airport…

There we said goodbye to our Dagestani friends. I really want to see them again and visit Dagestan again.

The highest point of the Gunib district is the Mayak (Lighthouse) Mountain with a height of 2,352 meters. Today our team passed the traverse of the massif, visiting the famous Gunib tunnel on the descent. It was punched specifically for the passage of Emperor Alexander II in the 60s of the XIX century.  As a result, we got about 20 kilometers with a height difference of up to 1 kilometer. The weather was great, everyone in the group walked at a different pace, but steadily. We admired the grandiose views of mountainous Dagestan, saw soaring eagles under us. Many thanks to the local guys who accompanied us and showed us the right way! All the participants of this climb were just happy with how they spent that day!

On this day, we were accompanied by beautiful weather.  After high-quality morning exercises (thanks to the guide Evgeny Fedyunin) and breakfast, we went on an excursion to the abandoned village of Gamsutl. A wonderful path led us to the ruins of a once large settlement. For lunch we moved to the modern village of Choh. Then we visited the observation point, from which the artist Aivazovsky painted the famous panorama. And a visit to the Saltinsky Waterfall. Local canyoning was quite a worthy end of the day. Thanks to our Dagestan partners, the organizers of the tour! Thanks to all the participants!

Starting in June, the expedition of the 7 Summits Club to K2 ended in early August.  The conditions for climbing corresponded to the image of the "most inaccessible" and dangerous mountain in the World. We did not wait for any stable weather window, but in general we successfully coped with our task.

On July 27, 2023, sisters Maria Oglobleva and Ekaterina Safronova, Dmitry Moskalev and high-altitude operator Vladimir Kotlyar climbed to the top of K2.

On July 28, Lyudmila Korobeshko, Daniil Briman, Valery Tebiev and Arno Ter-Saakov (Armenia – Latvia – Monaco), as well as cameraman Luis Lopez Soriano (Spain) reached the summit.

A total of 8 participants, 2 high-altitude operators and 10 Sherpas ascended the summit of K2 from the expedition of the 7 Summits Club and the 8000 Club. There are 20 people under the leadership of Lyudmila Korobeshko. The ascent took place in bad weather, with a poor condition of the route. The more honorable the victory!

During this expedition, a film was shot, which later became known as "The High Altitude Gene 2. The Mountain of all mountains".   We are waiting for the release of a new masterpiece from RD Studio. In the meantime, watch the trailer!

RD STYDIA team

K2 climbers in Moscow 28.09

Good news: China has confirmed permission to conduct an expedition on Mount Everest from the north. And we are already accepting applications for the spring of 2024! Dreams come true!

From 2003 to 2019 (with a couple of breaks), the 7 Summits Club organized expeditions to Mount Everest from the North Side, from Tibet. Naturally, for 15 seasons we have lived in these places so much that they have become our own, home. The cataclysms of recent years have forced us to relocate to the South Side. Of course, we have settled in here enough. But everyone remembered the past years with some nostalgia. When we left, we promised to return, and we will fulfill this promise. Join our expedition!

The route from the north is very different from the route from the south. They actually have little in common. So those who walked from the south may well supplement their acquaintance with Everest by visiting its northern slopes.

What are the advantages of Tibet.

Firstly, actually in the opportunity to get acquainted with this Tibet. And  this Tibet, is unique and unforgettable. We start our route in its capital Lhasa and the way to the base camp passes through places where the old and the new, primitive and high-tech, bizarrely overlap.

A highway approaches the base camp from the north. What advantages it gives can be listed for a very long time, without naming everything. In any case, the accommodation here is more comfortable and the rest in the base camp is of higher quality. We are free to go down on rest and buy everything we need.

The route from the north (Mallory and Irvine's way) is longer and physically more difficult than from the south. But it is practically devoid of objective dangers, which are in abundance on the other side of the mountain.

It is practically guaranteed that there will be an order of magnitude fewer climbers on the northern route than on the southern route. And this is important both in terms of security and in terms of personal emotions.

This morning our team left the base camp and began the long journey back home. They will have to walk the familiar path along the Baltoro glacier to Ascole, the first settlement to which the highway approaches. We remind you that on July 27 and 28, two teams of the 7 Summits Club and the 8000 Club ascended to the top of K2 in the number of 8 participants, 2 high-altitude operators and 10 Sherpas. There are 20 people under the leadership of Lyudmila Korobeshko. The ascent took place in bad weather, with a poor condition of the route. A lot of material has been shot for the future film "The Hшпр Altitude Gene 2. K2". We are waiting for the heroes at home!

Group No. 3 consisting of Lyudmila Korobeshko, Daniil Briman, Valery Tebiev and Arno Ter-Saakov safely descended to the base camp today. The weather on the mountain predictably and finally deteriorated, the descent against the background of incredible fatigue was not easy. But now when everyone is assembled, you can celebrate, receive awards and congratulations. And get ready to go home in a good mood. We are waiting! The participants of the first-second group have already started the trek down the glacier.

 Photos and videos from the RD Studio team.

There is still a little time left before the expedition of the 7 Summits Club and the 8000 Club on K2 will be completed. It is necessary that the third team (Lyudmila Korobeshko, Daniil Briman, Valery Tebiev, Arno Ter-Saakov and their escorts) descend safely from Camp-2, where they stay after reaching the summit, to the base camp. The happy winners from the first two groups, Ekaterina Safronova, Maria Oglobleva, Dmitry Moskalev and Bartolomey Pachosky, have already been welcomed at the base. Before relaxation, there is a little patience and a little luck left. We are waiting for the heroes!

Tonight, third part of our team started for the summit push. The group consisting of: Lyudmila Korobeshko, Arno Ter-Saakov, Valery Tebiev, Daniil Briman and our high-altitude operator Luis Lopez.

The summiters of K2 of the first wave Ekaterina Safronova and Maria Oglobleva safely descended to the Camp-2.  Dmitry Moskalev and Bartolomey Pachosky stayed overnight at Camp 3. Everyone is resting. Tomorrow they plan to go down to the Base Camp.