Korobeshko Luda

Lyudmila Korobeshko, a guide and director of the 7 Summits Club, reports from Antarctica:

January 8th. Greetings from Antarctica, the Union Glacier Camp from the Empanadas group, the Sidley expedition! As you already know, we have successfully climbed the summit of our dreams - Sidley. And, since we were in Antarctica, we decided to fly to the South Pole. The guys spent the night right at the Pole and happily returned to Union today. Now we are here waiting for our departure to the Mainland.

 And now another group of our club has just returned from Vinson. A couple of days ago, they successfully climbed the summit under the guidance of our Antarctic super-guide Artem Rostovtsev.

So now we are having a joint gala dinner and celebrating our victories.

Congratulations!  On January 4, Lyudmila Korobeshko, Oleg Pipkov, Nikolai Tomchak and Evgeny Fedorov completed the Seven Volcanoes program with a successful ascent on Sidley Volcano.  We are waiting for your return!

 We are not surprised that there are so many Russians on the list of climbers to all the highest volcanoes on all continents ("Seven Volcanoes"). The secret is very simple. In a practical sense, this program was brought to life on a global scale thanks to the idea and activities of Alexander Abramov, as well as the entire 7 Summits Club. Russians visited Sidley Volcano exclusively as part of our groups, or joined mixed teams on our behalf.

   List of Russians who completed

the Seven Volcanoes program:

 1. Vyacheslav Adrov (Russia) (52) January 18, 2013 Mount Sidley

2. Alexander Abramov (Russia) (47) September 13, 2013 Mount Giluve

3. Olga Rumyantseva (Russia) (36) December 9, 2013 Ojos del Salado

4. Vitaly Simonovich (Russia) (42) December 19, 2013 Ojos del Salado

5. Liana Chabdarova (Russia) (28) January 12, 2015 Ojos del Salado

6. Andrey Filkov (Russia) (49) September 16, 2015 Damavand

7. Vladislav Lachkarev (Russia) (42) January 15, 2019 Mount Sidley

8. Oleg Mezentsev (Russia) (39) January 18, 2020 Mount Sidley

Plus

 9-12. January 4, 2024 Mount Sidley

Lyudmila Korobeshko (49)

Oleg Pipkov (54)

Nikolay Tomchak (45)

Evgeny Fedorov (51)

 Currently, by country: Russia – 12 representatives, Great Britain - 5, Australia and Romania - 4 each.

Lyudmila Korobeshko, the group guide and director of the 7 Summits Club, reports from Antarctica:

On January 4, our team climbed the highest volcano in Antarctica - Sidley (4265m). The mountain turned out to be much difficult than we expected. The assault from camp (2900) to camp (2900) took about 13 hours.

But they set several records at once. 4 people completed the Seven Volcanoes project. Now the list of Russians who climbed 7 Volcanoes has grown from 8 to 12 people. There are 43 people in the World, Russia is far ahead of everyone! Our "new seven volcanoes": Nikolai Tomchak, Oleg Pipkov, Evgeny Fedorov and I, Lyudmila Korobeshko. The first Kazakhstani is Yura Lukyanov at the top of Sidley.

For Sergey Vasiliev, this is the sixth volcano out of seven. And there is a chance that he will also complete the project soon, since after Sidley he is going straight to Ojos del Salado. Sidley became the sixth of seven volcanoes for Igor Rebelsky, and the fifth for Andrey Kravchenko. Another participant of the trip, Vladimir Solovyov, gave us a great meeting at the assault camp and filmed the best reports about our ascent.

In the spring, we plan to hold a party where we will present special medals for 7 Volcanoes in a solemn atmosphere.

Lyudmila Korobeshko, guide and director of the 7 Summits Club, reports from Antarctica:

Hello everyone! This is Lyudmila Korobeshko, the expedition to Sidley. Now we are already at the Sidley base camp. The day before yesterday we successfully went to the top and yesterday we went down from the High Camp to the base camp. We're going to fly to Union today. And then the guys had a new idea.  Our program ends on January 10th, when we are scheduled to fly to Punta Arenas. So, we have 4 free days. We decided to fly to the South Pole to celebrate Christmas there.

Photos from previous expeditions

Lyudmila Korobeshko, guide and director of the 7 Summits Club from Antarctica:

Good afternoon! Greetings to all from the Sidley assault camp from the group "Empanades — Chilean pies". Today is January 3rd and we are at the Sidley assault camp. Yesterday, January 2, we arrived at the base camp at an altitude of 2200, approximately, on a large plane. We spent the night and literally just came to the assault camp. Leaving at 12 o'clock in the afternoon, at 12-30, by 9 pm, not quickly, but with heavy sledges, we came to the assault camp at an altitude of 3000. Everything is fine with us. Now we are setting up a camp and tomorrow we want to go climbing. So keep your fingers and fists on us. Tomorrow we are going to storm the highest volcano in Antarctica — Sidley. Everything is fine, the whole team feels great.

Photos from previous expeditions

Lyudmila Korobeshko, the group's guide and director of the 7 Summits Club, reports from Antarctica:

January 2nd. Greetings from Antarctica from the Union Glacier Camp! In just a couple of hours, our group on Sidley should fly away. The flight takes about 4-5 hours. On the mountain, and indeed within a radius of 700 km, we will be alone… This is also a unique expedition to Sidley.
Yesterday we all flew to Antarctica from Punta Arenas. Immediately upon landing, we were met by an American climber, David (he is the first American to close the 7 Volcanoes project). He asked us to contact James Stone, who keeps world statistics on 7 Volcanoes, and inform him about those who complete the project in our expedition and also send an updated route trek.
Artyom Rostovtsev, who recently returned from the Pole, met us at the camp itself. He's going to lead the group to Vinson now. We were all well fed, had a tour of the camp, then we set up tents and made wishes - for many it was the first night on a new continent - in Antarctica. The Antarctic white night passed quietly.
It's almost noon now. We have to leave for Sidley in an hour. There will be no Internet there anymore - we will make satellite calls. Follow our messages. They promise that it will be very cold this season in Sydney. According to the forecast, up to -45 at the top …

Lyudmila Korobeshko, guide and director of the 7 Summits Club from Chile:

Hello everyone from Punta Arenas Airport! Happy New Year to everyone! Yesterday, for us, the intrigue lasted until the last moment. In the morning we lived in a waiting mode for departure to Antarctica. At 6 p.m. Chile time (it's midnight in Moscow), we decided to relax a little and celebrate the New Year ... and then the flight was announced. More precisely, we were informed of the departure time - earlier on the morning of January 1. So we didn't celebrate for long - we had to prepare for departure. But according to the Chilean tradition, we put on yellow underpants for the New Year. And everything worked out.
We are already at the airport, preparing for departure. We hope to send you greetings from Antarctica from Union in 5-6 hours.
See you soon! Lyudmila Korobeshko.

Lyudmila Korobeshko, a guide and director of the 7 Summits Club, reports from Chile:

December, 31st. Hello everyone, still from the edge of the world - Punta Arenas!
Yesterday, at the very last moment, our flight to Antarctica was canceled. The weather is unstable. In order not to waste time and get used to the south, we went almost 100 km to the south - to the San Isidro Lighthouse on the very edge of the mainland of South America. On the way, we visited Fort Bulnes, a reconstructed village of the first settlers, walked through the magical Patagonian forest and the coast along the Strait of Magellan.
In the evening, we were informed that there was a chance of a flight. We rushed to pack our things, but at the last moment we were given the hang up. So we're back in standby mode. We don't know yet where we will celebrate the New Year.
Nevertheless, we sincerely congratulate everyone on the upcoming year and send the warmest greetings from the edge of the world! May everything work out for you and us! We keep our fingers crossed and three legs at the monument to Magellan.

Lyudmila Korobeshko, a guide and director of the 7 Summits Club, reports from Chile:
Greetings from the edge of the world — from Punta Arenas! Yesterday, December 29, we had a day of preparation for the flight to Antarctica. We handed over our things, weighed ourselves, and received boarding passes. In the evening, we went to the team of pilots who have been flying IL-76 here for many years. We brought their favorite dish from their now distant homeland - herring! We are currently waiting for departure. However, the weather is not very good at Union yet. Nevertheless, we hope and wait with our fingers crossed.

Lyudmila Korobeshko, a guide and director of the 7 Summits Club, reports from Chile:
Greetings from the edge of the world from Punta Arenas, Chile! Both our expeditions to the highest points of Antarctica, Sidley and Vinson, are assembled! Yesterday, the smartest members managed to drive to the legendary national park Torres del Paine Park and admire the famous peaks, lakes with icebergs and met wild exotic animals and birds. Those who arrived yesterday managed to run around the entire Punta Arenas and buy everything necessary for the flight to Antarctica. And we also attended the ALE briefing, got the tips and watched a cool movie about what awaits us in Antarctica. And most importantly, we performed an important rite for good luck - we kissed the native's foot at the monument to Magellan in the central square.
Today we are handing over our things and tomorrow, according to the plan, we will fly to Union Glacier, where Artem Rostovtsev, who successfully reached the South Pole with the group yesterday, should be waiting for us! See you soon!
The head of the expedition to Sidley is Lyudmila Korobeshko.

Greetings from the edge of the world - from Punta Arenas! Today, participants of two Antarctic expeditions - to Vinson and Sidley - finally began to gather here.
In the morning, the most active part arrived - those who are closing the Seven Volcanoes project. We went straight from the airport to watch the ships, then checked the equipment and then the guys rushed to Fort Bulnes (a historical place, the southernmost Chilean settlement once). They want to visit as many places as possible, because Patagonia is the dream of all boys. There are many interesting locations here. We are waiting for the rest members by this evening.
Lyudmila Korobeshko - a guide to Sidley and Elena Abramova - the manager of our Antarctic expeditions and a representative in Chile.

Lyudmila Korobeshko, a guide and director of the 7 Summits Club, reports from Chile:

Greetings from the edge of the world from the southernmost mainland city of the world - Punta Arenas!
On December 24, Lena Abramova and I flew to Punta Arenas from different parts of the world and immediately rushed to buy everything necessary for Antarctica, since Christmas was coming. And on Christmas Day, absolutely everything is closed here.
By the evening, we exhaled and even managed to celebrate the upcoming holiday with seafood delicacies, of which there are many. We took crab porridge.
On December 25, we reviewed and repacked the purchased items, and in the evening we went to visit our old friends, the IL76 pilots. For many years, it was the only aircraft that brought both equipment and people to Antarctica. It was very spectacular and romantic - flying to Il76 and landing it on the ice!
Now it imported by Boeing, and IL is used only for cargo transportation.
The participants of our Sidley and Vinson programs are already starting to arrive tomorrow.

The Antarctic season of the 7 Summits Club has begun!!! Yesterday, our guide and the most experienced polar explorer Artem Rostovtsev arrived at the edge of the world and the starting point of expeditions to Antarctica, in the southernmost (mainland) city of the world - Punta Arenas.

In a few days, the participants of the first expedition will arrive - a ski trip to the South Pole. Then, according to the plan, we will have two more large groups of climbers to the highest point of Antarctica - the Vinson Massif. And also after Christmas, the highlight of our season in Antarctica starts - the largest Russian expedition to the highest volcano in Antarctica, Sidley. Several members of this team are planning to complete the 7 Volcanoes project!!! At the moment only 8 people in Russia have been able to complete this project. Now there are only 42 such lucky people in the world.

P.S. - Meetings with interesting people often happen in Antarctica. We wish Artyom and our teams the most unexpected and pleasant Antarctic meetings!

Polish climber Bartholomei (Bartek) Paczoski has climbed with the 7 Summits Club not the first time. Both on Everest and on K2, he proved himself a reliable comrade, a strong athlete, a friendly and sociable person of high culture. We are extremely grateful to him for his loyalty to our friendship, for the fact that he joined the Russian company without any apparent doubts. Well, for the photos! We didn't even expect such a gift! A great warm-up before the upcoming premiere of the film "The High Altitude Gene 2. The Mountain of all Mountains"

 The full gallery is here…

July 20. All salaam from Pakistan from the participants of the expedition to K2 "High Altitude Gene 2" or briefly GenKa2!  The suspense with the fixed ropes is already pretty boring. Therefore, in the morning we went with Abramov to the camps to talk with the leaders. We had a very productive conversation with Ozzy (an Ecuadorian from SST, we had just been to Makalu with him). As a result, at 14.00 in BC K2, a general meeting of all the leaders was held, at which a new team was assembled for hanging the ropes and the release dates of this team were determined - July 22 so that they would come to the top on July 24.

 Based on this, we have developed our plans.

1. Team 1 - Bogomolov, Moskalev, a high-altitude operator and 3 Sherpas are released on July 20. The peak is July 25.
2. Team 1.1 - The twins and Bartek are released on July 21. The peak is July 25.
3. Team 2 - all others are released on July 22. The summit is scheduled for July 26.

By the evening, the first three were on their way.

 The heads of the expedition to K2 Alex Abramov and Lyudmila Korobeshko and the expedition doctor Andrey Selivanov are in touch.

Deputy head of the expedition Lyudmila Korobeshko reports from Pakistan:

All salaam from Pakistan from the participants of the expedition to K2 "Hшпр Altitude Gene 2" or briefly GenKa2!

After breakfast, Alex Abramov arranged oxygen classes. Refreshed our memory of how to use oxygen equipment. And after lunch, the second group of trekkers, led by Sveta Kotlyar and Sasha Spirin, came to visit us. Yead of the RD Studia Valdis Pelsh also arrived with this group. He plans to stay with our expedition and make some live broadcasts for Channel One. The way to us was not easy - 6 long marches under the scorching sun and rains. But the team  overcame it!

In the evening, a "Guitar in a circle" evening was held in a large tent - the trekkers brought with them a guitar bought in Islamabad. We knew that Sveta sings well. But the fact that Dmitry Moskalev has a good voice and a cool repertoire has become a revelation for many.

The heads of the expedition to K2 Alex Abramov and Lyudmila Korobeshko and the expedition doctor Andrey Selivanov are in touch.

July 12. All salaam from Pakistan from the participants of the expedition to K2 "High Altitude Gene 2" or briefly GenKa2!  The most persistent celebrated the meeting on the Elbe all night - the meeting of our expedition and trekkers. In the morning it snowed again.

The trekkers decided to try to pass through Gondogoro La after all and left our camp at 11 am. And we just got some not very good news from above - our entire Camp-2 was blown away by the wind. 8 tents are missing. 5 seem to have remained. The gas is all gone.

In general, we decided to postpone the exit for one more night. 

 July 13.

Due to the lack of tents, we decided to go out in two groups. The first is 9 participants and 6 Sherpas. This morning, immediately to Camp-1, overnight, then to Camp-2, overnight, then exit to Camp-3 and immediately down. The second group of 3 participants and 2 Sherpas - ABC, C1, C2, down.

 The hurricane raged all night. Our tents were almost torn in the camp. The toilet was torn after all. We got up at 4 in the morning. They tried to put a toilet. In vain. Let's go wake up Vladimir Kotlyar and congratulate him on his birthday. He seemed pleased. At 5 a.m. we went out with a strong wind. By 7 in the morning they came to ABC. We rested a little and went to the first camp. In 4-5 hours we went from 5300 to 6100. There's a problem with places here. There is nowhere to put tents - about 10 tents were barely huddled over the abyss. We were accommodated in 3 tents for 3 participants. And two more Sherpas.

We rest, eat, acclimatize. Tomorrow we will go higher.

 July 14th.

The night in Camp 1 passed quietly. The wind died down. It was even hot. In the morning, everyone woke up long before 7 o'clock - it was at this time that the general rise was planned. We had breakfast and left before 8 am. On the way, we admired the views, who could. The ascent became steeper, there were many rocky areas and mixed. By 11-12 days we came to Camp-2 under the fireplace. It was hardly possible to place 5 tents here. The toilet is a quest again - on a steep slope you have to somehow manage to do something.

After lunch, we decided to make an acclimatization rotation. We climbed 300 meters vertically. On the way, I had to climb the chimney  - everyone was impressed here - 50 meters of almost vertical mixed climbing with flowing ice. But the rest of the route was much simpler and the views are very beautiful - both Gasherbrum, Broad Peak, Masherbrum, Chinese Summits were opened…

We went down to dinnertime to our Camp-2. Having dinner, getting ready for bed at 6600. Tomorrow morning we will go down to the BC to rest and prepare for the decisive assault on the summit.

 July 15th.

We woke up at 6600 in Camp-2, again earlier than planned. At 6 o'clock there was a start according to the plan, but most did not sleep well at this height and at 5 in the morning they were ready to go down. The weather in the morning was not very cloudy and windy.

Around 7 a.m., the descent began. Near the first camp we met our second group with Sergey Bogomolov, Dmitry Moskalev and Volodya Kotlyar. They walked briskly up. By 10 a.m. we were at ABC. We drank tea and rode to the sun for lunch. Kristina was waiting for us here with a film crew, Coca-Cola and - most importantly - with compote!!!

We returned almost whole and healthy.  Only Arno was slightly touched by a stone on the descent, another whistled very close to Daniil, and I managed to fall into a crack not far from BC - I got off with one wet foot!

As it turned out, during the three days of our absence from the camp, the popularity of our expedition doctor Andrei Selivanov increased significantly - a Pakistani princess began to come to his office - that's how we dubbed her. In fact, this is a famous Pakistani climber from the family of a Pakistani government official, Naili Kiani. She has already climbed 8 out of 14 eight-thousand meters. Of the Pakistani ones, only Broad Peak remained to her.  And the next morning news came that rescue work was underway on Broad Peak…

 July 16.

In the morning, everyone slept off after a difficult acclimatization exit. Although the weather forecast was expected to be good, it started raining in the morning. By lunchtime, our second group - Sergey, Dmitry and Vladimir - came down to the camp. The guys worked out their program well and returned satisfied with the results.

After lunch, Alina Pekova came to visit us. This modest girl has gone 5 eight-thousand meters in three months and tomorrow she goes to the sixth - Broad Peak. And then - it looks like K2 and further on all 14. What to say? You can only take off your hat!

A beaming doc came to dinner and boasted that he had just pulled out a tooth of one of the Sherpas, who had been suffering with a bad tooth for a long time. In general, our expedition doctor Andrey is a resuscitator. But here in the camp under K2 he has to face various problems to restore the health of participants in fact of all expeditions:

Yesterday I did a blockade to a Pakistani who fell and got a compression fracture; I was struggling with the asthma of a participant from Estonia who went 4 eight-thousandths without oxygen and now wants to go to K2 without oxygen too…

 July 17.

The morning began at 4.00, when a messenger from the trekking group from the Goro II camp came running and said that oxygen and a doctor were urgently needed, as one of the group was ill. Oxygen was sent urgently, and the doctor came down later.

There was a lot of fuss and commotion, but when mobile communication appeared, it turned out that our group of trekkers was already doing well and they were moving normally to Concordia.

In the afternoon, we held talks with our sirdar about plans for installation of high-altitude camps. So far, the ropes are only up to the Camp-3 (7400 m), plus 8 tents and gas flew away from us in the last bad weather, so it's difficult to plan the upper camps. And according to the forecast, the weather will worsen again soon.

But in the evening, the twin sisters pleased us - they cooked stuffed peppers and mimosa salad!

In touch - the leaders of the expedition to K2 Alex Abramov and Lyudmila Korobeshko.

On July 13, at 5 a.m., the group of the 7 Summits Club "GenKa2" left the base camp. After 2 hours we came to the ABC camp.  Then, at 8 o'clock, we started climbing and at 12:30 we reached Camp-1 at an altitude of 6100.  The weather was sunny, but there was a strong wind.

 After the rest, on July 14, the group continued climbing at 8 a.m. and by 12 o'clock reached Camp-2 at an altitude of 6550-6600 meters.  Everything is going great so far. Tomorrow, a small ascent up, presumably to the end of fixed ropes and descent to the base camp. And then there will be preparation for the assault on the summit.

Camp 1

We drink teas with sherpas in C2 for 6600. 

Guide and director of the 7 Summits Club Lyudmila Korobeshko reports from Pakistan:

July 11th. All salaam from Pakistan from the participants of the expedition to K2 "High Altitude Gene 2" or briefly GenKa2! Today was an eventful day.  First, finally, the weather has improved. The sun came out (although it was snowing all night, which was not in the forecast).

Secondly, we held a meeting of the leaders of all the expeditions to K2 about the joint hanging of the fixed ropes. We agreed to join our efforts. So according to the general plan, a joint team of route workers will start above Camp 2 on July 14.

Thirdly, our first group of trekkers arrived in the evening. We thought they would be completely exhausted after so many transitions in the rain and snow. And they turned out to be cheerful. We arranged a joint buffet and dancing. Many were previously familiar with joint expeditions. And some people have just met. Uncle Vitya (Viktor Volodin) brought a rare copy of moonshine of his own production. Dasha brought us the most long-awaited - coffee and a little tequila.

Tomorrow we go up  for three nights. Trekkers will most likely go towards the Gondogora La pass in the hope that it will be opened (the weather has improved after all).

Guide and director of the 7 Summits Club Lyudmila Korobeshko reports from Pakistan:

July 10th. All salaam from Pakistan from the participants of the expedition to K2 "High Altitude Gene 2" or briefly GenKa2!  The weather has improved slightly today. But clouds and gusty winds still prevail. K2 in the clouds in the morning. After breakfast, we rearranged the tents after the snowfall and attended a puja at Gareth Madison. Then we had a bath day

We had burgers for lunch. Last night they brought two beautiful bulls.... Today, as a women's team under the leadership of Kristina, we cooked a great dinner - soup with meat, Potato Crumbs with minced meat and Greek salad.

It is unclear whether it will be possible to get out tomorrow - the weather is still very unstable and the slopes are avalanche-prone…

The heads of the expedition to K2 Alex Abramov and Lyudmila Korobeshko and the expedition doctor Andrey Selivanov are in touch.