Kotlyar Svetlana

Svetlana Kotlyar reports from the Kola Peninsula:

Greetings to all from Kirovsk from the participants of the mountaineering school in Khibiny!  Today, the “Khibinian Prusiki” team made its first ascent on Takhtarvumchorr by route 1B grade through the Geographers Pass.  The route was completed simultaneously in ropes. The weather was pleasing from the very morning: frost and sun!  The members got a lot of emotions and practiced simultaneous movement in ropes and teamwork.

Tomorrow is a rest day according to the plan. In the first half of the day we will conduct theoretical classes. And also — today is an excellent forecast for the Northern lights! We're leaving in an hour to catch it!

Super-guides: Alexey Lonchinsky, Ratmir Mukhametzyanov.

Coordinators of the mountaneering school: Svetlana Kotlyar, Daria Sivova.

Svetlana Kotlyar reports from the Kola Peninsula:

Greetings to all from Kirovsk! The program of the mountaineering school in Khibiny started today under the leadership of two "Golden Ice axes of Russia": Alexey Lonchinsky and Ratmir Mukhametzyanov! Today all our big friendly team from Moscow and St. Petersburg gathered in Kirovsk: 13 participants, 2 instructors and 2 organizers of the program from the 7 Summits Club.

We stayed in comfortable hotels and held a briefing after dinner, where we got acquainted with the participants. Everyone told about themselves, their sports hobbies, mountain experience and expectations from the program. Alexey and Ratmir gave an introductory lecture about equipment and its proper use in the mountains.

Tomorrow morning we will conduct a practical lesson on nodes. After that, we go to the rocks to work on the natural terrain.

The guide of the 7 Summits Club Svetlana Kotlyar reports from Colombia:

Hola amigos! Greetings to all from Colombia from the team "IGORYASHKI"!

We were out of touch in the jungle for a couple of days, but today we are back in civilization again. Our team split up for a while, some members stayed to relax on the beaches of Santa Marta, and the main part of the group went trekking to the Lost city.

On February 17, we went on the route. On the first day, we drove part of the way on motorbikes and the second half (10 km) walked to the town of Mumake, where we stopped for the night. The route passes through the jungle, through thickets of tall century-old trees. The place of the overnight stay is located on the river bank, and how nice it was to plunge into the cool water after the route! For dinner, we cooked delicious local fish.

On February 18, we woke up early in the morning and after breakfast continued our journey to the Lost city. The lost city of Tyrone was found in the 1970s by tomb robbers, after which it became a real sensation. According to modern scientists, it was founded around 800 AD, i.e. 650 years earlier than the famous Machu Picchu.

There is only one way to get to the city – to climb up the slope by about 1200 stone steps, the ascent of which after climbing the Nevado del Tolima was not easy for us, but we coped. The climb was definitely worth it, all the participants were very impressed!

In three days of trekking, we have covered more than 40 km, and in total for the entire program more than 100. Today we went down to Santa Marta and met with all the team members at a villa near the Caribbean coast. Now we are having dinner and sharing our emotions from our long and eventful trip to Colombia!

The guide of the 7 Summits Club Svetlana Kotlyar reports from Colombia:

Hello everyone from Salento! The team of "Igoryashki" safely descended from the mountains to civilization yesterday! The mountain part of our program ended yesterday. From the farm "La prima verá" from a height of 3800 we went down to the entrance of the National Park "Los nevados". We sat down in our cozy hotel and in the evening the whole team gathered at a huge festive table.

The team is happy! Toasts, congratulations, smiles, loud laughter! Everyone received well-deserved silver medals and certificates for the successful ascent on the Nevado Del Tolima volcano!

Today we are resting and after lunch we fly to Santa Marta, where we will continue our trekking program to the Lost city. Guides of the 7 Summits Club: Alex Abramov, Boris Egorov and Svetlana Kotlyar.

On February 14, the group of the 7 Summits Club "Igoriashki" in full (16 participants and 8 guides) climbed on the summit of the most beautiful volcano in Colombia - Nevada del Tolima (5221 m). The ascent was not easy: strong wind, snow and almost complete lack of visibility. Now the team is preparing for new adventures in this wonderful country.

The guides of the 7 Summits Club Alex Abramov, Boris Egorov and Sveta Kotlyar report from Colombia:

Greetings to all from Colombia from the team of the 7 Summits Club "Igoryashki"! Congratulations to everyone on Valentine's Day! Including all those in love with the mountains! Today at 7 am our full team (16 participants and 8 guides) stood on the top of the most beautiful volcano in Colombia  - Nevada del Tolima (5221)! The ascent was not easy: strong wind, snow and almost complete lack of visibility. But the stronger the emotions from reaching the top! For the four team members, this peak became the first mountain summit in their lives. We went down to the assault camp at 10 a.m., now we are packing our things and preparing to descend to the Prima Vera farm.

 Photos from local guide Juan

The guide of the 7 Summits Club Svetlana Kotlyar reports from Colombia:

Greetings to all from our team from Colombia! Our adventures in this amazing country continue! Our morning started with a cup of coffee in bed! Then we had breakfast and went on route: 16 participants, 3 guides from the 7 Summits Club and 5 local guides. The task of the day is to gain another 300 meters in height and go to the farm "La prima verá".

The views are spectacular, along the way we stopped at a tall Columbian pine tree, which is only 3 years younger than our main boss.  Here we drank delicious tea made from coca leaves.

The whole route took about 4 hours. After lunch it became overcast, it started to rain a little. Now we are already resting on the farm, waiting for lunch and checking the equipment. Tomorrow we go to the assault camp.  The guides of the 7 Summits Club: Alexe Abramov, Boris Egorov and Sveta Kotlyar.

The guide of the 7 Summits Club Svetlana Kotlyar reports from Colombia:

Hello to the 7 Summits Club from Colombia! Today we left the capital of Colombia and moved to Salento, a small provincial town in the Colombian Andes. After arriving by jeep, we moved to the Finka del Ocaso coffee farm, where we learned a lot about the traditions of coffee cultivation. We collected coffee beans and tried to brew Colombian coffee on their own.

After checking into the hotel, we were preparing for the upcoming expedition — we bought rubber boots.  Tomorrow we will start in the mountains! Follow the news!

Group guides: Alex Abramov, Boris Egorov and Svetlana Kotlyar.

The guide of the 7 Summits Club Svetlana Kotlyar reports from Colombia:

Hola amigos! Hello everyone from sunny Bogota! Today our group gathered in full 16 people in the capital of Colombia!

In the morning we walked around the historical center of Bogota. We walked around the central square of the city — Plaza de Bolivar, built in the early 19th century. Life is in full swing here at any time of the day: street performers, numerous fruit stalls, ice cream shops, souvenir shops, coffee shops with delicious coffee, vendors of handicrafts from banknotes and sellers of fried ants — a local delicacy.

After lunch we visited one of the best places in Bogota — Mount Montserrat. Here, at an altitude of 3100, there is an observation deck with a view of the whole city. We visited the temple dedicated to the Black Madonna of Montserrat, watched hummingbirds, and then tasted coca leaf tea in one of the cafes. They say that it helps the body to adapt better to altitude. Well, we'll check it out in a couple of days!

In the evening, we celebrated the arrival of all the team members for a festive dinner, and at the same time congratulated our guide — Boris Egorov on his birthday!

Tomorrow we change the location, leave the already beloved Bogota and fly to Salento for an excursion to one of the coffee farms. And from there the mountain part of our program will begin.

The guides of the 7 Summits Club were with you: Alex Abramov, Boris Egorov and Svetlana Kotlyar.

The guide of the 7 Summits Club Svetlana Kotlyar reports from Colombia:

Greetings to all from Colombia from Alex Abramov, Borya Egorov and Sveta Kotlyar!  Our adventures in Colombia have begun! Today we arrived in Bogota and met the first participants. We checked into a very nice authentic hotel “Hotel de la Opera". We solved all the organizational issues and in the evening celebrated the arrival in the capital of Colombia at a local restaurant.

The main part of the team arrives tomorrow, we have 16 participants in total. The program is as rich as possible: over the next two weeks we will plunge into the metropolitan atmosphere of Bogota, climb the most beautiful volcano Nevado Del Tolima, visit an Indian city lost in the jungle, visit coffee plantations and relax on the Caribbean coast.

Follow the news!

On November 20, our Belarusian friends Anastasia and Konstantin Lapko made a successful ascent on the top of the Giluve volcano. In Papua New Guinea, they traveled according to the 7 Summits Club tour program with local guides. For the first time, representatives of the Republic of Belarus climbed the highest volcano on the Australian continent. Congratulations to our friends and we wish them a successful completion of the Seven Volcanoes program!

The 7 Summits Club Guide Svetlana Kotlyar from Papua New Guinea:

Greetings to all from Papua New Guinea from the group "SPAPUANATY"!  Yesterday we continued the excursion program and together with our local partner Mr. Pym visited his native village — Paiya Village. Here we spent almost the whole day watching the life of the locals.

A traditional dish "mumu" was prepared especially for us — a pig cooked underground, lined with hot stones and banana leaves, as well as potatoes and sweet potatoes.  It turned out delicious!  There is a large pigsty on the territory of the village. Pigs are literally worth their weight in gold here. Pork is cooked extremely rarely - on big holidays, weddings, Christmas, it is very expensive. But pork can be exchanged for something more useful and necessary for the villagers.

There are also two huge flightless cassowary birds and a marsupial animal couscous. Mr. Pym showed us a small collection of artifacts: carvings, stone gods, shields.  While waiting for the preparation of mumu, the locals showed us a little performance, dressing up in bright costumes, decorating their faces and decorating themselves with colored feathers and shell necklaces. And after that, we joined their dances, which amused the local kids a lot!

Our program has come to an end, and today it's time to say goodbye to the mysterious and exotic Papua New Guinea! See you in March!

The 7 Summits Club Guide Svetlana Kotlyar from Papua New Guinea:

Greetings to all from Papua New Guinea from the SPAPUANATY team!  Yesterday (November 16) our excursion program started!  After breakfast we drove to the town of Mount Hagen. First we visited the local market where vegetables and fruits are sold — a very colorful place! We bought watermelon and the ripest mangoes.

Today we got acquainted with three local tribes. They moved from one village to another through gardens and coffee plantations.

The first tribe we visited is called the Mud People. Their bodies were decorated with clay, and on their heads were huge clay masks weighing at least 10 kg. They showed a small performance, after which our local guide Raphael told about their culture and lifestyle. According to legend, they were defeated by an enemy tribe and had to flee to the Asaro River. They waited until dusk before trying to escape. The enemies saw them rising from the muddy banks, covered with mud, thought they were spirits and fled in fear.

 The next village is a 30-minute drive away. Here, to the beat of the drums, we were given a performance by the famous Huli Wig tribe. They decorate their faces with traditional Papua flowers and wear headdresses made from their own hair and feathers of the bird of paradise.

The last tribe that we managed to get acquainted with is a Man from Cimbu. Here the aborigines decorated their bodies with charcoal and clay, copying spirits with skeletal bodies.  It is believed that these spirits are deceased people from their tribe who have returned to help and heal them from diseases.  

And in the evening we had a festive dinner, presentation of certificates and medals for climbing.

The 7 Summits Club Guide Svetlana Kotlyar from Papua New Guinea:

 Day one: transfer to the Base camp at an altitude of 3700. After an early breakfast, we got into the car and went to meet our volcano Giluwe. We drove from the lodge for about an hour. Here we met with a team of our porters and guides. The main guide of them Stanley is a man of 40 years old with a fairly good English, which he learned while communicating with tourists.

 The first part of the route passed through a dense rainforest. It is almost always wet and rainy in Papua, the day before the downpour went until 2 a.m., so rubber boots, capes on backpacks and raincoats are a very important element of the outfit. Stanley deftly cut a path for us with a machete, freeing the path from unnecessary overhanging branches, at the same time telling about the culture of the locals.

 — Wet leaves of this plant can be washed, they are very refreshing. There are a lot of useful plants growing in our forests and we know how and for what they can be used.

 He showed trees whose leaves are used to build roofs of houses. We saw a beautiful Bird of paradise, which is a symbol of the country. We are as much a curiosity to Papuans as they are to us. The locals are watching us with great interest, looking at clothes and various little things that are familiar to us, but unfamiliar to them.

 After a couple of hours of trekking, we left the forest and got into a meadow area, walking parallel to the river. The ground under our feet is quite swampy, but on the first day we did not use rubber boots, we managed with trekking shoes. The entire track took about 6 hours, about 13 km long with a climb drop of 1000 m. Closer to three o'clock in the afternoon, the rain began and continued until 2 a.m., forcing us to worry about tomorrow's exit to the mountain.

The guide of the 7 Summits Club Svetlana Kotlyar reports from Papua New Guinea:

Hello to the 7 Summits Club from Papua New Guinea! Today at 9 am our team "SPAPUANATY" in full force stood on top of the highest volcano in Australia and Oceania — GILUVE (4368 m)! From the base camp at an altitude of 3700 we reached the summit in 3.5 hours. The last 150 meters of a fairly steep climb we went using a rope for belay, which undoubtedly added extreme for the participants! The mountain turned out to be not so trekking!

We decided today to go down to the bottom and move to the lodge. We were insanely tired during this busy day, we were on our feet for more than 12 hours today.

We are resting now, all the details are tomorrow!

The guide of the 7 Summits Club Svetlana Kotlyar reports from Papua New Guinea:

The stars have come together! Today, all the Papuan gods were kind to us and our team members finally came to Mount Hagen, passing the longest queues at Mort Moresby airport!

After lunch, we stopped at the supermarket, bought everything we needed and went to our Magic Mountain Lodge. In 40 minutes we reached the place by a scenic road. The team members are pleasantly surprised by our proximity to nature, abundance of greenery and beautiful views.

We settled into the lodge, drink coffee, chat about the mountains, travel, laugh a lot and discuss plans for tomorrow. By brainstorming, the name of our group was born: "SPAPUANATS".

Tomorrow, early in the morning, the "SPAPUANATS" are moving into the mountains to climb the highest volcano of Australia and Oceania – Mount Giluve!

We will be out of touch for at least 2 days, wait for messages from the satellite!

The guide of the 7 Summits Club Svetlana Kotlyar reports from Papua New Guinea:

Less than two days have passed since I got to Papua New Guinea!  The route to the country of exotics is far from the easiest:  Moscow 🇷🇺- Abu Dhabi 🇦🇪 - Manila 🇵🇭 - Port Moresby 🇬🇳 - Mount Hagen ..

I haven't gotten this far yet, and I found out about the existence of the names of some cities from the list just a month ago. The last weeks of preparation have been stressful.  Sheets of correspondence with a partner, detailed discussion of the program, communication with participants, booking tickets, constant monitoring of covid rules at the docking points, waiting for a visa...

 It seemed that a little more and my eye would start twitching! Before the trip, I slept for three hours and, having finished collecting a 35-kg bag, moved to Sheremetyevo.  I remember the face of a nice girl Tatiana at the reception and her sincere surprise in her eyes: "Where is this?!"

Manila caused the most concern, which did not completely cancel the covid restrictions. I had to get my luggage, change the terminal, walk across the street and check in for the next flight. All these actions equated to a visit to the Philippines.  What happened in fact: at the exit of the plane, I was met by two nice girls with a sign with my name on it. They found my luggage themselves, helped me carry it, put me on a bus to another terminal, checked me in for the next flight!  And at the same time, in fact, they did not look at any documents, except for a visa to Papua!

 In Port Moresby, one meticulous aunt tried to remove the sausage from my trunk! But I said that we, tourists, in your Papuan mountains, there is definitely no way without it! Last domestic flight to Mount Hagen. Permitted baggage is 16 kg. The surcharge for the preponderance is around $ 60-70.

— Where are you from?

— From Russia. I'm going to Mount Hagen, tomorrow I'll meet the group and we'll go to the Giluve volcano!

They smile..

— There is no need to pay anything extra. Do you know where to go on a domestic flight? Let's take you out!

Papua New Guinea welcomed me so hospitably!

Tomorrow I meet a group and - let the adventures begin!

According to Svetlana Kotlyar, her group climbed to the top of Lhotse (8516 m) directly from Camp 2, located at an altitude of 6500 meters. That is, without spending a night in two intermediate camps 3 and 4. An excellent achievement! We are delighted! Congratulations to our wonderful social media manager, our beauty with the first eightthousander! Svetlana made the ascent according to the program of the Gornyashka Club, in the group of our partner company "14 Summits Expedition".

Svetlana Kotlyar, manager of the 7 Summits Club, from the Crimea:

Today, the managers and guides of the 7 Summits Club have arrived in Yalta! We settled in a comfortable hotel and went to Mount Koshka, located near the village of Simeiz.

Crimea was greeted us with fresh sea air and warm rocks! After a small picnic, we divided into groups and climbed several short climbing routes under the guidance of our best guides — Lyudmila Korobeshko, Viktor Volodin, Boris Egorov, Natalia Kartashova.

For some participants, this experience was the first in their life!

In the evening: dinner, swimming in the sea and evening gatherings with conversations and songs with the guitar.  Tomorrow we are heading for Via Ferrata!