*** - Page 2

The 7 Summits Club Super Guide Olya Rumyantseva sends a message from Nepal:

Greetings from Nepal from the Anahata team! Today, our group began its trek to Everest.

Early in the morning, we took two flights to Lukla. Along the way, we admired the stunning views of terraced green mountain slopes and snow-capped mountains. Later, they even showed us Everest, though it's still very far away.

 Upon arriving in Lukla, we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast, did some light exercise, went through document checks at the checkpoint, and set out. The day was very sunny, and even a little hot.

It was everyone's first time in Nepal. So, everything was new to them, everything was a delight and a surprise. From the suspension bridges, to the yaks, to the mantra stones.

Three hours later, we reached our overnight stay—a very comfortable guesthouse with delicious food. We had lunch and then went to the monastery. We arrived just in time for the service. We looked around, listened, and, as darkness fell (it gets dark here very early in the fall), returned to the guesthouse. It's simply impossible to call this place a lodge—it has cozy rooms with white linens, hot showers, heated beds, and delicious food, different from the traditional dal bata and momo we'd have later.

Greetings from Nepal, everyone! Our "Anahata" team has gathered here today, preparing to make the trek to Everest Base Camp. From yesterday until today, the participants flew to Kathmandu.

Finally, in the evening, we all gathered and introduced ourselves to those who hadn't met before. And over a celebratory dinner, after receiving wonderful gifts from the 7 Summits Club, we discussed the details of the trip.

Early tomorrow morning, we plan to fly to Lukla by helicopter and begin our trek.

This is the 7 Summits Club guide Olya Rumyantseva and the most heartfelt team, opening the chakras.

As usual, we had a photo shoot at the summit. We didn't manage to do it right away, though. Two more people had climbed up before us. I thought they'd have their photo taken and then descended by the time we got there. No way. They had a crazy number of flags and banners. I had to wait while they took photos with them from different angles.

 And then our time came. Another advantage of walking almost without oxygen. Usually, when people reach the summit, they briefly remove their oxygen masks to take photos. Their faces are heavily dented by the masks, and literally a few minutes later, their bodies begin to feel like they've been deprived of oxygen—weakness and dizziness set in. And an urgent need for oxygen.

 Having almost reached the summit, I took off my backpack and clipped it to the rope. And from then on, everything on the summit (oh, you could say I reached the summit without oxygen) was done without a mask or oxygen. I wouldn't say my face was perfect—after all, walking at 8,000 meters in the sun and wind isn't exactly flattering—but my mask certainly wasn't wrinkled.

And we could wait our turn for photos and do all the other things at the summit without any worries, not to mention the lack of oxygen. It still wasn't needed (although the experience of suddenly warming up and accelerating was quite interesting).

 We probably sat for about half an hour, taking photos and looking at the world from above.

And then we headed back down.

Hello to everyone from the southern, but not very warm slopes of Elbrus from a group of Brazilian climbers of Grade 6! Yesterday, almost the entire group of us climbed to the top of Elbrus. Of the 15 participants, 14 reached the highest point. An excellent result, considering the harsh weather conditions.

After the ascent, we went down the mountain, washed ourselves, rested, and in the evening there was a gala dinner with the presentation of commemorative medals from the 7 Summits Club.

Now our Brazilian guests will take home not only memories of incredible adventures on Elbrus, but also beautiful medals that we give to participants in our ascents.

With you were guides Olga Rumyantseva and Leuan Atabiev.

Hello to everyone from the southern slopes of Elbrus from the cheerful Brazilian group Grade 6!

Today we climbed to an altitude of 3900 meters to our refuge. But of course, we did not stop there. After we settled into cozy VIP houses, we went to training snow classes. For classes, we climbed to an altitude of 4100 meters, where we got acquainted with crampons and learned how to put them on, learned how to use an ice axe so as not to cut anyone with it, but to cut (arrest) yourself on a snow slope.

Everyone liked the part of the class when we slide down a snow slope, practicing self-arrest, the most. After lunch, we continued the classes. We learned how to put on harnesses and refasten ourselves on fixed ropes.

This concludes the technical part of the preparation. Tomorrow we will go to new heights to prepare our bodies for the summit of Elbrus.

Guides Olga Rumyantseva and Leuan Atabiev.

The guide of the 7 Summits Club Olya Rumyantseva sends from the Elbrus region:

Greetings to everyone from the slopes of Elbrus from the most cheerful group "Climbuli"! We waited out the bad weather, used the reserve day, and Elbrus rewarded us for this with a wonderful day and "million dollar" weather during the ascent, which our entire group made today.

We climbed to the top of Elbrus at a very brisk pace, having seen an incredible sunrise and other beautiful landscapes along the way. And by lunchtime we had already descended to Terskol.

Now the whole team is resting, preparing for the evening, where the participants of today's ascent will receive well-deserved memorable awards.

The 7 Summits Club Guide Olya Rumyantseva reports from Elbrus region:

 Hello to everyone from the slopes of Elbrus, where today our Climbuli group made an acclimatization climb towards Pastukhov Rocks.

Unfortunately, due to the bad weather that broke out, we did not reach the rocks, but we had a great walk to a height of almost 4400 meters. We walked in the rain, under ice pellets, and when lightning began to flash, we decided that we had enough adventures for today.

After that, we quickly went down to the cable car. While we were changing from one line of the cable car to another, we got caught in such a downpour that we got soaked through and decided that today we were not Climbuli, but Wetbuli.

At the hotel, we warmed up, dried off, rested and tomorrow we plan to climb to the refuge to go on an ascent.

The guide of the 7 Summits Club Olya Rumyantseva sends from the Elbrus region:

 Greetings to everyone from the Elbrus region from the Climbuli team! Today was our first truly high-altitude trip. We climbed to an altitude of 4100 meters, where the famous Refuge of 11 was once located. And now there is a wonderful slope for snow training.

All team members got acquainted with the equipment. They learned to put on safety systems and crampons and walk in them.

We were sliding down steep wet-snow slopes, learning to hack in the snow without hacking at themselves and those around them. They deftly walked up and down, digging their crampons' sharp teeth into the snow-ice slopes.

After the lesson, we stopped by our National Park куагпу, where we were very hospitably greeted. We only wanted to have a cup of tea, but our hospitable cooks did not let the guests go without a plate of borscht. At the куагпу, we met other groups of the 7 Summits Club, who were planning to storm Elbrus tonight. We wished them good luck. And we ourselves went down to the hotel to rest after a whole day of entertainment at altitude.

The guide of the 7 Summits Club Olya Rumyantseva sends from the Elbrus region:

Hello to everyone from the sunny and very hot Elbrus region! Our small but very active German-Russian team gathered here yesterday, and decided to call itself Climbuli.

Today we had a short walk along the picturesque slopes of Cheget. We went up to the "Ai" cafe, and on the way we looked at the beautiful peaks of Elbrus and Donguzorun. We rented all the necessary equipment and prepared for tomorrow's snow activities, where all participants will finally find out why they rented so many beautiful, interesting things.

The 7 Summits Club super guide Olya Rumyantseva sends from Tanzania:

Greetings to everyone from Tanzania from the Padel Team! Today, in difficult weather conditions, making our way through strong winds and icy cold, we climbed to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro.

A lot of groups turned back due to weather conditions. But we coped. And found ourselves alone at the summit!

By evening, we had already descended to the Millennium camp, where a celebratory cake and rain awaited us. Everything is fine!

The guide of the 7 Summits Club Olya Rumyantseva sends from Tanzania:

Hello to everyone from the Padel Team! Today we moved from the Karanga camp to the Kosovo camp at an altitude of 4870 meters, from where we will go to the summit at night. Finally, the weather pleased us. A frost hit at night, in the morning the camp was completely covered in ice. But then the sun came out, it became very warm, and we did the whole way in the sun.

Everyone feels great. Now we will rest a little and at night we will go to the summit of Kilimanjaro.

The 7 Summits Club guide Olya Rumyantseva sends from Tanzania:

 Hello to everyone from Tanzania from the Padel Team! The fourth day of our trip to Kilimanjaro. This morning we climbed the legendary Barranco wall. Everyone really enjoyed the climb. It was fun and beautiful.

And after the wall, a trail with unearthly landscapes awaited us. The way was slightly overshadowed by low clouds and the absence of sun. But in any case, we were lucky. Because when we arrived at the camp at 4000, it started to rain, in places turning into hail. And it poured until the evening. So much for the dry season!

 However, this rain was no longer scary for us. Although, to be honest, we wanted at least a little sun to warm up and dry our damp things.

The 7 Summits Club guide Olya Rumyantseva sends from Tanzania:

 Greetings to everyone from Tanzania from the "Padel Team". Today we had a difficult day. We made a very long, but incredibly beautiful trek to the Barranco camp. First we climbed through the clouds and volcanic desert to the camp on Lava Tower at an altitude of 4620 meters. We had lunch there. And then we descended through the thickets of amazing senecia to the Barranco camp, losing almost all the gained altitude. The transition was not easy, but everyone coped.

And today we almost did not have rain. Only a little in the morning. However, it is still very cold here.

The 7 Summits Club guide Olya Rumyantseva sends from Tanzania:

Hello to everyone from Tanzania! From the group that has been trying to come up with a name for itself for the second day. And the second day we started our journey in the rain. So believe it or not, July is the dry season. True, in the afternoon, when we gained an altitude of more than 3500, we rose above the clouds, and the rain stopped.

Today, all the way we had incredible views and a lot of flowers and beautiful trees.

Unforgettable. Our camp today is at an altitude of 3800. Therefore, having arrived at the camp, we went even higher for acclimatization. And then there was a traditional ceremony of acquaintance with the local team serving us.

Hurray! By nightfall, the team came up with a name: "Padel Team"...

A guide of the 7 Summits Club Olya Rumyantseva reports from Tanzania:

A new group of the 7 Summits Club arrived in Tanzania and set out on the Machame route. And although this period is considered the dry season, it has been raining here for two weeks without a break. Today, on the first day of the hike, we also walked in the rain all day and are sitting in the camp in the rain. But we are not discouraged. We hope that the weather will be better in the future.

The guide of the 7 Summits Club Olya Rumyantseva reports from Tibet:

 Greetings to everyone from Tibet from the enlightened team! Today we had a very spectacular and scenic day. We woke up early in the morning and went to the airport, meeting the sunrise on the way and watching the first rays of the sun color Kailash.

The short one-and-a-half-hour flight to Lhasa was memorable for the views of the Himalayan range. It was especially nice to see Everest.

Today was a very important day for Buddhists in Tibet - the day of Buddha's enlightenment. Therefore, in Lhasa, around the Jokhang Temple, there were an incredible number of people doing kora and prostrations.

That's how much we saw! Tomorrow we have a day of rest before flying home, but we will probably come up with something interesting for this day.

The guide of the 7 Summits Club Olya Rumyantseva sends from Tibet:

Hello everyone from Tibet from completely “almost enlightened and reborn”! Today, our group got up very early to cross the Demome La Pass 5620 meters high and, according to Buddhist beliefs, reborn, leaving everything bad on the other side of the pass.

The whole group successfully overcame this test. Next, we had to go down to the shelter.

But everyone was so successfully reborn and revived to a new life that they decided not to stop in the shelter, but to go to the parking lot. As a result, we walked 26 km and ended up in Darchen in the evening.

The 7 Summits Club guide Olya Rumyantseva reports from Tibet:

Hello everyone from Tibet! Today we had a day of almost rest. In the morning we visited the Chiu monastery, which perched like a bird on the top of the mountain. This monastery was built on the site where Guru Rimpoche first came to bring Buddhism to Tibet. According to legend, in the cave where he stayed and over which the monastery was built, there is an imprint of his foot in the stone. We looked and confirmed that there is an imprint of someone's foot.

 In the monastery, we received instructions from a monk and talked with a family from a village in northern Tibet, who came to make a pilgrimage in honor of Saga Dawa. After that, we went to Lake Rakshastal, in which, according to legend, demons live. We didn't find any demons, but we saw stunningly beautiful landscapes. On the way, we saw herds of horses grazing against the backdrop of Kailash and yaks, who almost trampled us. And also people who perform kora with prostrations around the sacred lake Manosarovar.

After lunch, it was time to rest, prepare for tomorrow's hiking trip and walk around the village - after all, there are so many interesting things on its streets.

The 7 Summits Club super guide Olya Rumyantseva sends from Tibet:
Hello everyone from Tibet!
Today we drove for a long time through interesting places and in the evening we arrived in the village of Darchen, from where our trekking around Mount Kailash will begin the day after tomorrow.

Perhaps the fact that we drove the whole day in a car to get somewhere does not sound very good. But in fact, it was a wonderful day, filled with beautiful and amazing things.
From the very beginning, we were accompanied by wonderful views of snow-capped mountains and herds of yaks.

Then we visited one ancient monastery, where there are practically no tourists, only Tibetan pilgrims. The monastery made an unforgettable impression. A real place of power.
Then, unexpectedly, a real desert with dunes, a turquoise lake and snow-capped mountains on the horizon appeared on our way. And it was not a mirage.
At the end of a long journey, we arrived at the sacred Lake Manasarovar.
That's how much there was in one day! And it will be even more interesting.

The 7 Summits Club super guide Olya Rumyantseva sends from Tibet:

 Hello everyone from Tibet! We continue to travel around the country and become enlightened. Today was a very long drive to the city of Saga.

But before we left Shigatse, we visited one of the most famous monasteries in Tibet, the residence of the Panchen Lama - Tashilhunpo. Tashilhunpo Monastery was founded in 1447 by a student of Tsongkhapa, who was recognized after his death as the First Dalai Lama. The full name of the monastery is translated from Tibetan as "all happiness and well-being is collected here."

In Tashilhunpo there are burial stupas with the remains of the First Dalai Lama and several Panchen Lamas. Tashilhunpo is also famous for the largest statue of Maitreya Buddha in Tibet, 26 meters high. It took 279 kg of gold, almost the same amount of silver, 116 tons of bronze, more than 40 diamonds and 1000 pearls to make it.

Now in Tibet there is a sacred month, the most important month for Tibetan Buddhists - Saga Dawa. During this month, many Tibetans try to make pilgrimages to holy places and visit the most important monasteries. Therefore, in the territory of Tashilhunpo we saw many pilgrims in national clothes. It was very interesting to watch them.

 Well, and then we set off and drove the whole day, only occasionally getting out to look at all sorts of beautiful things. Again we crossed passes with an altitude of almost 5000 meters. So I want to hope that our acclimatization is in full swing.