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Greetings from Ecuador! Our cheerful team had a great day today. We checked out of the hotel, visited a few local attractions, including a supermarket and restaurant. The restaurant had a beautiful view and was near the Virgin Mary monument. Today we went on an acclimatization climb to Guagua Pichincha volcano (4,784 m). We drove up to the trailhead in jeeps and walked and walked. Unfortunately, we couldn't see the crater due to the fog. But the views were still stunning. After descending, we finally saw our destination – Cotopaxi volcano.
Guides: Viktor Volodin and Alexander Dorojukov.

Greetings from sunny Mexico! Yesterday we acclimatized to the assault camp (4800m). The climb took two and a half hours, and we spent another half hour at the campsite. Tomorrow we'll ascend to the assault camp. Then, tonight, we'll begin the ascent ща Orizaba. Group guides: Andrey Berezin and Valery Myasoedov.

Greetings from sunny Mexico! The "Equipo de Orizaba" group is currently at the best base camp on Orizaba Peak, at an altitude of 4,200 meters. We are staying in large, spacious camping tents. There is a large dining room where our entire large team can eat. The food is delicious and varied. Wi-Fi is available throughout the day. The group's guides are Andrey Berezin and Valery Myasoedov.

Greetings from Quito! Our group arrived in Ecuador yesterday evening, and we're really looking forward to visiting Cotopaxi Volcano. Today, we began our gradual acclimatization, took the cable car to 4,100 meters, walked around, and enjoyed the views of the city nestled between the mountains.

Afterward, we traditionally visited the "Place of the Equator." Everyone was thrilled to watch the water swirl in different directions as it drains, on opposite sides of the equator. Today, we'll have a welcome dinner, and we'll discuss plans for tomorrow and beyond.
Guides: Viktor Volodin and Alexander Dorojukov.

We congratulate our most active summit collector in recent years! In 2023, Galymzhan Kuspanov joined the 7 Summits Club programs. His first was Elbrus. Within two years, this courageous Kazakh climber had attempted all 14 summits in the Seven Summits and Seven Volcanoes programs! This may be a record for participants.

Yesterday, Galymzhan Kuspanov completed one of his collections with his ascent of Orizaba. We wish him the same success in the Seven Summits program in the coming year! May he maintain excellent physical fitness, a desire to expand his horizons, and the ability to do so for many years to come! Kuspanov ranked 67th on the list of Seven Volcanoes climbers, becoming the second in Kazakhstan after Yuri Lukyanov and the first ethnic Kazakh. Galymzhan turned 60 this year. He's a good role model for young people and also a record-breaker.

Kilimanjaro News, Tanzania. Summit Climb Day. The day began quite early, as internet access was nonexistent due to the country's elections. Everyone went to bed early and woke up early. We had breakfast at 7 a.m., and by 8 a.m., our group had already set out for Kibo Camp.

It's truly amazing how well the national park has managed to provide all the amenities along the route, right down to comfortable restrooms and tables. You instantly lose the feeling that you're far from civilization.

 After about four hours of gradual ascent, crossing desert terrain that sometimes feels like a walk on Mars, you reach Kibo Camp at 4,700 meters. There, cozy cabins and the thoughtful faces of climbers await you, anticipating the night of the summit. And also the carefree faces of the local guys, for whom this has long been a routine and part of their lives.

We set off for lunch, dinner, and rest at 10:00 PM. Soon, it's time to get up and make final preparations. Breakfast, which often requires forcing yourself to eat. The realization that you literally have to force yourself to eat. A final check of gear and clothing, and then "off you go!" The hardest day of our tour lies ahead. Just eight hours of climbing up a switchback road in the night over dusty, loose earth. After six hours, you reach the first point, called Gilmans Point. This is the first long rest stop, and dawn is already breaking.

 Nighttime shots of Kilimanjaro's crater in the light of the full moon, tea, and your favorite songs to help you fight off the drowsiness that rolls in like waves. And then, off you go again. Two more hours of work lie ahead, now at altitude. An hour and a half later, as soon as you pass Stella Point, the magic of sunrise begins. And you see with your own eyes how the valleys of golden Africa are bathed in the rays of the sun. This is something that can't be described in words, videos, or photos; you have to see it with your own eyes!

After the shock therapy, another half-hour of walking in the sun's rays, and there in the distance is the coveted sign for Uhuru Peak 5895.

And you say, "Hakuna Matata poli poli tutafika" (No problem! Quietly, quietly, we'll get there soon).

Guides: Alexander Dorojukov, Leuan Atabiyev.

The 7 Summits Club guide Olya Rumyantseva reports from Mexico:
Greetings from Mexico from the "Axolotl and Friends" group! Today, almost the entire group climbed Volcano Orizaba. Almost the entire group because the weather gave us a surprise. The forecasts weren't particularly bad, but forecasts don't always come true. Ultimately, two members decided to abort the climb. The others decided to continue. They found themselves at the summit, covered in icy glaze and lightly dusted with snow. It's not easy to climb with a shell of ice weighing several kilograms. But now everyone has unforgettable memories, excitement, and cool windows. And Galymzhan Kuspanov completed the "Seven Volcanoes" project with this ascent. Congratulations!

Greetings from sunny Mexico! Today, the "Equipo de Orizaba" group set off for an acclimatization climb to La Malinche Peak. The route from the entrance to the National Park to the summit took us 5 hours and 42 minutes. We climbed faster than expected. The route is very picturesque: it begins in a pine forest, then passes through a small section of alpine meadows, and then reaches the rocky pre-summit area. The summit itself is compact; our entire large team (17 people) barely fit on top.
Afterward, we descended along the same route we had climbed. Tomorrow, we'll travel to the base camp at Orizaba Peak. The group guides are Andrey Berezin and Valery Myasoedov.

Days 3 and 4. Greetings from sunny Tanzania! Yes, the weather was great, and the sun shone above us, even though early November is the transitional season and the sky is usually covered by clouds at this time! We moved on to the next camp, Horombo, at 3,800 meters, gaining another kilometer of vertical climb. We left the forest and were greeted by views of Mount Kilimanjaro and Mawenzi. The weather was fine. The sunsets and views of the savannah at night were stunning. This alone is worth the trip to Kilimanjaro.

The group is in good condition. We are working according to plan. After spending the night in Horombo, we hiked to the Zebra Rocks to acclimatize, and the next day we are preparing to move on to the Kibo summit camp at 4,600 meters. Guides: Alexander Dorozhukov and Leuan Atabiev.

Greetings from sunny Mexico! Yesterday, the "Equipo de Orizaba" group visited the Teotiocan pyramids, some of the oldest in the world. Afterward, we had lunch at a picturesque restaurant located in a natural grotto. After lunch, we headed to the hacienda in the town of Soltepec. Tomorrow, we'll set off on an acclimatization climb to the summit of La Malinche, at 4,200 meters. Guides Andrey Berezin and Valery Myasoedov.

The 7 Summits Club super guide Olya Rumyantseva reports from Mexico:
Greetings from Mexico from the Axolotl and Friends group! Today we had an acclimatization day on the slopes of Volcan Orizaba. After spending the night at base camp at 4,200 meters, admiring the starry sky and the huge moon, we went for a short walk after breakfast. We ascended to 4,750 meters, the location of our summit camp. Everyone is in great spirits and feeling great. The views are stunning.
After lunch, we checked our gear. We adjusted our crampons to our boots and our harnesses to our climbers. Tomorrow we will ascend to the summit camp and set out tonight for the ascent to Orizaba's summit.

Greetings from sunny Mexico! The ascent of Pico Orizaba (5,536 m) has begun. We met all the participants today. We settled into the hotel and had a gear check. In the evening, we had a welcome dinner. Tomorrow we'll travel to Soltepec, visiting the Teotiocan pyramids along the way.
Group guides: Andrey Berezin and Valery Myasoedov.

Mountaineering School in Tuyuk-Su. Yesterday, our training department successfully climbed Amangeldy Peak along a 2A-category route. The instructor chose a longer route with more technical challenges than previous routes. There were challenging walls, a traverse, a rappel in the middle, and a ridge where you had to climb simultaneously. The students completed all the tasks and were back at camp by six in the evening.

Also, Nikolai Tokurenov, a participant in our program, celebrated his birthday at the summit that day! We gave him a small souvenir from our team. Today we have a closing ceremony, where we will present "Mountaineer of Russia" badges and "Mountaineer" books.
Guide/instructor: Ratmir Mukhametzyanov.

The 7 Summits Club guide Olya Rumyantseva reports from Mexico:
Greetings from Mexico from the "Axolotl" group! Today we left civilization behind and climbed the slopes of Orizaba, where we'll spend the next three days. Today was a day of travel. First, we arrived in the village of Zoapan, where our partners' base is located. We picked up the missing gear. We loaded everything into jeeps and drove along a very winding and dusty road. But at least it offered beautiful views. We settled into base camp at 4,100 meters.

Greetings from Tanzania! We continue publishing our Kilimanjaro expedition diary.
Day 2. We arrived at the gate, completed all the paperwork, ate, and set out on a trek through the beautiful jungle. Today was one of the most beautiful treks on the entire route, although each day was unique, beautiful in its own way.
The trail ran through equatorial forest with giant trees, vines, lichens, and tree ferns for almost the entire day. Closer to camp, the forest gave way to thickets of giant heather. Along the way, we were accompanied by monkeys, bridges, and waterfalls.
We rose above the clouds. We arrived at Mandara Camp at 2800 meters, at the upper tree line. We settled in, discussed our plans for the next day, and settled in for a well-deserved rest.
7 Summits Club guides Alexander Dorojukov and Leuan Atabiyev.

The 7 Summits Club guide Olya Rumyantseva sends a message from Mexico:
Greetings from Mexico to everyone from the Axolotl group! Our group is the first of many the 7 Summits Club groups this fall to travel across Mexico, from summit to summit, toward North America's highest volcano, Orizaba.
Yesterday, we warmed up by climbing pyramids. Today, we had another acclimatization day and our first volcano, La Malinche. At almost 4,500 meters, we summited it as a team after a wonderful walk through a beautiful forest, a long climb over rocks, and even some rock climbing at the end.
The climb to La Malinche was challenging for everyone, but everyone accomplished the task brilliantly. Tomorrow, better acclimatized and almost rested, we will climb to the first camp on the slopes of the Orizaba volcano.

 Greetings from the slopes of Kilimanjaro in Tanzania! Everything is on schedule; our group is descending to the gates of the national park and should be back at the hotel today for a celebratory dinner and party celebrating the end of the program.

While we wait for details and photos from the group, we are publishing the travel diary of Sergey Sedov, who reached the summit of Kilimanjaro in three days.

 Sergey Sedov:

Arriving a day late, I decided to catch up with the group immediately. The expedition organizers were understanding and provided me with a local guide, porter, and transportation, for which I am eternally grateful. My physical condition allows me to undertake long treks upward, and in the end, Francis and I ran from the entrance to the national park to Horombo Hut in one day—or more precisely, six hours—covering 19 km and gaining 2,300 meters in altitude (from 1,450 to 3,750 meters).

 Having met the group there, the guides and expedition organizers and I discussed the option of continuing the climb separately at our own pace. Francis supported my idea of going to Base Camp the next day and immediately attempting the summit. This was his first attempt, but he was confident in both himself and me. I had arrived on Kilimanjaro after the Nepalese mountains and was well acclimatized with plenty of altitude to spare.

 The next day, when the group set out on an acclimatization radial hike, we continued our trek and reached Kibo Base Camp in three and a half hours. There we had lunch, held a briefing, and headed off to prepare for the summit push.

 We set out for the summit push at precisely midnight. We walked at a steady, confident, and steady pace, taking our time. We took our first short break at 3:00 AM, rested at 4:00 AM at Gilmansa Point, and then leisurely trudged to the summit, reaching it precisely at 6:00 AM. A blistering gust of wind awaited us there, so after quickly snapping a couple of photos, we descended at 6:15 AM. We had plenty of energy, the sun was warm, and our legs ran naturally down. In the end, the descent took only 1:40.

 At Base Camp, we changed clothes, packed our things, and set about executing another daring plan: to descend to the very entrance of the national park not just in one day, but before 5:00 PM.

 On the way back, we met our guys and wished them a successful summit push. In Horombo, we took a quick lunch break, in Mandara we treated ourselves to another half-hour rest, and by 4:40 PM, Francis and I were hugging at the entrance to the national park.

 I won't lie, the last few kilometers were incredibly difficult. By this point, everything was aching, but we persevered, kept up the pace, and continued down. It's no joke, we covered 40 km that day, including the summit push.

 In total, the entire program took us just three days. In short:

44 hours from start to summit.

4,450 m – elevation gain during this time.

34 km – ascent.

40 km covered on summit push day.

Total time: 54 hours 40 minutes.

Total distance: 68 km.

 Also on the descent, halfway between Horombo and Mandara, we met a legend of our mountaineering, Uncle Vitya, whom we had recently seen in Namche Bazaar and Kathmandu.

 In conclusion, I want to say that I didn't initially plan to set any records or chase time. It just happened that way. Appetite comes with eating. I want to thank the 7 Summits Club team for their flexibility and prompt problem-solving. I especially appreciate the exceptional level of organization—I had access to exactly the same facilities as the rest of the group the entire time.

And Francis and I became very close during this time. It even felt like we spent much more time with him than just three days.

 To be continued!

Photos and videos by the author - Sergey Sedov

The 7 Summits Club Guide Olya Rumyantseva reports from Mexico:

Greetings to everyone from Mexico, where we are beginning the climbing season on Orizaba! Today, the first large group, with the very Mexican name "Axolotl," began their journey to the summit of North America's highest volcano. We began our journey by exploring Mexico's most famous pyramids—the Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon in the ancient city of Teotihuacan. Or rather, we tried to begin with a hot air balloon ride over the pyramids. But, alas. There was fog all morning, so the flights were canceled. And those balloonists who did manage to take off saw nothing but fog. We weren't too upset; we did some exercises with the hot air balloons as a backdrop, and then went for a walk around the pyramids and listened to amazing stories. Later in the evening we moved to the La Malinche volcano, which we will visit tomorrow for acclimatization.

Hello everyone! Recently, there were reports online of unrest in Tanzania related to the presidential elections and the usual disgruntled opposition and unrest related to it.

To quell the unrest, the internet was shut down throughout the country, and our guides sent short updates on the expedition's progress only via text messages. The situation is now improving, and communication is being restored.

 Our group is fine, everything is according to plan. The team is currently summiting and descending.

 But first things first.

 Expedition Diary

 Day 1. Our guides arrived in Tanzania and are fully prepared to welcome the group. Our team was unable to depart as scheduled the following day due to flight cancellations and delays due to the situation in Tanzania. But we managed to overcome the situation, and the entire group assembled in Moshi, the meeting point before heading into the mountains.

 Only one member arrived a day later than the group and was catching up individually. Looking ahead, I'll say that, due to his excellent physical condition and acclimatization in the Himalayas, our Sergey caught up with the group in one day instead of the planned two. He gained such momentum and got into the swing of things that he couldn't stop, overtook the group, and climbed Kilimanjaro in three days instead of the planned six. Sergey is now back at the hotel with a new summit on his list of accomplishments and is waiting for the rest of the guys at the hotel tomorrow.

You can't imagine how much joy it was to see and meet everyone at Kilimanjaro Airport. After all, difficulties bring a team together and unite.

 All the formalities have been completed, the equipment has been selected and checked, the introduction stage has been completed, the first batch of photos for Instagram and Stories have been taken. Note: Friendship won the high jump competition with the Maasai. The Maasai have a tradition that the strongest man is the one who can jump the highest.

Guides: Alexander Dorojukov and Leuan Atabiev.

The 7 Summits Club guide Dmitry Semenov reports from Nepal:

 Greetings from Kathmandu! The last members of our Mera Peak expedition flew home today. Unfortunately, prolonged bad weather and record snowfall prevented us from completing the program with a successful ascent.