All news

Today, the day of rest, we had a competition in billiards. This is probably a world record on the height of billiards tournament.

Participants (all members of Everest climb).

Russia:

Sergei Dudko,
Dmitry Krasnov,
Sasha Apalko,
Sergey Ponomarev,
Vladimir Rychenko,
Vitali Simonovich.

Kazakhstan:
Yaroslav Sabirbaev.

Ukraine:
Konstantin Morozov.

Poland:
Zigmund Berdychovski (failure to appear at the start).

US-Russia-Azerbaijan
Murad Ashurly (failure to appear at the start)

Head Judge:
Catherine Pozdeyeva.

Main organizer:
Alex Abramov.

Result:

First place - victory went to Yaroslav Sabirbaev ofKazakhstan.

Second place - Sergey Ponomarev -Russia.

Third place - Konstantin Morozov -Ukraine.

Small Bronze (4th) Sasha Apalko.

Everybody is happy and participants and spectators.

Tomorrow we will start for great things, spending the first night at 5800m and .... birthday of Vitalik Simonovich!

Alexander Abramov: Today - the second day, as our team is to base camp. Initially, in the morning all members went down to the Old Rongbuk Monastery. And then all together we started for an installation of billiards. Yes, billiards.

We have a large tent, which we call the "Sports". There is a table tennis table inside it. And now the table for billlierds. We hauled slabs of marble. 3 plates - each up to 150 kg. Then pulled the cloth.

In general, everyone is happy with the result.

This is probably the first pool table at an altitude above 5000m.

The first played were the guides: Sergei Larin and Noel Hanna.

The deal is done: now we can think about the mountains.

Alex and his favorite motorcycle

Murad Ashurly is hungry after a walk

In our dining room we eat a traditional borshch (beetroot and cabbage soup a Russian - Ukrainian dish)

Billiards epic story

Night came to BC

Two parts of our expedition met before starting to the final part of route to the base camp. But their bus was suddenly broken. Members end guides were trying to push it.

We are here ! Everest and his brothers or Quomolungma and her sisters.

One group (main) under leadership of Alex Abramov started from Lhasa. The second group with Noel Hanna (guides and sherpas) goes with a baggage via Nialam and Jangmu.

Lyudmila Korobeshko: we are now ar Barneo and waiting for a plane to Spitzbergen. 13th of April we reached he North Pole and the same day planted a time capsule. Everything OK, we are happy ! By !  

A Greenpeace team have planted a time capsule on the seabed at the North Pole. A 'Flag For The Future', attached to a glass and titanium time capsule containing the signatures of nearly three million people, was planted on the seabed beneath the North Pole. Greenpeace is calling for the region, currently under threat from climate change, oil companies, industrial fishing and shipping to be declared a global sanctuary and free from exploitation.

For more information: www.greenpeace.org/northpole.

Thank you Nepal. We had busy days and wonderful evenings, we had fun in our beloved Kathmandu. But now we are landed in the capital of Tibet, at a new altitude. The journey to Everest begins.

Photos of Denis Provalov

Our friend Vladimir Doronin has climbed the Mount of Giluve in  Papua New Guinea. It is the highest volcano of the continent of Australia.

It was very rainly weather. Huge shower every days. Take care! -  it is for next climbers.

Real adventure:

Kiana Chabdarova with a guide Alex Nevsky has climbed the Batian peak in the massive of Mount Kenia. Probably, it is the first Russian woman climb of this summit. It is real beauty: the nature and Liana. See below..

The group of Dmitry Ermakov has reached the North Pole. It was real hard day, because the last day was very long. The team had to fight with a drift to fix their Pole. Our congratulations !  Now the main part of the team is in Barneo, and Dmitry is still on the Pole helping local stuff working for Barneo service.

In the airport.

for the beginning of a briefing.

A speech of Alex.

 General  and official photo: 31 members and guides.

Dinner in the Royal Palace

Alex with employees of the Russian Embassy in Nepal

Good day! This is Lyudmila Korobeshko - a guide the Greenpeace expedition to the North Pole project "Save the Arctic." We have set the third camp, the third day of the journey is over. In fact, it is very cold. I just came out of the tent: probably minus thirty and thirty-five and then the wind increases. Today, we walked for about 11 kilometers. However, to the North Pole, we almost did not come close. That's because the drift takes us back. In fact, yesterday when we went out, we had 25 km from the Pole, in the evening it was 19 km. And when in the morning we were ready to go, it again became 25 km. And now, when we set camp ... 20 km left.

But when tomorrow we will wake up and look at the GPS, it can again be 25 km, or even 30, if the drift not changed. So what we are going, overcome obstacles, but remains at the same location. Of course, a little bit insulting.

KATHMANDU: An “icefall doctor” has died after falling into a crevasse in Mount Everest on Sunday, the Annapurna Post reported.

Mingmar Sherpa (45) who died after a fatal fall while returning from Camp 2 was one of the six icefall doctors assigned to set and maintain the safest path in the world’s highest peak for this season.

They were returning to Camp 1 after laying down a series of ladders across the crevasses yesterday. The site is said to be 200 metres away from the Camp 1.

According to Captain Siddhartha Gurung of Simrik Air, who was involved in the rescue operation, five others in the group are safe.

Sherpas who maintain the safest path in the mountains for other climbers are regarded as icefall doctors.

The deceased hailed from Goratapting of Solukhumbu and was currently residing in Dingboche of the district. He was into the profession for nine years and was regarded as an experience icefall doctor.

He is survived by his wife and a son.

Captain Gurung informed that Sherpa’s body could not be lifted from the incident site due to unfavourable weather conditions.

Due to bad weather we forced to stay over in Febiche today, he told the Annapurna Post, “We will head to the site tomorrow morning (Monday) along with a team of experts for the rescue operation.”

Mountaineers are heading to the Everest base camp for the upcoming climbing season.

www.thehimalayantimes.com

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As the border with China was open we sent a first track to the base camp

On Sunday in Nepal there is a general strike. The strike almost paralyzed the country's life. Maoists so begin preparation for the general elections to the constituent assembly of the country.

Meanwhile, we need to work. In Kathmandu, all expedition guides arrived: Sergei Larin, Denis Provalov and Noel Hanna. Preparation enters on the final stage.

Lyudmila Korobeshko reports from the Ice Camp Barneo. Today Greenpeace “Save the Arctic” expedition completed a preparation for the ski trip to the Pole. Members were s engaged in a training session, once again learn how to survive in the ice desert, checked equipment. On the same day they say goodbye the group of Fyodor Konyukhov and Victor Simonov. They flew to the North Pole with a large support group and journalists in a helicopter. Automobile expedition lead by Vasily Elagin just the day came at the Pole, after 37 days of travel by ice of theArctic Ocean.

MLAE 2013 Sea ice automobile expedition

April 6, 2013 04:30MOSCOWTIME

Geographical North Pole N 90 ° 00,000'

It is the second time in the history of world automotive industry that cars reached the North Pole from the closest land. And again as well as four years ago these cars are "Yemelya" of Vasily Yelagin's design. This time to reach the North Pole fromSevernaya Zemlyatook 37 days that is only one day less than in 2009. In the MLAE team there are seven people: Vasiliy Elagin, Afanasiy Makovnev, Vladimir Obikhod, Alexey Shkrabkin, Andrey Vankov, Sergey Isayev, Nikolay Kozlov. Today and tomorrow the team will take a rest and also arrange themselves and cars. We have the second not less difficult step before us – to reach the Canadian settlement Resolute 74 degree of north latitude, and we have to do it using fuel that we took on start for the whole route at once.

Afanassi

www.yemelya.ru

Hello! This is Lyudmila Korobeshko from the Expedition Save the Arctic. So, now we are already on Barneo, as planned. This morning we flew here by plane, successfully landed and had been even conduct training outing.

At the moment, the stationBorneois located about 50 kilometers from the North Pole, and continues at a rate of about 5 km a day to approach it. Weather is good, relatively warm. Around minus 15, however, there is wind. Tonight here we are waiting for large group to arrive, in which the main characters are Fyodor Konyukhov and Victor Simonov.

Leila Albogachieva from Ingushetia last year climbedMount Everestin the expedition of 7 Summits Club under the leadership of Alexander Abramov. This year, she decided to try to climb a different route - from the south. 7 Summits-adventure Co has been organizing this climb.

Leila Albogachieva brought with flag Olympics in Sochi, which she was given in the Olympic Committee in Moscow with a request to place it on the summit of Everest. Russian Ambassador to Nepal Sergey Velichkin received a delegation of 7 Summits Club …

In the airport Leila was met by Alex and  Mayla, her partner from last year expedition

Finally, for the first time, Greenpeace organizers showed a magic capsule. Our mission will be to bring it to the North Pole and sink it down to the bottom of ocean. Inside it marked the names of more than 2 million people that supported Greenpeace in the program of protecting theArctic. On the left in the photo, it is a famous American actor Ezra Miller. ...

We still have a couple of hours trying to finally pack the sleigh and deliver them today to load the plane.

Departure is scheduled for tomorrow at 9 a.m.

This morning, Victor Boyarsky briefed our two groups. Eric Phillips had questions :)

In the background, Dmitry Ermakov translates the speech of Boyarsky from English to Russian.

Morning training

Greenpeace team Aurora

Members and guides

http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/climate-change/arctic-impacts/Save-The-Arctic-North-Pole-Expedition/The-North-Pole-Expedition-Team/#a0

Ezra Miller

On April 3rd, 2013 together with Victor Simonov, Fedor Konyukhov bid his farewell before setting off to the North Pole - Greenland journey. A farewell ceremony took place in the village Matrosi (30 km off of Petrozavodsk). It was attended by state personnel of the Republic of Karelia, journalists, sponsors’ representatives and of course a large crowd of the people who are interested in this event and came to wish their best to the two explorers.

http://www.konyukhov.ru/eng/

At the ceremony Victor Simonov announced that all 12 dogs are of the Siberian Husky breed and that all of them except one were raised and trained in his kennels, right in the Matrosi village of Karelia.

On April 4th together with the 12 dogs, 2 sleds of 80 kg (when empty) and 25 people of various relations to the expedition, Fedor and Victor will board the An74 aircraft provided by “Utair” Aviation Company. The first stop is Spitsbergen (Longyear settlement), then off to Russian Camp Barneo. Fedor and Victor plan to start the North Pole- Greenland trek on April 6th. While at Camp Barneo (which is pretty close to the North Pole), the two explorers will be flown on a helicopter to the North Pole. Fedor plans to place a Russian Orthodox Church Cross at the North Pole and conduct a service of supplication to honor 1025 years since the Christianization of Kievan Rus'. The expedition has received a blessing from the bishop Kiril, the Patriarch of Moscow and all the Rus'.

In 2006 two Russian explorers Georgiy Karpenko and Artur Chubarkin reached the North Pole on dog sleds. All of the dogs were strictly of Siberian Husky breed. One of the dogs, 9 years old Cherke will run together with Fedor and Victor’s dogs. Once the team reaches Greenland, they will be joined by 14 more dogs of Greenland Husky breed.

It will be Fedor’s 4th arrival at the North Pole: in 1988 he reached the Pole together with the team of Dmitriy Shparo; in 1989 with the expedition “Arctica” under the leadership of Vladimir Chukov; and in 1990 Fedor conquered the Pole solo. This time though, Fedor will be leaving the North Pole heading towards Greenland.

The expedition is planned to take approximately 4 months. This arctic route has never been completed and is considered the most challenging area in the entire Arctic region. Despite the prognosis, both Fedor and Victor are very optimistic and remain with the most positive attitude: “We are eager to begin our adventure. It’s getting quite warm here for our dogs, but at the North Pole the temperature is the most optimal for them- negative 38. As for me and Victor, the harder the frost the better for us,”- remarked Fedor.

Dmitry Ermakov and Lyudmila Korobeshko fly today to Spizbergen. They will de leaders to separate group to reach the north Pole.

Lyudmila will be one of guides of the Greenpeace group.

More about the Save the Arctic campaign

In a less than one year, the Save the Arctic movement has grown to 2.7 million people from all over the world who want a say in what happens to the Arctic.

The Save the Arctic campaign is about protecting the area around the North Pole (where no people live) from resource exploitation (oil drilling and overfishing) and associated conflict. Currently these resources are unreachable under the sea-ice but ad climate change causes this sea-ice to melt in the Arctic summer, countries around the North Pole are staking their claims on the area and its natural resources.

The campaign aims for the area around the North Pole to be declared a global sanctuary so it will not belong to one country but to every person in the world.  Greenpeace already ran a successful campaign to do this in the South Pole so we know it can work!

Find out more and add your name to the Arctic scroll.

Thank you to everyone who entered the Flag for the Future competition. The judges were overwhelmed with the quality and creativity of the entries. You can view a selection of entries here.

Judge Aishah is writing an article about her experience of being a judge which is coming to the website soon.