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This is Rumyantseva Olga from Antarctica. Today we went up to the High camp on the Vinson massif. In general, all groups are up here, because tomorrow's forecast promises the best day. Although forecasts are not very true recently. We decided to go out tomorrow for a climb. So keep your fists for us and wish us luck! Bye!

Alex Abramov and Lyudmila Korobeshko came toBoliviato climb the highest peak in the countrySajama. First, they visited the holiday of end of the world, which took place onLake Titicaca. It was a great festivities, attended by the president of the country. Then, for acclimatization, Alex and Lyuda decided to climb the mount of Huyana Potosi (6088m). It is located close toLa Pazand is the highest in mountain range of theCordillera Real.

The weather was terrible. Of course, you can not climb in these conditions. But we decided to go up. Our Guide was Felix - a typical Indian. He led us through the GPS, almost without visibility. The ascent was made from the shelter in 8 hours, that is very fast.

After studying the weather forecast, we decided not to climbSajama. Instead, we visited the famous Huyuni salt desert. There we will celebrate Christmas.

After that, we're leaving inSantiago. From there, Luda goes toMoscow, and Sasha inPunta Arenas, where he meets a new group of 7 Summits Club. He flies with the new group toAntarctica, for a ski trip to the South Pole.

Merry Christmas for Everyone !

Alex Abramov and Lyuda Korobeshko from Bolivia

Since our last review, a plan of Denis Urubko and Alexei Bolotov was specified. Denis Urubko was interviewed by Spanish magazine Desnivel.

He, in particular, tried to clarify a route of a planned attempt on Everest. Climbing route should be in the sector between 1975 Bonington route on the center of South-west face and Polish (Kukuczka - Czok) along the South ridge.

From the book of Jan Kelkowski "Mount Everest Massif"

This may be a line marked by N 33. There were attempts of all expeditions for the south-west face, before, in 1975 Nick Estcourt found a way up leading on the upper field leftsides. It was 5 or 6 unsuccessful attempts. N 32 – a line of an attempt of strong Czechoslovak team led byIvanGulfin 1987.

Well, here on the blog Denis posted New Year's greetings and reflections….

http://urubko-8000new.blogspot.ru/2012/12/happy-new-year.html

Here is the final part:

“Here only the analysis with the years has come. Also is, of what to think:

1. Speed-ascent on Sagarmatha without oxigen from the South keeps till now at a mark 1998 in 20 and a half hours. http://www.everestnews.com/everest1.htm And is possible to do faster?

2. New routes, as well as variants, on Chomolungma it is a lot of. All of them are made in the Himalayan style. Here there is a History of the Alpine style on the Everest. More precisely, the part of history very interesting: http://bask.ru/info/papers/everest_8848.html Is it possible by a new route, but in the Alpine style?

3. The winter ascension to the Everest was with oxygen. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everest But without oxygen it will turn out? Is possible by other route?

4. The traverse to next eight-thousanderLhotsehas been made with oxygen, and on usual ways… as a compromise. And whether there is a chance to do the «real» traverse without oxygen?

Such sports problems turn in a head since many years. And the answers to them can be the most simple - to try though something to make most. As in a mirror to see the reflexion on the verge of the present adventure. Whether it is a challenge?! To whom it is interesting? Come on please, register your self :)

Humbly – Marry Christmas, friends!

Happy New Year!”

PZA winter expedition to Broad Peak– it was declared team members.

On 21.12.2012 during a press conference at the Olympic Centre inWarsawmembers of the expedition were declared. They will attack this winter Broad Peak 8,047 m.

The expedition members: Krzysztof Wielicki (born 1950) – Head, Maciej Berbeka (1954), Adam Bielecki (1983), Tomasz Kowalski (1985), Arthur Malek (1979).

The expedition takes place in the framework of the Polish Winter Himalayan Mountaineering Sports 2010 – 2015 program (leader - Arthur Hajzer), who took over patronage of Mr. Bronislaw Komorowski, President of the Republic. The general sponsor is PKN Orlen SA.

Wielicki is fifth person climbed all 14-thousanders, in 1984 he climbed Broad Peakin 16 hours from base camp. Probably it is still the best time.

Another aged climber Maciej Berbeka was first in winter on Cho-Oyu and… Broad Peak. Yes … in the beginning of 1988 he was a member of big international expedition led by Andzej Zawada. They tried to climb K2, without chance. Then Maciej and Alex Lwow asked their leader for permission to climb Broad Peak in alpine style. They went with huge sacks, with three overnight on the slopes of BP. 6th of March Alex and Maciej went to summit push from 7300. At 7800 m Lwow decided to turn back, afraid of frostbiting. Berbeka continued climb and about 4 p.m. reached a summit. Later it became clear that it was lower peak, so-called Rocky or Antecima (8030m). The Main (Prinicipal) summit of Broad Peak left virgin in winter.

From Taternik 1988 - M. Berbeka

Another interesting news – it is a comeback to Himalaya of Elisabeth Rivol. She will try to climbNanga Parbat, joining Italian Daniele Nardi in the base camp service. Another team that will share their base camp service – it will Hungary/US expedition: David Klein, Zoltan Robert Acz and Ian Overton (US doctor). They plan to climb by so-called Moro – Urubko line.

Elisabeth Rivol

Daniele Nardi

David Klein, Zoltan Robert Acz

Another team (Polish): Tomasz Mackiewicz, Marek Klonowski and Piotr Strzezysz – is already on route. They left Ravalpindi for trek to the base camp in Pupal side of Nanga Parbat. They plan to climb the Schell route

Victor and Igor climbed Orizaba on the day of expecting of the end of the world. They are with local guides Alfredo and Israel, and they all reached the top first, in a very good pace. The weather was very good, a stunningly beautiful sunrise. Popocatepetl volcano reminded that it is the day of the end of the world. It noted by a very beautiful eruption. The descent was normal, the climbers arrived in jeeps to the city of Puebla, where they fell on the bed for sleep.

The North Caucasian Mountain Club - is one of the organizations created by the North Caucasus Development Corporation. Its staff has organized the past autumn research and promotional jeep tours along so-called Alanian way. Alanian way - is, roughly speaking, a system of roads in a depression between the Lateral and Rocky ridges of the Caucasus Mountains. At different times, this communication system had known periods of revival and oblivion. If the project of system of mountain resorts in theNorth Caucasuswill become a reality, there must be laid normal roads. In the meantime, you can enjoy the pleasures of jeep adventure tourism. Route, by and large, can be maid from somewhere Gunib (Dagestan) to Adler (Black Sea), but now it is about standardizing of the way from Elbrus to Kazbek (central part). This year, journalists and representatives of tourism companies were invited in the tour.

For a short report on the trip from Alexei Orlov, please visit a site of Action Studio «WOOZILY» (un Russian)

During this trip some outstanding images of the Caucasus were made. Photos here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/woozily/

Studio «WOOZILY» promises for the New Year full version of a film aboutAlanian Way. While you can watch a trailer:

More about development of theNorth Caucasus. Construction of a multipurpose center near theairportofMineralny Vody. You could see the Director General of the North Caucasus Development Corporation Anton Pak.

Anton Pak’s Interview to TV ChannelRussia24

Site of the North Caucasus Development Corporation

http://krskfo.ru/

Missionand objectives

The North Caucasus Development Corporation (NCDC) was established in 2010 to develop the investment environment in the North Caucasus Federal District (NCFD) by attracting investors and participating in investment projects in the district.

Our mission is to create a successful investment business to stimulate the economic development of theNorth Caucasusregion.

Our top priorities are to support the implementation of the government development program for the NCFD, raise investment for the district and create new jobs.

The economic potential of the district, which is based on its geographic location, its favorable climate and its natural and human resources – along with the government’s long-term strategic regional interests – create a platform for social and economic development as well as growing investment opportunities.

The Corporation has the following objectives for 2011-2015:

- support at least 120 investment projects in the NCFD

- build its own investment portfolio consisting of 30-40 projects

- raise at least RUB70bn in private investment (both debt and equity), which will create up to 35,000 new jobs

To achieve these objectives we are developing our investment and advisory business.

The Corporation is a brand-new structure for theNorth Caucasusdistrict that combines the interests of domestic and international investors on the one hand, and government authorities on the other hand, in order to guarantee efficient project implementation and increase return on investments in the district.

Before our team flew out to Antarctica, we asked them to share some of their thoughts regardingVinson Massif. The area around the mountain is a pretty unique place and a popular destination for adventure travelers, but for a number of reasons, including the extremely high cost, only a select few are able to make the trip. The rest of us can only experienceAntarcticathrough the words of others.

Now that the team is back in Base Camp, safe and sound, we would like to declare “Alpari: On Top of the World” a success.

About Vinson and Life

Lyudmila Korobeshko:

“I was the only one from the team that had already been to the summit of Vinson, so I had a pretty good idea of the difficulty and the danger that were in store for us. The toughest parts had to be going two weeks without a shower and dragging sleds filled with our own waste. Well, that and the cold, of course. Everything else was fun.”

This was Lyudmila’s second trip toAntarcticathis year. In January, she went on a ski expedition to the South Pole. Almost a year later, she returned toAntarcticato take a shot at the summit of Vinson. It seems that there are women out there that prefer endless fields of ice to endless beaches!

What can we say about our new world record holder, Lyudmila? She’s humble, strong and quiet. and she always wears a smile on our face. Earlier this year, Pearl Goings, a climber fromNew Zealand, appeared on the scene, going after the same Seven Summits record as Lyudmila. HoweverPearldropped out of the race on her third mountain. Lyudmila continued onward, making it through the seven peaks in just 300 days, shattering the old women’s Seven Summits speed record. In spite of her remarkable achievement, Lyudmila remains as caring and humble as ever. Each morning she makes the team tea and handles the expedition’s organizational matters.

Ivan Dusharin, 65.

Dreams do come true.

“I’ve wanted to visitAntarcticafor a long time now. After my team back inTolyatticlimbed Everest in 1992, we came up with another idea for an expedition: ‘From the South to the North Pole’. The idea was to make it to the South Pole, climb Vinson Massif and then drive along the world’s longest mountain system (the American Cordillera, which runs from South America to North America and is made up of a series of mountain ranges including the Andes and the Rockies) in a VAZ-Neva (a car produced back at the AvtoVAZ factory in Tolyatti, Russia, where Ivan worked at the time), climbing 16 of the more well-known peaks along the way. The final summit would have beenMountMcKinley. We didn’t go through with the expedition, but the dream never died.”

“I really hope everything works out for us on the expedition; that we make it through all of the challenges ahead; that the frigid cold ofAntarcticawon’t damage the warm friendship we’ve developed; that we will be able to complete our mission and get some sense of satisfaction from doing so. Wish us luck. And let’s hope my dream comes true. Until next time.”

Ivan Dusharin finally realized his dream of traveling toAntarctica– at the age of 65. As if the Honored Master of Sport hadn’t already garnered enough respect from the global climbing community! Ivan is the author of a number of books that are read by novice and experienced climbers alike.

Lyudmila wasn’t the only one from Team Alpari to set an individual record during “Alpari: On Top of the World”. When he reached the summit of Vinson, Ivan became the oldest Russian climber to complete the Seven Summits.

Maxim Shakirov is already planning his next climb. This year, Maxim will be ringing in the New Year atop one of the world’s highest peaks. This isn’t anything new for Maxim. He has been celebrating New Year’s on a different summit every year for more than a decade.

Maxim, asked what he was expecting from Vinson, answered, “Vinson? I’m expecting an entirely new experience. I’m hoping and also scared that Vinson will leave even more of an impression than McKinley and Kosciuszko.”

Maxim later sent us a voice message from Vinson Base Camp on December 13: “The mountain ridge was incredibly beautiful – probably as beautiful as inAlaska. It might have been even more beautiful. We were filled with emotion.”

It’s great to know that there’s always somewhere on the planet that can surprise you. What’s important is that you don’t miss out on your chance to visit.

Source: http://www.alpari-life.ru/en/antarktida-xolodno-tyazhelo-no-veselo/

Magellan monument

At Union Glacier

At basecampVinson

At the top

With an Alpari banner

Farewell to Vinson

All video of the project

http://www.alpari-life.ru/video/

The second group of the 7 Summits Club (Anatoly Stegney, Vitaly Simonovich, Dmitry Sokov and Alexander Lozhkin) with a Guide Olga Rumyantseva arrived in the Vinson base camp. After arrival in the Union Glacier they were almost immediately taken to the next plane. They flied to the base camp even without having dinner in UG. Now they made the first acclimatization outing. Everything is OK.

See photos from the first group.

Olga Rumyantseva

Coming from Antarctica to Punto Arenas, first of all Lyudmila Korobeshko sent us a photo report about their climb of Mount Vinson. Lyuda, Ivan and Max reached the top of Antarctica 11th of December. They finished their program "7 Summits for 300 days"

Victor Bobok and Igor Charkashin had climbed the volcano of La Malinche (4500m) for acclimatization.

Next goal is Orizaba - the highest in Mexico. The weather was perfect.

Lyudmila Korobeshko, Ivan Dusharin and Maxim Shakirov ended their travel to Antarctica, the last part of the program "7 summits for 300 days" (292 days 2 hours and 2 minutes). Climbing the Mount of Vinson, they made a new world speed record for climbing seven summits for women and for a team of three climbers.

 The "Alpari on top of the world" in Punta Arenas

Igor Stolyarov also climbed Mt. Vinson

Alex Abramov met Harry Kikstra in Punta Arenas

This morning, our second group flew to Antarctica. They are: Anatoly Stegney, Vitaly Simonovic, Dmitry Sokov and Alexander Lozhkin. Guide the group Olga Rumyantseva awaits them in Antarctica.

The weather is good, we hope that the return flight will be not delayed. We are waiting for the return of our team Alpari from Antarctica. They have to go back tonight.

I imagine how they want to celebrate the successful completion of the project “7 Summits for 300 days”!

We are waiting!

Alex Abramov from Punto Arenas

We send to all our heartfelt greetings from the country of end of the world! We are moving rapidly across the country and is also rapidly approaching our destination - the ascent on Orizaba. According to our plan - we will climb it on the day the world end :) ... Everything goes according to plan, tequila does not hinder. And even I would say that it helps in moving towards our goal.

On the way from Mexico Cityto La Malinche, we saw the famous volcano Popakatepel

Our  modest hotel

The main goal of our trip - the peak of Orizaba

And this is our goal for acclimatization - La Malinche volcano

Alex Abramov met a new group of the 7 Summits Club inPunta Arenas. They came for the program Climbing Mt. Vinson. The team consists of: Anatoly Stegney, Vitaly Simonovic, Dmitry Sokov and Alexander Lozhkin. Our Guide Olya Rumyantseva awaits them in theAntarctica, at the Union Glacier base..

Today, the company ALE organized a briefing and our team listened all in pure American English. This was the first hard test.

Alex had a friendly conversation with Mike Sharp, co-owner of ALE.

Climber who became a French national hero after making the first ascent of Annapurna.

The Guardian, Friday 14 December 2012

In late 1950, Maurice Herzog lay in the American hospital at Neuilly-sur-Seine, on the outskirts ofParis, dictating what would become the bestselling mountaineering book of all time,Annapurna, published the following year. The effort was emotionally exacting, as he revisited every twist and agonising turn of one of the most important Himalayan expeditions in the sport's history – the first ascent of Annapurna, in central Nepal.

Annapurnawas the first mountain over 8,000m to be climbed. Others were higher – such as Everest, the site of British assaults in the 1920s and 30s – but no summits had been reached. Furthermore, the geography of theAnnapurnaregion was little known. Herzog's expedition only settled on it as an objective after first exploring the approaches to a neighbouring 8,000m giant, Dhaulagiri.

The personal cost of this triumph to Herzog, who has died aged 93, was horrific. In reaching the summit in the summer of 1950 with Louis Lachenal, Herzog's hands and feet had been frozen, and doctors had amputated all his fingers and toes. He spent months in hospital recovering from his injuries, plunged in a deep depression. Writing his book was not only cathartic but also sealed his reputation as a dynamic and courageous leader, and helped restore self-respect to postwarFrance.

When Paris Match put a picture of Herzog standing on the summit with the tricolour flying from his ice axe, it broke all previous sales records for the magazine. In January 1951, Marcel Ichac's film of the expedition opened in Paris, with the French president Vincent Auriol in the audience. A month later, another photograph of Herzog – this time gesturing with his ruined hands as he spoke to the film's audience – ran on the cover of Paris Match. "Our number one national hero," was what the magazine called Herzog – while failing to mention Lachenal at all. "Annapurna, to which we had gone empty-handed," Herzog wrote in his book, "was a treasure on which we should live for the rest of our days."

In 1958, Herzog became minister for youth and sport. After France's poor showing in the Rome Olympics in 1960, he was charged by Charles de Gaulle with re-invigorating French sport and inspiring a new generation, something he did to great effect. He was elected mayor of Chamonix in 1968, and headed several enterprises, including the company running the tunnel underMont Blanc. In a 1998 memoir, he recalled suggesting to John F Kennedy the idea of the Peace Corps and meeting the biggest names of his day, including Brigitte Bardot and Juan Perón.

In 1996, Yves Ballu published his revelatory biography of Gaston Rébuffat, one of the Annapurna climbing team, and in the same year Michel Guérin published the diaries of Lachenal, previously expurgated in a 1956 publication by Herzog's brother Gérard after Lachenal's early death, but now restored. These fresh perspectives told a more complex tale of a great enterprise whose image was controlled and exploited for political and personal interests. They cast the leader in an altogether less flattering light. Herzog protested indifference, but in private was bitterly upset.

He was born in Lyon, the eldest of eight children. His father, Robert, an alpinist himself, had served in the French Foreign Legion during the first world war. The family owned a chalet at the foot of the Bossons glacier that flows from Mont Blanc, which sparked Herzog's passion for the mountains.

He passed his baccalaureate in Paris and did a postgraduate course in business studies. Towards the end of the second world war, he fought with French partisans in the Alps, first the Armée Secrète and then the left wing Francs-Tireurs et Partisans. They made him a captain, and Herzog overlooked their affiliations. He received the Croix de Guerre and would cite the example of the resistance in celebrating the "victory" onAnnapurna.

In 1945, he went to work for the tyre manufacturer Kléber-Colombes and continued with his passion for mountaineering asFranceemerged from the horror of occupation.

Later that decade a generation of French alpinists came to the fore, including the guides Rébuffat, Lachenal and Lionel Terray. These three formed the nucleus of the team forAnnapurna, put together by the autocratic Paris-based president of the French Alpine Club, Lucien Devies. They were, however, professionals, and to maintain the amateur ideals of mountaineering, Devies appointed Herzog leader, and added Jean Couzy, an aeronautical engineer, and Marcel Schatz, a physicist. The doctor was Jacques Oudot and Ichac, already a celebrated cinematographer, would shoot the film.

Herzog's climbing record was respectable but not spectacular, and making him leader was a risk. Devies clearly had doubts about whether the guides in particular would toe the line for the greater glory of France. Two days before departing, he made them all swear an oath of allegiance to their leader.

Herzog and his team performed one of the great feats of exploratory mountaineering, trekking up the Kali Gandaki valley to examineDhaulagirifrom the east and north. The mountain was judged, in Terray's phrase, "fiendishly difficult" and so the expedition turned its attention to Annapurna, so far unseen. Just getting a view would prove surprisingly elusive.

By mid-May, the team still hadn't made progress so Herzog called a council of war at their base camp in the village of Tukucha, and with time running out before the monsoon, committed his forces to the Miristi Khola, hoping to get lucky and find a practicable route to the top. Working at extraordinary speed, and after coming to a dead end on the peak's north-west spur, the team rapidly pushed a route and a series of camps up the north face. Terray and Herzog had proved the strongest and best acclimatised, but when the supply chain stalled, Terray gave up his chance for the summit to push supplies to a high camp. Lachenal took his place at camp IV.

Wearing leather boots that offered insufficient insulation, Lachenal was anxious about his feet, not least because losing toes could threaten his livelihood. What would Herzog do, he asked, if he turned around? "My whole being revolted against the idea," he wrote in Annapurna. "I should go on by myself," he told Lachenal. "Then I'll follow you," Lachenal replied.

They reached the summit at 2 pm on 3 June, and while some historians question the validity of the summit photograph, they were close enough. Herzog was in a blithe mood – his spiritual musings were a key part of his book Annapurna's appeal – perhaps boosted by the "pep pills" Oudot had prescribed to keep them going. It was in that frame of mind that soon after they began descending he removed his gloves to open his rucksack and watched "quite stunned" as the gloves slid away down the slope. The mistake would cost him his fingers.

The descent of Annapurna was a protracted and freezing horror. Terray and Rébuffat climbed up to campIV to support them. Terray discovering a frantic Lachenal lying in the snow, desperate to get down to a lower camp so Oudot could do something to save his frozen feet. They spent the following night in a crevasse, confused and lost in a storm. Terray and Rébuffat, hunting for a route in the white-out, suffered agonising snow-blindness.

It would take six weeks for Herzog to make it home, suffering agonies in his hands, by which time his blackened feet were riddled with maggots. His serious climbing was behind him. His book, which has sold more than 11m copies, did not make him rich. The royalties went to French mountaineering, which had funded the expedition.

Herzog married Marie-Pierre de Cossé-Brissac in 1964. They had two children, Laurent and Felicité, and divorced in 1976. He had two more children, Sébastien and Mathias, with his second wife, Elisabeth Gamper, whom he married in 1976.

• Maurice Herzog, mountaineer, born 15 January 1919; died 14 December 2012

Don Striker Named New Superintendent of Denali National Parkand Preserve.

The National Park Service has named Don Striker as Denali National Parkand Preserve's new superintendent.

Striker has been the superintendent atNew River Gorge National River,West Virginia, for the past five years, and brings a strong background in both business and resource management to his new position.

Since 2007, Striker has managed New River Gorge along with the nearby Bluestone National Scenic River and the Gauley River National Recreation Area. The parks annually see more than one million visitors, and include four visitor centers and more than 100 access points.

He has been instrumental in improving relationships with state government and local partners, building a large cadre of volunteers, and managing significant construction projects. Prior to working in West Virginia, Striker served as a special assistant to the Comptroller of the National Park Service, as superintendent of Mount Rushmore National Memorial (South Dakota), as superintendent of Fort Clatsop National Memorial (Oregon), and comptroller at Yellowstone National Park.

"I am deeply humbled to have been asked to serve as the chief steward of one of our country's most spectacular and iconic parks," Striker said. "My wife, Gretchen, and I are excited to be moving toAlaska, a goal we've long held. We are really looking forward to becoming productive partners in our new community." Striker will move to Alaskain January.

NPS Alaska Regional Director Sue Masica said that Striker's accomplishments over more than 15 years with the Service position him well for theDenalijob. "Denali is a complex park, with many major business and resource decisions coming up. Over the next couple of years, the park will be looking at implementing its new road management plan, rebidding the main concession contract and continuing to work on a variety of wildlife issues with the State of Alaska and others. Don brings the talents we need to lead the Service on these issues."

Denali National Park and Preserve is Alaska's most recognized park, hosts more than 400,000 visitors every year, and encompasses more than 6 million acres that includes Mount McKinley, North America's highest peak. Striker replaces Paul Anderson, who retired this fall. Jeff Mow has been the acting superintendent.

Source: http://www.nps.gov/dena/parknews/new-supt.htm

Alaska-permafrost

Hope we can get permission and establish monitoring site at West Buttress!!

We need finalizeDenaliproposal very soon for next summer (June). Idea is that to install (just) temperature sensors on air, ground surface and ground with Iridium based satellite datalogger simmilar like Kilimanjaro setting.

Around 14K Camp (medical Camp) is another candidate (picture below). But steep and narrow open sky for satellite communication…

We try to develop 3D visualization material for 100 years glacier & permafrost history on Kilimanjaro working with Vavilov Institute for the History of Science and Technology of theRussianAcademyof Sciences

http://ffky.edublogs.org/category/alaska-permafrost/

Permafrost book

http://issuu.com/permafrostbook/docs/permafrostbook/99

Kilimanjaro permofrost

The united group Alpari - 7 Summit Club  was taken today from the Vinson base camp to Union Glacier. Now they could relax, waiting for a plane to Punta Arenas. Alex Abramov today arrived in Punta Arenas. He will wait for our heroes and next group. In his plans - to climb some peaks in Bolivia and then to lead a ski-tour to the South Pole. Olga Rumiantseva in Union Glacier will wait for the next group to Vinson.

On December 11, in the International Day of mountains, the team "Alpari on top of the world" - Ludmila Korobeshko Ivan Dusharin and Maxim Shakirov, at 22-32 Moscow time, climbed the top of the Antarctica Mt. Vinson and planted the Alpari flag there!

From a telephone call of Lyudmila Korobeshko:

We climbed up rather quickly, despite of cold and wind. Now we are starting to go down. We congratulate all on successful completion of the project!

According to our calculations, the world speed record for climbing seven summits for women and for a team of three climbers is now 292 days 2 hours and 2 minutes.

This is also the absolute speed record for Russia. Ivan Dusharin - the recordsman of Russiaon age (65).

First press conference of February 8, 2012

Aconcagua. February 23, 2012. 19-30 Moscowtime

Kilimanjaro. March 11, 2012

Everest. May 19, 2012

McKinley. June 30, 2012

Elbrus. September 8, 2012

Kosciusko. November 5, 2012

Vinson December 11, 2012, 22-32 Moscow time.

My calculation: 292 days 2 hours and 2 minutes ..

Today our group reached the High Camp on Mt. Vinson. Tomorrow  they plan to climb the highest peak of Antarctica. Climb of Mt.Vinsonis  it is the final stage of the epic "7 summits in 300 days” for Lyudmila Korobeshko, Ivan Dusharin and Maxim Shakirov.  

UAE-based adventurer scales Carstensz Pyramid in Oceania.

DUBAI: The UAE-based adventurer Suzanne Al Houby, a Palestinian, has returned from her latest expedition with another world record as the first Arab woman to scale Carstensz Pyramid (Puncak Jaya), the highest mountain in Oceania, peaking at 4,884 metres.

Al Houby is famous for becoming the first Arab woman to climb Mount Everest last year and with this latest climb she has now officially conquered six of the Seven Summits — the highest mountain on each of the seven continents. Compared to previous expeditions, Al Houby has embarked on a pursuit of her goal, Carstensz Pyramid, located inPapua,Indonesia, which offers its own set of unique challenges.

The approach for this climb is known as the most difficult in the world.

The area is extremely inaccessible, with the journey beginning in a multi-hour flight acrossIndonesia, with as many as six stops, before landing on theislandofPapua, where the mountain is located.

From there, Al Houby and the rest of her expedition made a gruelling six-day trek across steep terrain through rainforests, swamps, mud slides and rock walls just to get to the base camp.

The expedition was supported by tribal porters from the Dani tribe, a people who live outside of modern civilisation and who have practised cannibalism well into the 20th century.

During the trek, the expedition had to pay sums of money to tiny villages as they passed through for fear of animosity towards them.

“The weather conditions were really bad because of continuous heavy rains,” says Al Houby.

“We were wet all the time and the rain made steep sections difficult to cross.”

“The continuous deterioration in weather affected the health of some of the climbers.

“This made me develop a nasty lung infection that began to make me weaker each day until we reached the base camp,” she said.

After reaching the base camp and taking a day’s rest, Al Houby pushed through on her attempt to the summit.

“I climbed the vertical rock walls until we were high up on the summit ridge. There we stood in front of one of the highest mountain obstacles in the world: a 12-metre gap between two rock pinnacles with hundreds of metres drop in between.

Along with Al Houby on the expedition was another Arab climber, the Jordanian Mostafa Salameh.

“This was the first time I’ve ever had another Arab climber in the team with me and the camaraderie was just amazing.

“We had a great time and we crossed the most challenging section higher up together,” she said.

Besides being the first and only Arab woman to ever climb Mount Everest, the highest mountain on earth at 8,850 metres, Al Houby was also the first Arab woman to climb Mont Blanc, Elbrus, Aconcagua, Vinson (the highest mountains in Western Europe, Europe, South America and Antarctica), in addition to Kilimanjaro and Toubkal, the highest mountains in Africa and North Africa respectively, amongst others.

The summit of Mt. Everest

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Everest hero Mostafa turns attention to charity and poles hikes

http://www.scotsman.com/news/scottish-news/top-stories/everest-hero-mostafa-turns-attention-to-charity-and-poles-hikes-1-2659648

Mostafa Mahmoud

By David O’Leary

A FORMER city hotel worker who quit his job to climbMount Everesthas become the first Jordanian to scale the highest peaks on each of the world’s continents.

Mostafa Mahmoud Salameh, from Bruntsfield, resigned from his job as food and beverages manager at the Sheraton in 2004 to embark on the life-altering challenge of scaling the world’s highest mountain.

Not content with just reaching the 8850m summit, however, the 42-year old has gone on to complete the Seven Summits challenge and become a Jordanian national hero into the bargain – he has been knighted by the Middle Eastern state.

Last Friday, the Queen Margaret University graduate reached the summit of the Carstenz Pyramid in Indonesia, finishing an eight-year odyssey which has seen him scale Everest along the border of Nepal and Tibet/China; Mount McKinley in Alaska; the Vinson Massif in Antarctica; Aconcagua in Argentina; Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Mount Elbrus in Russia.

He said: “It’s a relief to finally complete them all. I head toJordannext week to hand the flag back to the king ofJordan. It was easily the toughest trek I’ve ever done, just getting to the mountain through dense Indonesian jungle was an ordeal.

“It would take us a whole day just to complete 200 metres, there are also about 50 different tribes living in the area and we would have to stop and trade with each one.

“Everest base camp was a walk in the park in comparison.”

He added: “After weeks with no shower, eating rice for breakfast lunch and dinner, I finally made it to the top of a giant, jagged rock, raising the Jordanian flag on the last of my Seven Summits.”

The intrepid explorer still callsEdinburghhome, though, and regularly returns to the city.

He said: “Edinburghis my base and I return every couple of weeks. The next time I’m back I will go to a few schools and give some talks. My wife is pregnant at the moment and we are going to have a second child in four weeks time so this will be my next summit.”

Following the birth of his child, Mostafa will begin training for his next adventure in January and is planning a 60-day hike to the South Pole before flying toNorwayto begin a journey to the North Pole.

He added: “If successful I will become one of only 25 people in the world to complete both the Seven Summits and both poles. My plan is to complete the South Pole in November 2013 and finish the North Pole in April 2014.”

Next April, Mostafa will also lead 20 Jordanian celebrities to Everest base camp to raise more than a million dollars (?625,000) for the King Hussein Cancer Foundation.

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Blind climber receives Hillary grant for Seven Summits

Blind runner Neelusha Memon and helper Olly Marshall finish the Coast to Coast race at Sumner

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Legally blind adventurer Neelusha Memon’s dream of conqueringSouth America’s highest peak is one step closer thanks to a Hillary Expedition Grant.

Today it was announced she was one of seven teams to receive a Hillary grant, which provides funding from Sport New Zealand for Kiwis to undertake outdoor challenges.

The 28-year-old Wellingtonian has set out to summit the seven highest mountains across the seven continents, starting with the 6960m-high Mt Aconcagua.

Ms Memon said she was thrilled to receive the grant, which would help to fund her ascent of the Argentinian mountain with support guide Gavin Lang.

‘‘I didn’t think it would ever really go ahead, based on the fact we couldn’t get funding, so to get this grant is a massive thing for me.’’

The worldwide expedition was a personal challenge for Ms Memon, the ‘‘ultimate test’’ of her physical and mental endurance.

But she was also hoping to set an example for others to follow.

‘‘I’ve got impairments but I’m still able to complete my dreams, with the right support.

‘‘Once they realise it, pretty much everyone is limitless in what they can do.’’

When she was 16, Ms Memon lost 70 per cent of her vision after a post-viral autoimmune response caused her to fall into a four-month coma.

She also lost her sense of balance, and had to learn how to walk, talk and swallow again.

A lifelong fan of the outdoors, Ms Memon has been setting herself adventure challenges since 2010, when she climbed Mt Aspiring in the South Island.

In February this year, she became the first legally blind runner to complete the Coast-to-Coast race.

She hopes people will track her fitness, balance and altitude training as well as the November 2013 ascension of the peak on the Hillary Expedition website, and will be inspired themselves.‘‘I wantNew Zealandto come along on the journey with me, and be part of this – to encourage people to get out in the outdoors.’’

After reaching the summit of Aconcagua, Ms Memon planned to climb Mt Kilimanjaro, Elbrus, Carstensz Pyramid,Denali, Vinson and Everest, over the next five years.

THRILL-SEEKERS

- Sarah Wilson will complete a Cook to Cook multi-sport expedition, climbing Mt Cook, cycling to Picton, then kayaking acrossCook Straitin January 2013.

- Brothers Nathan and Nigel Watson will climb 21New Zealandmountains over 2000m in 21 days in February, in theNelsonLakesNational Park.

- In April, Rob Frost, Ben Dare, Andrei van Dusschoten, and Scott Blackford Scheele will attempt to be the first Kiwi team to summit Himalayan peak Anidesha Chuli, also known as the White Wave.

- Kayaking team Jordan Searle, Barny Young and Shannon Mast will make a record-breaking attempt in April for the first kayak descent of the Grand Canyons of theChimbuRiverinPapua New Guinea.

- In May, Mayan Smith-Gobat will free-climb ‘‘The Nose’’ wall inCalifornia’sYosemite Valley, and will try to break the current speed record of 2 hours 26 minutes.

- Christine Burke will attempt to become the firstNew Zealandwoman to reach the summit of both the  Gasherbrum1 and 2 mountains on the Pakistan-China border, in June.

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To be the first sevensummiter in Colombia

Colombian climber Manolo Barrios prepares himself for one of the biggest challenges of his storied career: climbing the tallest mountain inAntarcticaby himself, reported local media on Tuesday.

In 2001, Barrios became one of only four Colombians to ever reach the top ofMount Everest. Such a feat would usually be the peak for any adventurer, but for Barrios it was not enough.

"What now?" Barrios asked after scaling the world's tallest mountain.

The idea of 'The Seven Summits' originated after Barrios and others scaledMount Everest. The idea is simple -- reach the highest point on every continent.

"We climbed Kilimanjaro in Africa, Mount McKinley in Alaska, Aconcagua in Chile and Elbrus in Russia. But in my case," said the 55-year-old Barrios, "I need only this mountain [Antarctica's MountVinson] and one in New Guinea."

Located on the Ronne Ice Bank 1,200 miles from the South Pole,MountVinsonis 15,256 feet above sea level.

Barrios plans to climb the ominous peak in December, when the weather can be even more unforgiving than normal. Sunlight shines 24 hours a day and winds can reach speeds of up to 180 miles per hour. In addition to the hurricane winds and the unyielding brightness, Barrios will have to deal with the cold and the solitude.

"It is one thing to talk about it, it is another to live it," as Barrios put it.

If all goes according to plan, Barrios will make it to the top of Mount Vinson, the sixth of his 'Seven Summits', by the end of December and will plant the first Colombian flag onAntarctica.

But as Barrios himself admitted, summiting the mountain is dependent on one thing.

"The mountain will decide when I turn back."

On Everest

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Abkhazia declared a climbing war to Georgia

Mount Aconcagua (6962 m altitude) in Argentina become a theater of a climbing war between Georgians and Abkhazians. December, 20 four Abkhaz mountaineers (led by specially invited to this project famous Swedish explorer Johan Ernst Nilson) starts an expedition to conquer the tallest summit of America. Abkhazians want to plant on the top a flag of their country, Georgia's breakaway autonomy. Before the first trip to the Andes, the Abkhaz climbers have already set flags on Elbrus (5642 m) and Mount Kilimanjaro (5,895 m).

Abkhaz Foreign Ministry has decided to support the project with public funds and businessmen of the republic.

In January 2012, the well-known Georgian climber and politician George (Gia) Tortladze planted on a top Akonkagua not only Georgian flag but a banners with the words "Georgiawithout occupation." Later, in April, he climbed Mount Everest (8,848 m), setting on the highest peak in the world similar exposition with an extension, which added the words "Russiaget out from Georgia!".

- Due a weather conditions any flag or banner do not stay long on the tops, the main thing - to capture it all on film - George Tortladze told to the newspaper "Izvestia". - Then show it on different channels - this is a great response.

Tortladze criticized Swedish climber for taking part in the Abkhaz ascent.

Influential politician - George (Gia) Tortladze. Two times Everest Summiter

- I think he will get big money for this expedition. And if he did take part in the promotion of separatism, I put this in the world of travelers. Nielson will regret - said Tortladze.

Tortladze also continues his sports-political exploits. With the Georgia flag and an anti-Russian banner, 52-year Georgian plan to climb the fifth summit of planet - Makalu (8485 m) in the Himalayas. This will be in spring with an international team of 10 climbers.