All news: 13 October 2010

At the beginning of next year's a team of 7 Summits Club will participate in a climbing expedition to the highest volcano in Antarctica - Mount Sidley. In middle of January, an aircraft Basler, traditionally used for flights to the South Pole, is to land in the vicinity of the volcano. Conditions of the landing will be available only upon arrival. This expedition is an initiative of the 7 Summits Club. Initially, our club was planning to send four climbers and one guide. However, the injury of one of participants reduced it to four people. And the Antarctic operator Antarctic Logistics & Expeditions (ALE) collected on this program a few more people.

Team of 7 Summits Club: expedition leader Alexander Abramov, the Russian climber Igor Grishkov, Italian mountaineer and explorer 58-year-old Mario Trimeri and a Romanian girl Crina Coco Popescu, who in December will be 16 years old. In the case of success, Trimeri and Popescu, will become the first people who climbed seven of the highest volcanoes in the seven continents. They had already visited six of the list:

Ojos del Salado (6893m) - the highest volcano in South America. Located in Chile.

Kilimanjaro (5895m) - the highest volcano in Africa. Located in Tanzania.

Orizaba (5700m) - the highest volcano in North America. Located in Mexico

Demavent (5671m) - the highest volcano Asia. Located in Iran.

Elbrus (5642m) - the highest volcano in Europe. Located in Russia.

Giluve (4,368 m) - the highest volcano in Australia and Oceania. Located in the eastern part of the island of New Guinea.

And nobody else in the world, have not yet done.

Scientists had visiting a region of Mount Sidley several times, but with climbing plan only in 1990. It was a scientific expedition from USA. An experienced New Zealand guide-climber Bill Atkinson participated in this expedition. Americans used a powerful C-130 Hercules and they were able to land 28 kilometers from the volcano Seeley. Thanks to the power plane, Americans brought with them many goods and, in particular, tracked snowmobiles.

The goals were academic and focused on the collection of rocks, Geophysical and glaciological studies. Scientists have been there for quite a long time and underwent several geophysical routes. Along the way, they made two ascents. First, they climbed a nearby volcanic cone of Mt. Waesche, 3292 meters. They climbed up on a snowmobile to almost the highest point. Climbers ascended in crampons only final 20 meters. At Sidley, scientists and guide Atkinson crossed the crest of the crater. Probably, they reached the highest point. But Atkinson can not remember any details.

In accordance with a plan of our expedition, we will climb on skis. It will be special touring skis for polar expeditions, which used for the program "Last Degree". Crampons will probably need only for the final stage, as the north-western slopes of the mountain are very gentle. It is unclear now, where our plane could landed. At what will be distance to the mountain. Altitude of the ice dome at this site is about 2000 meters. We assume that the ridge of Mount Sidley consists of several peaks with almost equal height. We would like to climb all the highest ones and give them names. Determinate the main summit, the highest point to make this trip fully ready for the following climbers who go on the program "Seven volcanoes.