All news: 28 July 2017

Valery Rozov has successfully completed the highest BASE jump in South America in his quest to leap from the highest suitable peak on every continent on the planet. The expedition was organized by the 7 Summit Club.

The Russian took five days to climb Huascarán in Peru, which stands 6,768 metres above sea level, often doing much of his ascending during the night in cooler temperatures when the ice congeals.

Climbing the technically difficult and dangerous south summit, known for ice and snow avalanches, he made it to the top safely.

He then took off 50m from the absolute peak, landing at an altitude of 4,800m and having dropped some 2,000m into the valley, freefalling in his wing suit for one-and-a-half minutes.

He officially conjured up the idea of the Seven Summit project in 2015 but is only now just making it public.

Rozov, though, began it, of sorts, in 2009 with a jump from Elbrus in Europe followed by one from Ulvetanna, in Antarctica, the following year.

In 2015, he leapt from Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, and last year took off from the 7,700m high Cho Oyu, Asia’s biggest suitable BASE-jumping peak.

“The idea of the Seven Summits project popped into my head right after my 2015 jump off Mount Kiliminjaro,” he explained. “So, I keep working on my idea to BASE jump from the highest points of all the seven continents. Every jump is, above all, a challenge to me.”

To complete the magnificent seven, Rozov still has BASE jumps to tackle in Australia and North America.

Base jump heights:

2009 — Elbrus / 4,650 m (Europe)

2010 — Ulvetanna / 2,650 m (Antarctica)

2015 — Kilimanjaro / 5,460 m (Africa)

2016 — Cho Oyu / 7,700 m (Asia)

2017 —Huascarán / 6,725 m (South America)

Discover more Valery Rozov content HERE.

A Guide of the 7 Summits Club in the Elbrus region Andrey Berezin:

Today, a group  "Timon, Pumbaa and friends" and the two friends climbed the Western Peak of Elbrus. Congratulations another international team with this success!

Day 1 (1020 m) with Savva Kalashnov

Chamonix met us with heavy rain and low clouds. But even in this weather you could see the mountain range that was rising up into the clouds and beyond. The clouds were covering the majestic beauty, but even then the view was amazing! The weather forecast for the next three days wasn't very promising. Our instructor Roman said that the cyklone turned to be pretty scary in higher altitudes, it's snowing like it's winter up there. Because of this, our program was altered to make the aclimatisation easier. By the looks of things, everyday we will decend to Chamoni× except for the last day before the final stretch. We'll see, people say it's easier to reach the summit that way. We spent this evening walking around in Chamonix, eating and buying/renting everything we needed for the climb. The city went to sleep 20.00, all the stores closed and only restaurants continued to attract us with their smell. But they couldn't lure us, we are already satisfied and tired...

See you tomorrow!

Day 2 (3295 m)

Training has finally started! It was awesome! The weather has finally cleared to reveal the sun, it was beautiful! We took the lift to 3295 meters, put on our "armor" and took a stroll up Glacier d'Argentière For the first time it was more than enough. While hiking up, we saw how a French climber fell down into a crack in the snow. He was walking and suddenly disappeared into the snow! We couldn't get the camera out to film his fall but we filmed how he was being rescued. Everyone was so calm, like it was normal business, when someone disappeares into the ground like that... And that's why you never should go into the alps alone. If your technique is good and you trust your comrades, mountaineering is an awesome hobby... But if not, it can be very dangerous, mountains don't allow errors! @ Chamonix, Mont Blanc 3842m

Day 3 (3842 m )

I barely have power to write this today! Today was a very productive day, this day started in Aiguille du midi 3842. The walk was completed with good spirit and almost without altitude sickness. We descended from the mountain happy and tired. We also had a lot to do in the evening. Tomorrow's ascension to Reduce du Goûter 3863 is going to be at least twice as hard as today's walk. And the challenges that await us during the night on the 29th of July are scary to think about! We set clear goals in front of us and fight. Our motto is "bravery and stupidity" 😜😬 See you tomorrow! @ Aiguille du Midi