All news: November 2022

On November 26, the regular, annual Gala Evening of summing up the results of the year of the Russian Mountaineering Federation took place. In its preparation and conduct, the 7 Summits Club was a key organization. For many years of holding such events, the Illusion cinema seemed to be the most suitable, the most cozy and hospitable place. The only, but important minus – there were not enough seats. And for the rest, it turned out to be a very sincere and festive meeting of friends, veterans and youth, masters and beginners, athletes and amateurs. I think all the participants received a good charge of energy, and returned home with renewed vigor, with new plans and hopes. But with more optimism. Thanks to the federation, thank you to us, the 7 Summits Club.

An important part of the program was honoring climbers of Mount Everest in 2022. The 7 Summits Club has established a special award - the order, which is awarded to climbers who have climbed the highest peak in the World for the first time. At this evening, 12 people received it. The President of the 7 Summits Club, Alexander Abramov, also presented several climbers with another award, which he also invented himself. This is the order of the "Climber to the Seven Summits". At this gala evening, it was received by several climbers who could not attend the first presentation of this award in June this year.

New Everest summiters

They completed "The Seven Summits" programme 

The guide of the 7 Summits Club Andrey Berezin reports from Nepal:

Namaste frome Nepal! The trekking program to the Everest Base Camp through the Gokyo Lakes has ended. All members of the group were awarded commemorative medals and certificates. We wish them all new peaks and visit new mountain regions and countries! The autumn season in Nepal is over, see you in Nepal in the spring!

The guide of the 7 Summits Club Alexander Dorojukov reports from Tanzania:

The group of the 7 Summits Club Bitcoin accepts congratulations. Today our small but cheerful group was on the roof of Africa. We were lucky with the weather, it was very beautiful at dawn, and the mountain was all white. On the descent, of course, everything has already melted, but everyone is happy.

The guide of the 7 Summits Club, Alexander Dorojukov, reports from Tanzania:

Africa is in touch. Our “Bitcoin” group moved to the Barafu assault camp. We had a little lunch, dried things. We have an ascent at night. Now everyone has a sleep-drainage briefing. And at 12 a.m. we start. Wish us success!

On November 20, our Belarusian friends Anastasia and Konstantin Lapko made a successful ascent on the top of the Giluve volcano. In Papua New Guinea, they traveled according to the 7 Summits Club tour program with local guides. For the first time, representatives of the Republic of Belarus climbed the highest volcano on the Australian continent. Congratulations to our friends and we wish them a successful completion of the Seven Volcanoes program!

The guide of the 7 Summits Club Alexander Dorojukov reports from Tanzania:

 Greetings from Africa from the Bitcoin group! Today we moved to the Shire camp. We woke up early, had breakfast and, with a 900-meter climb, we reached our destination in the rain. The weather was not pleasant, there are few views, everything is overcast. But we are moving towards our goal. Now the weather has cleared up a little and we can get out of the tent. And so, everything is fine with us.

The guide of the 7 Summits Club Alexander Dorojukov reports from Tanzania:

Jumbo from Tanzania!  The new group named “Bitcoin” has started its program on Mount Kilimanjaro. We checked the equipment, packed everything in bags and went. The first day of our acclimatization was with rain and thunderstorms. At this time, the rainy season begins on the mountain, but we are not being watered much yet. We went up to the Machame camp, through a beautiful forest, now we are eating and going to rest.

The guide of the 7 Summits Club Andrey Berezin reports from Nepal:

Namaste frome Nepal!  The group "Let's Gokio" came to Gorakshep, the highest loggia of 5200 meters, in front of the Everest base camp.  Where we went the next morning. The goal of the trek has been achieved, memorable photos and videos have been made.  Then our way goes to Lukla, where we will arrive in three days.

The 7 Summits Club Guide Svetlana Kotlyar from Papua New Guinea:

Greetings to all from Papua New Guinea from the group "SPAPUANATY"!  Yesterday we continued the excursion program and together with our local partner Mr. Pym visited his native village — Paiya Village. Here we spent almost the whole day watching the life of the locals.

A traditional dish "mumu" was prepared especially for us — a pig cooked underground, lined with hot stones and banana leaves, as well as potatoes and sweet potatoes.  It turned out delicious!  There is a large pigsty on the territory of the village. Pigs are literally worth their weight in gold here. Pork is cooked extremely rarely - on big holidays, weddings, Christmas, it is very expensive. But pork can be exchanged for something more useful and necessary for the villagers.

There are also two huge flightless cassowary birds and a marsupial animal couscous. Mr. Pym showed us a small collection of artifacts: carvings, stone gods, shields.  While waiting for the preparation of mumu, the locals showed us a little performance, dressing up in bright costumes, decorating their faces and decorating themselves with colored feathers and shell necklaces. And after that, we joined their dances, which amused the local kids a lot!

Our program has come to an end, and today it's time to say goodbye to the mysterious and exotic Papua New Guinea! See you in March!

The guide of the 7 Summits Club Andrey Berezin reports from Nepal:

Namaste from Nepal!  News of the group "Let's Gokio". On November 16, we had a busy day, in the early morning we went out to climb the summit of Gokio Ri.  After 3 hours climb, all participants and guides stood on the top and enjoyed the panorama of the eight-thousand-meter Summits: Everest, Lhotse, Makalu, Cho-Oyu. Then we went back down to the loggia, had breakfast and went through the Ngozumpa glacier to the village of Tagnak, which is located under the Chola Pass.

November 17th.  The group "Let's Gokio" successfully passed the Chola Pass. Now we are in the Dzongla loggia, drinking tea. The weather was wonderful. Crossing the 5,300-meter-high pass showed our excellent physical shape and morally strong-willed spirit.  Tomorrow we go to Gorakshep, from where we are already close to the Everest Base Camp.

The 7 Summits Club Guide Svetlana Kotlyar from Papua New Guinea:

Greetings to all from Papua New Guinea from the SPAPUANATY team!  Yesterday (November 16) our excursion program started!  After breakfast we drove to the town of Mount Hagen. First we visited the local market where vegetables and fruits are sold — a very colorful place! We bought watermelon and the ripest mangoes.

Today we got acquainted with three local tribes. They moved from one village to another through gardens and coffee plantations.

The first tribe we visited is called the Mud People. Their bodies were decorated with clay, and on their heads were huge clay masks weighing at least 10 kg. They showed a small performance, after which our local guide Raphael told about their culture and lifestyle. According to legend, they were defeated by an enemy tribe and had to flee to the Asaro River. They waited until dusk before trying to escape. The enemies saw them rising from the muddy banks, covered with mud, thought they were spirits and fled in fear.

 The next village is a 30-minute drive away. Here, to the beat of the drums, we were given a performance by the famous Huli Wig tribe. They decorate their faces with traditional Papua flowers and wear headdresses made from their own hair and feathers of the bird of paradise.

The last tribe that we managed to get acquainted with is a Man from Cimbu. Here the aborigines decorated their bodies with charcoal and clay, copying spirits with skeletal bodies.  It is believed that these spirits are deceased people from their tribe who have returned to help and heal them from diseases.  

And in the evening we had a festive dinner, presentation of certificates and medals for climbing.

The 7 Summits Club Guide Svetlana Kotlyar from Papua New Guinea:

 Day one: transfer to the Base camp at an altitude of 3700. After an early breakfast, we got into the car and went to meet our volcano Giluwe. We drove from the lodge for about an hour. Here we met with a team of our porters and guides. The main guide of them Stanley is a man of 40 years old with a fairly good English, which he learned while communicating with tourists.

 The first part of the route passed through a dense rainforest. It is almost always wet and rainy in Papua, the day before the downpour went until 2 a.m., so rubber boots, capes on backpacks and raincoats are a very important element of the outfit. Stanley deftly cut a path for us with a machete, freeing the path from unnecessary overhanging branches, at the same time telling about the culture of the locals.

 — Wet leaves of this plant can be washed, they are very refreshing. There are a lot of useful plants growing in our forests and we know how and for what they can be used.

 He showed trees whose leaves are used to build roofs of houses. We saw a beautiful Bird of paradise, which is a symbol of the country. We are as much a curiosity to Papuans as they are to us. The locals are watching us with great interest, looking at clothes and various little things that are familiar to us, but unfamiliar to them.

 After a couple of hours of trekking, we left the forest and got into a meadow area, walking parallel to the river. The ground under our feet is quite swampy, but on the first day we did not use rubber boots, we managed with trekking shoes. The entire track took about 6 hours, about 13 km long with a climb drop of 1000 m. Closer to three o'clock in the afternoon, the rain began and continued until 2 a.m., forcing us to worry about tomorrow's exit to the mountain.

The guide of the 7 Summits Club Svetlana Kotlyar reports from Papua New Guinea:

Hello to the 7 Summits Club from Papua New Guinea! Today at 9 am our team "SPAPUANATY" in full force stood on top of the highest volcano in Australia and Oceania — GILUVE (4368 m)! From the base camp at an altitude of 3700 we reached the summit in 3.5 hours. The last 150 meters of a fairly steep climb we went using a rope for belay, which undoubtedly added extreme for the participants! The mountain turned out to be not so trekking!

We decided today to go down to the bottom and move to the lodge. We were insanely tired during this busy day, we were on our feet for more than 12 hours today.

We are resting now, all the details are tomorrow!

The guide of the 7 Summits Club Andrey Berezin reports from Nepal:

Namaste from Nepal! Yesterday we had a short day, actively rested after the climb from Namche to Dole. We came to the village of Macharme.  This cozy village is located on the site of a melted glacier, between two moraines. Today we are moving to Gokio.

The guide of the 7 Summits Club Andrey Berezin reports from Nepal:

Namaste frome Nepal! The team "Let's Gokio" continues the trek to the Everest Base Camp. Today we left the capital of the Sherpas Namche Bazaar and went to the Gokyo lakes. The purpose of this day was the village of Dole.  Today there were big drops and climbs. During the day we admired first Everest, then Ama-Dablam.  Tomorrow we move to Macharma. They also congratulated participant Daria on her birthday.

The guide of the 7 Summits Club Svetlana Kotlyar reports from Papua New Guinea:

The stars have come together! Today, all the Papuan gods were kind to us and our team members finally came to Mount Hagen, passing the longest queues at Mort Moresby airport!

After lunch, we stopped at the supermarket, bought everything we needed and went to our Magic Mountain Lodge. In 40 minutes we reached the place by a scenic road. The team members are pleasantly surprised by our proximity to nature, abundance of greenery and beautiful views.

We settled into the lodge, drink coffee, chat about the mountains, travel, laugh a lot and discuss plans for tomorrow. By brainstorming, the name of our group was born: "SPAPUANATS".

Tomorrow, early in the morning, the "SPAPUANATS" are moving into the mountains to climb the highest volcano of Australia and Oceania – Mount Giluve!

We will be out of touch for at least 2 days, wait for messages from the satellite!

The guide of the 7 Summits Club Andrey Berezin reports from Nepal:

Namaste from Nepal! The group "Let's GoKio" came to the capital of the Sherpas Namche Bazaar today. The path ran through the picturesque Khumbu Valley. The trail constantly crossed the river, and we crossed it on suspension bridges, which are the hallmark of this trek. One of the most famous bridges is the Hillary Bridge, installed at an altitude of two hundred meters. Tomorrow we are going on an excursion around Namche.

The guide of the 7 Summits Club Svetlana Kotlyar reports from Papua New Guinea:

Less than two days have passed since I got to Papua New Guinea!  The route to the country of exotics is far from the easiest:  Moscow 🇷🇺- Abu Dhabi 🇦🇪 - Manila 🇵🇭 - Port Moresby 🇬🇳 - Mount Hagen ..

I haven't gotten this far yet, and I found out about the existence of the names of some cities from the list just a month ago. The last weeks of preparation have been stressful.  Sheets of correspondence with a partner, detailed discussion of the program, communication with participants, booking tickets, constant monitoring of covid rules at the docking points, waiting for a visa...

 It seemed that a little more and my eye would start twitching! Before the trip, I slept for three hours and, having finished collecting a 35-kg bag, moved to Sheremetyevo.  I remember the face of a nice girl Tatiana at the reception and her sincere surprise in her eyes: "Where is this?!"

Manila caused the most concern, which did not completely cancel the covid restrictions. I had to get my luggage, change the terminal, walk across the street and check in for the next flight. All these actions equated to a visit to the Philippines.  What happened in fact: at the exit of the plane, I was met by two nice girls with a sign with my name on it. They found my luggage themselves, helped me carry it, put me on a bus to another terminal, checked me in for the next flight!  And at the same time, in fact, they did not look at any documents, except for a visa to Papua!

 In Port Moresby, one meticulous aunt tried to remove the sausage from my trunk! But I said that we, tourists, in your Papuan mountains, there is definitely no way without it! Last domestic flight to Mount Hagen. Permitted baggage is 16 kg. The surcharge for the preponderance is around $ 60-70.

— Where are you from?

— From Russia. I'm going to Mount Hagen, tomorrow I'll meet the group and we'll go to the Giluve volcano!

They smile..

— There is no need to pay anything extra. Do you know where to go on a domestic flight? Let's take you out!

Papua New Guinea welcomed me so hospitably!

Tomorrow I meet a group and - let the adventures begin!

The guide of the 7 Summits Club group Andrey Berezin reports from Nepal:

A new group called Let's Gokyo started their journey to Everest Base Camp through the Gokyo Lakes. Today is the first active day. And very intense. Early rise and transfer to Ramichap airport, from where the flight to Lukla airport. From here all mountaineering expeditions begin to the famous Everest and Lhotse, to the trekking peaks of Island Peak, Mera Peak and Lobuche. As well as the famous trekking to the Everest Base Camp, both classic and through the Gokyo Lakes.

From Lukla we moved to the village of Phakding, which is located a three-hour walk from the airport. Tomorrow we will make the move to Namche Bazaar, the capital of the Sherpas, where we will spend two days for acclimatization. And also today celebrated Elena's birthday.

The group's guide, the President of the 7 Summits Club, Alexander Abramov reports from Mexico:

At 9:15 a.m. our team ascended the peak of Orizaba, the highest volcano in North America.