All news: 2010

Sept. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Japan may start charging people to climb Mount Fuji as a surge in visitors strains facilities on the nation’s highest peak. Local governments of six towns around the cone-shaped mountain are considering introducing the fee, said Masatoshi Hada, spokesman for the Fujiyoshida city government. No decision has been made on the level or timing of any charge.

The number of climbers of the 3,776-meter (12,388 feet) peak has risen 46 percent during the last four years. It costs government and local companies about 35 million yen ($414,000) a year to maintain mountain huts, toilets and other facilities for climbers, Hada said.

“Costs are going up with the huge increase in visitors,” Hada said by telephone today. “We think most people won’t object about a small charge because it’s funding facilities.”

The Fujiyoshida government collected 1.7 tons of plastic bottles, cigarette butts and other garbage on the mountain last year. Fujiyoshida is located about 100 kilometers (62 miles) west of Tokyo.

The Japan tourism organization says the ascent from the 2,305-meter fifth station of the most popular route takes about six hours, and recommends climbing in July or August.

About 292,000 people climbed to at least 3,100 meters in the year ended March 31, from 200,000 in 2005, according to the Ministry of Environment.

Expedition leader Igor Svergun reports from Tibet: "On 10 September the team successfully reached the Chinese border. The road from Kathmandu in a few places is covered by mudflows and forwarding cargo was transferred manually with the help of the local population. This means additional cost.

Some teams who drop in to Tibet, has already lost 5 days on transportation. Total for Cho-Oyu in the fall season showed up about 35 expeditions. We are somewhere in the middle. On the way to the base camp we will have another 5 days of acclimatization. Today we made an ascent to an unnamed peak height of 4250m. I was pleasantly surprised by the changes that have occurred in recent years: first, a perfect road from the border, it blends harmoniously into the mountain landscape. And the new chic (at a glance undemanding climber) hotel in the town of Niola. We moved into it at the personal request of our Sirdar Mingma Gelu, director of the company 7 Summits Adventure, organizing ascent.

In view of the most powerful in recent years monsoon, in the mountains there is a lot of snow. According to our records, nobody begins climbing part of expeditions. Our goods, accompanied by Andrei Kiyko and Sergei Bublikt, move ahead of the main expedition, they are into the next village of Tingri at 4100 m. We want to reach the base camp sooner to get the best places for tents.

Mingma

Three Russians, Viktor Afanasyev, Irina Kukueva and Valery Evgrafov from 11 September to 4 October 2010, will attempt to climb the summit of Shisha Pangma (8027m.) Viktor Afanasyev - one of the leaders of the Russian high-altitude mountaineering, has to his credit ascents on K2, new routes on Broad Peak and Gasherbrum I, together with Valery Babanov.

Viktor Afanasyev and Valery Babanov

Viktor Afanasyev: "In preparation for the expedition we managed to find several variations on the theme " the height of the main summit”. And the numbers "jumping" from 8013m to 8046m mark. Most frequently used figure - 8027m. Conventionally, while we use this figures”.

Viktor Afanasyev was born May 15, 1979 in Adygeya, in the mountains since 1994 - Master of Sports in mountaineering, rock climbing, 3-time champion of Russia on mountaineering.

In his thirty years he made over 300 ascents in the Caucasus, the Pamirs, Alaska, Karakorum and Nepal, 53 - the highest category of difficulty. He climbed Mount Elbrus in more than 50 times!.

Muscovite Irina Kukueva is known as the first Russian woman-climber reached eight-thousander in Karakorum (Broad Peak in 2007). She runs marathons skiing, touring the world on a bicycle, she has two sons and a cat called Shisha, which also applies to the subject of this article. And Valery Evgrafov - it's her constant companion for life, travel and climbing. Incidentally, he was the leader of the expedition on Broad Peak, although he did not go to the top. Together they went on Kilimanjaro, Lenin Peak, Mount Fuji, Korjenevskaya, Communism ...

Heroic work of enthusiasts supported by sponsors were not in vain. 1th of September at an altitude of 5300 meters it was opened a mountaineering refuge, the highest in Europe, and probably in the world. This is an elegant half-sphere, which is placed in the bottom part of the saddle of Elbrus. It is designed for rescue purposes, to spend the night in case of sudden weather changes, to assist frozen, tired or sick. A building still must pass the test of a winter season, still it is not clear who and how it will dispose. But now just congratulate all people involved in this unique work.

It has long been in the Caucasus mountain climbers do not build shelters for mountain climbers, on their own initiative. Construction was nearly three seasons. The first year of operation was for reconnaissance. A second summer season ended unloading materials for building shelters on the eastern peak of Mount Elbrus. The third summer was full of worries and heavy physical work. It seemed that the guys could not make it before winter .... and then it is unlikely that the building withstand a strong winter winds. They managed, well done!

Dmitry Gurianov - the author of project. Respect !

 Sunday we have dedicated rest of the night flight. On Monday, all done exersizes (almost all), had breakfast, swim and started to work. Communication, of course, not ideal, but we will try all to hear and to answer everybody. And most importantly, we have already started to discuss the further development of the Club. The days to employees of 7 Summits Club: Alexander Abramov (president), Lyudmila Korobeshko (Director), Victor Bobok, Lyudmila Ivanova, Olga Rumyantseva, Tatiana Stukalova and Alexandr Yelkov will work in Dahab. We will not be in Moscow, but we remain in touch.

7 Summits Club and our subsidiary Nepalese company 7Summits Adventures (director Mingma Gela) organizes an international climbing expedition on Cho Oyu. Project Manager is 7 Summits Club guide Igor Svergun, who gathered to take part in the ascent climbers from Ukraine and Russia. This action is called also the international expedition "Ukraine-Himalaya-2010". September 4th all Ukrainian participants departed from the airport "Borispol" (Kiev) in Kathmandu, where they were waiting for Russian colleagues.

The expedition consists of experienced climbers, that were as members in the spring expedition "Ukraine-Makalu-2010 (Sergey Boublik, Andrey Kiiko, Alexander Zakolodny), and climbers who will be first time to climb 8000m. The basis of the expedition are kharkovites. The leader – an experienced Himalayan climbers, master of sports of international class, Igor Svergun.

Ukrainian climbers consider climbing Cho Oyu as the initial phase of the multi-year program of conquering all the highest peaks of the world, 14 eight-thousanders . This "battle test" the new team of high-altitude climbers, working out tactics and operating mode of Himalayan experience.

Success and weather!

International expedition "Ukraine-Himalaya-2010":

Igor Svergun (Kharkov) - expedition leader

1. Kiiko Andrew (Kharkiv)

2. Zakolodny Aleksanndr (Kharkiv)

3. Kashaev Badawi (Kharkiv)

4. Boublik Sergey (Sumy)

5. Chistovsky Gennady (Sumy)

6. Rodiontsev Andrew (Kiev)

7. Samarsky Tim (Zaporozhye)

8. Sanzharevsky Igor (Zaporozhye)

9. Fedorov Evgeny (Moscow)

10. Koveshnikov Pavel (Moscow)

11. Matusova Natalia (Moscow)

12. Bige Dmitry (Moscow)

The organizer of the expedition - the Federation of Mountaineering and Climbing Kharkiv region (President, MSMK Gennady Kopeika, vice president, ZMS, ZTU Sergei Bershov).

Sponsorships - OOO Stalkonstruktsia "(Kharkov, SM Evel).

Information support - Federation of alpinism and rock climbing of Ukraine (President ZTU, MC V. Simonenko)

Igor Svergun

Mingma at the top ofr Cho Oyu (on the right)

Fresh doubt has been cast on the record of a Korean climber, who was hailed in April as the first woman to climb the world's 14 highest peaks.

Oh Eun-sun "probably failed" to reach the top of the world's third-highest peak, Kangchenjunga, the Korean Alpine Federation (KAF) judged on Thursday.

Top Himalayan record keeper Elizabeth Hawley is investigating the KAF ruling.

If she decides to list the 2009 ascent as "unrecognised", the record will pass to Spanish climber Edurne Pasaban.

Ms Oh climbed Annapurna, the last of her 14 mountains above 8,000m, on 27 April. Ms Pasaban completed the list by scaling Shisha Pangma just under three weeks later, on 17 May.

Ms Oh responded to the Korean Alpine Federation's verdict - issued at a meeting of seven local climbers who have scaled the 8,586m mountain - by describing it as "a unilateral opinion".

"All participants were climbers who had doubts about my achievement from the beginning, so their conclusion must have been already set," she said in an interview with MBC television, quoted by the AFP news agency.

Miss Hawley, keeper of the authoritative Himalayan Database, told the BBC in June it was looking "unlikely" that Ms Oh summited Kangchenjunga.

This came after one of the three sherpas who accompanied her on the ascent of Kangchenjunga said she stopped 150m below the summit, in high winds.

The sherpa, Nurbu, told Miss Hawley he was leading the group when the others waved at him to come down.

Another sherpa, Dawa Wangchuk, has already stated publicly that the group did reach the summit.

"I'm sure she's not lying. She just believed her guide, Dawa Wangchuk. She had great confidence in him," Miss Hawley told the BBC.

Jin Park, a spokesman for Ms Oh's sponsors, the Korean outdoor clothing firm Blackyak, said Dawa Wangchuk had climbed Kangchenjunga four times.

"So I think there is no possibility for confusion about the summit," he said.
Evidence 'piling up'

Doubts have been circulating about Ms Oh's ascent of Kangchenjunga for months.

Experts say there is no convincing picture of Ms Oh on the summit, and have questioned whether she could have finished the last 200m or so of the climb, when clouds obscured the view from below, in the time available to her.
Continue reading the main story
 
Is Oh Eun-Sun a record-breaker?

A member of the next team to reach the peak of Kangchenjunga, in May 2009, the Norwegian climber Jon Gangdal, says he found Ms Oh's Korean flag weighed down by stones, some 50m or 60m below the summit.

At present, the ascent is listed as "disputed" in Miss Hawley's Himalayan Database. In June she said it seemed likely to remain that way, even though evidence was "piling up" against her.

Questions about Miss Oh's ascent of Kangchenjunga first arose in Korea itself just weeks after she claimed to have reached the summit. Climbers linked to a rival woman climber Go Mi-Young (who died in a climbing accident in July 2009) were particularly sceptical.

Korean Alpine Federation secretary general Lee Eui-Jae said participants in Thursday's meeting all shared the view that Miss Oh's photographs on Kangchenjunga did not "seem to match the actual landscape".

"They also agreed that Oh's previous explanations on the process of her ascent to Kangchenjunga are unreliable," he told AFP.

Meanwhile, Eberhard Jurgalski, from the website 8000-ers.com, points out that most climbers who want recognition for their ascents either take conclusive summit photographs or have eyewitnesses.

He says he has seen convincing photographs of Miss Oh on the summit of only eight of the 14.

"If someone is collecting peaks and wants to be accepted as the first woman to have climbed all 14 8,000ers, she should be able to give more evidence of her climbs," he says.

"The whole attitude of people who want to be accepted as having done exceptional things must change."

By Joanna Jolly and Stephen Mulvey BBC News

August 29, our team climbed the summit of Western Elbrus. Early in the morning nine climbing women from Nepal and three guides from the 7 Summits Club (Alexander Abramov, Lyudmila Korobeshko and Tatiana Stukalova) stood on the highest point in Europe (5642 meters). The weather was favorable for a successful ascent and descent. In the evening the success of the team was marked by a champagne and caviar. Congratulations ! We wish the Nepalese girls continued success on the tracks of the Seven summits.

The project members of Everest Women Seven Summits Eco-Action.: Asha Kumari Singh, Chunu Shrestha, Maya Gurung, Ngabhang Phuti Sherpa, Nimdoma Sherpa, Pema Diki Sherpa, Pujan Acharya, Shailee Basnet and Usha Bist.

Shailee Basnet (Coordinator)- A graduate of Business Information Systems and a Post Graduate of Journalism, she works as a reporter for Himalmedia. She became interested in climbing and mountaineering because of the physical and mental challenges it poses, which are quite different from her line of work. Lack of involvement in any kind of sports during her early years made her interested in challenging her limits as she grew up. At 25 years of age she reached a new height on May 24th 2008 by standing on top of Everest.

Asha Kumari Singh- A 24-year-old student, Asha comes from Danuwar community from Meghrail, Mahottari. She comes from a society where women are barely aware of their rights, are supposed to get married off sooner than later and dowry is rampant. Thanks to her grandmother who thought Asha was the ugliest girl among all five sisters and hence thought it was necessary to educate her, in case nobody wanted her marry her. Asha however was not worried about her looks but coming from the flatlands of Terai, was always curious about high mountains. She came to Kathmandu for higher education and got an opportunity to join the Female Outdoor Leadership training in the Annapurnas in the year 2004. Given her background she challenged conventions and impressed naysayers when she started climbing. She made not only her community but also the entire nation proud as she stood on top of Everest on 24th of May 2008.

Chunu Shrestha- Hailing from a poor Kathmandu family, Chunu began working to help support her family while she was just a sixth grader. Despite the financial hardships, she finished high school and started pursuing her education in Bachelors of Arts. When she heard about Susmita Maskey’s summit attempt in 2005, she became inspired by the possibility of succeeding in adventure tourism to support her family. With FIWSE she was able to nurture her passion for the outdoors that she dreamt about during her long days of work. At 27 years of age, she reached the Everest summit on the 25th of May 2008.

Nimdoma Sherpa- Still in high school, Nim is the youngest woman to climb Everest. Despite her small stature, she is dauntless and a very good climber, who impressed everyone during the Basic Mountaineering Course. She had her own struggle on the personal front. Her father passed away while she was a tenth grader. Still she continued her education, subsequently becoming the first in her family to complete the School Leaving Certificate (SLC). She spent lonely childhood in Kathmandu away from her mother for education. She took care of household chores while other children played. But she knew her life was destined to be different than that of everyone else around her. When she learnt about First Inclusive Women Sagarmatha Expedition she knew this is what she was waiting for. At 17 years, she set foot on the top of the world on the 22nd of May 2008. She is ruling wall climbing national champion.

Pema Diki Sherpa- Pema Diki, 22, is one of the three girls born to a struggling couple who moved to Kathmandu from Dolakha with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Two years before joining the expedition, a chance to trek in Gosainkunda enchanted this acupuncture assistant. Basic Mountaineering Course presented her more challenges which left her with desire for more climbing experience. She achieved what she had long dreamt for on 24th of May 2008 when she bowed her head to Cholmolungma, the mother goddess of the world. She has great faith in education and as a child dreamt of being a teacher. The team has been conducting educational interaction in different parts of the country, sharing the experience of struggles and lessons learnt during the expedition, motivating students to believe in their dreams. With this program her childhood dream became reality. She aspires to travel and learn more in life and share her knowledge and experiences with youth all over the world.

Pujan Acharya- Pujan worked as a human rights activist in Dolakha. From early on, despite growing in a society where women are supposed to stick to household chores, she had a passion for sports. In her village, she used to play with men for there wouldn’t be women players. An accomplished volleyball player and marathon runner, Pujan, 25, holds several awards for competition at the district Level. But that was not enough for someone who grew up at the foot of Rolwaling Himalayas. She gained her first mountaineering experience in 2003 when she completed Female Outdoor Leadership training. Finally she made it to the summit of Mt. Everest on 22nd of May 2008. She enjoyed a different taste of Everest and adventure as she skydived in the Everest region on 17th October, 2009 from 29,300 ft. During the cabinet meeting of Nepal Government held at Kalapatthar (5240 m), she actively participated as a venue manager.

Maya Gurung- Maya had a childhood marred with struggle and was an early rebel. She saw poor state of women both in her home and village. She always wanted to break free from it. Maya tried hands on various fields including bowling where she reigned as national champion for four years. But nothing really satisfied Maya before she went ahead to join Basic Mountaineering Course and then to climb Everest. This rebel at heart finally lived her dream of climbing on top of the world on 22nd of May 2008, and became the first Gurung woman summiteer at the age of 28. She lived her long cherished dream of sky diving on 10th October, 2008 with Everest in the backdrop. Maya led the Mt Manaslu clean-up expedition as coordinator and also was active venue manager for the cabinet meeting of Nepal Government held at Kalapatthar (5240 m) on 4th December, 2009. Her dream is to see women empowered and educated so that they are at least able to stand up for themselves.

Ngabhang Phuti Sherpa- Ngawang is from Taplejung district, home of Kanchenjunga. She lost her parents in an early age. She and her elder sister quit education to take odd jobs to look after younger siblings. She ran a restaurant in Kathmandu for couple years and quit it later after her sister went abroad. Several Sherpa climbers encouraged her to explore mountaineering. But she did not like the idea of climbing alone. When she learnt that a women’s team was being put together for climbing Everest, her hidden desire made her give it a shot.  This 33-year-old woman felt she did the right thing when she joined Basic Mountaineering Course. On the 22nd of May 2008, she reached her highest destination, Mount Everest.

Usha Bist- Born as fifth daughter in the Far-Western district of Kailali, Usha was left in the jungle for dead. That’s what earned her nickname Bandevi- goddess of the forest. It was a fellow villager who saved the new-born. From early on, Usha was inspired by women climbers and wanted to climb Mt Everest herself. She came to Kathmandu to climb Everest, not knowing where to start. She completed basic and advanced mountaineering courses, climbed a number of peaks including the notorious Amadablam.  In 2007, she earned spot in the Loktantrik Expedition Team, to attempt Everest. She was left behind at 8,400m and later rescued. To everybody’s surprise, this 24 year old finally stepped on the top of the world a year later. Her connection to forest is still alive as she is the president of Sasakta Mahila Samudayik Ban in her home district.

Don't ever make the mistake of telling Kirk Bauer he cannot do something. The Ellicott City resident was one of three amputee retired veterans -- with only one good leg among them -- who earlier this month climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest peak, in a living-billboard effort to show people with disabilities that there are no limits on what they can do.

"It was an experience of a lifetime," said Bauer, 62, the one with the good leg. "It was everything we expected and more -- and it was just amazing."

The climb up the 19,340-foot Mount Kilimanjaro began Aug. 2 guided by Nickson Moshi, owner of Massai Giraffe Safari, who has experience helping disabled climbers.

On Aug. 7, they reached the top.

"We were pretty choked up. It was a pretty emotional experience," Bauer said. "There was a lot of hugging going on."

Bauer lost a leg from a hand grenade during an ambush in 1969 while serving in the Ninth Combat Infantry Division in Vietnam, where he earned two Bronze Stars for heroism.

Joining him on the quest for Kilimanjaro was Sgt. Neil Duncan, 27, from Maple Grove, Minn., who lost both of his legs after being severely injured in Afghanistan in December 2005 by an improvised explosive device; and Staff Sgt. Dan Nevins, 39, from Jacksonville, Fla., who lost his left leg below the knee in November 2004 while serving in Iraq. In 2007, he suffered life-threatening infections in his remaining leg and had to have it amputated.

Bauer is executive director of Disabled Sports USA, a Rockville-based nonprofit sporting organization for people with physical disabilities. It has more than 60 chapters worldwide and serves more than 60,000 people, according to the organization. Bauer volunteered with the organization for 12 years and has been the executive director for the past 28 years.

Bauer, Nevins and Duncan formed Team Missing Parts In Action as part of Disabled Sports USA's Warfighter Sports Series, a schedule of challenge events that help military service members with permanent disabilities train for and challenge themselves in extreme and endurance sports.

While all three successfully reached the summit, Nevins became ill on the descent, with fever, congestion and an infection in his stump and was evacuated on a wheeled stretcher and hospitalized, Bauer said.

It was Duncan who set the trip in motion, unknowingly, a year ago. He tried to climb Mount Kilimanjaro with a guide but was unsuccessful. At a banquet for disabled skiers in Colorado last year, Duncan said he wanted to try again.

"He stood up and challenged me, in front of nearly 500 people, to join him," Bauer said.

"No" was not an option.

On the trip, Bauer kept a daily blog.

At the completion of the challenge, he wrote:

"We hiked through a beautiful rain forest that was filled with exotic plants, hanging moss, Blue Monkeys and beautiful flowers. We finally reached the Marangu Gate, the official end of our climb. Totally sore from head to foot, exhausted from 8 days of heat, cold, wind, muscle strain, and mechanical problems, we arrived late in the afternoon today.

I cannot even begin to convey the exhilaration of finally reaching that cold windy summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro and then finally descending to Marangu Gate, to make our climb official.

Certainly we all feel a great deal of personal satisfaction in setting and achieving a goal none of us was sure we could accomplish. But we all hope that this accomplishment will have more of an effect than personal satisfaction."

New challenges every day

Each day presented challenges of its own.

The men were constantly slipping on loose gravel on the pathways, Bauer said.

They had to deal with extreme fluctuations in climate and temperature.

And then there was the struggle of coming down.

"For an amputee, coming down is almost as hard as coming up," Bauer said. "By the time we got back down to 15,000 feet, we were exhausted. There were times when I said to myself, 'Are you going to make it?' You mentally keep saying to yourself put one foot in front of the other, over and over again."

There was also the issue of Bauer's "spare" leg.

As a precaution, Bauer brought along an extra leg and a pair of crutches.

At 15,500 feet, the men awoke early to head for the summit, stay overnight and come down. To save weight, Bauer opted to leave his extra leg at their camping spot.

Then his computerized prosthetic leg, which automatically adjusts for different terrains, "froze up," Bauer said.

"The leg froze up and becomes like a peg leg," he said. "I did it like a peg leg Pete."

The next day, when he put the spare leg on, the socket was too big and the leg kept falling off, Bauer said.

Meanwhile, Duncan had his own struggles.

"Neal fell flat on his face several times, and flat on his back," Bauer said. "He kept getting up and just kept going."

Bauer said his companions inspired him every step of the way.

"They were just phenomenal," he said. "We all knew what our objective was. It was very simple: Climb the mountain. We did not have one incident where anyone wanted to give up."

Bauer attributes the success of the climb to the training all three men did for months before their departure.

"Every single ounce of training paid off," said Bauer, who took only one day off when he returned to Maryland before going back to work.

Part of Bauer's training included participating earlier this year in the annual Battaan Memorial Death March, a 26-mile course in New Mexico dessert terrain with a backpack.

"The Battaan March got us off on a good jump start," said Bauer, who also climbed three 14,000-foot mountains in Colorado over the past year.

He also gave credit to their team of guides, led by Nickson Moshi

At one point, Nixon offered to carry Bauer.

"I said, 'This is something I have to do myself,' but they were willing to carry me," he said.

In September, Bauer will participate in the 3 Notch Century, a 100-mile bike ride through three mountain ranges in New Hampshire.

"We achieved our goal, but the bigger message is if three guys from three different wars, with one good leg between them can do this, certainly our friends with disabilities can get out and bike a mile, hike a mile," Bauer said. "I hope people will get the message that with your disability, you can still be active. You are going to live a more healthy, richer life for it."

Bauer knows from painful experience.

In 1969, after six months in the hospital and seven surgeries, he was depressed, without hope and thinking about suicide. Then on the last day of that year, he took his first skiing lesson.

"To go from that to screaming down the mountain on one leg, the freedom, the speed, the fresh air -- it was a head-turner for me. It changed my whole perspective on life," he said. "This is what sports does for us all. I became a skiing addict after that."

He also became a teacher, someone to show wounded warriors what can be done.

"These soldiers who are wounded, they only respect action. They don't respect people spouting off about health and fitness. They respect people who are doing it," Bauer said. "I tell them, 'I have been where you are.'"

These days, the level of training, the quality of adaptive equipment and the number of training programs all play a role in increasing the physical activity of disabled veterans.

"We had none of that back in 1969 when I got hurt," Bauer said. "We were literally putting together equipment with duct tape to make something work so the person could get out and do something with their disability."

Back then, skiing was the one sport offered to amputees. Now there are 20, Bauer said, for every injury ranging from traumatic brain injuries, to spinal chord injuries to blindness.

"Unfortunately there are several surviving quadruple amputees of this war, and we have them golfing, scuba diving, cycling and skiing. That is how far we have come," Bauer said.

To this day, he wears shorts, even in the middle of winter.

"I want to let people know, there is life after disability," Bauer said. "It really does make you feel like you can get out there and conquer life."

Explore Howard County

Today a group of Nepalese ( nine climbers) and Russian women (two form 7 Summits Club) led by Alexander Abramov went to the first acclimatization climb up to the Ice Base Refuge, at 3800 meters. Along the way, hosts and guests enjoy the beauty of waterfall Girl Braids, photographed on his background. Then they visited an abandoned refuge “105-1 picket” – where made an impromptu museum of old things, as well as melted from ice since the war, grenades and mines. And finally, the Ice Base, an unused building, at the height of shelters Garabashi. On the way back Alexander Abramov gave a competition – who more quickly run so to machine (300 meters horizontally down).

The photo greeting winners were awarded prizes in the evening - three bottles of vodka!

By morning the good weather came on Ararat, and a group of climbers from 7 Summits Club to seize the opportunity. From the camp at an altitude of 4100 meters, our team reached the summit of the legendary mountain for six and a half hours. Almost all members of the expedition reached the highest point of Mount Ararat: Vladimir Babanov, Konstantin Babanov, Vladimir Gusakovsky, Alexei Kabanov, Margarita Sizikova, Tatiana Sizikova and guide Marina Nemirova. Sergei Andronov reached the height of 4700 meters.

On the descent the weather began to deteriorate gradually, and when climbers went to the camp of 3300 meters, was thick snowfall. In such conditions, the team decided to descend straight down and go to the hotel. This, of course, was difficult, but all agreed that it is better to avoid another wet night. Congratulations to the climbers and wait for their return!

We’ve returned from America with our objectives met (Pico de Orizaba! McKinley!). On top of that, i’ve made a new friend: Jordan Romero. Together we should leave for Antarctica in the following winter.

As you know, along with the 7 Summits circuit, I am also very close to completing the Seven Volcanic Summits: Antarctica’s Sidley will be the final summit! I will become the first female climber in the world to complete the Seven Volcanic Summits.

The Antarctica 2010 Expedition will take place between the 10th of december 2010 and the 20th of january 2011 and is organized by 7 Summits Russia. We’ll be climbing mount Vinson and we’ll be the first ever to climb mount Sidley. This is an international expedition, mr. Mario Trimeri from Italy joining me and Jordan. Mr. Trimeri is aiming at becoming the first climber in the world to complete the Seven Volcanoes circuit.

Given the nature of the expedition and the record breaking attempts, the media attention will be considerable.

But… there is a but. Preparing an expedition of this proportion is not simply saying “tomorrow I am leaving for Antarctica”, boarding a plane and that’s it. You need a lot of training, and especially a lot of money. Training is the easy part; finding the necessary funds is the hardest. My trip to Antarctica is at this point uncertain for exactly this reason. 65 000 Euros is the cost of the expedition and we are currently looking for sponsors that would like to join their names with our adventure, so…. we are waiting for your support at coco@celmaisus.ro, clubulmontanaltitudine@yahoo.com or by telephone: 004 0722 369 965 and 004 0745 050 290

New site of the project

The group of companies “SLON” invites you to international Conference “The development of mountaineering in Caucasus. State and business. The strategy of development”. The Conference will be conducted from 20th to 22nd September in hotel “Balkaria” which is near Elbrus. Also the annual heat VI International Elbrus Race will be started. You can see the programme of the Conference below.

The aim of following Conference is to support the progress of business-structures of Caucasian region, to discuss the questions of tourism advance and to fix the main lines of development of the mountaineering industry and extreme sports. The participants of the Conference are the members of state structures, the administration of the region, sports organizations, international business-companies.

The themes of the Conference:

• Mountaineering as the main trend of tourism in Kabardino-Balkaria

• Investment in modern rescue technologies

• The safety of Elbrus: guarding the routs

• Support of mountaineering and rock climbing development in Kabardino-Balkaria

• Foreign experience of ascents for mountaineering progress in Caucasus

• Environmental public policy

• Projects that are conducted with the members of administration or business-companies: conditions, principles and procedures.

• The past, the present and the future of the mountaineering industry in Caucasus, and other themes…

About participation, sponsoring or information collaboration

Phone: +7 (495) 663 7213, +7 (916) 471 8620

E-mail: at@slon1.ru

The official site of the Cinference: www.elbrusforum.ru

The programme of the Conference

The first day. September, 20th.

10.00-11.00. Registration of participants. Salutatory coffee.

General condition of mountaineering in Caucasus.

11.00-11.15. The past, the present and the future of the mountaineering industry in Caucasus.

Alexander Fedorovskij, the President of Team Work Academy, the director of the group of companies “SLON”.

11.15-11.30. The opening speech of the Administration of Elbrus Region.

Kutman Sottaev, acting head of Administration of Elbrus Region.

11.30-12.00. Mountaineering as the main trend of tourism in Kabardino-Balkaria.

The present level of development of mountaineering.

The difficulties of mountaineering progress.

What is coming. The analysis of mountaineering in Caucasus as a kind of business.

Ruslan Jappuev, deputy head of local Administration managing the municipal property and the tourism.

Successful business – safe business

12.00-12.30. Works against the avalanches on the routs of ascents.

The level of safety. The instruments of control.

Modern abilities of prevention of avalanches.

Sergej Kuznetsov, the main engineer of the Elbrus detachment of the North-Caucasian militarized service organized to struggle against avalanches.

12.30-13.00. Rescue operations in the mountains in Caucasus.

Successful experience of rescue.

Investment in modern rescue technologies

Boris Tilov, the chief of Search-and-Rescue Service in Elbrus Region.

13.00-13.30. The safety of Elbrus: guarding the routs.

The members of the Frontier Service.

13.30-18.00. Open Space. The time of free communication.

The second day. September, 21st.

Live Presentation

The mountain routs of Caucasus.

7.00-8.00. Meeting of the group in the hotel “Balkaria”.

8.00-14.00. Climbing the mountain Cheget.

On the top of the mountain you can enjoy magnificent views. Slight breakfast. Presentation of peaks and routs.

Instructor: Alexander Fedorovskij, the President of Team Work Academy, the director of the group of companies “SLON”.

14.00-15.00. Lunch.

15.00-15.30. Mountaineering as a part of the corporative culture.

The experience of corporative ascents.

Ludmila Korobeshko, Chief Executive Officer of 7 Summits Club.

Organisation of ascents.

15.30-16.00. Support of mountaineering and rock climbing development in Kabardino-Balkaria

Difficulties of development of the mountaineering industry.

Development of attracting aspects for tourists.

Attracting the investments.

Abdul-Halim Olmezov, the President of Mountaineering and Rock Climbing Federation of Kabardino-Balkaria.

16.00-16.30. Foreign experience of ascents for mountaineering progress in Caucasus.

How it happens in Himalaya, Argentina, America and Antarctica.

Alexander Abramov, the President of 7 Summits Club, Master of mountaineering of USSR, the member of Russian Geographic Society.

16.30-17.00. The development of sports tourism in North Caucasus.

The Rock Climbing Federation of Stavropol Territory.

19.00-21.00. Concert programme. Festal dinner.

The third day. September, 22nd.

Equipment

11.00-13.00. Representatives of tourist companies show their commodities.

13.00-14.00 Lunch

The circular table

Ecology

Protection and development

14.00-15.00. Themes for discussion:

Environmental public policy

Investment to the ecology as a way to develop the industry of mountaineering.

Projects that are conducted with the members of administration or business-companies: conditions, principles and procedures.

Ecological standards and systems of certification: state and independent.

Improvement of production by the use of ecological technologies.

Foreign experience and best Russian practices.

(ExplorersWeb/Madrid) “If mountain climbing were as the last 70 hours here at K2, I would immediately stop,” Christian Stangl ensured at arrival back in BC. The Austrian sky-runner bagged the only K2 summit this season on Aug12th, at 10:00am, local time, in a lonely 70 hours-long push up the Abruzzi Spur.

Although a larger debrief is expected upon his return home, Christian reported some details on the ascent and a summit pic via sat-phone, before leaving BC yesterday.

Snow, falling rocks and just one stop on the way up

“I set off from BC on Tuesday at 5:00pm, up the Abruzzi Spur, and climbed all the way to my C3 at 7,100m,” Christian told his home team. “It snowed all the time and some rocks fell on my way.”

“In C3 the skies cleared – just as Charly Gabl had forecasted,” Stangl noted.”I had to hurry up since I knew I just had some hours time before conditions worsened up again.”

At 10:00 am on Thursday, Christian stood on the top only a few moments, before speeding back to C3. "The visibility was not very good,” he stated. “I took no pleasure at being on the summit – that mountain is so dangerous! Technically is not that difficult, but otherwise it is certainly the most dangerous mountain I've ever tried or done!”

A ghostly visitor

"Thursday at 5:00pm I continued down the Abruzzi Spur. During the night, I was guided by my GPS, although at times I separated from the original route, since the ropes were so soaked that rappelling was impossible. At midnight I looked for shelter under a ledge and fell asleep. I woke up again by at dawn, at about 4 am.

“You won’t believe me now but – as I woke up, I saw an animal (like a cat) standing in front of me!” Back at BC I was told it may have been a snow leopard. Back then though, I thought I was freaking out.”

Not fun at all

“Summarizing: In the last three years I’ve spent 4 and a half months on this mountain, and had only one nice day – which I used to reach the top,” Christian pointed out. “As I said before – this is not fun at all; otherwise topping-out is a compensation for all the hardships endured though. Now, I just want to return home as fast as possible."

After sleeping for 12 hours, Christian packed up and left. On his latest call home yesterday, he was already trekking towards Skardu. “I am craving good food and a bier,” he said.

However, both things may have to wait. K2 and Gasherbrums teams are reporting on difficulties to reach Skardu, and an even tougher time to catch a plane seat to Islamabad (read a separate report on ExplorersWeb.com later today).

Update, 10:00am EST: It's over for the Polish team

"Jet Stream up the mountain and avalanches at lower parts have forced us to draw back," Polish Boguslaw Ogrodnik reported. "Devastated we have already come down to the base camp. We reserved the porters for the 18th of August."

July 4, 2009: Christian Stangl turned back at 8,300 meters on a speed attempt on K2. One year later, the Austrian sky-runner returned to repeat the feat, “plus the 316 meters I left undone to the summit,” he stated.

Devoted to speed ascents, in May 2006 Christian summited Everest w/o O2 in only 16 hours 42 minutes. from BC to the top, and six more hours back to BC.

K2 is the first stage of Christian’s current project. After bagging the speed "seven summits" (including Everest in 16h 42min w/o O2 or high camps), Stangl hopes to run up the “second highest 'seven'”. After K2, he will head to Mount Tyree, Antarctica’s tallest peak after Vinson.

ExWeb

We have just come back from Tian Shan. The trip has excited us and provoked strong feelings which are not easy to be described. Can you imagine the brightness of the greenery near Carcara river, the cold slopes of Khan-Tengri, walking up to the Camp 2 on rimed fixed ropes, dodging from stones while rising to the Camp 3, 4-days exhausting waiting for good weather in the assault camp, the day of the ascent, descending to the South where the views were wonderful, the South Inilchek with its unique atmosphere, relax near the Issyk Kul lake…? During the way we have met the legends of alpinism like Kazbeck Hamitsaev, Nikolay Gilin, Aleksandr Koloskov, Dmitrij Grekov, Dmitrij Pavlienko, and we have also met our old friends and some new interesting people.

Two participants of our expedition, Sergej Shekoldin and Andrej Ulin, deserve to be respected especially. They have reached the summit in spite of big difficulties like bad weather conditions and loss of experience.

I’d like also to thank our guides, Ura Lyabin and Dima Ermakov.

In the middle of expedition we were left by Sasha Victorov. He had decided that he didn’t have enough experience for such difficult ascent. In my opinion, his decision was reasonable. However, he managed to reach the Camp 2, and anyway that's something.

As for me, I haven’t reached the summit this time. When we left the assault camp at 4 o’clock in the morning after long waiting, I understood that I really felt terrible and couldn’t walk fast enough. That was the mountain sickness probably. It was pity and difficult to walk down. I felt disappointment… I hope I’ll have another chance to climb this mountain.

August, 14th, a big group of people left to Tanzania. It was directed by the guides of 7 Summits Club, Victor Bobok and Olga Rumiantseva. Their aim was to climb the highest mountain in Africa – Kilimanjaro.

Using different ways, all the participants of the expedition came to Kilimanjaro Airport. The adventures started earlier then they were expected. Half of the people from the group didn’t get their luggage!

But this small trouble didn’t make anyone sad. All the adventurers have made the acquaintance of each other. And now they can enjoy wonderful views of Africa and unusual animals, which can be seen in quantity even at the territory of the hotel.

Today we are going to arrive to the place where we will start our route. If we won’t get the luggage soon, we will climb Kilimanjaro in national clothes. But the loss of our things won’t make us retreat!

Long-expected news from Ludmila Korobeshko! All participants of the expedition have safely walked down to the side of South Inilchek.

Yesterday they stayed in the base camp, and today they are going to fly away by helicopter. Then they will rest near Issyk Kul Lake for a few days.

Congratulations to all participants of the expedition! Their ascent has been successful.

We have just got a message from Ludmila Korobeshko who is on Khan-Tengri at the moment.

Her group had been waiting in the assault camp since August, 6^th at a height of 5800 meters. They had been waiting for good weather for 3 nights. The weather improved at last and they started the ascent at 3 o’clock. Ludmila stayed in the camp, but she had communication with the group.

At 3 o’clock p.m. the group of 7 Summits Club reached the summit of Khan-Tengri. Four people took part in that ascent: Andrej Ulin, Sergej Shekoldin and guides Ura Liabin and Dmitrij Ermakov.

At the moment they are walking down to the camp. They are going to rest a little and then to continue descending to the side of South Inilchek.

We wish them safe descend!

In a befitting ceremony at Air Headquarters, Air Marshal JN Burma, Air Officer-in-charge Administration (AOA) flagged off a six member mountaineering expedition team as a part of mission Seven Summit now ready to climb Mt Elbrus (5633m) in Europe and Mt Kilimanjaro (5895m) in Africa. Handing over the tri-colour and the IAF flag to the team leader Wing Commander RC Tripathi, Air Marshal Burma, he wished them all success and safe return.

The six member team of the expedition include Sqn Ldr Namit Rawat, Sqn Ldr GP Kumar, Sqn Ldr D Panda, JWO NR Choudhary VM and Sgt J Singh, who will participate in the expedition planned from 09 Aug to 04 Sep 10. All the climbers have undertaken many expeditions in Himalaya region and have vast experience of climb to their credit. IAF today is in the forefront in the field of mountaineering besides having supremacy in the skydiving sport.

With an aim to create a world record by hoisting the Indian Tricolor and IAF flag on “Top of all highest peaks of each continent” the IAF mountaineering team has already summated the highest mountain peak in the world Mt Everest, Asia in May 2005, Mt Carstensz Pyramid (4,884m), Australasia in Jan 2009, Mt Aconcagua (6962m), South America in Mar 2010 and Mt Denali (6194m) in North America in May 2010.

The IAF ‘Mission Seven Summits’, to climb all the highest peaks of all the continents was conceptualized after the successful ascent of Mt Everest in 2005 by IAF. The project is being conducted under the aegis of Directorate of Air Force Adventure, the apex body looking after various adventure activities like sky diving, para gliding, Paramotor, mountaineering, skiing, trekking, white water rafting, sailing and mountain terrain biking etc.

The last peak as a part of mission seven summit would be attempted in December is Mt Vinson Massif (ANTARTICA).

PJ/CM