All news: November 2011

The famous Russian traveler Fyodor Konyukhov was today a guest of the 7 Summits Club. He came to say goodbye before a long expedition to Ethiopia. In particular, Fedor and his team is going to climb all the highest points of this country. Alexander Abramov and Ludmila Korobeshko discussed with him a program of trekking to the foothills of Mount Everest in April and May 2012. Fedor wants to organize a group with participation of Orthodox priests.

Fyodor Konyukhov, who was the first Russian climbed Seven Summits and reached two Poles. They have discussed various travel ideas, tell each other about their adventures and climbs, about Antarctica and Mount Everest.

Previous information

http://7tops.com/newsarchive/all_1/date_2011_2_9_1/item_2270/

The season of 2011-2012 marks the centenary of Amundsen's and Scott's expeditions to the South Pole. Many expeditions have already started and many arrive to Punta Arenas and waiting for next flight to Antarctica. Almost all of them devote their travel to Amundsen's or Scott's Centenary celebrations, paying homage to the courage and determination of these great men and their colleagues. Among them two our travelers Victor Bobok and Igor Grishkov who take part in the South Pole Jubilee Expedition 1911-2011.

List of expeditions

 http://www.antarctic-logistics.com/news.html

South Pole Jubilee Expedition 1911-2011

Norwegian polar explorers Christian Eide and Borge Ousland have organized a South Pole Jubilee Expedition. The Jubilee teams will follow Amundsen's 700 km route up the Axel Heiberg Glacier, arriving at the South Pole by December 14. Along the way they plan to climb Mt Nansen, which has only had one previous ascent. In 2010 Christian Eide set the World record for fastest solo unsupported ski to the South Pole in 2011, while Borge Ousland completed the first solo Antarctic crossing in 1996 and was the first person to ski solo, with no re-supply to the North Pole.

Sørpolen 1911-2011

Sørpolen 1911-2011 will follow Amundsen's route from the Bay of Whales to the South Pole, covering the distance in the same number of days as the famous explorer. Led by Jan-Gunnar Winther, head of the Norsk Polarinstitutt, this expedition will showcase Norwegian polar history and spotlight current climatic and environmental challenges. The Expedition is part of the Nansen-Amundsen Year that honors both Amundsen's South Pole conquest and 150 years since the birth of Arctic explorer Fridtjof Nansen.

http://sorpolen2011.npolar.no/en/ (English)

The South Pole - 100 Years After

Asle Johansen crossed Greenland in 1988, one hundred years after Nansen, using period clothing and equipment. Now Johansen will celebrate the Amundsen Centenary in a similar fashion, with teammates Agnar Berg and Gaute Grindhaug. The three Norwegians will follow Amundsen's Axel Heiberg route from the Ross Ice Shelf to the South Pole using replica clothing and equipment to better understand Amundsen's journey. Johansen, a physician and researcher specializing in the body's response to extreme physical and mental stress, emphasizes that this is not just a replica expedition, but a scientific journey.

http://www.nansenamundsen.no/no/events/okt/asle-t-johansen-sorpolekspedisjon.html (Norwegian)

South Pole 1911-2011

Albert Bosch and Carles Gel from Spain will ski unsupported from Hercules Inlet to the South Pole. They plan to arrive by December 14 and thus commemorate Roald Amundsen's historic feat.

http://www.albertbosch.info/en/minisite/29/

Hvitserk Ski South Pole

Norwegian Outfitter Hvitserk will lead an Anniversary South Pole Expedition. The team will follow the 'Messner Route' and ski unsupported to the South Pole, arriving by December 14 to join the Amundsen Centenary celebrations.

Steffen Dahl

Norwegian Steffen Dahl is skiing to both North and South Poles in 2011 to honor the achievements of Fridtjof Nansen and Roald Amundsen. Dahl reached the North Pole on April 11 and will ski alone and unsupported from Hercules Inlet to the South Pole.

http://polfarer.no/ (Norwegian)

Scott-Amundsen Centenary Race 2011-12

Two teams. Two routes. Skiing unsupported to the South Pole. Six members of the British Army will re-trace Amundsen's and Scott's routes to the South Pole, in a tribute to the courage, determination and pioneering spirit of these great explorers. The Amundsen team, led by Henry Worsley (Shackleton Centenary Expedition 2008) will depart from the Bay of Whales, cross the Ross Ice Shelf and ascend the Axel Heiberg Glacier. Mark Langridge (solo to the Pole 2008) will lead the Scott team from Cape Evans, across the ice shelf and up the Beardmore Glacier. Both teams expect to cover their distance in about 70 days, arriving at the South Pole in early January.

http://scottamundsenrace.org/

One Call Wintercamp

Nine Norwegian skiers will ski and kite-ski from 88° 30'S to the South Pole. The expedition celebrates Roald Amundsen's dream to achieve something many believed was unattainable.

http://www.onecall.no/wintercamp2011/ (Norwegian)

Ski Last Degree Expeditions

A number of Antarctic enthusiasts, including the Norwegian Prime Minister, will ski shorter distances to the South Pole in celebration of the Amundsen and Scott Centenaries. Many of the groups will ani ski last degree, the last 60 nautical miles, taking from 7 to 10 days to complete their journey.

Other Antarctic Crossing and Ski South Pole-Return Expeditions

Kaspersky ONE Transantarctic Expedition

Felicity Aston (2009 Kaspersky Lab Commonwealth Expedition Leader) is heading back to Antarctica - this time solo. Felicity will make a 1700km, 65-day journey, becoming the first woman in the world to cross Antarctica alone. The documentary film about Felicity's 2009 expedition will be screened at the Banff Mountain and Dijon Adventure Film Festivals this November. But don't expect to see Felicity there!

http://www.kasperskyonetransantarcticexpedition.com/

Aleksander Gamme

Aleksander Gamme will ski solo from Hercules Inlet to the South Pole, then turn around and ski solo back to the edge of the Antarctic continent. Inspired by Amundsen. Gamme admits to feeling "humble" when he thinks about the physical and mental challenges of being alone in the icy wilderness for so long.

Mark George

Explorer and motivational speaker Mark George plans to ski solo and unsupported from Hercules Inlet to the South Pole, then return by kite-ski to the coast, for a total of 2,300 kms.

http://www.searchingforsanta.com.au/

Crossing the Ice

Two Australians Justin Jones and James Castrission will trek from the edge of Antarctica to the South Pole and back, without assistance of any kind. Their expedition will raise funds for You Can, a fundraising campaign to build specialized youth cancer centres across Australia.

http://casandjonesy.com.au/expeditions/crossing-the-ice/

South Pole and Back - Ski and Kite

Polar explorer and speed-record holder Richard Weber will lead a 35 day, unsupported trek from the "Messner Start" on the Filchner Ice Shelf to the South Pole. From the South Pole the team will kite-ski back to Hercules Inlet at the edge of the continent.

http://www.weberarctic.com/

Ski South Pole - Messner Start and Hercules Inlet

ANI Ski South Pole Messner

ANI guide Hannah McKeand holds the record for most ski expeditions from the Antarctic coast to the South Pole - and this year she will again cross the icy continent. McKeand and fellow ANI guide Charlie Patton will lead two ANI Ski South Pole - Messner teams to the South Pole.

Pole to Pole Run

When endurance runner Pat Farmer starts his Antarctic expedition, he will already have run two marathons every day, no days off, for almost a year and clocked nearly 13,000 miles through 14 countries. This is the last leg on an incredible trek from the North Pole to the South Pole to raise $100 million for the International Red Cross.

http://www.poletopolerun.com/

Mark Wood

"The North South Solo expedition has been classed as the toughest expedition on the planet." But this is exactly what polar explorer Mark Wood plans to undertake. He will ski from Hercules Inlet to the South Pole. Then next spring, head to the Canadian Arctic to ski solo to the North Pole.

PolarExplorers Ski South Pole - Hercules

This guided expedition will traverse from Hercules Inlet at the edge of the Antarctic continent, to the South Pole.

Thompson Reuters Eikon South Pole Expedition

It's about challenge and proving greener technologies for Polar exploration, says their website. This expedition will attempt to beat the overland record to the Pole in a specially-built, efficient, bio-fuelled vehicle. They will use solar panels to further reduce their carbon footprint and real-time GPS Satellite communications and tracking.

http://thomsonreuterseikon.com/south-pole-expedition/

Counterterrorist operation (CTO) in the Elbrus and the part of the Baksan regions of Kabardino-Balkaria canceled on November 5. The head of the Kabardino-Balkaria Arsen Kanokov said that the CTO regime will be off to the beginning of winter ski season. The CTO regime throughout the Elbrus and the Baksan areas of Kabardino-Balkaria was introduced February 20, 2011.

«…because of continuing threat of subversive and terror acts, the republic keeps all its mountain resorts near Elbrus closed for tourists. In order to prevent possible threats to life and health of people, being guided by Article 11 of the Federal Law 'On Counteracting Terrorism', during a counterterrorist operation (CTO) regime, it was prohibited to let tourist groups and individual tourists to the ski resort near Elbrus, which is inside the CTO area,"

Welcome !

Elbrus - is invaluable pride and property №1 among the main miracles of Russia. The greatest mountain of Europe! One of the seventh of most magnificent highest tops that hold a firmament on different continents of our planet.

The material has been made during small travel to Caucasus and ascension to Elbrus from February till March, 2011. Despite heavy weather conditions, we still were able to embody some beautiful fragments of life of this wonderful mountain.

Enjoy viewing!

video from Vladimir Voychuk

Latest news from JSC "Northern Caucasus Resorts”

03.11.2011

THE AMENDMENTS TO THE LAW ABOUT SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES WILL ATTRACT PRIVATE INVESTORS TO THE NORTH CAUCASUS

JSC "Northern Caucasus Resorts” agrees with the changes to the law on special economic zones, which were coordinated with environmentalists. On the November 2 The State Duma at the second reading passed thе version of the legislation that as far as possible ensures conservation of the reserved areas and at the same time privides conditions for the effective development of the touristic zones.

Earlier, Chairman of the Board of Directors of NCR Akhmed Bilalov was categorically against submitted to the Duma edition of the bill and insisted on its correlation with the views of influential environmentalists. "The tabled version of the law is presented as dictated by the needs of the North Caucasus tourism cluster. However, some officials have tried to put into this law all their problems which they did not want to solve for many years. We will ensure, that the changes will affect only those sites that are being developed within the special economic zones for tourism and recreation under strict government control”, - said Bilalov.

During further consultations a mutually acceptable version of the bill was developed. "The new version of amendments accordes with most of the claims of environmentalists," - said in a statement of WWF Russia. "We managed to find formulations that allow the development of environmental management in the biosphere ranges - that is their primary goal, but it does not entail damaging effects as the previous bill project, - said Igor Chestin, director of WWF-Russia.

Akhmed Bilalov expressed his confidence that the accepted amendments to the law on special economic zones will not harm protected areas.and will contribute to the effective development of the North Caucasus region will attract private investors to the tourism projects in the south of Russia.

"The bill provides tax deduction for residents of tourist-recreational SEZ for a period up to 2023, greatly simplifies the form of land use and technical regulations. The preferences, which are established by the bill are extremely attractive for investors ", - said Bilalov. He also reminded that the project of the North Caucasus tourism cluster will create in the region more than 300 thousand new jobs.

*** The project of the tourism cluster in the south of Russia in 2011-2020 involves the construction of five world-class mountain resorts: Lagonaki (Krasnodar Territory, the Republic of Adygea), Arkhyz (Karachay-Cherkessia), Elbrus-Bezengi (Kabardino-Balkaria), Mamison (Republic of North Ossetia - Alania), Matlas (Republic of Dagestan). The planned total length of ski runs will be almost 900 km and they will have 179 ski lifts. The hotels with varying comfort levels will accommodate 89 000 people. Daily capacity of the resorts will reach 150 500 people and each year the North Caucasus tourist cluster will be visited by 5 to 10 million tourists.

The total cost of the ski project is estimated at 451 billion rubles. The project is financed by a public-private partnership. Government invests via "NCR" corporation 60 billion in transport and utilities infrastructure, private business is financing the facilities of resort infrastructure.

The Russian government is considering the inclusion of the coastal area of the Caspian Sea (Dagestan), Caucasus Mineral Waters (Stavropol Territory) and the Republic of Ingushetia to the North Caucasus tourism cluster project.