All news: May 2015

Hello! This is Alexander Abramov, I am in Peru with Ludmila Korobeshko. Here we arrived the day before to explore and further preparation new climbing programs in Peru. According to our plan, we must climb first the mount of Alpamayo and then the highest peak of Peru - Huascaran. We are now in Huaraz and soon we leave for a trek to Alpamayo. I do not know whether it will be communication from the trek, but we will try to send messages. So long!

Pictures made by members of blitz climbing on the Mount of Orizaba. The ascent took place in the style of super blitz: 5 hours on the ascent up, 2 hours for the descent down. They were at 7:40 a.m. on the top.

7 Summits Club congratulates the successful ascent!

"That's how we came to the top, glowing with happiness"

The photograph from the top of the Mount Uarch-Kaya. 8 pitches behind. Not a difficult route, but not bad at all, considering that the guys have minimal experience in climbing.
Members: Oleg Pimenov and Paul Dembrowsky. Guide - Alexander Malinkevich. The route "Surprise" in the massive Uarch-Kaya.

Marina Gevirkyan and Denis Provalov haму climbed Mount Elbrus just for two days. They came from Nepal and Tibet from our Everst expedition and used their acclimatization...

This is Viсtor Ershov. Today at 12-30 p.m. I, with my Indonesian group, stood on the top of Mount Elbrus. Hooray! Congratulations to us! Unfortunately, we could not go down the same day. Therefore, we will have a rest on the hut LeapRus. And tomorrow we will celebrate our victories already down at the hotel. All congratulations! Bye!

Hello everyone! This is Viktor Ershov, a guide 7 Summits Club. I'm here on the refuge LeapRus with a group of Indonesian climbers. Today we have been training on the snow, we walked with a rope and examined the correct movements in crampons. At night, we will try to climb the Mount of Elbrus. Exit from the LeapRus - at three o'clock. That all, have a good luck!

Pictures from the first part of the program:

HOTEL POVOROT

OUR RENTAL SHOP

Everybody, hello! This is Luba Pershin from Mexico. Today, May 9, we farewell two of our partners. They flew to his home in Vienna. We have time in the morning to celebrate May 9th, a walk on the market of novelty, ate tacos, in general, rest remembering our yesterday's climbing…

In the morning in Delhi – a day already in a festive Moscow! So we have a double celebration. Our team came back, all intact and healthy. All  have unscheduled free time, it is - great! And the Chinese government has extended permits for Everest over the next three years. Long live the Sino-Russian friendship! It is rest to hope that Everest replaced an anger at the mercy to any innocent climbers.

Delhi: all free

Moscow!

Today is the day of departure. It is a pity. The Country is magic. Group is wonderful. No one wants to leave. We'll have to go somewhere else all together :)

Hi, everybody! This is Lyubov Pershina from Mexico. Today, on May 8, our group, three persons, as well as it was planned, reached the summit of Orizaba. We made it very quickly in 7 hours 15 minutes, the general time - 10 hours 15 minutes.

Weather was remarkable, the sun, soft fresh snow. There was no thunder-storm as the day before yesterday, that is, with the weather our team was very lucky.

Now we are already down the valley, have already a dinner … now we are ready to go to Mexico City.

May 6 was the day of the mass ascent on Elbrus. And that day had the most favorable weather conditions. Yes, there was a full visibility, but it was a terrible cold. Old-timers say so cold in May was never before. So the climb for our team was not sweet walk. The team reached the top at four, one of the members did not have the strength to a finish effort. We think there was not enough acclimatization. But it was impossible to postpone the climbing. In the following days, the weather forecast is much worse.

Photos taken this morning by Dima Yermakov:

Hello! This is Alex Abramov from Everest expedition. Our expedition is over. Today we flew from Lhasa to Kathmandu. Rumors that Kathmandu destroyed - completely exaggerated. Virtually nothing is noticeable, the city looks like a unbroken. Only a few old buildings collapsed. Everything else - completely unhurt. No external damage in town, roads or buildings. We are now at the hotel Yak and Yeti , everything is fine here. The only thing that the decorative stone, which was on the edge of the pool, got down to the pool. Everything else - completely intact. Today, some people from our team have already flies home, the second part flies tomorrow, the third part - the day after tomorrow ....

During the farewell party on May 2th suddenly heavy snow threw, the wind blew but we are in tent an had great drunk and overdance. It was great! And in the morning we saw a snow-covered sunny camp – as a nature has made us a gift for our departure:

The team of the "7 Summits Club", Valdis Pelsh with his videoteam, and the organizers and members of the remaining 13 expeditions from the Tibetan side were in a difficult situation: CTMA (Sino-Tibetan mountaineering association) closed Everest and all the other mountains of Tibet for the whole spring season 2015.

In the past it was in 2008, during the Olympic Games in Beijing - but that was the planned closure; China urgently closes the mountain for the first time. So we are all faced with unexpected insurmountable difficulty. Well, nothing special, we packed up and went home.

According to recent reports, the number of victims of the earthquake in Nepal has exceeded seven thousand men; our Nepalese partners believe that the government underestimates the numbers three times, therefore, it is about twenty thousand dead - an enormous figure. Tremors continue, in these conditions it is possible to say the same words as Alex Abramov: "You want to the mountain or you want stay alive?".

A group of 15 people led by Anastasia Kuznetsova today made a successful ascent to the summit of Jebel Toubkal in Morocco, the highest peak in North Africa. It's nice that the group has reached   the summit in full, including two children 11 and 12 years old. They did it like all climbers. The mountains  here are beautiful, alive - they are filled with streams, waterfalls, flying butterflies, ladybugs. In general, we walked and admired nature. It was very cheerful and fun. Now we are in Marrakech, enjoy the exotic East, rest after the climb. We have a wonderful mood, and we continue our journey through Morocco. Constantine Ryzhak by telephone from Marrakech...

Today in the base camp of Club of 7 Summits Club there was a significant event. We called its “farewell party”. We were tired to live in uncertainty, and today, at last, people relaxed. And at last, the sufficient attention was paid to girls.

As hit of evening, oxygen cocktail “for free”.

The last 3 days, our team have experienced big turmoils . In the beginning from the earthquake and death of a large number of people in Nepal. Then from understanding that our Everest expedition comes to an end.
For the majority of us, this ascenst was the biggest dream of the last years. And the spent time and finance can't be returned.
But now an understanding of correctness of this decision comes to us. Decisions on cancellation of all climbs by the Chinese authorities in Tibet in this season is right.

 First, the moral factor doesn't allow to go for climbing “among” thousands of lost people.
Secondly, the safety issue of ascent isn't rather defined. Tremors still proceed, as well as falls of stones and ice on the mountain and in the upper camps.
Thirdly, other expeditions already started being curtailed. The Chinese team and team on preparation of a route already left base camp. To be alone on the Everest for us it would be very difficult.

Not without regret, but with understanding of a situation, we declare the end of our expedition on Everest. And tomorrow, on May 2th, we will organize "Farewell party" for all big base camp. And the day after tomorrow, on May 3, we begin our far way home.
As the boundary cities of Jangmu and Kodari are destroyed, our way passes through Lhasa. From where all of us will depart on May 6th to Katmandu.
Best regards, everybody!
And with a holiday on May 1!

Abramov Alexander and Everest team 2015.

The group of 4 people arrives to Mexico today. They will spend May holidays, traveling around this country. The group will get acquainted with local sights, a historical and cultural monument, and also will try to make ascent on the highest peak of Mexico the mountain Orizaba (5700 m). It is also the highest volcano of North America.

The program will last from May 1 to May 11.

The guide of this group Liuba Pershina – almost local person, the certified specialist on the Mexican ethnography, also certified Mexican mountain guide, she lived in this country many years. Is it possible to find the best partner in travel in Mexico?

Four more persons are added to our group today - Natalya, Andrey and Ilya Dulskiy from Irkutsk and Andrey Krasnik from Moscow. We almost all together, only Konstantin Ryzhak has to catch up with us in mountains.

Morocco opens to us infinite bright fabulous multi-colored east fairy tale. Tomorrow we go to mountains.