All news: 2021

Alexander Abramov, President of the 7 Summits Club: December 6th. So the Antarctic wait began. We didn't fly anywhere yesterday. Today, it looks like it will be too. We spend time chatting with our first team that climbed Mount Vinson. These are three Indians, led by Artem Rostovtsev. They brought a huge flag of India 15x50 m. We also looked at the invention of the century: a Porsche on tracks and skis.  In general, we are waiting for departure to Sky Blue, where our cars are already waiting for us. But the weather is bad there now…

A group of the 7 Summits Club is preparing to fly to Antarctica to climb the highest point of the continent, Mount Vinson.  At the starting point of the trip, the Chilean city of Punta Arenas, the participants and guides celebrated the birthday of one of the participants. This is Daniele Wolfson, an Everest climber, a representative of Israel, born in the USSR.

Alex Abramov, President of the 7 Summits Club Company: Our plane successfully landed in Antarctica on Union Glacier. There are a lot of people who have flown here to observe a unique solar eclipse in Antarctica. And just now, our first team, headed by Artem Rostovtsev, arrived from Vinson Massif. We hug and listen to the stories of the heroes. Today we cannot fly to the starting point of our expedition Sky blue, as heavy cloud cover in this place.... So we're just resting.

Vladimir Kotlyar, a guide of the 7 Summits Club from Punta Arenas (southern Chile):

Aloha, Seven Summits and for all! The second group of the 7 Summits Club on the highest point of Antarctica Vinson Massif gathered in Punta Arenas! We are waiting for a couple of preparatory days before flying on the Icy continent. The arrival was celebrated at the famous los Ganaderos restaurant, where lamb is perfectly cooked.

There are 12 participants from different countries of the world in the group, they are now led by Vladimir Kotlyar and Nirmal Purja.  And Artem Rostovtsev will meet them already in Antarctica.

Alexander Abramov, President of the 7 Summits Club: The team of the Round-the-World Automobile Expedition has prepared all the necessary equipment. And on the 5th of December in the morning we fly to Antarctica on the Union Glacier. We also take skis and sleds with us to conduct reconnaissance from the last point where the cars will reach.

We decided to make two flights at once, to Union Glacier 3,500 km and without delay another 1,000 km to Sky Blue. To the place of our start.  A lot of bags and trunks are flying with us. We will send photos and news daily, as we have new Iridium equipment for satellite Internet. The team is healthy and happy. We passed 3 tests for the COVID. Today we met a new team of the 7 Summits Club, which is flying to the Vinson Massif. These are 12 participants led by Volodya Kotlyar, Artem Rostovtsev and Nirmal (Nims) Purji. Hello everyone and see you soon!

Artem Rostovtsev, a guide of the 7 Summits Club from Antarctica: Hello, Seven Summits! This is Artem Rostovtsev. We went down to the Vinson Massif base camp. It's been blowing a little since morning. But we have already realized that it is impossible to wait any longer. We started the descent and after a couple of hours of strong wind we hid behind the ridge. On the fixed ropes, the wind was not so strong and we finally warmed up. And then - Low Camp, it was completely windless and warm, and we calmly reached the base camp. That's it, our mission is accomplished. Now we'll stay at the base camp for another day or two, because it's necessary. And we'll fly to Union Glacier.

A message from Elena Abramova, manager of the 7 Summits Club in Chile: 

The team of the 7 Summits Club "Vinson-2" arrived in Punta Arenas. Everyone is in a great mood!  The team of the Automotive Antarctic Expedition is also already in Punta Arenas and has begun active preparations for landing on the Ice Continent.

Alexander Abramov, President of the 7 Summits Club: The team of the Auto Antarctic Expedition departs from Geneva to Punta Arenas. We hope to be in Punta Arenas tomorrow morning. It takes about 16 hours to fly. Good luck to everyone!

Artem Rostovtsev, a guide of the 7 Summits Club from Antarctica: Hello, Seven Summits! We went on the top of Vinson Massif yesterday. We can't go any lower today, we're stuck in an assault camp. A little bad weather around. The wind is strong, with gusts such that we save the tents. But we're holding on. We hope it will be over soon. I really want to go down, they say it's warmer there. We have everything: there is food, there is fuel. The tents are alive, but wet. Once again, a big hello to everyone from Artem Rostovtsev from Antarctica.

Alexander Abramov, President of the 7 Summits Club: A new expedition of the 7 Summits Club and the Goodgear Company in Antarctica begins. Now it is an auto expedition.  The task of the team, which includes Alexander Abramov, Vasily Shakhnovsky and Alexey Safonov, is to drive 2000 km across Antarctica by car and explore the Antarctic peninsula for the possibility of driving through it by car.  This is a unique expedition, as no 4x4 car has ever passed in these parts. Only planes.

The difficulty is made up of glaciers, huge crevasses, deep snow. And absolutely unexplored areas are dangerous for the passage of cars.

Exploration is carried out on specially prepared cars “Arctic Truck”, which successfully run in East Antarctica, where there is thick ice and fairly flat terrain. But it have never been to the Antarctic peninsula, which consists of a mountain range with a complex terrain.

This exploration is part of the plan for a round-the-world automobile expedition along the meridian through the 2 Poles of the Earth, which we are going to make in a year. The circumnavigation is unique. Not a single car has been able to drive through 2 Poles North and South and cross 5 continents (Europe, Africa, North and South America and Antarctica).

Now we are exploring Antarctica, and on March 1 we are leaving for Canada for automobile exploration of the possibility of traveling through the Northern Islands of Canada and access to the Arctic ice.

Artem Rostovtsev, super-guide of the 7 Summits Club from Antarctica: Hello, Seven Summits! I congratulate you on the beginning of winter, on December 1st! This is Artem Rostovtsev. Our group has just descended from the summit of the Vinson Massif. All went well. Today it turns out that for the first time in almost two years someone has been on the top of Antarctica. There were 9 people in total. These are two rangers, three climbers from the ALE company and four people from the 7 Summits Club company. And it looks like a fresh wind blew and the mountain slammed shut…

Photos from the expeditions of the 7 Summits Club of previous seasons...

Hello, Seven Summits! This is Artem Rostovtsev, from the slopes of the Vinson Massif in Antarctica. It's getting late, midnight. But the light is so bright that at least put on two pairs of glasses. But in a couple of days they promise that clouds will creep in and the wind will blow. Therefore, we are a little worried and are already trying to go higher. So maybe in a couple of days we will climb on the top of Vinson. We are doing well, everything is going according to plan. Soon we will please you with other good news.

Photos from the expeditions of the 7 Summits Club of previous seasons

 How fast can you climb Mount Everest? This general question is divided into two. How fast can you climb from the base camp to the top?  And – how quickly you can climb to the top from the beginning of the expedition. We are talking about records, and not about them. The program of the 7 Summits Club "Blitz" is not about records. This is expediency and rationality. One of the solutions to the problem: "there is a desire to climb Mount Everest – there is no way to spend two months on an expedition"…

And the record holders… You will be able to meet them at the base camp. Karl Egloff and Marc Batard plan to set new achievements for 2022, and for Sherpa Kami Rita, records are the main job.

Proposals of the 7 Summits Club, Everest Expedition 2022. Leader Alex Abramov.

This is American Roxanne Gonzalez Vogel.

Her record is unofficial. Perhaps one of the climbers could prove that he was on the expedition for a shorter period. For example, someone flew over from another eight-thousandth and already acclimatized went to the mountain. Or someone even lives in the Khumbu Valley and, after leaving home, only stopped at the base camp for a day. Records of the shortness of stay in the expedition are still a novelty.

 But Roxanne (Roxy) showed the whole world the action of a program similar to our "Blitz". Even much shorter - 14 days from home to home in California.

 (1) The program is available for well-trained people. Roxy has been doing sports all her life, professionally - sports nutrition. She runs ultra-marathons at a competitive level.

 (2) The program is available for those who already know their body's reaction to altitude. Roxy has been climbing for many years. She went, in particular, to Denali and Aconcagua, dozens of routes in the mountains of the USA. And just before Everest, Roxy visited South America, where she climbed three five-thousand meters in Ecuador in five days and on Ojos del Salado in just five days (from home to home).

 (3) But the most important thing is that the program includes long-term training at home. The training consists of regular prolonged sleep in a specially equipped, so-called hypoxic tent.  Nitrogen is pumped into it by a special generator and an atmosphere similar to high-altitude conditions is created.

Alex Abramov on the air about the Everest expedition and the Blitz program.

Record holders, who can be found at the base camp.

 Kami Rita will be 52 years old, he has climbed to the top of the World 25 times.

Karl Egloff aims to set speed records on all the "seven summits".  There are four of them in his collection: Aconcagua, Denali, Kilimanjaro and Elbrus. An Ecuadorian Swiss or Swiss Ecuadorian hopes that nothing will prevent him from fighting time on the slopes of Mount Everest this year.

 Marc Batard

Karl Egloff intends to break the record of this Frenchman. In 1988, Mark ran from base camp to the summit of Mount Everest in 22.5 hours.  Several Sherpas walked much faster, but they all used oxygen tanks. And the Batar climbed without the use of additional (artificial) oxygen.  The 69-year-old Frenchman returned to Everest this year to find and equip a way bypassing of the Khumbu icefall.  Already in the mountains he celebrated his 70th birthday. And in 2022, he plans to officially open this path and climb to the top again without oxygen. And thus set an age record for oxygen-free ascent. It belongs so far to the Italian guide Abele Blanc - 55 years old.

Artem Rostovtsev, super-guide of the 7 Summits Club from Antarctica: Hello, Seven Summits! This is the White Continent, Artem Rostovtsev. We arrived at the Vinson Massif base camp and have already managed to settle down. Moreover, we dug up equipment and food buried in the snow two years ago. It was all found quickly - literally in five minutes. Thanks to the one who correctly set the coordinates. Some delicacies were left over from the last time. We'll be having dinner soon. In general, the expedition has begun. Wish us good luck! Now the weather is favorable. We'll start going up slowly tomorrow.

Pictures from the season 2019-2020 

Artem Rostovtsev, guide of the 7 Summits Club from Punta Arenas: Expedition on the Vinson Massif, while from Fin del mundo, aka the edge of the world, is in touch. According to the plan, we have to fly to Antarctica tomorrow. We are waiting for the promised news from the pilots of the aircraft, and they took a break for 1-2 hours to make a decision. What makes us worry a little. We are in full readiness, all the freight forwarding is packed, weighed, delivered.  We would like to fly tomorrow and calmly act according to the plan.

Artem Rostovtsev, super-guide of the 7 Summits Club from Punta Arenas: Antarctic programs of the 7 Summits Club begins. Ahead we have 4 expeditions on the Vinson Massif, an expedition on the Sidley volcano, an expedition The Last Degree to the South Pole on skis.

The advanced small group has already gathered and is located in the windy city of Punta Arenas, a free translation into Russian is "the edge of the earth". Before the arrival of the group, we managed to find and prepare the expedition equipment, purchased and are preparing products for shipment. An exciting moment: will it be possible after a two-year break to immediately find the equipment left and buried on the slopes of Vinson? Therefore, we have to duplicate it. In any case, it will all come in handy during the season. Every day in the morning we do a PCR test, everyone should get to Antarctica "clean". And we begin to hold our fists and occasionally pray for not always stable weather at the beginning of the season. The flight to the White Continent is scheduled for November 26th, let it be so. Greetings from the ends of the earth from the guide Artem Rostovtsev and the team!

Our season in Antarctica has started! A few days ago, the first part of the 7 Summits Club Team arrived at the edge of the world, in the Chilean city of Punta Arenas. This is a super-guide Artem Rostovtsev and our representative in Punta Arenas Elena Abramova. They dismantled our depot with equipment, made purchases and prepared everything necessary for the start of the first group on Mount Vinson, which arrives in Punta Arenas this evening.

We remind you that in this Antarctic season, the 7 Summis Club will have 4 groups on Mt.Vinson, 1 groupl at the Last Degree (skiing to the South Pole), 1 group on Mt.Sidley and a Flight to the South Pole. And there's even one parachute jump. And also among the participants of our expeditions is a climbing star - Nirmal Purja.

Vladimir Kotlyar, Artem Rostovtsev and Alexander Dorozhukov are among the super-guides of the 7 Summits Club in Antarctica this season.

And besides, from December 1, Alexander Abramov will start to Antarctica with a unique automobile expedition.

Viktor Volodin, guide of the 7 Summits Club group: Hello everyone!  We got to Kathmandu.  We are eating, sleeping off, tomorrow we will try to fly home. The dream is fulfilled, we are happy! Thank you all so much for worrying about us!

I made it!!!  I can't even believe it myself! Mount Orizaba (5636 m) is taken!!! I returned from heaven to earth (from Mexico) and finally had the strength and time to tell. On November 6, starting at 2 a.m., our team of 11 people, led by the super-guides of the 7 Summits Club, climbed Mount Orizaba from a height of 4700 m.

It's very cool to be above the clouds. Nature is majestic, powerful and magnificent, and you are a grain of sand. It is difficult to convey in censored words how hard it was, mountain sickness (although we were acclimatized from November 1), a very long, steep, hard snow climb (we walked with a rope, in crampons with ice axes). Even experienced climbers said that physically it was easier on Elbrus, because there was a place to sit down to rest.

When I realized that I could no longer lift my legs, I asked them to drill me into the snow with an ice pick and pick me up on the way back, but - it is impossible, they said there is not much left, we need to walk!

 I got to the top only thanks to the guides, namely:

- Sergey Larin, who was always there, managed, supported and helped, while he managed to keep trek of the whole team;

- Julio, the local guide, who took my backpack;

- and also to the spouse who started all this, provided and prepared;

- to the daughter who said, "Mom, you have to walk";

- and to everyone I love!

 I don't know if I'm ready for such madness yet?  But I had to get out of my comfort zone, everyday life and shake myself up. I was somehow offended by the phrase: "There are a lot of smart people, but there are few brave ones"!

Victor Volodin, guide of the 7 Summits Club, from Nepal: Dear friends, yesterday, 15.11, the mountaineer's dream came true. We climbed the beautiful  Mount Ama-Dablam! Thanks to everyone who supported us!