Aconcagua(6962) - Page 21

Today we are staying in the first camp on our way to the peak. Pampa de Lenas is about three kilometers above sea level. Overall, we have already hiked about 20 kilometers from the entrance of Aconcagua Park through the valley of Punta de Vacas.

The views are incredible. This route is more picturesque than the classic route through Plaza de Mulas. There are fewer people and everything is greener and more beautiful. During the evening we sit with the gauchos, who drive the mules. We cook meat and bake potatoes. We still have about 20 kilometers to go before we get to the next camp.

Ludmila Korobeshko

And now a little bit of Argentinian culture:

Gauchos are part of an ethnic group originating in the 16-17 century. Gauchos were often the progeny of Spaniards and native women from Argentina and Uruguay. Originally, they led a nomadic lifestyle, living off of contraband, theft and the resale of cattle. Near the end of the 18th century, they took to commercial cattle ranching and began to hire themselves out as cattle herders.

http://www.alpari-life.ru/en

Hello from Argentina! Four our groups two days ago landed in Mendoza, that is almost entirely occupied by it. Someone came before. Someone later. Everyone was very fun to everyone. Evening, 25 people sat in a restaurant. The next day the team "Planet Fitness" flew in from Bolivia.

Yesterday, four buses were carrying members of the Seven Summits Club in Penitentes. A caravan of mules left in the morning today in the direction of the Plaza de Mulos with our things. Group of "Bolivians" from Planet Fitness with Victor Bobok was put into a helicopter. The remaining members went on foot toward the confluence camp.

“We look to be first in everything we do, both in the mountains and in business.” Alpari

We thought we would go into a little bit more detail about some of the things that went on at the February 8 Alpari: On Top of the World press conference.

Valery Tarasov, Public Relations Director at Alpari opened up the proceedings by drawing parallels between mountain climbing and business. “Striving towards success, towards the top, requires teamwork, overcoming your ego, setting goals and following through on them. These things are all important in achieving your goals and reaching new heights, whether it is in the mountains or in business. We look to be first in everything we do, both in the mountains and in business.”

Everyone taking part in the press conference showed a great deal of enthusiasm for the project, including team captain Lyudmila Korobeshko. “I’d like to thank Alpari for giving us the chance to be a part of this project. I really hope our team manages to set a new world record and complete the 7 Summits challenge in 300 days, taking new and unorthodox routes in the process. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. There are a lot of outside factors that come into play in climbing.” Lyudmila also had kind words for her teammates, praising Ivan Dusharin for being one of the “patriarchs of Russian alpinism” and for having a number of difficult climbs on his resume, including K2, widely considered to be among the planet’s most difficult climbs. About Maxim Shakirov, she commented, “He’s not only a great photographer and filmmaker, but also a man who has rung in the New Year atop a mountain more than once.” Ivan Dusharin thanked Alpari for the project, saying that efforts like Alpari: On Top of the World help make the pursuit of mountain climbing “more accessible to people of all sorts. Sometimes this pursuit can turn into your life’s calling. Everyone is working towards their own Everest, whether it be in sport or in life. What’s most important is to set a goal and work towards achieving it.” Maxim thanked Alpari for giving him the chance to film the mountains, the sights he could only dream of capturing on previous climbs.

We asked some of those in attendance what they thought about the project. Here is what they had to say:

Aleksandr Grek (Editor in Chief of National Geographic, Russia): “The 7 Summits challenge is one of the greatest adventures you can experience on the planet. A year is a very short time frame, which makes this twice as interesting. I wish the team good luck. I hope they can pull it out and beat the record, without any losses.”

Alexey Ovchinnikov (Executive Director of the Russian Mountaineering Federation): “I would like to thank Alpari for getting this started. Large-scale projects, unfortunately, are quite rare in Russia. The last time we saw something like this was probably 20 years ago. This is a very serious project, where business is making history in the world of mountain climbing. This is a real challenge, both for the climbers, and for Alpari. I’m sure that with a stellar company like Alpari behind it, this project will succeed.”

Ivan Davidov (Marketing Director at the Expert publishing house, representing Russian Reporter): “This is a bold project with an interesting history behind it. The mountains are a thing of great beauty. Let’s hope we get some amazing footage from the project.”

Andrey Moskalenko (Special Projects Director, Profile magazine): “Our magazine too, has its sights set high, so of course we had to throw our support behind an ambitious project like this.”

Maria Stepnova (Editor in Chief, XXL magazine): “Alpari: On Top of the World is a project for real men. The fact that the team is being led by a woman makes it extra special. The business support for this project also sets it apart, since making it to the peak doesn’t really depend on money. However many millions you may have, none of that matters in the mountains. I hope that this project inspires our readers to be more active, that hearing about the progress of the expedition will get them moving forward.”

There were a lot of questions that came up. How long is this all going to take? What do we plan to do with the footage? Will there be articles about the different places our team will be visiting, about local cultures and traditions? Lyudmila also stirred a great deal of excitement in the room when she hinted that the team might attempt a new route to the peak of Everest. Climbing the world’s tallest mountain is difficult in and of itself, so this news was rather shocking to some of those in attendance.

You can learn more about the project and keep up with the team’s progress on http://www.alpari-life.ru/.

Words are not necessary. All you can express in images. And it will be much more accurate. In the words it is difficult to avoid an official tone, and even some falsehood. We see what it was. We see feelings and emotions, and this is more important. And also we want to soar above humdrum and reality.

Victor Bobok sent photos from his freshest climb the highest peak in South America.

According to Victor call, all team came down to Camp Cholera. Today, they plan to be in the base camp on Plaza de Mulos. We will wait for more information.

Group members: Lily Telenkevich, Andrei Alexeev, Igor Tsepkov, Sergey Dmitriev, Vitaly Simonovic, Mary Dyachenko, Irina Salov, Cyril Muraviev. Guide - Victor Bobok.

International brand Alpari begins a conquest of the seven tallest peaks of continents. Project starts in February with a climb of Aconcagua (6,960 m) in the Argentine Andes. Further Alpari plan to climb on Africa's highest point Mount Kilimanjaro (5895 m), Everest (8848 m), Mount McKinley (6194 m) in Alaska, Elbrus (5642 m), the highest peak in the Australian continent Kosciusko (2,228 m) and the highest mountain in Antarctica - Vinson (5140 m).

Alpari team intends to set a collective world record and to climb all the peaks in a calendar year or even less. Thus, the company seeks, above all, to draw attention to the development of mountaineering in Russia. "Climbing - this is the highest achievement of spirit; record ascent - a symbol of commitment to an absolute success - director of corporate communications Valery Tarasov said. – We understood climbing spirit. Alpari is a right leader in the Forex market, there are no such vertices, which we will not submit ".

In the history of Alpari we had already a few climbs. In 2010, company's employees planted a flag of Alpari on Mount Kilimanjaro, we climbed alpine peaks, Breithorn and Mont Blanc."It's a good tradition – be all together to climb the mountain, overcoming difficulties, cold and difficult conditions. We still can do it!" - The chairman of the Supervisory Board of Alpari Andrey Dashin said. Alpari plans to expand the horizons of their presence - and now on the highest peaks of all seven continents. After climbing, on each of peaks will be officially put up the special flag of "Alpari on top of the world."

The official partners of the project "Alpari on top of the world" will be the "7 Summits Club ", the Federation of Russian Mountaineering, a popular sports media web site www.risk.ru, as well as several manufacturers of specialized clothing and equipment for mountaineers.

Hello! Olga Rumyantseva from Mendoza. Today our expedition to Aconcagua started. This is the first group of 7 Summits Club in this season. Most of the participants arrived in Mendoza by different ways. Now we get together and go try local wines and meat. When the other members arrive, we'll go to the entrance to Aconcagua National Park.

 Carstensz Pyramid

FORMER Gwent rugby star Richard Parks told of an “adventurous and mysterious” trek as he climbed the highest mountain in Australasia and completed the first half of his global expedition challenge. The ex-Dragons and Wales player reached the summit of the 4,884 metre high Carstenz Pyramid in West Papua, Indonesia on Wednesday, local time.

This followed a seven-day trek and climb and represents the completion of the fifth of nine legs.

It means Parks is still on track to become the first person to climb the highest summit on each of the world's seven continents and venture to the north and south poles in seven months.

He described the climb, starting from dense tropical jungle, as "the most elusive, mysterious and adventurous of the seven summits." While it has the lowest summit altitude, it is the most technically challenging as it involves difficult scrambling, rock climbing and abseiling.

Parks also trekked through jungle to base camp, which involved walking through rivers, mud and torrential rain in extreme humidity. There were also concerns that the Japanese Tsunami might hit West Papua and cause delays, however, the island remained unaffected.

Parks has now successfully completed The South Pole, Mount Vinson in Antarctica, Aconcagua in South America, Africa’s Kilimanjaro and now Australasia’s Carstensz Pyramid. Next up is the North Pole.

He is hoping to raise £1 million for Marie Curie Cancer. Follow him at 737challenge.com.

Mount Everest

The Guinness World Record holder as the oldest Mount Everest climber, is currently in Brunei Darussalam as the Ambassador of Visit Nepal Year 2011 to promote Nepal tourism in Brunei Darussalam.

Mr Min Bahadur Sherchan broke the world record by reaching the summit of Mount Everest in 2008 at the age of 77 years.

He has been in Brunei since March 18 and has visited Kuala Lumpur and his next destination is Singapore.

While in Brunei, the now 80-yearold Mr Min Bahadru Sherchan, has participated in various activities carried out by Gurkha members at the British Army Camp in Seria and had special sessions to promote Nepal tourism.

In an interview with the Borneo Bulletin, Mr Min Bahadur Sherchan said he has been appointed as Ambassador of Visit Nepal 2011 by the Nepal Tourism Secretariat.

It is to lure travellers from South and North Asia like Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, It is to lure travellers from South and North Asia like Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Japan, India and other European countries such as United Kingdom and United States to Nepal.

Mr Min Bahadur Sherchan (right) with his family members while visiting the Gurkha Army Camp in Seria.

The oldest Mount Everest climber said despite his age, he plans to ascend Mount Everest next year to break his own record as the oldest climber.

He extend an invitation to Bruneians to travel to Nepal as both countries have good relations and to mark the Visit Nepal Year 2011, adventurous activities will be organised such as track events, mount climbing and visit to remote areas.

He said Nepal has natural beauty and the Nepalese are warm and friendly. Nepal is also renowned for its culinary treats and affordable shopping as well as rich in culture and tradition.

During the sharing session, he said that he had to wait until the age of 77 to climb Mount Everest due to financial limitations. He added that he had to spend over US$25,000 to achieve his dream and as a Nepali, he aimed to compete with other world record holders who are mostly foreigners.

Recollecting his achievements, he said, he has climbed three mountains in Nepal. When he was 72, he walked a distance of 1,028 kilometres from the North to West of Nepal in 20 days and at the age of 73 he walked for seven days from East to South Nepal while enduring the blistering heat and snowy weather.

He said age is no barrier and his secret to staying fit is practising healthy eating 

. He does not consume rice and eats a little portion of meat but large quantities of vegetables and traditional Nepalese food `Kodo'. He also complements his healthy diet with a 30-minute morning exercise and yoga every day.

Finally, we all come together. Importantly, our president and leader Alexander Abramov will be available for a few days before departure to Nepal and Tibet. “National climber of Russia” Viktor Bobok will be also, it is difficult to catch him in Moscow. Straight from the event, he will go again to his beloved Africa, at his beloved Mount Kilimanjaro. In addition, we prepare as a surprise, a few interesting guests. And so, in the program: appetizer buffet, exclusive drinks ... and reports, among which are the loudest: climbing the highest volcano in Antarctica Mount Sidley (Abramov), through the jungle to the top of Carstensz (Luda Korobeshko), on the glaciers of Patagonia (Luba Ivanova), violent season on Aconcagua (Bobok) .... The plans, of course, as usual, a raffle,,,, and informal part, meeting with close friends ...

In short, the event that can not be missed!

There are few things on earth as rare as a truly perfect silence. Steve Giesecke would know.

Having summitted the highest peak on each of the world's seven continents - each on the first attempt - Giesecke has been everywhere from the equatorial jungles of Indonesia, and most recently, to the ice sheets of Antarctica.

The retired Air Force colonel returned from his final climb there only a few weeks ago. It was at Mount Vinson, on the world's most remote continent, where he experienced the most enveloping stillness he's ever known.

"When there's no wind - often there's wind - but when there's no wind, it's the quietest place on Earth," Giesecke said.

He found himself on a continent without a shred of development - no roads, cars, or people outside his group. The ice and snow absorbed any ambient noise around them. Even the voice of the nearest person couldn't travel far.

"You can hear your eyes blink," he said.

Like a lot of contractors at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Giesecke spends most of his days at a desk. He works for the National Center for Telehealth and Technology, a Department of Defense office working to meet the psychological health and traumatic brain injury needs of the military community by developing and implementing technology solutions.

"I'm working on one of our initiatives that will bring the mental health programs of the DoD and VA closer together through collaboration on new technology assessment and development, in the areas of Web-based resources, social media and mobile applications," Giesecke said.

But in spite of the hours he spends in front of a computer, Giesecke's passion is pushing himself to the limit in some of the world's most inspiring locations. The result is a spectacular list of experiences - and more than a few examples of sheer determination.

Giesecke grew up in the Northwest, where hiking in the region's mountain ranges was almost a given. After college he climbed the Jungfrau in the Swiss Alps, which sparked an interest in climbing. When he joined the Air Force, he made a point of climbing mountains in the western U.S. between assignments.

Then in 1989, while stationed in Alaska, he climbed Denali, also known as Mount McKinley.

At 20,320 feet tall, Denali is the highest peak in North America and experiences some of the most severe weather in the world. In 1989 only 51 percent of climbers summitted the mountain, according to the National Parks Service. Today that number is 55 percent.

Giesecke had what he called "the usual experiences" on Denali. The weather was bad and only three of the people in his party made it to the top. At one point another group's tent was blown loose from the ridge above. Only one of the climbers made it out in time.

"It was very difficult back then," Giesecke said. "It still is very difficult, but back then things were a little bit heavier. You needed to take more time on the mountain to move the heavier equipment up."

About the same time, he read the book "Seven Summits" by Dick Bass, Frank Wells and Rick Ridgeway. Though at the time Giesecke thought the task out of reach for himself, the story of Bass and Wells, the first two men to successfully summit all seven peaks, would stick with him for years.

SETTING THE GOAL

When he retired from the Air Force a decade ago, Giesecke moved back to the Pacific Northwest, joined The Mountaineers club and started taking climbing classes. He continued climbing in the area, including summitting Mount Rainier multiple times. But Giesecke wanted a challenge that was bigger than he was. He wanted to know exactly how far he could go.

"I was in peak condition. I knew that if I was ever even going to have a shot at climbing the seven summits, any more of the seven summits, I knew it was then," Giesecke said.

In 2007 he signed up for a trip to Aconcagua on the Argentinean-Chilean border. The 22,841-foot peak is the highest outside of Asia. Giesecke told himself that if he made it to the top without any significant problems he would go straight to Nepal to climb Mount Everest. And in March of 2007 - after a U.S. pit stop just long enough to renew his passport - that's exactly what he did.

According to friend and fellow climber Gary Talcott, who grew up with Giesecke in Olympia, this level of resolve isn't out of the norm.

"He is very ambitious, goal oriented and determined to summit," Talcott said via e-mail, recalling a time when Giesecke helped him lead a group of climbers down from Mount Hood in whiteout conditions.

"It's fun to hear about his latest plans or last adventure," Talcott said. "I can just see the wheels turning."

The Everest trip took him two months.

Mount Everest is the tallest mountain above sea level in the world. A 1999 survey sponsored by the National Geographic Society puts the mountain at 29,035 feet tall, so high that its peak reaches into the lower limits of the jet stream. Sustained winds at the top can exceed 100 miles per hour. In July, the warmest month on the mountain, the average daytime temperature at the summit is -2 F. In January, the coldest month, the average is -33 F but can drop as low as -76 F.

Conditions are, in a word, extreme. Giesecke's experience was nothing less.

Among the final hurdles before reaching Everest's summit is the Cornice Traverse, a 400-foot knife-edged ridge leading to the Hillary Step. Teetering too far to the left would send a climber down 8,000 feet along the Southwest Face. A misstep to the right would result in plummeting 10,000 feet down the Kangshung Face.

It was here that the snow beneath Giesecke broke through, sending him sliding downward.

"I only fell about 20 feet, but the air beneath my boots was endless," he said.

Fortunately the anchors held, and he continued toward the top. After tackling the final obstacle, the 40-foot climb up the Hillary Step, Giesecke summited the mountain.

"I went up Everest on May 20, 2007, and that was a fantastic day," he said, "to be on top of the world."

DOWNHILL FROM EVEREST

The following year he took on Mount Elbrus (18,510 feet tall) on the border between Russia and Georgia. After that he went straight to Mount Kilimanjaro (19,340 feet tall) in Tanzania, leaving the area only two days before Russia's invasion of Georgia in the summer of 2008.

His next challenge was Carstensz Pyramid in Indonesia. Because the highest point on the continent of Australia is little more than a hike, some climbers take on the 16,500-foot peak to check Oceania off their lists.

While the climb itself includes a 2,000 foot wall climb topped by a Tyrolean traverse-a gap of air climbers cross on a rope suspended between two high points-getting there is a challenge all its own. Even reaching base camp requires a two-week trek through the jungle, days away from civilization.

According to Giesecke, it's the toughest trail he's ever been on.

"The face climb itself was actually fun," he said. "The jungle approach was a once in a lifetime thing. I wouldn't do that again."

And so, there was only one left. Mount Vinson, Antarctica's tallest peak, stands at 16,050 feet tall. But to get to it, Giesecke would have to wait.

In January he traveled to Punta Arenas, Chile. From there he planned to fly to Antarctica - but things were not as simple as he had hoped. A strike over rising fuel prices shut down the area, leaving Giesecke cut off from the last of the seven summits.

"It's challenging to accept things beyond my control," he said.

For him, waiting is the hardest part about mountain climbing - knowing that the goal is out there ahead of you, but not being able to reach out and grab it.

Giesecke was stranded in Patagonia for two weeks waiting for the strike to end. Not everyone in the group was as patient or invested. Some went home before so much as setting foot on Antarctica.

Not Giesecke.

"I'd gone all the way down to the end of South America to complete this trip," he said. "That's what I intended to do and that's what I did."

On Jan. 27, he made it to the top, finishing a journey he started in 1989.

"It's still sinking in," Giesecke said. "When I finished I came back home and I got out the book 'Seven Summits' and looked at it again."

Like explorers before him, Giesecke has been asked time and again why he does it. And really, there are countless reasons - the camaraderie of accomplishing great things with other people, the physical challenge, George Mallory's classic "Because it's there."

But for Giesecke, perhaps what it really comes down to the liberating challenge.

"I think when you're climbing it's one of the ultimate expressions of freedom," he said.

There aren't many places left with so few restraints, he said. But when he's pushing himself toward the summit of some impossibly high mountain, the only thing holding him back is how high he can climb.

By Marisa Petrich (Northwest Guardian)

http://www.army.mil/-news/2011/02/24/52401-retired-officer-reaches-goal-of-climbing-worlds-7-highest-peaks/

He said that his team: Alexander Apalko, Natalia Nozdrina, Vladimir Rychenko, Victor Serebryakov and Landysh Khafizova – are staying on the highest peak in South America, Mount Aconcagua. The weather is normal, they have extra time and they hope that the descent will take place without problems. The first attempt to assault, which took place on February 24 has been interrupted at an altitude of 6,800 meters. Our group just stopped by Rangers. The wind was very strong and cold wind, so that they were generally right. Not all participants were able to stay and decide on a second attempt, the team dropped to four. Still uncompromising mountain forced to surrender their tenacity ...

02/27/2011. Letter from Nikolay Zakharov. Krasnoyarsk (Siberia) team

After two days of rest 22 and February 23 at the base camp at the "Plaza de Mulas" team of 10 people on Feb. 24 came out on the ascent.

Unfortunately, the evening of February 23 the weather turned bad - started snow, which continued the next day. We decided not to wait for better weather, climbed to an altitude of 5500 meters, stayed the night. The next day, Feb. 25, after a snowfall and strong winds reached the height of 6,100 meters, where, setting three tents, sleeping.

February 26, coming on climbing at 6 am, all team members to the 13 o'clock reached the highest point of America - the top of Aconcagua, 6,962 meters above sea level. At the top were raised flags of Russia, Krasnoyarsk region, Krasnoyarsk and Krassporta.

At the top were:

Antipin, Sergey

Bakaleinikov Eugene

Karlov Alexander

Kozyrenko Eugene

Kokhanov Valery

Peshkin Alexandr

Smetanin Nicholay

Taranenko Natalia

Filippov, Arkady

Hatnyuk Ivan

The first attempt to climb Aconcagua by he group of 7 Summits Club under the leadership of Victor Bobok was failed. Inclement weather forced our climbers to turn back, not reaching the top. According to preliminary information, five climbers Alexander Apalkov, Natalia Nozdrina, Vladimir Rychenko, Victor Serebryakov and Landysh Khafizova plan to make another attempt. Together with guides Viktor Bobok and Mara Barbeyra. Although little time is left. But surprisingly, the first time this season, the weather forecast is favorable. Three climbers Konstantin Beirat, Ilya Kovalev, Pavel Kostrikin already gone down, the exact reasons yet unknown to us. Sick before Konstantin Tsybunov already sent greetings to the Iguassu Falls.

Valery Kokhanov and Eugene Kozyrenko, the first team from Krasnoyarsk climbers, reached the summit of Aconcagua. They started climbing on February 21 at 6 am акщь the assault camp, situated at an altitude of 6,100 meters. At 13 am local time they reached the summit - 6962 meters. Two more climbers Sergey Antipin and Arkady Filippov all this time were in the assault camp, providing insurance for climbers in case of bad weather. Severe frost and wind could not prevent climbers from Krasnoyarsk fulfill their mission: to explore and a route for the whole team. A team ascent, in which Kokhanov and Kozyrenko and will also participate, is scheduled to begin February 24 and end on February 27.

Valery Kokhanov: "Way up was much harder than I thought”.

Acclimatization of our third group of Aconcagua ended. Victor Bobok appeared in skype from the Plaza de Mulos. Nothing good has happened with the weather: still snowing, blizzard. Even worse. An exit at Nido de Condores was not easy. Unfortunately, Constantine Tsybunov fall ill and now he is already in a warm Mendoza. The remaining climbers Alexander Apalko, Constantine Beirat, Ilya Kovalev, Pavel Kostrikin, Natalia Nozdrina, Vladimir Rychenko, Victor Serebryakov and Landysh Khafizova with a guide of 7 Summits Club Viktor Bobok will wait for bearable weather at the base camp. Prognosis is not good. Our friends from Krasnoyarsk today tried to break through to the top, do not yet know how it happened.

According to a report from the site TOCHKASTRAHOVKA.RU two athletes from Krasnoyarsk Valery Kokhanov and Eugene Kozyrenko started to the summit

While Victor Bobok, in anticipation of the final group of the 7 Summits Club on this season, travels to cities and beaches of South America, we'll monitoring some interesting events that have occurred on the slopes of the highest mountain in South America in the last few weeks.

Richard Parks has beaten the weather to reach the second summit of his epic challenge to climb the highest peaks on all seven continents and trek to both Poles. The former Newport Gwent Dragons player reached the summit of Aconcagua, the highest peak in South America, on Saturday at 2.54 pm local time.

Rapidly deteriorating weather meant that Parks had to decide whether to risk gale-force winds in order to reach the summit of the 22,830ft Argentinian peak. Before scaling the summit, Parks said: "These kind of decisions are always tricky and need to be talked through at length. I am lucky to have the expert guidance of our experienced leaders as well as a good team."

The former Wales international is aiming to raise £1m for Marie Curie Cancer Care through his 737 Challenge - climbing seven peaks and reaching three poles in seven months. Parks reached the South Pole in December and Mount Vinson, in Antarctica, last month. His next challenge will be to summit Mount Kilimanjaro, the 19,340ft African peak.

He now has 155 days to reach five more summits and the North Pole. If he were to be successful in his challenge he would be the first person to climb all seven peaks in a calendar year.

*******

January 29 was a good day for climbers. It also did not offer with good weather, but the wind was stiller and occasional lack of visibility was not an insurmountable obstacle. On this day, American Alan Arnette reached the top. This is another hero of our previous news which set out to climb Seven Summit within a year raising unds to fight Alzheimer's disease. Most of his expeditions was and will be organized by International Mountain Guides. On Aconcagua their team had as summiters 8 clients and 3 guides. Rare luck for this year, and it is show quality of guiding.

*******

A visually impaired Pole and another with only one lung who climbed the highest peak in the Andes, the Aconcagua, have returned home from their expedition.

Journalist Lukasz Zelechowski, who is blind, and marathon runner with one lung Piotr Pogon conquered the 6962 meter peak, with practically no acclimatization, after a 17 hour long nighttime climb on 29 January.

“We were extremely tired and had to climb on very unstable terrain”, Zelechowski has told a press conference in Warsaw.

The two climbers admitted that they paid heavy a price for this feat apart from the obvious fatigue. One of them suffered frostbite, another had painfully burned hands from the scorching sun.

Lukasz Zelechowski had already climbed the tallest peak of the Caucasus, Mount Elbrus, as well as the Kilimanjaro in Africa. “The mountains are my passion. I don’t intend to give up climbing,” he said.

Piotr Pogon, who lost his lung due to cancer when he was sixteen, is still battling with the disease. “I have renewed cancer but I am not giving up. I want to drink as much from life as I can”, he told the PAP news agency.

*******

Speed record for the Polish route, or are not completely Polish?

The name of the Peruvian mountain guide Holmes Pantoja Bayona became known a few years ago, when he in 2006 he set a speed record ascent of Aconcagua via the normal route. His result was 20 hours 32 minutes from Horcones to Horkcones was later surpassed by the Spaniard Egocheaga. February, 3 this year, 32-year-old Peruvian athlete ran the second classics - Polish route, more technical. True, the path was not direct Polish and it is unlikely the record will be so attractive to beat it.

It is interesting to note that setting a record Pantoja came just 4 days after climbing the mountain with clients. It was his 21 th ascent of Aconcagua in 8 years of work as guide.

Starting from the gate of the national park, Apu, as everyone calls him, ran lightly up the camp Colera. There he was waited by his friend Vito Magni. They together traverse on the "Polish" side. At the foot of the steep part, they roped, and an ice wall, "the Polish direct route" climbers climbed, insuring all the rules. But quickly. Time from Horcones to the top was 20 hours, 16 minutes. And recorded. Friends went down for the night at a shelter Elena near Colera, where sat all night without warm clothes. The next day, Apu went down to his Kawasaki motorcycle, left at the entrance to the park. And started to implement further plans. Namely: a couple of days drink wine with friends in Mendoza, to move by motorcycle in Chile, lie a couple of days on the beach, and then home home. In native Huaraz, which is a few more days for its magnificent two-wheeled machine.

Site of Holmes Pantoja: http://www.apuperuvian.com

Krasnoyarsk climbers led by Nikolai Zakharov begin tomorrow their route on Aconcagua. A Siberian region team consists of experienced athletes, and that ascent will be their training before the championship of Russia in high-altitude climbing. Contact with the incoming Argentine company was organized by our club. A little bit earlier there, under the slopes of the highest mountain in South America, another expedition came from Siberia. It is a team from the city of Surgut, Siberian region Yugra led by the initiator of the movement "Mountaineers of 60-th parallel" Constantine Gruzdev. He is also our old friend, we hope that in the future we will cooperate with his team. After Aconcagua, next aims of Siberians must be Vinson and Everest.

Arthur Testov and Christine Ferre flew to the base camp at Mount McKinley on Friday, February 4, after several days of waiting the weather. Fresh snow hampered the first days of their work. They went on Ski Hill, where it was found that it is difficult to make a convenient cave. Too close to the surface is a layer of ice. How they came out of the situation, we learn later.

Last year picture from Arthur

Gleb Sokolov informed us about his cancellation of expedition on Everest this year. Unfortunately, his partner Vitaly Gorelik broke his leg and could not be recovered to April. Gleb has changed plans and now joins an expedition to Kanchenjunga, which is organized by Alexey Bolotov. There he will work with another big friend of our Club Israfil Ashurly. President of Mountaineering Federation of Azerbaijan is now organized participation of Azeri mountaineers in a winter ascent of Mount Ararat. February, 12 Turkish and Azeri mountaineers will start their joint climb to the summit Agrydag, as they names Ararat. There will be 53 mountaineers from Turkey and 10 climbers from Azerbaijan in the expedition

7 Summits Club - is not only planning group, with our guides traveling on different continents and different routes. And not just those, who ride on the costly option. Not only those who receive certain services, advice, etc.. And not even just those who register at our site a move his big trip in the mountains, valleys and ice in the world. This is - all those who, in one way or another, share with us our love, our ideology ... our friends. We welcome everyone, dared to start the program of 7 Summits, and to all who are interested in what others are doing. We are happy to help those who have to contact us with any question, our office - a meeting place for friends ... Write, call, come in !

Belgian Johan Debeсker sent a message of his ascent oт Aconcagua and a certificate.

Vladimir Doronin lives and worked in the U.S.. He climbed Ojos del Salado, and continues to implement his plan, according it he expects to climb Mount Everest in 2014

Mario Trimeri sent a couple of warm words and three photos from the memorable ascent of Mount Sidley.

Alexey Kosyakov from Kaluga is famous by his solo climb Peak Pobeda by route of Abalakov. He and his friends climbed Aconcagua, and met on the way down our team ...

Alexander Bichenko, our guide on Everest, traveled on the South America. He climbed Ojos, a bit climbed in Patagonia, was introduced to Dakar race. And now he invites us to visit his native Kamchatka ...

Sergei Kovalev and his team after Antarctica had a ride through Chile from south to north and climbed the highest peak of the country Ojos del Salado

Victor Bobok and his team, Alexander Markelov, Igor Pchelyakov and Sergey Chernyshev climbed yesterday the highest peak in South America Mount Aconcagua. Now they have descended to base camp Plaza de Mulos and having rest. Everything went almost perfectly, they expect soon to be in Mendoza.

 A little more detail. The team starts on February, 3 in 2 a.m. from the camp Nido de Condores (5500m). Several groups, together with our group, began to climb. However, most of them soon turned back. The strong wind did not seem to give any chances. Our foursome team also questioned the advisability of continuing climb. In the area of Independencia (6500), they sat down in a relatively sheltered place and waited. A couple of hours later they decided to go up. Only two Americans, followed by our group. Visibility was good, so our group is also stretched during the ascent of Canaleto. The last of the group was on top at 5 p.m.. At 9 p.m. all group came down to the camp at Nido. extremely tired, but happy, as it should be. The next morning, they descended on the Plaza de Mulos in just 1:20, where they waited for mules. And as they went into the gallery to our friend the artist Miguel.

Alexander Abramov and his friends left the Ice Continent. Tomorrow we hope to see our president in Moscow. Today, the entire group of Luba Ivanova will meet in the town of Copiapo. And they immediately, all together (7 people), will go through the Atacama desert landscapes to the foot of the highest volcano in the world, Ojos del Salado. The first camp will be located in the town of Vallecito, at an altitude of 3000 meters.

Victor Bobok and his group has successfully finished the acclimatization outing at Nido de Condores. They went to rest in the Plaza de Mulas. All three members and a guide feel fine. The weather is still bad, strong winds are blowing at an high altitude.

Coco Popescu and her dad Ovidy should go after Antarctica to Ojos. For another course of acclimatization before Everest. A Romanian television, meanwhile, issued a news clip about the fantastic achievements of girls, called the first person who rose to seven of the highest volcanoes in the seven continents. In the early glimpses of footage we could see a view from the ascent on the Mount of Sidley.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baFUHNvJUjs&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Eight members of the expedition reached the summit: Denis Abuev, Igor Barabeshkin, Alexey Boutin, Alexander Viktorov, Igor Kadochin Pavel Laktyushkin, Boris Pavlov, Igor Cherkashin. As well as our guides: Victor Bobock and Olga Rumyantseva. Plus one local guide Mara Barbeiro, thanks to her ! Weather conditions are very heavy, strong winds, but it was the same all season. The average success rate on Aconcagua at this moment is around 20%. We have - 70% !

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