World mountain's news

Rohan Freeman – the first Afro-American and Jamaican on the Seven Summits.

In April 2009, Rohan Freeman embarked on an incredible journey to accomplish his dream of summitingMount Everest. In May 2009, he reached the world’s highest peak. In June 2009, he returned home with his sights set on establishing his own engineering consulting firm.

Mr. Freeman was born and raised in Jamaica, and came to the University of Connecticut to explore his interests in the field of civil engineering. He went on to become a dually licensed Professional Engineer and Land Surveyor. His innate leadership talents and project management abilities have been enriched by his 25 year career in the industry working for nationally recognized firms, as well as the City ofHartford’s Public Works Department.

He is a man that is characterized by his passions, pride and drive. He embodies the spirit, culture and values of his firm. The establishment of Freeman Companies has been a challenging and exciting accomplishment, and Mr. Freeman is excited about the future success and the endless possibilities that lie ahead. Failure is not an option.

Rohan’s summit ofMount Everestis part of his larger initiative to summit the highest peak on each of the world’s seven continents. His conquest ofMount Everestmarked the fifth of his seven summits. He climbed in support of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Hartford, and has served as an active member of the organization’s Board of Directors since 2008.

A former track star at the University of Connecticut, Freeman said he first wanted to climb mountains in 1998, when he booked his first vacation to a winter resort. One winter sport led to another, he said, and in June 2002, Freeman and several friends climbed Tanzania's Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain. He then scaled three of the other "Seven Summits" -MountMcKinleyinAlaskain June 2004, Mount Elbrus inRussiain June 2006 and Aconcagua inArgentinain December 2006 - before he attempted to climbMount Everest.

"Just the idea that he's done outreach and work with the youth of Hartfordand has shown them a much broader world ... that was very important [to us]," said fund President Kirk Sykes.

After Everest Freeman climbed the last two of the "Seven Summits": Vinson Massif in Antarctica and Mount Kosciuszko in Australia- in 2010. And finished this story climbed Pyramid Carstensz in fall 2012.

"When I returned from Everest, I stared my own engineering company," Freeman said. "I'm trying to see if I can make that a success."

Premlata Agarwal

Premlata Agarwal has added yet another mountain to her kitty! The oldest Indian woman mountaineer to have scaled Mt Everest has now also become the only Indian woman to climb Carstensz Pyramid, the highest peak of the Australia/Oceania continent, which is deemed one of the most difficult to climb.

Talking to mediapersons on her return, Agrawal (48) said she reached the 16,024-feet steep Carstensz summit ofIndonesiaon October 23, after seven days of trekking. She has now scaled five of the seven highest summits of all continents.

She took a tumble innumerable times during the expedition, braved consistent rainfall and slipped on slushy tracks to the base camp. “It was a very difficult and challenging climb. Several elements came across our trek but we did not lose heart. But I’m very happy to have come back successful,” she said.

It rained throughout the journey, in which she had threeUSmen climbers as part of the team. “We flew into Timika fromBalion October 15. Then we took a hour-long flight to Sugada village, which is one of the openings to the base camp,” Premlata recalled.

This resident ofJamshedpurwill go to Mt Vinson Massif (Antarctica) in December and re-tryMountMcKinley(North America) in May-June next year to complete her seven-summit campaign. She was forced to return without climbing McKinley last June due to inclement weather.

Agrawal has set sight on completing the mountaineering challenge of climbing the Seven Summits and Tata Steel is the proud sponsor of her expedition, and is supporting her with a sponsorship of Rs 80 lakh. Conquering all seven summits makes one a member of the Hall of Fame for mountaineers.

If Premlata achieves this remarkable feat — she is targeting 2013 for it — she will become the first Indian woman, and one the oldest in the world, to do so.

Antarctica's Tallest Peak

NASA’s DC-8 flying laboratory passes Antarctica’s tallest peak,MountVinson, on Oct. 22, 2012, during a flight over the continent to measure changes in the massive ice sheet and sea ice. The flight is part of NASA’s Operation IceBridge, a multi-year airborne campaign to monitor changes in Earth’s polar ice caps in both the Antarctic and Arctic. Ice Bridge science flights from Punta Arenas, Chile, began on Oct. 12 and continue through early November. Mount Vinsonis located in the Sentinel Range of the Ellsworth Mountains in Antarctica.

Dr. Clare O'Leary

She's already conquered Everest, completed the world's Seven Summits and become the first Irish woman to reach the South Pole.

But now Dr. Clare O'Leary is aiming to make history once again as part of the first Irish team to cross the perilous, but little-known North Patagonian Icecap.

The pint-sized adventurer, from Bandon, Co.Cork, is part of a five-strong team that also includes Kerry explorer Mike O'Shea, which is attempting to cross the treacherous 120km distance.

The team, which set off from their base inChilelast weekend, is expected to spend the whole of this month hauling their sledges across the remote cap, which has only ever been crossed by a handful of people.

Even preparing for the challenge and packing the correct clothing was a logistical nightmare, as temperatures, on altitudes ranging from 1200m to 1500m, can range from -30C to 30C on the same day.

Both Clare and Mike have spent months training for the gruelling adventure, which is deemed particularly challenging because of the difficulty in accessing the icecap.

The team will have to climb a towering glacier before setting foot on the cap, while the journey will also include boat trips, camping and horse riding with South American gauchos and crossing a rainforest.

Earlier this year both Clare and Mike were forced to abandon their bid to become the first expedition to make it to the North Pole.

They were forced to pull the plug on the challenge to reach the remote Arctic point, because their plan to share chartered logistics with other teams fell apart.

Clare is the first Irish female toclimbMt.Everest and also the first Irish woman to complete the Seven Summits, which includesMt.Vinsonin the Antarcticand Mt. McKinley inAlaska.

Keep track of their progress at irishnorthpole2013.com.

 Niken Prathivi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta. Indonesian mountaineering group the Nature Lovers Society (Wanadri) is on its way to conquer Mount Everest after successfully reaching Vinson Massif’s peak, 4,897 meters above sea level, in Antarctica on Jan. 7.

It was the fifth summit conquered by the team of six, who aim to reach Mount Everest’s peak, 8,850 meters above sea level, in May in order to complete a two-year Seven Summits expedition.

If they scale Mount Everest, they will be the second Indonesian team to reach all seven summits. The Mahitala team, from the Parahyangan Catholic University (Unpar) in Bandung, West Java, was the first to complete the mission.

The expedition is aimed at promoting nature conservation, with the group’s experiences and the lessons learnt during the expedition to be included in a manual for climbers, particularly those from tropical countries like Indonesia, explaining how to scale mountains outside of sub-tropical regions.

“We are now preparing our six mountaineers so they’ll be ready for the final climb in May and April. So far, they’re 75 percent ready in terms of physical condition, but in sponsorship, we’re still only 20 percent ready,” Seven Summits Indonesia director Yoppie Rikson Saragih told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

The Wanadri team is made up of team head Ardeshir Yaftebbi (28), Nurhuda (22), Martin Rimbawan (25), Fajri Al Luthfi (25), Iwan Irawan (37) and Gina Afriani (23) — who is the only woman in the group.

Yoppie said that his team expected higher participation from state-owned and private companies to support the trip.

“Each mountaineer needs around US$60,000 to be able to reach the Everest peak. So we need strong funding support,” added Yoppie, who is the Wanadri chief, about the iconic mountain located between Nepal and Tibet, China.

The Sports and Youth Ministry, state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina, state-owned liquid petroleum gas company Perusahaan Gas Negara and cellular operator Telkomsel are among the expedition sponsors.

The Seven Summits expedition started with Puncak Jaya (4,884-m), locally known as Ndugu-Ndugu but more widely known as Carstensz Pyramid, in Papua in April 2010.

After scaling Carstensz, the six climbers went on to conquer Kilimanjaro (5,892-m) in Tanzania in July 2010 and then Elbrus (5,642-m) in Russia.

In the attempt to reach the fourth summit, at Aconcagua (6,962-m) in South America, Gina failed to reach the peak due to physical barriers.

“At that time, we kind of miscalculated the difficulty of the trip while having a woman in the group. We should’ve taken more days for acclimatization at a certain height for her. But, we did not do that and Gina failed to continue the trip to the peak. Lesson learned. We will surely share such experiences in the book,” Yoppie said.

The fifth and sixth summits reached were at McKinley (6,194-m) in Alaska and at Vinson Massif.

Yoppie hoped that the results of the expedition, which will be recorded in the manual, would enlighten people about the importance of protecting nature, especially from global warming.

Italian Hans Kammerlander becoming the first to climb all the second highest summits on each of the continents.

In early January Kammerlander made only the fifth ascent of Tyree (4,852m) in the Sentinel Range of Antarctica, climbing in the company of Austrians Robert Miller and Christian Stangl.

Whilst it's not clear when or where the original idea of Second Seven Summits was muted, Jon Kraukauer, discussing the Seven Summits fascination in his best seller, Into Thin Air, notes that climbing the second highest peaks would provide a much greater challenge.

Kammerlander climbed K2 in 2001 but only decided to focus on the Second Seven Summits in 2009. That year he climbed Ojas del Salado in Chile (6,893m) and Kenya (5,199m). In 2010 came 5,959m Logan in the Canadian Yukon and Dych Tau (5,204m) in Russia. In 2011 it was the turn of Puncak Trikora (4,730m), the second highest peak in Australasia.

The second highest in Australasia/Oceania still seems to be a question of debate. Nggu Pulu is often quoted as the second highest summit, but it is more a subsidiary top to Carstensz Pyramid than an independent mountain. However, another school of thought suggests Puncak Mandala, a separate peak, has a higher altitude than Trikora.

Tyree was first climbed in January 1967 by Barry Corbet and John Evans via a committing traverse over Gardiner, during the American expedition that made the first ascent of the continent's highest mountain, Vinson.

The second came in 1989 when Mugs Stump made his now legendary solo ascent of the west face, totally raising the bar in Antarctic mountaineering.

In 1997 French Antoine de Choudens and Antoine Cayrel climbed the east face for the third ascent. This line was repeated not long after by Conrad Anker and Alex Lowe.

While the route Kammerlander and partners took to the summit is currently not known for certain, it is most likely to be via the great ice slope of the east face.

In 2008 and 2009 Stangl, who is also on a quest to complete the Second Seven, had tried Tyree. On the second attempt, via the French Route on the east face, he was within shouting distance of the summit when a single falling rock broke his partner's arm, causing the pair to bail.

Kammerlander has climbed 13 of the 8,000ers, but is quoted as saying he has no intention of returning to Manaslu, in order to complete the collection, because he lost friends there early in his climbing career.

Stangl's aim is now to climb the Triple Seven Summits: the first, second and third highest mountains on each continent.

http://thebmc.co.uk/modules/article.aspx?id=5496

A 15-year-old American has become the youngest person to climb the highest mountains on each of the seven continents, completing the feat by summiting Antarctica's Mount Vinson over the weekend.

Jordan Romero, who last year at age 13 became the youngest person to climb the world's tallest peak Mt. Everest, was descending to base camp Sunday after reaching the summit of Vinson Massif with a team that included his father and his stepmother, according to his team's website.

 "We're at the roof of Antarctica," a member of Team Jordan said in a webcast from near the 16,067-foot (4,897-meter) peak on a frigid but "legendary day."

Romero beat the record previously held by Britain's George Atkinson, who in May completed the seven ascents at age 16.

 Romero has been hooked on climbing from an early age. When he was just 10, he become the youngest person to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest peak at 19,341 feet (5,895 meters).

Before his 11th birthday, he had another world record under his belt, summiting Europe's Mt. Elbrus, in Russia's Caucasus mountains in July 2007.

Five months later, it was the 22,841-foot (6,962-foot) Mt. Aconcagua in Argentina, followed by Alaska's Mt. McKinley at 20,320 feet (6,194 meters).

In September 2009 at age 11, he climbed Indonesia's Carstensz Pyramid, at 16,023 feet (6,194 meters) the tallest island peak in the world, breaking another record.

Eight months later in May 2010, he climbed Everest, and ever since he and his team had been preparing for his Antarctic expedition.

"Looking forward to tomorrow, and we'll make you guys proud and promise we'll come back home safe and sound," Romero said in a webcast Saturday, hours before he began the final ascent to Mt. Vinson's summit.

The team had intended to reach the top on Christmas Day, but ideal weather and good progress allowed them to summit a day ahead of schedule.

The first in Denmark ... Stina Glavind became the first woman in Denmark, which managed to complete the program "Seven Summits". July 14, 2011 she went to the finishing summit of the list - Carstensz Pyramid. She is 36 years old, grew up and lives on the island of Bornholm, far enough away from the capital. Stina is a manager of Carlsberg, which has helped her in raising funds for trips.

On May 22, 2010. Mount Everest. "It was one of the greatest experiences of my life..."

"The purpose of life, you define yourself. I'm happy to have found a hobby, and I managed to get away from everyday life, from coffee with cream and Dancing with the Stars on TV."

Shawn Dawson: Seven Summits - the seven charitable projects

Shawn Dawson - a successful Canadian businessman. He walked up the steps a business career: starting with restaurants, then retail and real estate, then in the media business. Once, friends invited him to go with them on Mount Kilimanjaro. Traveling to Africa has changed the priorities in life of Canadian. He became closely acquainted with the organization Habitat for Humanity, a charitable group engaged in construction in poor African countries. The idea was born - to climb seven summits for charity. And the seven charitable projects add on to the project climbs. Dawson has created a special fund called the Dream Mountains, to implement their plans.

http://www.dreammountains.com/

Seven Summits program is completed and a positive balance amounted to $ 142.114. This amount has gone to seven charitable projects. But the work continues. Dawson gathers a group of track to the foot of Mount Everest, maybe he will come up with something more interesting.

Dawson completed the program climbing Carstensz, which had reached on May 4, 2011. Finnish climber Atte Miettinen was with his team, one of those who are currently studying Punto Arenas waiting for a flight to Antactica.

For the whole Finland

In fact, Veikka Gustafsson (b. 01/14/1968) represents the whole Finnish climbing. A professional mountain climber, he achieved a lot: 14 eight-thousanders without artificial oxygen, and without permanent partners. Frankly, I do not know what he miss and had climb for the seven summits yet. At least he was at Vinson before..

Veikka – the high-class climber

It is not surprising that Atte Miettinen invited Veikka to joint climbs on top of missing the "seven". Namely: Vinson, Aconcagua, McKinley and Mount Everest.

Atte lives for many years in Dubai with his wife an Englishwoman. His business projects related to information technology, and thus transcend political and geographical boundaries. Miettinen also started with two trips to Mount Kilimanjaro. Then there was Elbrus, attempt to Aconcagua and this year - Carstensz. Despite a decent amount for their own accounts, Atte had found for his project quite good sponsors. Red Bull is among the sponsors - http://sevensummits.fi/

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/

There is a group of climbers, that every year come to Everest planning to make something amazing. Englishman David Tait intends to make two climb to the summits above eight thousand meters. First, he plans to climb a new route on Lhotse, then on Mount Everest without artificial oxygen. 69-year-old American Bill Burke with Mexican David Liano intends to make two ascents of Everest during the spring season, from two different sides. The first – by the northern route from Tibet and the second - from the south, from Nepal. 46-year-old Englishman Paul Parkinson has announced his intention to climb the western ridge of Everest solo, without oxygen and in the clothing of twenties of the last century.

George Atkinson from England plans to become the youngest conqueror of the Seven Summits, his ascent of Everest, he would commit to 29th May, when he turns 17 years old. However, he has a rival. This Romanian girl Crina Popescu, who is now in Antarctica with the 7 Summits Club. She turns 17 years until December 2011. She has currently six summits of the Seven Summits project, missing just Everest. And she plans it also for spring 2011.

David Tait with his partner Phurba

Bill Burke from California

David Liano

In our expedition led by Alex Abramov, also we will have climbers who plan to go not by the classic ways. Gleb Sokolov and Vitaly Gorelik from Siberia, plan to open a new route on the East Face of Everest, to the right of the American routes. The second idea is to make traverse of Nothern Peak of Everest to the Main Summit.

*******

BBC

Surrey teenager George Atkinson aims to conquer Everest George Atkinson has recently returned from climbing Mount Vinson in Antarctica

Sixteen-year-old George Atkinson from Surbiton is aiming to become the youngest person to climb the Seven Summits - the highest mountain on every continent.

He has just returned home from Antarctica and scaling Mount Vinson, his sixth successful climb.

He got the mountaineering bug from his father Mark, and by the age of 7 he had climbed the three highest peaks in Scotland, England and Wales: Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdonia.

George told BBC Surrey: "My father really got me into climbing. When I was six we climbed Slieve Donard, the highest mountain in Northern Ireland.

"We did that because we needed to find something we needed to do together. I really loved it."

He started off his challenge when he climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Kenya at the age of 11 in 2005, before scaling Europe's highest peak, Russia's Mount Elbrus, in 2007.

He then tackled Puncak Jaya, also known as Carstensz Pyramid in Indonesia in 2008, followed by the South American peak Aconcagua later in the same year.

"There are a number of things that drive me. I do enjoy any mountain and I feel there is an amazing sense of freedom in any mountain range.

"I like a good challenge in life and the Seven Summits is something which gives me that.

"I find these mountains to be a good adventure by going off to exotic places and it's a good chance to travel the world."

George ticked off his fifth peak when he climbed Mount McKinley (known as Denali) in North America.

"Denali has been the toughest so far. It was full-on mountain climbing," he said.

"You land on a glacier and spend 18 days living in the snow pulling everything you need for the expedition with you, and you have to bring it back down with you.

 George on top of Denali last year

"It was harder physically and the weather was more extreme."

George is now preparing for his final climb. He will tackle Mount Everest in Nepal, which at 8,850 metres is the highest mountain in the world.

He aims to climb Everest in April or May this year, and if he is succeeds in his ascent before his 17th birthday on May 29, he will become the first person do climb every summit in the world before the age of 17.

"I have a training regime which I'm trying to keep up to. I go running twice a week to increase my lung capacity and go to the gym three times a week.

"It would mean an awful lot to get to the top of Everest. I'm not doing it just to get the record.

"I find it a good challenge. If I got the record it would be the cherry on top and finish it off well."

In the third of his BBC columns, Richard talks about his final preparations for his '737 Challenge' during which he aims to climb the highest mountain on each continent, plus reaching both the South Pole and the North Pole for charity - all within seven months in a bid to raise £1m.

The clock is now ticking towards 12 December when I fly to South America and then Antarctica on the way to the start of this most gruelling of challenges.

It's just mind-blowing to think how quickly the challenge has come round from conceiving it 15 months ago. I'm both scared and excited, but just want the whole thing to start.

I've done all the training now and I don't think I can do any more. I feel physically and mentally prepared for the challenge, which if successful will see me become the first person to stand on the continental summits and the poles in the same calendar year.

The challenge consists of the South Pole, Mount Vinson (4,897m), Aconcagia (6,962m), Mount Kilimanjaro (5895m), Carstensz Pyramid (4,884m), the North Pole, Mount Everest (8,850m), Mount Denali (6,194m) and Mount Elbrus (5,642m).

If all goes to plan I'll be at the South Pole on 1 January and finish up at the top of Mount Elbrus on 31 July.

Over the last few months, and especially my final training on Cho Oyu in the Himalayas, I have developed this toolbox of mountaineering skills that will give me the best chance of success. But ultimately we are in the hands of mother nature and she could put a spanner in the works!

Since coming back from the Himalayas in October there has been no let up in attempting to boost my aerobic capacity. I competed in the Cardiff half marathon and then took part in the Cardiff Burn - a 10k run, a 42k bike and a 3k kayak. That was hard, but great preparation.

Everest would seem to be the biggest challenge but we have highlighted Denali as the toughest leg because in it's a brutal mountain in its own right

But I did have a setback when I lost my training partner on a run on the Ogmore coastal trail. Unfortunately my dog Ben fell down a hole and broke his leg. He's feeling a bit sorry for himself but he'll be okay.

The last couple of weeks I have been trying to taper down the training and have given Kevin Morgan, the former Wales international full-back who is helping me train, something of a poser.

I told him I want to be fit and fat before I go! I want to maintain my fitness but also to go into the challenge carrying a bit of extra weight with a big intake of carbohydrates.

A lot of my energies have been put in to the packing and sorting my gear out. I have to pack bags now that will be air freighted on to Everest base camp. Packing for nine legs over seven months is pretty challenging to say the least.

And on the other hand is the charity. I recently visited the cancer day care centre which was a real humbling experience and gave me some real inspiration for my trip.

I have spent every penny I have and every waking hour of the last 15 months on this unique challenge because I am very serious about it and its integrity. I was very down after my rugby career was ended with a shoulder injury and this has given me something to focus on.

At half-time during the Wales v New Zealand international at the Millennium Stadium I was presented with a special badge by Carwyn Jones, Wales' first minister, and WRU chief Roger Lewis. To get the ovation I did from the 70,000-odd fans in the stadium was a real lift.

After leaving on 12 December I don't get much thinking time because I'll be in Antarctica on 14 or 15 December and straight into the challenge. The plan is we get to the South Pole on 28 December.

And that poses a problem because I will have to wait there until 1 January so it qualifies with the calendar year requirements of the challenge. That has been one of the logistical hurdles I've had to overcome and I will have to get a flight back on my own on a supply plane.

Then it's back to Mount Vinson on Antarctica and then on to Aconcagia in South America - the highest mountain outside the Himalayas.

The crux of the challenge is further down the line - the North Pole, followed by Mount Everest and then on to Mount Denali. The North Pole presents the highest risk of cold or frost injury, and every day we are battling the north pole we are missing a day acclimatising on Everest.

Everest would seem to be the biggest challenge but we have highlighted Denali as the toughest leg because in it's a brutal mountain in its own right. Extreme weather systems and I will be doing it at my weakest mentally and physically because I will be coming straight off Everest.

We are aiming to be on Everest in April and May. Statistically the highest summit success rate is early May and after that we are looking at four to six days to climb Denali.

The aim then is to reach the summit of Mount Elbris before 31 July.

Richard Parks was speaking to BBC Sport Wales' Richard Thomas

Source: 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/welsh/9239634.stm

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

VIENNA (AFP) – At the age of 63, former US president says he has one more mountain to climb before he dies -- and that's Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa.

Clinton revealed the secret goal -- along with his dream of running a marathon -- while in reflective mood at the 18th International AIDS Conference, where he made the keynote speech on Monday.

He explained that one of his favourite movies was "The Bucket List," a 2007 film in which two terminally ill men, played by Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson, draw up a list of things they wish to do before they die, and then travel around the world to do just that.

"I'll soon be 64, so I think I'm old enough to join Jack and Morgan in making a bucket list, but I have an A list and a B list, and the B list would be fun to do but doesn't amount to a hill of beans whether I get to do it or not," said Clinton.

"I'd like to climb Kilimanjaro before the snows melt, I'd like to run a marathon before I give out, there's lots of things I'd like to do but it doesn't really matter whether I do them."

Clinton said his "A" list was far more important than his "B" list..

"What I'd really like to do if I could have my wishes, I would like to live to see my own grandchildren.

"And I'd like to live to know that all the grandchildren of the world will have the chance in the not too distant future to live their own dreams and not die before their time."

Located in northern Tanzania, Mount Kilimanjaro, 5,963 metres (19,563 feet) high, draws thousands of hikers a year to its long but relatively gentle slopes. Walkers stay in camps at several phases on the climb before ascending the final stage at night to enjoy the view of the African plains at dawn from the peak.

In 2009 a US study warned that the snows capping Kilimanjaro could vanish altogether in 20 years, most likely due to global warming.

A veteran campaigner who has attended every International AIDS Conference since 2002 -- this is the fifth since then -- Clinton quipped that he relished the ability to speak freely since leaving office, despite the downside of being an ex-president.

"That's the great thing about not being president anymore, I can say whatever I want," he said.

He then added to a swell of laughter from the audience: "Of course, nobody cares what I say anymore, but I can say it!"

  A team of three intrepid athletes is preparing to climb the seven highest mountains on all seven continents, and then paraglide down, to raise funds for charity.

 THE paraglider slowly drifted down from the blue sky, moving in broad circles as he lined up to land alongside a banner reading "Seven summits, 7 flights". 

 Pierre Carter paraglides in to the press briefing at Delta Park Pierre Carter's aim was perfect - he landed softy and gently ran up to the crowd gathered in Delta Park in northern Joburg, his rectangular orange and white parachute billowing behind him.

 Carter is one of three athletes to tackle this "journey of a life time", in which they will be the first team in the world to summit the highest mountain on each of the seven continents, and once on the summits, paraglide down to their starting points. The other members of the team are 33-year-old Marianne Schwankhart and Peter Friedman. Carter and Friedman are both 43.

 They will set off on Sunday, 11 July and begin by tackling Mount Elbrus in Russia, at 5 642 metres. The other summits on which they will be leaving their footprints are: Carstensz Pyramid in West Papua, Indonesia (4 884m), Mount Vinson in Antarctica (4 897m), Kilimanjaro in Tanzania (5 895m), Denali in Alaska (6 194m), Aconcagua in Argentina (6 959m), and the tallest of them all, Everest in Nepal (8 850m).

 They admit that Carstensz Pyramid is the one that makes them the most nervous; despite the fact that it is the lowest, it is the most dangerous, and no one has ever tried to paraglide off it before.

 "Walking back down a mountain is the most dangerous part of climbing, so paragliding down will reduce the risks," says Carter. All three members of the expedition recognise that there are great risks involved.

 Problems for paragliders at these heights include strong winds and temperatures dropping to -30°C, or -50°C with the wind chill element. If the winds are too strong they will have to wait until they drop, for up to eight hours, if necessary.

 The three have had special lightweight gliders made, weighing 10 kilograms. A standard glider weighs 40kgs.

 Carter and Schwankhart will do a tandem paraglide off the summits, so that Schwankhart can photograph the summits on the way down, while Friedman will attempt the flights as a single glider. They will be taking along two cameramen, Guy Habbard and Kyle O'Donaghue, to capture the three of them climbing and flying. Both are climbers as well.

 Everest

The idea originates with Carter, who has had this dream since 1991. The team expects to finish the challenge in around two years, largely driven by financial constraints and weather and seasons. For instance, Mount Everest can only be climbed between March and May.

 The idea of climbing the seven summits originated with Dick Bass in 1985. Since then more than 200 people have climbed all seven. Climbing and paragliding off them has been attempted before, by a French couple, but they never completed the task.

 Carter has been paragliding since 1988, and represented South Africa in the world paragliding championships for five consecutive years between 1991 and 1995. He has been climbing for almost 30 years and has summited and paraglided off two of the seven mountains - Elbrus and Aconcagua. He is considered to be one of the 15 greatest paragliders in the world, and will be the team leader of the expedition.

 Mountaineer

Schwankhart, an award-winning photo journalist with The Times newspaper, has been a climber since 1995. She was the first woman to climb the sheer east face of the central tower of the Torres del Paine in Chile in 2003, and returned in 2008 and climbed all three of the peaks, again setting the record for a woman.

 Paragliding off Mt Elbrus in Russia In 2005, she climbed the Trango Tower in Pakistan - 900m of vertical rock face - to a height of 6 500m. The same year she climbed Cerro Torre in Patagonia, Argentina. Climbing a sheer cliff face requires the climber to sleep for several nights on the mountain, sleeping in a suspended hammock-like contraption, hanging from the mountainside.

 In 2006, she filmed No Need for Parking - an Africa Rock Adventure, a record of her climbs in southern Africa. Remarkably, Schwankhart doesn't see the climbing or the sub-zero temperatures as her greatest challenge in the venture; she wants to be able to take good photographs.

 "The purpose of my trip is to take amazing photographs, so I hope I can do this. My main worry is whether my camera batteries are charged," she explains. The climbing is of secondary concern. "Mount Elbrus is an easy mountain, I am not too worried. I can rely on muscle memory for the climb."

 She is not a paraglider though, and is a little concerned about being air sick.

 Friedman has been paragliding for eight years and has fixed-wing and helicopter licences. He has a black belt in karate and has represented South Africa in Japan at the world karate championships. He has also represented South Africa in the world surf skiing championships in the United States.

 He has been the driving force behind putting the expedition together, raising the all-important funding and sponsors.

Flight from Elbrus by Carter

 Funds

The expedition will be raising funds for The Trust, an organisation that raises funds for 100 charities, with causes ranging from crime survivors, abused animals, HIV and Aids sufferers, to protecting the environment. This year's particular cause is fighting human trafficking, in partnership with Cintron Africa, says Tracey-Lee Cohen, the managing trustee.

 The Trust will run a series of TV and radio adverts by R&B singer Akon to assist in raising awareness of human trafficking. "The anti-human trafficking case is just one example of a social cause that will benefit from the bravery and initiative shown by the 7 Summits 7 Flights team," says Cohen.

 The expedition will also be raising funds for The Smile Foundation, a charity involved in assisting children with facial anomalies get surgery.

 "We admire the dedicated work of charitable organisations such as The Smile Foundation and hope to help provide them with the resources and funds they need to do their work and overcome their own challenges," says Carter.

 The three estimate they will need about R7-million to complete the whole venture. All the gear has been sponsored, but funding is still needed. Donations can be made through their website.

 The team can be followed on a range of social media: they will be updating their website, Twitter and Facebook pages every few days, and articles will appear in The Times newspaper. DSTV will provide R2-million in airtime to the expedition.

 Read more: http://www.joburg.org.za/content/view/5430/266/#ixzz0tBukqMMj

*********************************************************************

THE MISSION

 7 Summits 7 Flights is an initiative pioneered by Pierre Carter, Marianne Schwankhart and Peter Friedmann with the aim of raising funds for Smile Foundation and The Trust, an umbrella charity providing a safe and transparent conduit to various charities, by climbing to the summits of the highest mountains of each of the seven continents and paraglide from their summits. All contributions will benefit both charities as well as the Seven Summit Seven Flights project.

 The notion of climbing the seven summits was first conceptualized by Dick Bass, an American businessman and amateur climber, who completed all seven summits in 1985. Since then, more than 200 climbers have completed the challenge, with the youngest being eighteen year-old Samantha Larson and the oldest seventy three year-old Ram—n Blanco. What makes this initiative remarkable, apart from the sheer challenge that the seven summits pose, is that the three climbers will paraglide their descent, a feat that has never been achieved, although attempted. To share the experience as closely as possible, award-winning photographer Marianne will fly in tandem with acclaimed paragliding adventurer, Pierre, to photograph and document the journey and the mountains, thus providing a unique view of the adventure from a new perspective where no one else has gone before. Two experienced film crew will compile the video footage into a documentary that will be screened worldwide.

 Apart from the thrill of paragliding off all seven summits, the hope of the South African team, is that the time and effort invested in this endeavor will help South Africans in need; that the obstacles they overcome in their struggles against nature will eliminate the obstacles that many face back at home. For the team, the risk that this challenge poses is a chance of a lifetime to realize the limits of the human body in dire situations “it’s not the mountain we conquer but ourselves”. Sir Edmund Hillary. In addition to enriching their own lives, their motivation for this endeavor is to translate their life changing experience into changing the lives of thousands of less fortunate South Africans and at the same time bringing climate awareness, something highly necessary in light of our current climate change crisis.

 The project launches in June, with our first trip to Denali Ð we hope to complete all seven summits within fourteen months. By teaming up with The Trust as the beneficiary of this project, 7Summits7Flights is truly an example of climbing for humanity.

 It’s the ultimate adventure!

 Three explorers will climb to the summits of the 7 highest mountains on the 7 continents and paraglide off them.  No-one as yet has flown from the top of all seven summits and this will raise the bar in extreme adventure and exploration in 2010.  They will share their experience via photographs, video and blogs from the most remote and fragile corners of the earth.  This will allow others to realise their potential for our planet and will raise money for “The Trust”, a charity aimed at assisting the underprivileged in reaching for their own dreams.

 http://www.7summits7flights.co.za/

Suzanne sets a towering example for Arab women. Suzanne Al Houby, the first Arab woman to scale Mount Vinson, Antarctica's highest mountain, is the vice-president of the Dubai Bone and Joint Centre. She braved subzero temperatures, fierce winds and frostbite to become the first Arab woman to reach the summit of the highest mountain in Antarctica, but Suzanne Al Houby is no stranger to adventure.

 The Palestinian mother of two, who lives in Dubai, is now the first Arab woman to scale the highest mountains in four continents. Suzanne has also climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa, Mount Elbrus in Europe, Mont Blanc in the Alps in western Europe, and Mount Aconcagua in South America.

Suzanne (right) sets a towering example for Arab women

 Suzanne said: "Although this is neither my first nor my biggest mountain, its location was in the harshest and the most isolated continent on Earth. Climbing to the top gave me an overwhelming feeling of pride because only 700 climbers have attempted to reach the top of Mount Vinson."

 Suzanne, who holds a day job as the vice-president of the Dubai Bone and Joint Centre, set out on her expedition on January 8 and took 18 days to scale Mount Vinson and return to base.

 Vinson is Antarctica's highest mountain at 4,898 metres. It is 20 kilometres long and 13 kilometres wide in the Sentinel Range in the Ellsworth Mountains, and was discovered in 1958 by a US navy aircraft.

 "An assuring voice was echoing in my head while I was climbing. It kept telling me that I was strong, that I had to keep going and not doubt myself. I had to constantly remind myself that there was no such thing as quitting."

 The day Suzanne reached the summit was memorable, as the temperature was well below minus 37 degrees. One hour before the expedition reached the peak, strong winds brought the temperature further down to minus 50. Yet she continued to climb.

 Harsh weather

"I could only enjoy the summit for less than five minutes because of the fierce wind. By simply being able to endure the extreme weather conditions without losing any of my fingers and toes due to frost bite is in itself a difficult goal to achieve."

 Suzanne's success in scaling towering mountains could be credited to her ability to isolate herself from the worries of the mundane city life, and merely focus her energy on purifying and cleansing her soul. While some people tend to immerse themselves in their jobs, Suzanne always makes time for her adventures no matter how busy she may be.

 She achieves this through efficient time management.

"God created the wilderness for us to appreciate His works, and Antarctica is the wildest place on Earth. It does not have any inhabitants and is also one of the most isolated. The endlessly white, bitterly cold, white nights on the continent redefined [my definition of] wilderness," Suzanne said.

 In order to endure the harsh weather while climbing, Suzanne had to harness her mental strength, which was as important as her physical strength. Her success was also achieved by keeping her head clear of distractions as well as focusing on her objectives one step at a time.

"The only way you can discover your full potential is by going to a place where you cannot take your comfort zone with you.

It is amazing how much, as humans, we can endure. I hope that other Arab women will get encouraged to do such climbs, because all you need is to believe in yourself and your potential," Suzanne said.

 

 

Suzanne climbed Elbrus in 2005 with a team of famous Christine Boskoff

gulfnews.com

A 17-year-old boy from Utah has reportedly become the youngest person to climb the highest mountains on each of the seven continents, after reaching the peak of Antarctica's Mount Vinson on Tuesday.

Johnny Collinson began his quest on Jan. 19, 2009, on the summit of Argentina's Aconcagua, completing the feat on the same day just one year later.

Known to the climbing world as the Seven Summits, the group of mountains include Alaska's Denali, Elbrus in Russia, Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Indonesia's Carstensz Pyramid, and Mount Everest.

According to his Website, Collinson's father is a member of the Ski Patrol at the Snowbird Ski Resort in Cottonwood Canyon, Utah, and taught Johnny how to ski at age 2. Two years later the young Collinson climbed Washington's Mount Rainier, the highest peak in the contiguous United States.

Mark Gunlogson of Mountain Madness, the adventure travel company that orgainzed the Mount Vinson expedition, says Collinson's year-long quest likely cost in the neighborhood of $150,000.

Fewer than 250 people have conquered the Seven Summits since mountaineer Richard Bass started the challenge in 1985, but like many things in the world of climbing, it is not without its share of controversy.

Bass' list of the Seven Summits included Australia's Mount Kosciuszko in lieu of Carstensz Pyramid, which he considered to be in Asia. A year later a rival climber Reinhold Messner argued that Australia and Indonesia are actually both part of a larger continent called Oceana, and that the Indonesian peak, at 16,024 feet more than twice as high as Kosciuszko, is the true highest summit in the region.

By the measure of the Bass list it was a resident of Malibu, California named Johnny Strange who is the youngest to climb the Seven Summits, reaching the top of Everest in May of 2009 at age 17, at the same time that Collinson was on the mountain. Strange climbed Mount Vinson when he was 12 years old.

No word if either of the young men plan to go after those eighth peaks for good measure, but they'd better watch their backs. According to travel website Gadling.com, a 13-year old boy named Jordan Romero has climbed five of the summits and is planning to take on Everest and Vinson this year.