Vinson(4892)

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

The New Yew started with the growth of activity.

A record number of 7 Summits Club's expeditions held in January. All of them were successful.

Here's a summary of them:
1. Expedition to the highest point of Africa - Kilimanjaro. Group as a whole has risen to the top.
2. In January There were three expeditions to the highest point of South America - Aconcagua. In two expeditions all participants reached the summit. In the third expedition 11 out of 12 people reached the.
3. New Year's expedition to the highest point of Australia - Kosciuszko. All people reached the top. Also as part of the expedition was an active motor race on New Zealand.
4. Expedition to the volcanoes of Ecuador. The whole team summited the volcanoes Chimborazo and Cotopaxi.
5. Closing of the traditional 7 Summits Club expedition to Antarctica. One group had reached the South Pole, passing more than 100 kilometers. A second group climbed to the highest point in Antarctica - Vinson Massif. And the third group to passed more than 300 km from Base Camp Vinson Massif to sea level.

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.

Our friend and partner Noel Hanna, Northern Ireland based adventure sports trainer and endurance athlete finished his project named 7 SUMMITS TO SEALEVEL. It means climbing Seven summits of the world's highest peaks, followed by seven arduous and top-speed descents to Sea Level. Almost five years, seven continents, thousands of column inches in media coverage - and one goal in sight, a new entry in the Guinness Book of Records.

Noel Hanna, 42 is no stranger to nature's extreme challenges. He has competed in many of the world's most grueling endurance races such as, The Marathon Des Sables, Deathvalley 135, Discovery Eco-challenges and Himalayan 100 miler to name just a few.

For Noel Hanna, a man to whom challenge is a familiar friend, the quest was to go much further than previous expeditions - and add a dimension to the Seven Summits Challenge that would test, push, demand and enthrall: to follow each summit expedition with a race to Sea Level by man-powered means and accompanied by an observer from the Guinness Book of Records.

A seasoned mountaineer and endurance athlete, who is also a consultant advising endurance event organizers on course design and expedition logistics, Noel began his challenge in 2005 from Aconcagua.

In spring 2005 Noel Hanna and his wife Lynn joint an expedition of Everest organized by 7 Summits Club and led by Alex Abramov. Despite a setback on his first ascent Everest in 2005, when an eyesight problem forced him to turn back just one mile from the summit, he has relentlessly pursued.

Next year, again with Alex Abramov, they return to Everest North Face. 21st May 2006 he leave camp 2 at 0130 hrs for summit climb. Arrive at summit at 0945 hrs.

Except of his 7 SUMMITS TO SEALEVEL program Noel and Lynn Hanna joint 7 Summits Club for following project:

2009 Climbed to the summit of Mt.Everest 8848mts ( south side).

2009 Climbed to summit of Mt. Elbrus 5642 mts Russia.

On December 2009 Noel left for a 7 week expedition in Antacrtica with a team of 7 Summits Club. 22th of December 2009.Noel with our guide Victor Bobok has climbed Mt.Vinson 4897 mts After some days in Christmas they started for almost 300 km skiing to the sea at Hercules inlet. It takes 8 days to finish 4th of December in Patriot Hills.

Noel Hanna and his wife Lynn on Elbrus

2006 after Everest

With Nikolay Cherny on Everest 2009

Dec 09/Jan 10 : MOUNT VINSON,

Antarctica

Autumn 2008 : CARSTENSZ PYRAMID,

Australasia, Indonesia

Descent to sea level, Nabire in 11 Days 9 hrs 5 mins

Jul 2007 : ELBRUS,

Europe, Russia

Descent to sea level, the Black Sea in 4 days, 22hrs, 50m.

May 2007 : DENALI,

North America, Alaska

Descent to sea level, the South Pacific Ocean in 10 days, 20 hrs, 30m.

Dec 2006 :KILIMANJARO,

Africa, Tanzania

Descent to sea level, the Indian Ocean in 37hrs, 44m.

May 2006 EVEREST,

Asia, Tibet - Nepal

Descent to sea level, the Bay of Bengal in 16 days, 23hrs, 15m.

Jan 2005 ACONCAGUA,

South America, Argentina

Descent to sea level, the Pacific Ocean in 28hrs, 23m.

Link with UCF:

Noel is linking this final leg of his Guinness Book of Records summit to sea level challenge attempt to his ongoing fundraising for UCF. He will be building on the total raised for the charity by the Personal Everest project.

Noel expedition log onto www.7summits2sealevel.com

Today January 12 morning Victor Bobok came to Moscow from Antarctica. And already at lunch time he appeared in the office of 7 Summits Club. Victor told fascinating stories about his adventures on the White Continent.

Recall that in last 45 days Victor Bobok made:

- With the first group (Dmitry Moskalev, Vladimir Lande, Yuri Taydakov, Igor Grishkov) go skiing more than 100 km and reach the South Pole

- With the second group (Igor Grishkov, Andrew Filkov, Patrick Sain and Noel Hanna) ascended to the highest point in Antarctica - Vinson Massif (4897m)

- With the third group (Noel Hanna and Dr. Derrick) went skiing more than 200 km from Vinson at sea level (Hercules Inlet).

- And then traveled two days by bus through the entire Argentina (from Punta Arenas to Buenos Aires), harrying  to fly home.

Just two weeks later Victor again fly to South America in order to lead an expedition 7 Summits Club on Aconcagua.

Seven Summits Club group has climbed the highest point of Antarctica - Mount Vinson.

Today we received a sat call from the 7 Summits Club guide Victor Bobok. The whole team stood on the highest point of Antarctica.

This call was so much joy and emotion. Everyone laughed and cried!

Later he told the details of ascent:

The weather was not perfect, so the guys had to go very quickly. At the top they made the necessary phone calls and photos (visibility less than 100 meters) and run down to the Camp 3.

We warmly congratulate all the climbers! We wish them a safe journey home!

Message from the participants of the expedition 7 Summits Club on the highest point in Antarctica - Vinson Massif:

December 21 23:40 GMT Once again, hello! Group successfully "returned" to the Camp 3. The next day we planned assault on the highest point of Antarctica.

Forecast assumes clouds and a slight increase in wind. But, for now, guys do not care. They say that it in acceptable limits.

We wish them - good luck!!!

News from January 20.

23:50 GMT guys went to the Camp 3, left there part of the food, tent and equipment. Tomorrow without luggage they will back to the camp 3. Today transition to the third camp is part of the acclimatization. The weather is still great, which may allow to think that the ascent to the summit of December 23-24

To the third camp

Continues 7 Summits Club expedition to Vinson Massif. Now all members of the expedition are in the second camp (2900 m).

00:03 GMT Message from the climbers. We walked from 3 PM "local" time. Now we establishing Camps 2  and tomorrow we are going to drop off goods in the camp 3. The weather so good that adjusts to the idea that we should go on and on until the weather is accompanied, until luck with us.

At Patriot Hills met the second group of Seven Summits Club Antarctica expedition. Their goal is climbing the highest point in Antarctica - Vinson Massif (4 897 m).
Group is international.
Here are our climbers:
Victor Bobok - guide - Russia
Igor Grishkov - Russia
Andrew Filkov - Russia
Noel Hanna - Ireland
Patrick Singh - Canada
 Patrick and Noel are well known in our club on the ascent of Everest in an expedition 7 Summits Club Everest 2009.  That's where they got the idea not just to climb the highest point of Antarctica, but set a world record, after ascent having passed  on skis along the ocean more than 300 kilometers.
Now all members of the expedition arrived at the base camp of Vinson Massif where they will acclimatise.
We wish all participants good luck, good weather and the benevolence of the mountains and the icy continent.

News for 18 December.
 
Weather was excellent, warm like in Moscow, the guys acclimatized to the Base Camp and preparing the next day to move to the camp N 2.