Asia - Page 10

The 7 Summits Club super guide Olya Rumyantseva sends from Tibet:

 Hello everyone from Tibet! We continue to travel around the country and become enlightened. Today was a very long drive to the city of Saga.

But before we left Shigatse, we visited one of the most famous monasteries in Tibet, the residence of the Panchen Lama - Tashilhunpo. Tashilhunpo Monastery was founded in 1447 by a student of Tsongkhapa, who was recognized after his death as the First Dalai Lama. The full name of the monastery is translated from Tibetan as "all happiness and well-being is collected here."

In Tashilhunpo there are burial stupas with the remains of the First Dalai Lama and several Panchen Lamas. Tashilhunpo is also famous for the largest statue of Maitreya Buddha in Tibet, 26 meters high. It took 279 kg of gold, almost the same amount of silver, 116 tons of bronze, more than 40 diamonds and 1000 pearls to make it.

Now in Tibet there is a sacred month, the most important month for Tibetan Buddhists - Saga Dawa. During this month, many Tibetans try to make pilgrimages to holy places and visit the most important monasteries. Therefore, in the territory of Tashilhunpo we saw many pilgrims in national clothes. It was very interesting to watch them.

 Well, and then we set off and drove the whole day, only occasionally getting out to look at all sorts of beautiful things. Again we crossed passes with an altitude of almost 5000 meters. So I want to hope that our acclimatization is in full swing.

Olya Rumyantseva, the guide of the 7 Summits Club, reports from Tibet:

 Greetings to everyone from Tibet from the gradually enlightening group! Today we left Lhasa and headed out to meet enlightenment, having first replenished our oxygen supply just in case. We spent the whole day on the road, contemplating the beautiful views. We crossed two passes about 5000 meters high, saw the sacred lake Yamdrok Tso and the glacier.

In the distance, snow-capped mountain peaks appeared, which we will gradually approach. By evening, we reached the city of Gyandze, where we visited the famous monastery of Pelkor-Chede.

Once upon a time, there were 15 monasteries of various schools. The majority - 9 monasteries - belonged to the Gelug school. In the monastery, a monk showed us an ancient mask made of yak skin, which is used for ritual dances.

And in the evening we arrived in the city of Shigatse, where we will spend the night. It turned out to be a very long and eventful day.

The 7 Summits Club guide Olya Rumyantseva sends from Tibet:

 Greetings to everyone from Tibet from a group of those who are still not enlightened, but are really striving for it! Today we had another big excursion day in Lhasa. We visited the main attraction of Tibet – Potala, the former residence of the Dalai Lama.

We walked from the bottom to the very top, climbing 13 floors. In general, we received a good boost of energy and acclimatization. And how much we saw and learned, and can not be described.

After Potala, we visited the most important monastery, one might say, the heart of Tibet – Jokhang Monastery. We walked through its premises, twisted prayer wheels and even, thanks to our guide's acquaintance with the monks, were allowed to see the golden statue of Buddha, which usually no one is allowed to see (photography is prohibited in most of the temple premises, so there will be no photo of the Buddha statue).

Well, and of course, we walked around the center, marveled at the color of Tibet. Tomorrow we will leave Lhasa and begin our movement towards Kailash.

The 7 Summits Club guide Olya Rumyantseva sends from Tibet:

 Hello to everyone from Tibet! Today we had an excursion day in Lhasa. We visited two of the most important monasteries. Drepung Monastery, which was the residence of the Dalai Lama before the Potala was built. And Sera Monastery, where monks debate. During the excursions we saw many amazing Buddhist things and learned a lot about the traditions of Buddhism, about Buddhas and lamas.

Today is a very important day for Buddhists - the birthday of Buddha Shakyamuni. Therefore, it was especially pleasant to be in such monasteries on such a day.

Today everyone has already gotten used to the height of 3600 that fell on us. We have another day in Lhasa ahead of us.

The 7 Summits Club guide Olya Rumyantseva sends from Tibet:

 Hello everyone from Tibet! It's been a while since our groups have been here. Today we flew to Chengdu, looked at numerous pandas. Unfortunately, not real ones. And immediately flew to Lhasa - the capital of Tibet.

Our plans include visiting the most important monasteries of Tibet and walking the kora around the mysterious Mount Kailash. On the first evening in Lhasa, we walked a little, soaked up the atmosphere of this amazing place. Well, and began to acclimatize. After all, the altitude is 3600 meters.

Alexander Abramov, President of the 7 Summits Club, Head of the Everest expedition:

The Everest-2025 expedition is ending successfully. It was a difficult expedition, unstable weather. Many expeditions have not been without tragedies. Everything is consistently good with us. In 3 hours we are flying to Kathmandu. We will celebrate the victory.

And prepare for the production of the film "Space Everest".

Message from the head of the Everest expedition Alexander Abramov:

 At 9:30, Hero of Russia, cosmonaut Sergey Ryazansky, cameraman Luis Lopez and 4 Sherpas of the 7 Summits Club ascended the summit of Everest. Their condition is good. They are starting their descent to the South Col. Where 3 more Sherpas are waiting for them.

7 Sherpas and 2 participants will begin their descent from the Col together. This is important for Safety.

Sergey Ryazansky became the first cosmonaut to reach the summit of Everest!!!

He is now the closest person on the planet to the stars.

We are filming a movie.

Watch the movie "Space Everest" on screens across the country in the fall of 2025.

Alexander Abramov, President of the 7 Summits Club, Everest expedition leader:

 I would like to briefly comment on the situation with high-speed ascents to Everest, which are now being discussed as a miracle.

 Previously, expeditions to the Himalayan eight-thousanders lasted 2-5 months. The team set up camps themselves, carried loads, acclimatized on the route. It took a month just to set up 4 high-altitude camps. Then - a week of rest and the assault. Only those who retained their strength reached the summit.

Gradually, they began to attract more and more Sherpas.

In 1993, our team had 9 people and 0 Sherpas.

In 2000 - 12 people and already 3 Sherpas.

Now - 2 Sherpas per participant and the expedition duration is 35-40 days.

 And now - a revolution.

While the Sherpas spend 3 months preparing the route, the "speed climber" acclimatizes at home - in a hypoxic tent or with xenon. Then he flies to the base camp by helicopter and quickly goes to the summit along the "ready route" with oxygen, accompanied by Sherpas.

As a result, the assault takes everyone 5 days, but before, it took months. Now - "artificial acclimatization" and a week-long hike.

 Is this good or bad?

It doesn't matter. Everyone has their own goals. Before, in order to run around the stadium, they built it themselves. Now - come, buy a ticket and run.

Perhaps it's time to reconsider the approach: if the participant does not participate in the preparation of the route, then it is not necessary to sit in the mountains for a month. Let him come when everything is ready - and in a week to the summit.

 But on one condition: preliminary acclimatization must be competent and safe - under the supervision of specialists.

 On the investigation of the "xenon" team in Nepal.

 Yes, it is true - an investigation has begun in Nepal regarding the use of xenon. Xenon is officially recognized as doping and is banned in sports competitions. But climbing Everest is not a sports competition, and from this point of view it is not entirely clear what exactly to accuse the British team of.

 On the other hand, it is unethical to announce a record, openly proud of having used doping. It is the same as publicly promoting psychoactive substances: "Expand your consciousness and conquer the peaks!"

I did it - and that's fine.

Personally, I do not think that this is a reason to seriously punish athletes. Moreover, I assume that all this hype is an excellent PR move by the organizers. I do not rule out that next year there will be even more xenon clients.

President of the 7 Summits Club, Everest expedition leader Alexander Abramov in Camp 2 at an altitude of 6,500 meters talks about the successful ascent of the first group and the unfortunate failure of the second. After analyzing all the factors involved, it was decided that the second attempt at the ascent would be made by Sergey Ryazansky, accompanied by cameraman Luis Lopez and four Sherpas. Due to the lack of oxygen supplies and their health, the remaining participants have descended or are currently descending and are heading home. And the expedition continues. The weather forecast is good, we hope that this time it will come true.

All participants of the successful ascent of Everest by the 8000 Club group (leader Viktor Volodin) have descended and are safe. Now we can finally congratulate them on their outstanding personal achievement, on the fulfillment of their dream - the ascent to the highest peak of our planet. Congratulations! We wish you a quick recovery after the most difficult test, which was the finale of this expedition. New summits and new achievements, peace and prosperity! We will be waiting to meet you in Moscow!

 On May 19, the members of Viktor Volodin's group stood on the summit of Everest!

 Dmitry Pilshchikov - at 06:28

Andrey Kravchenko - at 08:30

Natalya Bryukhovetskaya - at 09:00

Valery Zaitsev - at 09:40.

The leader of the Everest-25 expedition, President of the 7 Summits Club Alexander Abramov from the slopes of Everest:

On May 19, our first team in full force climbed to the summit of Everest. On the 19th, the second team climbed to the South Col in a strong wind. By evening, the wind had increased to 70 km/h. Having spent the night in jumping tents and the morning in tents with a torn vestibule, we decided to descend. Thus, we postponed the attempt to climb Everest to May 25 or 26.

 Now the team has descended to the second camp at 6500. And with the words "it was a good training session", we went to bed. In total, this year the 7 Summits Club has 12 permits for climbing, four of which have been realized.

Unfortunately, a sudden, contrary to the preliminary forecast, increase in wind to a storm thwarted the attempt of Alexander Abramov's group to climb Everest. And the team of the Club 8000 led by Viktor Volodin, who had gone a day earlier, got into a tough time, especially on the descent. It remains to be hoped that the participants of the 7 Summits Club group will have enough strength and energy for a second attempt. And that the conditions will be ideal, or close to ideal.

 Latest news from the highest peak on the planet:

 Viktor Volodin's group

On May 19, the following were on the summit of Everest:

— Andrey Kravchenko and Dmitry Pilshchikov — at 08:30

— Natalia Bryukhovetskaya — at 09:00

— Valery Zaytsev — at 09:40

At the moment:

— Viktor Volodin and Natalia Bryukhovetskaya are already in Lukla, on their way to Kathmandu

— Dmitry Pilshchikov, Valery Zaytsev and Andrey Kravchenko continue their descent to Base Camp.

 Alexander Abramov's group:

— Alexander Abramov, Vasily Taradin — on the descent to Camp 2 (6,500 m), where they plan to wait for weather conditions for the second attempt at the ascent

— Sergey Ryazansky, Dmitry Demchuk — in Camp 2, where they plan to wait for weather conditions for the second attempt at the ascent

— Roman Sklyar is at the base camp.

 We are following the developments and sending strong support to all participants!

Dramatic live broadcast from the South Col of Everest. Alexander Abramov from a tent at an altitude of 8000 meters. The strongest wind, it is not possible to go on the ascent. All members of Volodin's group climbed the summit of Everest and descended at least to Camp 4.

Today, the 8000 Club team led by Viktor Volodin climbed to Camp 3 on the slopes of the "Lhotse Wall". Tomorrow they will climb to the South Col (7900), Camp 4 and set out to storm the summit. Alexander Abramov's team (7 Summits Club) moved from Camp 1 to comfortable Camp 2. And will spend the night at an altitude of 6500. So far, everything is going according to plan. Good luck to the climbers!

The guide of the 7 Summits Club Viktor Volodin reports from Nepal:

A Nepalese namaste from the slopes of Everest to everyone! Information from the Everest-25 expedition. Today, the group of Alexander Abramov (7 Summits Club, VIP) left Base Camp for Camp 1 at the crack of dawn. By two o'clock in the afternoon, all participants had successfully reached the overnight location at 6100. The group of Viktor Volodin (8000 Club) had a good rest in Camp 1 and slowly went to Camp 2. The weather is hot and we all also safely reached our second camp. There is complete comfort here, including the Internet, which is only available at the 7 Summits Club and this is at an altitude of 6500. Tomorrow we leave early and move to the third camp at 7200. I hope everything will work out for us.

The leader of the Everest expedition, Alexander Abramov, reports from Nepal:

 The season of Everest ascents has begun. We held classes on strategy and tactics of ascent. The guides told members all the subtleties and nuances of working on the mountain with toilet paper and food bags. We checked masks and regulators again. And today, Viktor Volodin's team (Club 8000), consisting of 6 participants, set off for Camp 1.

Alexander Abramov's team is leaving in a day. And the film crew of the movie "Space Everest" is going with us.

Hooray! "Abramov's Favorite Group" summited Island Peak! It was very difficult, the route was technically complex, many pitches of rocks and vertical ice. We all summited. We were very tired, but happy! Now we are returning to civilization and resting after a 16-hour climb! With you was the guide of the 7 Summits Club Sergey Avtomonov.

The leader of the Everest expedition Alexander Abramov reports from Nepal:

The Everest 2025 team returned from Namche Bazaar to the Everest base camp. Everyone is rested. Yesterday, for the first time in human history, we broadcast live from the slopes of Everest to the ISS space station.

Direct communication with the International Space Station from the Everest Base Camp itself!

Cosmonaut Sergei Ryazansky, who is in the camp at an altitude of 5300 m, participated in the broadcast along with the Everest 2025 team of the 7 Summits Club.

ISS crew commander Sergei Ryzhikov and astronaut Alexei Zubritsky were in touch from orbit.

Sergey Ryazansky: I showed the guys from the ISS views of Everest from the Base Camp. We had a warm conversation, I was happy with the modern technologies that made this call real.

May 12 Dhaulagiri

Namaste to everyone from Nepal from the Dhaulagiri Lovers Club group! Report for the past period.

 May 7 - moved from BC to C1. A little faster than last time - in just 9 hours. The icefall melted, the cracks became wider.

 May 8 - moved from C1 to C2. By evening we learned that the advance group had been walking from C2 to C3 for as long as 12-14 hours... This made us a little... wary. We felt that our plans could change. However, we were told by radio that the plans were in effect and the advance group (the hanging team and the combined group) was ready to go on the assault in a few hours. Around midnight we were woken up and told that plans had changed and the upper group had decided to spend an extra day in the upper camp.

 May 9 - woke up late. Anyway, it was a forced rest day at 6200... Celebrated Victory Day and Igor Smirnov's birthday. Walked up a bit.

 May 10 - early rise and exit at 5 am to C3. The crossing turned out to be really tough - a snow-ice slope with falling snow. By the end - 35-40 degrees. There was nowhere to rest at all. We got there quickly - in about 10 hours. But we were exhausted. The camp is not conducive to rest and recovery at all - a tiny area at an angle of 25-30 degrees. The tents are crooked, it is impossible to walk between them without crampons and self-belay. There are 3-5 people in each tent. Boiling water is a huge problem. By this time, the ropers and climbers from the international team had just started to return from the summit (their journey to the summit took 15-20 hours).

In the end, we decided to leave after 9 p.m. We slept for 2-3 hours (whoever could). And by 10 p.m. we somehow got out of the tents. And immediately a steep snow-ice slope. We passed it in an hour and a half. Then the ridge. And then - an oblique traverse. All the ropes are under snow. Everything needs to be re-tracked and the ropes dug out. Snow above the knee. We walked very slowly. And then the wind picked up. We all hoped that it would die down. But it only got stronger. It was very cold. After 2 hours of fighting the wind and snow, the Sherpas said that it was dangerous to go further in such a wind. And we ourselves realized this. So we decided to turn around.

There were many adventures on the descent, including an avalanche, which miraculously only touched us with the edge. By the evening of the same day we were already at the Base Camp.

May 11 - today. We are already on our way to Kathmandu. We are resting and exchanging impressions in Pokhara. We decided that even if we go to another mountain, we will keep the previous name - "Dhaulagiri Lovers Club".