Asia - Page 104

14 th we arrived in Lhasa. We are well met by our old friends from the company STMA.

15 th all members went to the Potala. And I was running around Lhasa, and therefore I did not write  news. As always the hardest was to get right Chinese SIM cards for Internet

As a result, I bought a 1913 modem China Mobile. Other operators do not work in the Everest base camp. Now the whole expedition is provided into  Internet. All could call on Skype to family and friends and send pictures.

Yesterday, the 16 th we spent the night in Shigatse - the second largest city in Tibet.

This morning we visited a very nice local monastery, walk around the city, bought blankets and pillows.

Acquainted with the system of boiling water by solar energy. Today we moved into town Shigar

Today Anatoly Yezhov and our guide Dima Ermakov flew from Kathmandu to Periche by helicopter. There an Academician, rector of a University Anatoly Yezhov set a new world record in lifting weights on the slopes of Everest. The entire group got together and we're ready to fly to Lhasa on April 14.

 Anatoly Ezhov (right)

Alex with Crina and Ovidiu Popescu

We are in Kathmandu, here is the heat ! Abramov checks member’s equipment, I am preparing the technical part of today's dinner, connecting and adjusting hardware. Tomorrow we are planning excursions and sightseeing in Kathmandu.

Greetings!

Yours faithfully, Dmitry Ermakov

Alexander Abramov, is only awaiting the arrival of their first team. And many other expeditions are already begun acclimatization. Even those who will climb from the north. In particular, the British expedition company Adventure Peaks. They are on the southern slopes of Mount Everest now and saw the coveted summit. 16-year-old Englishman, George Atkinson is in this team. In case of success on Everest, he will be the youngest climber, ever climbed the Seven Summits. If only Coco Popescu did not surpass, and she will work in our 7 Summits Club expedition. Atkinson will celebrate 17 years on May 29 and he wants to complete the program before that date. Coco will be 17 years old only in December. Before departing on an expedition to Everest, she participated in the presentation of a series of stamps devoted to her achievement – climbs on the seven highest volcanoes of the seven continents.

Crina  and George will meet in our base camp

Kanchenjunga

Message from Israfil Ashurly: "The team, led by Alexei Bolotov: Gleb Sokolov, Nikolay Totmyanin, Andrey Manuilov, Alexander Lutokhin, Dmitry Sinev (Russia), Alexander Frolov (Australia), Christian Stangl (Austria), Israfil Ashurly (Azerbaijan), after a 12 days of trekking, has reached on April 8 a base camp at 5,450 m.

We are here already for 3 days. Last night there was heavy snowfall. The bulk of our equipment has not yet been delivered to the base camp. So we can not begin to prepare a route. We are waiting for an arrival of two big expeditions. Greetings from the guys. "

Today, Nikolay Cherny, Sergei Larin, and Noel Hanna, along with a team of Sherpas went to the base camp at North side of Everest. A day before, there was a meeting with the legendary Miss Elizabeth Hawley. A journalist, in the past, this 87 years old lady, is the main authority in the Himalayan mountaineering. Even she has not made any ascent itself. Hawley in her place, is both a chronicler number 1, directly receiving an information about Himalayan expeditions, and a referee deals in complicated situations. Unexpectedly for us, this remarkable woman personally paid a visit to the hotel where located Alexander Abramov and his team. It turned out a beautiful photo.

Meanwhile, a small ceremony held in the office of the 7 Summits Club. We farewelled our beloved comrades in Nepal. Victor Bobok and Dmitry Ermakov go to the Himalayas. Dmitry will lead an expedition to the foot of Mount Everest from the south, the main aim of a large group will be climbing Island Peak. Victor will join the team of Alexander Abramov, as a guide of Mount Everest. He wants to climb the summit already by his third route (2004 - North Face direct, 2009 - a classic from the south). We know that Eugene Vinogradsky reached the summit of Everest by three different routes. Or anyone else?

Yuri Koshelenko (left) and all the staff of the Club wished them good luck !

Our 2011 Expedition.

The main part of the expedition (with permit on Everest):

Karina Mezova (28 years) Nalchik
Andrew Podolyan (39) Moscow
Dmitry Sokov (43) Sakhalin
Igor Prinzyuk (33) Khabarovsk
Yuri Beloivan (44) Moscow
Roman Grezky (39) Moscow
Christopher Cannizzaro (25) U.S.A.
Crina Popescu (16) Romania

Group with special permits (without climbing Everest):

Valery Rozov (46) Moscow
Denis Provalov (42) Moscow
Sergey Krasko (49) Moscow
Anatoly Yezhov (64) Archangelsk
Ovidiu Popescu (47) Romania
Gennady Naykov (44) Moscow

Guides of the expedition:

Alexander Abramov (47) Moscow

Sergey Larin (51) Tver

Nikolay Cherny (72) Moscow

Noel Hanna (44) Ireland

Victor Bobok (50) Moscow

Now Denis Urubko went to Italy to climb rocks, to pedal mpuntainbike along the Albino valleys and training for upcoming summer season. After the first winter ascent to the summit above 8000 meters in Karakoram - on Gasherbrum-2, Denis and his wife had visited his parents, who live on Sakhalin Island.

Upcoming summer Denis and his friend Boris Dedeshko plan to climb Pobeda Peak (7439 m) along a new route. In 1982, a team of army mountaineers from Kazakhstan led by Vlad Smirnov climbed the North Face along a winding route, which is shaped like the letter S. They named it  “Dollar. " Urubko and Dedeshko will try to climb by a new, direct route on this part of the face. A group of young climbers from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, who train under the guidance of Urubko will climb at this time the classic route on Pobeda Peak from the West. Italian climber Tamara Lunger plans to join this team.

Denis wants to start at the beginning of July climbing new routes on Przewalski Peak (6400 m) and Grudzinski Peak (6350 m). Then climb Khan-Tengri from the North and attempt a new route on Pobeda. “In the meantime, I'm in Italy, and here I was greeted as a hero. Sometimes it even becomes uncomfortable. Well, who am I for these guys from the valleys of Lombardy? Here, I am always known, invited, embraced, interviewing people with great respect for climbs that I did, congratulated on our victory in winter on Gasherbrum ... just brought to tears. "

Our friend Gleb Sokolov have similar plans. This famous Russian climber from Novosibirsk goes now to Kanchenjunga He also intends to open new route on Pobeda via "Dollar". Two his friends Vitaly Gorelik and Alexander Kirikov will be in his team. It should also be a direct route.

Let's see who are lucky, we hope - both teams.

April 2, Alexander Abramov flew to Nepal. The final stage of preparing our next Everest expedition began. China has denied entry to the territory of Tibet, but in the coming days, the path will open. Members of the expedition and guides will come later. While Alexander will set of organizational issues. However, much will be organized differently. Because for the first time Mingma will not be a Sirdar of the expedition. Now he is the director of our branch 7 Summits Adventures Company and had a lot of other deals.

The main part of the expedition (with permit on Everest):

Karina Mezova (28 years) Nalchik

Andrew Podolyan (39) Moscow

Dmitry Sokov (43) Sakhalin

Igor Prinzyuk (33) Khabarovsk

Yuri Beloivan (44) Moscow

Roman Grezky (39) Moscow

Christopher Cannizzaro (25) U.S.A.

Crina Popescu (16) Romania

Group with special permits (without climbing Everest):

Valery Rozov (46) Moscow

Denis Provalov (42) Moscow

Sergey Krasko (49) Moscow

Anatoly Yezhov (64) Archangelsk

Ovidiu Popescu (47) Romania

Guides of the expedition:

Alexander Abramov (47) Moscow

Sergey Larin (51) Tver

Nikolay Cherny (72) Moscow

Noel Hanna (44) Ireland

Victor Bobok (50) Moscow

We look at the Himalayas from south to north. Kanchenjunga.  The team collected by Alexey Bolotov will try to climb this giant mountain. It consists of two top Russian high altitude climbers - Nikolay Totmyanin and Gleb Sokolov. As well as our close friend, president of Mountaineering Federation of Azerbaijan, the snow leopard and the climber at the Seven Peaks Israfil Ashurly. Together with them - Pole Paul Michalski, Romanian Alex Gavan and Italians  Mario Panzeri and   Antonello Martinez. And also a group of Nepalese climbers. If successful Sherpa Mingma  will be the first in the country climbed 14 eight-thousanders ...

In our office: Mikhail Yarin, Alex Abramov, Gleb Sokolov and Pavel Shabalin

Makalu. Polish woman climber Kinga Baranovska, which goes to his eight eighеt-thousanders, will be there a major star ... Slovak Peter Hamor plans, high-speed solo climb without oxygen. For acclimatization he plans to climb Lobuche East and Pumori.

Lhotse. Carlos Soria, 72-year-old Spanish climber intends to climb its 10 th eight-.thousander. In the company with him will climb Carlos Pauner and Juan Oiarzabal, who has now 24 climbs on eight thousanders (overall record). Austrian paragliding Mike Kueng wants to flight over the summit ridge (8500 m), starting from the south. On account of this 42-year old athlete is a lot of records, including a flight at an altitude of 10,100 meters. But the goal is very difficult: from the bottom up in the Himalayas nobody could rise above 7300 m yet. Austrian already is flying in the vicinity of Namche Bazaar, as part of his great expedition "paratrekkers.

Soria (left), Kueng and below - the planned route record

On Everest should be lively as usual ...

In addition to numerous commercial expeditions, many people will try to speak own word on the slopes of tallest peak of the planet.

In the focus - Basque woman climber Edurne Pasaban, which tries to climb the highest peak without the aid of artificial oxygen. If successful, all 14 eight she would have "made" without oxygen. Also will try a clean, oxygen-free ascent a 35-year-old Australian climber Allie Pepper .. And men… once again going to climb without oxygen Englishman David Tait. Before that he planned to climb a new route on Lhotse. Mexican David Liano is back to his project climb Everest from both sides during the season. Without oxygen, and one day plans to go to the summit an Ecuadorian Ramiro Tesalema. Brazilian Rodrigo Raineri announced his intention to descend from the top of a glider.

 Allie Pepper - after Cho Oyu climbs Everest without oxygen

Sherpas go for at least 3 record. Famous Apa go to the top once again.

Pemba Dorji plans for a day to visit both Everest and Lhotse. His brothers dragged to the top of the world's tent - they plan to stay at an altitude of 8848 meters over 24 hours.

On Cho-Oyu the most interesting fact is that refusal to participate in the expedition Japanese Hiro Takeuchi. In solidarity with the victims of the catastrophic earthquake compatriots. Takeuchi - the first real contender for the 14 eight-thousanders from the country which was a quarter-century was among the leaders of Himalayan mountaineering. He remained only two: Cho Oyu and Dhaulagiri

 Gneiting, shown during a 2004 competition, beat his previous time by two hours

A 400lb American sumo wrestler hopes to become certified as the heaviest man to finish a marathon after competing the Los Angeles race in nearly 10 hours.

Kelly Gneiting, who was the last of 11,891 men to cross the Los Angeles marathon finish line on Sunday, described the race as "pure hell".

Gneiting walked the last 18 miles, suffering through painful blisters, but beat his 2008 time by two hours.

He has won three US sumo titles beginning in 2005.

"I did it, but it was hell," Gneiting, 40, was quoted as saying by the Los Angeles Times. "Pure hell."

Gneiting of Arizona weighed in after the race at 396lb (179.6 kilos) - four less than when he started, local television reported.

By the time Gneiting finished the first half, the city had begun reopening streets along the route and he completed the race on the pavement, NBC television reported.

Gneiting hopes to have his time - nine hours and 48 minutes - certified by the Guinness Book of World Records.

KATHMANDU: The Seven Summits Foundation in coordination with Nepal Tourism Year 2011 committee will organize a concert at the Mount Everest Base Camp at the height of 5,400 meters above the sea-level on March 23.

According to the organizers, apart from Nepali artists and International artiste John McCune from USA will also perform at the Everest Base Camp for the programme. The initial festival is dedicated to raising awareness of the melting of the Himalayan Glaciers due to Global Warming, kicking off a series of five concerts with the final one in Kathmandu, said Thomas J Sexton, a member of the 7 Summits Foundation.

After two weeks of trekking and performing in the Himalayas, the ‘Save the Himalaya’ festival will conclude with a concert in Kathmandu on April 6.

Led by Ang Chhering Sherpa, who holds the record for climbing the world’s seven highest summit in just 42 days, and in association with the Nepal Tourism Year 2011 committee, the 7 Summits Foundation hopes to use the concert series to focus the attention of the international community on one of the highest destinations on earth, embodying the ‘Voice from the Top of the World’.

While rising sea-levels have been the central focus of the detrimental effects of Global Warming, the melting of our glaciers will have an impact on landlocked nations as well, he said, adding that the melting of the Himalayan glaciers will cause flooding and destruction, affecting the survival and livelihood of the people of the Himalayan region.

Meanwhile, AC Sherpa plans to continue to build awareness of the impact on the Himalayan glaciers by attempting to set a new mountaineering record by climbing Mt Everest three times in one climbing season this summer.

KATHMANDU: A team of civil servants led by Secretary at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, Lila Mani Poudel is all set to scale the Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world. They are setting off for mountaineering from the third week of Chaitra.

It was informed at a programme that the mountaineering campaign of the civil servants, as an important programme in connection with the Nepal Tourism Year 2011, will spread a new message in the international sector. The programme was organised at the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation.

The government has allocated Rs 750 million for the campaign which will be of 75 days. Similarly, the Mountaineering Training Institute Development Committee has been providing training and will manage the expedition.

In course of the training, the expedition has successfully scaled the Yala peak of Lamtang.

At the programme, Chief Secretary Madhav Ghimire said the mountaineering will help devise a mechanism on sustainable environment conservation by acquiring information about the effects of climate change in the mountain region.

Similarly, Secretary at the Tourism Ministry, Kishor Thapa said the Ministry will arrange the management for the mountaineering team to reach atop the Everest and return it safely.

Team leader Secretary Poudel said they were all set to climb the Mt Everest to show that the civil servants were also capable to do adventurous job.

Nepal Tourism Year Coordinator Yogendra Shakya said the mountaineering zeal of the employee will add new spirit to the tourism sector.

The mountaineering team comprises Joint Secretary at the Foreign Ministry, Durga Prasad Bhattarai, Joint Secretary at the Tourism Ministry, Laxman Bhattarai, engineer at the same ministry Santa Kumar Maharjan, and Mukti Ram Rijal, Surath Pokhrel, Hari Prasad Guragain, Khim Lal Gautam, Gyanendra Kumar Shrestha, Tulsi Ram Bhandari, Padma Bahadur Bhandari, Bishnu Prasad Poudel, Subir Shrestha, Hari Dhakal and Kumar Giri.

Joseph Dalton Hooker, renowned botanist, close friend of Charles Darwin and global explorer, also produced the earliest Western sketch of a little-known geologic feature called Mount Everest, it emerged this week.

The Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, where Hooker was director in the late 19th-century, has identified a rough sketch by Hooker of the Himalayan mountain, the highest point on Earth, as one of the first of its kind. A consultation with Hooker experts, including the Royal Geographical Society (RGS), suggests the drawing is the earliest known scientific Western drawing of what locals call Mount Chomolungma. The work dates from 1848, completed while Hooker, aged 30, was conducting a three-year-long research expedition of the Himalayan region. The RGS named Everest in 1856 after George Everest, a former British surveyor-general of India.

"It is always wonderful when we turn up a hidden gem of such historical importance," said Kew's director Stephen Hopper. "To our knowledge there are no other earlier representations of Everest by a European, in which case this discovery could be one of the most important findings in Kew's Archive."

While the RGS has a French map of the relevant Himalayan region dating from the 1730s, it has no pictorial representations of the mountain from this period.

Kew were first alerted to the sketch's importance by documentary filmmaker Peter Donaldson, who has spent several years researching Hooker's life. In 2008, he retraced Hooker's 1848 journey through eastern Nepal and the Tibetan border, which Mr Donaldson claims was the first recreation of its kind. "Hooker's various explorations around the world and on the spot drawings provide a very interesting reference point to see how parts of the eastern Himalayas and elsewhere have changed over the last 160 years," Mr Donaldson said in an email. "Hooker established much of the science underlying current understanding of how plants change with changing climate. This is of great importance in interpreting the past and future effects of climate change."

The garden's archives also contain a watercolour by Walter Hood Fitch, based on the Hooker sketch, which was created in about 1850. While the botanist does not refer directly to the drawing in his journals, he describes a spectacular sunset seen during his four-year expedition. "I have never before or since seen anything which for sublimity, beauty and marvellous effects, could compare with what I gazed on that evening." Everest is marked on Hooker's sketch "very high snows NNW ".

As well as being the first European to collect plants in the Himalayas, Hooker also worked with Darwin to classify plants he had collected in the Galapagos Islands.

Hooker's sketch is currently on display at Kew's Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art until 1 June.

Don’t even think about visiting Tibet this month. China has closed the region to foreigners throughout March. The official reason is that tourists will be unsafe because of cold weather, ice, a shortage of hotel rooms, crowds attending Tibetan New Year festivities, and the anniversary of Tibet’s “liberation” in 1951. But skeptics say it has more to do with keeping out journalists and trouble makers during the third anniversary of bloody anti-government riots.

 Alexander Abramov visited Fedor Konyukhov, who was the first Russian climbed Seven Summits and reached two Poles. They have discussed various travel ideas, tell each other about their adventures and climbs, about Antarctica and Mount Everest. Alex was trying to learn more about the routes Konyukhov on polar region, first of all - Greenland.. But most importantly, they agreed that Fedor will organize a trekking party to the foot of Everest with an expedition 7 Summits Club.

We can say that this journey can be seen as part of the project by Fyodor Konyukhov to establish in Moscow, a center of travel uder protection of Orthodox Church. As we know, the greatest Russian traveler of modern time was ordained an Orthodox priest. However, he intends to continue his adventure and hard travel. In March Fedor Konyukhov plans a pilgrimage to Ethiopia. This will be an expedition to the holy places of this country, and to move mainly on camels.

Fedor Konyukhov was born on December 12, 1951, on the coast of the Sea of Azov (part of the Black Sea). His father is a descendant of fishermen whose family came from Arkhangelsk Province and his mother is a native of Bessarabia.

Fedor graduated from Odessa Navigation College and Leningrad Arctic College. He studied in the Theological Seminary and in the Arts College in Bobruisk (Byelorussia).

Since his childhood, Fedor Konyukhov has been striving for traveling and discovering the entire diversity of the world. He accomplished his first expedition at the age of fifteen having crossed the Sea of Azov on a fishing rowing boat.

By the age of fifty he has made more than forty unique trips and climbs expressing his vision of the world in paintings and books.

In 1983, Fedor Konyukhov was admitted to the Union of Artists of the USSR (he was the youngest at that moment). Since 1996, a member of the Moscow Union of Artists, Graphic Arts section; since 2001, a member of the Sculpture section in the Moscow Union of Artists.

The laureate of the Gold Medal of the Russian Arts Academy, Honorary Academician of the Russian Arts Academy, author of more than 3,000 paintings. He participated in a number of Russian and international exhibitions.

A member of the Union of Journalists of the Russian Federation. A member of the Union of Writers of the Russian Federation. Author of nine books.

Yacht Captain. He made four circumnavigations and crossed the Atlantics fourteen times, including one time on a rowing boat. Honored Master of Sports. Fedor was awarded the Order of Friendship of Peoples of the USSR and the UNEP Prize "GLOBAL 500" for his contribution to the environmental protection. He is the holder of the UNESCO Prize “For Fair Play”.

First and so far the only person in the world to have reached the five extreme Poles of the planet:

North Geographical Pole (3 times)

South Geographical Pole

Pole of considerable inaccessibility in the Arctic Ocean

Art-work of Fedor

They were on the top at 11-35 a.m.. It was the first winter ascent of one of the five 8000ers located in Pakistan.   Congratulations !

SMS at 2 p.m. (Moscow time): We've found our tent in this terrible storm. THat's all. Tomorrow the descent to BC. THanks for the support.

Denis, SMS to wife: "Summit at 11-35. Going down, 7800. Hope to reach tent before the darkness".

Russianclimb.com

Explorersweb (By Angela Benavides). Kazakh Vasili Pivtsov, Alex Sofrygin and Ildar Gabassov bagged the summit of Khan Tengri in northern Tien Shan, yesterday. This is only the third ever summit of the peak in winter - the two previous took place in February - yesterday's success is the first in the deep cold of January.

“Without exaggerating, winter conditions in Northern Tien Shan are usually harder than in winter Karakoram,” said ExWeb's correspondent in Kazakhstan Andrey Verkhovod, who provided the news.

Members of CSKA (Kazakhstan Army Sports Club) Vaso, Alex and Ildar summited Khan Tengri (7010m) yesterday at 2:30pm local time, and made it safely back to C3 (at 5,900m on the col between Kang Tengri and Peak Chapaev) for the night.

Fast push up the northern route

The entire climb was done in full winter time and rather fast: the team was airlifted to Khan’s north side BC on Jan 8th, and set up the two lower camps during their acclimatization process up the normal northern route which, in spite of the “normal” tag, is rather hard: 5b in Soviet scale, and with the most difficult section (mixed terrain, a steep couloir and a wind-exposed ridge) from 6,700m to the top.

Expedition leader Maxut Zhumayev had to be airlifted back to Almaty due to acute pulmonary problems.

Vaso, Alex, Ildar and Dmitry Khonin launched the final summit push on January 16. They set up C3 on Jan 18 and spent the following day waiting out a wind storm. Three of the climbers topped out yesterday in very hard weather that forced back Dmitry. The climbers were expected back in BC today.

First time in the coldest month

After Pobeda, Khan Tengri is the second northernmost 7000er in the world. The only two previous winter summits on Khan Tengri (in 1993 and 2002) were achieved in February, when conditions are not as tough as January’s.

The expedition was mainly supported by Kazakhstani Ecological Union Tabigat, led by Mels Eliusizov, and hoped to raise attention towards the Winter Asian Games that are due to start on January 30, in Kazakhstan.

Our friend the president of the Federation of Mountaineering of Azerbaijan Israfil Ashurly continues to show incredible activity. Recently, he completed an international course judges of ice-climbing and going the entire season to do the judging at various competitions in different countries. In the winter he will take a course of ice climbing in Chamonix. And at the end of March, Israfil will go to the Himalayas, where he join an expedition led by Alexei Bolotov, that will climb Kanchenjunga. By the way, Alexei has already climbed 10 eightthousander, and puts the real aim of completion of the program of 14 eight-thousanders in the near future. Important, he's got K2 behind him..

Together with the 7 Summits Club Israfil Ashurly made climbing Mount McKinley, Aconcagua, Vinson, Everest, Carstensz, Cho-Oyu.

Israfil in our office

Associated Press.  NEW YORK — True art can be an elevated pursuit — in this case an elevation of approximately 29,000 feet.  Three small panels of a massive painting project that has been displayed at the United Nations are set to be carried to the top of Mount Everest in March, artist and political cartoonist Ranan Lurie said Wednesday.

The three acrylic-on-canvas panels — together measuring about 2 feet by 3 feet — represent just a small fraction of the dozens of pieces making up the 600-foot-long "Uniting Painting" project.

The 78-year-old artist, who's been working on his "Uniting Painting" project since 1968, says it offers viewers a "common denominator."

By enjoying the different pieces of the artwork, he said, "we respect the same thing."

"Although we come from different cultures and different places," he said, "we have an artistic Esperanto that we can talk through and with. And unite."

Lurie says he hopes that displaying the paintings on the peak of the world's highest mountain will show the scope of the work's message.

The project's dozens of panels depict similar flowing shapes that continue from one panel to the next, though the colors and motifs change. The panels selected to be carried by professional Nepalese climbers are largely blue and white to reflect the colors of clouds, sky and snow found at their destination, Lurie said.

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The program "Seven Volcanoes" is relatively young. American Amar Amdalkar posted great material about it on the pages of his excellent site skimountaineer.com. We, in the 7 Summits Club, rather uncritically copied the list and took it for granted. However, refinement began to appear. The first was Mount Giluve in Papua, as the highest volcano in Australia. And now it appeared quite clear that the highest volcano in Asia is in China, in the mountains of Kun-Lun. Ka-er-daxi is 5808 meters high.

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http://www.volcanolive.com

Kunlun Volcano is located in Tibet. The volcanic group contains 70 pyroclastic cones and basaltic lava flows. Ashi Shan volcano in the western end of the group is the youngest volcano in China (also known as Ka-er-daxi or Vulkan).

1951 Eruption

The eruption of Kunlun in 1951 was the most recent eruption in China. It was a central vent explosive eruption witnessed by road building workers.

The Kunlun Shan is a major mountain system of Asia, situated in China about halfway between the Himalayas and Tian Shan. It stretches one thousand miles, its snow-and-glacier-clad peaks rising abruptly along the north edge of the vast dry Tibetan plains.

The Kunlun Shan becomes progressively more narrow from east to west, and the narrow western section, just east of the Pamirs, is where the highest peaks are found, towering seventy five miles south of Kashi, the largest city in western Xinjiang Province, China. Near the center of the Kunlun Shan, a 500-mile northern branch called the Altun Tagh splits from the main range and extends northeast.

http://www.summitpost.org/vulkan-ka-er-daxi/464166

This peak is to the best of my knowledge, unclimbed. If it is and the Xinjiang Mountaineering Association decides to follow the rules strictly, the peak fee will be 4400-10255$US! The peak is very small compared to its neighbors and you may be lucky and not charged at all for climbing it. Sometimes you can climb peaks below 6000m with no charge.

Kunlun Shan on Summitpost 

Gleb Sokolov announced his plans for 2011. He just ensured supports of sponsors: NPF Basc, Grivel, etc. and could now begin to detail plans of expeditions. Projects are, we must say, impressive. Gleb with his partner, Vitaly Gorelik (both from Novosibirsk), is going to climb a new route on Everest. Some experts believe that is impossible to find something new on the slopes of the highest mountain of the World. But look on the East Face, so-called Kanchung Face ! There are three unclimbed buttresses between the American route and the North-East ridge.

Scared even to look? Eyes do not believe, but the hands and feet are doing. That is what these guys have been doing on Pobeda Peak in 2009. Conditions on mountains can be different, you need to watch and think. According to the plan of expedition, acclimatization will be on the classic route from the north side. Probably, it will be in cooperation with a team of 7 Summits Club (leader Alex Abramov). And then, climbers are going to cross the pass ... to make a decision and implement it.

If everything succeeds, they were still alive, then for next summer, Gleb plans to climb a new route also for Pobeda Peak. For this purpose, Alexander Kirikov should join Sokolov and Gorelik. Last season, he participated in climbing a partly new route "Snake" on Khan-Tengri. Sokolov knows Pobeda Peak better than anyone, he climbed it by 4 different routes. Now he has a new idea for new routes.

Gorelik (left) and Sokolov

Aireal  photo by Leo Dickinson

Gleb Sokolov born in 1953 (September, 5)

He began climb in 1972. His first high-altitude summit was Peak Lenin in 1979.

Master Sport, many time winner and prized of Russia Mountaineering Championship.

Snow Leopard (all seven-thousanders of the former USSR): Peak Lenin, Peak Communism, Peak Korzhenevskoy, Peak Pobeda, Khan Tengri – more than 50 climbs. Gleb have a speed climb record on Pobeda Peak – 20 hours.

Himalayan ascents:

Makalu 1996

Lhotse 1997 and 2000

Lhotse Shar 1998

Lhotse Middle (first climb) 2001.

Everest North Face (new route) 2004

K2 West Face (new route) 2007

Manaslu 2009/

For a new route on Pobeda Peak Sokolov and Gorelik were nominated for Piolet d’Or in 2009 for

Married, 4 children, one grandson.

Piolet d'Or 2009. Vitaly and Gleb are staying in the middle