South America - Page 13

Two days of travel and we finally reached the mountains. Now we are in the town of Huaraz in northern Peru. The active phase of the program has begun. Today was already the first training session on the rocks on the outskirts of the city. We didn't climb anything  difficult, but the task is different: to disperse the blood and get used to the loads at altitude. Today we climbed at an altitude of 3000, and tomorrow we will visit a very interesting and beautiful place where we will continue to warm up, but already at an altitude of more than 4000 meters.

Guides Boris Egorov and Vladimir Murzaev.

There is another very famous place in the vicinity of Cusco in Peru: the Rainbow Mountains. They are named so, of course, precisely because all the mountains there are painted with minerals in all the colors of the rainbow. And what is important for us, the height of the observation deck exceeds 5000m. We admire the views and continue acclimatization.

This is the end of the cultural program and the next day we start moving north. First to the capital, to the city of Lima. Let's go down to the ocean level and relax on the beach.

Guides Boris Egorov and Vladimir Murzaev.

Continuation of the Peruvian adventures. Our small friendly company today continued to explore the legacy of the Inca Empire.  At the same time, we finally managed to disperse the blood. We ran down to the mountain of Huayna Picchu 2667m. The ascent took us only half an hour, although the trail goes up the steps steeply. Perhaps we could have done it faster, but we had to carefully overtake other tourists and, of course, we took a lot of photos. From the top there is a gorgeous view of the entire Machu Picchu complex. Then the day passed quietly in the village, where we had to wait for the evening train. And already on the way back, right in the carriage, they arranged a small performance with dancing and a fashion show, alpaca wool products. Tomorrow, according to the plan, a new climb, we are going to admire the rainbow mountains.

Guides Boris Egorov and Vladimir Murzaev.

A new unusual program for Alexey Sivkov, our friend and a very versatile climber, has started today in the capital of the Inca Empire, the city of Cuzco. The city is located at an altitude of 3400m, so we immediately began to acclimatize, and we really need a good habit of altitude. Ambitious plans! We are going to have a serious ascent of the huge granite wall in the Cordillera Blanca, Mount Sphinx (La Esfinge). But this is later, but for now we absorb the history of the ancient country, look at the sights and eat up for the future. Today we spent several hours exploring the ancient buildings of the Incas, climbed wherever you can climb and tasted delicious ceviche and alpaca steaks.

Guides Boris Egorov and Vladimir Murzaev.

Buenas Dias from the "Let's get a Llama" team! We did it! There is a peak of Chachani 6057! We had an amazing final two days. Yesterday we went to the Kolka Canyon — the second deepest canyon in the world, located in the valley of the Kolka River. Thousands of giant terraces, where the local population has been growing potatoes and cereals for hundreds of years, makes an incredible impression!

Then, we went to watch condors in a place called Cruz del Condor, where these giant birds are attracted by unusual air currents. They took off from nowhere and hovered over our heads — a fantastic sight! In the afternoon we managed to swim in the hot springs, and in the evening our team moved to the Base Camp of the Chachani volcano. At night we stormed and successfully climbed one of the iconic peaks of Peru — Mount of Brave.

I would like to say that on this trip we discovered Peru from almost all sides, starting from gastronomic pleasures, cultural attractions of the ancient Inca civilization, ending with the most beautiful peaks of the Southern Andes!

Friends, join our next trip to Peru this fall! You will definitely not regret it!

Your Daria Sivova and Boris Egorov are in touch!

Hello everyone from Peru!

  For three whole days we had no communication, and by the way, a lot of interesting things happened. Looking ahead, you can congratulate us on the first peak of our program — we have successfully ascended the Peak of Maria 5550m!

  It all started with the Rainbow Mountains and a mini ascent of Vinikunka 5036m. Unfortunately, we were not very lucky with the weather and we practically did not see the most important Rainbow Mountain. However, after the descent, when we continued trekking to our first camp, we were able to see the Rainbow Mountains in all its glory!

  Our first stop was the Ausangate Lagoon, and after that — the Base Camp of Maria Peak — our first ascent in the Peruvian Andes. It was one of the most picturesque treks: herds of alpacas, snowy peaks, mountain rivers and endless steppes of the Southern Andes.

  Last night we launched an assault on Maria Peak. The ascent was not easy. Local guides decided to take a shortcut through a rocky pass, which turned out to be quite dangerous. But thanks to the experience of our super-guide Boris Egorov, we were able to safely pass through this pass and climb to the top.

  In the evening we went down to the hot springs in the village of Pakchanta, from where we went back to Cuzco.   Today we are flying to the cultural capital of Arequipa, where we will continue the program.

The guides Boris Egorov and Daria Sivova are in touch.

Buenas Diaz from Peru! The 7 Summits Club has already started the season in South America! Greetings from the land of the ancient Incas — Peru! The country has been closed for almost 3 years due to the pandemic. But we are happy to announce that now Peru welcomes tourists, and the 7 Summits Club opens a new incredible destination.

One of the most interesting and intense programs begins — "Adventures in the Peruvian Andes". We are waiting for Machu Picchu, the Rainbow Mountains, the cultural capital of Arequipa and its Valley of Volcanoes with an ascent on the six thousandth Chachani.

Today the whole group is finally gathered in the ancient Inca capital of Cuzco. And tomorrow we start our incredible adventure with the extreme Star Lodge Hotel.

Follow us, it will be interesting!

Daria Sivova is in touch, and very soon, super-guide Boris Egorov will join us!

In the 2022-2023 season, there were a total of 32 participants in the expeditions of the 7 Summits Club in Chile. These are 4 groups with 6 guides. 30 participants of the expeditions reached the main peak of Ojos del Salado. The highest point: 6893m. Nikita Slotin, the guide of the 7 Summits Club, shot and edited this short film. It very successfully combines the beauties of nature, shows the nature of the ascent and the attitude of the participants to the mountains.  Thank you, Nikita!  Not long, and all to the point!

On February 6 of this year, at 14.30 local time, as part of the 7 Summits Club group, Indira Weaver and Jamila Bashirova ascended the highest point of South America, Mount Aconcagua. Cousins, Kazakh by nationality, they come from the small village of Sosnovka, in the Semipalatinsk region, East Kazakhstan. The Semipalatinsk test site was located 200 km from Sosnovka, more than 400 nuclear tests took place there from 1949 to 1989.

  The famous Kazakh artist Karipbek Kuyukov was born 100km from the landfill, and was born without hands due to radiation from nuclear tests. As a child, he fell in love with art, and learned to draw by holding a brush in his mouth and toes. At the moment, Karipbek is an activist of the anti-nuclear movement, a speaker, an artist, and was even nominated for the Nobel Prize as an activist for peace.

 Tells Indira Weaver: Last year, during our first attempt to climb Aconcagua, we met Miguel Doura, an Argentine artist who lives and paints in the base camp. He showed great interest in the culture and traditions of the Kazakh people, and in Kazakhstan in general. Not many representatives of the Kazakh people have visited Aconcagua, and according to our data (from the Internet), only one Kazakh girl, Saphira Kanaeva from Russia, ascended on the summit in 2014.

 So the idea arose to connect two countries and two cultures through art and Aconcagua.

 After the Canaleta, where everyone left backpacks, Jamila and I took turns carrying my backpack, so there was a picture there. At Karipbek's request, after our successful ascent, the painting was donated to Miguel's private collection.   Miguel was pleasantly touched by such a gift from distant Kazakhstan, and in turn decided to draw a picture especially for Karipbek. Fortunately, Valery Myasoedov still returned to the mountain with the final group of the 7 Summits Club and was able to pick up the painting from Miguel. At the moment, the painting is with him in St. Petersburg, and soon Valera will send it directly to Karipbek in the city of Karaganda.

At one time, the 7 Summits Club identified the "Seven Super-Mountains" in the World.  Seven unique climbing sites on seven continents.  Alpamayo is one of such objects, a mountain of amazing beauty. The 7 Summits Club has repeatedly arranged ascents on this wonderful peak. And we are ready to repeat this experience with new climbers.

Super-guide of the 7 Summits Club Alexander Dorojukov reports from Argentina:

Hello everyone from Argentina! The season is over, the equipment has been sorted out and dried, we are waiting for new participants next year. Guides Andrey Berezin, Dmitry Semenov, Valery Myasoedov, Viktor Volodin and Alexander Dorojukov.

The guide of the 7 Summits Club, Alexander Dorojukov, sends from Argentina:

Greetings from the Tango for Cash group! We did it! Yesterday, a day before the program, we climbed on the summit of Aconcagua.  Before that, we looked at the forecasts for a long time, consulted and decided to start a day earlier. And our idea burned out. Today there is wind and snow in the area of the peak. We have already descended to the Plaza de Mulas, rewarded the climbers, and are resting.  Soon there will be Mendoza, steaks and delicious wine.

Guides Dmitry Semenov and Alexander Dorojukov.

The guide of the 7 Summits Club Svetlana Kotlyar reports from Colombia:

Hola amigos! Greetings to all from Colombia from the team "IGORYASHKI"!

We were out of touch in the jungle for a couple of days, but today we are back in civilization again. Our team split up for a while, some members stayed to relax on the beaches of Santa Marta, and the main part of the group went trekking to the Lost city.

On February 17, we went on the route. On the first day, we drove part of the way on motorbikes and the second half (10 km) walked to the town of Mumake, where we stopped for the night. The route passes through the jungle, through thickets of tall century-old trees. The place of the overnight stay is located on the river bank, and how nice it was to plunge into the cool water after the route! For dinner, we cooked delicious local fish.

On February 18, we woke up early in the morning and after breakfast continued our journey to the Lost city. The lost city of Tyrone was found in the 1970s by tomb robbers, after which it became a real sensation. According to modern scientists, it was founded around 800 AD, i.e. 650 years earlier than the famous Machu Picchu.

There is only one way to get to the city – to climb up the slope by about 1200 stone steps, the ascent of which after climbing the Nevado del Tolima was not easy for us, but we coped. The climb was definitely worth it, all the participants were very impressed!

In three days of trekking, we have covered more than 40 km, and in total for the entire program more than 100. Today we went down to Santa Marta and met with all the team members at a villa near the Caribbean coast. Now we are having dinner and sharing our emotions from our long and eventful trip to Colombia!

The guide of the 7 Summits Club Dmitry Semenov reports from Argentina:

Greetings from Argentina from the "Tango for Cash" team!  Today we have completed the acclimatization program by going to our assault camp Colera (5950 m). Today and tomorrow we rest at the base camp Plaza de Mulas at an altitude of 4300 meters.

The guide of the 7 Summits Club Svetlana Kotlyar reports from Colombia:

Hello everyone from Salento! The team of "Igoryashki" safely descended from the mountains to civilization yesterday! The mountain part of our program ended yesterday. From the farm "La prima verá" from a height of 3800 we went down to the entrance of the National Park "Los nevados". We sat down in our cozy hotel and in the evening the whole team gathered at a huge festive table.

The team is happy! Toasts, congratulations, smiles, loud laughter! Everyone received well-deserved silver medals and certificates for the successful ascent on the Nevado Del Tolima volcano!

Today we are resting and after lunch we fly to Santa Marta, where we will continue our trekking program to the Lost city. Guides of the 7 Summits Club: Alex Abramov, Boris Egorov and Svetlana Kotlyar.

The guides of the 7 Summits Club Alex Abramov, Boris Egorov and Sveta Kotlyar report from Colombia:

Greetings to all from Colombia from the team of the 7 Summits Club "Igoryashki"! Congratulations to everyone on Valentine's Day! Including all those in love with the mountains! Today at 7 am our full team (16 participants and 8 guides) stood on the top of the most beautiful volcano in Colombia  - Nevada del Tolima (5221)! The ascent was not easy: strong wind, snow and almost complete lack of visibility. But the stronger the emotions from reaching the top! For the four team members, this peak became the first mountain summit in their lives. We went down to the assault camp at 10 a.m., now we are packing our things and preparing to descend to the Prima Vera farm.

 Photos from local guide Juan

The guide of the 7 Summits Club Alexander Dorojukov reports from Argentina:

Greetings from Argentina from the group "Cash for Tango"!  Our team continues to acclimatize on the slopes of Aconcagua. Today we took a walk to Plaza Canada. We climbed very briskly and well. Tomorrow we have a rest day before spending the night on Nido de Condores. In general, we are resting, relaxing before difficult days.  Guides Dmitry Semenov and Alexander Dorojukov.

The guide of the 7 Summits Club Dmitry Semenov reports from Argentina:

Greetings from Argentina, from the group "Tango for Cash"!  Today is our first day at the base camp at the Plaza de Mulas. The day went very well because it's a day off.  Today we walked to an abandoned hotel located on the other side of the gorge. And then we visited the highest art gallery. Tomorrow is a harder day, we will have a rotation to the Plaza de Canada (5000m.). The group's leaders are Alexander Dorojukov and Dmitry Semenov.

The guide of the 7 Summits Club Svetlana Kotlyar reports from Colombia:

Greetings to all from our team from Colombia! Our adventures in this amazing country continue! Our morning started with a cup of coffee in bed! Then we had breakfast and went on route: 16 participants, 3 guides from the 7 Summits Club and 5 local guides. The task of the day is to gain another 300 meters in height and go to the farm "La prima verá".

The views are spectacular, along the way we stopped at a tall Columbian pine tree, which is only 3 years younger than our main boss.  Here we drank delicious tea made from coca leaves.

The whole route took about 4 hours. After lunch it became overcast, it started to rain a little. Now we are already resting on the farm, waiting for lunch and checking the equipment. Tomorrow we go to the assault camp.  The guides of the 7 Summits Club: Alexe Abramov, Boris Egorov and Sveta Kotlyar.

The guide of the 7 Summits Club Alexander Dorojukov reports from Argentina:

Greetings from the group from Argentina "Tango for Cash"!  Today we moved to our base camp Plaza de Mulas. The walk took us 7 hours with all stops. The weather is gorgeous, everyone's condition is excellent. Now we are resting, gaining strength after a long walk. Guides Dmitry Semenov and Alexander Dorojukov.