• Vinson Massif (16,050 ft / 4,892m) – Antarctica

    Summited on January 18, 2013

    Mount Vinson is the highest mountain in Antarctica, the highest, driest, windiest and coldest continent on earth.

  • Aconcagua (22,841 ft / 6,962 m) – South America

    Summited on December 12, 2012

    Aconcagua is the highest mountain in the Americas and the highest peak in both the Western and Southern Hemispheres. It is located in the Andes mountain range, in the province of Mendoza, Argentina and near the international border with Chile.

  • Mount Kosciuszko (7,310 ft / 2,228 m) – Australia

    Summited on October 31, 2012

    Mount Kosciuszko is a mountain located in the Snowy Mountains in Kosciuszko National Park. With a height of 2,228 metres above sea level, it is the highest mountain in Australia.

  • Carstensz Pyramid (16,024 ft / 4,884 m) – Oceania

    Summited on October 23, 2012

    Carstensz Pyramid, also known as Puncak Jaya, is the highest mountain in the Australasian continent and the lowest of the Seven Summits, but it is also the most technical and difficult to get to.

  • Kilimanjaro (19,341 ft / 5,895 m) – Africa

    Summited on July 31, 2012

    Kilimanjaro is a dormant volcanic mountain in Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain in the world at 5,895 metres or 19,341 feet above sea level.

  • Elbrus (18,510 ft / 5,642 m) – Europe

    Summited on July 17, 2012

    Mount Elbrus is a dormant volcano located in the western Caucasus mountain range in Russia and the highest mountain in Europe. While there are differing authorities on how the Caucasus are distributed between Europe and Asia, many sources agree that Elbrus is also the highest mountain in all of Europe.

Kilimanjaro Day 5: Karanga Camp

In contrast to yesterday’s long day, today’s ascent to Karanga Camp was our shortest day of the expedition. Shortly after breakfast, we broke camp and headed up the Barranco Wall. The climb was very interesting and far different from our earlier hikes. It was a mixture of Rock Climbing, Scrambling, and weaving our way in and out […]

Kilimanjaro Day 4: Lava Tower & Barranco Camp

As has become customary on every morning our trip, the 6:30 AM wake-up call consisted of two of the cooks knocking on our tent and greeting us with an in-tent service choice of coffee, tea or hot cocoa. After the warm drinks, we packed up our equipment in the duffle/boundary bags, readied our Daily backpack […]

Kilimanjaro Day 3: Shira Camp

We left the Machame Camp early this morning and headed across the mountain to Shira Camp. On our way, the landscape dramatically changed from the heath forest to moor lands littered with two species of giant groundsel, Senecios and Lobelia. As we continued to ascend to the Shira plateau, we crossed a little valley while walking […]

Kilimanjaro Day 2: Machame Camp

Today was one of the longest days of the trip. We got up at 6:00 A.M. and after an early breakfast we traveled by Land Cruiser from our Arusha hotel for about two hours to the Machame Gate located at the southern base of the mountain and the entrance to Kilimanjaro National Park. It is […]

Kilimanjaro Day 1: Pole Pole!

After an early wake-up call (on only 5-hours sleep), headed down to the hotel restaurant to meet our Kilimanjaro Team and guides. After a sumptuous breakfast buffet, we gathered around in one of the large ballrooms for a detailed orientation and gear check. We have a team of 15 members with ages ranging from 16 and all […]

Kilimanjaro Day 0: From Russia to Tanzania!

Having just completed the Mt. Elbrus expedition and a relaxing day sightseeing the beautiful city of Moscow, it was time to embark on the next expedition to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest peak on the African continent. The journey from Moscow to Arusha, Tanzania was a long and frustrating one due to several flight delays […]

Elbrus Summit Celebrations!!!

The Mountain Czars on the Summit of Mt. Elbrus, the roof of Europe!    

Elbrus Day 9 – Tuesday July 17, 2012

We awoke bright and early at 2:00 AM this morning to the sound of “reveille” via harmonica loudly performed by our esteemed expedition leader Vern Tejas. After a quick breakfast full of carbohydrates, we strapped on our crampons, switched on our head-lamps and began the long journey to the Summit in the cold icy darkness […]

Elbrus Day 8 – Monday July 16, 2012

We started this morning with some review of crevasse rescue and then lightly hiked to a very steep and rocky slope to practice the all important self arrest techniques. It was a fun morning as we launched our bodies down the slope in each possible way: forward, backwards, head first, and simulating falling unexpectedly. Everyone […]

Elbrus Day 7 – Sunday July 15, 2012

As our fearless leader would say: hello there friends, family and loved ones!!! After getting settled in our huts yesterday, we gobbled a big breakfast to provide us with enough energy and fuel for the day ahead. Under clear blue skies, we departed from our high camp and climbed up to 15,000ft/4572m just above an […]