Many have probably heard of the Seven Summits program, which involves mountaineering ascents to the main, highest mountains on all seven continents.
Did you know that the highest mountains of volcanic origin are located on all seven continents: Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America, Australia, and Antarctica, are creating of great interest to the world's climbers and avid travelers in general?
Only real volcanoes are taken into account, those that are actually lava eruption centers with characteristic depressions on the tops of mountains - craters (saddles), and at least 300-meter high elevations (frozen lava) around them.
The idea came just a few years ago from an American of Indian origin, A. Andalkar. He studied the geological peculiarities of all the continents of the planet, did scrupulous research, made a list of volcanoes he was looking for and published it on his website. The rest - "a matter of technology": the idea was picked up by Italian mountaineer Mario Trimeri. The mountaineer is considered to be the first person in the world who has completed the "7 Volcanoes" program. It happened in 2011. Note that he also managed to visit the seven major peaks of the world.
Here is the list of those who climbed the seven peaks and volcanoes also: the youngest 35-year-old climber Hindu Satyarup Siddhanta (2019) and the "oldest" 71-year-old Canadian Theodore Fairhurst.
A little about the volcanic mountain climbs themselves. Volcanoes with more or less gentle slopes do not require any special physical and technical training, so any adventurous and adrenaline-loving person can try to climb them. There is only one "hitch": one of the volcanic peaks is located in, difficult for the average citizen in terms of logistics and money, Antarctica. But, as the saying goes, it takes a will, and the opportunities are sure to be found!
So, briefly about volcanic peaks.
The program includes the following seven peaks, starting with the highest:
South America's active, last awakened at the end of the last century, stratovolcano Ojos del Salado (Ojos del Salado, "Source of the Salt River"), is the highest on the planet. The peak is located in the Andes mountain system, between Chilean, Argentine, Peruvian territories. The first climbers were Polish mountaineers J. Wojsznis and J. A. Szczepanski, who visited the peak in 1937.
It must be said that volcanoes are mountain formations very unstable, unstable, in perpetual motion, so they can at any time change the whole modern geological picture. Even now, the debate about the highest volcano does not cease. The competitors of Ochos are very beautiful peaks: El Misti and Coropuna in Peru, Monte Pissis in Argentina, as well as volcanoes of Patagonia.
There are two routes to the top of Ojos del Salado: the "Argentinian" and the "Chilean" ones. The most popular route is the one that begins in Chile. At the foot of the mountain the "volcano-climbers" are taken in jeeps. The road passes through the unaccustomed to us, and therefore very attractive, desert landscape of the Atacama. At the volcano itself there is the highest on earth (6390 meters above sea level), the lake of the same name, and built tourist shelters Andino and Tees.
The best time to climb Ojos del Salado is from December, when summer begins in Chile. The trip is characterized by: strong, gusty winds, frost, and, of course, all the unpleasant signs of mountain sickness. Therefore, acclimatization radial climbs to nearby mountains are a must.
The highest point of Africa is Mount Kilimanjaro (aka Stratovolcano), located on the territory of the national park of the same name, and consists of three peaks: Uhuru, Mawenzi and Shira. The first to climb the mountain were the German Hans Meyer and the Austrian Ludwig Pourtscheller (an ascent made in 1889). Features of the ascent:
Go to one of the most beautiful mountains in the world, sparkling with a glacial cap, and at the same time take part in a safari and stop by the island of Zanzibar to swim in the Indian Ocean, you can in the Kuluar program
The mainland of North America, in the Cordilleras and Andes, has a huge number of volcanic massifs. But the highest stratovolcano located in Mexico is Orizaba, the highest point in the country. The first people to stand on top of the mountain in 1848 were Americans Maynard and Reynolds.
Orisaba volcano has a regular pyramidal shape and is not difficult for novice climbers. It is an interesting and varied route through forests, alpine meadows, and steep snow or ice-covered slopes. After climbing Orisaba, it is worth seeing the ancient Aztec and Mayan monuments.
Next is Asia, and the highest volcanic mountain-stratovolcano Damavand, which is shaped like a regular pyramid, and is located in Iran, in the Elburz Mountains. There are nine routes of varying difficulty, duration, special training and special equipment requirements to get to the top. It is not easy to breathe on the peak - the air is saturated with sulfuric vapors of volcanic origin. In addition, of course, the height and often unpredictable natural phenomena (sharp temperature jumps, winds) have an impact.
Climbing Demavend gives not only a real mountaineering adventure, but also an introduction to the oriental exotic.
The European territory is full of volcanoes. From our school days, we know:
But the highest volcano in Europe is the two-headed beauty of the pyramidal Elbrus volcano, located in the Russian Caucasus. The first climbers of the mountain are: Kilar Khashirov from Kabardino-Balkaria - to the Eastern peak (5621 meters), 1829, the British F. Grove and A. Sottaev - to the Western (5642 meters), 1874, Pastukhov - both peaks.
The way to the mountain is in the highlands on one of the ten routes. A huge number of tourists annually pass the gentle snow and ice slopes of the majestic and very treacherous mountain. The unpredictability of the weather, wind, cold, fog, and mountain sickness are the dangers that all mountaineers need to consider.
On the Green Continent, as well as in Oceania, the highest mountain of volcanic origin is recognized as Giluwe. The location of the volcano is the island of New Guinea. The first human foot stepped on the two peaks of Giluwe in 1934. It was the Australians, brothers Mick and Dan Leahy.
The peculiarities of the ascent on the Giluwa:
If you like exotic adventure, head to the green continent at the foot of the Giluwe, and on to the very peak!
Here we get to the southern mainland, Antarctica, where the famous smoking volcano Erebus is the second highest, after the extinct Mount Sidley. A volcanic mountain with a five-kilometer diameter crater and 1200-meter walls around it, the peak is located in the mountain range of Mary Bird Land, which stretches along the coast of the Southern Ocean. The first climbers on the Sidley are officially recognized A. Abramov, M. Trimeri, C. Popescu, Sk. Woolams. The ascent took place in 2011. The way to the top sleeping under the ice is not complicated, because the slopes are gentle and easily accessible to hikers and skiers.
Friends, join us, collect volcanoes!
Kuluar - your life-changing mountain experience!