I am able to report that as of 29 November 2024, two more have complete the Volcanic Seven Summits. They are Ryszard Pawlowski and Tomasz Bryl, both Poles, who summited Ojos del Salado at approximately 13:00 local time in clear but very cold and windy conditions. Also in the party was Russian, Vitaly Lazo.
They had left the Tejos refuge at around midnight and the summit day for them was around 20 hours. Sounds pretty epic, and brutal. Tomasz Bryl told me that many parties either turned or aborted their attempts that day.
However, they were an experienced team.
Ryszard Pawlowski becomes the oldest person to complete the Volcanic Seven Summits. At 74 he is three years older than Ted Fairhurst who completed in 2018 (also on Ojos del Salado), though Ted Fairhurst remains the oldest to o have completed both the Seven Summits and the Volcanic Seven Summits. Ryszard Pawlowski is a significant figure in mountaineering circles. He has also scaled ten of the 8000m peaks, including Everest five times. He has climbed with Himalayan greats including Jerzy Kukuczka, Piotr Pustelnik, Janusz Majer and Krzysztof Wielicki.
Tomasz Bryl, who tells me that he and Ryszard Pawlowski climbed five of the volcanoes together, started his quest on Elbrus in 2017. The two of them are the first Poles to complete the challenge.
Vitaly Lazo also has a fine Himalayan pedigree. He has made ski descents of four 8000m peaks without the use of bottled oxygen. And he makes films about his exploits – Death Zone FreeRide . He has also completed the Snow Leopard challenge.
The updated list of Volcanic 7 Summits claimants is below. We can expect at least two more on Mount Sidley this coming season.
| Climber, nationality and age at completion | Further information | Date of Final Summit | Final summit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mario Trimeri (Italy) (58) | 1. | Mario Trimeri’s website is here. | 24th January 2011 | Mount Sidley |
| Crina “Coco” Popescu (Romania) (16) | Further detail on this page. | 24th January 2011 | Mount Sidley | |
| Viacheslav Adrov (Russia) (52) | 3. | I do not know much about this climber. He has also visited both Poles and climbed 11 of the top 50 mountains of the world by prominence. | 18th January 2013 | Mount Sidley |
| Alexander Abramov (Russia) (47) | 4. | Alexander Abramov is an accomplished mountaineer and guide and proprietor of 7 Summits Club. | 13th September 2013 | Mount Giluwe |
| Olga Rumyantseva (Russia) (36) | 5. | Olga Rumyantseva is a guide with 7 Summits Club. She was sponsored for the V7S by Kaspersky. There is an article here. | 9th December 2013 | Ojos del Salado |
| Vitaliy Simonovic (Russia) (42) | 6. | Claims to be the first person to do the Seven Summits, the V7S and the two Poles. | 19th December 2013 | Ojos del Salado |
| François Bernard (France) (49) | 7. | Guide on the one and only private ALE trip to Mount Sidley. | 17th January 2014 | Mount Sidley |
| Sophie Cairns (UK) (32) | 8. | Sophie Cairns’ description of her Ojos ascent is here | 10th June 2014 | Elbrus |
| Paul Nicholson (Canada) (54) | 9. | There is a press report of Paul Nicholson’s feat here. | 5th December 2014 | Ojos del Salado |
| Liana Chabdarova (Russia) (32) | 10. | I do not have much information on this climber. She has climbed six of the Seven Summits (Everest missing). | 12th January 2015 | Ojos del Salado |
| Andrey Filkov (Russia) (49) | 11. | I do not have much information on this climber. He has completed the Bass version of the Seven Summits. | 16th September 2015 | Damavand |
| James Stone (UK/Australia) (59) | 12. | 14th January 2017 | Mount Sidley | |
| Daniel Bull (Australia) (36) | 13. | Daniel Bull has a website here. Formerly in the IT industry, he now focuses on motivational speaking. Previously the youngest person to have completed the Seven Summits and V7S combination until Satyarup SIddhanta took this crown from him. | 27th April 2017 | Ojos del Salado |
| Katie Sarah (Australia) (49) | 14. | Katie Sarah has completed the Bass version of the Seven Summits and skied the Last Degree to the South Pole. She intends to ski the Last Degree to the North Pole but has so far been frustrated by war (see here) and Covid. | 14th January 2018 | Mount Sidley |
| David Hamilton (UK) (56) | 15. | David Hamilton is a respected UK guide with multiple Everest summits normally working for Jagged Globe. He has his own website here. | 10th February 2018 | Ojos del Salado |
| Theodore (Ted) Fairhurst (Canada) (71) | 16. | Oldest completer of both the Seven Summits and the V7S with a website here | 9th December 2018 | Ojos del Salado |
| Vladislav Lachkaryev (Russia) (42) | 17. | I do not know much about this climber other than he has completed both the Seven Summits and the V7S. | 15th January 2019 | Mount Sidley |
| Satyarup Siddhanta (India) (35) | Currently the youngest person to have completed by the Seven Summits (Carstensz and Kossie versions) and the V7S. He has a website here. Satya was unwittingly the subject of a fraudulent Everest summit claim. Like Katie Sarah he is also awaiting the opportunity to undertake the North Pole Last Degree. | 15th January 2019 | Mount Sidley | |
| Sándor (Sanya) Tóth (Hungary) (41) | This article comments on this climber’s claim vis-a-vis Ojos del Salado. I have written to this climber to provide the opportunity to comment but I have not received a response. | 15th January 2019 | Mount Sidley | |
| Vaughan de la Harpe (South Africa) (63) | 20. | Also completed the Explorer’s Grand Slam. | 18th January 2020 | Mount Sidley |
| Arthur Marsden (South Africa) (58) | Also completed the Explorer’s Grand Slam. | 18th January 2020 | Mount Sidley | |
| Oleg Mezentsev (Russia) (39) | 18th January 2020 | Mount Sidley | ||
| David Roskelley (USA) (51) | Dave Roskelley is an accomplished mountaineer, having also completed the Seven Summits. His website is here. | 18th January 2020 | Mount Sidley | |
| Yousef Al Refaie (Kuwait) (24) | 24. | This climber has a website here. He is recorded in Guinness World Records as the youngest completer of the V7S (male). | 22nd December 2021 | Mount Sidley |
| Jarryd Commerford (USA/UK/Ireland) (35) | 25. | 9th January 2022 | Ojos del Salado | |
| Robbi Malandreniotis (UK) (44) | 9th January 2022 | Ojos del Salado | ||
| Delia Zanoschi (Romania) (33) | 27 | Completed the Bass version of the Seven Summits and the V7S with her twin sister. They have a website here | 29th May 2022 | Damavand |
| Iulia Zanoschi (Romania) (33) | Completed the Bass version of the Seven Summits and the V7S with her twin sister. They have a website here | 29th May 2022 | Damavand | |
| Fahd Abu Aisha (Egypt, of Palestinian heritage) (32) | 29 | A real estate practitioner currently based in London but with interests in the Middle East. | 13th September 2022 | Mount Giluwe |
| James Allen (Australia/NZ/UK) (49) | 30 | A Seven Summiter and adventurer with a website (largely behind a paywall) here | 21st September 2022 | Mount Giluwe |
| Adrian Ahritculesei (Romania) (38) | 31 | Adrian Ahritculesei has an Instagram account here. | 17th January 2023 | Mount Sidley |
| Marie-Pier Desharnais (Canada) (37) | Marie-Pier Desharnais has climbed both Everest and K2. She has a website here. | 17th January 2023 | Mount Sidley | |
| Robert Gropel (Australia) (40) | Robert Gropel has a website here. Another Seven Summiter, he promotes a vegan lifestyle. He suggests that he is the first vegan to complete the Seven Summits, though this is contradicted in the Wikipedia page for Atanas Skatov | 17th January 2023 | Mount Sidley | |
| Thierry Dewambrechies (France) (44) | 34 | Based in Zürich. A Network Development and Training Director in the automotive industry. | 18th January 2023 | Mount Sidley |
| Nilavishek Mukherjee (India) (33) | Based in Cologne. A Business Application Manager & Project Manager at Toyota Kreditbank GmbH. | 18th January 2023 | Mount Sidley | |
| Vambola Sipelgas (Estonia) (69) | 18th January 2023 | Mount Sidley | ||
| Jaime Viñals (Guatemala) (61) | Jaime Viñals has a website here. He has completed the Seven Summits (both versions), the V7S and the high points of each of the seven largest islands in the world. | 18th January 2023 | Mount Sidley | |
| Stephan Jesinghaus (Germany) (41) | 38 | Stephan Jesinghaus has an Instagram account here. | 1st February 2023 | Ojos del Salado |
| Caroline Leon (Australia) (38) | 39 | Caroline Leon has an Instagram account here | 28th June 2023 | Elbrus |
| Evgenii Federov (Russia) (51) | 40 | I have no information on this climber | 4th January 2024 | Mount Sidley |
| Ludmila Korobeshko (Russia) (49) | Ludmila Korobeshko is a guide with 7 Summits Club and has an Instagram account here. | 4th January 2024 | Mount Sidley | |
| Oleg Pipkov (Russia) (54) | I have no information on this climber | 4th January 2024 | Mount Sidley | |
| Nikolay Tomchak (Russia) (45) | Nikolay Tomchak has an Instagram account here. | 4th January 2024 | Mount Sidley | |
| Marius Purice (Romania) (45) | 44 | Details of some of Marius Purice’s climbs are here. | 17th January 2024 | Mount Sidley |
| Sergey Vasiliev (Russia) (50) | 45 | I have no information on this climber | 26th January 2024 | Ojos del Salado |
| Andrey Kravchenko (Russia) (51) | 46 | Andrey Kravchenko has an Instagram account here. | 15th May 2024 | Mount Giluwe |
| Tomasz Bryl (Poland) (41) | 47 | Tomasz Bryl has an Instagram aacount here. | 29 November 2024 | Ojos del Salado |
| Ryszard Pawlowski (Poland) (74) | Ryszard Pawlowski has a Wikipedia page here. He has climbed ten of the world’s 8000m peaks and is the oldest person to complete the V7S. | 29 November 2024 | Ojos del Salado |
My main Volcanic Seven Summits page is here.
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