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22.07.2004: The REP-team have summited Amin Brakk; Rozov successfuly base jumped from 5550 m At the Summit   22.07.04 Congratulations to Arkady Seregin, Alexander Lastochkin, Serguey Kovaljov and Valery Rozov - they've summited Amin Brakk July, 19. Valery Rozov successfuly base jumped from the wall from 5550 m - July, 21. 16.07.04 Yesterday we worked the first day after taking off and made two pitches, including a series of cornices with maximal broad side about seven meters. Most likely it is a crux of the route. The very bad weather holds. It is constantly snowing and the present forecast promises only weather's deterioration. We have got again the broken generator below in the base camp. Dmitry Lifanov's trying to do something with it and sent one of the sherpas for spares, but he will return only in two - three days. Today on July 14 the team with its full complement works on the wall. All of us are safe and sound and almost healthy. All our greetings to you! 12.07.04 After short rest in the base camp our team finally took off the foot of the mountain and now all the participants of the expedition spend the night on three portaledges, fixed on a vertical wall. Weather constantly varies. Snow and fog prevail, therefore visibility is bad and snow fills microrelief, that makes further climbing very difficult. 13.07.2004 We lead the route via "Czech crack". We will see where to head further. Some variants are possible. 11.07.04 Just last time we wrote about the good weather but in the same evening it deteriorated. Last two days on July 9 and 10 it was practically continuously raining, sometime sleetting, and it became rather cold. It became practically impossible to work on the route because of continuous snow streams along the wall. Nevertheless working above two-man team Lastochkin-Kovalev and Seregin-Lifanov-Dorfman, that climbed from below, tried to make anything to haul gear to the upper pitches. On July 9 a strong rockfall collapsed right along the route line and the fixed rope was broken in several places. We spent half of the next day to restore it and then descended having become wet and cold. Today on July 11 we at last gathered all together in the base camp again. We decided to have a rest and to take off tomorrow. The forecast seems to promise the weather to improve a bit. Rozov feels better though he is not completely recovered yet. But we have no time to sit below. We've got more than 800 meters of the vertical wall ahead. For today we made 12 pitches (the top site is in the photo). Five of us are going to make a summit push (Rozov, Seregin, Kovalev, Lastochkin, Dorfman), Dmitry Lifanov will stay below for communication and for shooting a B.A.S.E.-jump. We wish to embrace and kiss all intimates and our beloved and send them our greetings! 8.07.04 Man proposes and God disposes. Our planned taking off for today failed. Rozov fell ill and got a sore throat and high temperature. Probably he should descend to the base camp. A two-man team Lastochkin-Kovalev works above. For two days they managed to make one pitch on a very poor relief. The cracks that look not bad appear deaf and do not help to climb on the practically smooth wall. Tomorrow Seregin-Lifanov leave upward. We will continue to fix the rope using all available ropes. The further plans depend on condition of the participants. We hope that the delay will be short. Weather is adjusted again. Translation by www.mountain.ru

03.07.2004: Russian Extreme Project: the last news A. Lastochkin   Valery Rozov’s messages were delivered with the satellite phone provided by BASK: 4.07.04 Today, on july,4 the weather is depressing and the weather forecast for the following 2-3 days is unfourable. The route is getting not only more difficult but more dangerous. Just after sun appears - the ice and stones start falling. The sense as being under the bombardmen. The problem is that it's impossible to get another (safer) direction - there are "naked" wall on the right and on the left. We set our hopes that upper the natural feature will be richer. For the moment we have done 9 and half pitches. Yesterday Sereguin-Rozov lead. Dorfman and Lifanov were busy with food carry. 2.07.04 Hi, everybody! We managed to make two pitches more today. We already work on the basic wall. The surface while allows to move upwards without bolting. In total we have got eight pitches made and a portaledge fixed at the fifth pitch that allows the advanced two-man team to spend the night already on the route not spending the time in the morning for approaching and ascending the route beginning. We plan to make four pitches more and try to prepare a B.A.S.E.-jump right away from the portaledge as there aren't any ledges on the basic wall in principle. While the weather favors, we want to reach as high altitude as it is possible to do, and only then to haul all the gear and food. Translation by www.mountain.ru

01.07.2004: Amin Brakk wall : "the bottom part starts to be badly fired after afternoon by ice and stones crashing down. Alexander Lastochkin   Valery Rozov’s messages were delivered with the satellite phone provided by BASK: 1.07.04 We continue fixing the bottom part of the wall. Weather has become settled and began to remind almost summertime, at least in the afternoon. Yesterday we made two pitches, but today could do only one. Steepness of the bottom part of the wall is about 70 degrees. But the rocks are ice-covered, and their structure reminds "mutton foreheads", that means it is required a tension insecure mixed climbing on poorly adhered ice with hard-won rock gear for protection. One more unpleasant surprise we have got - the bottom part starts to be badly fired after afternoon by ice and stones crashing down. Yesterday a small avalanche covered working tree-man team: Lastochkin, Kovalev and Dorfman. All of them are safe and sound, but it scared them stiff! Avalanches collapse from the roof and a bend place, where the wall is vertically directed downwards, avalanches seems to jump out in the air, and this wave of snow flies, actually not touching the wall, directly on you. At least, from below it is difficult to estimate either it get right away on you or pass by. And it happens in such way some times a day. We even named these small avalanches - "White dragon". In 1-2 pitches the wall becomes vertical or even a little hanging, and we hope, that bombardment will go past. But for now our work on the wall becomes very dangerous after afternoon, and we have to stop fixing the wall and descend. The nearest two days we plan to continue fixing the rope and lead the route, and also to haul gear and some food upwards. Our greetings to everybody! Translation by www.mountain.ru

29.06.2004: Valery Rozov’s: "we, at last, started to work on the route!!!" Arcady Seregin   Valery Rozov’s messages were delivered with the satellite phone provided by BASK: 29.06.04 Hi, everybody! We have got two significant events today. The first one is Arcady Seregin's (in the photo) birthday. With all our heart we congratulate him and wish to live in clover and to visit mountains. I'm going to finish the message and to run back to continue our celebration. And the second event - we, at last, started to work on the route!!! Yesterday we managed to make route reco and to choose the route. It is the first day of normal weather today, and we at once began fixing the rope after a lot of infinite conversations how and where to climb. Finally we chose the west face for our ascent (in the photo). In our opinion, there is no logical route from bottom site up to the summit via the northern face. Any possible variant means a huge bolt work especially in the bottom third of the wall. Plus, in its average part the wall is less abrupt, that basically calls opportunity of B.A.S.E. jump into question. We plan to lay a new line between Spanish and Czech routes on the west face. Upper two thirds sites looks logically enough, the bottom third (that is typical for all the mountain) has extremely poor surface not readable from below. Today we could made 3,5 pitches via the bottom belt of not so abrupt, but ice-covered rocks. We hauled up the gear and got organized to lead further. The wall seems to be not such terrible any more if to stand near by. But its sizes and extremely poor relief are simply amazing! We are in excellent mood and healthy. Well, I have to finish and our celebration is waiting for me... 28.06.04 There is bad weather in mountains, bad weather... Yesterday all the day long we stayed in the camp, the snow did not stop falling for a minute. Today since the morning we had a trip under the wall aimed to haul the rests of the gear, to try to fix some ropes on ice and to make out local rocks. On distance the bottom part of the wall looks a continuous monolith, without cracks as far as eye can see. But a snow-storm started again and did not allow us to look close the wall, and we had to go back with nothing for our pains. The abnormal bad weather of the last five days still does not allow us not only to begin fixing the wall, but also to be defined with our route. The good thing: a generator is repaired, but we don't know how long time it will work: when working it sounds suspiciously. A correspondent and an operator of NTV, Denis and Andrey, stay here and today they finally managed to put on the air via the videophone the real picture and sound directly to Moscow. The guys speak that nobody has managed to do that in such conditions before. All of us are healthy. Valery. Translation by www.mountain.ru

22.06.2004: R.E.P. expedition: "After two day trekking along a very beautiful valley we reached the base camp" The Base Camp   Hi, everybody! After two day trekking along a very beautiful, narrow valley finally we reached the base camp. Wherever one looks there are huge rocky walls, but no one of them does not have a simple route of ascent. So it seems I won't be able to B.A.S.E.-jump before our ascent. Distance up to the base camp is not such long, but the way presents constantly steeply elevation ascent. The weather is bad. All the day long with small breaks it is raining and it's rather cold. Locals speak that the real summer has not come yet. The base camp is settled on a moraine of the glacier, which is going down with the upper valley. Amin Brakk towers direct in front of us (it's in the background of the photo). It is approximately 1,5 - 2 hours of trekking up to the beginning of the route: we have to go down from the moraine and to cross the glacier. Let's see tomorrow as it will appear. All of us are healthy. Valery. Translation by www.mountain.ru

17.06.2004: The first news from REP expeditions Valery Rozov’s messages were delivered with the satellite phone provided by BASK: 21.06.04 Our greetings to everybody! 6 hour-way to Kande that we had expected really took the whole 12! The road site of 30 meters was completely washed away by a mud flow suddenly rushed down in the morning. Instead of the road we saw a boiling dirty stream. The thought about any travel further on jeeps in really foreseeable terms could not be discussed. Somehow we could get over the stream and organized a rope ferrying of the luggage and ourselves. Fortunately in Kande we managed to hire a car that met us on the other side and at some go we together with our luggage were delivered to our destination. Kande is a small village that is located in the upper of the same gorge. It was raining a half of the day, but by the evening it was cleared up, and we were astounded at the tremendous view of Masherbrum. We have two days of trekking up to the base camp ahead. There is a huge crowd of the porters wishing to get tomorrow work already clustered before our small house where we have lodged. Since the morning we are going to pack our luggage and move forward. Valery. 16.06.04 Our greetings to everybody! We are in Islamabad. It's very hot there. We managed to solve the question about our luggage marvellously quickly, painless and not so expensive. So we have got all of the luggade and tomorrow morning we leave to Skarda. All the day long we bought need food, a generator, gas and other important things. All of us are healthy, everything is OK, except for the heat of 37 degrees. On June, 15 "Russian Extreme Project" team departs from airport "Domodedovo" to Islamabad. Let's wish the REP Team good luck! Translation by www.mountain.ru

17.06.2004: Mt. Amin Brakk (5850m), West face, Russian Extreme Project expeditions The Mountain Amin Brakk (5850m) is situated in inaccessible Pakistan Mountains that present real climbing Mecca. It is one of the most complex and extended walls of our planet. It is harder then Trango Tower. Amin Brakk was first attempted in May 1996 by the Basque climbers and got attraction of rock climber back in 1997. The very experienced Spanish big wall climber, Jon Lazkano, together with Adolfo Madinabeitia and Jose Carlos Tamayo made a capsule style attempt on the 1,200m granite face of unclimbed Amin Brakk. After 15 days on the wall the trio were forced to give up around 300m below the top, worn down by bad weather, cold temperatures that caused minor frosting, and lack of food. They estimated another three to four days of good climbable weather would be needed in order to reach the summit. Spanish made several attempts until 1999 Pep Masip, Miguel Puigdomenech and Silvia Vidal climbed this virgin Tower and named their route as Sol Solet (VII 6C+, A5). The ascent took 34 days. The route has a technically complex part of 1650m in length and 22 pitch A5 and 6c+ (vertical!) and is considered as the most technically complex wall in the world for the present moment. Extent of sites À5-graded (the greatest possible category of complexity) makes 150 meters (!) at the altitude about 6000 m. Lack of snow on this very abrupt wall causes additional complexities, and the climbers have to haul up water. The Russians have never tried to climb this formidable mountain. Moreover nobody has jumped from its top and realised similar projects! The team is going to lead and develop the new extreme sports of "B.A.S.E.-climbing". You will be able to follow the expedition reading on-line reportings (news, photos). Translation by www.mountain.ru