2013 Mountain expedition calendar

This calendar continues the tradition of the last two years of sharing deep insights, personal inspiration and glorious nature beauty from high mountain expeditions carried out in 2012 to:
i. Aconcagua (6,962m), the highest summit in Americas, a part of the Andes mountain chain, located on the territory of Argentina. The expedition of 5 people from Romania and
Bulgaria (Alexandra Sandu, Stanimira Georgieva (Tania), Mihai Voicu, Emilian Croitoru and Stanislav Georgiev (Stan)) was held in the period 12 Feb – 4 Mar 2012.
ii. Elbrus (5,642m), the highest summit of Europe, a part of the Caucasus mountain chain, located on the territory of Russia. The expedition of 5 people from Romania and Bulgaria
(Nicu Corbescu, Lucian Negrut, Sorin Constantin, Calin Dinu and Stanislav Georgiev (Stan)) was held in the period 8 – 16 Aug 2012.
iii. Torres del Paine, allegedly one of the most breathtaking place in world, located in Chile and Patagonia close to the Andes mountain chain. The expedition of 2 Romanians (Dan
Bucsa and Ionut Cozma) was held in the period 12 Feb – 5 Mar 2012.
Aconcagua
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Aconcagua is the highest mountain in the Americas at 6,960.8 m (22,837.3 ft). It is located in the Andes mountain range, in the province of Mendoza,
Argentina, and lies 112 km west by north of its capital, the city of Mendoza. The summit is also located about 5 km from San Juan Province and 15 km from the
international border with Chile. Aconcagua is the highest peak in both the Western and Southern Hemispheres. It is one of the Seven Summits.
Aconcagua is bounded by the Valle de las Vacas to the north and east and the Valle de los
Horcones Inferior to the West and South. The mountain and its surroundings are part of
the Aconcagua Provincial Park. The mountain has a number of glaciers. The largest glacier
is the Ventisquero Horcones Inferior at about 10 km long, which descends from the south
face to about 3600 m altitude near the Confluencia camp. Two other large glacier systems
are the Ventisquero de
las Vacas Sur and Glaciar
E s t e / Ve n t i s q u e r o
Relinchos system at about
5 km long. However, the
most well-known is the
north-eastern or Polish
Glacier, a common route
of ascent.

The mountain was created by the subduction of the Nazca Plate beneath the South American plate during the geologically recent Andean orogeny; however,
it is not a volcano. The origin of the name is contested; it is either from the Arauca Aconca-Hue, which refers to the Aconcagua River and means “comes from
the other side”,[citation needed] the Quechua Ackon Cahuak, meaning “’Sentinel of Stone”,[citation needed] or Quechua Anco Cahuac, “White Sentine” or
the Aymara Janq’u Q’awa, “White Ravine”, “White Brook”.
The first attempt on Aconcagua by a European was made in 1883 by a party led by the German geologist and explorer Paul Güssfeldt. Bribing porters with the
story that there was treasure on the mountain, he approached the mountain via the Rio Volcan, making two attempts on the peak by the north-west ridge and
reaching an altitude of 6,500 metres (21,300 ft). The route that he prospected is now the normal route up the mountain.
The first recorded ascent was in 1897 on a British expedition led by Edward FitzGerald. The summit was reached by the Swiss guide Matthias Zurbriggen on
January 14 and by two other expedition members a few days later.
The youngest person to reach the summit of Aconcagua was Matthew Moniz of Boulder, Colorado. He was 10 years old when he reached the summit on
December 16, 2008. The oldest person to climb it was Scott Lewis who reached the summit on November 26, 2007 when he was 87 years old.
Elbrus
Mount Elbrus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mount Elbrus is a dormant volcano located in the western Caucasus
mountain range, in Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay–Cherkessia,
Russia, near the border of Georgia. Mt. Elbrus’s peak is the highest in
the Caucasus, in Russia. 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, or the
highest in western Asia, narrowly exceeding another volcano, Mount
Damavand in the Alborz range in Iran. Mt. Elbrus (west summit)
stands at 5,642 m ; the east summit is slightly lower at 5,621 m.
The name Elbrus is a metathesis of Alborz. The name Alborz is derived
from that of Hara Berezaiti, a legendary mountain in Iranian mythology. Hara Berezaiti is the feminine form of the adjective *bizant—”high”, the reconstructed
ancestor of modern Kurdish “barez” (high, tall) and modern Persian boland and Barz/Berazandeh.
Elbrus stands 20 km north of the main range of the Greater Caucasus and 65 km south-southwest of the Russian town of Kislovodsk. Its permanent icecap
feeds 22 glaciers, which in turn give rise to the Baksan, Kuban, and Malka Rivers.
Elbrus sits on a moving tectonic area, and has been linked to a fault. A supply of magma lies deep beneath the dormant volcano. The volcano is currently
considered inactive, as no eruptions have ever been recorded. Still Elbrus was active in the Holocene. According to the Global Volcanism Program the last
eruption took place between 0 and 100 AD. Evidence of recent volcanism includes several lava flows on the mountain, which look fresh, and roughly 260 square
km of volcanic debris. The longest flow extends 24 km down the northeast summit, indicative of a large eruption. There are still more various signs of activity
still present on the volcano, including solfataric activity and hot springs. The western summit has a well preserved volcanic crater about 250 m in diameter.
 Satellite picture of Mount Elbrus
The ancients knew the mountain as Strobilus, Latin for ‘pine cone’, a direct loan from the ancient Greek strobilos,
meaning ‘a twisted object’ – a long established botanical term that describes the shape of the volcano’s summit.
Myth held that here Zeus had chained Prometheus, the Titan who had stolen fire from the gods and given it to
ancient man – likely a reference to historic volcanic activity.
The lower of the two summits was first ascended on 10 July 1829 ( Julian calendar) by Khillar Khashirov, a
Kabardian (Circassian) guide for an Imperial Russian army scientific expedition led by General Emmanuel,
and the higher (by about 40 m—130 ft) in 1874 by an English expedition led by F. Crauford Grove and
including Frederick Gardner, Horace Walker, and Swiss climber Peter Knubel. During the early years of the
Soviet Union, mountaineering became a popular sport of the masses, and there was tremendous traffic on the
mountain. On 17 March 1936, a group of 33 inexperienced Komsomol members attempted the mountain, and
ended up suffering 4 fatalities when they slipped on the ice and fell to their deaths. The Wehrmacht occupied
the area surrounding the mountain from August 1942 to January 1943, during World War II, with 10,000 soldiers of a Gebirgsjäger (Mountain Troop) division.
A possibly apocryphal story tells of a Soviet pilot being given a medal for bombing the main mountaineering hut, Priyut 11, while it was occupied. He was then
later nominated for a medal for not hitting the hut, but instead the German fuel supply, leaving the hut standing for future generations. When news reached
Adolf Hitler that a detachment of mountaineers was sent by the general officer commanding the German division to climb to the summit of Elbrus and plant
the swastika flag at its top, he reportedly flew into a rage, called the achievement a “stunt” and threatened to court martial the general.
Torres del Paine National Park
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Torres del Paine (Spanish: Parque Nacional Torres del Paine)[2] is a national park encompassing mountains, a glacier, a lake, and river-rich areas in southern
Chilean Patagonia. The Cordillera del Paine is the centerpiece of the park. It lies in a transition area between the Magellanic
subpolar forests and the Patagonian Steppes. The park is located 112 km (70 mi) north of Puerto Natales and 312 km (194 mi)
north of Punta Arenas. Bernardo O’Higgins National Park is its neighbour to the west, while Los Glaciares National Park is
located to the north in Argentine territory
By Dan Bucsa and Ionut Cozma: 11 reasons why it is The Best Trek we have
ever done:
• the pink granite of Torres del Paine and Los Cuernos del Paine
• the unique and gorgeous Valle del Frances
• the greatness of Glacier Grey revealing itself in the windy Paso John
Gardner
• lakes in different colours, ranging from milky gray to yellow, green
and intense blue
• fantastic glacier views enjoyed in the absence of altitude sickness
• the childish marvel at dawns and sunsets changing the colours of
the mountains
• the purity of water, the rivers and the waterfalls
• the windswept Magellanic subpolar forest
• the guanacos, the foxes and the unforgettable Andean condors
• the laid back local hippies, the sense of a carefree community we belonged, if only for a week
If that is the end of the world, it’s worth walking towards it.
Aconcagua

Sometimes the peak is so close but a life far. I will come back, my brother. Stanislav Georgiev
 2013
1 January A meeting at Independencia ~6350m. The highest point - 6650m.

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

1
New Year
2
New Year
3 4 5 03:59:00
6
7 8 9 10 11 19:44:41
12 13
14 15 16 17 18 23:46:11
19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 04:39:38

28 29 30 31

An alternative reality.
Aconcagua

Sky is the limit. Mihai Voicu

 2013
2 February Plaza Canada over Plaza de Mulas. Sun rise over Aconcagua.

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

1 2 3 13:57:30

4 5 6 7 8 9 10 07:21:14

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 20:31:44

18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 20:27:19
26 27 28

Result of a very hard day. Join me in happyness.

Valle del Frances, Torres del Paine, Patagonia, Chile. Ionut Bogdan Cozma and Dan Bucsa
 2013
3 March
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

1 2 3
4 21:53:55
5 6 7 8 9 10
11 19:52:09
12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 17:27:49
20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 09:28:28
28 29 30 31
Catholic Easter
Aconcagua

People do not decide to become extraordinary. They decide to accomplish extraordinary things.
Edmund Hillary Stanimira Georgieva
 2013
4 April
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

1
Catholic Easter
2 3 04:37:40
4 5 6 7
8 9 10 09:36:30
11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 12:32:12
19 20 21
22 23 24 25 19:58:14
26 27 28
29 30
Aconcagua

It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.

Edmund Hillary Alexandra Sandu
 2013
5 May
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

1
Labor Day
2 11:15:16
3 4 5
Orthodox Easter

6
Orthodox Easter
7 8 9 10 00:29:40
11 12
13 14 15 16 17 18 04:35:49
19
20 21 22 23 24 25 04:26:02
26
27 28 29 30 31 18:59:14
Aconcagua

The greatest danger for most of us is not that we aim too high and fail, but that we aim
too low and succeed.
Michelangelo. Dan Emilian Croitoru
 2013
6 June
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 15:57:37
9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17:25:01

17 18 19 20 21 22 23
Rusalii 11:33:20

24
Rusalii
25 26 27 28 29 30 04:54:42
An image that impressed me on Elbrus and made me feel the magic of this mountain was when leaving
early in the night for the summit day, the head lamps of the people climbing the dark slopes created a
light trail that got lost in the stars above. It was almost like crossing to the kingdom of gods. Reaching
the summit and looking at the clouds below felt like this might not have been far from the truth. Sorin Constantin
 2013
7 July
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 07:15:33
9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 03:19:35
17 18 19 20 21
22 18:16:37
23 24 25 26 27 28
29 17:44:34
30 31
Elbrus

Nicu Corbescu
 2013
8 August
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

1 2 3 4
5 6 21:51:57
7 8 9 10 11
12 13 14 10:57:12
15
Assomption
16 17 18
19 20 21 01:45:43
22 23 24 25
26 27 28 09:36:12
29 30 31
Elbrus
 2013
9 September Panorama from the top - Elbrus.

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

1
2 3 4 5 11:37:23
6 7 8
9 10 11 12 17:09:36
13 14 15
16 17 18 19 11:13:57
20 21 22
23 24 25 26 27 03:56:45
28 29
30
Elbrus

Lucian Negrut
 2013
10 Octomber
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

1 2 3 4 5 00:35:44
6
7 8 9 10 11 23:03:29
12 13
14 15 16 17 18 23:38:46
19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 23:41:44
27
28 29 30 31
Elbrus

The peak - so close by eye, but so far by foot. Calin Dinu

 2013
11 November The path to the waterfall.

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

1 2 3 12:51:07

4 5 6 7 8 9 10 05:58:17

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 15:16:53

18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 19:29:00
26 27 28 29 30
St Andrei

So naive.
Elbrus

Pain, hardship and near desperation are the inevitable price for the honor to perch on the top
and soak the glory of the creation. Stanislav Georgiev
 2013
12 December Stan and Elbrus.

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

1
National Day

2 3 00:23:30
4 5 6 7 8
9 15:12:56
10 11 12 13 14 15
16 17 09:29:17
18 19 20 21 22
23 24 25
Christmas 13:49:01
26
Christmas
27 28 29
30 31
Aconcagua - meeting those who were there. Elbrus - The 4 friends On the top Elbrus The beatiful peak Elbrus
Desert beauty - Argentina Alexandra Sandu - Aconcagua 2012 Aconcagua - ’Fire’ in the sky Aconcagua 2012 - The Team of 5
Stanislav Georgiev
Nido de Condorez 5400m, Andes Elbrus 2012 Tores del Paine, Chilean Patagonia Above Plaza de Mullas 4300m - Aconcagua 2012
The pictures used in this calendar are made by the climbers or taken from Wikipedia.
All the proceeds from the sale of this calendar are donated to “Prietenia” Association for the completion of the building of a
bakery social enterprise supporting a center for mentally disabled adults in Pantelimon, Bucharest Romania www.prietenia.org.
The accounts and payment data for donation are:
Asociatia Prietenia , CF 8724211;
Address: Localitatea Pantelimon, Str. Sf. Gheorghe nr. 46, Jud. Ilfov, Romania.
IBAN RON: RO81BACX0000000544756000 UniCredit Tiriac Bank
IBAN EURO: RO54BACX0000000544756001 UniCredit Tiriac Bank
www.prietenia.org www.dacris.net