Italians Tamara Lunger and Simone Moro have completed the first winter ascent of Gora Pobeda (Pik Pobeda), the highest mountain (3003m) of the Mounts Cerskij Range. The region is the coldest inhabited place on earth, located in Siberia, at the Polar Artic Circle.
The North Face athletes Tamara and Simone reached the summit on 11th February in just over 7 hours, at 3.37pm local time, returning back to base camp after a further 4 hours, covering a total 27.3 km and 2047mt elevation. It was a long climb with a technical steep mix climb towards the summit. Had they fallen, a rescue would have been impossible.
“It snowed all day long, but luckily there was good visibility. It was cold but thankfully cloud cover was in our favour, warding off the extreme temperatures. Low wind and -30/35 is what we can realistically say about the summit day conditions, however, during the entire expedition we experienced as low as -50! Our Non Stop Alpine Style climb had been designed specifically to avoid an overnight in potential extreme conditions” said Simone.
Tamara added, “This was an environment like no other. The journey alone was crazy – we had to take 3 planes just to get to Sasyr, the town closest to Base Camp, and even there temperatures averaged around -35/-40 degrees. We had just 3 days of good blue sky weather throughout the whole expedition. In any case the solitude and remote area showcased it’s astounding natural beauty.”
Speaking for both them, Simone Moro added: “We are very grateful to the herdsmen who really supported us throughout the whole trip – it would not have been possible without them. We’re ecstatic to have summited what is quite likely be one of the coldest mountains on earth”
A film will be released on The North Face YouTube in Fall 2018 documenting Tamara and Simone’s achievement. Release dates will be announced @TheNorthFace on Facebook and @TheNorthFaceUK on Instagram.
