50 Most Prominent Summits of the World

Jaime Vinals successfully ascents to Mount Ararat, Turkey's highest summit, and the Pico Teide in Tenerife, Spain. With the conquest of these summits, he have had 21 peaks achieved of the list from the 50 most prominent summits of the World.

After a long transoceanic travel from Guatemala to Istanbul, last Friday June 20th Jaime arrived at the town of Dogubeyazit in eastern Turkey. A town just 30 kilometers from the border to the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Mr Metin Elek was the one helped Jaime to get the permission required by the Turkish authorities to allow a foreigner to climb Mount Ararat, he also organized all the logistics for the expedition. The kurdish climber Davut Ramazan accompanied in this expedition to Jaime.

On Sunday June 22nd, very early in the morning they left the village of Dogubeyazit to the base of Mount Ararat (site where lie the remains of Noah's Ark, according to biblical versions). They reached an altitude of 1,890 meters above sea level, between small bushes and grass where sheep tended by shepherds abound Kurds in the area, taking advantage of the short summer, when weather conditions are more comfortable and vegetation is not covered with snow and enables feeding these animals, the main means of livelihood for them.

At mid-morning, began the first day of walk approach, which consisted of approximately 12 kilometers walk uphill between these camps and areas of Kurdish shepherds rivers caused by melting glaciers of Mount Ararat, at the end of that afternoon mounted his first camp in the mountains at an altitude of 2,950 meters above sea level. During the night suffered the brunt of a windy and violent hail storm, which damage one of three tents in their camp.

The next day, Monday June 23, prepared very early breakfast, dismantled the camp and moved towards the new stage of ascent, they gained another thousand metres of altitude, which succeeded after 6-hour hike and climb up to a rocky area without any kind of vegetation, at an altitude of 3,950 meters above sea level (slightly less than the summit of the volcano of Acatenango in Guatemala), prepared site where its second and final camp. They went to sleep from 4:00 pm since the attack on the summit would be from 1:00 a.m. next morning.

At the scheduled time left for the summit, the rise in the first few meters is among rock to come loose after a steep slopes filled with frozen mixed climbing, between rock and ice. It will turn in front of each advanced 50 meters to save energy, as do cyclists route, because this will open the road in conditions so loose snow is exhausting and dangerous to do so thus dosed much better effort, is a true working team.

They spend hours and does not diminish the cold heartbreaking, on the contrary seems to increase. All its equipment and backpacks are covered in ice, but continue until they reach the summit after 6:30a.m. with a sky completely cleared but hit by strong winds, reached the 5,137 meters giant frozen. Represents the number 20th for Jaime.

On Wednesday, June 25 descended very satisfied and returning to the town of Dogubeyazit and watch the football match of EuroCup between Turkey and Germany in the semifinals of this tournament, which ended Davut not very happy because Turkey was defeated by Germany.

On Friday, June 27th Jaime came to the city of Madrid in Spain to leave this place towards the Canary Islands to climb Pico Teide from the route of the White Mountains, a very nice route of the famous volcano. He arrived to Los Rodeos International Airport on the north side of the island of Tenerife, one of the largest islands in the Canary Islands, on Thursday, July 3th after several days in the Spanish capital that required permission from the authorities for Canaries allow the ascent to the top of Pico Teide.

Immediately after he went to the community of La Orotava, situated on the slopes of the northern side of the volcano Teide. That dat the weather conditions were not good, so he had to wait several days there. On Sunday, July 6th began the walk from the  Visitor´s Center of the Teide National Park, the approach was from a dry, desert terrain with some small patches of vegetation. After two days of trekking arrived to the summit of Pico Teide, the highest summit of Spain, on Tuesday, July 8th at about 10:30 AM. This summit became the number 21 of the 50 Prominence for Jaime.

This expedition would not be possible without the tremendous support of the following sponsors: Tigo (Comcel); McDonald's in Guatemala; Panadol; BIC does not know fail; Powerade Coca Cola; Credomatic; Denso and MAX

The following mountains are the 21 of the 50 most Prominence that Jaime Vinals has managed to climb up the month of July 2008

1) Mt. Everest (Nepal-Tibet)
2) Mt. Aconcagua (Argentina)
3) Mt. Elbrus (Russia)
4) Mt. McKinley, or Denali (Alaska, USA)
5) Mt. Kilimanjaro (Tanzania)
6) Vinson Massif (Antarctica)
7) Carstensz Pyramid (Indonesia-New Guinea)
8) Orizaba (Mexico)
9) Mont Blanc (France-Italy)
10) Mt. Chimborazo (Ecuador)
11) Mt. Kinabalu (Malaysia)
12) Tajumulco Volcano (Guatemala)
13) Bolivar (Venezuela)
14) Mt. Kerinci (Indonesia)
15) Mt. Fuji (Japan)
16) Jebel Toubkal (Morocco)
17) Mt. Chirripó Grande (Costa Rica)
18) Ojos del Salado Volcano (Chile)
19) Mt. Gunnbjörns Fjeld (Greenland)
20) Mt. Ararat (Turkey)
21) Pico Teide (Spain)

To see the complete list of these 50 more Prominent summits, we invite you to visit any of the following websites:

http://oldadit.googlepages.com/FRL.txt

www.peaklist.org

http://peaklist.org/WWlists/WorldTop50.html

http://peaklist.org/WWmaps/world50.jpg