Entries from Expedition Dispatches

Elevation: 14,410'

This morning the Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir team woke to this beautiful view at Camp Muir. After a week of training and a successful summit climb Brent Okita, JJ Justman and team wrap up our 2012 season here on Mt. Rainier. Thank you to all who joined us for an adventure on Mt. Rainier this season. We hope to see you in the mountains soon!

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

It was great to share the experience with all of you.
-Steve

Posted by: Steve Bussolari on 9/30/2012 at 6:32 pm

Absolutely an amazing experience. Loved every minute on the seminar and climb.

Posted by: Brian Christianson on 9/29/2012 at 6:13 pm

Kilimanjaro: Grom & Team Safari in the company of Elephants

September 27, 2012

Posted by: Casey Grom

Hello everyone. We just had another wonderful day here in Tanzania! Today we visited Tarangire National park that is home to more than 6000 elephants. So needless to say we saw plenty, in fact, they were everywhere we looked. We even had one cross the road just a few feet behind our vehicle and saw one about a week old that everyone wanted to bring home. We witnessed the usual suspects of zebra, wildebeest, giraffe, antelope, a few lions and even managed to spot a cheetah enjoying a little shade beneath a tree. Tomorrow will be our last day here. We'll make our way back through the park, take a quick shower at the Dik Dik lodge and then head to the airport. I'm sure the whole team is looking forward to getting home and sharing their stories and pictures from this astonishing adventure. Thanks for following our team! RMI GUIDE Casey Grom and Team

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Thanks for the great write ups Casey- Sounds like a fantastic trip that will be in our future—

Posted by: Sterling & Sue F. on 9/27/2012 at 7:50 pm

Hiya Team!
I’m so glad you all got to see elephants and so many other cool animals! Love the pic of baby eli! Sooooo cute!!! Enjoy your last day at the awesome Dik dik resort. Drink a Kili or two for me. ;o) Cheers and safe travels back home!!!

- Cat

Posted by: Cat on 9/27/2012 at 5:50 pm

Mt. Rainier: Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir Summit!

September 27, 2012

Posted by: Brent Okita, JJ Justman, Solveig Waterfall, Zeb Blais

Elevation: 14,410'

On a perfect weather day, the Expeditions Skills Seminar - Muir team called in from the top of Mt. Rainier! RMI Guides Brent Okita and JJ Justman were happy to report 100% of the team reached the summit this morning! After spending some time reveling in the views and taking photos, the team began their descent at 9:30 a.m. This marks RMI's last Mt. Rainier program for the 2012 season. Congratulations to all the summit climbers this season that we have had the pleasure of guiding to the highest point in Washington state!

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Yay!! Congratulations to all! I am so delighted for you all! how awesome to have made it to the summit!!
Love,
sandy

Posted by: sandy on 9/27/2012 at 2:44 pm

Congratulations Steve and your whole team also. Looking forward to hearing all about your adventures.

Love, Dad & Pat

Posted by: Bob & Pat Bussolari on 9/27/2012 at 1:34 pm

Mt. Rainier: Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir Training Up High

September 26, 2012

Posted by: Brent Okita, JJ Justman, Solveig Waterfall, Zeb Blais

Elevation: 10,060'

RMI Guides Brent Okita and J.J. Justman are leading the Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir this week. The team hiked to Camp Muir on Monday and has spent several days training at the 10,060' camp. Today the team is receiving instruction on crevasse rescue techniques. The weather has been clear with warm temperatures. We hope the weather holds for their summit attempt tonight. Good luck to the team!

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

hi . my name is mike . i am brand new to the area from georgia, and a through hiker of the appalachian trail, to my surprise these mountains are nothing like im used to ;) trying to find info about hiking rainer hopefully in the peak season of 2013 . any info or traing etc.. would be very helpfull. thanks . happy hiking

Posted by: mike harris on 1/11/2013 at 10:57 am

Wishing the team much success. A special SHOUT OUT to Phil Goss from the Trustmark Clan - we’re all rooting for ya’ Phil!

Posted by: Lorena Reyes on 9/27/2012 at 6:19 am

Mt. Shuksan: September 26th Summit!

September 26, 2012

Posted by: Billy Nugent, Mike Walter

Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades

Elevation: 9,127'

RMI Guides Mike Walter & Billy Nugent led their team to the summit of Mt. Shuksan today. The team enjoyed stellar views and a great climb. They will return to high camp for their final night in the mountains. They will descend to the trail tomorrow. Congratulations to the team!

Kilimanjaro: Grom & Team Visit the Ngorongoro Crater

September 26, 2012

Posted by: Casey Grom

Today we visited the famous Ngorongoro Crater. It's a 1.2 million year-old caldera full of wildlife trapped by the steep outer walls. We saw more than our share of lions today! So close that the lions were literally under our vehicles. It was moderately hot and the lions cooled themselves in the shade of our cars. We also visited a working Masai village and were amazed at their simple yet hard life that they live. The whole team had a wonderful day and are looking forward to even more safari tomorrow. RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

Kilimanjaro: Grom & Team - Day One of Safari

September 25, 2012

Posted by: Casey Grom

Day one of our safari brought us to Lake Manyara, known for its famous pink flamingos and tree climbing lions. It took us about two hours to get there from our hotel. The drive took us through the vast open plains of Africa inhabited mostly by the Maasai people. Once in the park we rolled the tops of our land-cruisers back and drove through while standing up. It's currently the dry season and the lake was mostly gone for now, but we saw many animals- elephants, water bucks, Thompson giselles, impalas, dik diks, zebras, giraffes, wildebeest, and too many birds to name. No big cats today but hopefully tomorrow we'll see plenty. Everyone enjoyed the day and we are currently resting at the fabulous Plantation Lodge. See for yourself. We will be headed out early tomorrow to try and beat the heat and catch the animals at breakfast, so to speak. It's off to bed for now, RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

Mt. Rainier: September 24th Summit!

September 24, 2012

Posted by: Leon Davis, Seth Waterfall

Elevation: 14,410'

The Four Day Summit Climb September 21 - 24 is our last Summit climb of the 2012 season. This morning they reached the crater rim of Mt. Rainier just before 8:30 a.m. RMI Guides Seth Waterfall and Leon Davis reported clear skies above 13,000' with light winds. The teams will spend a bit of time on top before starting their descent to Camp Muir. After a short break to re-pack their gear and re-fuel, they will continue down to Paradise. We look forward to seeing the teams this afternoon at Rainier BaseCamp. Congratulation to today's teams!

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Belated Happy Birthday wishes! What a great adventure! We are so excited for you! Can’t wait to hear the stories.
Love Robin & Tim

Posted by: Robin on 9/25/2012 at 3:01 pm

Steve: Top notch! Congratulations.

Posted by: Charlie A. on 9/25/2012 at 9:13 am

Kilimanjaro: Team Finishes Climb

September 24, 2012

Posted by:

Back safe and sound! Today we hiked the last few miles off of the mountain and are all freshly showered (thankfully) and are awaiting the feast that the Dik Dik Hotel is preparing for us. Everyone is happy to be back off the mountain and are looking forward to sleeping in beds, hot showers in the morning, cotton clothes and fresh coffee! We have had a great last few days with the whole team getting to stand on the summit of Kilimanjaro. It was a wonderful, if maybe just a little exhausting, week full of beautiful views and amazing weather. We'll spend the night resting here then we will be off again in the morning to enjoy the rest of this beautiful country on safari. RMI Guide Casey Grom and a happy crew.

Kilimanjaro: Teams Returns to High Camp

September 23, 2012

Posted by: Casey Grom

Elevation: 15,000'

Hello everyone back home this is Casey Grom checking in from our Kilimanjaro trip. Just wanted to report that we are all safely back at high camp and we had a 100% reach the summit today. Pretty amazing day. Weather was still perfect again for us going up. Little chilly, so we're having to do a little dancing to keep our fingers and toes warm but all in all the group did fantastic. As I said we returned to high camp, we're packing up and we're actually going to be descending a few more thousand feet to our last camp, Mweka Camp. If I get a chance I'll try to send in a written dispatch. And if not we'll certainly check in sometime tomorrow when we get off the mountain. That's all for now, everyone's doing great and look forward to trying to share few photos in a couple days with you guys. RMI Guide Casey Grom

RMI Guide Casey Grom checks in after summit climb.

On The Map

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

I have been following your progress, looks like you folks are having a great time wish I were there. Keep safe and have a wonderful journey.

Posted by: Priscilla Neal on 9/24/2012 at 3:43 am

COngrats to you and your team Casey. I have great memories of Kilimanjaro! All the Kili girls spent the weekend together and Lucy and Corell say hey. High fives from Richmond

Posted by: Elsie Bemiss on 9/23/2012 at 7:30 pm