Entries from Locations

Our final day on the mountain!

Today the gang got up at 6:30 refreshed after a much needed nights sleep, we had breakfast, then hit the trail one last time. It took just around three hours to reach the park gate where the team had lunch and said our final goodbyes to our amazing crew that took such great care of us on the mountain. 

We finished the little celebration by handing out their well deserved tips and then hopped aboard our awaiting bus for the ride back to the lodge. 

Finally we are all safe and sound, cleaner, and smelling fresh after an exciting 7 day journey up and down Kilimanjaro. 

Stayed tuned, Safari starts tomorrow!

RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

We did it!!!

All team members safely back to high camp after standing on the “Roof of Africa”.  

The team did a great job climbing and stayed positive even though it was tough at times. It was slightly chilly and busier than we would have liked, however, our early departure saved us from the more than 100+ climbers all stuffed together. We even had the summit to ourselves for a little while. 

We spent about about 30 minutes on the summit celebrating, taking photos and even made a few phone calls to loved ones back home. 

We are headed down the mountain to our final camp in the thick warm air at 10’000ft, where we’ll have dinner then head off to bed for some well deserved sleep. 

RMI Guide Casey Grom and a happy Kili team!

Hello again everyone!

The team had a good night’s rest last night and today was just a short 3hr hike up to 15’000ft to our high camp. It started out sunny, but then quickly clouded up thankfully making for great hiking temperatures. The Equatorial sun at this elevation is quite intense, a little break was needed. 

The team has just wrapped up lunch and discussed in great detail the plan for tomorrow’s climb. Everyone knows what we’ll be wearing, what will be in the pack, as well as the schedule. 

Our game plan will be to wake at 10:30pm and have a quick breakfast at 11, then hopefully hit the trail right around 11:30pm. The team has been doing great thus far and I’m expecting us to reach the summit in 7 to 8hrs if things go according to plan. 

As per usual on a Casey climb, one lucky trivia winner will get a phone call from the summit. 

So, everyone back home please keep your phones handy and if you receive a call from a strange number please answer. We are 8+hrs ahead of the east coast time zone. 

Wish us luck!

RMI Guide Casey and the Summit Bound Crew

Hello again everyone! 

Right out of camp the team was faced with the only significant technical obstacle for this climb. This hurdle is the great Barranco Wall, which rises about 1000ft and looks as intimidating as it sounds. Thankfully there is a nice narrow trail that weaves its way up and through the wall and all the way to the top. Most of it feels more like steep hiking, but there are a few places that require the use of our hands to help us climb up. 

The team did an amazing job of moving steadily and allowing a few porters to pass with their loads precariously balanced on their heads. It was incredibly busy, but the team cruised through easily. Everyone said it was the highlight thus far!

After reaching the top we took a nice break and enjoyed the intermittent views of the ice ladened south face and valleys below between the passing clouds. The team continued our hike for a few more hours up and down through a few valleys before reaching today’s endpoint. 

All in all, it took only about 4 hours for us to reach our next camp called Karanga, named for the big and beautiful valley which it overlooks. 

RMI Guide Casey Grom and Crew!

Howdy everyone back home. 

All is well in Tanzania. We’ve had great weather and the team is humming along really well. 

We hit the trail just after 8am and hiked for an hour before taking our usual 15 minute break, then back on the trail for another hour and so on. All total today we hiked for just over 6 hours before reaching Barranco camp. Our gracious Kilimanjaro porters have been working very hard and we arrive once again to a camp set up and ready for us. 

Along the way we passed around the famous Lava Tower reaching just over 15,000ft setting new altitude records for many. We also passed by many of the giant groundsels and towering Senecio trees that made us feel as if we were in some crazy Dr. Zuess story. 

The team is in good spirits and doing great. 

RMI Guide Casey Grom

Our team moved to Shira Camp today. Everyone moved efficiently on the trail as we left the Cloud Forrest and approached the Giant Heather zone. Within a few short hours we were at camp soaking in the views as we overlooked the Great Rift Valley. After a day and a half in the forest, we felt like we could see for miles. We are enjoying our time in camp, the food is delicious, and we are having great conversation in our dining tent. Cribbage anyone? 

Tomorrow, we tackle the Barranco Wall,

RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Killi Crew

UPDATE: September 6, 2023 10:59am PT Mike Walter and Team summit Mt. Shuksan via the Sulphide glacier in beatuiful weather. Nice work team!

We had a great day if training on the Sulphide glacier today. We covered snow and ice anchors, anchor systems, crevasse rescue, and did some ice climbing out of a crevasse. The weather forecast looks promising and we hope to try for the summit tomorrow morning. I'll check in tomorrow, hopefully from the top of Shuksan!

RMI Guides Mike Walter, Sam Hoffman and the Team on the Sulphide

Hello everyone,

Today the we had an early start and left behind our beautiful lodge as we have headed to the mountain towards the start of the climb. We left around 8 am and drove along the rural country side and small villages for two hours before reaching the park entrance. 

Most of the area surrounding Kilimanjaro has been cultivated and primarily used for coffee and banana production, plus a variety of other agriculture needs. There are still a few areas that have been untouched and resemble more of a savannah that Tanzania is known for. Kilimanjaro’s base is mostly forested and resembles more of a jungle, this area is called the cloud forest. 

Once we arrived at the park gate we had all of our gear weighed and divided into loads for our porters and other staff to carry before hitting the trail. Once everything was in order we started our climb slowly making our way up the winding trail that ascends continuously through the thick forest. Thankfully the overhead canopy provided a bit of relief from the hot sun overhead. 

The team hiked for about five hours and reached our camp for the night that sits around 10,000'. After settling into camp and getting situated the team was served a nice warm meal for dinner. 

Everyone is doing well and looking forward to a good night's rest. 

RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

Hello from Tanzania! 

Everyone and all bags have arrived in Tanzania and the team is doing well and in good spirits after some very long flights. Nearly 20 plus hours for many of us. It was a short and quiet ride to our lodge that is nestled in between Arusha and Moshi and not so far from the base of Kilimanjaro. The team had a quick dinner and headed for bed as the time change had us all feeling just a little off and pretty tired after all the traveling. Luckily we had an extra day here because of flight options. I say luckily, because the time change is pretty tough being about 12 hours difference for us. The extra day will certainly help us adjust. 

Today we had a leisurely morning and then rolled into our group meeting after breakfast, where we did a round of introductions and then discussed the upcoming program for the days ahead. The team spent the remainder of the day getting our gear packed up, exploring the grounds of our peaceful Lodge and dodging the gaggle of monkeys patrolling the grounds. We wrapped up the evening with a delicious meal and plenty of friendly conversations.

Everyone is doing well, excited to be here and looking forward to stretching our legs tomorrow as we head to the mountain. 

RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Kili crew!

RMI Guide, Joe Hoch, reported the following from Mt. Baker this afternoon: 

The team is back at Sandy Camp after their summit attempt. We made it up to the crater rim, at around 9,700'.

The team will enjoy their dinner at camp, a good night's rest before they pack up camp and head back to the trailhead tomorrow. Nice work team!