Entries By casey grom
100% on top!
We did it! We stood on Mt. Elbrus, the highest point of Europe.
I have to admit we were pretty lucky with the weather, as it was near perfect. The team did a fantastic job of taking care of themselves and climbed strong. We reached the summit at 7:30 AM in clear skies with a wonderful view of the entire Caucus mountain range with very little wind, which is rare here.
But it didn't end there, after descending back to the saddle between the 2 summits that Elbrus has, a few of us decided to climb both summits while the rest of the team descended safely back to camp. It only added an additional 1.5hrs, so not too bad, especially since we had such amazing weather.
After everyone returned to camp, we had a quick lunch and then packed up to head down valley to our hotel at the base of the mountain.
Everyone is in high spirits and feeling great after some much needed hot showers.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and comrades
Hello again from Russia!
Things are good here and the team is excited for tonight! We did a little prep for tomorrow by reviewing a few climbing techniques with our crampons and ice axe and then relaxed the remainder of the day. Ok, there might have been a little more volleyball and some snowmobiling.
Our cook, Dasha, has done a great job of filling our bellies with plenty of good old home cooked Russian food, which includes borsch and plenty of soups and salads. We had a thorough discussion about tonight's upcoming climb and everyone is packed up and ready. Hopefully the weather continues to hold and we'll be up shortly after midnight and after a quick breakfast hop on the snowcat to give us a bump a little further up the mountain. This will shorten our climb a little and increase our chance of reaching the highest point in Europe.
Keep your fingers crossed for us!
RMI Guide Casey Grom and comrades
On The Map
Hello again everyone
The weather continues to be beautiful here on Mt. Elbrus for us. We started the day with a nice breakfast prepared by our amazing cook Dasha, then set out on our last acclimatizing hike just after 8 AM to make use of the slightly cooler weather and better snow conditions.
The team did a great job hiking as we made our way up to about 15,000ft in three hours, setting a new elevation record for some. We stopped along the way to take a few breaks and enjoy the view as well as chat with the other climbers that are here from all over the world, including some friends who recently reached the summit of both Everest and Denali in the last 2 months!
After reaching our high point we made our way back to camp just in time for another enjoyable lunch.
We spent the afternoon hitting a volleyball around camp and just relaxing in our little huts after our big day. Everyone is doing well and in good spirits.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and comrades
On The Map
Hugs and big wet kisses to our APA and hunny! We love you! Wish you all good luck on the summit tomorrow!
Mea and the little Kelly’s.
Posted by: Tam Doan on 7/4/2019 at 11:36 am
We woke to clear skies and beautiful weather again today, then had breakfast in the hotel and loaded up all our climbing gear and drove to the base of the Elbrus ski resort. Once there we took advantage of the three gondolas, and a short snowcat ride to reach our new home for the next few days.
It's rather comfortable up here, as our outfitter has taken a few shipping containers and converted them into simple bunk rooms some for sleeping and some set up as dinning rooms.
Once we got settled into our new home we headed uphill on another acclimatizing hike and reached just over 14,000' before returning to camp where our wonderful cook Dasha had a nice hot lunch waiting for us.
We spent the remaining of the afternoon relaxing around camp and enjoying the views of the Caucasus mountain range which are pretty amazing since we are camped out at just over 12,000'.
Dasha has once again had filled our bellies full of delicious Russian food and so the team is off to bed now.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and comrades
On The Map
Posted by: Casey Grom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Hello again everyone
It was a beautiful day here in Russia. We had a nice relaxing start to the day with a traditional Russian breakfast of porridge, eggs and bread. Then made our way to the local ski lifts to help give us a jumpstart on our hike. I didn't hear a single complaint about riding up 1500' before we started our hike to nearly the top of a local peak called Cheget. Normally we get to hike to the top of the peak, but being so close to the border with Georgia, the Russian military had the upper part closed to climbers. Regardless, we enjoyed the beautiful views and stretching our legs a bit.
After our hike we made back to town relatively quickly thanks to the ski lifts, where we had a hot lunch waiting on us. After lunch we dropped off our gear and made a quick stop to pick up a few extra items and even managed to try on a few local hats.
We wrapped up the evening with another nice home cooked meal here provided by our ever so gracious local outfitter.
Things are good here.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and comrades!
On The Map
Posted by: Casey Grom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Zdravstvuyte comrades!
All is well here in Moscow, although it's been a little rainy and cool for this time of year. Most of the team arrived yesterday evening after some very long flights and most of us are still adjusting to the massive time change, so we keep things simple with a little round of introductions and stepped out for a short walk and a nice dinner not too far from the Hotel.
Today we started with a visit to Lenin’s Tomb and then met up with our local tour guide Victoria and had a wonderful tour of the nearby Red Square and Kremlin as well as visiting several churches including the iconic St. Basil's. We also made good use of the beautiful, efficient and busy subway that Moscow is known for, which saved a bit of walking time.
After our tour we took a short break and then headed out once again for an amazing dinner and a nice walk.
Everyone is doing great and looking forward to heading to the mountains tomorrow.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
The Mt. Rainier Summit Climb teams were walking into the crater rim just before 7:00 a.m. The weather is fairly warm with a cloud deck at 6,400'. They will spend some time on top as they cross the crater rim to Columbia Crest before starting their descent.
Congrats, Alex & Hamilton! Cant wait to see more pics and hear all about it
Posted by: Russ on 6/23/2019 at 5:11 pm
alex and hamilton, i am so very proud of you, and cannot wait to hear about it; love, dad
Posted by: Steve Wrenn on 6/23/2019 at 10:10 am
Hello again everyone.
The team is finally back safe and sound in Quito after a very wet two days. Unfortunately we didn’t make the summit, but as Lou Whittaker used to say, "Sometimes you eat the mountain and sometimes the mountain eats you" and today the mountain was tougher.
Yesterday we hiked up to the Refugio on Cotopaxi in some of the windiest and wettest conditions I’ve seen here. We settled into the climber's hut and discussed our game plan for the climb with hopes that the weather would dissipate, then enjoyed a nice warm meal before heading to bed early.
We woke up at 11pm and got dressed and all of our gear ready before a very quick breakfast and then headed out to give it our best. The team climbed for about two hours in a sideways rain before it turned to ice and encased us in our waterproof clothes. To be honest it was pretty miserable, but the team kept a positive attitude as we battled the weather. It didn’t take long for us to realize that climbing in these conditions was far less than ideal. So just short of 18,000ft we called it good. Then quickly descended back to the hut to escape the maelstrom.
The team is currently relaxing in our comfortable hotel and looking forward to another nice meal before catching our flights back home early tomorrow morning.
Thanks for following!
RMI Guide Casey Grom and the soggy but happy crew
Posted by: Casey Grom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Hello Everyone-
We had a nice relaxing day here in the beautiful Highlands of Ecuador. Some of the team took naps while others explored the local town of Machachi. Everyone enjoyed our down day here and and are excited to head to Cotopaxi tomorrow for a little climbing.
The staff here at Chilcabamba has been keeping us well fed with plenty of home cooked food, and very warm with fires in our rooms.
One last night of good sleep to recharge us for our next adventure.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
Hola Amigos!
All is well here in Ecuador.
Today we had a very early start to try our luck climbing Illiniza Norte. We left our hacienda just after 3am and after a short ride to the trailhead, the team was hiking uphill just before 4am. We hiked for about three hrs to reach the Refugio or climbers hut that sits in the saddle between the two mountains where we ducked inside for a little hot tea and coffee.
Unfortunately the weather made a turn for the worse while we were relaxing inside. However, we suited up in our climbing gear and made a valiant effort to see if we could push through anyway. But today the mountain won as the snow falling only thickened as we made our way uphill. We reached about 16,000' before calling it good.
The team quickly descended back to our hacienda were we packed up and headed for a nice warm lunch.
We are currently relaxing in another wonderful hacienda close to Cotopaxi called Chilcabamba.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
Good luck crew getting to the summit. Sending you blessings and a safe return journey. Go conquer it Thaddius.
Posted by: Kristen Hutton on 6/12/2019 at 5:00 pm
Good luck for entire team to the highest point in Europe! huge hugs to Tibor!
Posted by: Katie Kelemen on 7/5/2019 at 10:08 pm
Good luck Riley and the rest of the team - looking forward to hearing all about it!
Posted by: Sally on 7/5/2019 at 12:38 pm
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