Entries By casey grom
Hello again everyone
After a good nights rest and a short hike up to 15,000' we’ve finally arrived at our High Camp. Thankfully the weather broke and today was sunny with great views of Kilimanjaro and our intended route for tomorrow’s climb.
The team has just wrapped up lunch and discussed in great detail the plan for tomorrow’s climb. Everyone knows what what we’ll be wearing, what will be in the pack, as well as the schedule.
Our game plan will be to wake at 11 pm and have a quick breakfast at 11:30, then hopefully hit the trail right at midnight. The team has been doing great thus far and I’m expecting us to reach the summit in 7 to 8 hours if things go according to plan.
Also to note!
There have been several rounds of trivia with the winners getting a chance to make a satellite 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 7 hours ahead of the east coast time zone.
So a 7 am arrival at the summit will mean a midnight phone call and 9 pm for pacific time.
Wish us luck! And thanks for sending the good weather just in time!
RMI Guide Casey Grom and the sunshine Kili crew!
On The Map
Jambo family and friends.
Today was slightly better than the last few, briefly sunny this morning, then clouds and a little more rain as the day continued. Thankfully it was a shorter hike today and the team did fantastic.
We left camp a little later today to allow the many porters to hit the trail before us as we had our only major obstacle right out of camp. This obstacle is the great Barranco Wall, which rises about 1,000ft and looks as intimidating as it sounds. Thankfully there is a nice narrow goat 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 our hands to help us climb up. The team did great and thoroughly enjoyed the challenge.
After reaching the top we took a nice break but were unable to enjoy the amazing views due to the clouds. Nonetheless we continued our hike for a few more hours before reaching camp.
We spent the remainder of the day relaxing in our tents and playing a few games of cards with plenty of good old mountain stories.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Kili crew
On The Map
Hello folks back home.
We’re still here on Kilimanjaro.
Day 3 for us was pretty similar to yesterday. Cloudy and rainy for almost the entire hike. This team is in good spirits though despite the weather being less than ideal. We haven’t completely ruled out descending and making a run to the beaches in Zanzibar!
Our morning ritual has been waking around 6:30 and getting everything in our tents packed up before heading into our very spacious dinning tent for quite the feast. Normally there is fresh fruit, fried eggs, bacon, and plenty of hot coffee awaiting us, obviously we’re being spoiled up here by our wonderful staff!
We hit the trail usually around 8am and hike for an hour before taking our 15-minute break, then back on the trail for another hour. All total today we hiked for just over six hours before reaching camp which was set up and ready for us thankfully.
Along the way we passed around the famous and beautiful Lava Tower reaching just over 15,000 feet setting new altitude records for some.
Please send us some sunshine for tomorrow.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Kili crew
On The Map
I’m so proud of both of you, Cat and Kris! Enjoy ever amazing moment of this incredible experience! We’re sending vibes of encouragement your way.
Posted by: Melinda on 1/10/2019 at 10:09 pm
Sending Houston sunshine to Ted, Pierce and the whole gang. You’re all making memory treasures! Keep it up! Paula & Steve
Posted by: Paula Strong on 1/10/2019 at 8:24 pm
Jambo everyone back home -
The team woke feeling well rested after about 10 hours in our tent last night. We had a pretty good day on Kilimanjaro today, I only say pretty good because we hiked in light sprinkles to full on rain all day. Thankfully everyone’s gore-tex jackets kept us dry.
We started the day waking at 6:30 to start packing up before moving into our dinning tent for a nice breakfast with porridge, fried eggs, toast, avocado and even some fresh fruit, and most importantly plenty of hot coffee.
We hit the trail shortly after 8 am and slowly made our way up the rocky trail that leads out of camp. The trail climbs up a ridge and eventually out of the trees and normally allows for some truly spectacular views of the valley below, but today it was a bit limited. The team hiked for about 4.5 hours before reaching our next camp that sits on the Shira plateau, which is an ancient lava flow just above tree-line. Once at camp we were treated to a wonderful warm meal and then hopped into our tents to relax.
The evening was full of great stories and another amazing meal prepared by our gracious staff.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Kili crew
On The Map
Hello Everyone -
Today the team left behind the comforts of our beautiful lodge and have made our way to the mountain towards the start of the climb. Starting shortly before 8am we drove along the rural country side for two hours to reach the Kilimanjaro National Park entrance. Most of the area surrounding Kilimanjaro has been cultivated and primarily used for coffee production and for a variety of other agriculture needs, but there are still some areas that have been untouched and resemble more of a savannah that Tanzania is known for. The base of Kilimanjaro is heavily forested and resembles more of a jungle or cloud forest. Traditionally it has supported a large part of the banana production for this area.
Once we arrived at the gate we had all of our gear weighed and divided into loads for our porters to carry before hitting the trail. Once everything was in order we started our climb slowly making our way up the winding trail. The team hiked for a little over 6 hours to reach our camp for the night. Everyone did great and enjoyed finally getting some much needed exercise.
After settling into camp the team was served a nice warm meal and then headed off to bed for a nice full night of rest.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Kili crew
On The Map
Posted by: Casey Grom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Casey Grom here checking in with RMI's first 2019 Kilimanjaro Climb!
All is well here in Tanzania and most of the team arrived late last night after some very long flights. It was a short and uneventful 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 has us all feeling just a little off and pretty tired after all the traveling.
Today we had a leisurely morning with our official meeting at 10, where we did a round of introductions and then discussed the upcoming program for the days ahead.
We spent the remainder of the day getting our gear packed up, exploring the grounds of our Lodge, which is incredibly peaceful and has monkeys and Dik Dik running around. See for yourself.
We wrapped up the evening with another delicious meal and plenty of friendly conversations. Everyone is doing well and excited to hit the trail tomorrow and get a little bit of exercise.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Kili crew!
Go Kris and Catherine! Enjoy your awesome adventure!!!
John H
Manager, Atlanta Base Camp
Posted by: John H on 1/8/2019 at 9:19 am
Have a great adventure and enjoy every breathless moment of beauty.
Cant wait to hear about your adventure!
Faith
Posted by: Faith Fischer-Whaley on 1/8/2019 at 5:44 am
RMI Guides Casey Grom, Chad Gaffigan and their team made it to the top of Cotopaxi! As you can see from the photo, weather was less than ideal but eight of nine climbers did summit.
Congratulations to the team!
On The Map
Posted by: Casey Grom, Chad Gaffigan
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Hello again from Ecuador! The team woke up today to a tranquil setting at a beautiful mountain lodge, Chilcabamba Eco Lodge. A late breakfast was followed by walks around the local area, discovering an albino cow, and a few folks trying their hand at horseback riding.
The team then had a nice discussion on packing for our next objective, Cotopaxi. This discussion led into an excellent pasta dinner.
Another night of rest and we will be active again the in mountains.
RMI Guide Chad Gaffigan
Posted by: Casey Grom, Chad Gaffigan
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
We did it!
The whole team managed to stand on the summit of Cayambe today, after a long, cold and windy uphill battle. We had hoped that the weather would remain calm, but unfortunately the wind picked up sometime in the night before we started our climb. The team did a great job of taking care of themselves and everyone dug deep to push through the challenging conditions.
The climb took just over 7 hours to reach the summit after starting out on relatively lower angle slopes that continued to steepen until the final last pitch, which was roughly 50 degrees. Once over this obstacle, it was an easy, but windy stroll to the top of Cayambe which sits at 18,997ft.
We didn’t stick around too long as it was pretty cold and the view was mostly obscured by the clouds blowing by.
We descended all the way back to our hut and took a brief break before heading further down into town for a well earned meal at a local cafe.
We then traveled south to a wonderful and peaceful hacienda tucked up near Cotopaxi where we have just finished another great meal. Now it’s time to enjoy some much deserved sleep after such a long day.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Cayambe summit crew
On The Map
The December 4th Ecuador Volcanoes Team reached the summit of Cayambe (18,997') today. The entire team was able to top out and everyone is back down safely.
We expect to hear more from Casey later today.
Congratulations to the team!
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Catherine, I just heard from Mom, you did it! I am so thankful you have had this experience. Take care of those knees on the way down. I love you and am praying for your safe return.
Posted by: Carol Lyn on 1/13/2019 at 6:53 am
Cat and Kris, I can only imagine the magnificent views you’re seeing! I’m so happy you’re getting to have such an amazing experience. It’s certain to be a taxing endeavor, but it has to be worth it!! Am so proud of you both!
Posted by: Melinda on 1/13/2019 at 1:22 am
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