Entries By casey grom
Summit!
Today the team stood on the highest point of Europe. I have to admit we were pretty lucky with the weather, as we had a little snowstorm pass through last night leaving a nice dusting. The team did a fantastic job of taking care of themselves and climbed incredibly well. With pretty decent weather we could see much of the massive Caucasus mountain range from the summit.
Once we descended back to the saddle between the two summits that Mt. Elbrus has (West and East), four of us decided to climb up to the other summit while the rest of the team descended safely back to camp. It only added an additional one and a half hours, so not too bad, especially since the weather was good.
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 high spirits and smelling great!
RMI Guide Casey Grom and a happy, freshly showered crew
On The Map
Hello again from 12,000' in Russia!
Things are good here and the team is excited for tonight! We did a little prep work for tomorrow by reviewing a few climb techniques and then rested the remainder of the day. Our cook, Dasha, has done a great job of filling our bellies with plenty of good ol' home cooked Russian food. We had a thorough discussion about tonight's climb and everyone is packed up and ready. Hopefully the weather continues to hold. we'll be waking up shortly after 1 a.m. and after a quick breakfast we'll 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.
We had a trivia challenge today and one lucky winner will get to make a satellite phone call from the summit. So everyone following along, keep your phones handy, you just might receive a call. I'm expecting us to reach the summit around 10 a.m. here, in same time zone as Moscow.
Keep your fingers crossed for us!
RMI Guide Casey Grom and team
On The Map
Best of luck with your skills, health and weather!
Posted by: kay nims on 7/15/2017 at 11:03 am
Go for it you guys. Casey is the best! Wishing you safe travels tonight
Posted by: John Horgan on 7/15/2017 at 8:27 am
Hello again everyone.
The weather continues to be beautiful here on the mountain for us. We started the day with a nice breakfast prepared by our wonderful cook Dasha, then set out on our last acclimatizing hike around 9am. The team did a great job as we made our way up to a little over 15,300', setting a new record for some in just over 3.5 hours. 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.
After reaching our high point we made our way back to camp just in time for another enjoyable lunch.
Since then it's been nap time for some or just relaxing in our little huts after our big day. Everyone is doing well and in good spirits.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
On The Map
Such good news! Very proud of all of you. Good luck to all.
Posted by: Jan Gravrs on 7/13/2017 at 6:09 pm
Great to hear everyone’s doing well! Higher than we’ve been. Dave & Marci
Posted by: Dave Utela on 7/13/2017 at 2:05 pm
It was a beautiful day here on Elbrus.
We had a normal start to our day with breakfast in the hotel and then loaded up all our climbing gear and drove to the base of the ski lift where we rode not one, but two gondolas and a short snow cat ride to reach our new home for the next few days and happens to sit at just over 12,000ft. It's rather comfortable up here, as our outfitter has taken a few shipping containers and converted them into simple bunk rooms.
Once we got settled into our new home we headed uphill on another acclimatizing hike and reached about 13,500' 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, walking around and just enjoying the views of the Caucasus Mountain Range. We also had a cribbage lesson to prepare for the upcoming tournament.
Thanks all for now.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
On The Map
Shipping containers…What happened to the petrol tanks as quarters mate ? ! Good acclimatatizing go go go.
Posted by: Walter Glover on 7/13/2017 at 4:27 am
The snow cat ride looks like way too much fun. Glad to see the weather is treating you well.
Posted by: Marcia utela on 7/12/2017 at 6:13 pm
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 1,500' before we started our hike to nearly the top of a local peak called Cheget. Normally we got to the top of the peak but being close to the border of Georgia, the Russian military had the upper part closed to climbers for some odd reason. Regardless, we enjoyed stretching our legs.
The hike went well with mostly clear skies and plenty of other hikers enjoying the day, and we even caught a few glimpses of Elbrus too.
After the hike we made our back to town relatively quickly thanks to the ski lifts, where we had a hot lunch waiting for 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 crew
On The Map
Ah so that is what Russian mountaineering look-a like comrades. Stretch legs ~ No breaks !
Posted by: Walter Glover on 7/12/2017 at 1:41 am
Great to hear /read all is going well. Love the photo. Best of luck in the next few days.
Posted by: Marcia Utela on 7/11/2017 at 1:14 pm
Hello from southern Russia!
Things are good here in Russia. We left Moscow this morning and have traveled via plane and bus to the beautiful Caucasus Mountains. Our flight took us to southern Russia not too far from the Black Sea.
This part of the country is predominately rural and is responsible for much of the agriculture that the larger cities depend on. We were meet by our trustworthy guide Yuri, whom I've climbed with many times. Then hopped in our van for the three-hour drive up the Baksan Valley to the base Elbrus.
The small town we are in is called Cheget, and it doubles as a ski town in winter and converts to climbing in the summer. We didn't do a ton of exploring this afternoon due to the adjustment of the time that we are all still feeling.
However, tomorrow we will do our first acclimatizing hike and do a little exploring.
All is well here and the team is excited to stretch our legs a bit!
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
On The Map
Posted by: Casey Grom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Hello everyone -
All is well here in Moscow, although it's been a little damp and cool. Most of the team arrived yesterday evening after some very long flights. As most of us are still adjusting to the massive time change we kept 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 meet with our local tour guide and had a wonderful tour of the nearby Red Square, Kremlin as well as visiting several churches including the iconic St. Basil's.
We took a short break and then headed out once again for dinner and a nice walk.
Everyone is doing great and looking forward to heading to the mountains tomorrow.
That's all for now.
RMI Guide Casey Grom
Have a great time, Scott and Julie! We will be following you all the way. Looks like a good strong team. Best of luck to all of you!
Posted by: Mom and Joe on 7/10/2017 at 6:25 pm
Be safe all of you. Andrew, please be careful. Your parents love you.
Posted by: Ruth Baldock on 7/10/2017 at 10:49 am
The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guide Casey Grom and his entire team reached to summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. Casey reported that the route and the weather are about as good as it gets. The team has started their descent and are en route to Camp Muir!
Congratulations to today's team and 100% on top!
Posted by: Casey Grom, Elias de Andres Martos
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 12,700'
The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guides Casey Grom and Elias de Andres Martos climbed to 12,700' this morning, but were forced to turn due to icy and firm route conditions. The team has started their descent and are en route to Camp Muir.
Congratulations to today's team!
Posted by: Casey Grom, Ben Liken, Nick Scott
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
RMI's Four Day Summit Climb Team reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. RMI Guide Casey Grom reported a beautiful day with light winds and cold temperatures.
The team will return to Camp Muir for a quick break and then continue to Paradise.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climb team!
Congratulations Casey, we saw in paradise on Saturday when they returned from their mountain school!
Posted by: Luis Carrasco on 6/12/2017 at 10:13 am
Congratulation Scott + Julie and team. Well done.
Posted by: Walter Glover on 7/15/2017 at 11:41 pm
Congratulations to all of you. Glad you had a safe climb.
Posted by: Ruth Baldock on 7/15/2017 at 2:38 pm
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