Entries By casey grom

The Four Day Climb with RMI Guides Casey Grom and Ben Luedtke were on top of Mt. Rainier at 6:30 am. It was windy morning, but a good 6 hour and 15-minute climb of the Disappointment Cleaver route to reach the 14,410’ summit.  The team is on the descent and in route to Camp Muir.

Congratulations team!

RMI Guide Casey Grom & the Four Day Climb June 19 - 22 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today. The weather is beautiful with blue skies and a few broken clouds.  The team was able to spend about an hour on the summit before starting their descent.  The teams left the crater rim around 8:30 am to return to Camp Muir.  After a brief stop to repack and refuel they will continue to descend the remaining 4,500' to Paradise.  We look forward to their return to Rainier BaseCamp later this afternoon.

Nice work team!

Back safe and sound in Kathmandu!

Our early flights (heli) back to Kathmandu were nearly seamless, the team was on the ground here by 8:30 am. Hot showers and changing into cotton clothes was first on the list followed shortly by some amazing pizza for lunch!

Then the team spilt up and some of us went for massages and other explored and shopped their way back to the hotel.

We finished the night off with more outstanding food from ‘Le Sherpa’ and some great stories and hilarious moments from our adventure.

It has been a wonderful time with a great team and it will be sad to say goodbye, but we are all looking forward to getting back home to our loved ones.

Thanks for following.

RMI Guide Casey Grom and a happy Base Camp crew

Namaste!

We woke to a little new snow on the ground today, but thankfully it was clear and sunny for our final hike to Lukla. There were endless loads headed for basecamp as always, because much of the needed supplies arrive via plane or from a few days away by mules and the only transport options are porters or pack animals. 

It was our third consecutive day of eight hours on the trail to cover the nearly 40 miles that took us nine days to ascend on the way in. The team is more than happy to finally be here! 

Also to note. The current FKT (fastest known time) to hike from Everest Base Camp to Lukla is currently held by one of RMI’s amazing guides, Jess Wedel. Somehow she ran this rugged trail in just under 11 hours. Just so happens that she’s back here to climb Mount Everest and raise funds for the prevention, early detection research and awareness to combat Ovarian cancer. 

If you’re interested in following her climb of Mount Everest, you can find her here at 

instagram.com  or anymountainsong.com

With a little luck we hope to be back in Kathmandu tomorrow morning!

Keep your fingers crossed for us. 
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

Namaste everyone,

We are still bopping along here in the Khumbu. The team left Pheriche at 8am in beautifully clear skies and made our way back down valley to the lovely, humid and what felt like warm Namche bazaar.

It was a lot of downhill, uphill, downhill, uphill and even a little side hilling to get here. But the team was rewarded with hot showers and dinner at the best restaurant in town, called Eat Smart!

Full bellies and tired legs have us all headed to bed early.

RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

Hello again everyone,

All is still well here in the Khumbu as the team members made our way back to Pheriche. It was a busy day on the trail with climbers, Trekkers, yaks, and porters all bound uphill to basecamp. We slowly made our way through the maze of traffic and enjoyed a few last good views of Everest. 

Pretty amazing how thick the air here at 14,000' feels compared to 17,500'. Spirits are high even with slightly tired legs after an eight hour day! 

RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

Hello family and friends back home! 

It was a chilly night here at 17,500’. But that was to be expected! Everyone had hot water bottles to keep them warm. We woke to crystal clear skies and a beautiful view. The sun doesn’t get to camp until about 8:30 so we lingered in the tents before meeting for breakfast. Then we lounged in chairs soaking up the warmth of the sunshine enjoying the views up the Khumbu icefall while sipping coffee! Sounds tough, I know! 

Then I took the team for a short hike into the very beginning the icefall, but still more than a mile from any real danger. Where we talked about the route and took some pictures and then made our way back to camp to an awaiting lunch. The afternoon was spent relaxing around camp and hanging out in our well stocked dinning tent! 

Headed down valley tomorrow!

RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Puffy Pants Crew 

Namaste everyone!

Well we did it! The team has successfully made it to Everest Base Camp on a beautiful day. We had a relaxing start to allow the day temperatures to rise enough so that the hike would be pleasant. The team hiked for almost three hours to reach Base Camp or EBC as we call it, stopping along the way many times to take pictures and just enjoy the stunning views. 

Once here, we were greeted with some of the best food thus far for lunch and then all team members enjoyed a well deserved hot shower while it was still warm and sunny. Although the temperature wasn’t high, the intensity of the sun at this altitude made it feel quite warm to us. 

Everyone is doing great and looking forward to a good nights rest after all the days trekking to get here. We are sleeping on the Khumbu glacier in a campsite chopped out of the ice. Our camp is surrounded by mountains and glaciers in nearly all directions. It’s incredibly breathtaking to say the least.

That’s all for now! 

RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

Hello Everyone 

It's incredibly beautiful, peaceful, and the mountains are grandiose. We've been very comfortable hiking each day in the sunny weather, then bundling up in our warm sleeping bags each night as the temperature drops. 

Dinner is often around 7 and the menu is pretty much the same at every tea house with plenty of soups, simple pasta, rice, potatoes, and typical Nepalese Dal Bat.  

After dinner we relax and have a brief review of the day ahead and then it's off to bed. 

The team hiked up Kala Patar this afternoon to get a better view of Everest which didn’t disappoint!

Spirits are high as we push closer to basecamp and if the weather cooperates, we should arrive tomorrow. Hopefully we’ll be able to get updates out, but in the off chance we can’t, the team will be at Everest Base camp for two nights. 

There’s no cell service or WiFi most likely. 

That's all for now

RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

All is well here on the trek!

Today we left Pheriche and hiked further up valley to Lobuche, we slowly made our way along the winding path that we share with other trekkers, porters heavily laden with loads bound for Base camp, and yaks who aren't as keen to share the trail. We made good time and enjoyed the astounding views before reaching camp for the night.

Everyone is currently relaxing in our tea house enjoying the warmth of yak dung fire. There's been plenty of good conversation with our team and other trekkers on the same journey as us.

RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew