Hello everyone.
All is well here in Ecuador.
The team got a decent night of sleep here on Cayambe at 15,000'. We got up at 6 am and had a nice breakfast before hiking up to the start of the glacier. We took our time on the hike and enjoyed the beautiful views of the surrounding mountains. It was pretty windy this morning so we kept things brief on our review of glacier travel, then made our way back to the hut for a nice lunch.
Currently the team is taking naps or resting outside in the always warming Ecuadorian sun. Our plan is to have an early dinner tonight and try to get a little more shut-eye before our alpine start. We'll most likely get up at 11pm, have a quick breakfast and coffee, then start climbing around midnight to make use of the cooler temps. If all goes according to plan we hope to summit around 7 am give or take a few.
As per usual, I'm going to have a mountain trivia challenge where one lucky winner will receive a summit phone call from the Satellite phone. So everyone back home keep your phones nearby, you might be receiving a call from a strange number.
Wish us luck!
RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Cayambe crew
Hey, everybody, this is Casey Grom checking in from Ecuador. Today we had a nice leisurely morning. Woke up at the wonderful Casa del Sol, had a nice breakfast with scrambled eggs and some home-baked bread and some fresh marmalade they made for us. We got packed up and left our wonderful hacienda and headed into the center of Otavalo. Otavalo is a northern city in Ecuador that is famous for being one of the largest outdoor markets in all of South America. We spent a good hour walking around sightseeing and doing a little bartering to purchase a few trinkets. Everyone had a nice day. The weather was pretty nice all day. We had to wear plenty of sunscreen because it's obviously a lot of UV exposure here on the equator. After we spent some time at Otavalo, we headed over to the town of Cayambe, which is at the base of the mountain that we are here to climb, and had a nice lunch. After we wrapped up lunch, we got back into our bus and we slowly made our way up the flanks of Cayambe. We get out of the city and get onto these cobblestone roads and slowly zigzag our way up grassy hillsides and vegetation that is up here near the base of Cayambe. We made it up to about 14,000 feet where we got out and loaded our stuff into a four-wheel drive vehicle and sent our gear up to the hut. Then we continued on foot, to help with our acclimatization, we hiked the last remaining thousand feet, which took about an hour, up to the refugio or the hut that is at the base of the mountain. We just finished a wonderful meal of trout and potatoes and some soup. Everyone's doing great, We are heading to bed here pretty soon. Game plan is to get up and do a little training tomorrow, so thanks for following. We'll check in again sometime tomorrow afternoon.
RMI Guide Casey Grom
RMI Guide Casey Grom calls in from Cayambe Climber's Hut.
Cool blog and some awesome pics already! Good luck to all on your climb.
Mark and Shawn, shoooooooooo muck dooooooo eeeet!!! Rock ‘em, Sock ‘em!! How how!!
Posted by: Bo on 12/4/2015 at 12:13 pm
Hey Mark,
Love this website, as we sit by the fire watching Netflix…..not much of an adventure for us! So take lots of notes and bring back your stories. Be safe, enjoy each moment.
Xxx ooo
Doug and Ann
December 1, 2015 - 6:48 pm PT
Hello again everyone!
Today the team left behind the hustle and bustle of Quito and moved just north of the Equator to the comfortable and quite rural countryside. Once outside the city limits the landscape quickly turned into rolling hills with farms pitched on steep slopes and dozens of small eucalyptus forest.
Our plan was to visit a smaller mountain called Fuya Fuya where we stretched our legs on a nice steep and short acclimatization hike. Thankfully the weather was nice which allowed us to see some amazing views of the beautiful surrounding landscape.
We are just on the outskirts of a town call Otavalo, which is known for its massive market and we are currently relaxing at a wonderful Hacienda called "La Casa Sol". The team is doing great and looking forward to nice quite night here.
RMI Guide Casey Grom
Hello again everyone:
Today we had a very nice hike to help with our acclimatization on a nearby peak called Pichincha. It is one of the many local peaks that is situated above Quito and is used by many climbers to help adjust to the higher altitude here in Ecuador. We made use of the gondolas to help us gain access to around 13,000ft then hiked the additional 2,500ft to the summit. It took our team roughly three hours to gain the top after a little scrambling up the final bit to reach our high point thus far. It was a personal high point for a few of us, and the entire team did a fantastic job. After spending a bit of time on the summit and getting our photos, we descended all the way back to our hotel for a brief nap before dinner.
Everyone is in good spirits and looking forward to tomorrow.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
Hola from Ecuador!
After some very long flights and a little bit of sleep the team is doing well. We started our day with a team meeting where we did our usual round of introductions and discussed the game plan for our upcoming adventure.
After the meeting we headed out on the town to explore this beautiful historical city with our tour guide Daniela. She first took us to the older part of town where we visited several old cathedrals, then to the colonial town square. Next we headed up to a small hill called La Panacia that over looks this beautiful city before heading north to visit the equator from which Ecuador gets its name.
We finished the day with a small break and then a quick gear check to make sure everyone has all the gear needed for our climbs. Then it was off to dinner at a nice Ecuadorian restaurant where we enjoyed getting to know each other better.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
The final Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir of the 2015 climbing season is wrapping up their final day on Mt. Rainier. Yesterday, the Seminar led by RMI Guides Casey Grom and Billy Nugent made a summit attempt. The teams reached 13,300' before increasing winds and deteriorating weather conditions prompted their descent. Today the teams are descending from Camp Muir to wrap up their week of climbing and training. We look forward to welcoming all of the climbers at Rainier BaseCamp in Ashford this afternoon.
The Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir, led by Casey Grom and Elias de Andres Martos, reached the summit of Mount Rainier! The guides reported overnight snow of a couple of inches in places but mostly a dusting. The precipitation did stop for their summit bid. They also reported no winds and a cloud deck of 12,000 feet. After spending some time on the top, the teams will begin their descent back to Camp Muir.
Congratulations to the team!
The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guides Casey Grom and Leon Davis were unable to summit Mt. Rainier this morning due to avalanche hazards, poor weather, and difficult route conditions. The teams reached 11,600' before making the prudent decision to turn around. The teams left Camp Muir at 8:05 am to start their descent back to Paradise. We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp in Ashford later today.
RMI Guides Casey Grom and Leon Davis along with their Four Day Summit Climbs remained at Camp Muir overnight due to high winds. The teams were unable to make a summit attempt and will start their descent from Camp Muir later this morning. We look forward to seeing the teams at BaseCamp later today.
9:00 am PST
Guide Casey Grom checked in with the RMI office. With a bit of a break in the weather the team was going to take a walk on the upper mountain and plan to depart Camp Muir at around 11:30 am today.
The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guides Casey Grom and Solveig Waterfall reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning shortly after 7 am. Casey reported clear skies, light wind, and chilly--but not too cold--temperatures. The teams will spend some time on the summit before beginning their descent. We look forward to seeing them in Ashford this afternoon.
Congratulations!
I just want to say thanks to everybody on the team. It was so cool to see my daughter Sarah so happy about her accomplishment! Thanks to you all! Hopefully we will meet again somewhere.
Posted by: Duane Sanders on 8/29/2015 at 2:41 pm
Congratulations to Jim, Eric, and Kevin! I’m very proud of you guys. I can’t wait to hear all about the trip. Have a safe trip down!
Mark and Shawn,
Hey guys hope your climb was awesome!!! Can’t wait to see some photos and hear a few stories.
All my best,
Jimmy
Posted by: Jimmy Sheedy on 12/4/2015 at 8:37 am
Tom - I’ll use your call as my wake-up alarm…be safe!!
Posted by: Diane on 12/3/2015 at 9:39 pm
View All Comments