Entries By casey grom
Posted by: Casey Grom, Nick Hunt
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Hola Amigos!
Things are good here in Ecuador and the team is well rested after two nights at the wonderful Chilcabamba Lodge. Everyone is excited for tonight's climb on Cotopaxi.
Today we bumped up to another Lodge that is nestled in right below Cotopaxi itself. Normally we stay at the Refugio on the mountain, but it is currently under renovation so we'll be climbing from here. We have done this on the last few climbs and it has worked out well for the past teams and I expect the same for us.
Tonight our plan is to have dinner around 4:30 then head right to bed. We'll wake at 10pm and have a sit down breakfast and then hit the road around 11pm. We'll drive our bus to the base of the mountain and start our climb close to midnight. Based on how well everyone did on Cayambe, I'm guessing it's going to take us somewhere around six to eight hours to reach the summit.
The weather has been improving each day and we have our fingers crossed it will continue for one more day. We'll check back in tomorrow hopefully with good news.
Wish us luck!
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
Posted by: Casey Grom, Nick Hunt
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Rest day at the beautiful Chilcabamba Eco Lodge! Our team enjoyed the opportunity to sleep in and relax, and prepare for Cotopaxi, our next objective for this trip.
After a delightful breakfast, we were able to catch a few glimpses of the mountain in the distance and talked about the route. Based on the team's performance on Cayambe, we'll have no problem with this next climb!
We spent the day reading books and sharing stories, and wrapped the evening up with a technical skills session. We learned a variety of knots, talked about climbing anchors, and finished with a full-blown crevasse rescue scenario in the lawn.
Spirits are high and we are ready to go! Tomorrow we move on to the Tambopaxi Lodge in preparation for our summit bid on Cotopaxi.
Until then,
RMI Guide Nick Hunt and the Ecuador team
RMI Guide Casey Grom sent us some photos of their Cayambe summit. 100% of the team reached the top!!! The team is currently on their descent and will celebrate at the Chilcabamba Eco Lodge this evening. Stay tuned to hear from Casey as he recounts their summit day.
On The Map
Congratulations All!!! Great weather too. Good luck on the next climb.
Posted by: sesixth on 1/26/2015 at 9:35 pm
Congratulations on another one Baby! Wish I was there with you guys.
Posted by: Sydney on 1/26/2015 at 4:19 pm
Hola from Ecuador!
All is well here on the equator. Saturday we spent a few hour at the massive Otavalo outdoor market where the team practiced their bartering skills with the locals. Buy the number of bags people had in their arms, they must have done a good job.
We then headed up to the hut on Cayambe to drop off our gear and add a little to our acclimatization. Normally we like to spend the night at the hut, but due to a hut remodel and new park management, we opted on staying in the town of Cayambe at a wonderful Hacienda call San Luis. Everyone enjoyed the day and the warmth of the fires that were awaiting us in our rooms.
Today the team headed back up to the hut and went on a short hike, then returned to the hut for a little training. We have had our dinner and discussed the climb here on Cayambe and everything seems in order. Hopefully the weather will hold and we'll have a good climb tomorrow.
That's all for now. We'll check in tomorrow post-climb
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
On The Map
Posted by: Casey Grom, Nick Hunt
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Hello again everyone!
Today the team left behind the hustle and bustle of Quito and headed just north of the Equator to the comfortable and quite rural countryside. Once outside the city the landscape quickly turns into rolling farm land with farms pitched on steep slopes and isolated eucalyptus forest. Along the way we stopped by a smaller mountain called Fuya Fuya where we stretched our legs on a acclimatization hike. Normally we like to reach the top of this mountain but cloudy skies and the occasional rain kept us off the steep and slippery upper slopes.
We are just on the outskirts of a town call Otavalo, which is known for its massive market and we are relaxing at a wonderful Hacienda called "La Casa Sol". The team is doing great and looking forward to a nice quiet night here.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
On The Map
Missed the update today. Hope all is going well. Greetings to Michael.
Posted by: sesixth on 1/24/2015 at 10:34 pm
Posted by: Casey Grom, Nick Hunt
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
We stretched our legs today with the first acclimatization hike of our Ecuador's Volcanoes program. Despite a slow start due to weather, we were able to successfully summit Rucu Pinchincha, a 15,400' volcano in Quito's backyard. The day started off with a short taxi ride from our hotel to the base of the Teleférico, a gondola that brought the team to just above 13,000'. Upon arriving, we ducked into the upper station to wait out the clouds and moisture that seemed to be hanging in the air. We drank coffee, told stories, and used the time to get to know each other a little bit better.
Soon our waiting was rewarded with a break in the rain. Grabbing our packs, we headed out into the clouds. The views were obscured, but at least we remained dry. A three hour hike and a bit of scrambling brought us to the top, where we grabbed a couple of summit shots and prepared for our descent; we didn't stay long because the rain seemed eager to return!
Moving as a team, we made it back to the gondola in about half the time it took to go up, but not soon enough to outrun the rain. We had to shoulder our rain jackets for the last leg of our descent; thankfully the team was strong and spirits were high.
Now, back at the hotel, we're packing our duffels in preparation of our move out of Quito tomorrow morning.
Hasta mañana,
RMI Guides Nick Hunt and Casey Grom, and the rest of Team Ecuador
Posted by: Casey Grom, Nick Hunt
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Hello Everyone:
All is well here in Ecuador! After some 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 Angel. He took us to the older part of town where we visited many old churches and the president's palace that sit on the old town square. Next we headed to a small hill that overlooks the 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. We then went to dinner at a nice Ecuadorian restaurant where we were joined by some good friends from back home who were here visiting on their own.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
Keep the photos coming! You look like a team that will really embrace Ecuador.
Both it’s mountains and it’s people! Magical!
Regards to Sockie. “Good on ya, mate!”
Posted by: Jeff Peck on 1/25/2015 at 11:12 am
Looks like a fun time - I’m jealous and sorry that I’m not there. Casey is probably glad though! I look forward to seeing the adventure unfold.
Posted by: Happy Dancer on 1/22/2015 at 1:38 pm
100% on the Cotopaxi summit! Everyone is safe back at the hacienda. Once we are back in Quito, we'll check in again.
Congratulations team!
RMI Guide Casey Grom
On The Map
So glad to hear everyone made it.
Great job Team.
Looking forward to seeing you back home.
Daddy
Posted by: Roger Osmun on 12/19/2014 at 4:01 pm
Congrats….great photos and blog. And hugs to Jared from Maine.
Posted by: Crystal on 12/18/2014 at 4:51 pm
Posted by: Casey Grom, Leon Davis
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Hello again everyone.
We've spent the last two days relaxing in Chilcabamba and are finally ready for our next climb. The team packed up this morning and headed closer to Cotopaxi. Our home for the next few hours is another nice hacienda call Tambopaxi, and sits just a short distance from the base of Cotopaxi and will be our launching point for tonight's climb. Our plan is to wake up around 10pm, have a quick breakfast and hopefully be out the door close to 11. Then we'll hop in our bus and drive to the base of the mountain where we'll begin our climb.
Based on how well this group did on Cayambe, I'm guessing it will take us around seven hours to reach the summit if all goes well.
Keep your fingers crossed for us!
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
I’m with you in spirit. Stay strong on the climb. best of luck, you guys and gals, you can do it.
Love you Sydney, take care of them Casey and Leon.
Daddy
Posted by: Roger Osmun on 12/17/2014 at 9:11 pm
Go Team!Thinking of you all as you make for the summit.
Doug - be safe and climb with grace.
Love, Belladonna
Posted by: Donna on 12/17/2014 at 5:58 pm
Posted by: Casey Grom, Leon Davis
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Hola from Ecuador!
Things are great here on the equator. We had a fantastic climb on Cayambe in the most amazing weather I've ever had. We started our climb by waking up at 11pm to ensure we had plenty of time for the day ahead. Everyone did a good job of getting ready in our tiny hut that was a little cramped for the 11 of us. Once the team was ready and had plenty of fresh coffee we were out the door at midnight as expected. The weather was clear and calm all night which was perfect, and the team saw dozens of shooting stars and even an amazing lightning storm far off over the Amazon. We made our way steadily up the mountain climbing close together and stopped for short breaks every hour to eat and drink. The sun rose shortly before we climbed the final steep section where we took a little time to snap pictures and put on our sunglasses. We summited just after 6am with the entire team and spent about a half hour enjoying the unbelievable view we had. Not a cloud in the sky and all of the mountains in view, it was spectacular to say the least.
The descent went relatively smooth and before long we were back at the hut tired but very happy. We took a short break then packed up all of our gear and then headed south to the always wonderful food and hospitality of hacienda Chilcabamba. Check it out for yourself.
After some much deserved and needed sleep the team spent the day relaxing around the hacienda. Everyone enjoyed the day watching the endless hummingbirds visit, playing lots of cribbage and a few of us went on a short horseback ride in the countryside.
Everyone is in great spirits and looking forward to another good night of sleep before tomorrow night's upcoming climb.
Buenos noches from Ecuador!
RMI Guide Casey Grom
Hunny, you have this! Listen to your body and be safe. It’s okay to take things a bit slower for extra precaution. I can’t wait to hear how it went on Friday when you get back and am so proud of you! Love you!
Posted by: Liz on 12/17/2014 at 6:13 am
What a great post!!
I hope Dale got on a horse (he’s never ridden one before!) Enjoy Cotopaxi, team!
Erin
Posted by: Erin on 12/16/2014 at 11:52 pm
Yoder, looks like you are having a great time! Hope you’re taking lots of photos! :)
Posted by: Jody on 1/28/2015 at 11:23 am
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