Entries By casey grom
Hello All,
Today the team was greeted with clear skies and plenty of sunshine above a cloud layer that filled the valleys below Mt. Kilimanjaro. We started the day in similar fashion with fresh fruit, eggs and great coffee, and started our hike in light layers and lots of suncream just after 8 am again. The team made good time climbing up the
Shira Plateau which is an old lava flow with sparse vegetation and plenty of boulders. We ascended up to a place called Lava Tower which is around 15,000' and managed to set a few new altitude records for some of the team. Once our high point was reached we descend down into the Barranco Valley where we marveled at the unique giant groundsels and Senecio trees that litter this area.
We arrived at camp with all our tents set up and ready for us to move into once again. The team is incredibly thankful for the hardworking support that we have here on Kilimanjaro.
Everyone is doing great and looking forward to a much deserved night of rest.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Kilimanjaro crew
On The Map
Hello all
Most everyone slept well last night and we started the day with our wonderful support staff bring us hot tea and warm washing water to our tent this morning. We had nice breakfast of fresh fruit, fried eggs and of course plenty of fresh coffee.
We hit the trail today on
Mt. Kilimanjaro around 8am and climbed up a moderately narrow ridge that lead all the way up to the Shira Plateau where we traversed into camp. It was mostly cloudy today which didn't allow for many views but did make for some really nice hiking temperatures. The team made good progress today on the rocky trail pausing only for some porters to pass and of course taking a break every hour for water and snacks.
We are currently resting in camp enjoying the warmth of the sun and taking in our first views of Kilimanjaro.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
On The Map
Hello again everyone.
We had a early departure from the Dik Dik Lodge and drove east for about two hours to reach
Kilimanjaro National Park. Our drive took us through the rural country side of Tanzania which is full of banana and coffee plantations, markets and plenty of people headed between home and the local water well. It was very surreal to see so many folks who depend on these wells for their water, especially watching them walking with 5 gallon jugs carefully balanced on their heads.
Once at the gate we took a short break to sign in and allow our team to arrange all the loads and hire all of our porters for the seven-day climb. Our team started with 11 climbers and quickly grew as we acquired all the support of cooks, waiters, camp crew and porters and we ended up at a total of 68!
Just before 11 a.m. we set off on the trail that ascended through the forest and slowly climbed all the way up to just shy of 10,000'. It took the team a little over four hours to reach our camp and everyone did fantastic and enjoyed the hike.
The team just finished dinner and are all comfortably resting in our warm sleeping bags- thanks to the hot water bottles our gracious crew prepared for us.
Not quite roughing it yet!
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
On The Map
Hello everyone and welcome to RMI Expeditions' fourth
Kilimanjaro Climb and Safari of the 2013 summer! The whole team arrived last night after some very long flights and have been comfortably resting here in Africa just outside of Arusha, Tanzania in the wonderful Dik Dik Hotel.
After catching up on some much needed sleep we started the day with a nice breakfast of fresh juices, fruits, eggs and delicious bread while watching the local monkeys play in the yard. We then had our official team meeting where we had a round of introductions and discussed the intricacies of our upcoming climb. We spent the remainder of the afternoon packing and enjoy the beautiful grounds of our hotel. We wrapped up the night with an amazing five-course meal that finished with everyone favorite: bananas and chocolate ice cream!
Everyone is doing great and we are all very excited about the adventure that lies ahead.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and Crew
The
Expedition Skills Seminar – Emmons led by
RMI Guide Garrett Stevens called from Columbia Crest at 6:56 am, the team arrived at the summit around 6:30 am PT. Garret reported clear skies with a marine layer below at 5,000’, moderate winds and cold temperatures on the Emmons route. The team will return to their high camp for a final night on the mountain.
RMI Guide Casey Grom & the
Four Day Summit Climb approached the crater rim of Mt. Rainier shortly before 7 am. Casey reported 100% of the team members would be reaching the summit. He also reported winds from the west and good route conditions.
Congratulations to today summit climbers!
The Four Day Summit climb led by Thomas Greene and Billy Nugent reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Thomas’ team was starting their descent from the crater rim at 7:45 am. They reported high clouds building, cold temperatures and calm winds.
The teams will continue their descent. We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.
Congratulations to today's summit climb teams!
It was a great day here in St. Pete's!
We started the day with a walking tour of this beautiful city led by our wonderful local guide Natasha. She took us to the major sites and enlightened us to the 300 years of this city's history. We took a short break where some folks did a little exploring on there own, and others headed to the famous Hermitage where we learned that if someone spent one minute at every piece of art, it would take 8 years to view it all! Needless to say, we saw only a fraction of it.
Later in the evening the team headed out on a final tour of this majestic city by boat. We spent an hour touring the city from its many canals, which was a great way to wrap up our
trip.
It's been a wonderful adventure with a great team. We are all thankful for the great weather we've had, but are looking forward to getting back home.
Missing all of our families and most of our friends.
See ya soon!
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
Well the team has arrived in beautiful
St. Petersburg. It was a long day of travel: three-hour bus ride followed by a three-hour flight. It's warm here and the sun doesn't set until nearly 11pm. We went on a short walk to stretch the legs and had a wonderful dinner at a great little cafe nearby.
Everyone is doing well and looking forward to exploring the city tomorrow.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
Hello everyone:
It was a pretty mellow day here in
Cheget. The team spent the day resting after our big climb. We mostly just relaxed around town doing a little shopping and catching up on some emails at the hotel. Everyone is packed up and ready for our trip to St. Petersburg tomorrow.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
On The Map
Update 10:30 a.m. PST:
Success!
It was a wonderful albeit tiring day for all. We started our climb with a 1:00 a.m. wake up call and hit the trail by 3:00. It was a beautifully clear and calm night for climbing. The team did an amazing job at taking care of themselves and pushing hard to reach the
highest point in Europe. It took about seven hours to reach the summit and less than half that to descend back to camp. We had a quick lunch and headed downhill for showers and a great celebration dinner with our local support.
Everyone is extremely happy and tired!
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
Casey Grom and team reached the top of
Mt. Elbrus this morning! After spending some time on top to enjoy the views and take some photos, the team began their descent. At 3:00 a.m. PST and back at the Garabashi Hut, Casey sent the photo below showing the team on the summit!
On The Map
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Hey Steve and Brian! Been following your progress all week. If I’m getting it straight, tonight is the night! So good luck and enjoy every minute of it! You guys rock.
Posted by: Dave L on 8/24/2013 at 9:17 am
Hey what’s that hat you’re wearing Chambo? WHat a nice bunch of smiles you all have on. Clearly you need more challenge. : )
Posted by: jordo on 8/23/2013 at 8:09 am
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