Entries By casey grom
Hello everyone:
Today is our rest day before we make our
summit attempt. We got up a little early for a little crampon practice while the snow was still firm and familiarized ourselves with our ice axes. We had breakfast and then spent a little time playing cribbage. After lunch we had our summit talk to prepare ourselves for tonight's climb. Everyone is ready and all we need now is a little good weather!
Keep your fingers crossed for us.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
On The Map
Hey everybody this is Del, one of the Elbrus team members, reporting from about 12,000 feet on the
southside of Elbrus. Today we did an acclimatization hike to 15,000 feet and everybody did well. We've got a strong team and a great group of people with diverse backgrounds. Greg, another team member, fabricated a set of horseshoes from some steel he scavenged and a lot of people have been playing on the mountain. Besides that, we've been napping, reading and socializing to pass the time. Our cook, Albina, has been feeding us well and the food has been tasty. The weather has been pretty good from this Hawaii boy's perspective and we're all looking forward to making our summit attempt tomorrow night. We're doing well and our spirits are high!
Del and the RMI Elbrus Gang
Today the team moved uphill and we are officially on
Mt. Elbrus. We made use of two cable cars and one last chairlift to reach what is called the barrels. The barrels sit at just over 12,000' and look like grain silos laying on their side. They are sparsely furnished and comfortably sleep six climbers each. It's home for the next few days for us and others climbers from all over the world, which is just one of the things that make this South Side trip so special. It feels like an international climbing hub with peaceful climbers sharing stories from all over the world.
Shortly after arriving and getting settled in to camp the team set out on another acclimatization hike and reached an altitude of about 13,500'. We then descended back to camp and are currently enjoying the view and working on international relations.
Everyone is doing great!
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
On The Map
It's nice to be back in the mountains!
Today the team awoke to cloudy skies and a little rain here in the Baksan Valley at the base of
Mt. Elbrus. We started our day with a nice breakfast with fresh juice, porridge, and fried eggs. We had a bit of a rain delay so we walked over to the local gear shop and picked up a few last minute things for the climb then headed out on our first acclimatization hike. We made use of the ski lifts here to access the better hiking terrain and help us gain a little more altitude. Certainly not the norm elsewhere, but luckily for us it is in Russia. We hiked a little over an hour and reached our high point which was just over 10,000. Everyone did great and enjoyed the views even though they were a bit limited with the cloud cover. After descending back to town we had quick lunch and spent the remainder of the day exploring town, getting packed for tomorrow and a few of us even managed a cat nap too.
The team is in good spirits and excited about moving uphill tomorrow!
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
On The Map
Hello again everyone.
Today the team left behind the busy streets of Moscow and made our way south to
Mt. Elbrus. It was mostly a travel day with a flight over the middle of Russia, which is predominately rural. It's very much like our own Midwest in that its mostly agriculturally-based terrain. We landed in Mineralnye Vody, which translates to mineral water in Russian, and is obviously known for its abundant natural springs.
From there we rode in our local outfitters van for about three and a half hours to Cheget, a small ski town in the winter that sits at the base of this big mountain. Along the way we passed endless sunflower fields and many Mosques. The area around
Elbrus is predominately Muslim from its original Turkish roots. We finished the day with a wonderful traditional meal cooked by a few kind older ladies that live here. Everyone is doing great and ready to stretch their legs tomorrow.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
On The Map
The team had a wonderful day here in
Moscow. After a night of much needed sleep, the team set out and explored the city on foot. Not far from our hotel is the famous Red Square, Kremlin and GUM (sort of a super mall for the elite). Most team members did a little adventuring on their own in the morning, then met up later for a guided tour of the Kremlin. We spent a little over four hours visiting the beautiful grounds, and many churches that exist within the compound.
It was a really enjoyable day for all even though there was a bit of rain here today. We finished the day off with another great meal at a local cafe where we communicated with lots of finger pointing at the menu and plenty of smiles.
Everyone is doing great and looking forward to heading to the mountains tomorrow.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
Hello everyone,
Teams all here! Excited and I'm sure a little tired after such long flights and the big change in time zones. We kept things pretty simple with just a brief round of introductions and dinner. Tomorrow we'll stretch our legs and explore the city.
RMI Guide
Casey Grom and Crew
What a day, what a day!
We started the day off with a nice walking tour of this majestic city with our kind Russian guide Natasha. She led us around
St. Petersburg stopping by the major highlights this city is know for and educated us to its deep history. We visited the Church of the Savior of Spilled Blood, St. Peter's Square, and St. Isaac's Cathedral along with many other beautiful sites. We took a brief break for lunch and explored a little on our own. Most of the team visited the Hermitage know for its incredible art collection, while others sought out their own adventure.
We reconvened around 8 and Natasha took us on a spectacular boat tour on the many canals that intertwine this city. The day was very rewarding for everyone and I'm pretty sure everyone would love to stay longer.
It has been a wonderful adventure the last two weeks with a great team! In a way it's sad that we've reached the end of this trip. Good times were had and good friends were made!
Missing all of our families and most of our friends.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
It was another long day here in
Russia, but the team has finally arrived in beautiful St. Petersburg. We spent most of the day traveling and have just finished the day with a wonderful Indian meal and a nice stroll to stretch the legs.
Everyone is doing great and we are looking forward to taking in the sights tomorrow.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
Success feels good, and we soaked it up by relaxing around our hotel today. The team spent most of the day close to the hotel on our iPhones and visiting the local market for a few trinkets.
We wrapped up the day with our post climb celebration dinner at a nearby cafe. We had a Russian BBQ with wonderful soup and a potato salad. The team received summit certificates from our outfitter and from
RMI, and made a few toast with a little vodka too.
Everyone is doing great and are looking forward to seeing
St. Petersburg in the upcoming days.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
Good Luck Mr. Barber & Team!
Posted by: The Pages on 7/27/2013 at 8:31 am
Fatima,
Now this is the fun part of the trip! Hope you all have a great climb. Peter
Posted by: Peter Williamson on 7/27/2013 at 7:12 am
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