Entries from Everest BC Trek
Back safe and sound in Kathmandu!
Well all most!
Managed to get the team out of Lukla by the skin of our teeth. Sadly I wasn’t able to join them, only eight helicopter seats available for the nine of us.
Hopefully tomorrow I’ll be able to join the crew.
I’m sure everyone is enjoying the comforts at the Yak & Yeti Hotel, hot showers, good food, and the warm temps.
It's been one amazing adventure 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 crew
Hello again.
We woke to another beautiful sunny day here in the Khumbu. We started early to beat the traffic and the team made good time, yet taking time to enjoy this peaceful and majestic place.
There were still dozens of loads headed for basecamp as always, because much of the needed supplies arrive via plane or from a few days away by mules.
We also ran into several more friends on the trail headed for Everest and it was nice to say hello and wish them the best.
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
Hello again everyone.
All is still well here in the Khumbu as the team members made our way back into Namche. 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 one last good view of Everest.
Along the way we ran into several old friends from my past trips and stopped to wish everyone good luck.
Tomorrow we'll be moving out early on our final leg of the journey back to Lukla. So please keep you fingers crossed we have good weather and can make our flight back to Kathmandu the following morning.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
Hey everybody, this is Casey Grom calling from the Everest Base Camp Trek. Just want to let everyone know that all is well here in the Nepal. Unfortunately, we had some technical difficulties with our SAT phone and had some Wi-Fi issues here. We had a big storm the last couple of days which kind of knocked some things out. But everyone is doing great. In fact three days ago, we walked into Base Camp on a beautiful sunny warm day. We were welcomed by our gracious staff at Everest Base Camp, and they had a big spread of food set out for us and made everybody feel incredibly welcome. That evening we got a start of a snowstorm that dumped somewhere in the neighborhood of I don't know six to ten inches of snow. The following day, yesterday, they set up this big shower tent for us and we were able to get everybody through a round of hot showers there at Everest Base Camp. Literally just a couple of stone's throws from the Khumbu Ice Fall.
So this morning we woke up to pretty blustery skies and said our goodbyes to our team at Base Camp and and have made our way back down valley. We are currently back down in Pheriche, and there is snow still all the way down here. In fact, as I said, I think it knocked out their their solar systems for the last few days. So, we won't be able to get any pictures out, but hopefully tomorrow when we had to Namche there should be plenty of cell service, and there should be some Wi-Fi down there. So just updating everyone letting you know things are going well. Everyone's happy and look forward to getting down to even thicker air down there at 11,000'. I'll get some pictures out then. Thanks for following.
RMI Guide Casey Grom
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.
Once we've arrived at our new village for the night we check in to our rooms and take a small nap/break. We then often meet around 5pm for a little tea, popcorn, and card playing.
Dinner is often around 7 pm and the menu is pretty much the same at every tea house with plenty of soups, simple pasta, 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.
A few of us also hiked up Kala Patar to get a better view of Everest.
Spirits are high as we push closer to Everest Base Camp and if the weather cooperates, we should arrive tomorrow.
That's all for now -
RMI Guide Casey Grom
On The Map
Dereesa, What an experience you must be having, it looks like a a trip you will never forget! Wonderful pictures! Take care, see you soon! Suzanne
Posted by: Suzanne Diers on 3/27/2019 at 10:44 pm
Hey! I met Casey last year in Pheriche at the tea lodge we were lunching at in Pheriche. He was leading an expedition and we were trekking to EBC. It was so nice to meet him and the other folks on his expedition.
I’ll be back to the Solo Khumbu region again next year in 2020 to trek the Gokyo Lakes route. It’s off to Macchu Picchu this spring for me.
Good Luck on your Everest summit Casey! Happy Climbing:)
Cheers.
Jamie
Posted by: Ms. Jamie A. Groth on 3/26/2019 at 1:22 pm
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.
In the afternoon we took a short walk to an overlook of the Khumbu glacier where we could just make out Everest Base Camp far in the distance.
Everyone is currently relaxing in our tea house enjoying the warmth of the fire. There's been lots of cribbage and plenty of good conversation with our team and other trekkers on the same journey as us.
RMI Guide Casey Grom
On The Map
Friday, March, 22,2018
Hello everyone,
All is well here in the beautiful Khumbu Valley. Today was a scheduled rest/acclimatization day, so we did just that. After breakfast we made a long slow climb up the big hill that’s just behind our tea house. We climbed just up over 16,000ft to help our bodies adjust to the upcoming altitude of Everest Base Camp. The team did great and throughly enjoyed the amazing views in nearly all directions. We could see Cho Oyu the 6th highest and Makalu in the far off distance which is the worlds 7th highest mountain, as well as countless other huge mountains. It’s very surreal to be higher than anyplace in the continental US and be surrounded by so many big mountains.
We spent the remainder of the afternoon relaxing at the tea house chatting with other trekkers and recovering from our day’s outing.
Some of the team took showers again and the rest of us rewarmed ourselves by the big wood stove that burns dried Yak dung, just as the Sherpa people have done for centuries. We are a little ways above tree line and firewood is scarce, but Yak dung is plentiful.
RMI Guide Casey Grom
Namaste Everyone
The team woke to beautifully clear skies again and views of Everest right out our dining room window. We’ve settled into our daily routine of getting up and packing our duffel bags before meeting in the dining room for breakfast and plenty of Starbucks coffee thanks to RMI sending it with us. After breakfast we step outside to get a better sense of the temperature before adjusting our layers for the hike. Once on the trail we do our best to maintain a steady pace, with stops every hour or so to stay hydrated and take in the views. There’s plenty of other hikers and yak trains headed in both directions to negotiate as well.
Today we hiked for a little over 5 hours including breaks and a light lunch to get to our next tea house in Pheriche, which sits at about 14,000'.
Everyone did great and enjoyed the stunning views of Ama Dablam, one of the most iconic peaks along the route to Base Camp.
RMI Guide Casey Grom & the crew
On The Map
Hi Eileen,
Pictures look amazing. We’re so proud of you. Can’t wait to hear all about your adventure. Keep Climbing!! we love you - Mary and Charlotte
Posted by: mary Segesta on 3/21/2019 at 8:20 pm
It was another beautiful day here in the Khumbu Valley, and we had some nice views of Everest. Just above Namche you can see Everest far off in the distance, still about 20-30 miles away. You can also see the fourth highest mountain, Lhotse, and Ama Dablam, which is one of the Himalayan's most beautiful.
We hiked for about six hours today up and down, dropping all the way down to a river, which is a stunning turquoise, then climbed slowing up the hill before the famous Tengboche Monastery.
Traditionally we have gotten a blessing from a famous lama in Pangboche, but sadly that lama has moved on to a higher calling. So today we were able to request a private Puja with another lama at Tengboche and each received a blessing. The Puja is a Buddhist ceremony where the lama chants a Buddhist prayer and gives us a blessing to protect us from harm.
We've settled in to a nice and warm tea house called Rivendale that's full of trekkers from all over the world. Cribbage and good conversations have rounded out the evening and now it's time for a little rest.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and the newly blessed crew
Dereesa, great pictures of the trek. Looks like everyone is having a great time! Suzanne
Posted by: Suzanne Diers on 3/20/2019 at 9:30 am
Hello again everyone back home.
It was another great day here in the Khumbu Valley, with the team waking up to bright beautifully clear skies, and mountains in every direction. We had a nice relaxing breakfast and decided to make the most of our scheduled rest day by hiking a little way to visit a Monastery in Thamo. It’s home to a kind group of female Buddhist Monks that are Tibetan refugees. They apparently escaped over the boarder which is only a few miles away and have made this home like the Sherpa community did some 500+ years ago. When we arrived the nuns were milling about and tending to their greenhouse that they use to grow their vegetables. We purchased a few prayer flags and prayer beads to help support them and then made our way back to Namche for lunch.
Then evening was spent exploring Namche and doing a little bargaining for a few gifts.
Finally we wrapped up the evening with another great meal here at our tea house.
All is well and everyone is doing great.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
Way to go Dereesa! What a great epic adventure. Thanks for getting to share it, distantly, with you.
Posted by: Arch Lamb on 3/20/2019 at 11:10 am
What an amazing team, and beautiful experience. Special shout out to Dereesa!
Posted by: Davene Dietzler on 3/20/2019 at 6:38 am
Be safe, please tell April we miss her and are so happy and proud she got to experience this amazing trip
Posted by: CHRIS ALLIS on 3/27/2019 at 4:30 pm
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