Entries By casey grom

Thursday, January 16, 2025 - 3:33 AM PT

We've arrived at high camp on Kilimanjaro! Summit bid tonight!

It was a short and mostly uneventful move from Karanga camp up to Barafu camp, which is our launching point for the summit. The team did great and we arrived in just over 3hrs with amazing views most of the way, although it was quite windy and very busy. 

We've had our summit talk where we discussed our plan and the teams strategy for tomorrow. Final packing is taking place as I write this and we'll have dinner shortly, then it's off to bed for a little sleep before the climb. Weather permitting, we’ll have an early start to avoid the crowds and hopefully reach the summit with less climbers. As per usual, I'm expecting the ascent to take around 7-8 hours with breaks to reach the "Roof of Africa". 

Keep your fingers crossed for us, and there's a chance, if time allows, some of you back home might receive a satellite phone call from the summit. So keep your phones handy. My best guess is we'll be on the summit around 7-7:30 in the morning, Tanzania time. 

RMI Guide Casey Grom and the summit bound crew!

Tuesday, January 14, 2025

All is well here on Kilimanjaro!

Today we woke to beautifully clear skies with even better views of Kilimanjaro and clouds obscuring the valleys below. Our morning ritual has been waking around 6:30 and getting everything in our tents packed up before heading into our very spacious dining tent for a great breakfast feast.

We hit the trail once again around 8 am and hiked for an hour before taking our usual 15 minute break, then back on the trail for another hour. All total today we hiked for just over 6 hours before reaching camp which is set up and ready for us. 

Along the way we passed around the famous and beautiful Lava Tower reaching just over 15,000', setting new altitude records for some and we also chatted with a few other climbers who are on the same schedule with us. All in all it was a really nice day with clouds gathering in the afternoon to help keep the temperature comfortable for hiking. 

That’s all for now. 

RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Kili crew

Monday, January 13, 2025

Jambo everyone,

We started the day waking at 6:30 to start packing up before moving into our dinning tent for a nice breakfast with porridge, fried eggs, toast, avocado and even some fresh fruit, and most importantly plenty of hot coffee. So clearly we are really roughing it here. 

Today had a really nice day here on Kilimanjaro, waking to clear skies and a beautiful view of the mountain looming in the distance. We fortunately had a light cloudy layer which helped keep us cool while on the trail, which was nice as the sun can be quite intense here near the equator.

We hit the trail shortly before 8am and slowly made our way up the rocky trail with occasional views of Kili above. The trail climbs up a blunted ridge and eventually out of the trees and allowed for some truly spectacular views of the valley below. The team hiked for a little more than 4 hours before reaching out next camp that sits on the Shira plateau, which is the remnant of an ancient lava flow.

Everyone is doing very well and we are currently relaxing in camp.

RMI Guide Casey and crew

Sunday, January 12, 2025 - 9:25 pm PT

Hello everyone,

Today the we had an early start and left behind our beautiful lodge as we have headed to the mountain towards the start of the climb. We left around 8am and drove along the rural country side and small villages for 2 hours before reaching the park entrance. 

Most of the area surrounding Kilimanjaro has been cultivated and primarily used for coffee and banana production, plus a variety of other agriculture needs. There are still a few areas that have been untouched and resemble more of a savannah that Tanzania is known for. Kilimanjaro’s base is mostly forested and resembles more of a jungle, this area is called the cloud forest. 

Once we arrived at the park gate we had all of our gear weighed and divided into loads for our porters and other staff to carry before hitting the trail. Once everything was in order we started our climb slowly making our way up the winding trail that ascends continuously through the thick forest. Thankfully the overhead canopy provided a bit of relief from the hot sun overhead. 

The team hiked for a for about six hours and reached our camp for the night that sits around 10,000ft. After settling into camp and get situated the team was served a nice warm meal for dinner. 

Everyone is doing well and looking forward to a good nights rest. 

RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

Hello from Tanzania,

All is well here in Tanzania and most of the team arrived late in the evening yesterday after some very long flights. It was a short and uneventful ride to our Lodge that is nestled in between Arusha and Moshi and not so far from the base of Kilimanjaro.

We had a very early morning today (3:30am) as there were several of us wanting to see the college football playoff. And so we had our first official meeting at 8am where we did a round of introductions and then discussed the upcoming program for the days ahead. We also addressed all the gear, the packing and our overall game plan for the trip. 

The team spent the remainder of the day getting our gear organized, taking naps and exploring the grounds of our beautiful lodge, which is incredibly peaceful and has monkeys running around keeping us entertained. 

We have just wrapped up the evening with a delicious meal and plenty of friendly conversations. Everyone is doing well and excited to hit the trail tomorrow and get a little bit of exercise. 

RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Kili crew

Today we headed to Tarangire National Park known for its abundant elephants, and it didn’t disappoint. Not sure how many we saw, but it was quite a few, and we got pretty close once again. 

There were lots of giraffes, impalas, monkeys, ostriches, and many, many birds. Unfortunately we haven’t seen any more big cats, but we will head out early in the morning with hopes of seeing them in the cooler temperatures. 

We are spending our last night here in Tanzania at Nykani Tented Camp, which has beautiful tented rooms with screened windows to allow the sounds of the African bush in. So, if you have ever used or heard the term “Glamping”, this is an extreme version of that. 

Everyone is doing great and hoping to see a few more big cats on our way out of the park tomorrow morning. Then it will be back to our main lodge near Arusha for a brief stop before catching our flights home. 

Thanks for following, your loved ones will be home shortly 

RMI Guide Casey Grom, and an amazing crew!

Day 2 on Safari had us visiting the world famous Ngorongoro Crater. The crater is what remains of a once massive volcano that erupted. In the 2 million years since then, hundreds of animals have taken up residence and have created one of the best safari options in Africa.

We hit the road early with hopes of catching a few more animals before the heat sent them in search for shade. Not long after descending down into the crater we came upon several lions. There were hundreds of zebra, wildebeest, and Cape buffalo, gazelle’s and many sightings of hyenas, jackles, ostrich, and countless other birds.

One of the highlights was getting super close to a large male and female lion “on their honeymoon”.

We have just finished another wonderful meal here at the plantation lodge and are looking forward to what tomorrow may bring as we head to Tarangire National Park.

RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Safari crew

PC: Casey Grom

Today was our first day of safari for us and we headed east to visit Lake Manyara, which is know for its tree climbing lions and more than 400 different species of birds.

We had a nice day viewing the wildlife that hardly seemed to notice us, despite being only feet away at times.

We didn't manage to see any of those famous lions, but we had several very close encounters with elephants. Nothing dangerous, but they passed close enough that we could have almost touched them.

We did manage to see a few giraffe, hundreds of baboons, impalas and so many birds, and one highlight was seeing the Pearl Spotted Owl, which is about the size of a coffee cup. It was a pretty nice introduction to the incredible bio-diversity that Africa has, and everyone enjoyed the day riding around in our safari vehicles.

We wrapped up the evening here at the beautiful Plantation Lodge with a wonderful meal and great conversations. Check out our beautiful lodge!

RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Safari team.

PC: Casey Grom

What a climb we had! 

Yesterday’s climb took the team 8.5 hours to successfully stand on the “Roof of Africa”. 

After a few photos, phone calls, and just taking in the view, the team descended back down to our high camp where we were greeted by our staff with songs and a little dance. It brought smiles and a much needed boost after all the hard work. 

We then descended for about five more hours to reach our last camp on the mountain. Funny how 10,000' can feel so comfortable after such a big day.  

Our final day on the mountain! 

Today the team got up at 6 am refreshed after a much needed nights sleep, we had breakfast, then hit the trail one last time. It took about four hours to reach the park gate where the team had lunch and said our final goodbyes to our amazing crew of 51 that took such great care of us on the mountain. 

We finished the little celebration by handing out their well deserved tips and then hopped aboard our awaiting bus for the ride back to the lodge. 

Finally we are all safe and sound, cleaner, and smelling fresh after an exciting seven day journey up and down Kilimanjaro. 

Stayed tuned, Safari starts tomorrow!

RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

PC: Casey Grom

Hello everyone,

The team is back down from a safe and successful climb!!!

We have returned to high camp and will take a short break before heading to lower altitude. Tonight we spend our last night at Mweka camp which sits at 10,000ft. 

I will send a wrap up once we get back to town!!!

RMI Guide Casey Grom and the summiteers