Entries By casey grom
Casey Grom here checking in with RMI's Kilimanjaro Climb # 2 of 2024!
All is well here in Tanzania and most of the team arrived yesterday morning 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. The team spent the day relaxing and getting adjusted to the nearly 12hr time change.
We had a leisurely morning today and had our first official meeting at 8:30 where we did a round of introductions and then discussed the program for the coming days ahead. We spent the remainder of the day getting our gear packed up, exploring the grounds of our Lodge, which is incredibly peaceful and has monkeys running around keeping us entertained.
We wrapped up the evening with another 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 # 2
Sign Up For Kilimanjaro Climb & Safari, January 20, 2024 Emails
Hello everyone!
After a bit of 4 wheeling and stellar driving we made our way through Tarangire National Park, which is known for its abundant elephants. In fact, it has more per square mile than any place on earth. However, with all the rain Tanzania has been receiving lately, there weren't nearly as many gathered around the river that flows through Tarangire, but we still saw a few.
There were plenty of other animals to see though. We saw a few Giraffes, lots of Impalas, 7 lions, and a ton of birds, including a pair of the rare Verreaux's Eagle Owl. We ended our day at a beautiful and remote off grid camp. It's a tented camp that lies inside the park with medium size screened in rooms that allow the night sounds of Africa in.
Tomorrow we’ll have an early departure to increase our chances of seeing Cheetahs and Leopards, as they have still eluded us.
Casey and the Safari crew!
Sign Up For Kilimanjaro January 6, 2024 Emails
Today, we visited the famous Ngorongoro Crater, considered by some to be the 8th wonder of the world. The crater is roughly 100 square miles and is home for more than 25’000 animals that have taken up residence. We hit the road early with hopes of catching a few more animals before the heat of the day sent them in search of shade.
There were many sightings today of hyenas, jackals, ostrich, and countless other birds. We manage to see a ton of Lions including one large female up close.
The team also managed to see quite a few Black Rhinos, although not as close as we would have hoped for.
We have just finished another wonderful meal here at the plantation lodge and the team is off to bed after a long, but very rewarding day on safari.
Casey and the safari crew
Sign Up For Kilimanjaro January 6, 2024 Emails
Safari time!
Today was the first day of safari for us and we headed east to visit Lake Manyara, which is know for its tree climbing lions, flamingos, 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 a very close encounter with Elephants. Nothing dangerous, but they passed close enough that we could have almost touched them.
We did manage to see zebras, Cape buffalo, giraffe, baboons, impalas and so many birds we lost count. 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.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and the safari team
Sign Up For Kilimanjaro January 6, 2024 Emails
Our final day on the mountain!
Today the gang got up at 6am 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 44 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
Sign Up For Kilimanjaro January 6, 2024 Emails
January 14, 2024
Posted by: Casey Grom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Elevation: 19,340'
It’s a miracle!!!
Rain and snow clouds. But this team stuck with it.
100% on top
Everyone doing well and headed back to high camp.
All team members safely down to high camp and doing well.
Everyone is tired, which feels about right.
Packing up, then a huge lunch, then we’ll make our way down to some thick air at Mweka camp.
It’s also raining again!
RMI Guide Casey Grom and the summiteers
Sign Up For Kilimanjaro January 6, 2024 Emails
January 13, 2024
Posted by: Casey Grom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Elevation: 15,200'
Saturday, January 13, 2024
Greetings from High Camp!
Today we woke to the sound of rain drops on the tent. Which you’d think we’d be accustomed to at this point, but thankfully the rain stopped as we were having breakfast. We had a relatively nice three hour hike to High Camp with a brief view of Kili looming high above. Everyone did great and the team is feeling good.
The team has just wrapped up lunch and discussed in great detail the plan for tomorrow’s climb. Everyone knows what we’ll be wearing, what will be in the pack, as well as the schedule.
Our game plan will be to wake at 11pm and have a quick breakfast at 11:30, then hopefully hit the trail right at midnight. The team has been doing great thus far and I’m expecting us to reach the summit in seven to eight hours if things go according to plan.
Wish us luck!
RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Kilimanjaro summit bound team!
Sign Up For Kilimanjaro January 6, 2024 Emails
Officially on the graveyard shift it seems! Nice work everyone. Especially my brother in law!
Posted by: Elsie on 1/13/2024 at 2:53 pm
Awesome news! Enjoy the views!
Posted by: Amy Jahner on 1/13/2024 at 2:02 pm
January 12, 2024
Posted by: Casey Grom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Elevation: 13,160'
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Hello Everybody.
Team is still moving uphill here on Kilimanjaro. We thankfully had a few hours this morning of dry weather before the rains returned. It was a blessing for sure, since our only major obstacle for the climb was right out of camp. The Barranco wall was mostly dry and allowed the team to navigate this steeper section more comfortably.
The team hiked for about four hours plus a few short breaks to reach our new camp for the night called Karanga, which overlooks a large beautiful valley. Unfortunately everything is obscured by the thick clouds and rain. But it’s good to be at camp where there is plenty of hot drinks and warm food to help make us more comfortable.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and the swim team!
Sign Up For Kilimanjaro January 6, 2024 Emails
Great job guys!!! You can do this! Excellent news.
Posted by: Elsie on 1/12/2024 at 2:50 pm
Great job team! Keep on keepin’ on!
Posted by: Amy Jahner on 1/12/2024 at 7:56 am
January 11, 2024
Posted by: Casey Grom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Elevation: 13,030'
Thursday, January 11, 2024
Hello again everyone -
The Kili team is still hanging tough!
We left our second camp called Shira this morning just after 8am and didn’t make it to far before the rains returned. The team made it to our high point (15’000) thus far called Lava Tower where the rains turned to heavy wet snow. Unfortunately the usual beautiful views were obscured but the team did great and everyone is feeling good, minus being a little more damp than we’d like.
We continued down valley to our new home for the night in Barraco valley. And thankfully the rains have tapered and we are enjoying a little break in the very abnormal weather we are having.
Fingers crossed the weather will break and we can dry out a bit and enjoy some much needed sunshine.
RMI Guide Casey and the Kilimanjaro swim team!
Sign Up For Kilimanjaro January 6, 2024 Emails
January 11, 2024
Posted by: Casey Grom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Elevation: 12,570'
Wednesday, January 10, 2024
Jambo Everyone
We are still here on Kilimanjaro!
After a good nights rest and a full breakfast with plenty of coffee the team set off uphill for day two. We only hiked for a short while before the rain sadly returned, but we continued to persevere as we did yesterday. It was a pretty wet day so we took our time to stay safe and arrived in camp a little over 5 hours of being on the move. The team is doing well and in good spirits and very much looking forward to some much needed sunshine.
We have enjoyed some delicious warm meals and joyous conversations in our dinning tent which has helped keep the morale high.
If anyone back home is play “the rain in Africa” by Toto. Please turn it off!
RMI Guide Casey and crew
Way to go Andrew and team!! You guys crushed it!
Posted by: Rahim Charania on 1/14/2024 at 1:57 pm
Such great new. The smiles say everything. Congratulations!
Posted by: Brenda Cerkoney on 1/14/2024 at 9:57 am
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