Getting Ready to Ascend the Khumbu Icefall

RMI update from Casey Grom…

April 15, 2010
17,575 ft.

Greetings everyone,

The team has adjusted to our new home and daily routines. Everyone seems to be feeling well and we are all excited about heading higher. There has been plenty of training on the lower glacier and several acclimatization hikes that leave us feeling we are ready for the next step. Our new goal will be to ascend the famous Khumbu Icefall. We have already had a few small forays into the lower glacier and everyone did great. The Icefall starts just a few feet from camp and ascends a little over 2,000 ft to Camp One. Our goal will be to ascend the icefall as quickly, safely, and comfortably as we can. It won’t be a race, but more like a slow, steady climb to camp. We are hoping it takes no longer than 6 to 7 hours for our first trip. If all goes well we will spend a few days at Camp One and might even venture up the Western Cwm to Camp Two. George Mallory himself named the Western Cwm (Cwm being a Welsh word meaning valley).

The weather has been interesting these last few days and it’s beginning to snow as I type. Hopefully a few days of rest, some good weather and we’ll be on our way.

Hope everyone is doing great back home and we miss you all (well, most of you anyway!).

Casey and crew

Last Day in Namche

RMI Update from Casey Grom…

March 31, 2010
11,500 ft.

Namaste everyone,

Today was our third and final day in wonderful Namche Bazaar. We had an early breakfast and headed out the door for a hike that was part exploring and part acclimatization. The weather was calm and clear and allowed us some of our first views of Everest and other Himalayan giants. It was breathtaking to say the least. Even though Mt. Everest is still miles away it looks really BIG! We climbed up to somewhere around 12,000′ so that’s only 17,035′ more to go.

Our adventure took us to two villages called Khunde and Khumjung. Khumjung is famous from Sir Edmond Hillary having built one of the first schools in the Khumbu Valley and their delicious bakery. Along the way we stopped off at the Everest View Hotel and had a quick drink and enjoyed the view the hotel is famous for.

Everyone is doing great and we are looking forward to moving further up the Khumbu Valley.

Casey and crew

From the Summit of Cotopaxi!

Hi everyone, just a quick update from Wendy in Ecuador. Today she and other climbers on her team summited Cotopaxi. As the oldest climber and the only woman on the team, Wendy was happy to be the first to reach the summit after a long, tiring day.

Thanks for your support – and climb on!

Trish

RMI’s dispatch…

December 4 – 14, 2009 Ecuador’s Volcanoes Expedition
December 10, 2009 (5:43 a.m. PT voicemail)
Lead Guide: Casey Grom

Hello, this is Casey Grom calling from the summit of Cotopaxi!

We are just now standing on top in perfect weather with no wind. It has been a great day but a pretty tough day with deep snow and steep ice climbing to get us to the top. Our summit attempt took almost 7 1/2 hours and we have five out of nine climbers standing on the summit with Billy and me. We will be heading down soon and will check in later today from our next hacienda.