20th April 2023 on Everest

An auspicious day for the team with our Puja ceremony being held yesterday, opening the way for us to begin our Everest climb in earnest. A Puja is a Tibetan Buddhist ritual that is part of Sherpa life, the purpose of which is to ask the mountain deity for safe passage and of course to celebrate.

Those of us that have participated in many Puja’s were in agreement that this was one of the best one. Many climbers form all over camp came to join us in this celebration and the lamas chanted and blessed for several hours and of course there was lots of good food and drink on offer! It was a great chance for us to socialize and celebrate with each other, Sherpa and non-Sherpa alike and solidify our bonds before heading higher. We concluded with a traditional Sherpa dance, locking arms and forming a semi circle in front of the Puja alter. We ‘Mikaru’ (or ‘foreigner’ which roughly translates to ‘white eyes’) tried to emulate the Sherpa as best we could!

The culmination of the ceremony is raising the Puja pole in the center of the alter and stringing prayer flags over our camp, building a zone of protection for the team. When the flags blow in the wind it is thought by the Sherpa that they send out prayers. This has become a common part of any Everest and Lhotse expedition and the Sherpa, who draw no distinction between their daily lives and their Tibetan Buddhism, appreciate and welcome us in this ritual.

With the Puja complete, our Western Guided team have launched into their first acclimatization rotation, leaving Base Camp in the early hours while the icefall is at its most stable. The forecast looks good and the plan is to sleep at Camp One tonight, tag Camp 2 tomorrow, returning to Camp 1 for a second night before dropping back to Base Camp. The schedule is flexible and will take into account how the team are feeling etc.

Our private 1:1 climbers are working independently with their guides on their schedules and training in the lower part of the Khumbu icefall/glacier just outside of camp. We’ll keep you abreast of their movements when they start uphill.

Lower in the valley, we bid farewell to our 3 Peaks climbers, who had an epic trip with 3/3 summits of Lobuche, Pokalde and Island Peak! Congratulations guys! Along with a number of our EBC trekkers and Lobuche climbers who have become a true part of our family.  We wish them all safe travels back home.

Cheers
CTSS Team