A very auspicious day for us here at Everest base camp with our “Puja” (blessing ceremony) taking place. Several high lama’s traveled great distances to come to camp to bless our expedition before we tackle the upper mountain. 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. For our CTSS Puja, the Sherpa chose a full moon and according to the Tibetan calendar, the day Buddha began teaching. A special day indeed. 

Those of us that have participated in many Puja’s were in agreement that this was the best one we’ve ever been fortunate enough to be part of. 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.

Today we are resting and packing for our second rotation. The Sherpa team carried another heavy load to Camp two and are setting up for our arrival into camp as I write. The climbers will wake up early in the morning and start their ascent to camp 1 in the dark for their second rotation. They plan to spend several nights at camp 2, from here heading up the Lhotse face to touch camp 3. This long rotation will put them in perfect position for the forthcoming summit bid. 

All best from EBC, 

Mike Hamill

CTSS Owner
CTSS Everest & Lhotse Team ready to climb.