Acclimatization

Makalu Puja

Yesterday we went for an acclimatization hike up to 19,000′ and found a good location for our advanced base camp on the South-East Ridge route. The hiking was mostly on rock and scree and we reached the snowy ridge line where we took a break before heading down.

Today we had our Puja ceremony in base camp. We built a small stone altar and burned juniper at it’s base; asking the mountain for safe passage. This ceremony is an essential part of any Himalayan climbing expedition in Nepal or Tibet and sometimes Pakistan as well, depending on who is on the climbing team. Now that we have completed this important ceremony we can begin climbing the mountain.

Tomorrow, our plan is to rest and organize equipment, then the following day move up to our advanced base camp (ABC) to spend a night or two to begin acclimatizing.

Garrett Madison

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