Tag Archive for: Puja Ceremony

Puja Ceremony at Everest Base Camp

Today, the Everest team wrapped up their technical skills training and enjoyed their traditional Puja Ceremony at base camp.  Here’s guide Terray Sylvester with today’s audio expedition dispatch:

Hello!  This is Terray calling in for the 2022 Madison Mountaineering Mount Everest expedition!  It’s April 17th.

Today we wrapped up our technical training on the ice pinnacles right below base camp here on the Khumbu Glacier.  And then, in the afternoon, we had our pre-climb Puja.  Today is an auspicious day for that in the Tibetan calendar.  And so it was a great ceremony with blessings for everybody and lots of dancing afterward.  That ceremony is just intended to ask permission to climb the mountain and ensure safe passage up and down for all of us.

The team is in good spirits – everyone is doing really well with their training.

Tomorrow we’ll likely have a rest day as we prepare for our move up to Camp 1 (6050m/19,849ft) for our first acclimatization rotation, which will probably happen sometime in the next few days.

So, we’ll be in touch!

Puja Ceremony at Everest Base Camp

Puja Ceremony at Everest Base Camp

Sirdar Aang Phurba putting barley flour on climber Cameron Kenny’s face to ensure a long life

Sirdar Aang Phurba putting barley flour on climber Cameron Kenny’s face to ensure a long life

Puja dance celebration

Puja celebration

Puja Ceremony at Everest Base Camp

The whole 2022 climbing team after the puja


In addition to these expedition dispatches, you can also follow our teams as they make their attempts on the world’s most formidable mountains on:

Amazon Alexa devices with the Madison Mountaineering Flash Briefing skill:

  • Enable the skill and add to your flash briefing to hear Garrett Madison’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my Madison Mountaineering flash briefing.

Instagram:

The team after the Puja ceremony

After reaching Everest Base Camp yesterday, the team held their Puja ceremony today in which a Buddist Lama led the team in prayers for safe passage on the mountain.  Garrett Madison, expedition leader, has this update:

Hello, this is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering / Mountain Hardwear Everest Expedition.  Today is September 16th.  We arrived at base camp yesterday on the 15th, settled in last night, and had a good night.

 

Today we did our Puja ceremony with the whole Sherpa team, all of the climbers, and trekkers!  It was a really good Puja ceremony; we had a Buddist Lama from Pingboche come up the valley and we had good weather for nearly all of our Puja ceremony.  So, it was a great day, great ceremony!

 

Tomorrow we are going to start climbing, work on the route through the icefall.  And also say goodbye to our trekking team who are going to head back down towards Lukla and Kathmandu.  All’s well here at Everest Base Camp.

 

We’ll check-in soon.  Thanks!

Puja!

Puja! (📸: Aang Phurba Sherpa)

Climbing team after the Puja ceremony

Climbing team after the Puja ceremony (📸: Aang Phurba Sherpa)

Garrett and Anag Phurba at the Puja

Garrett and Anag Phurba at the Puja (📸: Aang Phurba Sherpa)

The team after the Puja ceremony

The team after the Puja ceremony (📸: Aang Phurba Sherpa)

 


In addition to these expedition dispatches, you can also follow the team as they trek to Everest Base Camp and then make their attempt to summit the world’s highest mountain on:

Amazon Alexa devices with the Madison Mountaineering Flash Briefing skill:

  • Enable the skill and add to your flash briefing to hear Garrett Madison’s daily audio expedition updates

Instagram:

– our Garmin inReach Mini powered real-time tracking map:

The high Buddhist monk journeyed to Mount Everest base camp this afternoon and blessed our team with a joyful Puja ceremony. Our climbing and Sherpa team gathered together as one to give thanks to Sagarmatha and present gifts for safe passage. The lama was graceful and presented each climber with a blessing. After the ceremony concluded our friends on the Gurkha team (Nepal and UK) came down to our camp and joined in the festivities. Winds have finally settled down and we were all able to relax outside together and enjoy the cultural Nepalese experience.

In the afternoon, a few members of our team went out into the Khumbu icefall for additional training on the ice. We are all settling down for the night now and about to enjoy another of Antony Dubber’s amazing meals, I do believe that we are all gaining weight up here with his extraordinary high altitude culinary skills. After supper we typically partake in watching a film in our the movie theater, tonight we watched Top Gun.

Tomorrow we will not be climbing or training in the icefall in remembrance of the 2014 icefall tragedy. Our team will rest and prepare equipment for the first rotation in the days to come. The stoke is high and we are all ready to move up the mountain. To higher places!

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Joyful Puja ceremony

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Joyful Puja ceremony

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Joyful Puja ceremony

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Joyful Puja ceremony

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Joyful Puja ceremony

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Joyful Puja ceremony

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Joyful Puja ceremony

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Joyful Puja ceremony

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Joyful Puja ceremony

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Joyful Puja ceremony

Today we said goodbye to the trekkers and prepared for the Puja Ceremony. A Lama came into our base camp and was assisted by sherpa to bless our team and equipment for safe passage to the top of Mt. Everest. We had a wonderful time and enjoyed the ceremony! Through the afternoon the weather slowly shifted to clouds and then to snow. In base camp we received a couple inches of snow and the temperature dropped considerably. Good thing we are well equipped! The weather report is calling for snow over the next few days and the possibility of sun in the morning hours. At dinner we celebrated Nick’s Birthday with a large cake and we all sang happy birthday together!

Tomorrow we will continue to sort our gear and prepare the communication equipment. Our team will conduct training in the icefall to prepare for the first rotation up to Camp 1. The team is doing very well and we are all in good health. Onward and upward!

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY NICK!!

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