Day 17 was more ice fall training so I am going to focus on our Puja ceremony today (Day 18).

It was a beautiful morning for a Puja ceremony. It began around 9am and lasted until lunch time. Lakpa told me that it is a Buddhist ceremony and they believe the gods (5 sisters) live in the mountains. The Puja is our way of asking the gods permission to climb. The ceremony began with some chanting by the Lama while we drank tea. Our mountaineering boots, crampons and ice axes were all laid behind the altar so that they could be blessed.

The ceremony continued and after we drank tea, they offered us Sherpa drink (which is basically like rice wine) but I only took a few sips since I am still fighting off a cough. They continued with offerings of beer, energy drinks and soda, as well as food items (fruit, shrimp puffs, etc). We then threw rice and tsampa (barley flour) at the altar.

The Sherpa then proceeded to erect the prayer flags – there are a total of five strands of prayer flags that represent the five elements. It was a sight to see with the prayer flags flying over our camp. Once the prayer flags were up, we all blessed each other by rubbing the tsampa on each others faces. You wished each person a long life and safe climbing as you rubbed the tsampa on their face. You will see the tsampa on our faces in a couple of the photos. The two men in the photo with me are Lakpa Rita Sherpa (on the far left) and one of the Icefall Doctors (in the middle). I believe I mentioned it before but the Icefall Doctors are the ones who are responsible for setting the route (including the ladders) through the ice fall – a very risky job.

After some of the Sherpa and others had some Sherpa drink, beer and shots of Dewar’s in them, it was time for some dancing. We all linked arms and attempted to follow the Sherpa’s footsteps as they sang. I’m sure we weren’t doing a very good job at it, but I don’t think it mattered. Everyone was having fun. The dancing officially concluded the Puja, but the Sherpa continued celebrating well into the afternoon. Those guys deserve every bit of fun they can get.

It was a fantastic ceremony and something I will never forget. Whatever your beliefs, I think anyone would walk away from this feeling blessed.

Tomorrow is a day of observance for the 2014 icefall tragedy that killed 16 Sherpa. I believe 5 of the Sherpa worked for AAI. So, there will be no climbing tomorrow.

The date of our first rotation is still TBD, but I will let you all know once we know.