Trekking to Everest Base Camp

After the long trek to basecamp, one of the first rituals of any Mt. Everest climb is the Puja ceremony. Our Puja ceremony was officiated by a Buddhist priest called a Lama in front of an altar built of stone. We made offerings of food and drink, asking the Gods for good fortune and to pass safely through the upper mountain. From a hole in the alter juniper branches burned continuously as we stacked our climbing gear against the alter to be blessed. Prayer flags flapping their prayers into the wind are strewn out from the alter 100 feet in every direction. During the ceremony, the Sherpas chant along with the Lama and monks, and everyone throws rice. The ceremony closes with the participants sharing food, and finally with the climbers and Sherpas smearing gray sampa flour on each others faces — a symbol of their hope that they may live to see each other when they are old and gray.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Everest
• Basecamp
• Educational Journey
• Blind
• Climber
• Blind Climber
• Puja Ceremony
• Everest Basecamp
• sherpas
• sherpa
• puja
• erik weihenmayer