Thursday April 10. Base Camp Puja.
We had our Puja this morning. We were told last night that there was not another auspicious day until Monday and that 7am was the time to start.
We rose at 6:30 and made our was to the Chorten that the Sherpa had constructed. The sun had not yet hit our camp and it was quite cold. We have the highest camp at BC and we have a beautiful unrestricted view of the ice fall. As the Lama made his preparations we all took seats on foam pads. We had two Lamas, one with a bright orange Winchester hunting cap and ear muffs and the other with a TNF down jacket on. There were also several assistants running about and a group of Sherpa making final preparations to the flag pole.
The Puja ceremony happens on all Himalayan expeditions and the Sherpa will not set foot on the mountain until the Puja has been completed. Each expedition will hold their own. The Puja essentially asks for safe passage on the mountain and apologizes for the damage we will cause to the Mother Goddess of the Earth with out ice axes and crampons.
There was no formal announcement that the Puja had begun, but the Lamas started chanting and the Sherpa got quiet. For about two hours the Lamas chanted while they faced the alter. We were served tea as we watched. Eventually the sun hit us and we warmed quickly. Dry rice was passed around and as the chanting intensified we through rice into the air. Ryan, our, guide seemed to have a disproportionate amount of rice aimed at him. Snacks, frozen pop and beer was passed out. We also had a chance to try a local home brew called Chang. It is made of fermented rice with lots of other ingredients thrown in. I think it must be an acquired taste. A bottle of rum was also passed around and everyone took a cap full. Barley flour was passed out and we all took a handful. We stood and the chanting increased once again. Then we all threw our flour into the air. Everyone was white as a result. More flour came around and was rubbed on faces with a statement of 'good luck'. This quickly degenerated into an all out flour fight as flour was thrust into faces of unsuspecting victims. The Puja ended with the Sherpa arm in arm, singing and doing a kind of line dance. Slowly people faded away back to their tents to warm up and rest. All this by 10am.
For the remainder of the day I will rest and if we can get the shower unfrozen I may even have a shower. My first in ten days. I am looking forward to it. I just got word that the shower is broken. I guess it will be a baby wipe bath for now.
I am feeling well as my stomach bug seems to have passed and I feel well acclimatized to this height. I slept very well last night, but I did get a bit cold in the early morning.
Susan emailed me your messages from MyEverest. It is great to hear you encouragement and to get a bit of news from the outside world. Feel free to send as many messages as you wish. If you have specifications questions I will try to answer then in the next dispatch.
That's all for today.
Big hugs to Susan, Amy and Colin.
Scott. (SS)