{"id":711,"date":"2015-05-09T08:04:20","date_gmt":"2015-05-09T15:04:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pottinger.net\/osm\/?p=711"},"modified":"2016-03-13T21:27:45","modified_gmt":"2016-03-14T04:27:45","slug":"puja","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pottinger.net\/osm\/2015\/05\/puja\/","title":{"rendered":"Puja!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today was very important for our expedition.\u00a0 We held a blessing ceremony, or puja.\u00a0 This 3 hour extravaganza seeks permission from the mountain deities to allow safe passage for all climbers on the mountain.\u00a0 The elaborate ceremony was presided over by a lama from far down the valley\u2026 he was an adorable elderly man who truly did not look capable of walking all those miles up to our camp.\u00a0 Think Yoda, but not green, and with a more charming toothless smile.<\/p>\n

\"Our<\/a>
Our Lama, assisted eagerly by many sherpa.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"DSC00506\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"We<\/a>
We all agree that we got the best Lama ever. (Photo: Blake Penson)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He faced an altar made of stone, adorned with food and tsampa sculptures.\u00a0 A smoky fire of juniper boughs burned at the base of the altar, and blew right in our faces the whole time!\u00a0 This is a holy tree, and its smoke is revered, so I certainly dared not fidget or show my discomfort.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Puja altar.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"DSC00761\"<\/a>
Green juniper makes for holy smokes…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Offerings<\/a>
Offerings of food sit beside a pile of our gear that we chose to have blessed.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lots<\/a>
Lots of goodies in there. (Photo: Justin Merle)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Onto<\/a>
Onto the pile: My helmet, harness, axe, and ascender. (Photo: Justin Merle)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Closeup<\/a>
Closeup of the altar.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Any<\/a>
Any food or drink will seem to do.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We were seated just behind and beneath the front row of holy men who led the songs and chants that went on for hours.\u00a0 The sun was out, and the icefall showed itself in all its fearsome glory.\u00a0 During the ceremony I studied it closely, and was moved almost to tears thinking of those lost there last year.\u00a0 It was a freak occurrence, to be sure, but it happened to men who had gone through this puja process and had died just the same.\u00a0 I promised myself that this year will be different, that the route will be safer and more efficient, and I reminded myself that these men are here by choice\u2014indeed, they are heroes and very well paid members of their community\u2014but in the end I was totally humbled by their sincerity and earnestness.<\/p>\n

\"Nuptse<\/a>
Nuptse watches from above.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A<\/a>
A “motivator” glacier hangs over the icefall on the west shoulder of Everest. \u00a0Asking Everest’s permission to climb seems very prudent.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"We<\/a>
We drink in the sun… and the smoke.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"(Photo:<\/a>
(Photo: Justin Merle)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Andy<\/a>
Andy and LC (Photo: Justin Merle)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Blake's<\/a>
Blake’s custom eyewear is stylin’ (Photo: Justin Merle)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Siva<\/a>
Siva rocks the buff. (Photo: Justin Merle)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Fatima<\/a>
Fatima and Siva take it all in. (Photo: Blake Penson)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Towards the end of the ceremony a flagstaff was raised at the center of the altar, and long strands of prayer flags were stretched out to encompass the entire IMG campsite.\u00a0 We threw rice as a tribute to the mountain, ate tsampa (which actually tasted much better than I recalled from 1984), drank beer and chang (an unfiltered rice alcohol, think of opaque sake with lots of chewy stuff inside).\u00a0 And, we painted each others\u2019 faces with flour to represent grey beards and a long, prosperous life.<\/p>\n

\"Up<\/a>
Up goes the flag staff, capped by sacred juniper boughs.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Prayer<\/a>
Prayer flags stretch across our entire camp.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Flags<\/a>
Flags fly up towards HimEx and the icefall.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"And<\/a>
And towards the mountain herself.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Phunuru:<\/a>
Phunuru: International man of mischief! (Photo: Justin Merle)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Phunuru<\/a>
Phunuru ties cords around our necks for good luck. (Photo: Blake Penson)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Then came the dancing.\u00a0 Lots and lots of dancing.\u00a0 With arms intertwined, we formed a long line and kicked our legs out in an inscrutable rhythm (I am a terrible dancer, ask Julie).\u00a0 It did not help that I was positioned on a small slope of blue ice.\u00a0 Anyhow, this went on for quite some time, happy and fun.\u00a0 By the time lunch came around we were already full and bloated.\u00a0 The idea of moving to Lobuche basecamp tomorrow is not appetizing, but we will do it!<\/p>\n

\"Tsampa<\/a>
Tsampa flour gets EVERYWHERE. Thanks to Phunuru, this includes our faces… the flour symbolizes a white beard and long life.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Greg<\/a>
Greg gets floured. (Photo: Justin Merle)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Ditto<\/a>
Ditto for Fatima. (Photo: Justin Merle)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Celebrations<\/a>
Celebrations start with beer…. (Photo: Justin Merle)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"...<\/a>
… and rapidly move to Chang, the local home-brewed rice wine. This stuff is full of something sticky. Think sake, with chewy bits. (Photo: Justin Merle)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Yes,<\/a>
Yes, it is noon SOMEWHERE in the world. (Photo: Justin Merle)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Phururu<\/a>
Phururu and Justin. (Photo: Justin Merle)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Our<\/a>
Our amazing team of Sherpas! (Photo: Justin Merle)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Let<\/a>
Let the dancing begin… (Photo: Justin Merle)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A<\/a>
A Chorus Line….<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"One<\/a>
One line, one team, one purpose. We are in this together, happily.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today was very important for our expedition.\u00a0 We held a blessing ceremony, or puja.\u00a0 This 3 hour extravaganza seeks permission from the mountain deities to allow safe passage for all climbers on the mountain.\u00a0 The elaborate ceremony was presided over by a lama from far down the valley\u2026 he was an adorable elderly man who … Continue reading Puja!<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":727,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-711","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ascent","category-basecamp","expedition-everest-2015"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPuja! - OSM Adventures<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pottinger.net\/osm\/2015\/05\/puja\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Puja! 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