2017 Everest Expedition – Busy At Base Camp

Our 2017 Everest Expedition is hard at work organizing supplies and acclimatizing to the thin air of Everest Base Camp, at 17,600′.  An integral part of every Everest expedition (at least from the south side) is the puja ceremony. This is a way in which the local Sherpa culture expresses reverence to Chomolungma, “The Goddess Mother of Mountains.”  Our team held their puja today, which involved prayers to the mountain, the flying of prayer flags, incense being burned, dancing and revelry.

The team will practise their ice climbing and steep snow skills tomorrow, in preparation for their first rotation up through the Khumbu Icefall in just a few days.  This is a fun day of top roping on seracs (huge chunks of ice) and walking across ladders.  Teams use ladders to negotiate large crevasses in the icefall and to ascend steep seracs, en route to Camp 1.

Here are a couple of pictures Jacob sent from Base Camp of the team and of our indispensable Sherpa crew!

2017 everest team

2017 sherpa team climbing sherpas

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3 Comments

  1. Reverence is being expressed in Portland, OR, too, with prayer flags flying in our front garden. Have a super fun day on the seracs and ladders (sounds like an EBC version of the kids’ game chutes & ladders)! Love to CJ

  2. Glad to hear everyone is healthy and looks happy, too. Just keep up the good
    work, we are all behind you 100 percent. Looks real pretty up there, too.
    It was nice to hear your voice, Chris. Thanks, love, Mom

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