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Report 2

Puja blessings and the readying for "getting up the hill"

14 April 2006

Another week has flown, carried by the jetstream winds thundering towards the coveted summit of Everest.

Two things in particular have occupied my rather oxygen-deprived brain here in Base Camp (BC) since I last reported. First and foremost was the Puja, which took place on a very windblown Tuesday morning. Puja is a religious ceremony where monks come up from the Rongbuk monastery just 5km from BC. It must be the highest monastery on earth, at 5,100 m above sea level.

In the days leading up to the Puja the sherpas prepared the chorten - a rock mound with long lines of prayer flags in it. To all of us - climbers, sherpa, guides, TV crew - the Puja is a gateway to climbing the mountain.

We seek its blessing and put personal items by the chorten. The sherpas take it ultra seriously and they would probably not climb the mountain if they had not been through it. Having given it some thought, neither would I.

On life in general and the task ahead: you realise the challenge - literally in front of you -which will demand everything you've got for the next 50-60 days, physically and even more mentally. As you know from my last report, I arrived in BC after an infection. Recovery is significantly slower in the mountains so I have been struggling a bit. However, during the past week I went on two small treks to prepare for going higher.

The first walk went well. I went with others on a 1.5 hour easy hike up to some small but beautiful lakes. After this I wanted to do a little more, so I spent 20 minutes on a rather hard trek up the East Rongbuk moraine, which is the same route we will follow to the Advanced Base Camp (ABC). On the following day, however, a boomerang hit me, telling me I wasn’t rid of the infection yet. So it was more rest for me.

But yesterday I was feeling much better and wanted to test myself over a longer time. This involved hiking up to the Interim camp at 5,800m, about halfway to ABC at 6,400m. With the winds I felt I was flying up the trail, which is pretty much one long zig-zag between rocks ranging from the size of a football to a small bus. I took the hike down nice and easy, but I was still tired and light-headed when I got back to BC, 4.5 hours after leaving.

My next chapter will come to you from ABC, to which we start trekking on Saturday and Sunday. Because of our numbers we need to go in two waves - Interim camp houses only about 18 people at a time. I have chosen to go on Sunday. It will be more than nice to get up the hill, the next vital step for us in our preparations for the summit.

Signing off from BC Everest.

Mogens

8 April 2006:  Mogens arrives at Everest Base Camp.
Read Report 1

24 April 2006:  At the foot of "Big E" - Advanced Base Camp.
Read Report 3

29 April 2006:  On fire for the fight of each step.
Read Report 4

6 May 2006:  The waiting game begins.
Read Report 5

9 May 2006:  It's a go: I'm heading for summit.
Read Report 6

15 May 2006: My best shot - but I did not reach the summit.
Read Report 7

22 May 2006: I'm off on another summit bid.
Read Report 8

27 May 2006: A bolt of lightning – and I plod down the hill again.
Read Report 9

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