Everest 2011: Sherpa Puja Ceremony to Honor the Mountain (Photos)

Text by Dave Hahn, a guide for RMI Expeditions and First Ascent. In May 2010 Hahn reached the summit of Mount Everest for the 12th time, the most of any a non-Sherpa climber. This time, he is leading a Bill McGahan and his 16-year-old daughter, Sara, on a bid for the summit. Follow the team's Everest expedition in dispatches here.

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Dispatch 6: Puja Ceremony Near Khumbu Icefall

Here see photos from the team's puja ceremony in which the Sherpas pay homage to the mountain deity. This is the starting point for all Everest expeditions.

Puja Time

Puja Lamas and drum

The team with Khumbu Icefall behind