It’s been 3 days since we’ve arrived at EBC. At a height of 5,300m, it is higher than the summits of most mountains in the European Alps. We are glad that we are settling down comfortably and have managed to carve out a cosy corner which we will call ‘home’ for the next 2 months.
Dining Tent at EBC
The ‘Puja’ ceremony was conducted on the second day of our arrival and it is a religious ritual performed by a lama and the Sherpas to ensure safe passage up Everest. As a gesture of respect, we also participated in the ceremony which included food offerings and prayers.
Puja Ceremony
The weather patterns here are expectedly extreme. We usually have bright sunshine in the mornings until about 3pm when snow starts falling, bringing temperatures down to about -15 degree Celsius. Our tents will be snowed in and we usually huddle in the dining tent for warmth. Thanks to SingTel, we have successfully set up a communication platform which we are currently using to bring you updates from base camp.
We will be staying here for the next couple of days before we head up for our next acclimatization cycle where we will spend a day at Camp 1 (6,100m).
The Singapore Women’s Everest Team formed in 2004 and aimed to send the first team of Singaporean women to the world’s highest peak. Following a rigorous 5 year training schedule, we successfully reached the summit of Mt. Everest in May 2009, placing 5 Singapore women on the top of the world.
