9/16/2001: It has begun... We're standing in the middle of the camp. Our temple is the grass, the Sun, the Mountain, the warm stones and the sky. A pudzsa is about to start - a Tibetan blessing ceremony. Some tea with yak butter, flour and cereal seeds are on the simple stone altar as well as our little charms: a Beatles cassette, a glass ball, a plush hippo, the ice axes, a guitar, a Jew's harp and a sacred scarf. Mr. Ámkámin, our eldest cook conducts the ceremony. We're smiling and off we go towards the mountain. Miki, Zoli, Mező, Konyi, Ákos, Doc and Mr. Számszer leave for the glacier. Today I'm staying "at home" - I'd like to add a short trek to my acclimatisation. I climb up onto a rocky peak, to 5700 meters. It's magnificent: I'm overwhelmed by joy. I can clearly see the others from here: moving slowly they carry a merciless load of 20-40 kilos per head to our advanced base camp. Mező, Doc and Mr. Számszer return in the evening. Mező, being satisfied, leans back in his chair. Mr. Számszer's just served the desserts, stewed mango - time's been out of joint only for a while: "Hey, it is going to be a real climbing, a wonderful wall! - he murmurs and has a sip from his tea. David

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Background of the Expedition