Thorong Phedi – Thorong La – Muktinath
13th April 2023
Where do I start?
The day had finally come.
Months of preparation, gear to be bought, a fitness regimen to be followed, tickets, guides, the encouragement of my friends and my family.
It all came down to this one day.
Would I emerge victorious in this war with the mountains?
The last 2 days were trying. I was left confused and with a sense of trepidation. Not fully confident in my ability to make the final push.
A 1000m climb to Thorong La at 5416m followed by a 1700 mtr descent in a single day.
I woke up at 2:30am and packed by torchlight.
It was dark, bitterly cold and silent.
The only other noises were that of the quiet movements and whispers all the other journeymen preparing to set off on their own quests.
A hastily consumed breakfast, and garbed in 4 layers, torches on our foreheads we set off.
The 1st – 1km is a steep dark ascent by torch light to the Thorong High camp about 450mtrs above us.
All you could see were flickering lights below and above of the other hopefuls. No sound but that of my own breathing, my heart pounding in my ears as I greedily sucked oxygen for each step. It was bitterly cold. My finger tips were going numb. Cold winds buffeted you once in a while.
It was like Thorong La was whispering in your ears to stop this madness and go back down.
She told me I couldn’t do this. I had no business attempting something so far out of my zone.
She sent horses past me tempting me to give up and take the easy way out.
Whispers in the darkness…
I was cold, fatigued and desperate.
Another whisper…
I stopped. I turned around to go back down.
There was no way down. The path was single track and there were others climbing. I had not the energy to move to one side of the dark slopes to make way for them.
I turned back up.
I tried to stop listening to her.
It was 25 minutes, then 45, then one hour. My mind, like my hands were going numb.
1.5 hours later I saw High Camp under the warm glow of the rising sun.
I wearily walked in to the tea house, stripped off the gloves from my numb hands and wrapped them around a hot mug of water.
I was told the worst was over.
A good 30 minutes later, I was ready to start the next phase – High Camp to Thorong La.
Another 550 mtrs and 4.5 km to go.
The air was thinner yet and the breathing tougher.
I saw some trekkers racing by at a fast clip but, could hardly move at a crawl myself.
I saw some getting onto horses.
I saw some turning back
I saw some with bleeding noses
She whispered again.
I went on
We were on an exposed side of the mountain. Footprints in the snow, the only way to tell you where the path was. The number of people on the mountain, like the oxygen, was thinning. Those who were able, had gone ahead to claim their victories. Those who couldn’t had turned back to fight another day. Very soon I was the only one I could see on the mountainside apart from my guide. The winds were picking up.
It was 9:00am and I had a km or so to go. 2 hours at least at my pace.
10:30 – I saw far in the distance, a string of prayer flags.
The whispers had stopped – Defeated
I walked up to the top of the pass to claim my victory.
A hot tea and some biscuits would be my prize.
As we left the pass and started our long descent down through icy moraines and steep snow drifts, I thought of everything that had gotten me here. As my throat welled up and the tears came, the emotions of the day finally rushing out, it finally struck me.
The whispers were not Thorong La.
The whispers were mine.
My fears amplified – Defeated
I had won
Epilogue
After 10 days of fabulous trekking, challenges, the making of new friends along the way, it was now time to head back home. A quick visit to the Muktinath temple and then jeeped down to Jomsom for a flight to Pokhara and Kathmandu. A great night of celebrating the pass, and the Nepali new year with some potent Rakshi and with great friends (Chris Fawcett and Lucia, Jesper and Annique Boonen, Jos and Else) we made along the way
Chris Fawcett and Lucia, Jesper and Annique Boonen, Jos and Else.
The next morning we woke to cancelled flights and had to requisition some jeeps to take us to Pokhara along some very sketchy mountain jeep tracks. The adventure continued…14 hours and 1 change of vehicle later I finally reached Kathmandu at 1:30am in time for a hot shower, a quick nap before heading to the airport back to India.
This was a fantastic trip and the experience of a lifetime. I would be remiss if I didn’t make a mention of my guide Yam Bahadur and Porter Hari from Himalayan Wonders that went above and beyond in the last 12 days.
Disclaimer – The Annapurna Circuit, while a very challenging trek is not technically very difficult for most. For me, as a novice trekker in high altitudes – in fact my first trek ever was demanding in multiple ways. These thoughts and feelings are entirely my own and my response to what was my biggest challenge to date. I hope to be back again soon, stronger and a little more experienced.
Cheers.
