Thorung La 5416 m. Day 18

Nope. Not getting out of bed yet. It was still dark out and cold. I had no idea what time it was. Could have still been the middle of the night and with Cujo on the loose I was staying put. No need to take unnecessary risks now.

Beep beep beep beep!!!

"Hey Kevin, it's time to wake up." It was our 5 AM alarm.
"How much time do we have?"
"30 minutes to breakfast."

In the dining hall we over heard people complaining about not having slept. This is known to happen at high altitude. I asked Kevin, "How'd you sleep?"
"Great, you?"
"Like a baby."
It was obvious we had acclimated just fine. Looking around, we noticed how tired, or worse, pissed everyone looked.

The trail offered us no warm up. It went up, up, up. The book said today would take 4 to 5 hours to reach the pass. Just shy of 18000 feet (5416 meters) that seemed accurate. There were switchbacks, snow and ice. In a short amount of time, the sun crested over the mountains to the east. There really is no way to describe the beauty of a Himalayan sunrise in full force; massive peaks silhouetted against a sky of cerulean blue. I guess we kept a brisk pace, passing people on the ascent who had left well before us. Yeah, now they know why we eat so much...

Before we knew it, the trail had leveled out. It rolled through snow past trail markers. We were sun warmed and sure of our success. Prayer flags on the horizon marked the high point...shortly enough, we were there. We made it in 2 hours 20 minutes...speedy to say the least. I wandered off to look around and take some photos and video. Off by myself I started thinking of what it took to get to that pass.

I'd love to say that it only took us a few weeks, but honestly it took me half my life. At 14 I fell in love with the mountains. I was at Mt Hood and an inversion was occurring. The clouds below me looked like a turbulent sea, fresh snow glistened in the sun like a field of diamonds. I had to be in the mountains from there on out. My parents, always supportive, helped me along the way. This path had me moving from state to state, climbing peaks, missing peaks, meeting people, illness, injury...but I never wanted to leave. Each positive outcome followed by, "if this is possible, what else is possible?" Success has the power to erase all memory of failure and pain. I've been shut down, bruised, scraped, broken, dislocated, terrified, fell down an icy face, concussed, furious, and downright insulted... but for the moments when things go correctly, it is all worth it. I stood there thinking about all this, looking around realizing there isn't any place that feels more like home. Hot shower aside, I wasn't in a rush to leave.

What lay on the other side of the pass? Muktinath, for one. Yak steak, sizzling pizza, fresh juice, cheap beer. Down below us are roads and vehicles (we haven't seen a car in weeks), western toilets and Internet. Thorung La is not just a high pass separating the Annapurna Circuit into two parts. It is a turning point. On one side (part 1) we found ourselves going back in time. The valley has yet to be marred by roads and disturbed by engine noises. Life moves only as quickly as one can move it by foot or mule. The other side (part two) shows what the future of Nepal holds. The feelings associated with the development is a mixed bag. Ease of life for locals but less long term travelers due to road travel. This equals less income for hotels, porters, businesses. For trekkers, the magic associated with part 1 dies the second you start down from the pass. Many people call it quits at or shortly after Muktinath. Roads will open up more day hike possibilities, but long term hiking is less appealing.

I can not say what is right for this country. Not my place to do so. I will return to climb here in the future, seems Kevin might too. When we return, this area will be vastly different. We are both happy to have been able to see it now before more blasting occurs. For now though, it is one small step at a time down the pass followed by the amenities of Muktinath.