Thursday 21st March
Yesterday we came over the Thorong La pass, the high point, quite literally, of the Around Annapurna Trek at 5416m.
I asked Dil what ‘Thorong La’ means. The ‘La’ part is a pass, which you can tell from looking at a map. The peak next to the pass is ‘Thorong Peak’. Dil didn’t know what Thorong meant, but it is apparently a Tibetan word.
We left High Camp in the dark, about 5am and walked up through the dawn with the moisture in the air like glitter against the snow covered peaks. It was truly beautiful.
After arriving at the top about 9:30am, we came down to Muktinath at 3760m by the early afternoon, a drop of over 1600m in altitude. Most of the way down was in snow and ice, which for me, was harder than the climb up. The whole day was the most physically challenging experience I have ever had. The support from Dil, our guide, and Sanda, a Sherpa with us, was immense. I’m not sure I would have been able to do it without their help.
Am I glad I did it? Definitely. Would I do it again? Probably not.
Suzi Richer 