“Just a little uphill, then it’s all downhill!” they said. Lies.
Thorong La Pass (5,416m) was supposed to be the grand victory of my Annapurna Circuit trek. Instead, I found myself in a full-on whiteout, stumbling through knee-deep snow, wondering if I’d accidentally walked into Narnia. My GPS was glitching, my fingers were frozen, and my only motivation was the promise of dal bhat on the other side.
Just when I thought I’d be starring in my own survival documentary, a frost-covered sign emerged from the mist—Thorong La Pass! I high-fived myself (because who else was there?) and began the knee-destroying descent to Muktinath.
That night, warming up by a teahouse fire with a cup of ginger tea, I decided: next time, I’m picking a trek with more oxygen and less near-death experiences.