This is a recount of Monday December 9th 2024, one of the most challenging days of my life. Today I woke up at 3AM to trek through the Thorong La Pass: elevation of 5,416 m (17,769 ft). I slept in all my layers, base layer, fleece, windbreaker, down jacket, two pairs of socks, so I did not have to fumble around putting on clothes early this morning. I woke up with a slight headache due to the altitude. The starting altitude was 4500m. I put on my head lamp and went to the dining area to have a black tea and Tibetan bread. I was scared how my stomach would react so I did not eat that much. We started the trek around 4AM and it was pitch black dark. It was -17 degrees Fahrenheit. I did not even think of the cold because I was trying to fight off my headache. The stars were numerous and so bright. The first two hours was straight uphill. As the altitude increased breathing became harder and my heart rate accelerated. I only could see two feet in front of me due to the darkness and focused on going forward slowly. After five steps I would have to take a break and was huffing and puffing. I felt dizzy. My heart felt like it was about to burst out of my chest. I was nervous I would pass out and roll down the side of the cliff. One wrong step or slip on a rock could send you rolling thousands of meters to death. Every time I needed a sip of water it was frozen and I had to exert so much effort to unfreeze it. The sun started peaking over the mountain just at the second half of the leg, around 6:45 am. For a second I thought I was going to be stuck in perpetual darkness and realized how thankful I am for the sunlight. At the halfway mark we stopped in a closed teahouse to shield ourselves from the wind. At this point it was probably -25 degrees Fahrenheit. I had hand warmers but my thumbs felt numb and like they were about to fall off. I was dizzy and my stomach was churning, I thought I would throw up or pass out any second. We took a nice long break in the closed tea house before starting the next leg. The second half was just as hard due to the increasing altitude. Now I would take five steps and had to stop. I tried to calm my heart and breathe. In the mountains everything is so quiet, you can hear your neuron synapsis. Every time we made it over a hill I thought we were finished, but it seemed to never end. The last thirty minutes I literally was taking one step every three seconds. When I reached the top it was a relief. We took some pictures at the 5416m (17,769 feet) peak of the world's largest pass. We thought it was time to celebrate but then we had to trek another four hours downhill to lunch. After being so gassed that was the last thing I wanted to hear. It started snowing on the back side of the mountain and the snow would get into my clothing making me cold and shiver. It hurt my knees going downhill. I couldn't believe we needed to trek more after the four most excruciating hours of my life. Horses passed us on the way and I never wanted to ride a horse more. After a very long four hours downhill we made it to lunch. It was nice sitting in a local place to rest and eat. The host made a fire and we ate simply. I reflected how simple humans can be. After lunch we had one more hour trek. It was snowing hard and windy but we had to power through. We stopped by Muktinath temple and finally made it back to society. Unfortunately at the hotel the electricity was broken so that meant no shower or running water. This was one of the most difficult experiences of my life and I am happy we did it. When I was hating the trek my mind took me to warm places and places of love. I hadn't had a good shower or clean clothes in a week and a half. This trek pushed me to my limits. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done in the moment but it all fades away after. When you do hard things it is important to tell yourself the pain is only temporary.
