Thorong La Pass

Karma and I barely slept. The altitude and cold, dry air were affecting my breathing and I was concerned about Lena. Karma was worrying about Lena all through the night. About 4.10am I had Karma outside my door. We went and checked on Lena. She was feeling OK, no more headaches or vomiting. The decision was to get up and go.

I can barely put in words the challenge of this day. The long, slow, 1000m climb to Thorong La Pass (over 5400m); the sense of relief and emotion when we reached the top; the sheer guts and determination from Lena; the incredible strength of Ali, who at 13 years old has to be one of the youngest foreigners ever to do this crossing … who Karma originally didn’t believe could do it when he heard her age, but he did believe when he saw what good walkers both girls are. And for me, an end to any doubt I had about my ability to do this at 48 years old and completing something I had originally been drawn to 24 years ago.