Thorung La Pass....Grind Session!

With our sherpa guide safely down the mountain, we pushed on up the valley to 14,700 feet at Thorung Phedi which would be our base camp and acclimatizing village before the pass of Thorung La which was 3,000 feet above. We were all nervous and ready to conquer the pass that had been in the back of our minds since the beginning of the trek. In total, we would climb over 15,300 feet from the valley floor through jungles, gorges, evergreen forests, and now high tundra. We awoke at 3:30 and had a sherpa breakfast of vegetable noodle soup and then egg and cheese omelets and and boiled potatoes to share. The first portion of the hike, from Thorung Pedi to High Camp was very steep. We hiked this with our headlamps under the stars, but towards the end the sun was starting to come up. After a short rest and some water at High Camp, we continued upward to the summit. This was one of the first days we hiked around a lot of people so that was quite different. The sunrise on all of the peaks was amazing. There were several sections where we went down, but most of the time it was up. As our guides say, "Steep and not as steep." We all pushed through the hike, taking few breaks, and just kept going. Once we reached the top, it was such a relief and celebration, all in one. Groups cheered each other on as everyone came over the top. We had digestive cookies, jerky (thanks to a new great friend), leftover boiled potatoes, a coveted Snickers bar and coffee. We spent some time on top resting and enjoying the view. A bit further up, there was another viewpoint where we took some great photos. Husker fans-the flag was displayed proudly at almost 18,000 ft while you all slept-GO BIG RED! The hike down was nearly as insane as the hike up, we descended about 5,400 ft. We were all extremely tired and got our rooms at the Bob Marley guest house in Muktinath, gateway to the Mustang region of Tibet. We ate some great food and celebrated our triumphant summit with local apple brandy and beer with fellow tourists. We will never forget our day up Thorung La!