The nights became colder much faster than the days. We all plied under dusty, dirty blankets at night. Jaume had a thin, summer sleeping bag and scavenged whatever he could find to stay warm.When we hiked during the days, it was rarely as a group. Tress would race ahead, twice my stride. I'd be following him, then Emily, then 'Los Abuelos' or the grandfathers shuffled up the mountain slowly behind us.
On Day 8, we were headed to sleep at Thorung Pedi at 4500m. Thorong describes the pass that we were headed over. Pedi is the name given to any camp at the foot of a long walk.
Video from this time: Around 4500m
I passed by two older Canadian men who likely were true abuelos and their 2 porters. I stopped for a water break a bit later and when they came by, we started to talk. After a bit, one man turned to me and asked if I had ever hiked at high elevation before, which I had not. He told me to slow down and take it easy. Above 4000m he says everything, walking, eating, putting on clothes, should be slow. I never fully believed this advice until I watched the porters. The moved so methodically with one little step after another and would break whenever they could.
We reached Thorung Pedi one-by-one in the early afternoon. Emily had gotten food sickness the night before, likely from the Dal Baht we both ordered. She had a miserable night and her and Paul didn't leave camp until noon. It is a very rough experience being uncontrollably sick in such a foreign and bitterly cold place. While sick Emily seriously considered changing her flight plans home and how long she would keep traveling for. She's a tough Kiwi though and was feeling much better 24 hours later.
We were all ready for one more cold night and a big day over the pass. The lodges at Thorong Pedi were strictly businesses with no village life around. They were more expensive and less enjoyable than lodges farther down. We were simply perched at a chosen location on the rock slope.
After good health the entire trip, a splitting headache hit me in the afternoon. This led into food poisoning throughout the night. Thorung Pedi is a tough place to be sick. You are trapped with the very large pass day looming overhead. The cost of everything was high, I spent $9 trying to keep down a sprite and crackers. It was very cold outside the dining room and the bathrooms were dirty and had no running water.
I knew the entire group was ready to go, but I was not willing after my nightlong sickness. The entire group quickly decided to stay the day and wait with me at Thorung Pedi. I remember smiling, sick in my bed, thinking what a good group of people had come together. It was a very long rest day at Thorung Pedi, we played cards and tried to avoid almost everything on the menu. We warned anyone who would listen not to get the Veg burger, which I blamed for getting me sick.
The next morning we started walking at 7:00 a.m. The pass day requires you to climb around 1000m to the pass at 5416m. There are many false summits along the way, extending the apparent length of the long walk up. Especially over 5000m, the pace slows dramatically and constant breaks are needed. There are many consolations though. You break to look at beautiful views, everyone around you is in the same breathless state and you know that the reward is coming soon.
The slow ascent right up to Thorung La was liking walking on clouds for me. I recognized it from photos and immediately gained the energy to walk steadily towards it. It was plastered with prayer flags and I was amazed to see a small stone teahouse standing beside it. After we had all arrived and taken pictures, I did not want to stay long and started the long descent down.
The next morning we saw clouds move in behind us. In fact, the next few days were very cloudly. Though I don't know for sure, we all suspected snow had come in behind us. When snow does come in, it blocks Thorung La for days and around December closes the pass for the winter. The pass had been very climatic for all of us. So we celebrated, drank and had incredible hot showers a mountain pass away from where we had been the night before
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