The wakeup call came early, as if I needed to be awakened. It had been a restless night at Yala Peak High Camp, which sits at 15,700 feet. My guides had told me “It can be cold up there”. I was wearing all the clothes I had brought, layered up, with insulated ski pants and a down jacket and inside a sleeping bag rated at -4F, and still, it was not enough. The few clouds from the previous afternoon had cleared, and with a clear, starry night the temperature plummeted. One of my climbing guides delivered a much welcomed cup of hot coffee and a bowl of oatmeal. As he unzipped the rainfly the thin layer of ice lining the inside of the tent crackled and a few small pieces broke loose and fell to the floor. I had filled my water bottle before bedtime and had put it inside my sleeping bag to keep it from freezing. After breakfast we began our summit push through the snow, on the trail by 4am, by flashlight. Our goal was to reach the summit by 9am while the weather was still good, as mountain weather can change quickly, especially beginning around midday.

In the 7 days leading up to summit day, we had trekked up Langtang Valley, 3 days by foot from Syabrubesi (4700 feet), to the highest village, Kyanjing Gompa (12,700 feet), where we hung out for a few days and did some day hikes to acclimatize. The plan worked well, as I had no symptoms of altitude sickness at all, not even at 18,000 feet. At Kyanjing Gompa there was plenty of time to hang out with other adventurers. Usually, the conversations began with “Where are you from?” The people were a diverse mix of adventurers from all over, with a surprising number of solo female travelers who had hired a guide. I met lots of Europeans: Brits, Irish, French, Germans, Italians, Dutch, Swiss, Swedes, Slovaks, Romanians and many others. There were Asians, Middle Easterners, Canadians, Australians, and yes, Americans. Some from Texas. And they all spoke English. When a Nepalese-speaking Sherpa guide sits down with a German-speaking client, their common language is English. Sure makes it easier for us English speakers. At end of day we would gather around the wood-burning heater, burning wood or dried yak dung, in the dining area (sleeping rooms are not heated), where we would talk about our trekking plans, or what we had done. I learned a few things about other treks in the Himalaya where people had first-hand experience of what it was like. Early mornings, people would gather in the kitchen around the wood-burning stove, as it was the only source of heat at that time. One morning as I was standing by the stove warming my hands, a young couple came into the kitchen, and the guide asked me if I had met…? I greeted the lady with “Good morning Israel”, to which she replied “Hi Texas”. We had met the day before, and they were there for a quick trek up and down the valley, for only six or seven days. And then there was the group of 4 Germans who, along with their guides, had done the hike up to Yala Peak Base Camp, but the weather turned bad with snow and high wind, and they returned the same day arriving back at the village later that evening by flashlight.