It's as easy as ABC Part 4 'Take it to the top'

Our final day of ascent is short but emotion charged, as we reach our goal. Surrounded by mountains on all sides, I feel almost cocooned by nature but eerily close to my mortality. A lonely monument stands testament to the adventurous souls who left their bodies in the Annapurnas, and given the extreme climate and terrain it is easy to imagine.

I ask for continued protection on my descent and thank the mountains for their hospitality.... and with that, fog, snow and sleet marches up the valley- perhaps the mountains had revoked their protection? I retreat to my lodge just in case.

Morning time brings new wonders. In the pre-dawn light, the Annapurnas luminesce, the rising sun reflecting off snow blankets. The sun emerges over Machapuchare, castings its slender, golden fingers over all the peaks and bathing them in an surreal orange glow. The seven days we have taken to reach this point is now bearing its greatest dividends, as the spectacular mountains awaken to a cloudless sky. Honestly, words cannot grasp the sheer magnitude of this moment.