I walk alone, ascending the valley above the monastery, rising ever higher to the lookout point of Kyanjin Ri. At nearly 16,000 feet I’m still more than a mile below the summit I see above me. The small group of day trekkers already there has left before my arrival, and I watch as the jetstream blasts powdery snow off of the high and icy spire of Langtang Lirung. The prayer flags ripple around me, and crows glide overhead as I set down my pack, and sit to meditate in this solitary eyrie above the Langtang Valley.
It’s my third trip to Nepal — a country that I always seem to be called back to. This visit had me filming a short documentary for an Indian friend and client, and thus also allowed me to stay a couple of months, as Nepal is a country where it is best to travel slowly and more meditatively, letting go of any desire to adhere to a strict itinerary.
Having finished up the film editing, my Dutch friend Dennis, whom I had met on my last visit in Nepal, joins me for an early morning bus ride to Syabru Besi, from where we will begin our trek in Langtang, a remote valley on the northern frontier of Nepal, just south of the high border with Tibet.
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