These pictures are of Thangsing and La Muney, the 2 days before our attempt to ascend Goecha La.

The trek from Dzongri to Thangsing was very scenic. We can see the snowy peaks already, and being able to walk on plains that were relatively even made the trek much more pleasant.



Arriving at Thangsing was a real morale-booster. For once, we see clear plains and unobstructed mountains in the distance and most importantly, we finally experience direct sunshine. The weather was clear and not cloudy for once, and the temperature was warm enough for us to strip to a single layer.






We were clearly very relieved to be there. However the trek remained strenuous and we flopped on the mats once we arrived.





Our guide, Tula, had a headache and hence took a rest.


Lunch was a very surreal affair, as we had lunch al fresco with the snowy peaks just in the distance. The wind was blowing through the valley and the sunlight flooded the valley.





However, the preparation of lunch was a less glamorous affair that happened in the cooking hut near our tent.




Post lunch, we had a strenuous extended trek up a peak that was near Thangsing. We were supposed only to reach a particular viewpoint, but we ended up going much higher. This was partly induced by our guide Tula's sudden mountain madness, when he decided to break off the group and bound up the mountain by himself. When we noticed that he was going off by himself, he was already a tiny dot in the distance. We had no choice but to follow him up.

These pictures are of the places that we are supposed/planned to go.






Than we decided that we can trek even higher. As we went higher, we can already see the snowy peaks from a close distance. The trek was good preparation for Goecha La.









Finally, the end of the trek for the day. The path onwards was too dangerous to climb without proper training and equipment.



The next day we made the short journey onwards to La Muney, the last stop before our Goecha La attempt. The valley was SUPER COLD. We were freezing in our tents during the night. Luckily, we had to wake up at 3.30am to attempt Goecha La.