The Ascend part one

الصعود

الجزء الأول

Though it is still early dawn, they will be the last people I encounter on my way up.

Their weathered faces are rugged—probably half, but looking at least twice my age. With deep aggressive groves in the tanned skin around their eyes casting ominous shadows on their chiselled cheekbones, the three returning mountain guides give me a shifty up-and-down as we pass each other on the steep narrow mountain path.

Their packhorses, which force me to lean hard against the mountain slope, pass me by with much friendlier eyes—filled with a recognisable exhaustion. Theirs come from descending with their heavy loads, mine comes from ascending into the thin air…

The mountains have been affected by the heavy rains. Their steep slopes are littered with scree—brightly coloured rocks of emerald and crimson, into which my boots keep sinking precariously on the narrow path edged into the towering mountainside. 

In some places, the heavy rains have washed away entire sections of the path. Nothing adds adventure to a high-altitude hike like having to traverse gaps offering a clear view of the rugged valleys, with their little villages and tall minarets, several hundreds of metres below.