A personal PhotoChallenge matching a story to a photo every day for 30 days with short tales of travel, mountaineering, Nepal, art, and a few personal ones too!

6. Two Absent Friends

On top of Yala Peak, Nepal, on the border with Tibet. Not a massive peak by Himalayan standards at around 18,000ft, but a memorable one as my two close friends and I, Mingma Sherpa and Ged, trekked for 5 days to reach the peak, then spent 2 days in the snow and ice to reach the summit. This was April 2003, and in 2005 Mingma was killed in a building site accident in Kathmandu, then in 2017 Ged died from cancer. Both were losses to me in quite different ways, Ged and I had been close friends for 50 years, Mingma had been my trusted mountaineering guide in Nepal for 4 years, both represented a deep trust and friendship that cannot be replaced.

Ged & Mingma, Yala Peak summit, Nepal

Almost there! Yala Peak, Nepal

Categories: Photography

Tags: 30 day blogging, 30 day challenge, absent friends, himalaya, langtang, memories, mountain tales, mountaineering, Nepal, personal challenge, personal life, photochallenge, Photography, photostories, sherpa, themindfulcamera, travel tales, yala peak