To Australia Camp and back again; Or how to endure the gravity of giants

To leave Kathmandu is to shed the city’s chaotic gravity for the silent promise of the Annapurnas. We climbed to Australian Camp not to conquer the mountain, but to celebrate a milestone: my twins turning six and to my embarking on a new sabbatical. While I bargained with the jealous god of gravity on the stone steps, they bounded up as sparks of kinetic joy; a reminder that watching your children grow against a backdrop of eternal snow is to feel the devastating speed of time.