I spent my 57th birthday tenting in a stone Yak shack at 4110m, close to the Tibet border in Nepal.

Next morning I scrambled up that gap towards Tilman’s Pass.

During the long, cold night cocooned in down and nylon, I listened to one of my favourite authors, Peter Matthiessen, read one of my favourite books, The Snow Leopard.

It’s his classic philosophical account of a November 1973 Nepal trek to Shey Gompa, Crystal Mountain. A spiritual journey.

If you wonder why I keep returning to Nepal, read Snow Leopard. Matthiessen is most eloquent on the joys and challenges.