We come to a high pass. The trail ahead dissolves into a haphazard sea of pale rocks. An avalanche has ripped open a section of the mountain like a wound, splitting weathered rock apart to reveal the ...

It was 3:15pm on August 20. Monsoon rain lashed Nepal's Langtang National Park as our four-member team trudged back from Lama Hotel, soaked to the bone after more than 13 kilometres on the trail.