Before I die, I shall fly.

Mountain passes in the Himalayas are often named such: Zoji La, Nathu La, Khardung La, Rezang La, Gyong La, Marisimik La.

You'll notice the commonality. "La" in Tibetan means, literally, "higher" or "above". And high they are. Passes in the Himalayas are higher than actual mountain peaks elsewhere.

Khardung La is the highest motorable (motorable: in a manner of speaking) road in the world. It is at a height of nearly 18,000 ft. That is three and a half miles above sea level. That is insane.

I've driven a motorcycle in the mountains at half that height. You don't know what it means to be frozen until you do something that stupid. Trust me on this. We stopped at a ramshackle hut in the mountains that served tea (and hope). I've held a piping hot glass of tea, fresh from the stove, in my hand, without feeling a damn tendril of heat.

You had to be there.

Trust me, what you see in the video takes some doing.

And I will do it. If you can't do something noble, at least do something unusual, I always say. Before I die, I shall fly.