Vikram & Nisha

Vikram and I met through a trekking group five years ago, so it only made sense that our engagement would involve a mountain, a 4 a.m. wake-up call, and questionable footwear decisions. He'd been talking about 'one more trek before winter' for weeks, and I, foolishly, believed it was just that.

We started the climb in the dark, headlamps cutting through the cold, and reached the ridge just as the sky started turning that pale, impossible pink that only happens at altitude. I was too busy trying to catch my breath to notice Vikram had stopped walking beside me.

When I turned around, he was already down on one knee on the frozen ground, ring box in one shaking, gloved hand. He later admitted he'd been carrying that ring box in his jacket pocket for the entire six-hour climb, terrified he'd drop it on a scree slope somewhere below.

The ring is a round brilliant on a twist band — he said the twist reminded him of switchback trails, the kind you only get somewhere good by winding through. Every trek we take together now, we joke about which one might end in another proposal-worthy sunrise.

"He carried that ring box up a mountain in the freezing dark rather than risk waiting for an easier moment. That's Vikram — never waits for perfect, just makes the moment count."

— Nisha