THIN AIR, an upset stomach, aching feet—these are a few of my least favorite things. My wife had pitched my two daughters and me on an “afternoon hike” in the Himalayas. By her telling, it was something any Girl Scout worth her weight in Thin Mints could handle.

Little did we know that we’d be trekking to an altitude of 13,000 feet and camping out in a snowstorm.

My...