"I still remember sitting outside a tea house in Upper Pisang, watching clouds drift across the Annapurna range as avalanches rumbled in the distance."

In 2022, feeling stuck in a corporate job and craving adventure, I booked a trip to Nepal to trek the Annapurna Circuit with Much Better Adventures. Over 14 unforgettable days, we crossed high mountain passes, stayed in remote tea houses and experienced some of the most dramatic landscapes I've ever encountered.

But I wasn't just travelling for the scenery. I was searching for space – real space. The kind you only find high in the mountains. Space to think, reflect and reset. Away from the noise of everyday life, the Himalayas gave me the perspective I didn't realise I was looking for.

Looking back, that journey would become far more significant than I could have imagined. It not only deepened my connection with the mountains, but ultimately set me on the path to becoming a full-time mountain artist.

Artist Cat Goward trekking in the Himalayas

Why was the Annapurna Circuit life-changing?

The 14-day Annapurna Circuit trek through Nepal's Himalayas changed the course of my life. Crossing high mountain passes, walking beneath some of the world's highest peaks and spending days immersed in vast, untamed landscapes, I felt something shift.

Surrounded by endless horizons and towering mountains, a sense of creativity that had been dormant for years came rushing back. The Himalayas didn't just inspire me visually; they reconnected me with a part of myself I had lost amidst the routines of corporate life.

As I descended from Thorong La Pass, one of the highest trekking passes in the world, I had a moment of complete clarity. When I returned home, I was going to paint. Not occasionally or as a hobby, but with purpose and commitment. I wanted to capture more than the landscape itself. I wanted to express the feeling of standing in those mountains: the freedom, awe and perspective they inspire.

That decision would eventually lead to the creation of Cat Goward Art.

Turning mountain adventures into art

Somewhere on the Annapurna Circuit, a new idea began to take shape.

As I sat outside remote tea houses drinking tea and watching the Himalayas transform throughout the day, I became fascinated by how alive the landscape felt. Clouds drifted through the valleys, revealing and concealing entire mountain ranges within minutes. As the sun warmed the snow-covered peaks, avalanches rumbled down distant slopes. The mountains were never still.

What captivated me wasn't just the scale of the Himalayas, but their constantly changing atmosphere. The light shifted from soft pinks and golds at sunrise to deep blues and purples at dusk. Every hour revealed a different mood, a different story.

It was then that I realised I wanted to combine my love of painting with my passion for mountain adventures. Not to create traditional landscape paintings, but to capture the feeling of being in these extraordinary places.

When I returned home, I painted obsessively. I wanted to translate the awe, freedom and perspective I had experienced in the mountains into contemporary works of art. Over time, that vision evolved into Cat Goward Art: a collection of original mountain paintings inspired by real journeys, personal achievements and meaningful adventures.

Today, my work is collected by mountain lovers, hikers and adventure travellers who want to celebrate the landscapes and experiences that have shaped their lives. Because the mountains leave their mark on us long after we've returned home.

How this journey changed my life

The Annapurna Circuit gave me something I hadn't found in years: clarity.

Before the trek, I was working in a corporate job, following a conventional career path and doing what I thought I was supposed to do. On paper, everything looked fine, but something was missing. I felt disconnected from my creativity and increasingly drawn towards a different way of living.

Spending two weeks immersed in the Himalayas gave me the time and space to reflect. Away from emails, meetings and the distractions of everyday life, I was able to think more clearly about what I wanted from life and the kind of work that would truly fulfil me.

The mountains have a way of putting things into perspective. Walking for days beneath some of the highest peaks on Earth made many of my worries feel insignificant and reminded me how important it is to spend time doing the things that make you feel most alive.

When I returned home, I couldn't shake the feeling that something had changed. The trek had reignited a creative spark that had been dormant for years. I found myself painting constantly, inspired by the landscapes, colours and emotions I had experienced in Nepal.

Over the following years, that spark grew into something much bigger. What began as a way of reconnecting with my creativity gradually evolved into a clear vision for the future. The confidence I gained from stepping outside my comfort zone in the mountains gave me the confidence to do the same in my career.

Eventually, it led me to make one of the biggest decisions of my life: leaving the traditional 9–5 career path behind to pursue art full-time.

The Annapurna Circuit didn't just change the way I saw the mountains. It changed the way I saw my future. It taught me that the most rewarding paths are rarely the most obvious ones, and that sometimes you have to go off-piste – both literally and figuratively – to discover where you're truly meant to be.

Where I am now

Today, I’m a full-time artist based in London, specialising in mountain-inspired artwork.

I’ve sold original mountain paintings to art collectors across the UK, Europe and the USA and I work on commissioned art for hikers, climbers, and adventure travellers across the world who want their experiences transformed into lasting visual memories. Today, many of my commission clients come to me with photographs from treks, climbs and mountain adventures they never want to forget.

I’ve also created the INTO THIN AIR a body of work entirely inspired by my time trekking in Nepal.

INTO THIN AIR COLLECTION

What’s next?

Looking back, completing the Annapurna Circuit with Much Better Adventures was more than just a trekking holiday. It was the experience that reignited my creativity and set me on the path to becoming a full-time artist.

Since then, the mountains have continued to shape both my life and my work. I've completed the GR20 in Corsica, one of Europe's most challenging long-distance treks, and I'm already dreaming about future adventures in Patagonia, British Columbia and New Zealand.

Because every journey leaves its mark. Every summit, landscape and mountain memory becomes part of the stories I tell through paint.

And for me, the mountains will always be where those stories begin.

If you've got a mountain memory you'd love to see transformed into a contemporary painting, I'd love to hear your story.

Commission a Mountain Painting

Namaste.

Cat Goward is a contemporary mountain artist based in London. Her original paintings and commissions are inspired by adventures through the Himalayas, Alps, Corsica and beyond.

A Life-Changing Trek in Nepal: How the Annapurna Circuit Inspired My Art Journey