Every time I crossed one wearing a back pack I knew could be my last thing I ever did because safety is not emphasized there the way it is in the U.S. (at least it wasn't then). At the Trekking permit office in 1986 they had pictures of dead westerners (Europe, U.S. or wherever) as they had died on the trekking trails from literally anything but usually exposure (they froze to death) and you can freeze to death any month of the year in the himalayas because once you go above about 9000 or 10,000 feet it's going to be really cold at night 12 months a year. However, deep in a valley at around 9000 feet I found bananas growing which gives you some idea of the versatility of things over there too but by 10,000 feet all this changes but the tree line is also very high (where trees stop growing) because the temperatures are higher in Asia than in the U.S. because they are closer to the equator than the U.S.
So, for example, the tree line on Mt. Shasta is around 8000 feet but higher than that as you move south along the Sierras here in California. But, in the Himalayas you might find trees and bushes growing at 10,000 feet most places there too (unless locals have cut them all down for heating and burning to stay warm and alive.) But, when they do this this also causes erosion and flooding like you saw in Pakistan where a good portion of Pakistan became a lake from Runoff from the HImalayan Mountains.
Crossing a suspension bridge in a high wind was an easy way to die for example. And if it was cold enough you could freeze to death from the winds doing this too. So, suspension bridges were only relatively safe when it wasn't windy or too cold.
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