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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Mount Everest the Reconnaissance, 1921, by 
+Charles Kenneth Howard-Bury and George H. Leigh-Mallory and A. F. R. Wollaston
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license
+
+
+Title: Mount Everest the Reconnaissance, 1921
+
+Author: Charles Kenneth Howard-Bury
+        George H. Leigh-Mallory
+        A. F. R. Wollaston
+
+Release Date: April 10, 2012 [EBook #39421]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MOUNT EVEREST ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Jens Nordmann, Greg Bergquist and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Notes:
+
+The original spelling and minor inconsistencies in the spelling and
+formatting have been maintained.
+
+Corrections applied to the original text have been listed at the end of
+the text.
+
+The ligature oe has been marked as [oe].
+
+The macron above a letter has been marked as [=letter].
+
+Text in italics has been marked with underscores (_text_).
+
+                     *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: _The Summit._]
+
+
+
+
+                               MOUNT EVEREST
+                         THE RECONNAISSANCE, 1921
+
+                                    By
+
+                   Lieut.-Col. C. K. HOWARD-BURY, D.S.O.
+
+             AND OTHER MEMBERS OF THE MOUNT EVEREST EXPEDITION
+
+
+                       _WITH ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS_
+
+
+
+                          LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO.
+                         55 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK
+                        LONDON: EDWARD ARNOLD & CO.
+                                   1922
+
+
+
+
+                                  PREFACE
+
+
+The Mount Everest Committee of the Royal Geographical Society and the
+Alpine Club desire to express their thanks to Colonel Howard-Bury,
+Mr. Wollaston, Mr. Mallory, Major Morshead, Major Wheeler and Dr. Heron
+for the trouble they have taken to write so soon after their return an
+account of their several parts in the joint work of the Expedition. They
+have thereby enabled the present Expedition to start with full knowledge
+of the results of the reconnaissance, and the public to follow the
+progress of the attempt to reach the summit with full information at
+hand.
+
+The Committee also wish to take this opportunity of thanking the
+Imperial Dry Plate Company for having generously presented photographic
+plates to the Expedition and so contributed to the production of the
+excellent photographs that have been brought back.
+
+They also desire to thank the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation
+Company for their liberality in allowing the members to travel at
+reduced fares; and the Government of India for allowing the stores and
+equipment of the Expedition to enter India free of duty.
+
+                                    J. E. C. EATON }
+                                    A. R. HINKS    } _Hon. Secretaries._
+
+
+
+
+                                 CONTENTS
+
+
+                                                                      PAGE
+
+  INTRODUCTION. By SIR FRANCIS YOUNGHUSBAND, K.C.S.I., K.C.I.E.,
+         President of the Royal Geographical Society                     1
+
+
+                      THE NARRATIVE OF THE EXPEDITION
+                 By LIEUT.-COL. C. K. HOWARD-BURY, D.S.O.
+
+   CHAP.
+
+      I  FROM DARJEELING THROUGH SIKKIM                                 23
+     II  THE CHUMBI VALLEY AND THE TIBETAN PLATEAU                      37
+    III  FROM KHAMBA DZONG THROUGH UNKNOWN COUNTRY TO TINGRI            55
+     IV  TINGRI AND THE COUNTRY TO THE SOUTH                            71
+      V  THE SEARCH FOR KHARTA                                          86
+     VI  THE MOVE TO KHARTA                                             98
+    VII  THE KAMA VALLEY                                               112
+   VIII  THE UPPER KHARTA VALLEY AND THE 20,000-FOOT CAMP              130
+     IX  THE RETURN TO KHARTA BY THE KAMA VALLEY                       146
+      X  THE RETURN JOURNEY TO PHARI                                   156
+     XI  BACK TO CIVILISATION                                          170
+
+
+                    THE RECONNAISSANCE OF THE MOUNTAIN
+                        By GEORGE H. LEIGH-MALLORY
+
+    XII  THE NORTHERN APPROACH                                         183
+   XIII  THE NORTHERN APPROACH (_continued_)                           203
+    XIV  THE EASTERN APPROACH                                          221
+     XV  THE ASSAULT                                                   250
+    XVI  WEATHER AND CONDITION OF SNOW                                 262
+   XVII  THE ROUTE TO THE SUMMIT                                       273
+
+
+                              NATURAL HISTORY
+                           By A. F. R. WOLLASTON
+
+  XVIII  AN EXCURSION TO NYENYAM AND LAPCHE KANG                       281
+    XIX  NATURAL HISTORY NOTES                                         290
+
+                     *       *       *       *       *
+
+     XX  AN APPRECIATION OF THE RECONNAISSANCE. By $1, F.R.S.,
+         President of the Alpine Club                                  304
+
+
+                                APPENDICES
+
+      I  THE SURVEY. By Major H. T. MORSHEAD, D.S.O.                   319
+     II  THE PHOTOGRAPHIC SURVEY. By Major E. O. WHEELER, M.C.         329
+    III  A NOTE ON THE GEOLOGICAL RESULTS OF THE EXPEDITION.
+         By A. M. HERON, D.Sc., F.G.S., Geological Survey of India     338
+     IV  THE SCIENTIFIC EQUIPMENT. By A. R. HINKS, F.R.S.,
+         Secretary of the Royal Geographical Society                   341
+      V  MAMMALS, BIRDS AND PLANTS COLLECTED BY THE EXPEDITION.
+         By A. F. R. WOLLASTON                                         344
+         INDEX                                                         351
+
+
+
+
+                           LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+                                                                    FACING
+                                                                      PAGE
+
+  The Summit                                        _Frontispiece_
+  Chomolhari from the South                                             46
+  Loading up at Dochen                                                  50
+  Kampa Dzong                                                           54
+  Tinki Dzong                                                           58
+  Gyangka Range from near Chushar                                       62
+  Shekar Dzong                                                          66
+  The Abbot of Shekar Chöte                                             68
+  Military Governor, his Wife and Mother                               100
+  The Dzongpen of Kharta and his Wife                                  106
+  Lamas of Kharta Monastery                                            110
+  Makalu from 21,500-foot peak on ridge south of Kama-chu              112
+  Makalu and Chomolönzo                                                114
+  Cliffs of Chomolönzo from camp at Pethang Ringmo                     116
+  The Kama Valley                                                      118
+  Sea of cloud from peak north of Kama Valley. Kanchenjunga in
+    distance                                                           138
+  Chomolönzo from the alp below the Langma La, Kama Valley             150
+  Members of the Expedition                                            178
+  Cho-Uyo                                                              190
+  Summit of Mount Everest and North Peak from the Island, West Rongbuk
+    Glacier                                                            210
+  Mount Everest from the Rongbuk Glacier, nine miles north-west        214
+  Summit of Mount Everest and South Peak from the Island, West Rongbuk
+    Glacier                                                            218
+  Pethang-tse                                                          222
+  Summit of Makalu                                                     226
+  South-east Ridge of Mount Everest from above the 20,000-foot camp,
+    Kharta Valley                                                      230
+  North-east of Mount Everest and Chang La from Lhakpa La              246
+  Mount Everest from the 20,000-foot camp--wind blowing snow off the
+    mountain                                                           278
+  Temple at Lapche Kang                                                286
+  Gauri-Sankar                                                         288
+  Lower Kama-chu                                                       290
+  Junipers in the Kama Valley                                          294
+  Forest in the Kama Valley                                            300
+  Mount Everest at sunset from the 20,000-foot camp, Kharta Valley     316
+
+
+
+
+                               LIST OF MAPS
+
+
+    I  Map to illustrate the route of the Mount Everest
+       Expedition. Scale 1/750,000                                _At end_
+   II  Map of Mount Everest. Scale 1/100,000                          "
+  III  Geological Map of the Mount Everest Region                     "
+
+
+
+
+                               INTRODUCTION
+
+              BY SIR FRANCIS YOUNGHUSBAND, K.C.S.I., K.C.I.E.
+
+
+The idea of climbing Mount Everest has been vaguely in men's mind for
+thirty or forty years past. Certainly that veteran mountain-climber and
+mountain-lover, Douglas Freshfield, had it persistently rising within
+him as he broke away from the Swiss Alps and subdued the giants of the
+Caucasus and then sought still higher peaks to conquer. Lord Curzon also
+had had it in his mind, and when Viceroy of India had written suggesting
+that the Royal Geographical Society and the Alpine Club should make a
+joint exploration of the mountain. Bruce, Longstaff and Mumm would have
+made this exploration in 1905 if the permission of the Nepalese and
+Tibetan Governments had been available. So also would Rawling a few
+years later. All these, and doubtless others, had contemplated at least
+a preliminary reconnaissance of Mount Everest.
+
+But, so far as I know, the first man to propose a definite expedition to
+Mount Everest was the then Captain Bruce, who, when he and I were
+together in Chitral in 1893, proposed to me that we should make a
+glorious termination to a journey from Chinese Turkestan across Tibet by
+ascending Mount Everest. And it is Bruce who has held to the idea ever
+since and sought any opportunity that offered of getting at the
+mountain.
+
+It stands to reason that men with any zest for mountaineering could not
+possibly allow Mount Everest to remain untouched. The time, the
+opportunity, the money, the ability to make the necessary preliminary
+preparation might be lacking, but the wish and the will to stand on the
+summit of the world's highest mountain must have been in the heart of
+many a mountaineer since the Alps have been so firmly trampled under
+foot. The higher climbers climb, the higher they want to climb. It is
+certain that they will never rest content till the proudest peaks of the
+Himalaya are as subdued and tamed as the once dreaded summits of the
+Alps now are.
+
+Men simply cannot resist exercising and stretching to their fullest
+tether the faculties and aptitudes with which they each happen to be
+specially endowed. One born with an aptitude for painting is dull and
+morose and fidgety until he can get colours and a brush into his hand
+and commence painting. Another is itching to make things--to use his
+hands and fashion wood or stone or metal into forms which he is
+continually creating in his mind. Another is restless until he can sing.
+Another is ever pining to be on a public platform swaying the audience
+with his oratory and playing on their feelings as on a musical
+instrument. Each has his own inner aptitude which he aches to give vent
+to and bring into play. And more than this, he secretly owns within
+himself an exceedingly high standard--the highest standard--of what he
+wants to attain to along his own particular line, and he is never really
+content in his mind and at peace with himself when he is not stretching
+himself out to the full towards this high pinnacle which he has set
+before him.
+
+Now fortunately all men are not born with the same aptitudes. We do not
+all want to sing or all want to orate or all want to paint. Some few
+want to climb mountains. These men love to pit themselves against what
+most others would consider an insuperable obstacle. They enjoy measuring
+themselves against it and being forced to exercise all their energies
+and faculties to overcome it. The Duke of the Abruzzi is as good an
+example of this type as I know. He was never happy until he had
+discovered some inaccessible and impracticable mountain and then thrown
+himself against it and come to grips with it in dead earnest and either
+conquered it or been thrown back from it utterly and completely
+exhausted, but with the satisfaction that anyhow he had exercised every
+nerve and muscle and faculty to the full. His native mountains he had
+early conquered over and over again, so he had to look further afield to
+Mount Elias in Alaska and Ruwenzori in East Africa; and having
+vanquished these he would doubtless have turned his eyes to Mount
+Everest if for political reasons the way to that mountain had not been
+barred, and he was compelled therefore to look to the next highest
+mountain, namely, the peak K2 in the Karakoram Himalaya in the
+neighbourhood of which he attained to a greater height, 24,600 feet,
+than has yet been attained by any man on foot.
+
+The Duke no doubt is human and would like his name to go down to
+posterity as having conquered some conspicuously lofty and difficult
+peak. But undoubtedly the ruling passion with him would be this love of
+pitting himself against a great mountain and feeling that he was being
+forced to exert himself to the full. To such men a tussle with a
+mountain is a real tonic--something bracing and refreshing. And even if
+they are laid out flat by the mountain instead of standing triumphant on
+its summit they have enjoyed the struggle and would go back for another
+if they ever had the chance.
+
+Others--like Bruce--climb from sheer exuberance of spirits. Blessed with
+boundless energy they revel in its exercise. It is only on the mountain
+side, breathing its pure air, buffeting against its storms, testing
+their nerve, running hair-breadth risks, exercising their intelligence
+and judgment, feeling their manhood and looking on Nature face to face
+and with open heart and mind that they are truly happy. For these men
+days on the mountain are days when they really live. And as the cobwebs
+in their brains get blown away, as the blood begins to course
+refreshingly through their veins, as all their faculties become tuned up
+and their whole being becomes more sensitive, they detect appeals from
+Nature they had never heard before and see beauties which are revealed
+only to those who win them. They may not at the moment be aware of the
+deepest impressions they are receiving. But to those who have struggled
+with them the mountains reveal beauties they will not disclose to those
+who make no effort. That is the reward the mountains give to effort. And
+it is because they have much to give and give it so lavishly to those
+who will wrestle with them that men love the mountains and go back to
+them again and again.
+
+And naturally the mountains reserve their choicest gifts for those who
+stand upon their summits. The climber's vision is then no longer
+confined and enclosed. He can see now all round. His width of outlook is
+enlarged to its full extremity. He sees in every direction. He has a
+sense of being raised above the world and being proudly conscious that
+he has raised himself there by his own exertions, he has a peculiar
+satisfaction and for the time forgets all frets and worries in the
+serener atmosphere in which he now for a moment dwells.
+
+And it is only for a moment that he can dwell there. For men cannot
+always live on the heights. They must come down to the plains again and
+engage in the practical life of the world. But the vision from the
+heights never leaves them. They want to return there. They want to reach
+a higher height. Their standard of achievement rises. And so it has come
+about that mountaineers when they had climbed the highest heights in
+Europe went off to the Caucasus, to the Andes, and eventually to the
+Himalaya to climb something higher still. Freshfield conquered the
+Caucasus, Whymper and Conway the Andes, and the assault upon the
+Himalaya is now in full swing.
+
+It is therefore only in the natural course of things that men should
+want to climb the highest summit of the Himalaya. And though those who
+set out to climb Mount Everest will probably think little of the
+eventual results, being perfectly satisfied in their own minds, without
+any elaborate reasoning, that what they are attempting is something
+supremely worth while, yet it is easy for lookers on to see that much
+unexpected good will result from their activities. The climbers will be
+actuated by sheer love of mountaineering, and that is enough for them.
+But climbing Mount Everest is no futile and useless performance of no
+satisfaction to anyone but the climbers. Results will follow from it of
+the highest value to mankind at large.
+
+For the climbers are unwittingly carrying out an experiment of momentous
+consequence to mankind. They are testing the capacity of the human race
+to stand the highest altitudes on this earth which is its home. No
+scientific man, no physiologist or physician, can now say for certain
+whether or not a human body can reach a height of 29,000 feet above the
+sea. We know that in an aeroplane he can be carried up to a much greater
+height. But we do not know whether he can climb on his own feet such an
+altitude. That knowledge of men's capacity can only be acquired by
+practical experiment in the field.
+
+And in the process of acquiring the knowledge a valuable result will
+ensue. By testing their capacities men actually increase them. By
+exercising their capacities to the full mountaineers seem to enlarge
+them. A century ago the ascent of Mount Blanc seemed the limit of human
+capacity. Nowadays hundreds ascend the mountain every year. And going
+further afield men ascended the highest peaks in the Caucasus and then
+in the Andes and have been reaching higher and higher altitudes in the
+Himalaya. Conway reached 23,000 feet, Kellas 23,186 feet, Longstaff
+23,360 feet, Dr. Workman 23,000 feet, Kellas and Meade 23,600 feet and
+the Duke of the Abruzzi 24,600 feet. It looks therefore as if man by
+attempting more was actually making himself capable of achieving more.
+By straining after the highest he is increasing his capacity to attain
+it.
+
+In this measuring of themselves against the mountains men are indeed
+very like puppies crawling about and testing their capacities on their
+surroundings--crawling up on to some obstacle, tumbling back discomfited
+but returning gallantly to the attack and at last triumphantly
+surmounting it. Thus do they find out what they can do and how they
+stand in relation to their surroundings. Also by exercising and
+stretching their muscles and faculties to the full they actually
+increase their capacity.
+
+Men are still only in the puppy stage of existence. We are prone to
+think ourselves very "grown up" but really we are only in our childhood.
+In the latest discussions as to the period of time which must have
+elapsed since life first appeared upon this earth a period of the order
+of a thousand million years was named. But of that immense period man
+has been in existence for only a quarter or half a million years. So the
+probability is that he has still long years before him and must be now
+only in his childhood--in his puppyhood. We certainly find that as he
+inquisitively looks about his surroundings and measures himself against
+them he is steadily increasing his mastery over them. In the last five
+hundred years record after record has been beaten. Men have ventured
+more and shown more adaptability and a sterner hardihood and endurance
+than ever before. They have ventured across the oceans, circumnavigated
+the globe, reached the poles, risen into the air, and it can be only a
+question of time--a few months or a few years--before they reach the
+highest summit of the earth.
+
+"What then?" some will ask. "Suppose men do reach the top of Mount
+Everest, what then?" "Suppose we do establish the fact that man has the
+capacity to surmount the highest summit of his surroundings, of what
+good is that knowledge?" This is the kind of question promoters of the
+enterprise continually have to answer. One reply is obvious. The sight
+of climbers struggling upwards to the supreme pinnacle will have taught
+men to lift their eyes unto the hills--to raise them off the ground and
+direct them, if only for a moment, to something pure and lofty and
+satisfying to that inner craving for the worthiest which all men have
+hidden in their souls. And when they see men thrown back at first but
+venturing again and again to the assault till with faltering footsteps
+and gasping breaths they at last reach the summit they will thrill with
+pride. They will no longer be obsessed with the thought of what mites
+they are in comparison with the mountains--how insignificant they are
+beside their material surroundings. They will have a proper pride in
+themselves and a well-grounded faith in the capacity of spirit to
+dominate material.
+
+And direct practical results flow from this increasing confidence which
+man is acquiring in face of the mountains. A century ago Napoleon's
+crossing of the Alps was thought an astounding feat. During the last
+thirty years troops--and Indian troops--have been moved about the
+Himalaya in all seasons and crossed passes over 15,000 feet above sea
+level in the depth of winter. On the Gilgit frontier, in Chitral, and in
+Tibet, neither cold nor snow nor wind stopped them. In winter or in
+summer, in spring or in autumn, they have faced the Himalayan passes.
+And they have been able to negotiate them successfully because of their
+increased knowledge of men's capacities and of the way to overcome
+difficulties that constant wrestling with mountains in all parts of the
+world during the last half-century has given. The activities of the
+Alpine Club have produced direct practical results in the movement of
+troops in the Himalaya.
+
+More still will follow. When men have proved that they can surmount the
+highest peak in the Himalaya they will take heart to climb other peaks
+and become more and more at home in that wonderful region, extending for
+nigh two thousand miles from the Roof of the World in the North and West
+to the borders of Burma and China in the South and East and containing
+more than seventy peaks over 24,000 feet in height--that is higher than
+any in the Andes, the second highest range of mountains in the
+world--and more than eleven hundred peaks over 20,000 feet in height.
+This great mountain region which in Europe would stretch from Calais to
+the Caspian is one vast mine of beauty of every varied description. And
+a mine of beauty has this advantage over a mine of material wealth--that
+we can never exhaust it. And not only can we never exhaust it, but the
+more we take out the more we find, and the more we give away the richer
+we are. We may go on digging into a gold mine, but eventually we shall
+find there is no gold left. We shall have exhausted our mine. But we may
+dig into that mine of beauty in the Himalaya and never exhaust it. The
+more we dig the more we shall find--richer beauty, subtler beauty, more
+varied beauty--beauty of mountain form and beauty of pure and delicate
+colour, beauty of forest, beauty of river and beauty of lake and
+combined beauty of rushing torrent, precipitous cliff, richest
+vegetation and overtopping snowy summit. And when we have discovered
+these treasures and made them our own we can actually increase their
+value to ourselves by giving them away to others. By imparting to others
+the enjoyment which we have felt we shall have increased our own
+enjoyment.
+
+We cannot expect those who are first engaged in climbing Mount Everest
+to have the time or inclination to observe and describe the full beauty
+there is. They will be set on overcoming the physical difficulties and
+they will be so exhausted for the moment by the effort they will have
+made that they will not have the repose of mind which is so necessary
+for seeing and depicting beauty. But when they have pioneered the way
+and beaten down a path, others will more leisurely follow after. Many
+even of these may not be able to express in words or in picture the
+enjoyment they have felt and be able to communicate it to others. They
+may not be given to public speech or writing and may have no capacity
+for painting. The flame of their enjoyment may be kept sacred and hidden
+within them, and it may be only in the privacy of colloquy with some
+kindred soul that the white glow of their enjoyment may ever be shown.
+But, others there may be who have the capacity for making the world at
+large share with them some little of the joy they have felt--who can
+make our nerves tingle and our blood course quicker, our eyes uplift
+themselves and our outlook widen as we go out with them to face and
+overcome the mountains. Such men as these from their very intimacy with
+the mountains are able to point out beauties which distant beholders
+would never suspect. And as Leslie Stephen through his love of mountains
+has been able to attract thousands to the Alps and given them enjoyment,
+clean and fresh, which but for him they might never have known, so we
+hope that in the fulness of time a greater Stephen will tell of the
+unsurpassable beauty of the Himalaya and by so doing add appreciably to
+the enjoyment of human life.
+
+                     *       *       *       *       *
+
+Such are some of the advantages which men in general will obtain from
+the attempt to climb Mount Everest. But it is time now to say something
+of the mountain itself.
+
+Mount Everest for its size is a singularly shy and retiring mountain. It
+hides itself away behind other mountains. On the north side, in Tibet,
+it does indeed stand up proudly and alone, a true monarch among
+mountains. But it stands in a very sparsely inhabited part of Tibet, and
+very few people ever go to Tibet. From the Indian side only its tip
+appears among a mighty array of peaks which being nearer look higher.
+Consequently for a long time no one suspected Mount Everest of being the
+supreme mountain not only of the Himalaya but of the world. At the time
+when Hooker was making his Himalayan journeys--that was in
+1849--Kanchenjunga was believed to be the highest.
+
+How it was eventually discovered to be the highest is a story worth
+recording. In the very year that Hooker was botanising in the Sikkim
+Himalaya the officers of the Great Trigonometrical Survey were making
+observations from the plains of India to the peaks in Nepal which could
+be seen from there. When they could find a native name for a peak they
+called it by that name. But in most cases no native name was
+forthcoming, and in those cases a Roman number was affixed to the peak.
+Among these unnamed peaks to which observations to determine the
+altitude and position were taken from stations in the plains was Peak
+XV. The observations were recorded, but the resulting height was not
+computed till three years later, and then one day the Bengali Chief
+Computer rushed into the room of the Surveyor-General, Sir Andrew Waugh,
+breathlessly exclaiming, "Sir! I have discovered the highest mountain in
+the world." The mean result of all the observations taken from the six
+stations from which Peak XV had been observed came to 29,002 feet, and
+this Peak XV is what is now known as Mount Everest.
+
+The question is often asked, "Why twenty-nine thousand and two?" "Why be
+so particular about the two?" The answer is that that particular figure
+is the mean of many observations. But it is not infallible. It is indeed
+in all probability below rather than above the mark, and a later
+computation of the observed results puts the height at 29,141 feet. In
+any case, however, there are, as Sir Sidney Burrard has pointed out in
+his discussion of this point in Burrard and Hayden's _Himalaya and
+Tibet_, many causes of slight error in observing and computing the
+altitude of a distant and very lofty peak. The observations are made
+with a theodolite. The telescope of the theodolite may not be absolutely
+perfect. The theodolite may not be levelled with perfect accuracy. The
+graduations on the circle of the theodolite may not be quite accurate.
+The observer himself may not have observed with sufficient perfection.
+An error of ten feet may have resulted from these causes. Then there are
+other and greater sources of possible error. There may be error in the
+assumed height of the observing station; and the altitudes of peaks are
+always varying in nature with the increase and decrease of snow in
+summer and winter and in a season of heavy snowfall or a season of light
+snowfall. Another source of error arises from the varying effects of
+gravitational attraction. "The attraction of the great mass of the
+Himalaya and Tibet," says Burrard, "pulls all liquids towards itself, as
+the moon attracts the ocean and the surface of the water assumes an
+irregular form at the foot of the Himalaya. If the ocean were to
+overflow Northern India its surface would be deformed by Himalayan
+attraction. The liquid in levels is similarly affected and theodolites
+cannot consequently be adjusted; their plates when levelled are still
+tilted upward towards the mountains, and angles of observation are too
+small by the amount the horizon is inclined to the tangential plane. At
+Darjeeling the surface of water in repose is inclined about 35'' to
+this plane, at Kurseong about 51'', at Siliguri about 23'', at Dehra
+Dun and Mussooree about 37''. For this reason all angles of elevation
+to Himalayan peaks measured from the plains, as Mount Everest was
+measured, are too small and consequently all our values of Himalayan
+heights are too small. Errors of this nature range from 40 to 100 feet."
+
+This then is a considerable source of error, but the most serious source
+of uncertainty affecting the value of heights is the refraction of the
+atmosphere. A ray of light from a peak to an observer's eye does not
+travel along a straight line but assumes a curved path concave to the
+earth. The ray enters the observer's eye in a direction tangential to
+the curve at that point, and this is the direction in which the observer
+sees the peak. It makes the peak appear too high. Corrections have
+therefore to be applied. But there is no certainty as to what should be
+the amount of the correction; and it is now believed that the computers
+of the height of Mount Everest applied too great a correction for
+refraction and consequently reduced its height too much.
+
+Burrard brings together in the following table the different errors to
+which the carefully determined height of Mount Everest is liable:--
+
+  ---------------------------------------------------+--------------------
+                 Source of error.                    |   Magnitude of
+                                                     |  possible error.
+  ---------------------------------------------------+--------------------
+  Variation of snow level from the mean              |  Unknown
+  Errors of observation                              |  10 feet
+  Adoption of erroneous height for observing station |  10 feet
+  Deviation of gravity                               |  60 feet, too small
+  Atmospheric refraction                             | 150 feet, too small
+  ---------------------------------------------------+--------------------
+
+The following table shows how the different values of the height of
+Mount Everest have been deduced:--
+
+                       HEIGHT OF MOUNT EVEREST
+
+  ----------------------------------------------------------------------
+              |              |           |             |  Determination
+              |              |           | Height as   |    of height
+   Observing  |   Year of    | Distance  | determined  |  with revised
+   station.   | observation. | in miles. | by Waugh.   | correction for
+              |              |           |             |  refraction.
+  ------------+--------------+-----------+-------------+----------------
+              |              |           |    Feet     |      Feet
+   Jirol      |     1849     |    118    |   28,991    |     29,141
+   Mirzapur   |     1849     |    108    |   29,005    |     29,135
+   Joafpati   |     1849     |    108    |   29,001    |     29,117
+   Ladnia     |     1849     |    108    |   28,998    |     29,144
+   Harpur     |     1849     |    111    |   29,026    |     29,146
+   Minai      |     1850     |    113    |   28,990    |     29,160
+   Suberkum   |     1881     |     87    |     --      |     29,141
+   Suberkum   |     1883     |     87    |     --      |     29,127
+   Tiger Hill |     1880     |    107    |     --      |     29,140
+   Sandakphu  |     1883     |     89    |     --      |     29,142
+   Phallut    |     1902     |     85    |     --      |     29,151
+   Senchal    |     1902     |    108    |     --      |     29,134
+  ------------+--------------+-----------+-------------+----------------
+   Mean       |      --      |     --    |   29,002    |     29,141
+  ----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+The height 29,141 is still, Burrard thinks, too small, as it has yet to
+be corrected for the deviations of gravity. But though it is a more
+reliable result than 29,002, the latter is still to be retained in maps
+and publications of the Survey of India.
+
+As to the name, it was called Everest after the distinguished
+Surveyor-General of India under whose direction the triangulation had
+been carried out, one result of which was the discovery of the mountain.
+From the Indian side and Nepal it is not a conspicuous peak on account
+of its lying so far back. No native name for it could be discovered and
+Sir Andrew Waugh, the successor of Sir George Everest, called it after
+his predecessor. From the Tibetan side it is much more conspicuous and,
+as General Bruce stated in his lecture to the Royal Geographical Society
+in November 1920, and as Colonel Howard-Bury found in 1921, the Tibetans
+call it Chomolungma, which Colonel Howard-Bury translated, the "Goddess
+Mother of the Mountains"--a most appropriate name. But the name Mount
+Everest is now so firmly established throughout the world that it would
+be impossible to change it. It is therefore now definitely adopted.
+
+Now, this mountain so coveted by mountaineers is unfortunately situated
+exactly on the border between two of the most secluded countries in the
+world--Nepal and Tibet. To reach it the climbers must pass through one
+or other of these countries and the difficulty of getting the necessary
+permission is what has so far prevented any attempt being made to attack
+Mount Everest. But recently access through Tibet has become more
+possible, and it so happens that it is on the Tibetan side that the
+summit seems most accessible. From the distant views that could be
+obtained of it from Sandakphu beyond Darjeeling and from Kampa Dzong in
+Tibet, a ridge running from the summit in a northerly direction seemed
+to give good promise of access. Major Ryder and Captain Rawling in 1904,
+viewing the mountain from a distance of sixty miles almost due north,
+thought the mountain might be approached from that direction. At the
+same time the Tibetans were distinctly more favourable to travellers
+than they had ever been before. The chances therefore of at least
+exploring Mount Everest were much more promising, and Major Rawling was
+planning an expedition of exploration when the war broke out and he was
+killed.
+
+Mr. Douglas Freshfield would certainly have taken the matter up during
+his Presidency of the Royal Geographical Society, but he had the
+misfortune to hold that post during the years of the war and no action
+was possible. But as soon as the war was over interest in Mount Everest
+revived. In March 1919 Captain J. B. L. Noel read a paper to the Royal
+Geographical Society describing a reconnaissance he had made in the
+direction of the mountain in the year 1913. He showed how attention
+during the last few years had been focused more and more upon the
+Himalaya and said, "Now that the Poles have been reached, it is
+generally felt that the next and equally important task is the
+exploration and mapping of Mount Everest." So he urged that the
+exploration which had been the ambition of the late General Rawling with
+whom he was to have joined should be accomplished in his memory. "It
+cannot be long," he continued, "before the culminating summit of the
+world is visited and its ridges, valleys and glaciers are mapped and
+photographed." And at the conclusion of his lecture he said that "some
+day the political difficulties will be overcome and a fully equipped
+expedition must explore and map Mount Everest."
+
+It was not clear whether Captain Noel was advocating a definite attempt
+to climb the mountain and reach the actual summit, and Mr. Douglas
+Freshfield and Dr. Kellas who followed after him referred only to the
+approaches to Mount Everest. But Captain J. P. Farrar, the then
+President of the Alpine Club, seems to have considered it "a proposal to
+attempt the ascent of Mount Everest," and said that the Alpine Club took
+the keenest interest in the proposal and was prepared not only to lend
+such financial aid as was in its power, but also to recommend two or
+three young mountaineers quite capable of dealing with any purely
+mountaineering difficulties which were likely to be met with on Mount
+Everest.
+
+The hour was late, but I was so struck by the ring of assurance and
+determination in the words of the President of the Alpine Club that I
+could not help asking the President, Sir Thomas Holdich, to let me say a
+few words. I then told how General Bruce had made to me, twenty-six
+years ago, the proposal to climb Mount Everest. I said the Royal
+Geographical Society was interested in the project and now we had heard
+the President of the Alpine Club say that he had young mountaineers
+ready to undertake the work. I added, "It must be done." There might be
+one or two attempts before we were successful, but the first thing to do
+was to get over the trouble with our own Government. If they were
+approached properly by Societies like the Royal Geographical Society and
+the Alpine Club, and a reasonable scheme were put before them and it
+were proved to them that we meant business, then, I said, they would be
+reasonable and do what we wanted. This was a big business and must be
+done in a big way and I hoped that something really serious would come
+of that meeting.[1]
+
+  [1] In the enthusiasm of the moment I seem to have displayed a
+      regrettable excess of "nationalism"! According to the record,
+      I expressed the hope that it would be an Englishman who first
+      stood on the summit of Mount Everest. I trust my foreign friends
+      will excuse me! I have this at least to plead in extenuation,
+      that if I have always striven for my own countrymen when they
+      led the way, I have never been backward in helping explorers of
+      other nationalities whom I have met in the Himalaya; and I have
+      received the thanks of both the French and Italian Governments
+      for the help I have given to French and Italian explorers.
+
+Sir Thomas Holdich in closing the meeting advocated approaching Mount
+Everest through Nepal, and hoped that at some time not very remote we
+should hear more about the proposed expedition to Mount Everest.
+
+Only a few days after the meeting I met Colonel Howard-Bury at lunch
+with a Fellow of our Society, Mr. C. P. McCarthy. He was not a
+mountaineer in the Alpine Club sense of the word, but he had spent much
+of his time shooting in the Alps and in the Himalaya, and becoming
+deeply interested in the Mount Everest project, had a talk with
+Mr. Freshfield about it and made a formal application to the Society for
+their support in undertaking an expedition. Things now began to move,
+and the Society applied to the India Office for permission to send an
+expedition into Tibet for the purpose of exploring Mount Everest. The
+Government of India in reply said that they were not prepared at the
+moment to approach the Tibetan Government; but they did not return any
+absolute refusal.
+
+During my Presidency the Society, in conjunction with the Alpine Club,
+still further pressed the matter. We asked the Secretary of State for
+India to receive a deputation from the two bodies, and the request being
+granted and the deputation being assured of his sympathy we invited
+Colonel Howard-Bury to proceed to India in June 1920 to explain our
+wishes personally to the Government of India, and ask them to obtain for
+us from the Dalai Lama the necessary permission to enter Tibet for the
+purpose of exploring and climbing Mount Everest. Lord Chelmsford, the
+Viceroy, received Colonel Howard-Bury most sympathetically and after
+some preliminary difficulties had been overcome, Mr. Bell, the Political
+Agent in Sikkim, who happened to be in Lhasa, was instructed to ask the
+Dalai Lama for permission, and Mr. Bell being on most friendly terms
+with His Holiness, permission was at once granted.
+
+The one great obstacle in the way of approaching Mount Everest had now
+at last been removed. What so many keen mountaineers had for years
+dreamed of was within sight. And as soon as the welcome news
+arrived--early in January 1921--preparations were commenced to organise
+an expedition. A joint Committee of three representatives each from the
+Royal Geographical Society and the Alpine Club was formed under the
+Chairmanship of the President of the former Society and was named the
+Mount Everest Committee. The three members of the Society were Sir
+Francis Younghusband, Mr. E. L. Somers-Cocks (Honorary Treasurer) and
+Colonel Jack. The three members of the Alpine Club were Professor Norman
+Collie, Captain J. P. Farrar and Mr. C. F. Meade. Mr. Eaton and
+Mr. Hinks were Honorary Secretaries.
+
+Our first business was to select a leader for the Expedition. General
+Bruce, who had had the idea in his mind for so many years, who knew the
+Himalaya as no one else did, and who had a special aptitude for handling
+Himalayan people, was now in England, and it was to him our thoughts
+first turned. But he had just taken up an appointment with the
+Glamorganshire Territorial Association and was not then available. In
+these circumstances we were fortunate in having ready to hand a man with
+such high qualifications as Colonel Howard-Bury. He had much to do on
+his property in Ireland, but he willingly accepted our invitation to
+lead the Expedition, and we could then proceed to the choice of the
+mountaineers.
+
+From the very first we decided that the main object of the Expedition
+was to be the ascent of the mountain and that all other activities were
+to be made subordinate to the supreme object of reaching the summit. It
+was to be no mere surveying or geologising or botanising expedition
+which would as a secondary object try to climb the mountain if it saw a
+chance. To climb the mountain was to be the first object and the mapping
+and everything else was to come afterwards. The reason for this is
+obvious. What men really want to know is whether man can ascend the
+highest mountain.
+
+Knowledge of the topography, fauna and flora of that particular area is
+of very small consequence in comparison with the knowledge of human
+capacity to surmount the highest point in men's physical surroundings on
+this earth. By some perversity of human nature there are men who shy at
+putting the ascent of Mount Everest in the forefront, because it is
+adventurous and must therefore, they seem to think, cease to be a
+scientific object. They profess to be unconcerned with the climbing of
+the mountain so long as a map is made or plants collected. But the
+plain man instinctively sees the value of the adventure and knows that
+the successful ascent of Mount Everest will show what man is capable of
+and put new hope and heart into the human race.
+
+But while it was decided to make the ascent of Mount Everest the main
+object of the Expedition, Professor Norman Collie and Mr. Douglas
+Freshfield from the first insisted that a whole season must be devoted
+to a thorough reconnaissance of the mountain with a view to finding not
+only a feasible route to the summit but what was without any doubt the
+most feasible route. We knew nothing of the immediate approaches to the
+mountain. But we knew that the only chance of reaching the summit was by
+finding some way up which would entail little rock-climbing or ice
+step-cutting. The mountain had therefore to be prospected from every
+side to find a comparatively easy route and to make sure that no other
+easier route than the one selected existed. This was considered ample
+work for the Expedition for one season, while the following season would
+be devoted to an all-out effort to reach the summit along the route
+selected in the first year.
+
+On this basis the first year's Expedition had accordingly to be
+organised. The mountain party was to consist of four members, two of
+whom were to be men of considerable experience and two younger men who
+it was hoped would form the nucleus of the climbing party the next year.
+Mr. Harold Raeburn, a member of the Alpine Club who had had great
+experience of snow and rock work in the Alps, and who had in 1920 been
+climbing on the spurs of Kanchenjunga, was invited to lead the mountain
+party. Dr. Kellas, who had made several climbing expeditions in the
+Himalaya and had in 1920 ascended to a height of 23,400 feet on Mount
+Kamet, was also invited to join the climbing party. He had been making
+experiments in the use of oxygen at high altitudes and was still out in
+India preparing to continue these experiments on Mount Kamet in 1921.
+It was suggested to him that he should make the experiments on Mount
+Everest instead, and the party would thereby have the benefit of his
+wide Himalayan experience. This invitation he accepted.
+
+The two younger members selected for the climbing party were Mr. George
+Leigh Mallory and Captain George Finch, both with a very high reputation
+for climbing in the Alps. Unfortunately Captain Finch was for the time
+indisposed and his place at the last moment had to be taken by
+Mr. Bullock of the Consular Service, who had been at Winchester with
+Mr. Mallory and who happened to be at home on leave. Through the
+courtesy of Lord Curzon he was able to get special leave of absence from
+the Foreign Office.
+
+While we were finding the men we had also to be finding the money. As a
+quite rough guess we estimated the Expedition for the two years would
+cost about £10,000, and at least a substantial portion of this had to be
+raised by private subscription. Appeals were made by their Presidents to
+the Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society and to members of the
+Alpine Club, and Captain Farrar was especially energetic in urging the
+claims of the enterprise. As a result the members of the Alpine Club
+subscribed over £3,000 and the Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society
+nearly that amount. Later on with the advice and help of Mr. John Buchan
+arrangements were made with _The Times_ and the _Philadelphia Ledger_
+for the purchase of the rights of publication of telegrams from the
+Expedition, and with the _Graphic_ for the purchase of photographs. So
+eventually the financial position of the Expedition was assured.
+
+The equipment and provisioning of the Expedition was undertaken by the
+Equipment Committee--Captain Farrar and Mr. Meade--and the greatest
+trouble was taken to ensure that the most suitable and best tents,
+sleeping bags, clothing, boots, ice-axes, ropes, cooking apparatus,
+provisions, etc., were purchased and that they were properly packed and
+listed.
+
+In the same way the scientific equipment was undertaken by Colonel Jack
+and Mr. Hinks.
+
+Finally the services of Mr. Wollaston, well known for his journeys in
+New Guinea and East Africa, were secured as Medical Officer and
+Naturalist to the Expedition.
+
+Throughout these preparations the advice and help of the best men in
+every line were freely and willingly forthcoming. For such an enterprise
+all were ready to give a helping hand. Whether they were scientific men,
+or business men or journalists, they were ready to throw aside their own
+work and devote hours to ensuring that the Expedition should be a
+success along the lines on which they severally had most experience.
+
+And most valuable was the encouragement given to the Expedition by the
+interest which His Majesty showed in conversation with the President,
+and His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales in receiving Colonel
+Howard-Bury--an interest which was shown in practical form by generous
+subscriptions to the funds of the Expedition.
+
+The Expedition was able, therefore, to set out from England under the
+most favourable auspices, and it was to be joined in India by two
+officers of the Indian Survey Department, Major Morshead and Major
+Wheeler, and by an officer of the Indian Geological Survey, Dr. Heron.
+It was thus admirably equipped for the acquirement of knowledge. But
+acquirement of knowledge was not the only object which the Expedition
+had in view. It could not be doubted that the region would possess
+beauty of exceptional grandeur. So it was hoped that the Expedition
+would discover, describe and reveal to us, by camera and by pen, beauty
+no less valuable than the knowledge.
+
+
+
+
+                      THE NARRATIVE OF THE EXPEDITION
+
+                                    By
+
+                   LIEUT.-COL. C. K. HOWARD-BURY, D.S.O.
+
+
+
+
+                                 CHAPTER I
+
+                      FROM DARJEELING THROUGH SIKKIM
+
+
+Early in May most of the members of the Expedition had assembled at
+Darjeeling. Mr. Raeburn had been the first to arrive there in order to
+collect as many coolies of the right type as he could. I had come out a
+few weeks earlier in order to visit the Indian Authorities at Simla and
+to make sure that there were no political difficulties in the way. There
+I found every one very kind and helpful and all were anxious to do their
+best to assist the Expedition. Owing to the heavy deficit in the Indian
+Budget, the expenses of every Department had been rigorously cut down,
+and the Government of India were unable to give us financial assistance.
+They agreed, however, to take upon themselves the whole of the expenses
+of the survey, and to lend the Expedition the services of an officer of
+the Geological Department. The Viceroy, Lord Reading, who, together with
+Lady Reading, took the greatest interest in the Expedition, kindly gave
+us a subscription of 750 rupees, and at Darjeeling the Governor of
+Bengal, Lord Ronaldshay, had not only put up several members of the
+Expedition at his most comfortable house, but had also given the
+Expedition several rooms in which to collect their stores for separation
+and division into loads. Local stores, such as tea, sugar, flour and
+potatoes had to be bought on the spot. Coolies had to be collected and
+arrangements made for fitting them out with boots and warm clothing. The
+coolies were to receive pay at the rate of 12 annas per day while in
+Sikkim, and when in Tibet were to receive another 6 annas per day,
+either in cash or the equivalent in rations. The former proved the most
+acceptable eventually, except during the period when the coolies were
+up on the glaciers, where there were no villages and consequently
+nothing could be bought.
+
+A passport had been sent to us by the Government at Lhasa under the seal
+of the Prime Minister of Tibet, of which the following is a
+translation:--
+
+  _To_
+    _The Jongpens and Headmen of Pharijong, Ting-ke, Khamba and Kharta._
+
+  You are to bear in mind that a party of Sahibs are coming to see the
+  Chha-mo-lung-ma mountain and they will evince great friendship towards
+  the Tibetans. On the request of the Great Minister Bell a passport
+  has been issued requiring you and all officials and subjects of the
+  Tibetan Government to supply transport, e.g. riding ponies, pack
+  animals and coolies as required by the Sahibs, the rates for which
+  should be fixed to mutual satisfaction. Any other assistance that
+  the Sahibs may require either by day or by night, on the march or
+  during halts, should be faithfully given, and their requirements
+  about transport or anything else should be promptly attended to. All
+  the people of the country, wherever the Sahibs may happen to come,
+  should render all necessary assistance in the best possible way, in
+  order to maintain friendly relations between the British and Tibetan
+  Governments.
+
+  Dispatched during the Iron-Bird Year.
+  Seal of the Prime Minister.
+
+Our start had been originally arranged for the middle of May, but the
+"Hatarana," in which were most of our stores, was unable to obtain a
+berth, as accommodation in the Docks at Calcutta was very insufficient
+for the large number of steamers that call there; she had therefore to
+lie out in the Hoogly for a fortnight before she could get room in the
+Docks. However, by May 11 everything was unloaded at Calcutta. The
+Darjeeling-Himalayan Railway had generously given the Expedition a free
+pass over their line for all stores and goods, and as the Customs had
+granted a free entry into the country, everything was up in Darjeeling
+by May 14. The time of waiting at Darjeeling had, however, not been
+wasted. Four cooks had been engaged for the Expedition and some forty
+coolies. These were Sherpa Bhotias, whose homes were in the North-east
+corner of Nepal, some of them coming from villages only a few miles to
+the South of Mount Everest. They were an especially hardy type of
+coolie, accustomed to living in a cold climate and at great heights.
+They were Buddhists by religion and therefore had no caste prejudices
+about food, and could eat anything. They proved at times quarrelsome and
+rather fond of strong drink; they turned out, however, to be a useful
+and capable type of man, easily trained in snow and ice work and not
+afraid of the snow. We later on picked up a few Tibetan coolies in the
+Chumbi Valley and these proved to be as good as the best of the Sherpas.
+They were very hardy and got on well with the Tibetans, who were always
+rather suspicious of our Nepalese coolies. They were also less
+troublesome to manage and could carry heavy loads at great heights.
+These coolies had all to be fitted with boots and very difficult this
+sometimes proved to be, as often their feet were almost as broad as they
+were long. Blankets, cap comforters, fur gloves and warm clothing were
+issued to all of them, and for those who had to sleep at the highest
+camps, eiderdown sleeping-bags were also taken. Arrangements had also to
+be made for interpreters to accompany the Expedition, as with the
+exception of Major Morshead, who knew a little Tibetan, no one was able
+to speak the language. It was a matter of great importance to get hold
+of the right type of man as interpreter. It was essential to find men of
+some position and standing who knew not only the Tibetan language, but
+also all their ways and customs. After many names had been suggested, we
+were very lucky in getting hold of two men who possessed these
+qualifications to a great extent. Gyalzen Kazi, who came from Gangtok in
+Sikkim, where he was a Kazi and landowner, was a young and ambitious man
+who knew the Tibetan language well and was well read in their sacred
+writings and scriptures. The other one, Chheten Wangdi, was a Tibetan
+who had been for a time a captain in the Tibetan army, and who had left
+them and been attached to the Indian army in Egypt during the war. He
+was a most energetic, hard-working man, knew all the Tibetan manners and
+customs, and was up to all their tricks of procrastination and attempts
+at overcharging. By his knowledge and persuasive powers the Expedition
+was saved many thousand rupees.
+
+The Expedition when it left Darjeeling included nine Europeans. The
+Alpine climbers were Mr. Harold Raeburn, Dr. A. M. Kellas, Mr. G. L.
+Mallory and Mr. C. H. Bullock. Dr. Kellas had unfortunately in the early
+spring of this year tried his constitution very severely by climbing
+Narsing,[2] and he had also spent several nights at very low
+temperatures in camps over 20,000 feet, on the slopes of Kabru,[2] so
+that when he arrived at Darjeeling a few days before the Expedition was
+due to start, he was not in as fit a condition as he should have been.
+The two Surveyors were Major H. T. Morshead, D.S.O., and Major O. E.
+Wheeler, M.C. These officers had been lent by the Survey of India. Major
+Morshead had already a considerable experience of travelling in the
+Eastern borders of Tibet and in the Kham country, where he had carried
+out some useful survey work, and under him were three native surveyors,
+one of whom was left in Sikkim to revise the existing maps, which were
+very inaccurate, while the other two, Gujjar Singh and Lalbir Singh,
+accompanied the Expedition and filled in all the details of the country
+traversed on their plane tables at a scale of 4 miles to the inch. Major
+O. E. Wheeler, the other Surveyor, was a member of the Canadian Alpine
+Club and a very keen climber himself. He was an expert in the Canadian
+system of Photo Survey--a method especially useful and applicable to a
+difficult and mountainous country. The Indian Government had also lent
+the Expedition the services of Dr. A. M. Heron, of the Geological Survey
+of India, in order to study the geology of the country through which it
+was about to go, and about which nothing was known, and to investigate
+the problems which surround the age and the structure of the Himalayan
+range. Besides these, there was Mr. A. F. Wollaston, a member of the
+Alpine Club and a very distinguished traveller as well, who had made
+some most interesting journeys around Ruwenzori in Africa and in the
+interior of New Guinea. He accompanied the Expedition in the capacity of
+Doctor, Naturalist and Botanist, and was equipped with a complete
+collector's outfit.
+
+  [2] Narsing and Kabru are two high mountains in the North of Sikkim.
+
+During our time of enforced waiting at Darjeeling, we came in for the
+Lebong races--a unique and very amusing entertainment. The course is a
+small circular one, where the top of the Lebong spur has been levelled,
+and only genuine Tibetan and Bhotia ponies are allowed to race there.
+There were always large entries for these races, as they were very
+popular among the hill-folk, who flocked into Darjeeling from great
+distances, dressed in their finest clothes and with their women covered
+with jewellery and wearing clothing of brilliant shades of green and
+red. There was very heavy betting on each race, and the amount of money
+that the coolies, sirdars or servants were able to put up was
+astonishing. In most of the races there was at least a field of ten,
+which made the start a very amusing affair. The jockeys were all
+hill-boys, and as they and the ponies were up to every dodge and trick,
+and were equally anxious to get off first, and as most of the ponies had
+mouths of iron, it was always a long time before a start could be made,
+and in nearly every race one or more of the ponies would run out of the
+course at the point nearest its own home.
+
+On May 13 Major Morshead with his assistant surveyors and fifty coolies
+left Darjeeling for Khamba Dzong. They went the direct road up the
+Teesta Valley correcting the Sikkim map as they went along. Their object
+in going this way was to connect the Indian Survey with the new survey
+that it was proposed to carry out in Tibet. This would occupy all Major
+Morshead's time until we should be able to join him at Khamba Dzong in
+June.
+
+The chief transport of the Expedition consisted of 100 mules belonging
+to the Supply and Transport Corps and lent to us by the
+Commander-in-Chief. These arrived at Darjeeling a few days before we
+were due to start and were camped in the open on the old parade ground
+at the top of Katapahar. Sub-Conductor Taylor, who had already had
+experience of mule transport in Tibet in 1904-5, and was to have come in
+charge of them, was unfortunately laid up at the last moment with a bad
+attack of influenza. The next man chosen was passed medically unfit, and
+the third man in temporary charge of the mules was, when he arrived at
+Darjeeling, already suffering from ague. It was not till May 15 that
+Sergeant Fowkes arrived, who was to take charge of the mules. He was a
+very capable and energetic N.C.O., and their subsequent failure was in
+no way due to him, but solely to the fact that the mules were in no kind
+of condition to do hard work in the hills, being sleek and fat from the
+plains where they had had very little work to do. The muleteers, or
+drabies, were all hill-men and had been picked out specially for us and
+fitted out with every kind of warm clothing. Though there were a hundred
+mules, this did not mean that there were a hundred mules to carry our
+loads--so much extra warm clothing and blankets had been given to the
+drabies that together with all their line gear it needed twenty-seven
+mules to carry their kit, which left only seventy-three mules for the
+Expedition loads, each mule carrying 160 lb., and this was not nearly
+sufficient for our requirements. A certain amount of our stores had
+therefore to be left behind at Government House, Darjeeling, for a
+second journey, and we only took with us sufficient food and supplies
+for three and a half months, relying on the mules going back and
+returning with the remainder of the stores in July or August. Owing to
+the camping grounds being small, and bungalow accommodation limited on
+the journey across Sikkim, we divided ourselves into two parties with
+fifty mules and twenty coolies in each party; Wollaston, Wheeler,
+Mallory and myself being with the first party and Raeburn, Kellas,
+Bullock and Heron with the second.
+
+The first party left Darjeeling on May 18, and the second party the
+following day. I remained behind to see the second party off, and then
+by doing a double march I caught the first party up that evening at
+Kalimpong, not, however, without noticing on the way that several of our
+mules were already knocked up. The night before we started rain came
+down in torrents, and it was still pouring when the mules came round in
+the morning, and though the rain stopped soon afterwards yet the
+hillsides were all wreathed in soft grey mists and every moss-hung
+branch and tree dripped steadily with moisture all day long. The first
+day's march from Darjeeling was to Peshoke--a seventeen-mile march and
+down hill all the way after Ghoom. From Darjeeling we gradually ascended
+some 500 feet to Ghoom and then for 6 miles followed the well-engineered
+cart road which leads below Senchal to the new military cantonment of
+Takda which is, I believe, about to be abandoned, as the Gurkhas, for
+whom it was built, are not at all happy there. During the war it was
+used as a German internment camp. Along this ridge there are magnificent
+forests of evergreen oaks, all of which were covered with ferns and
+orchids and long trailing mosses. This first ridge rising straight out
+of the plains condenses all the moisture-laden winds that blow up from
+the Bay of Bengal and causes it almost always to be enveloped in clouds
+and mists. The path now rapidly descended 4,000 feet, through tea
+plantations. The whole hillside was covered with tea bushes, neatly
+planted in lines, and showing a very vivid green at this time of the
+year. Here and there grew tall tree ferns, 20 feet to 30 feet in height,
+their stems covered with ferns and Coelogene orchids. The air was now
+growing hotter and hotter as we descended, but the wonderful and varied
+vegetation, the beautiful and brilliantly coloured butterflies--for
+which the Teesta Valley is famous--that flitted across the path in front
+of us, proved an irresistible attraction, and made us forget the fact
+that we were dripping with perspiration from every pore. We had already
+descended nearly 5,000 feet by the time that we reached the P.W.D.
+bungalow at Peshoke, which was situated in a clearing in the forest. We
+were, however, still 2,000 feet above the muddy Teesta River which ran
+down below us in its steamy gorge, and the next morning saw us
+descending 2,000 feet through a Sal forest by a slippery path of clay
+leading to the suspension bridge which crosses the mighty river that
+with its affluents drains the whole of Sikkim. It rushes along with
+irresistible force in mighty waves and rapids, and though attempts have
+been made to float timber down it for commercial purposes, yet the
+current is too swift and the logs were all smashed to pieces. Here at
+the bridge we were only 700 feet above the sea and the heat was intense.
+Several mules had been left exhausted at Peshoke and had been unable to
+proceed the following day and several more only just reached Kalimpong,
+the second day's march, only 12 miles from Peshoke, but the climb of
+3,300 feet up from the bridge over the Teesta in the steamy and
+enervating heat proved too much for them. The forests here were very
+beautiful--huge sal trees and giant terminalia abounded with weird and
+wonderful creepers embracing their stems, or hanging down from their
+branches. The handsome pothos--the finest of the creepers--grew
+everywhere. The curious pandanus or screw pine displayed its long and
+picturesque fronds, while here and there among the dark green of the
+tropical forest showed up as a brilliant patch of colour the scarlet
+blooms of the clerodendrons. Above the forests the hillsides had been
+terraced with immense labour into rice fields, which at this time of
+year were not yet planted out, but the fields of maize were already
+ripening. At Kalimpong there was a large and comfortable Dak bungalow,
+surrounded by a well-kept garden full of roses and scarlet hibiscus with
+a beautiful and large-flowered mauve solanum growing up the pillars on
+the verandah. At Kalimpong we were entertained by Dr. Graham and his
+charming daughters, who showed us true hospitality and kindness. They
+live in a very pretty house embowered in roses on the crest of the hill
+and commanding lovely views over the Teesta Valley and up to the snowy
+peaks of Kanchenjunga. Higher up on the spur are the homes and the
+industrial schools that many years of hard work have brought into
+being, thanks to the indefatigable labours of Dr. Graham and the late
+Mrs. Graham; these now hold between 600 and 700 pupils, both boys and
+girls, who, when they leave these schools, have all been taught some
+useful trade and are sent out as useful members of society. They are
+given as practical an education as could be wished for anywhere. At the
+Grahams' house I met David Macdonald, the British Trade Agent at Yatung,
+who was acting temporarily as political agent in Sikkim until Major
+Bailey arrived from England. He was an old friend of mine, as I had met
+him before in Tibet. He promised us every assistance in his power and
+had telegraphed to Yatung and to the Jongpen at Phari to have supplies
+and anything we wanted in readiness at those places. He told me that an
+old Tibetan Lama, who knew Mount Everest well, had described it as "Miti
+guti cha-phu long-nga," "the mountain visible from all directions, and
+where a bird becomes blind if it flies so high." Throughout our journey
+across Sikkim the weather was very bad, with heavy falls of rain every
+day and night. We had had the bad luck to strike the Chota Bursat, or
+little monsoon, which usually heralds the coming of the proper monsoon a
+fortnight or three weeks later.
+
+The march to Pedong was an easy one of 14 miles with a gentle climb of
+3,000 feet followed by a descent of 2,000 feet past gardens beautiful
+with their great trees of scarlet hibiscus, daturas and bougainvilleas,
+which grew with wonderful luxuriance in this climate where frost is
+almost unknown in winter and where in summer the temperature scarcely
+ever exceeds 85° Fahrenheit. We passed some of the most wonderful datura
+hedges that I have ever seen with trees 15 feet to 20 feet in height and
+laden with hundreds of enormous white trumpet-shaped blooms 8 inches in
+diameter and fully a foot long. I could only stand and admire. At night
+these great white flowers glowed as though with phosphorescence in the
+dark and had a strangely sweet smell. I got thoroughly soaked on the
+march, for a couple of minutes of these deluges are sufficient to go
+through any waterproof.
+
+Our mules were now beginning to give us great trouble. Several had to be
+left behind after each march and fresh animals had to be hired locally
+to replace those left behind. At Pedong there were more wonderful
+daturas, and all along the next march we kept passing grand bushes of
+these flowers. It rained all that night and most of the following day,
+so that we had a very wet and trying march to Rongli--the distance was
+only 12 miles, but this included a very steep descent of over 3,000 feet
+to the bottom of a steamy valley, followed by a climb of 3,000 feet
+across an intervening ridge and then down another 2,000 feet to the
+Rongli bungalow. The poor mules were very tired by the end of the march
+and one had died of colic on the way. Most of the others too were
+getting very sore backs from the constant rain. On the way Wollaston and
+I stopped at Rhenock to have a look at the Chandra Nursery kept by Tulsi
+Dass, where there were many interesting plants, chiefly collected in the
+Sikkim forests. There was a tree growing everywhere in the forests with
+a white flower which Sikkim people called Chilauni, and all along the
+paths the Sikkim durbar had been busy planting mulberry, walnut and toon
+trees. There was a curious pink ground plant that grew in the forests
+which I was told belonged to the Amomum species. There were also
+beautiful orchids in the trees, mauve, white and yellow, belonging to
+the Dendrobium, Coelogene and Cymbidium families--some with fine sprays
+of flowers 18 inches long. Here at Rongli the mules were so tired that
+we had to give them a day's rest before they could go on any further. It
+was a hot and feverish spot to stop in, and only necessity compelled us
+to do so, as we were unable to get any extra transport the following
+morning to supplement the mules that were sick.
+
+All that day we had passed numbers of mules coming down from Tibet laden
+with bales of wool, and others were returning to Tibet with sheets of
+copper, manufactured goods, grain and rice which had been bought in
+exchange. The dark faces of the muleteers with their turquoise earrings
+formed a pretty picture and they were full of friendly smiles and
+greetings for us. The mules travelled on their own--if any mule stopped
+on the path, a stone always aimed with the greatest accuracy reminded
+him that it was time to go on. Owing to our having to halt a day at
+Rongli, we had to stop the second party, and were able to do this at
+Ari, a bungalow 3 miles short of Rongli. I rode up to see how they were
+getting on, and found they were having the same trouble with their mules
+that we had been having. On May 23 we left for Sedongchen, or Padamchen
+as the Tibetans called it. Sedongchen is the old local name, so-called
+because there once grew there a very large "Sedong" tree. This is a tree
+that has a white sap which irritates the skin intensely and sets up a
+rash. Sedongchen was only 9 miles from Rongli, but there was a very
+steep climb, from 2,700 feet up to 7,000 feet, and our mules only just
+managed to arrive there. The first part of the way is alongside the
+rushing stream of the Rongli, through lovely woods and dense tropical
+vegetation. Caladiums, kolocasias and begonias were growing on every
+rock, and the giant pothos with its large shining leaves grew up the
+stems of many of the trees. Climbers of all kinds, such as vines and
+peppers, hung down from the branches. Here, too, were magnificent forest
+trees, fully 150 feet high, with clean straight trunks and without a
+branch for a hundred feet; others nearly equally tall, which the Sikkim
+people call "Panisage," had huge buttresses and trunks nearly 40 feet in
+circumference. Every branch here was covered by thick matted growth of
+orchids. For the first time since leaving Darjeeling the sun shone, and
+after we left the forests we found the uphill climb very hot. On
+to-day's march, out of the fifty mules with which we started there were
+only fourteen carrying our own kit, and of those fourteen we found on
+arrival at Sedongchen that none would be fit to proceed on the following
+day. It was therefore with great reluctance that I felt compelled to
+send back the Government mules, as they could not only not carry their
+own line gear, but had become an extra and very large source of expense
+and worry to us. That the mules should have completely broken down like
+this after a five days' march showed that they must have been in no kind
+of training and condition and were completely unfitted for heavy work in
+the mountains. The hill ponies and mules that we had hired to supplement
+them, although they had been given the heaviest loads, always arrived
+first, and made nothing of each march. By this failure of the Government
+transport we were now thrown back on our own resources, and obliged to
+depend everywhere on what local transport we could obtain, and this
+often took some time to collect.
+
+At Sedongchen there was a pleasant bungalow, rather Swiss in appearance,
+with fine views down the Rongli Valley and across all the forest ridges
+over which we had come, right back to Darjeeling. Opposite us, to the
+South-east, were densely wooded hills with clouds and mists drifting
+along the tops, while here and there a waterfall showed up white amidst
+the dark green vegetation.
+
+Rain came down steadily all night, but the morning proved somewhat
+finer. Being on the main trade route, we were luckily able to get other
+transport to replace the Government mules and to arrange for hired mules
+as far as Yatung. The local animal is a wonderful beast, extremely sure
+footed, and not minding in the least a climb of 6,000 feet. The path
+from Sedongchen is really only a stone causeway, very slippery and
+unpleasant either to walk or ride upon, but probably anything else would
+be worn away by the torrential rains that fall here. At one place we had
+to make a wide detour, as the rain of the night before had washed away
+some hundred yards of the pathway, but luckily this was not in a very
+steep part, as otherwise we might have been delayed for several days.
+The constant rain had already brought out the leeches, and on most of
+the stones or blades of grass beside the path they sat waiting for
+their meal of blood and clung on to any mule or human being that passed
+by. The mules suffered severely, and drops of blood on the stones became
+frequent from the bleeding wounds.
+
+The climb from Sedongchen to Gnatong was very steep with a rise of over
+5,000 feet in the first 5 miles, and we soon got out of the zone of the
+leeches and on to the most wonderful zone of flowering rhododendrons.
+The rhododendrons in the lower forest chiefly consisted of _R.
+Argenteum_ and _R. Falconeri_. These grew in a great forest of oaks and
+magnolias, all covered with beautiful ferns among which showed up
+delightful mauve or white orchids. The lower rhododendrons had already
+flowered, but as we got higher we found masses of _R. Cinnabarinum_,
+with flowers showing every shade of orange and red. Then came
+rhododendrons of every colour--pink, deep crimson, yellow, mauve, white
+or cream coloured. It was impossible to imagine anything more beautiful,
+and every yard of the path was a pure delight. Among the smaller flowers
+were the large pink saxifrage, while the deep reddish-purple primula
+covered every open space. There was also a very tiny pink primula--the
+smallest I have ever seen--and another one like a pink primrose, that
+grew on the banks above the path. We went along quite slowly all the
+way, botanising and admiring the scenery. The path mostly led along the
+top of a ridge, and the views and colours of the many-hued rhododendrons
+in the gullies on either side were very delightful. Gnatong, where we
+were to spend the night, was a very small and rather dirty village lying
+in a hollow and surrounded by grassy hills. The fir trees (_Abies
+Webbiana_) no longer surrounded it, as those anywhere near had been cut
+down for firewood, or for building houses. From here I was able to
+telephone to Mr. Isaacs, Mr. Macdonald's head clerk at Yatung, to ask
+him to make arrangements for ponies and mules for us both at Yatung and
+at Phari now that our transport had broken down. Wonderful rumours
+seemed to have preceded our advent. Stories that we were coming with
+1,000 mules and 500 men seemed to have been spread about in Tibet.
+
+Gnatong is a most depressing place, and only owes its existence to the
+fact that it is the first stopping place for the caravans that cross
+over the Jelep Pass on the British side of the frontier. Rain always
+falls there, the rainfall in the year being nearly 200 inches, and when
+rain does not fall the place is enveloped in mist, with the result that
+the mud was horrible. It poured with rain all the time that we were
+there and we left again in heavy rain for the Jelep Pass 8 miles
+distant. We were already over 12,000 feet when we started, and the top
+of the pass was 14,390 feet, so that it was not a very serious climb.
+There was no view of any kind to be had as the rain fell steadily all
+the way and the hillsides were all veiled in mist. We had occasional
+glimpses of a hillside pink, white or yellow with rhododendrons, which
+now grew only about 5 feet high. I counted six or seven different
+varieties of primulas on the way, but near the top there was still
+plenty of the old winter snow lying about and the Alpine flowers were
+scarcely out. A big heap of stones marked the summit of the pass and the
+frontier between Sikkim and Tibet, and a few sticks, to which were
+attached strings covered with small pieces of rag on which were
+inscribed prayers, fluttered out in the strong wind that always blows up
+there. In the cold rain this was not a cheerful spot to linger in, so we
+hurried on down a steep and stony path and after descending a few
+hundred feet emerged out of the mist and rain and obtained glimpses of a
+really blue sky such as we had not seen for weeks. We had arrived at
+last in Tibet.
+
+
+
+
+                                CHAPTER II
+
+                 THE CHUMBI VALLEY AND THE TIBETAN PLATEAU
+
+
+The range of mountains which here forms the boundary between Sikkim and
+Tibet runs nearly North and South, and the two main passes across it are
+the Jelep La and the Nathu La, the latter being a few miles to the North
+of the Jelep La and about the same height. The Jelep La being the main
+trade route across which the telegraph line runs, and over which the
+postal runners travel, is kept open all the year round, though often
+after a heavy blizzard it is closed for ten days or a fortnight. On the
+Sikkim side the snow-fall is always the heaviest; this range of
+mountains stops most of the moist currents that drive up from the Bay of
+Bengal, with the result that the rainfall in the Chumbi Valley on the
+Tibetan side is only about a quarter of what it is at Gnatong on the
+Sikkim side.
+
+The descent into the Chumbi Valley was very steep and stony, as there
+was a drop of over 5,000 feet from the top of the pass. The beauty of
+the valley and its wild flowers made up, however, for the badness of the
+path. The rhododendrons on the descent were extremely fine, and the
+whole character of the vegetation was altered and became more European.
+The great pink rhododendron _Aucklandi_ showed up splendidly in the dark
+forests of silver fir (_A. Webbiana_) which here grows into a fine tree.
+There was also the yellow rhododendron Campylocarpum and a white
+rhododendron, probably Decorum; the beautiful _R. Cinnabarinum_ with its
+orange bells of waxy flowers relieved the darkness of the firs. There
+was a small Tibetan rest-house called Langra where our coolies wanted to
+stop, but we pushed on past this and descended steeply through more
+wonderful forests. As we got lower we found birch, sycamore, willow and
+elder still clothed in the light green of early spring. A fine white
+clematis, a pink and white spiræa, a yellow berberis, white roses and
+the dark purple iris grew in profusion on either side of the path.
+Underneath these were the small flowers of the wild strawberry, which
+the Macdonald family collected later on in the year and made into jam in
+great quantities.
+
+Near the entrance to this side valley we came to Old Yatung with its
+Chinese custom-house and wall built right across the valley to keep the
+British from going any further. All this was now deserted and in ruins.
+Soon afterwards we arrived in the main Chumbi Valley where were broad
+fields filled with potatoes and ripening barley. The houses here were
+mostly built of stone and wood and in two stories. In character they
+much resembled Tirolese houses except for the elaborate carving over the
+doors and windows and the many colours in which they were painted. We
+passed through the prosperous villages of Richengong, Phema and Chumbi
+before arriving at New Yatung, or Shassi as the Tibetans still prefer to
+call it. Here was a comfortable bungalow overlooking the bazaar on the
+other side of the river. Knowing that we had had a long and tiring march
+and that our coolies would only arrive late that night, Mrs. Macdonald
+had with much thoughtfulness sent over her servants who had tea and
+dinner prepared for us on a generous scale. No attention could have been
+more acceptable. It rained steadily all that night--a somewhat unusual
+occurrence in this valley--but the next morning it cleared up and the
+day was delightful.
+
+The Chumbi Valley is one of the richest valleys in Tibet. Yatung lies at
+a height of 9,400 feet. Apples and pears do well here, and barley, wheat
+and potatoes are grown in great quantities. At this time of the year the
+air is scented by the wild roses which grow in large bushes covered with
+hundreds of cream-coloured and sweetly scented flowers. The villages
+all look extremely prosperous and an air of peace and contentment seems
+to pervade the valley. We had to hire a new lot of animals to take us on
+to Phari--28 miles further up the Chumbi Valley. These all arrived in
+good time, and by eight o'clock on May 27 our loads were all on their
+way. Before leaving, I sent off a telegram to Sir Francis Younghusband
+to announce the arrival of the Expedition in Tibet, a telegram which
+arrived opportunely at the Anniversary Dinner of the Royal Geographical
+Society, just at the commencement of dinner.
+
+There is a small garrison at Yatung, consisting of twenty-five men of
+the 73rd Carnatics. There was also a hospital and a supply depot from
+which we were able to purchase sugar, flour, ata (coarse native flour)
+and potatoes, while later on we were able to send back to it for further
+supplies. We formed quite an imposing procession as we started off:
+Wollaston and myself on our ponies, Gyalzen Kazi and Chheten Wangdi, our
+interpreters, on their ponies which they had brought along with them.
+There was Mr. Isaacs, the head clerk, with a red-coated chaprassi and a
+syce also mounted, who accompanied us on a visit to two monasteries
+further up the valley. The path followed close to the banks of the
+Ammo-chu, which was now a clear stream and contained many a likely pool
+for fish. The valley was full of delightful flowers; curious ground
+orchids, with several beautiful varieties of the ladies' slipper grew
+there; the wild roses, especially the large red one, were very
+sweet-scented and filled the air with fragrance. Berberis, clematis and
+some charming dwarf rhododendrons abounded. After going about 3 miles
+the valley narrowed, and we passed the spot where the Chinese had built
+another wall across the valley to keep us out. Just above this wall
+there was a deserted Chinese village, for now all the Chinese have been
+driven out of the country and are not allowed to go back and live there.
+High above us on the hillside was the Punagang Monastery belonging to
+the old sect of the Bhompo's, who turn their prayer wheels the opposite
+to every one else and always keep to the right of Chortens and Mani
+walls. This monastery was too far off the path for us to visit it. We
+soon afterwards passed the large and flourishing village of Galinka
+surrounded by fields of barley. Here we turned aside to visit the
+Galinka Monastery, which stood in the midst of the village. This was
+quite a new building, with a great gilt image of Buddha inside it. The
+monks were still busy painting pictures of scenes from the life of
+Buddha on the walls. They apparently did quite a good trade in selling
+clay images of Buddha in his different forms and postures. These were
+stamped by a very well cut brass die, which the monks told me had been
+made at Shigatse. In a side room was a huge prayer wheel some 12 feet
+high and 5 feet to 6 feet in diameter. It was covered over with painted
+leather inscribed with the usual Om Mani Padme Hum (Hail, jewel of the
+lotus flower). They told us the inside was also filled with prayers, and
+that it contained one and a half million of these, so that each time the
+wheel was turned a million and a half prayers were said for the person
+who turned it. After each complete revolution it rings a bell. We were
+allowed to turn it several times, so that I hope the many million
+prayers sent up may benefit us. After leaving the monastery, the path
+rose steeply and the river came down in a series of waterfalls. Above us
+were masses of pink and mauve rhododendrons, flowering cherries,
+viburnum, berberis, roses and other delightful shrubs. Soon afterwards,
+at the entrance to the Lingmatang plain, we crossed the river and rode
+up a rocky spur formed of great boulders that had some time or another
+fallen down and blocked up the valley, forming a lake some 2 miles long,
+but this lake no longer existed, and there was only a flat grassy plain
+grazed over by yaks and ponies. On the top of the spur was the Donka
+Monastery in a grand situation, commanding beautiful views up and down
+the valley. I had hoped to see my friend the Geshe Lama or Geshe
+Rimpoche, as he is sometimes known, with whom I had lunched last year at
+the hot springs at Kambu, but unfortunately he was away at Lhasa. He is
+a man of very great learning and held in high veneration throughout
+these valleys.
+
+On entering the big stone courtyard of the monastery a crowd of children
+and Lamas at once flocked round us. We were shown over the main temple,
+but it was badly lit with a few butter lamps and we could see little of
+its contents; amongst these were several statues of Buddha under his
+different forms. There were also kept there 108 volumes of the Tangyur,
+one of the Buddhist sacred writings. These books were very curious. Each
+volume consisted of a number of loose oblong parchment sheets 2 to 3
+feet long and from 8 inches to a foot wide. These were kept together by
+two elaborately carved boards between which they were pressed. The
+writing was all done by hand by the Lamas, who copied out and
+illuminated books with the greatest care and skill in the same manner
+that the monks in the Middle Ages illuminated their missals. The
+book-shelves of the library consisted of a number of pigeon-holes in the
+walls in which these volumes were kept. Here, too, they were busy making
+clay images to bury under the Chorten that they were building above the
+monastery. Next door was another and newer temple, built to house the
+Oracle, and called the Sanctuary of the Oracle. He, too, was
+unfortunately away, as he was taking the hot waters at Kambu, but we
+were shown his throne and the robes that he puts on when he prophesies.
+There was a curiously shaped head-dress of silver, adorned all round
+with silver skulls, and a very quaintly shaped bow and arrow which the
+Oracle held in one hand while a huge trident was grasped in the other. I
+am told that he is consulted far and wide and has a great reputation for
+truth. We were then taken upstairs to a sunny verandah, just outside the
+Geshe Rimpoche's private room and commanding fine views up and down the
+valley. Here we were given Tibetan tea, made with salt and butter, and
+served up in agate cups with beautifully chased silver covers. After
+drinking this tea we were shown over the Geshe's private apartments and
+chapel, the prevailing colour scheme of the room being yellow. The
+little shrines with their silver bowls in front--the incense burner and
+the flame that is never allowed to go out--were all very interesting to
+us. We then took a photograph of the Lamas in front of their temple,
+after which the head Lama accompanied us some way down the path to say
+good-bye, hoping we would come and see them again on our return.
+
+I have alluded several times to the hot springs at Kambu. These springs
+are two days' journey from Yatung up the Kambu Valley, but can also be
+reached quite easily from Phari. There is a curious account of these
+springs written by an old Lama and translated by Major Campbell. The
+writer describes the Upper Kambu Valley as quite a pleasant spot where
+cooling streams and medicinal plants are found in abundance. Medicinal
+waters of five kinds flow from the rocks, forming twelve pools, the
+waters of which are efficacious in curing the 440 diseases to which the
+human race is subject. The springs are then made to describe their own
+qualities in the first person:--
+
+  1. THE LHAMO SPRING (The Spring of the Goddess): My virtue is derived
+  from the essence of stone--I am guarded by the Goddess Tsering, and my
+  virtue therefore consists in purging the sins and obscurities of the
+  human body. Those who bathe first in my waters will be purged of all
+  sin and the power of all diseases will be abated.
+
+  2. THE CHAGU SPRING (The Spring of the Vulture): My virtue is derived
+  from black sulphur. As regards my properties, a vulture with a broken
+  wing once fell into my waters and was healed. I benefit diseases of
+  women, also sores, gout and fractures. I possess particular virtue for
+  all diseases below the waist. I do not benefit neuralgia, nervous
+  diseases, or loss of appetite.
+
+  3 and 4. THE PON SPRINGS (The Springs of the Official): We two
+  brothers derive our properties from both yellow and black sulphur.
+  One of us provokes catarrh, while the other allays it. A learned man,
+  who wished us well, once said that we were beneficial in cases of
+  hemorrhoids, kidney diseases and rheumatism. We are not aware of
+  possessing these qualities, and rather tend to cause harm in such
+  cases.
+
+  5. THE TRAGGYE SPRING (The Spring born of the Rock): My virtue is
+  derived from a combination of sulphur and the essence of stone. I was
+  formerly efficacious in cases of diseases of the arteries and nerve
+  trouble, but later on the Brothers of the Pon Spring rushed down on
+  poor me like tyrants so that no one now regards me. The caretaker of
+  the Springs and visitors treats me like a beggar and pays no attention
+  to me. Even now if some person with the permission of the Brothers of
+  the Pon Spring would carry out some repairs, so as to separate my
+  waters from theirs, I would guarantee to benefit those suffering from
+  arterial diseases, nerve trouble, impurities of the blood and bile.
+
+  6. THE SERKA SPRING (The Spring of the Crevice): My virtues are
+  derived from sulphur and carbon. I am not beneficial to those
+  suffering from ailments arising from nerve trouble, bile and acidity.
+  I am beneficial to those suffering from chapped hands and feet due to
+  hard work among earth and stones and also in cases of diseases of the
+  kidneys and bladder. I am somewhat hurtful to those suffering from
+  headache arising from nervous catarrh, or impurities of the blood.
+
+  7. THE TANG SPRING (The Spring of the Plain): My virtues are derived
+  from carbon and a little sulphur. I am beneficial in cases of
+  hemorrhoids, kidney disease, rheumatism and other diseases below the
+  waist, also in cases of venereal disease. There is a danger of the
+  waist becoming bent like a bow through too much bathing in my waters.
+
+  8. THE TRAGGYAB SPRING (The Spring behind the Rock): I am beneficial
+  in cases of disease of the arteries and anaemia--I am not aware that
+  I am harmful in other cases.
+
+  9. THE TONGBU SPRING (The Spring of the Hole): My virtues are derived
+  from a large proportion of crystalline stone and a little sulphur. I
+  guarantee to be beneficial in cases of white phlegm, brown phlegm and
+  other forms of phlegmatic disease. Also in diseases arising out of
+  these, and in cases of impurities of the blood and colic pains. Please
+  bear this in mind.
+
+  10. THE NUB (The Western Spring): My virtues are derived from a little
+  carbon. I am beneficial in cases of liver disease, impurities of the
+  blood, flatulence, kidney disease, dyspepsia, brown phlegm, tumours,
+  gout, rheumatism, gleet, and complications arising from these. I do not
+  boast in the way that the other Springs do.
+
+  11. THE DZEPO SPRING (The Leper's Spring): I am cousin to the Western
+  Spring. He guarantees to cure diseases arising from two or three causes,
+  also kidney disease, flat foot, rheumatism and gout. I am beneficial in
+  cases of hemorrhoids, gout, rheumatism and diseases of the feet. I
+  possess particular virtue in cases of leprosy, sores and wounds.
+
+  12. THE LAMA SPRING (The Spring of the Lama): My virtues are derived
+  from a large proportion of lime and a little sulphur. I am beneficial
+  in cases of lung disease, tumours, dyspepsia, both chronic and recent,
+  poverty of the blood and venereal diseases.
+
+    WRITTEN BY TSEWANG IN THE HOPE THAT THE PEOPLE OF BHUTAN, SIKKIM AND
+        THE SURROUNDING COUNTRY WILL BEAR THIS IN MIND.
+
+    COPIED BY TENRAB, CLEARLY AND EXACTLY, FROM THE ORIGINAL IN THE MALE
+        IRON DOG YEAR IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE EARTH MONTH.
+
+After leaving the monastery we had a pleasant gallop across the
+Lingmatang Plain, after which the valley narrowed again and the path
+followed close beside the rushing stream. It was a delightful ride
+through forests of birch, larch, juniper, spruce, silver fir and
+mountain ash. Never anywhere have I seen birch trees grow to such a
+size. They were grand rugged old trees that matched the rugged scenery
+of the gorge. Blue poppies, fritillaries, ground orchids and
+sweet-scented primulas grew along the path, and mixed up everywhere in
+the forest were great bushes of _R. Cinnabarinum_, which varied in shade
+from yellow and orange to deep red. Wagtails and white-crested redstarts
+dodged about from rock to rock in the rushing stream, and the clear note
+of the shrike could usually be heard above the noise of the waters. The
+weather had luckily kept fine all day, so that we were able to dawdle
+along and enjoy the scenery and flowers.
+
+After going about 12 miles we came to the bungalow of Gautsa, situated
+at a height of about 12,000 feet, and at the bottom of the gorge; here
+we spent the night. During the night there was heavy rain, and when we
+woke in the morning, fresh snow was low down on all the hills and within
+1,500 feet of the bungalow. However, the day again proved brilliantly
+fine. For breakfast we had been given some large wild-goose eggs
+belonging to the bar-headed goose. Mine I had boiled, and found
+excellent, though one was sufficient for a meal. Two that the others had
+were rather _passé_, and were not equally appreciated. The day's path
+was at first very stony and climbed steadily uphill beside the torrent
+of the Ammo-chu. Pale blue iris, yellow primulas, a pink viburnum and a
+large yellow-belled lonicera grew beside the path, but the rhododendrons
+were still by far the most wonderful of the flowering shrubs. We passed
+many big blue meconopsis, and some of these flowers measured fully 3
+inches across. Dwarf rhododendrons, only a foot high--some pure white
+and others pink, continued up until about 13,500 feet, and then the
+hillsides became purple from another little rhododendron, which looked
+in the distance like heather and gave the rounded hills quite a Scotch
+appearance. As we rose higher the flowers decreased in number. Larks and
+wheatears ran along the ground in front of us, and small tailless marmot
+rats dodged in and out of their holes as we approached. The distance
+from Goutsa to Phari was about 16 miles, of which the last 8 miles were
+over flat country with a springy turf, on which it was a pleasure to be
+able to canter again after having passed over so many miles of stony
+roads. Chomolhari, the Mountain of the Goddess, stood up as a wonderful
+sight with its sharp peak outlined against the clear blue sky. On its
+summit the wind was evidently very strong, as we could see the fresh
+snow being whirled off in clouds.
+
+Phari is an extremely dirty village dominated by a stone fort and lying
+under the shadow of the great mountain Chomolhari, 23,930 feet high. It
+is 14,300 feet above sea level, and the climate there is always cold, as
+it is never without a strong wind. In the afternoon the Jongpen, or
+Governor of the district, came to call on me. He was a young man with an
+intelligent and pleasant face, and came from the country between Khamba
+Dzong and Shekar Dzong, so that he was able to give us much useful
+information about the road; he promised that he would write to his
+brother, who was acting as agent for him at his home, telling him to
+entertain us and give us all facilities in the matters of transport and
+supplies. He told us that he had received written instructions from the
+Lhasa Government to arrange for supplies and transport for us, and he
+promised that he would do his best. I gave him photographs that I had
+taken last year of his fort, and also of Chomolhari; these pleased him
+very much, and in return he presented us with a dried sheep which looked
+mummified and smelt very strongly, but which proved very acceptable to
+our coolies. It was necessary to stop here for several days as the
+second party had to catch up, and they too needed a day's rest. Also the
+transport that was to carry us along to Khamba Dzong would not be ready
+for several days, so the following morning I went to call on the
+Jongpen in his fort, where I found him living in some very dark rooms. I
+presented him with one of the new lever electric torches, which he much
+appreciated, though at first he and his servants were rather frightened
+by it. He gave us tea and sweetmeats, and soon afterwards the head-men
+of all the villages came in, and were given orders about our transport.
+Their quaint attitudes of respect and their darkly bronzed faces, that
+just showed up in the light, reminded me forcibly of an old Dutch
+picture. Some men, too, had been sent from Khamba Dzong for orders and
+to know when we should be likely to arrive there. In the course of the
+afternoon Dr. Heron and I rode over to a monastery about 3 miles away
+where I had been last year, and where I had taken some photographs. Some
+prints of these I brought back to the monastery, and the monks were very
+pleased with them. They were in the middle of a service when we arrived,
+as it was some kind of festival, and the dark temple was illuminated by
+hundreds of little butter lamps. The monks were all chanting their
+scriptures, and this they continued to do all the afternoon.
+
+On returning to Phari, we found that a message had come from the Jongpen
+to ask us to dine with him the following evening. The change in the
+climate and the bad cooking had affected the stomachs of all the members
+of the Expedition, and none of us was feeling very well. Dr. Kellas was
+the worst, and as soon as he arrived at Phari he retired to bed. The
+following morning was misty and the ground was all white with
+hoar-frost, though it was the last day in May; but as I was anxious to
+get some photographs of Chomolhari we rode, with the Chaukidar as a
+guide, through the mist across the plain to some hills just to the South
+of the great mountain; after a few miles we found ourselves above the
+clouds with the sun shining in a brilliant blue sky. The whole of the
+Phari Plain was covered by a sea of clouds. On the far side rose the
+Pawhunri group of mountains, while further to the South, Kanchenjunga
+towered above all the other peaks, such as Siniolchum, Kabru and
+Jonsong, all of which stood out very clearly in this brilliant
+atmosphere. I rode up a delightful little mountain valley full of dwarf
+rhododendrons and Alpine primulas until I reached a height of 16,000
+feet. We then left the ponies and climbed on to the top of the hill,
+which was about 17,500 feet; from this point we had glorious views of
+Chomolhari immediately across the valley, while on the other side we
+looked over to the snowy peaks and ranges in Bhutan far to the South of
+us. We found the wind very keen at this height, and after taking several
+photographs we rode back again to Phari.
+
+[Illustration: CHOMOLHARI FROM THE SOUTH.]
+
+Here I found the place full of troubles. Our Coolie Sirdar was, as we
+were beginning to find out, not only useless, but very mischievous, and
+he was evidently at the bottom of an attempted mutiny among our coolies,
+who refused to go on. The Sirdar strongly objected to our interpreters,
+who were preventing him from fleecing us in the matter of stores and
+supplies. However, after much talking they were all satisfied. Then it
+was the turn of the cooks, all of whom the Sirdar had chosen. I should
+not have minded one or two of these going, as they were very bad cooks
+and usually drunk, and the fact that all of us had been ill was solely
+due to their bad cooking; but I could not let them all go, so it was
+necessary to find out which were the most useless, and this we were able
+to do in the course of the next few days. Dr. Kellas was getting no
+better; he refused to take any food, and was very depressed about
+himself. At Phari I was able to change a certain number of our rupees
+into Tibetan currency. The then rate of exchange was 33 rupees to 1
+sersang--a gold coin--and 4½ silver trangkas to 1 rupee. The trangkas
+were a thin and very badly stamped coin about the size of a two-shilling
+piece. We found them, however, to be the most useful form of currency as
+the gold coin, though much easier to carry, could only be exchanged at a
+few places, and it was seldom that we met people who were rich enough to
+be able to change them.
+
+That night four of us went over to have dinner with the Jongpen. First
+we were given tea and sweetmeats, followed by strong ginger wine, which
+was most comforting to our stomachs in their delicate condition. Then
+came dishes of mutton in varying forms with vegetables and macaroni.
+They were all served up in Chinese fashion in little dishes and some
+were quite appetising. We were very late in starting the next morning as
+all the loads had to be sorted and laid out for the very miscellaneous
+transport that had been given us. This consisted of ponies, mules,
+donkeys, bullocks and yaks. For riding-animals we were given mules,
+which trotted well and covered the ground quite quickly, though some of
+the Alpine climbers found them hard to manage and were apt to part
+company with their steeds. Our transport was by now becoming rather
+complicated as forty-four animals were going right through to Khamba
+Dzong and forty-four were being changed at every stage. Dr. Kellas was
+not well enough to ride and was carried in an arm-chair all day. Soon
+after starting I passed two of our cooks on the road hopelessly drunk,
+and left them there. Our way led over the Tang La, a very gentle and
+scarcely perceptible pass, 15,200 feet, but important as being the main
+Himalayan watershed. All day there was a very strong South wind blowing,
+but it was luckily at our backs, and we did not feel it too much. We
+then quickly trotted the 10 miles across the absolutely level
+Tang-pün-sum Plain. Here I saw several herds of kiang, the wild ass of
+Tibet, and got within 50 yards of one lot, but unfortunately the coolie
+who was carrying my camera was not up with me at the time. We also
+passed a certain number of Tibetan gazelle, but they were all very wary.
+The Monsoon clouds came up to the South of us in great rolling billows,
+but not a drop of moisture came over the Tang La. Chomolhari was a
+magnificent sight all day with its 7,000 feet of precipices descending
+sheer into the plain. Tuna (14,800 feet), about 20 miles from Phari, was
+our first halt. We were still on the main road to Lhasa and found a
+comfortable rest-house into which the eight of us all managed to stow
+ourselves. Dr. Kellas, though rather better the next day, was still too
+weak to ride, and was carried for the next march on a litter. We were
+now in the true Tibetan climate, with brilliant sunshine, blue skies,
+still mornings and strong winds all the afternoon.
+
+The next march from Tuna to Dochen was still on the Lhasa Road. I did
+not follow the path, but rode with a local man from the village over the
+great Tang-pün-sum Plain in search of goa--Tibetan gazelle. We saw many
+of them on the plains, but they were the wiliest and most difficult
+animals to approach, and in this flat and bare country it was not
+possible ever to get within 300 yards of them. As a rule they ran off
+when we were still half a mile away. They are restless little creatures,
+always on the move, and never at any time an easy mark to hit. I
+thoroughly enjoyed this ride over the plains and our glorious views of
+Chomolhari and the great snow-covered and glaciated chain to the North
+of it along the foot of which we were travelling. A curious pink
+trumpet-shaped flower grew in great quantities on the plain; the leaves
+were buried under the sand and only the flower showed its head above the
+ground. There were also white pincushions of a kind of tiny saxifrage.
+This plain, over which we were riding, was evidently once upon a time a
+lake bed, as the pebbles were rounded and there were distinct evidences
+of former shores along the sides of the hills. Many kiang were grazing
+on it and many thousands of sheep were being pastured there. As we
+approached the lake called Bamtso, the country became very marshy, and
+our ponies got bogged several times. The bungalow at Dochen was situated
+near the shores of the Bamtso. Never have I seen a lake with so many
+colours in it. It was very shallow, and the shades varied from deep blue
+and purple to light green, while in places it was almost red from a weed
+that grew in it. Behind it was a background of snow and glacier-covered
+mountains, which in the still mornings was reflected faithfully in its
+waters and formed a charming picture. Swimming on this lake were many
+bar-headed geese and Brahminy ducks, and along the shores were many
+terns and yellow wagtails.
+
+That evening an amusing thing happened in the kitchen. One of our cooks
+was heating up a tin of tinned fish and had put it in some hot water
+without previously opening it. When he thought it was sufficiently hot,
+he started to open it, with the result that it exploded violently,
+covering him and every one else in the kitchen with small pieces of
+fish. I was able then to explain to the Tibetans who were carrying our
+loads that our stores were very dangerous, and that if any were at any
+time stolen, they would be liable to explode and hurt them. It was, of
+course, the rarefied air that had caused this, for Dochen is at a height
+of 14,700 feet above sea level.
+
+Every day on from now the wind used to blow with great violence all the
+afternoon, but would die down after sunset. It must have been of a local
+nature caused by the rapid changes from high temperature to low, because
+the clouds above at the same time were hardly moving. I sent back Dorje,
+one of our cooks, from this place, as it was the fourth time that he had
+been drunk, and this I hoped would be a lesson to the others. We now
+left the Lhasa Road and turned off Westwards, having henceforward to
+rely on our tents.
+
+[Illustration: LOADING UP AT DOCHEN.]
+
+From Dochen to Khe was a short march of 11 miles over the Dug Pass,
+16,400 feet. I did not follow the road taken by the transport animals,
+but took a local guide and rode over the hill-tops in search of ovis
+ammon. I did not see any, however, though we sighted two or three goa,
+but they were very wild and would not allow me to approach within 500
+yards of them. There were numbers of blue hares, however, and some ram
+chakor, the Himalayan snow cock. But beyond this the hillsides were very
+bare of game. There were pin-cushions of a beautiful little blue sedum
+growing at a height of over 17,000 feet, also there was a big red
+stonecrop. Khe is now only a small and dirty village with practically no
+water except a half-dried muddy pond, but at one time it must have been
+a place of some importance, as ruins and buildings of considerable size
+extend over an area of more than a mile. The Kala-tso evidently at one
+time came right up to this ruined town of Khetam, and the fact that it
+is deserted now is probably due to the shrinkage of the lake. This was
+only one of the many signs of desiccation that we saw in our travels in
+Tibet. There were some curious ruins which looked like old crenellated
+walls, but these walls were only places on which barley dough used to be
+exposed to feed the crows as a sign of prosperity. It was a curious
+custom and could only have prevailed in a very fertile valley, which
+this place is no longer. The age of the city I could not find out, but
+the few survivors told me that the holy shrine at Tashilumpo, which now
+is at Shigatse, ought to have been built here. According to a local
+legend, there was a certain stone in Khetam shaped like a ewe's-womb,
+and one day a donkey driver finding that his loads were unequal in
+weight, picked up this stone and put it on the light load to balance the
+other, quite unaware of the importance of the stone. This stone was then
+carried from Gyantse to Shigatse, where a high and important Lama saw
+it, and recognising that this was a very holy stone, had it kept there.
+The powerful monastery of Tashilumpo was built over this stone. We
+passed two small nunneries called Doto and Shidag in snug little valleys
+to the North of the plain, and on asking why there should be so many
+nunneries in these parts when in the greater part of Tibet men
+predominated, I was told that this was due to the fact that it was close
+to the Nepalese frontier where there had always been much fighting, so
+that most of the men had been killed and only women had survived. After
+a short and easy march we came to a small pocket in the hills called
+Kheru. Here were encamped some people belonging to a nomad tribe who
+always lived in tents. They were very friendly, put tents at our
+disposal, and did their best to make us comfortable. They told us that
+they came here every year in the twelfth month, about January, and left
+again in the fifth month of the Tibetan year (June) for a place near
+Tuna, where they disposed of their wool, butter and cheese at the Phari
+market. There were altogether about twenty families here owning some 200
+yaks and 3,000 sheep. Dr. Kellas was slightly better, but Raeburn was
+not feeling at all well, and Wheeler was suffering from indigestion, so
+that we were rather a sick party. Kheru lies at a height of 15,700 feet,
+but it had been very hot all day in the brilliant sunshine, and on the
+way we had passed lizards and a number of common peacock butterflies.
+Next morning our march was to Tatsang (Falcon's Nest), a distance of 15
+or 16 miles, and over two passes 16,450 and 17,100 feet. The going was
+easy all the way, as the gradients both up and down the passes were very
+gentle. Between the two passes was a broad valley, filled with huge
+flocks of sheep and herds of yaks, and after crossing the second pass,
+we descended into a great barren and stony plain, more than 10 miles
+across which was Tatsang and over which the wind blew very keenly. To
+the South of us appeared the snowy crests of Pawhunri, Kanchenjhow and
+Chomiomo and the Lhonak peaks. Again I did not keep with the transport,
+but followed the crests of the hills, where I had lovely views; on the
+way I saw plenty of gazelle, and was lucky enough to shoot one of them,
+as they are very good eating. Our camp at Tatsang was pitched just below
+the nunnery there, which is on the top of a rock and where there are
+about thirty nuns. Our camp was on a pleasant grassy spot where some
+excellent springs bubble up out of the ground. These within a few yards
+formed quite a big stream full of small snow trout. They do not really
+belong to the trout family, although they have somewhat similar spots,
+and are very good to eat. Bullock, with his butterfly net, and the
+coolies with their hands, managed to catch quite a number of fish, and
+we had them for dinner that night. The ground round our tents was full
+of holes out of which the marmot rats kept appearing. They were very
+tame, and did not seem to be in the least afraid of us. Dr. Kellas had
+had a very trying day. He had been rather better, and had started
+riding a yak, but he found this too exhausting and coolies had to be
+sent back from Tatsang to bring him on in a litter, so that he did not
+arrive at Tatsang till late in the evening. Tatsang is 16,000 feet, so
+the night was cold, the thermometer inside the tent registering 7° of
+frost, though it was June 4; outside there must have been quite 15° as
+the running streams were all frozen over, but once the sun had risen
+everything warmed up and we had a beautiful warm day. Dr. Kellas started
+off in his litter at 7 a.m. in quite good spirits. I did not start till
+an hour later, as I had wanted to see everything off, and then went up
+to visit the nunnery, over which the lady abbess showed me. There were
+thirty nuns living there, all with shorn heads and wearing a curious
+wool head-dress. The place where they worshipped was full of prayer
+wheels, both large and small. They sat down behind these, and each nun
+turned one or two of them if they could manage it. The room was very
+dark, with a low ceiling, and at the end were several statues of Buddha
+covered over with gauze veils. In another room there was a large prayer
+wheel which they said contained half a million prayers.
+
+After leaving the nunnery we jogged along a dry and barren valley which
+gradually rose in about 12 miles to a pass 17,200 feet. On the way we
+passed Dr. Kellas in his litter, who then seemed to me to be still quite
+cheerful. I then rode on and at the top of the pass saw three ovis
+ammon, and after a chase of about a mile I shot one, which afforded
+plenty of food for the coolies for some days. It was a full grown ram
+about five years old and we had great trouble in getting the carcass on
+to a mule, as it was enormous and very heavy. After this I rode on down
+the valley for another 10 miles to Khamba Dzong. There were actually a
+few bushes in this valley, which was carpeted with the pretty pink
+trumpet-shaped flower mentioned above, also with light and dark blue
+iris. Suddenly the valley narrowed into a fine limestone gorge, and all
+at once the fort of Khamba Dzong appeared towering above us on the
+cliffs. It was really a very impressive sight and some of the
+architecture of the round towers was very fine. I found that Morshead
+had been waiting here for about nine days, but had employed his time in
+fixing the old triangulation points. Soon after I arrived the Jongpen
+came down to pay us a visit. He was quite a young fellow, only about
+twenty-four, but very pleasant and polite.
+
+While we were talking, a man came running up to us very excitedly to say
+that Dr. Kellas had suddenly died on the way. We could hardly believe
+this, as he was apparently gradually getting better; but Wollaston at
+once rode off to see if it was true, and unfortunately found that there
+was no doubt about it. It was a case of sudden failure of the heart, due
+to his weak condition, while being carried over the high pass. His death
+meant a very great loss to the Expedition in every way, as he alone was
+qualified to carry out the experiments in oxygen and blood pressure
+which would have been so valuable to the Expedition, and on which
+subject he was so great an expert. His very keenness had been the cause
+of his illness, for he had tried his constitution too severely in the
+early months of that year by expeditions into the heart of the Himalayas
+to see if he could get fresh photographs from other angles of Mount
+Everest. The following day we buried him on the slopes of the hill to
+the South of Khamba Dzong, in a site unsurpassed for beauty that looks
+across the broad plains of Tibet to the mighty chain of the Himalayas
+out of which rise up the three great peaks of Pawhunri, Kanchenjhow and
+Chomiomo, which he alone had climbed. From the same spot, far away to
+the West--more than a hundred miles away--could be seen the snowy crest
+of Mount Everest towering far above all the other mountains. He lies,
+therefore, within sight of his greatest feats in climbing and within
+view of the mountain that he had longed for so many years to approach--a
+fitting resting-place for a great mountaineer.
+
+[Illustration: KHAMBA DZONG.]
+
+
+
+
+                                Chapter III
+
+            FROM KHAMBA DZONG THROUGH UNKNOWN COUNTRY TO TINGRI
+
+
+Our camp at Khamba Dzong[3] was pitched in a walled enclosure at the
+foot of the fort, built on a great crag that rose 500 feet sheer above
+us. They called this enclosure a Bagichah, or garden, because it once
+boasted of three willow trees. Only one of these three is alive to-day,
+the other two being merely dead stumps of wood. The Jongpen here, who
+was under the direct orders of Shigatse, was very friendly, and after
+our arrival presented us with five live sheep, a hundred eggs, and a
+small carpet which he had had made in his own factory in the fort. Next
+afternoon Morshead, Wollaston and myself went up to pay the Jongpen a
+visit in his fort. It was a steep climb from our camp, past long
+Mendongs or Mani walls covered with inscribed prayers. The Jongpen was
+at the entrance waiting to receive us. He then showed us over his
+stables, where he had several nice Tibetan ponies, which strongly
+objected to Europeans and lashed out fiercely as we approached them.
+After looking at them we went up many flights of most dangerously steep
+stairs, almost in pitch darkness the whole time, until we came to a
+small courtyard. Then after climbing up more steps, we were ushered into
+a small latticed room where we were given the usual Tibetan tea and
+sweetmeats. I presented the Jongpen with one of the new lever electric
+torches, with which he was much pleased, saying it would be of much use
+to him in going up and down his dark staircases. After tea he took us up
+on to the roof of the fort, which was quite flat, and from which we had
+a most magnificent view. We stood on the top of a great precipice and
+looked straight down at our camp, which lay many hundred feet below but
+almost within a stone's throw. From here too we could look across the
+wide plains and valleys of the Yaru and its tributaries to the main
+chain of the Himalayas which formed the Southern boundary to the
+picture. From this side they do not appear nearly as imposing as they do
+when seen from the South. Seen as they are from a height of over 15,000
+feet, the distance to the sky line is not nearly so great, and as a rule
+we found the Northern slopes to be much less steep than those on the
+Southern side. The snow line, too, was also several thousand feet
+higher. Every day great masses of moist cumulus clouds came rolling up
+and round the peaks to the South of us, indicating heavy falls of rain
+and snow on the South, but very little of this came over the
+watershed--only an occasional slight hailstorm or a few drops of rain.
+From this point we could see as far West as Mount Everest, still over a
+hundred miles away. After spending some time up there and admiring and
+discussing the view, we descended once more into the fort, where the
+Jongpen showed us some of the carpets that his womenfolk were busy
+making and promised to have some ready for us by the time that we came
+back. We also much admired the curious old locks by which the doors and
+boxes were fastened; before leaving, he made me a present of one of
+these locks.
+
+  [3] Dzong means fort.
+
+June 7 saw us still at Khamba Dzong, as the transport would not be ready
+till the following day. Raeburn, who for some time had been suffering
+from the same complaint as Dr. Kellas, was unfortunately getting no
+better and was getting weaker every day. We were therefore reluctantly
+compelled to send him back again into Sikkim to Lachen, where he could
+be taken charge of by the lady missionaries and properly looked after.
+Wollaston and Gyalzen Kazi were to accompany him down to Lachen, and if
+possible to rejoin us by the time that we got to Tingri. This break-up
+of our climbing party was most annoying and seriously weakened our
+party, obliging us to alter our plans for reconnoitring in a thorough
+manner the various approaches to Mount Everest. The following day, after
+a good deal of delay and argument about the loads, we got everything
+loaded up and started off for Lingga, a march of about 16 miles to the
+West. For the first few miles we rode across a great plain on which were
+several small herds of goa, but these were very wary and kept well out
+of shot. The path then took us alongside a small isolated rocky hill in
+which we kept putting up numerous hares who often got up right under our
+ponies' feet. We crossed the Yaru River, now only a small stream, at the
+picturesque village of Mende with its fine willow trees, and then after
+passing over a spur, formed of slaty rock, we descended into another
+great plain which extended all the way to Tingri. Five miles across this
+plain was the village of Lingga, surrounded by marshes and ponds, with
+barley fields and rich grass growing between the patches of water. There
+were several other villages in sight, so that the plain was evidently
+fertile and could support a considerable population. This was the first
+place where we became bothered by sand flies, which in the morning were
+very troublesome; but when the wind got up, as it always did in the
+afternoons, it blew them away, and for once was welcome. The villagers
+were very hospitable; they produced tea and beer brewed from barley for
+us as soon as we arrived there. The latter is quite a pleasant drink on
+a hot day, but it did not agree with my inside at all. The people here
+had never seen a European before, and though at first inclined to be
+rather shy, they soon became very friendly and curious. Some pieces of
+silver paper from chocolates quite won the hearts of the children who
+flocked around and did not in the least mind being photographed. To the
+South extended the chain of snows of the main range of the Himalayas,
+and on the way we had several clear and distinct views of Mount Everest.
+Morshead, who had left the day before, was camped at a small monastery a
+few miles to the North of us in order to follow the crest of the ridge
+of hills and to survey both sides, but was to join us again at Tinki.
+The weather now was really delightful, though to the South of us we
+still saw heavy clouds which brought showers of snow as far as the
+mountains, but they did not reach us.
+
+From here to Tinki was about 13 miles over a perfectly level plain. The
+midges or sand flies were very troublesome the whole way and came in
+hundreds round one's head, got inside one's topee, and were thoroughly
+objectionable. The plain appeared very fertile, as there seemed to be
+plenty of water and great herds of yaks and flocks of sheep were grazing
+upon it. In the marshes and ponds were many bar-headed geese, Brahminy
+ducks, mallard and teal. After the rains, it is evident that a great
+part of this plain is under water. About a couple of miles from Tinki we
+crossed some curious sand dunes, about 20 feet high, which are evidently
+on the move, and soon afterwards the Jongpen of Tinki came riding out to
+meet us with a few mounted followers, he himself riding a fine white
+pony. He was very Chinese in appearance, wearing finely embroidered
+silks with a Chinese hat and a long pigtail, and his manners were
+excellent. He escorted us to the place where our camp was to be, and had
+had three or four tents already pitched for us. Tea and country beer
+were at once served, and we rested in the shade of his Chinese tents
+until our transport arrived.
+
+[Illustration: TINKI DZONG.]
+
+We were encamped in a very picturesque spot beside a large pond that was
+full of bar-headed geese, Brahminy ducks and terns. On the opposite side
+of this pond rose the walls and towers of the fort of Tinki. As soon as
+we had settled down, the Jongpen came again to pay us a formal visit,
+presented us with four sheep and a couple of hundred eggs and promised
+to do everything he could to help us and to forward us on our way. Half
+a mile above us was a large village and a big monastery belonging to the
+Yellow Sect of Buddhists who also owned a fine grove of willows. The
+bottom of the valley was all covered with barley fields, now a tender
+green and coming up well. As the fresh transport had not arrived, we had
+to spend the following day there. This gave an opportunity for Abdul
+Jalil, our photographic assistant, to rejoin us. We had sent him back to
+Phari in order to change some more rupees into Tibetan currency, as we
+found that Indian notes or rupees were not accepted any further to the
+West. Abdul Jalil had been very nervous about travelling with so much
+money and had borrowed a revolver and a rifle from members of the
+Expedition besides two large Tibetan swords and a dagger which he
+obtained from the Jongpen. In the morning, with Bullock, I went to
+return the call of the Jongpen. His fort at the time was under repair,
+so he was living in a small house outside the main building. He was very
+affable and gave us tea: we were then able to make all the arrangements
+for transport except the actual fixing of the price. For this he said he
+would have to consult his head-men. Just as we were about to leave he
+insisted on our eating the large meal which he had had prepared for us.
+He gave us small dishes of excellent macaroni and mince, seasoned up
+with chillies and very well cooked--much better than anything our cooks
+could produce. This we had to eat with chopsticks--a somewhat difficult
+proceeding, as we were not yet used to them. Later on, however, after
+much practice, we found no difficulty in consuming the numerous bowls of
+this excellent dish that the Tibetans always set before one. The Jongpen
+told us that he had been twenty-nine years in Government service, and he
+was expecting to have a better post than this shortly. His health was
+poor and he said he had been suffering much from indigestion, so I gave
+him some pills and tabloids, for which he was very grateful. On the
+return journey, he told me that he had greatly benefited by my
+treatment. The bar-headed geese and the wild duck here were
+extraordinarily tame, allowing us to approach within five yards of them
+and showing no signs of fear. They would come and waddle round our
+tents, picking up any scraps of food. The Jongpen had begged us not to
+shoot or kill any of them, as he said a Lama had been sent specially
+from Lhasa some years ago in order to tame the creatures, and certainly
+the result was extraordinary; it was most interesting to watch these
+birds, ordinarily so wild, from so close a distance. In the evening the
+Jongpen came over to see us again, and after a good hour's bargaining
+over the price of the transport, we finally reached a reasonable and
+amicable agreement. Every evening, to the South of us, there were
+constant flashes of lightning all along the horizon. In the morning I
+woke up to the unusual sound of drops of rain, but this only lasted for
+five minutes and then cleared up, though the sky remained clouded all
+the morning. There was the usual fighting and confusion about the loads,
+each person trying to get the lightest loads for his own animal. The
+result was that there was much talking and fighting, and nothing was
+actually done until some head-man would come and take control and decide
+the dispute. The method of adjudication was as follows:--From each of
+the families who were regarded as responsible for the supply of a
+transport animal was taken one of the embroidered garters by which the
+man's felt boots are kept in their place. These garters were shuffled,
+as one might shuffle a pack of cards, after which a single garter was
+laid upon each load. The family to which the garter belonged thereupon
+became responsible for that load and had to pack it upon the animal's
+back. Although we had only ninety animals, there were forty-five
+different families supplying them.
+
+The march from Tinki to Chushar Nango was about 14 miles and was up the
+valley behind Tinki to the Tinki Pass. On the way we passed
+well-irrigated fields of barley and then climbed up a spur covered with
+a small yellow cistus. After this a long gentle pull brought us to the
+top of the pass, 17,100 feet. There was a very fine view from here to
+the East looking over Tinki and Khamba Dzong and along the Northern
+slopes of the Himalayas. I climbed up a hill about 600 feet above the
+pass, whence I had a more extensive view still. I could see far away to
+the East to Chomolhari, while in the foreground was the large and
+picturesque lake called Tsomotretung backed by the rugged chain of
+peaks that separated us from the valley of the Brahmaputra. To the West
+we looked down into the valley of the Yaru, which flowed gently through
+a broad and flat valley. To the South-west was a range of sharp granite
+peaks rising up to 22,000 feet, which ran North and South and forced the
+Yaru to flow round them before it could find its way into Nepal. The
+descent from the pass was much steeper. We passed many of our old
+friends the pink trumpet-shaped flowers, also a curious white and pink
+flower, rather like a daphne in shape, and smelling very sweetly, which
+grew in masses along the path. It was evidently poisonous as no animal
+would touch it. I picked some flowers of it and put them in my
+buttonhole, but was warned by the Tibetans not to do so, as they said it
+was poisonous and would give me a headache. Lower down the valley was
+full of small dwarf gorse bushes--1 foot to 18 inches high--which
+carpeted the ground. Everywhere were flocks of sheep and cattle grazing
+in the valley. Our camp was pitched on a grassy flat just below the
+village of Chushar Nango with its fine old ruined tower of stone with
+machicolated galleries all round it. To the South of us was the Nila
+Pass, which afforded an easy way into Nepal. The climate here was fairly
+warm, but the wind blew very strongly all that evening. Next day we saw
+the mountains all covered with fresh snow down to 16,000 feet, but we
+only experienced a slight drizzle as most of the snowflakes evaporated
+before they reached the ground, though clouds remained overhead all the
+morning. Morshead and his surveyors had been kept very busy up till now
+surveying and plotting in the intervening country from the tops of the
+hills, but owing to the clouds they were unable to do anything. We were
+all very late in starting, as our transport animals had been changed and
+the yaks that were supplied to us were very wild. In the first few
+minutes after starting we saw the plain strewn with our kits and stores,
+and yaks careering off in every direction with their tails in the air.
+
+The march to Gyangkar Nangpa to-day was only a short one and led across
+a wide plain through which flowed the muddy and sluggish waters of the
+Yaru. The existing maps of this country were quite misleading and we
+could no longer depend on them. The rivers flowed in opposite directions
+to those shown on the map and mountains were shown where there were
+none. After about 2 or 3 miles, we had to ford the river, which was
+about 80 yards wide and not quite 3 feet deep. We then rode on across
+the plain, which was in some parts sandy and in others muddy or
+gravelly; evidently during the rainy season a shallow lake. In places
+the dwarf gorse grew on it. The sandy tracks were covered with curious
+hillocks 5 to 6 feet in height formed by the drifting sand and the gorse
+bushes. These in order to keep alive were compelled to push their
+branches through the sand which in its turn became piled up around them.
+Towards the West end of the plain were marshes and shallow lakes around
+which we had to make big detours.
+
+Gyangkar Nangpa, which was our destination, was the country residence of
+the Phari Jongpen. His brother, who was acting as agent for him, rode
+out to meet us and escorted us to his house, a fine solid stone building
+dominating all the small houses. The tops of the walls were covered with
+gorse and juniper, rather suggestive of Christmas decorations. Tents
+were pitched for us in a grass paddock close to a grove of willows. We
+were then conducted upstairs into a pleasant room where were some fine
+gilt Chinese cabinets and some good Chinese rugs. Here the Jongpen had a
+meal prepared for us. We were first given tea, milk and beer, after
+which some fifteen dumplings apiece, each as big as a small apple, were
+put down in front of us together with three other bowls. In one of these
+was a black Chinese sauce, in another a chillie paste, and a third
+contained a barley soup. We were then given chopsticks with which we
+were expected to convey the dumplings into the barley soup, break them
+up there, season them with the various sauces, and then convey them to
+our mouths--a not too easy feat. This meal was so satisfying that we
+felt that we did not want to eat anything for a long time afterwards. We
+were told that in the rainy season the river here was unfordable, as it
+rose several feet and flooded over the plains, and it was then necessary
+to keep to the North or to the South of it. In the evening the agent
+came to make an official call and presented us with a sheep and a number
+of eggs. We invited him to dinner and gave him his first taste of such
+European cooking as could be provided by our native cooks.
+
+[Illustration: GYANGKA RANGE FROM NEAR CHUSHAR.]
+
+There was a slight frost during the night, but the day turned out very
+fine. Our host accompanied us to the village of Rongkong, one of the
+villages belonging to his brother, and here he said good-bye to us. The
+day's march was uninteresting. We followed along the left bank of the
+Yaru past well-irrigated barley fields, for there was any amount of
+water here, until the valley narrowed and the sides came down steeper,
+when it became covered with gorse bushes. This valley we descended for
+about 10 miles until it debouched into another, a broader sandy valley
+where the Yaru changed its course to the South. We forded it at a point
+where it was about 90 yards wide and 3½ feet deep, and we then sat down
+and waited for our transport to come up. Beyond us lay a wide sandy
+valley through which a stream flowed sometimes on the surface, but more
+often underground, when it formed dangerous quicksands. When the
+transport came up, our drivers were very anxious to cross immediately,
+as there was a strong wind blowing and a violent sandstorm. They said
+that it would be much safer to cross now that all the fresh sand had
+blown over the wet sand. In the morning, they said, after a still night,
+it was very dangerous, so following their advice we started off, every
+one dressed up as though for a gas attack, with goggles over the eyes
+and comforters or handkerchiefs tied over the mouth and nose to keep the
+sand out. At first we wound our way through big sand dunes, off which
+the sand was blowing like smoke. Under one of these sand dunes we found
+our coolies halted and lost. Some of the donkeys, too, had been
+unloaded here, as they could not find their way across in the sandstorm.
+After leaving the dunes, there were wide stretches of wet sand to cross,
+over which the dried sand from the dunes was being blown like long wisps
+of smoke so that the whole ground appeared to be moving. In places where
+the wet sand shook and quivered we galloped along. Eventually we and our
+transport arrived on the far side of the plain in safety. It was now too
+late, however, to go on any further, so we camped on the dunes near the
+quicksands in the teeth of the gale. The sand was being whirled up on to
+us and into our tents until everything and every one was full of sand.
+Water was handy, but yak dung, our only fuel, was scarce and scanty.
+
+Just before dark a very beautiful and lofty peak appeared to the
+Southwards. Our drivers called it Chomo Uri (The Goddess of the
+Turquoise Peak) and we had many discussions as to what mountain this
+was. In the morning, after taking its bearings carefully, we decided
+that this could be no other than Mount Everest. We found out afterwards
+that the name, Chomo Uri, was purely a local name for the mountain.
+Throughout Tibet it was known as Chomolungma--Goddess Mother of the
+Country--and this is its proper Tibetan name.
+
+Next morning, after an uncomfortable and windy night, we rode for
+several miles across a plain covered with sand dunes 20 feet or more in
+height. On reaching the entrance to the valley of Bhong-chu, I
+determined to separate myself from the main party in order to explore a
+peak which attracted my attention on the North side of the valley and
+seemed to promise good views of Mount Everest and its surroundings.
+After a climb of some 3,000 feet, I found myself on a spur from which I
+had a very wonderful view. The view extended to the East from beyond
+Chomolhari--over 120 miles away--and embraced practically all the high
+snow peaks from Chomolhari to Gosainthan, a distance of some 250 miles.
+In the centre Mount Everest stood up all by itself, a wonderful peak
+towering above its neighbours and entirely without a rival. I spent
+four or five hours at the top of this hill, basking in the sun, as it
+was delightfully hot. I saw several swallow-tailed butterflies, also a
+number of bees, wasps and horse flies. Major Morshead and his surveyors
+soon afterwards joined us, intending to take advantage of the fine view.
+In the afternoon I left the peak and descended into the valley in search
+of our new camp, for we had now left the Yaru and had turned up into the
+valley of the Bhong-chu, a river that flowed from the West, with a very
+considerable volume of water. As there was rinderpest in the valley, our
+transport consisted now of donkeys only, many of them being very
+diminutive in size, but quite accustomed to carrying heavy loads. Our
+camp was pitched at a place called Trangso Chumbab, where there was an
+old Chinese rest-house. The Bhong-chu here was nearly 200 yards in
+width, but there was quite a good ford across it to Tsogo. Here we found
+many flourishing villages and much cultivation. We seemed to be entering
+a much more populated part of the country; from the top of the hill I
+counted in one valley no less than fifteen villages and quite a number
+of willow groves. From here a longish march of 18 miles up the valley of
+the Bhong-chu brought us to Kyishong--a pretty little village on the
+banks of the river. There were a few willow trees here and a lot of sea
+buckthorn. I did not keep to the road, but started early across a big
+plain on which I was lucky enough to shoot a goa with quite
+good horns. The day was very hot and sultry, and after crossing the
+plain I went up a side valley which turned out to be extremely pretty.
+It was very narrow and a mass of wild rose bushes. These roses were all
+of a creamy yellow, and every bush was covered with hundreds of
+sweet-smelling flowers. There was also a curious black clematis and
+several species of broom and rock cistus. Here and there were grassy
+patches with bubbling springs of crystal clearness. Rock pigeons,
+Brahminy ducks, blackbirds and numerous other varieties of small birds
+came down to drink here and did not mind us at all. About two o'clock
+the weather suddenly changed and violent thunderstorms started all
+round us, first on the opposite side of the valley and then on every
+side. Heavy hail came down at the same time and the ground soon became
+white. On descending into the valley, I put up what was to me a new kind
+of partridge, also numerous mountain hares. On emerging into the main
+valley, I noticed a group of five large Chortens. I was told that the
+centre Chorten had been built over a very bad demon, and that it kept
+him down. The other four Chortens at the corners prevented his ever
+getting away.
+
+The next day's march to Shekar Dzong was a short one of only 12 miles.
+We followed the main valley for about 6 miles through some interesting
+conglomerate gorges alternating with open spaces covered with sea
+buckthorn. We then turned off Northwards up a side valley which led us
+to the town and fort of Shekar. This place was very finely situated on a
+big rocky and sharp-pointed mountain like an enlarged St. Michael's
+Mount. The actual town stands at the foot of the hill, but a large
+monastery, holding over 400 monks and consisting of innumerable
+buildings, is literally perched half-way up the cliff. The buildings are
+connected by walls and towers with the fort, which rises above them all.
+The fort again is connected by turreted walls with a curious Gothic-like
+structure on the summit of the hill where incense is offered up daily.
+On our arrival the whole town turned out and surrounded us with much
+curiosity, for we were the first Europeans that they had ever seen. A
+small tent had been pitched for us, but there was such a crowd round it
+that I retreated to a willow grove close by, which was protected by a
+wall. As the Jongpen had not come to see us, Chheten Wangdi went over to
+find him; presently he came along with a basket of eggs and with many
+apologies for not coming before, but he said that he had had no warning
+of our arrival. This was but partly true, for though our passport did
+not particularly mention this place, it authorised all officials to help
+us to their utmost, and the Jongpen certainly knew and had heard that we
+were coming. I asked him to give orders that no intoxicating spirits
+should be served out to our followers, remembering the trouble we had
+had in one or two places before owing to their all getting drunk. Our
+tents were all pitched inside an enclosure and in the shade of the
+willow grove, and above us towered the picturesque buildings of the fort
+and the monastery. This was by far the largest and most interesting
+place that we had yet come across. For our mess tent we were given a
+fine Chinese tent such as they always seem to keep for the entertainment
+of guests of honour. As in most places, there were two Jongpens residing
+here, one lay and the other ecclesiastical, and finding that Tingri was
+under their jurisdiction, we asked them to issue orders to their
+representatives at Tingri to help us in every way with supplies and
+transport.
+
+[Illustration: SHEKAR DZONG.]
+
+June 17 we spent resting at Shekar. In the morning Morshead and I went
+to call on the Jongpen; he lives in a poor house at the foot of the
+hill, his official residence being three-quarters of the way up, but he
+wisely prefers to live at the bottom, not being very fond of exercise.
+He was busy adding on to his house, and we were shown into the old part
+in which he was living. He gave us the usual Tibetan tea and sweetmeats
+and then insisted on our having macaroni and meat seasoned with
+chillies, which was excellent, followed by junket served in china bowls.
+He had some very fine teacups of agate and hornblende schist with finely
+chased silver covers, which I admired very much. That afternoon several
+of us went up to visit the big monastery of Shekar Chö-te. This
+consisted of a great number of buildings terraced one above the other on
+a very steep rocky slope. A path along the face of the rock brought us
+to several archways under which we passed. We then had to go up and down
+some picturesque but very steep and narrow streets until we came to a
+large courtyard. On one side of this was the main temple. In this temple
+were several gilt statues of Buddha decorated all over with turquoises
+and other precious stones, and behind them a huge figure of Buddha quite
+50 feet high. Every year, they told us, they had to re-gild his face.
+Around were eight curious figures about 10 feet high and dressed in
+quaint flounces which they said were the guardians of the shrine. We
+then went up steep and slippery ladders, in almost pitch darkness, and
+came out on a platform opposite the face of the great Buddha. Here were
+some beautifully chased silver teapots and other interesting pieces of
+silver, richly decorated in relief. Inside the shrine, which was very
+dark, the smell of rancid butter was almost overpowering as all the
+lamps burnt butter. The official head of the monastery showed us round.
+He was apparently appointed from Lhasa and was responsible for all the
+revenues and financial dealings of the monastery. We were given very
+buttery tea in the roof courtyard, which was a pleasant spot, and here I
+photographed a group of several monks. They had never seen a camera or
+photographs before, but they had heard that such a thing was possible
+and were very much interested in it. Before leaving we went in to see
+the Head Lama who had lived over sixty-six years in this monastery. He
+was looked upon as being extremely holy and as the re-incarnation of a
+former abbot, and they therefore practically worshipped him. There was
+only one tooth left in his mouth, but for all that he had a very
+pleasant smile. All around his room were silver-gilt Chortens inlaid
+with turquoises and precious stones and incense was being burnt
+everywhere. After much persuasion the other monks induced him to come
+outside and have his photograph taken, telling him that he was an old
+man, and that his time on earth was now short, and they would like to
+have a picture of him to remember him by. He was accordingly brought
+out, dressed up in robes of beautiful golden brocades, with priceless
+silk Chinese hangings arranged behind him while he sat on a raised dais
+with his dorje and his bell in front of him, placed upon a finely carved
+Chinese table. The fame of this photograph spread throughout the country
+and in places hundreds of miles away I was asked for photographs of the
+Old Abbot of Shekar Chö-te, nor could I give a more welcome present at
+any house than a photograph of the Old Abbot. Being looked upon as a
+saint, he was worshipped, and they would put these little photographs in
+shrines and burn incense in front of them.
+
+[Illustration: THE ABBOT OF SHEKAR CHÖTE.]
+
+About midnight that night I was suddenly awakened by yells and loud
+shouting and hammering close to my tent and next to that in which
+Bullock and Mallory were sleeping. The latter turned out and found that
+a Tibetan had seized an ice axe and a mallet and was busy hammering on
+our store boxes. He gave chase, but failed to catch the intruder. Some
+of our coolies, however, found out where he had gone to, and Chheten
+Wangdi had him handed over to the Jongpen. On investigation in the
+morning the man proved to be a madman whom his parents always kept
+locked up during nights when the moon was full, but he had managed to
+escape, so we handed him back to his family.
+
+Our transport was very slow in arriving, and there were so many delays
+that it was midday before the procession finally moved off. The loads,
+too, were very badly put on and kept falling off, also the transport was
+quite the worst that we had yet had. For about 5 miles the path went up
+and down hill and through much sand until we came to the bridge over the
+Bhong-chu. This bridge consisted of four or five stout pillars of loose
+stones which acted as piers, on which were laid a few pieces of wood, on
+which flat stones were placed. It was a rough form of bridge, but served
+at ordinary times for its purpose. During the course of this summer,
+however, after heavy rain, these piers so dammed up the water as to
+cause it to rise some 4 or 5 feet on the upper side of them with the
+result that the immense weight of water swept the whole bridge away.
+Bullock and Mallory with half a dozen coolies had left early in the
+morning, intending to bivouac out for a couple of nights and climb one
+of the hills to the South of the Bhong-chu in order to get a view of
+Mount Everest. After we had gone about 5 miles we met them close to the
+bridge, as they had lost their way and had been walking for about 15
+miles: not having found the bridge, they had forded the river and had
+got wet up to their necks in crossing it. At dusk we reached the village
+of Tsakor, where we found a tent pitched for us, and here we spent the
+night. Our transport did not turn up till nearly nine o'clock, and so we
+all slept in the mess tent. From here to Tingri was still another 20
+miles--the path following the right bank of the Bhong-chu the whole way.
+In places the river was as much as 200 yards wide and flowed very
+sluggishly. We were told that the waters were very low, but that next
+month, when the rains had broken, the river often filled the whole of
+the bottom of the valley. On the way we passed some very handsome
+black-necked cranes as large as the Saurus crane. These had black heads
+and bills, with red eyes, light grey bodies and black tails with fine
+feathers. On this march the midges were dreadfully annoying the whole
+way, and we were surrounded with clouds of them the whole time. Their
+bite was very tiresome and extremely irritating. On the way we passed a
+Mongolian who had taken eleven months in coming from Lhasa and who was
+on his way to Nepal. His method of progression was by throwing himself
+at full length down on the ground. He then got up and at the spot where
+his hands touched the ground repeated the motion again. As we approached
+Tingri, the valley widened out and bent round to the South. Tingri
+itself was situated on the side of a small hill in the middle of a great
+plain, from which, looking to the South, was visible the wonderful chain
+of snowy peaks, many of them over 25,000 feet in height, which extends
+Westwards from Mount Everest. We crossed the Ra-chu--a tributary of the
+Bhong-chu, partly by bridges and partly by fords; it was split up into a
+number of small and very muddy channels that took their rise from the
+Kyetrak Glacier. Tingri was to be our first base for reconnoitring the
+Northern and North-western approaches to Mount Everest. It was June 19
+when we arrived there, so that it had taken us just a month's travelling
+from Darjeeling to perform this part of our journey.
+
+
+
+
+                                CHAPTER IV
+
+                    TINGRI AND THE COUNTRY TO THE SOUTH
+
+
+Tingri is a place of some importance, with a considerable trade at
+certain seasons of the year. It is the last place of any size on this
+side of the Nepalese frontier and boasts of a military governor. The
+garrison, however, when we visited it, consisted only of a sergeant and
+four or five soldiers. There were about three hundred houses in Tingri,
+all clustered together on the slopes of a small isolated hill standing
+in the middle of the great plain. On the top of the hill was the old
+Chinese fort, now all falling into ruin, but still littered with papers
+and books, written in Chinese characters, left behind by the Chinese on
+their hasty departure. Inside were quaint mural frescoes of curious old
+men riding stags or winged dragons painted in many colours. All the way
+up the valley of the Bhong-chu we had seen ruins of walls and evidences
+of much fighting. These all dated back, we were told, to the time of the
+Nepalese invasions of Tibet in the eighteenth century when the Gurkhas
+penetrated so far into Tibet that they actually got to Shigatse, and the
+Tibetans had to call upon the Chinese Empire for help. The Chinese came
+into the country with a large army, defeated the Gurkhas, drove them out
+of Tibet and crossed the Himalayas with a considerable army into Nepal,
+an extraordinary military feat considering the enormous difficulty of
+moving an army in these unhospitable regions over the high mountain
+passes through which it is approached. The Chinese, after this, never
+left Tibet until they were driven out by the Tibetans only a few years
+ago. In the hills round Tingri we came across many evidences of the
+fighting which then took place. This probably accounted for the large
+number of ruined and deserted villages that we saw in the valleys
+around. At the foot of the hill was a large Chinese rest-house which was
+only used to house Tibetan officials when they came there on duty. The
+Tibetans themselves did not like to live in or use the place, as many
+Chinese had died there and they thought that their ghosts haunted the
+spot. This rest-house was, however, swept out and prepared for our
+reception, as we had told the Tibetans that we should probably stay
+there for some time and should want a house to protect us from the wind
+and to provide a dark room for developing our photographs. The
+rest-house consisted of three courtyards in the outer one we put the
+coolies, in the middle one the surveyors, and the inner one we kept for
+ourselves. In appearance the building was quite picturesque with its
+mural paintings of flying dogs and fierce dragons; but in spite of its
+picturesqueness outside and its handsome appearance, the rooms inside
+were small, and when the rain came it poured through the roof and our
+beds had to be shifted many times during the night to avoid the drips of
+water. It however provided an excellent dark room for us after we had
+well plastered the walls, the floor and the ceiling with mud and got rid
+of the dust of ages. To do any photographic work in Tibet a house is a
+necessity, as with the violent wind that blows every day all one's
+belongings get covered with dust which would ruin any negative. At first
+we found water a great difficulty as the local water was full of mud,
+but we eventually discovered a beautifully clear spring, about half a
+mile away, which bubbled up in a deep bluey green basin, and this water
+we used always, both for drinking and for photographic work. Tingri had
+many advantages as a base. Stores, supplies and transport were always
+available there, as it was the headquarters of the district. It also
+provided an easy means of approach to Mount Everest from the North-west
+and to the high group of mountains that lay to the West of Mount
+Everest. After sorting out all our stores and equipment and seeing in
+what state they were after the journey, our next business was the making
+of a dark room, as we had taken many photographs on the journey that
+required developing. The weather at this time was very fine, but the
+Tibetans kept on telling us that the rainy season ought to be starting,
+so we determined as soon as possible to send out parties in different
+directions to make the most of the favourable opportunity. The first
+morning after our arrival we were up on the top of the hill by six
+o'clock in the hope of getting a good view to the South, but the clouds
+were already over most of the mountains. Everest we could see quite
+clearly, and Cho-Uyo, the great 26,800 feet peak that lies to the West
+of Mount Everest. The Depon here, who was acting as the Governor of the
+place, was a nice young fellow and very cheery, and later on I got to
+know him very well and went over to his house and was entertained by him
+and his wife. He told me that the Tibetans still paid tribute to Nepal
+for all that part of the country, and that the amount they had to pay
+was the equivalent of 5,000 rupees per annum. The Nepalese kept a
+head-man at Tingri and another at Nyenyam to deal with all criminal
+cases and offences committed by Nepalese subjects when in Tibet. I found
+later on that the Tibetans were very frightened of the Nepalese, or of
+having any dealings with a Gurkha. I took photographs of the Depon's
+wife and all their children, and of his mother-in-law, which delighted
+them immensely; the wife at first was very shy of coming forward, but
+after many tears and protestations her husband finally induced her to be
+photographed. The great semi-circular head-dresses that the women wear
+are usually covered with turquoises, and coral, and often with strings
+of seed pearls across them. Round their necks hang long chains of either
+turquoise or coral beads, sometimes mixed with lumps of amber. Suspended
+round the neck by a shorter chain is generally a very elaborately
+decorated charm box, those belonging to the richer or upper classes
+being of gold inlaid with turquoises, the poorer people having them
+made of silver with poorer turquoises. The officials, as a rule, have a
+long ear-ring, 4 or 5 inches long, of turquoises and pearls, suspended
+from the left ear, while in the right ear they wear a single turquoise
+of very good quality. Nearly every one carries a rosary, with which
+their hands are playing about the whole day. We were told that the laws
+governing marriage in those parts were strictly regulated. Owing to the
+excessive number of males, a form of polyandry prevails. If there were
+four brothers in a family, and the eldest one married a wife, his wife
+would also be the property of the three younger brothers; but if the
+second or third brother married, their wives would be common only to
+themselves and their youngest brother. In Tibet, when, owing to the
+severe climate, digging is impossible for about six months in the year,
+if a man dies his body is handed over to professional corpse butchers,
+of whom there are one or two in every village. These butchers cut the
+body up into small pieces, which are taken out on to a hill-top and
+scattered about for the birds of the air or the wolves to devour. If by
+any chance there is a delay in consuming these remains, this is looked
+upon as a sign that the man has led an evil life during his lifetime.
+
+On June 22 Wollaston rejoined us again. He had escorted Raeburn to
+Lachen, and had there arranged for an assistant surgeon to come up and
+take him back as far as Gangtok. Wollaston had then come on as fast as
+possible to rejoin us. His kit did not arrive till the following day, as
+he had ridden in direct from Shekar Dzong. The following day Bullock and
+Mallory left us, making direct for Mount Everest, and intending to
+reconnoitre the North and Northwestern slopes. Looked at from here it is
+certainly a very wonderful mountain, as it seems to stand up all by
+itself, but from this side it looks far too steep to be climbed. On June
+25 Wheeler and Heron went off to Kyetrak, from which point Wheeler was
+to begin his photographic survey. I had intended to start the following
+day and join them, but the acid hypo that I had been using for fixing
+had given off so many sulphur fumes that I had been quite "gassed" for
+several days and had lost my voice in consequence. Unfortunately my
+orderly and Wheeler's bearer, who were both Mahommedans, were taken ill
+with enteric. Wheeler's bearer was in a very bad way, and a few days
+after my departure he died, but my orderly, after a bad attack,
+recovered, and when I returned three weeks later he was able to be up
+and to walk about a little. As Wollaston was likely to be detained here
+for some time owing to these cases of sickness, and as Morshead wanted
+to get in some surveying all round Tingri, I thought it would be a good
+opportunity to visit the different parties that we had sent out, and
+also to get, if possible, some information about Kharta, which I
+intended should be our second base. The coolies that we had still with
+us at Tingri were kept busy by Wollaston, and daily they would bring in
+rats, birds, lizards, beetles, or fish which they had collected for him.
+The local people would not make any attempt to collect these animals, as
+they said it was against their religion. On June 26 I started out to the
+South and camped the first night at Sharto, a small village about 9
+miles across the plain to the South of Tingri. On the way we passed
+numbers of bees that seemed to be coming up out of the ground and
+swarming. These were all of a very light brown colour. Sharto is only a
+small village, but there are no other houses between it and Kyetrak, so
+that it was necessary to stop there. As the wind always blows with great
+strength here, the tents were pitched within some sheltering walls. In
+every place that we went to now we managed to get some kind of green
+food which was turned into spinach; a small kind of weed that grows in
+the barley fields was generally thus used. At other times we tried
+turnip leaves, or again, when we were higher and above the limits of
+cultivation, the young shoots of the nettle which grows up to 17,000
+feet, and is really very good. I had taken with me this time a Tibetan
+whom we had picked up on the way. He was called Poo, and he turned out
+to be an excellent cook who could make any of the Tibetan dishes. As he
+was a sensible fellow, and very seldom drunk, I made a good deal of use
+of him. He accompanied me in all my wanderings, and I could not have
+found a more useful servant when travelling, as he never seemed to mind
+the cold or the height and could always produce a fire of some kind,
+even though he had forgotten to bring any matches. That evening at
+Sharto there was a curious false sunset in the East with rays of light
+in the deep purple of the sky. All the hills stood out with wonderful
+sharpness, and the colours were very beautiful. Towards nightfall we saw
+a number of kiang, which came quite close up to the camp and started
+feeding on the barley fields in spite of the pillars of stones and the
+strings which are put round the fields to keep both them and the hares
+away from the crops. The next morning I started off early as I intended
+to climb a hill 17,700 feet, on the way to Kyetrak. This hill, however,
+proved further off than I anticipated, and we had some difficulty in
+crossing a glacier stream, so that I did not get up to the top till 9
+a.m., by which time the clouds had hidden a great part of the mountains
+to the South of us. The view, nevertheless, was extraordinarily fine.
+The top of Everest just showed above a great icy range to the East of
+us, and South-east was that great group of mountains of which Cho-Uyo,
+26,800 feet, is the highest. Immense granite precipices descended sheer
+for several thousand feet until they reached great winding glaciers,
+while from over the Khombu Pass long wisps of cloud came sailing round
+these peaks and eventually hid them from our view. To the North the view
+extended right up to the watershed of the Brahmaputra, 80 to 100 miles
+distant. The different colours of the hills, the light and shade from
+the clouds, all formed a charming picture. Once over 17,000 feet, I met
+my old friend the dwarf blue poppy (_Meconopsis_) and many pretty white,
+blue and yellow saxifrages that grew on the rocks. Descending from this
+hill into the Kyetrak Valley, we passed a number of goa which were quite
+tame, but unfortunately they were all females. We had two more big
+glacial torrents to cross which later in the afternoon would probably
+have been impassable as by that time they would have risen another 2
+feet, due to the melting of the snow and the ice by the hot sun in the
+morning; indeed, we only just managed to get across when we did. The
+main Kyetrak stream comes from the great glacier that descends from
+Cho-Uyo and the Khombu Pass. Opposite the village of Kyetrak it is
+luckily divided into a number of small streams, so that it is usually
+possible to get across it, though in the afternoons it is always
+somewhat difficult.
+
+This village lies at a height of 16,000 feet, at the foot of the Khombu
+or Nangba Pass and the Pusi Pass. The former is a high glacier-covered
+pass, about 19,000 feet, that leads into the Khombu Valley in Nepal. The
+other, the Pusi Pass, is a much lower and easier pass that leads into
+the Rongshar Valley. Between these two passes lies a very beautiful
+glacier-covered peak called Chorabsang. Here at Kyetrak I met Heron and
+Wheeler encamped in the shelter of some walls close to the village,
+which consisted of a few dirty stone houses and a big Chorten. The
+people told me that they lived here all the year round, and that they
+owned the grazing for many miles to the North and possessed herds of
+yaks several thousand in number. Traffic could be kept up over these
+passes, they said, at all times of the year, though only with great
+difficulty, and with much danger, whole convoys being sometimes wiped
+out by blizzards when trying to cross the Khombu Pass, as the fine
+powdery snow is blown down into their faces from every direction and
+they finally get suffocated by it. That night there was a sharp frost,
+and the following morning Heron and I started to go up towards the
+Khombu Pass, following at first the East side of the Kyetrak Glacier.
+For about 6 or 7 miles we rode beside the great moraine that extended
+along the East side of this glacier; every now and then we climbed up on
+to a mound on the edge of the glacier in order to take photographs of
+it. The ice was all torn and riven into wonderful shapes and opposite
+us was the finely crevassed peak of Chorabsang. I pushed on, leaving
+Heron to come on at a slower pace, as I was anxious to get to the top of
+the pass before the clouds should have come up and hidden all the views.
+Every day it cost us a race to get up to a point of vantage before the
+clouds should have come up and hidden everything. Leaving the pony
+behind, with one coolie, I pressed forward for some 4 miles up a very
+stony and slippery moraine on the glacier. Here were many curious ice
+formations--ice tables with a big flat rock superimposed, curious
+upright pillars of ice, and the main glacier itself was worn by stone
+and water into the weirdest shapes and forms. In places, too, we came
+across that curious formation which in South America is called Nieve
+Penitentes. As we passed onwards, new glaciers opened up in every
+valley. The views up some of these side valleys, which often widened out
+into great amphitheatres, were very grand, especially that of the huge
+glacier that swept down from below the rock walls of Cho-Uyo.
+
+On arriving at the end of the moraine, the boots that my coolie was
+wearing came to pieces and he said he could go no further across the
+snow, so shouldering the big camera, I started off alone. At first the
+ice was firm, but soon I came to soft snow and much water underneath it:
+they made the going very unpleasant and I kept floundering about up to
+my knees in snow and water. At length I came to a large crevasse along
+the edge of which I followed for over half a mile as most of the snow
+bridges across it were unsafe. At last I found my way across and by
+climbing on to some rocks was able to look over the top of the pass and
+down into Nepal. The height of the pass seemed to be about 19,000 feet,
+and as the day was very hot, I lay down and went sound asleep, only
+waking up when it began to snow. I then started, none too soon, on my
+homeward journey: all the way back snow fell heavily. I was very
+thankful to meet my coolie again and to hand over the camera to him:
+carrying a camera for five or six hours in soft snow at a height of
+over 18,000 feet is a heavy tax upon the endurance of anyone
+unaccustomed to carrying weights. Wheeler meanwhile had moved up his
+camp from Kyetrak to a spot on the moraine East of the glacier and
+intended to spend a week or fortnight in that valley.
+
+The next morning Heron and I started to go over the Pusi Pass (Marmot
+Pass), so called because of the number of marmots that frequent the
+Southern slopes. After fording the Kyetrak River, we climbed up the
+moraine to the West of the Kyetrak Glacier and then turned up some easy
+grass hills until we came to the top of the pass, 17,700 feet.
+Here at the very top were growing some delightful little dwarf
+forget-me-nots--not an inch high--also many white and yellow saxifrages.
+Most of the views were unfortunately hidden by clouds, though one fine
+triple-headed peak showed up well to the South. We passed several flocks
+of female burhel (_Ovis nahura_), which were quite tame, and allowed us
+to ride up to within 50 yards of them. The hillsides were bare at first
+and grassy and the air felt distinctly cold and damp. We now commenced
+our long descent, and at 16,000 feet began to meet with juniper bushes
+and many dwarf rhododendrons. As we got lower, many more varieties of
+bushes appeared. There were two or three kinds of berberis, loniceras,
+white and pink spiræas, and quantities of white roses; besides these
+were masses of primulas and anemones, and pink, white or mauve
+geraniums. We now followed the right bank of the Shung-chu, a great
+glacial torrent, which joined by several others became an unfordable
+stream. The path was well engineered, sometimes close to the river, and
+sometimes built out on rocks high above the stream. All of a sudden the
+valley narrowed into a great gorge. We had left all the granites and
+slates behind and had suddenly come into the zone of the gneiss, which
+extended many miles to the South. A little way further down, at a place
+where two other valleys meet, we caught sight of some green barley
+fields lying round the small village of Tasang where we encamped on a
+terrace for the night. We were now at a height of only 13,300 feet, and
+were able to get fresh eggs and vegetables again. It was a great
+pleasure once more to have wood fires in place of the yak dung with its
+acrid smoke, which caused all one's food to taste unpleasantly. Here we
+used as fuel the aromatic wood of the juniper.
+
+This valley is looked upon as a holy one, owing to the number of juniper
+bushes that grow in it, and several hermits and nuns had taken up their
+abode in it and shut themselves up in caves in order to meditate. The
+nearest village used to supply them with food, and morning and evening
+could be seen ascending the blue smoke of the juniper, which they burnt
+as incense before the entrances of their dwelling places. There was a
+hermit who lived close to the village and whose cave we could see high
+up in the rocks above. The villagers told us that after meditating for a
+period of ten years, he would be able to live on only ten grains of
+barley a day, and they were looking forward to that day. There was
+another anchorite female who was supposed to have lived here for 138
+years and who was greatly revered. She had forbidden any of the animals
+in the valley to be killed, and that was the reason why the flocks of
+burhel we had passed were so extremely tame. The next day, giving our
+transport a rest, Heron and I walked for 7 or 8 miles down the valley.
+On the opposite side of the valley the only trees were birches and
+willow, and it was curious that, at these comparatively low heights,
+there were no large rhododendrons or fir trees. On the other side of the
+valley, the vegetation consisted wholly of juniper, berberis or wild
+roses. We descended to 12,000 feet, most of the time going through
+narrow gorges. At one place we came across a number of gooseberry bushes
+covered with young gooseberries, of which we gathered a sufficient
+supply to last us for several days. The rose bushes were charming all
+the way. At first they were all of the white creamy coloured variety,
+but lower down we came on the big red one with flowers often more than 3
+inches in diameter. Wherever there were springs of water there grew
+masses of anemones and yellow primulas. We now returned to our camp at
+Tasang, and rain then started and continued the remainder of the day.
+The people told us that this valley was passable for animals for three
+days' journey, after which the river entered into some terrible gorges
+down which it was only just possible for a coolie to get along, and
+these latter gorges formed the boundary between Tibet and Nepal. On
+July 1 we started to return to Kyetrak; the morning was misty when we
+started, and though the higher peaks were all hidden in the clouds, the
+sun shone brightly and the day was quite hot. Our kit did not arrive
+till between five and six o'clock, and the yaks had a great deal of
+trouble in getting across the Kyetrak River, as it had risen
+considerably. Wheeler was still at his high camp further up the valley,
+waiting for a really clear day. The clouds, too, were his great enemies,
+as they came up very early every morning from over the Khombu Pass.
+
+From here Heron and I had decided to go on and see how Mallory and
+Bullock had been faring in the next valley, so the next morning, after
+breakfasting at 5 a.m., we started off. It was one of the coldest
+mornings we had had, with a very hard frost, and being on the shady side
+of the valley we did not get the sun till several hours after we had
+started. After going down the valley for about 6 miles, we turned off to
+the East and crossed several easy passes, the higher of them, the Lamna
+La, being 16,900 feet. The country was very barren of flowers and
+vegetation, but there was a certain amount of grazing for yaks and
+sheep. The march to Zambu was a fairly long one of 20 miles, but the
+yaks came along well. This was a more prosperous-looking village than
+most of them, and the houses were all whitewashed. We were still too
+high for barley fields as we were just 16,000 feet, but the wealth of
+the village lay in its herds of yaks and sheep; the villagers told us
+they owned 3,000 yaks. Shepherds in this country are but poorly paid,
+getting only thirty trangkas (10_s._) per annum. But house servants are
+still worse off, getting only eight trangkas (2_s._ 8_d._) per annum.
+However, they seem to thrive under those wages and there is no
+discontent or trades unionism among them. Our camp was pitched in a
+sunny spot not far from the village, looking straight over towards Mount
+Everest, whose top appeared over the opposite hills. From this side its
+precipices looked most formidable and there was also a magnificent ridge
+which we had not seen before. There was a slight frost again that night.
+
+Breakfasting, as usual, at 5 a.m., I started up the hill South of the
+camp and was lucky enough to get a clear view of Everest and the Rongbuk
+Valley that led up to it. This valley ran right up to the foot of Mount
+Everest and seemed an easy enough approach, but the mountain itself
+looked absolutely unscalable from this side, showing nothing but a
+series of very steep precipices. The day turned out to be a very hot
+one. I descended into the valley below, and started to ride up towards
+Mount Everest. Presently I came to an unfordable stream, and after
+making several attempts to get across this, found myself compelled to
+return several miles down the valley to the monastery of Chöbu, where
+there was a slender footbridge. The pony that I was riding was swum
+across, a rope being attached to its head. He was then pulled over to
+the far side, a proceeding he did not at all enjoy. The yaks, too, were
+unladen, and the loads carried by hand over the bridge. After this the
+yaks were driven into the river and made to swim across, but they only
+went as far as an island in the middle of the river. From this place
+they would not budge in spite of stones, curses and threats, until at
+length a man with a sling, fetched from the monastery, hurled stones at
+them with great violence: this procedure apparently so stung them up
+that they thought it advisable to cross the remainder of the stream. At
+the entrance to the valley, we passed some very tame burhel within a few
+yards of the path, and then went along at the foot of some fine cliffs
+with limestone on the top and layers of hornblende and granite below.
+At first there was quite a rich vegetation growing here, considering we
+were just on 16,000 feet. There were juniper bushes, clematis, willows,
+a genista, rock roses, and even some yellow primulas, but as we got
+further into the valley it became more stony, and on either side of the
+path were small piles of stones heaped up by pilgrims. The valley was
+considered very sacred and was apparently a great place of pilgrimage.
+We found the base camp of the Alpine climbers pitched close to the
+Rongbuk Monastery, where there lived a very high re-incarnated Lama who
+was in meditation and not allowed to see anyone. This valley was called
+the Rongbuk, or inner valley--a name well suited to it; the legend was
+that from this valley there used to be a pass over into the Khombu
+Valley, but the high Lama who lived here forbade the use of it, as it
+disturbed the meditations of the recluses and hermits, of which there
+were several hundred here. At first these good people did not at all
+approve of our coming into this valley, as they thought we should be
+likely to disturb and distract their meditations.
+
+The Rongbuk Monastery lies at a height of 16,500 feet, and is an
+unpleasantly cold spot. This monastery contains twenty permanent Lamas
+who always live there, together with the re-incarnated Lama. Besides
+these, there are three hundred other associated Lamas who come in
+periodically, remaining there for periods of varying length. These
+Associate Lamas are mostly well-to-do, and having sufficient money to
+support themselves are not a drain upon the villagers. They will often
+invest several thousand trangkas with some village, and in return for
+this money the village will supply them with food, barley, milk, eggs
+and fuel. Higher up the valley there was a smaller monastery, and dotted
+along the hillside were numerous cells and caves where monks or nuns had
+retired to meditate. Every animal that we saw in this valley was
+extraordinarily tame. In the mornings we watched the burhel coming to
+some hermits' cells not a hundred yards away from the camp, to be fed,
+and from there they went on to other cells. They seemed to have no fear
+whatever of human beings. On the way up the valley we passed within 40
+to 50 yards of a fine flock of rams, but they barely moved away, and on
+the way back we passed some females that were so inquisitive that they
+actually came up to within 10 yards of us in order to have a look at us.
+The rock pigeons came and fed out of one's hand, and the ravens and all
+the other birds here were equally tame; it was most interesting to be
+able to watch all their habits and to see them at such close quarters.
+On July 4, Heron and I walked up the valley to see Mallory and Bullock,
+who had got an Alpine camp some 7 miles further up the valley at a
+height of 18,000 feet, where they were training their coolies in snow
+and ice work and trying to find out whether there was any possible way
+of attacking Mount Everest from this side. It was a beautiful morning
+when we started, and on the way we passed one or two small monasteries
+and numerous cells where hermits and recluses were living in retirement
+and meditation. After crossing several small lake beds and old
+moraines--for the big Rongbuk Glacier seemed to have been retiring in
+the last few years--we came to the big moraine-covered Rongbuk Glacier.
+This glacier appeared to be about 8 or 9 miles long, starting
+immediately below an immense circle of cliffs which formed the North
+face of Mount Everest. We found afterwards that there were several other
+side glaciers that joined in it, which were even larger and longer than
+the centre glacier. After some steep scrambles up the moraine-covered
+glacier and on to a high terrace on the West side of it, we found
+Mallory and Bullock with their coolies encamped in a pleasantly
+sheltered spot with plenty of water close at hand and commanding the
+most magnificent views of Mount Everest, which here seemed to be only
+about 6 miles away and towered up above the glacier, showing immense
+cliffs 10,000 feet high. Mallory and Bullock were hard at work training
+the coolies in snow and ice work and exploring all the different
+glaciers from that side. They were, however, much handicapped by there
+only being two of them, which made the work more strenuous. After
+spending the day with them, Heron and I returned to our camp in the
+evening. The evening light on Mount Everest was wonderfully beautiful.
+The weather seems nearly always to clear up about sunset, and its summit
+then usually towers far above the clouds in a clear sky. At dusk several
+of the Lamas came for medicines of different kinds, which we gave them,
+and much to our surprise in the morning they presented us with a number
+of fresh eggs in gratitude. Having seen Mallory and Bullock well
+established in this valley, our next most important duty seemed to be to
+select a site for our next base camp. Some place on the East side of
+Mount Everest would have to be chosen, and it seemed that somewhere in
+the Kharta Valley would be the most likely spot. Heron and I therefore
+determined that we would make a quick reconnaissance of that district
+before returning to Tingri. On the following day we moved down from the
+Rongbuk Monastery.
+
+
+
+
+                                 CHAPTER V
+
+                           THE SEARCH FOR KHARTA
+
+
+After leaving Mallory and Bullock to continue the search for a possible
+route up Mount Everest from the Rongbuk side, Heron and I, on July 5,
+started off down the Rongbuk Valley in order to visit Kharta. We had
+been told that it was only two days' easy march from the monastery to
+get there. It was a cold morning when we started off; there had been a
+sharp frost during the night and the sun did not reach us till late in
+the morning. Mount Everest stood out at the head of the valley
+wonderfully clear and clothed with a fresh mantle of white. Instead of
+crossing over the river by the bridge, at Chöbu, we kept straight on
+down the valley till we came to Chödzong, where were the first barley
+fields and cultivation. There was plenty of water here for irrigation
+purposes, and some fine grassy fields on which many ponies were grazing.
+We had to change our transport in this village and get fresh animals, so
+that it was not till three o'clock in the afternoon that we got started
+again. In Tibet they have a system of stages, and animals from one
+village are taken, as a rule, for one stage only. As each stage usually
+ends at the next village, and as villages are frequent, this is a most
+awkward and inconvenient arrangement--as it necessitates three or four
+changes a day. In order to avoid these constant changes, we used to
+persuade the villagers by promises of extra baksheesh, especially where
+we had a large number of animals, to undertake two or three stages.
+After leaving Chödzong we climbed up over a steep pass 1,200 feet above
+the valley and found a still deeper descent to the village of Halung,
+which lay at our feet. Here we waited for our transport, but as this
+did not arrive till dark, we decided to camp there, though we had only
+done 18 miles from Rongbuk; the yak travels very slowly. We were now
+again at 14,800 feet and found a much warmer climate, with green barley
+fields and here and there patches of yellow mustard. A large rhubarb
+with a curious crinkled leaf grew here and there in the fields. We tried
+to eat this rhubarb; it had an unpleasant taste, but this disappeared
+when it was cooked and it proved a welcome addition to our diet. The
+Tibetans do not use it for food, as sugar--without which it would be
+uneatable--is scarce and expensive in the country. The plant serves,
+however, as an acid for dyes.
+
+Halung is a very prosperous-looking village with well-built houses. The
+villagers soon had three tents pitched for us on a grassy field between
+the village and the river; cushions, cooking pots and fuel were also
+brought out for us. Here we camped for the night in reasonable comfort.
+On the following morning the loads were all carried by hand across a
+fragile bridge over the glacier stream, while the yaks and the ponies
+were driven across it. We then rode for a mile down the green and
+well-watered valley, and afterwards turned up into another valley where
+every flat space was green with barley-fields intermixed with brilliant
+patches of yellow from the fields of mustard. A small glacier stream fed
+this valley and supplied plenty of water for irrigation. After passing
+several small villages we rode across a spur also covered with
+barley-fields to Rebu, where we had to change our transport. This was
+quite a picturesque village situated on a rocky knoll, part of the
+village being on one side and part on the other of the river. Along the
+various irrigation canals were wild flowers of all kinds. Monkshood grew
+there, also black and yellow clematis, rhubarb, ranunculus and primulas
+of different kinds. By ten o'clock our transport was changed and we were
+given ponies instead of yaks: they travel much quicker and we had
+apparently a long way to go yet before we could reach the next village.
+We were expecting all the time to get to Kharta that evening, but where
+distances are concerned all Tibetans are liars, and after doing 26 miles
+we stopped, Kharta being apparently as far off as ever. After leaving
+Rebu the path led for some miles up an uninteresting valley, in which
+limestone cliffs on one side and sandstone cliffs on the other came down
+almost to the stream, the waters of which, in contrast to the muddy
+glacier streams that we had been meeting the whole time, were as clear
+as crystal. There were many small birds along the banks, all of them
+wonderfully tame; these, when we were resting for lunch, hopped all
+round us and under our legs, carrying off crumbs or any morsels of food.
+We now climbed up on to a pass called the Doya La, 17,000 feet, from the
+top of which were fine views of great rocky peaks on either side, those
+on the South being covered in parts with hanging glaciers. About a
+quarter of a mile from the top of the pass we struck some granite soil
+on which grew an extraordinary variety of Alpine flowers; the blue poppy
+abounded, pink, yellow and white saxifrages covered all the rocks, and
+besides these were many other plants which I had not seen before and
+which were quite new to me. The range which we now crossed acts as a
+barrier against the approach of the Monsoon clouds and prevents them
+from passing over into Tibet. Over on the North side the country is
+mostly dry and very little grows there, whereas on the South there is a
+rich and varied vegetation and the air feels soft and moist. The road
+from the pass led by an easy descent into a fine valley with a green
+lake lying at its head under the dark cliffs of some bold rocky peaks.
+We followed this valley for many miles, a strong head wind blowing
+against us the whole of the time, and found ourselves before long once
+more among the junipers and willows. We also saw pink and white
+rhododendrons, and in places a small yellow one with waxy blossoms. The
+yellow rock cistus, spiræas, roses, yellow primulas, blue monkshood,
+campanulas, blue anemones, and hundreds of other wild flowers formed a
+rich flora which showed that a considerable precipitation from the
+Monsoon fell in this valley.
+
+At last we came to a village, but every one fled at our approach, and we
+could get no information about the route. A little further on we came
+across more villages, in one of which, with much difficulty and after a
+long chase, we captured a man and made him guide us to the village of
+Chulungphu, where we decided to stop the night. After a little time we
+induced some of the villagers to come out from their hiding-places, and
+to produce tents and fuel for us. The camp was pitched in a field of
+sweet-scented primulas near the village. The architecture of these
+houses was quite different from what we had met before--they all appear
+to be strongly fortified, as they have practically no windows and there
+are only small loopholes facing outwards. They are all built of a brown
+stone--a kind of gneiss, and have sods on the parapet over which are
+laid branches of juniper. The next morning we woke to the sound of
+pattering rain and found all the hills wreathed in grey mist. This was
+their first rain this year, so the inhabitants told us. It was pleasant
+to one's skin after the dry climate and biting winds that we had been
+experiencing on the other side of the passes to feel oneself wrapped in
+a softer and milder air. We rode down this valley for about 6 miles
+until it debouched into the main Arun Valley. The people, however, do
+not know it by this name here, but call it still the Bhong-chu until it
+reaches Nepal. We passed villages all the way, villages brown in colour
+and built of a brown gneiss, around which grew fields of barley and
+mustard. After the barren valleys which we had left, these appeared very
+fertile; rose and currant bushes surrounded every field, while the
+hillsides were covered with juniper and willows. Along the path grew
+spiræas and clematis, while beside every watercourse were yellow marsh
+marigolds and primulas. A feature of the Arun Valley, which was fairly
+wide here, was the old terraces on its slopes, now all covered with
+barley, pea and mustard fields, the latter being a blaze of yellow.
+There were many villages here and some pleasant country houses
+surrounded by groves of willows and poplars. Down here the people were
+not quite so frightened of us as they were in the valley from which we
+had just come, where they had run away from us whenever we approached.
+The Bong-chu here is a large river with a very great flow of water, and
+quite unfordable. The nearest place where it could be crossed is at a
+rope bridge some 18 miles higher up, and during the rainy season this
+bridge is impassable, and communication with the other side completely
+cut off. To the South and close by, at a height of 12,000 feet, the
+Bhong-chu enters a terrific gorge on either side of which tower up great
+cliffs with snowy peaks high above them. On some of the slopes which are
+not quite so steep there are thick forests of fir trees and
+rhododendrons where, I was told, the muskdeer lived. After descending
+the valley for 3 miles, we turned up a side valley pointing Westwards.
+Down this flowed a very large and unfordable glacial stream. This
+evidently came down from the neighbourhood of Mount Everest, but local
+information as to its source was very vague, and it was evident that we
+should have to prospect for ourselves. Some 3 miles up this valley we
+came to a place called by the natives Kharta Shika, where the Governor
+of the Kharta District resides. Kharta was not apparently a village at
+all, but a district including a number of small villages. We halted a
+short distance below Kharta Shika and presently the Governor came out to
+meet us with a present of sweetmeats and the usual scarf. He apologised
+for not meeting us before, as he said that he had no information as to
+the date of our arrival. He begged that we would come over to his garden
+where he had ordered a fine Chinese tent to be pitched for us. We
+crossed the river by a wooden bridge, and after going through the
+village came to the Governor's house. Crossing through the courtyard we
+entered his garden, which lay in a nice sheltered spot surrounded by
+willow trees with a stream of clear water running through it. Big wild
+roses grew there and a few European flowers that he had planted, while
+under a very ancient poplar there was a large painted prayer wheel, some
+8 feet high, which was turned by a stream of water. Here in his garden
+he provided us with a meal of excellent macaroni and a very hot chilli
+salad. It was very pleasant to rest the eyes on the luscious green of
+the well irrigated garden, and to be for once sheltered from the wind.
+During the night we were awakened by a regular shower bath. The Chinese
+tent, beautiful as it was in outward appearance, was sadly lacking in
+waterproof qualities. As it rained steadily most of the night, we had to
+take cover under our mackintoshes on which were pools of water in the
+morning. There seemed to be no doubt that the proper Monsoon had at last
+broken, and the Jongpen himself told us that this was the first really
+heavy rain that they had had. All the people considered that we had
+brought this rain with us and were very grateful in consequence; later
+on, when we left, they begged us not to stop the rain, as they wanted it
+badly for their crops.
+
+As it cleared up a little about nine o'clock in the morning, though the
+hills were still all in cloud, we rode out with Chheten Wangdi, the
+Jongpen and Hopaphema, who was the largest landowner about here, to look
+out for a site for our next base camp. We wanted, if possible, to get a
+house that could be used as a store-room and also for photographic
+purposes. We rode down into the main valley, and after looking over
+several houses, we eventually selected one on an old river terrace with
+fine views all around and standing quite by itself well away from any
+village. The water supply was good and handy, and there was a pleasant
+garden of poplars and willows, in which we could pitch our tents. After
+a certain amount of bargaining, the owners were willing to let us have
+the house and the garden for the large rent of one trangka (3½_d._) a
+day. It was apparently the first time anyone in that valley had ever
+wanted to rent a house, and there were no house agents there to run one
+up into exorbitant prices. We then rode on to Hopaphema's house, which
+was a fine solidly built dwelling surrounded by large juniper trees,
+willows and poplars. Later on we got to know this man very well, and
+used to call him always the "Sergeant," as he was supposed to do any
+recruiting for the Tibetan army that was needed in that valley. He had a
+very kindly disposition, was always very hospitable, and had a great
+sense of humour. He had a tent pitched for our reception under a very
+old poplar with a grass plot in front surrounded by bushes of wild red
+roses. Here we were given tea, milk and beer, and then the usual
+macaroni and mince was produced. On leaving, he insisted on my taking
+away a large quantity of turnip leaves, as he knew I was very fond of
+green food, and they made an excellent "spinach." The Tibetans that we
+met have invariably proved very kindly and hospitable.
+
+On returning to Kharta, where I had left Heron, I found that it had been
+raining all the time, though in the main valley we had had it quite
+fine. In the evening I took a walk up to an old fort not far from our
+camp. This fort in old days had commanded the only path from here that
+led into Nepal, but now it had all fallen into ruin. Close by it,
+however, was a delightful dell full of hoary willow trees, underneath
+which the ground was carpeted with yellow primulas growing among the
+bushes of scarlet roses. Near by were two old poplar trees, whose trunks
+measured between 20 and 30 feet in circumference and were evidently of a
+very great age. The primulas everywhere were really astonishing. They
+outlined every watercourse with yellow and often grew between 2 and 3
+feet high with enormous heads of sweet cowslip-scented yellow flowers.
+It rained again during the whole of the night, and the fine spray that
+came through the Chinese tent made sleep rather difficult. The next
+morning we started to go back to Tingri, and for the first day's march
+were given coolies for our transport. In this district coolies are used
+a great deal as all the trade with Nepal has to be carried on by them,
+the paths over the passes being quite impassable for pack transport;
+the Jongpen told us that we would find them quite as fast as ponies.
+
+To-day's march was to Lumeh--a distance of about 17 miles--and the
+coolies arrived very soon after we did, having come along
+extraordinarily well. Our route for the first 3 miles was down the
+Kharta Valley until it joined the valley of the Bhong-chu; we then
+followed the right bank of this for some 10 miles. On the way we stopped
+at the house of Hopaphema, who insisted on giving us a meal of milk,
+macaroni and mince, although it was only just over an hour since we had
+had breakfast. On our departure he gave us a basket of eggs and some
+more turnip leaves to take along with us, and altogether showed himself
+a most friendly and hospitable host. At first we rode through fields of
+barley, peas and mustard for several miles, the valley then became much
+more barren and the path occasionally was taken high up on the face of a
+cliff, where the river swept round close beneath the mountain side. At
+other times we crossed broad stony terraces. We came eventually to the
+village of Dak, where the monks from the monastery had pitched tents for
+us and had another meal provided for us. Coolies had to be changed here,
+our old coolies arriving while we were having our meal; after the loads
+had been transferred, our new transport proceeded along to Lumeh, where
+we intended to spend the night. The path after Dak was in places
+dangerous owing to falling stones, and our guide every now and then
+urged us to hurry, as owing to the heavy rain of the preceding night
+many stones had been loosened. The main Bhong-chu suddenly turned off to
+the East from here, unexpectedly forcing a passage through a very
+curious and deep gorge, where it burst its way through the highest
+mountains. We did not, however, follow the valley of the Bhong-chu, but
+kept on up what appeared to be the main valley; this was really only the
+valley of the Lower Rongbuk that in its lower portion is called the
+Dzakar-chu. This river we crossed by a wooden bridge, built on the
+cantilever principle, and which a couple of months later was washed
+away. After riding for a couple of miles over a nice grassy turf we came
+to Lumeh. Here was a very fine country house around which were grouped a
+few smaller houses. This was the residence of Ngawangyonten, who was
+managing the district for the big monastery at Shekar Dzong, whose
+property it was. He had tents already pitched for us, and fuel, milk and
+eggs already prepared. Around this house were five of the largest poplar
+trees that I have ever seen. The largest was almost 40 feet in
+circumference at the base, and the others were all between 20 and 25
+feet in circumference. The villagers told us that they thought these
+trees had been planted about 500 years ago. Magpies and hoopoes were
+very common in this valley--the former were quite tame and allowed us to
+approach very close. The barley-fields seemed to hold many hares. Some
+fine crops of wheat as well as barley were grown here, although the
+height was 12,800 feet. Every night now we had heavy rain which brought
+fresh snow down to 16,000 feet. As the clouds remained low all day we
+seldom got any distant views.
+
+The march to Pulme, our next point up the valley of the Dzakar-chu, was
+22 miles, a very dull and uninteresting ride. The going was bad--we
+often had to follow the bed of the river, which was now in flood and
+extended to the cliffs on both sides--at other times we kept high up on
+the steep sides of a gorge, sometimes of gneiss, sometimes of limestone
+rock. In places where the valley widened out, the river bed was full of
+bushes of tamarisk and sea buckthorn, but otherwise the vegetation was
+scanty. After going 15 miles we were to change coolies; but the Lumeh
+coolies, who were extremely poor and very different from those that we
+had taken from Kharta, took eleven hours to cover the 15 miles, and did
+not arrive till six in the evening. Much to Heron's disgust, I proposed
+to push on to Pulme, late as it was; but the road was good, and we
+trotted the 7 miles in an hour and a half, though the coolies and the
+donkeys did not arrive till well after dark. Fortunately we found tents
+as usual pitched for our reception. We had originally intended to ford
+the Dzakar-chu that evening and camp on the far side, but it was too
+dangerous to do it in the dark, though the villagers told us that by
+morning the stream would be a couple of feet higher. The river is a
+great obstacle at this time of the year, as there is no bridge over it
+here, the next bridge being at Chöbu, 20 miles higher up the valley.
+
+The following day I started on my return journey to Tingri, leaving at
+5.30 in the morning with Chheten Wangdi. I succeeded in fording the
+Dzakar-chu, which was deep and very swift. My pony was swept off his
+legs once and I got very wet, the icy cold water coming right over the
+saddle.
+
+Heron and the coolies were to follow on slowly and were to take two days
+in reaching Tingri, but I was anxious to get back, having been away
+already longer than I intended. Four miles away, at Tashi Dzom, I
+changed ponies and procured a guide who was to take me on to Tingri,
+leaving Chheten Wangdi behind with Heron. This guide proved quite an
+amusing fellow, and suddenly surprised me by counting in English one,
+two, three, four, and then saying "Right turn" and "Left turn," and
+other military words of command. On inquiring where he had learned this
+English, I found that at one time he had served as a soldier at Lhasa,
+where the military words of command are in English, and these were the
+only English words that he knew. After leaving Tashi Dzom we turned up
+into a broad side valley with villages every half-mile and surrounded by
+barley, mustard and pea fields. What was, however, especially noticeable
+about all these valleys that we had been passing through for the last
+two days, was the extraordinary number of ruined villages that there
+were everywhere. This was not due to lack of water, for there was plenty
+of water in all the streams; these valleys, however, must have at one
+time been very thickly inhabited, and it is probable that the dearth of
+population to-day is due to the wars with the Gurkhas in the eighteenth
+century. We had a very wet ride--one storm after another overtook us,
+and a cold rain fell heavily all the way to Tingri. We gradually
+ascended out of the cultivation and crossing a low pass, about 16,000
+feet, looked down again on the great Tingri Plain. There was still,
+however, a long way to go, and it was not till after five o'clock in the
+evening that I reached Tingri, drenched to the skin. It had been a ride
+of between 36 and 40 miles.
+
+At Tingri I found Wollaston and Morshead. The former had been very busy
+all the time I had been away in collecting insects, butterflies, rats,
+mice, birds and flowers, and had amassed quite a number of specimens.
+Morshead had been out a good deal with his surveyors to the North and to
+the West, but had been driven in by the bad weather of the last few
+days. This had apparently been general and we might say that the rainy
+season this year had begun on July 7, which the Tibetans considered very
+late for those parts. The following afternoon Heron arrived, and my kit
+also, which I was very glad to get, as I had only had a spare tent to
+roll around me the previous night.
+
+The next day or two was spent mostly in reading letters and newspapers.
+Our postal arrangements were at first rather complicated, there being no
+regular postal service to the provinces in Tibet. We had, therefore, to
+make an arrangement with each Jongpen to forward on our mail. Phari was
+the last post office, and the postmaster there had to arrange with the
+Phari Jongpen for a messenger every week to go with our posts to Khamba
+Dzong; we had left money with him for the purpose of paying the postman.
+At Khamba Dzong we had arranged with the Jongpen there that he should
+forward our letters to Tinki, and at Tinki we had made further
+arrangements for them to be sent on to Shekar Dzong and from Shekar
+Dzong they were to be sent to Tingri. We had left money for this purpose
+with the various Jongpens, and each Jongpen as he received the mail bag
+was to affix his seal on it and send it on as quickly as he could to the
+next Jongpen. This system worked very well for the first two months,
+but after we had moved to Kharta, partly owing to floods, and partly
+perhaps to the laziness of the Shekar Jongpen, our mails were all held
+up and we eventually had to send coolies back from our camp to Phari to
+bring them along. The best plan another time would be to take with the
+Expedition a certain number of coolies to be used purely for going
+backwards and forwards with the mails. On July 13 Morshead and Wollaston
+left to go to Nyenyam in response to a cordial invitation from the
+Jongpen, asking that some of the Expedition should visit the place. We
+were glad to accept, and this should be a very interesting part of the
+country botanically.
+
+
+
+
+                                CHAPTER VI
+
+                            THE MOVE TO KHARTA
+
+
+I had arrived back at Tingri on July 11, and remained there in the
+Chinese rest-house until July 24, when I started to move the base camp
+and all the stores round to Kharta. During the time I was not left
+always alone, for Heron came in occasionally for a night between his
+various geological expeditions to the North. Wheeler also came down for
+a change and a rest, and to develop the photographs that he had taken.
+He had been having a very trying and provoking time in the high camps,
+as the weather had been bad, with frequent snowfalls. Nearly every day
+he climbed up to a spur 20,000 feet or more in height, yet in spite of
+waiting all day there in the icy cold winds or driving snow, it was but
+seldom that he was able to get a photograph, and then the clouds would
+only lift for a few minutes.
+
+There was always plenty to do at Tingri, so the time passed quickly.
+Much photographic work had to be done and much developing and printing
+of the many photographs that were being sent in by the various members
+of the party. Supplies had also to be sent out and arrangements made for
+the comforts of the climbing party in the Rongbuk Valley. There were
+also several expeditions to be made round Tingri, and these were full of
+interest. Anemometers were very popular in this district; they were
+fixed by the Tibetans above small prayer wheels, and owing to the
+constant winds, it was seldom that the prayer wheels were not revolving.
+Many yaks' horns, carved all over with prayers, were lying about on the
+different Chortens or Mani walls. The barley, which was only just coming
+up when we arrived, was now 18 inches high and coming into ear, and
+though we were over 14,000 feet, the crops looked very healthy and
+even. Every evening during this period we had heavy storms of rain with
+much lightning and thunder, and fresh snow used to fall during the night
+as low as 15,000 feet, but most of it melted again during the day.
+During this period the plains round Tingri were rapidly becoming marshes
+and the rivers quite unfordable. The storms always gathered to the North
+of us, along the Sipri limestone ridge, and the high mountain chain that
+formed the watershed between the Brahmaputra and the Bhong-chu. These
+storms generally worked down towards the South. Occasionally fine days
+came to us when there was a strong South wind to blow the rain back, and
+it was seldom that the Monsoon clouds brought rain directly to us from
+the South. The Sipri range was a very conspicuous limestone range to the
+North of us, the limestone being worn into the most curious shapes. It
+was looked upon by the Tibetans as being a holy mountain, and on its
+slopes were many small monasteries. Hermits also took up their abode in
+the limestone caves below the summit. Pilgrims used to come from great
+distances to make the circuit of the mountain. This took generally five
+days, and much merit was acquired by doing so.
+
+On July 17 I made an excursion out to the Hot Springs at Tsamda, about 7
+miles away to the North-west across the plain. The valley of the
+Bhong-chu narrows there for a few miles before opening out again into
+the wide Sutso Plain. There were two or three hot springs here, but only
+one large one, and this was enclosed by walls within which were little
+stone huts in which people could change their clothes. The water was
+just the right temperature for a nice hot bath. When I went there, there
+was one man bathing and also washing his clothes in it. The Tibetans
+said, however, that this was not the proper season for bathing. The
+autumn was the correct time for them to have their annual bath before
+the winter sets in. The water was saline and had, I think, a little iron
+in it, but was not very unpleasant to the taste. The rocks from which it
+gushes out are very extraordinary, the strata forming a very steep
+arch, on the top of which there is a crack, from the very end of which,
+and at its lowest point, the springs came bubbling out. Near by in the
+valley there were also a good many saline deposits. In one of the
+smaller springs there were a number of little pink worm-like animals
+that were swimming about and clinging with their mouths to the sides of
+the rock. Riding back to Tingri by a different way across the plain, I
+saw a number of kiang and a few goa, but they were very wild and would
+not allow us to approach to within 500 yards. I also passed three of the
+handsome black-necked cranes. The way across the plain was rather boggy,
+and we had some difficulty in finding it. When I got back I found that
+Heron had come in for a couple of nights, and the following day Wheeler
+too joined us, having walked in from Nezogu, the bridge over the Kyetrak
+River. He was anxious to develop some photographs, and as the weather
+was very bad, he could do no good by remaining in his high camp.
+
+On July 20 we had very brilliant flashes of lightning, followed by a
+heavy storm of rain during the night. This was too much for the flat
+earth roof of the rest-house, and the water poured into all our rooms,
+causing us to move our beds many times during the night in search of a
+dry spot. I started off early in the morning as I had intended to climb
+the hills to the East of Tingri, but the rain that had fallen at Tingri
+had meant a heavy fall of snow on the mountains and the snow had fallen
+as low down as 15,000 feet. We passed several goa on the way, but they
+were too shy to allow us to get a shot, also some kiang, which were very
+tame, and showed up well in the snow. As we got higher, the snow became
+about 4 inches deep, but was melting rapidly. The glare and the heat
+were intense. I saw a good many flocks of burhel, but no very large
+heads. The views as I followed the crests of the hills were extremely
+fine; on the North I looked down into the valley of the Bhong-chu, which
+was in flood and had filled the whole of the bottom of the valley with
+water, and on the other side I looked over the Tingri Plain to the great
+range of snow peaks which finally ended in the mighty mass of
+Gosainthan. The weather had been very hot and oppressive all day, and as
+usual in the evening we had another very severe thunderstorm with heavy
+rain all through the night. The following day was more like an English
+November day--cold and grey with drizzling rain--and with the snow on
+the hills down to 15,000 feet. I bought a Tibetan pony during the
+morning for the large sum of £7. It was a bay, an excellent ambler, and
+very surefooted. The Tibetan name by which he was known was
+Dug-dra-kyang-po, which means "The bay pony like a dragon."
+
+[Illustration: MILITARY GOVERNOR, HIS WIFE AND MOTHER.]
+
+I went over to have lunch with the Depon's representative. His family
+were all dressed up very smartly for the occasion, the women folk
+wearing their best head-dresses of turquoises, coral and pearls. He gave
+us rice and raisins as an _hors d'[oe]uvre_, and an _entrée_ of junket,
+followed by some pickled turnips, which I thought very nasty, after
+which we had the usual macaroni and mince. He had been very friendly and
+kindly to us the whole time that we were at Tingri, and had always
+supplied us with everything we asked for. On July 22 we saw a very fine
+solar halo with well-marked rings of yellow, brown, green and white, but
+the rain continued steadily nearly all the time. The day before we were
+to leave Tingri I sent away my orderly, together with two coolies who
+had been sick, and whom the doctor had recommended that we should send
+back to Darjeeling. They were given sufficient food to take them back to
+Darjeeling and an extra fifteen days' pay, the orderly also being given
+a horse to ride. Towards evening the weather improved and we had some
+lovely views of Mount Everest and that great group of snow peaks of
+which Cho-Uyo is the highest. They all looked very white under their new
+coating of snow, which lies thickly down to 16,000 feet.
+
+On July 24 we eventually got off from Tingri; the last few days had been
+spent in packing up and re-arranging all the stores. There was the
+usual talking, shouting and arguing, but all the loads were eventually
+packed on to the animals, or loaded on to the backs of the coolies by
+nine o'clock. We then took a last farewell of the Depon's
+representative, who was very sorry to see us go, and who had done so
+much to make our stay pleasant there.
+
+The first march was to Nezogu, where there was a bridge over the
+Kyetrak; this was about 19 miles, partly across the Tingri Plain and
+then over a tiresome moraine. While crossing the moraine, I shot a goa
+which had quite a good head. Wheeler had accompanied me, as he had left
+his camp at the bridge, and on arrival there we found his tents all
+pitched and his cook waiting ready to receive us. Our own kit did not
+arrive till it was getting dark, when the weather looked very ominous.
+Rain fell steadily most of the night, and just before dawn this turned
+to snow, so that when we woke up there were a couple of inches of fresh
+snow on the ground. As it was still snowing steadily, we were in no
+great hurry to start, and did not get off until nine o'clock. The
+weather than gradually improved and the fresh snow soon melted, though
+the ground was left in a very boggy condition. The march to Chöbu was
+about 15 miles over the easy Lamna Pass. Knowing the way, I climbed on
+to a ridge to the South, where I had a fine view again of Mount Everest
+and the Rongbuk Valley. We pitched our camp on the far side of the
+Rongbuk River, our loads being carried across the frail bridge by the
+villagers, and our ponies being swum across. Here Mallory and Bullock
+joined us. They had been experiencing latterly very bad weather in the
+Upper Rongbuk Valley, and constant heavy falls of snow had seriously
+hindered their reconnaissance work. Their coolies, too, were getting
+rather tired and stale from remaining at such heights for a considerable
+time, and were badly in want of a rest. I had therefore arranged for
+them to meet me here and to accompany me round to Kharta, from which
+place they could then explore the Eastern approaches of Mount Everest.
+During the night I suffered much from inflammation of the eyes, due to
+the snow that had fallen the day before. They were so painful as to make
+sleep quite impossible. I was not, however, the only one to suffer, as
+Chheten Wangdi, the interpreter, Acchu, the cook, and several of the
+coolies that were with me were all suffering from the same complaint in
+the morning. Though the sun had not been shining and the day had been
+misty, the glare from the new snow had been very much more powerful than
+anything we had expected and taught us a lesson that whenever there was
+the slightest fall of snow, we should always wear our snow goggles. From
+Chöbu we marched to Rebu--a distance of about 15 miles. Knowing the way,
+I took Mallory and Bullock by the upper road over a pass to Halung; from
+the top of this pass we branched off on to a spur where there was a very
+fine view of Mount Everest and the mountains to the North and North-east
+of it. There had been so much fresh snow everywhere that it was often
+very difficult to recognize the peaks, but Mount Everest from this side
+looked as impossible as ever with the great black bands of perpendicular
+cliffs that seemed to encircle it.
+
+The day was actually fine and the march was a pleasant one through a
+fertile valley full of fields of barley, mustard and peas. The wild
+flowers all round Rebu were still very beautiful. Our camp was pitched
+on a grassy spot on the bank of a rushing stream and close to the
+village of Rebu.
+
+The following morning the weather was again fine, and as the yaks were
+all ready for us, we were started by 7.30 a.m. This start was quite
+amusing; we ourselves had first to cross a flooded stream over which
+there was a very wobbly stone bridge. With much excitement and noise the
+yaks were then driven across the stream, but the current was too strong
+for the bullocks, which had to be unloaded and their loads carried over.
+While this was being done, the bridge collapsed, and a good lady and a
+bullock that were trying to get over by the bridge all fell into the
+water together. There was then a terrible excitement and mix-up, every
+one shouting and screaming, but they both scrambled safely to the shore,
+and beyond a wetting, no one was any the worse. We then took the road
+that I had travelled three weeks before over the Doya La. Knowing that
+there was a good view to be got from the top of the pass, I hurried
+ahead and climbed a rocky hill, 17,700 feet, close to the pass, where I
+saw a wonderful scene. Range upon range of snowy mountains extended
+right away to Kanchenjunga, and the course of the Arun could be traced
+wandering down through Nepal, while to the South towered up the great
+walls of Makalu. Mount Everest itself I could not see, as there were a
+good many clouds about, but to the South-west were some fine snow and
+rock peaks of which I took several photographs. I then basked in the sun
+for a couple of hours and enjoyed the view. The wild flowers on the top
+of the pass were delightful; I found three different kinds of gentians
+and the blue poppies were as numerous as ever. The primulas, however,
+had many of them already gone to seed, but the saxifrages still covered
+the rocks, and it was a delight to wander along and note the different
+varieties. Riding on to Chulungphu, we found tents pitched for us and
+fuel and milk all ready. In place of the primulas the ground was now
+carpeted with gentians. From here to Kharta the march was only a short
+one, but we thoroughly enjoyed riding along between the bushes of wild
+rose or juniper. The former were no longer in blossom, but there were
+many other new varieties of flowers appearing. I rode on ahead to the
+spot that I had chosen, three weeks previously, for our new base camp,
+and I found that Hopaphema had already pitched some tents for us. He had
+also prepared a meal for us and made every arrangement for our comfort.
+Our camp was pitched under the willows and poplar trees in the garden,
+and it was pleasant to hear the rustle of the leaves in the wind once
+more. We were now at a height of only 12,300 feet, and the change in
+altitude was a very great relief to the climbing party and the coolies
+who had come down from the high camps. There were also plenty of green
+vegetables to be got here, and the coolies appreciated the change
+enormously. Just below us flowed the Arun, now a majestic river over a
+hundred yards wide. A mile lower down in its course it entered into the
+great gorges in which within a space of 20 miles it dropped from 12,000
+feet to 7,500 feet, a drop of over 200 feet in the mile. From our camp
+we used to watch the Monsoon clouds come up every day through the gorge
+in thin wisps, but every day they melted away always at the same spot;
+and though rain fell heavily a mile below us, yet with us the sun shone
+brightly, and it was rare for any rain to reach us. Twenty miles away to
+the North again were heavy clouds and storms, and rain fell there daily,
+so that we seemed to be living in a dry zone between the two storm
+systems. The forests of fir and birch trees came up to the limit of the
+rainfall and then ceased suddenly where the rain stopped a mile below
+us. At this point the Kharta River formed a sharp dividing line between
+the wet and dry zones.
+
+The next day was spent in settling down, arranging all our stores and
+making a new dark room in the house we had rented. The climate here was
+delicious and a great change from Tingri. The temperature in my tent
+used to go up to 75° Fahr. during the day.
+
+The day after we arrived the Jongpen came down to pay an official call
+and brought a welcome present of a hundred eggs and five animals laden
+with fuel. He apologised for not coming the day before, but said he had
+been very busy trying a murder case where eighteen people had been
+poisoned by a family that had a feud with them, the poison used being
+aconite, with which they were evidently quite familiar. He told us that
+our coolies could collect fuel anywhere on the right bank of the Kharta
+River, but begged that we would not collect it anywhere near where we
+were living, as the villagers would object.
+
+On July 30 I started off to explore a neighbouring pass and valley
+which looked interesting. Mallory and Bullock were having a few days'
+rest before starting off again, and so they remained in camp. Riding a
+few miles up the Kharta Valley, I crossed the river by a bridge at the
+first village, and then had a very steep and stony climb of nearly 3,000
+feet to the Samchung Pass, 15,000 feet. As we approached the pass, and
+entered a moister climate, the vegetation increased rapidly. On these
+slopes there were rhododendrons 5 feet high, mountain ash, birch,
+willows, spiræas and juniper. At the top of the pass there was not much
+of a view, but prowling round I came across some very fine saussuræas
+with their great white woolly heads and a wonderful meconopsis of a deep
+claret colour that I had never seen before. There were fifteen to twenty
+flowers on each stem, and it grew from 2 to 3 feet high. Eight varieties
+of gentians also grew in the same valley, and a quantity of other
+attractive Alpine plants. From the pass we descended about 500 feet into
+a delightful high level glen full of small lakes, evidently once upon a
+time formed by glaciers which must have filled the whole of the valley.
+I counted fourteen lakes in this valley, two or three of them being
+nearly half a mile long, and all of them of different colours varying
+from a turquoise blue to green and black. For some miles we rode and
+walked up the valley. The road consisted of big loose stones, often with
+water flowing underneath them, and usually with big holes in between, so
+that our ponies were lucky in not breaking their legs. There was then a
+steep climb which brought us on to a second pass, the Chog La, 16,100
+feet, close to which were three small glaciers. Across the top of the
+pass there was a wall built many years ago as a second line of defence
+against the Gurkhas, the first line being on the top of the Popti Pass.
+Unfortunately the clouds now came up, and it began to rain, so that we
+had no view into the Kama Valley, though later on I was to make the
+acquaintance of this most charming valley. For an hour and a half I
+sheltered behind the wall, but as the clouds did not lift I returned
+towards Kharta. As we descended into the valley again the glimpses of
+the lakes seen between the mists reminded me much of the upper lakes at
+Killarney. There were the same ferns, willows, birch and rhododendrons,
+and much the same moist atmosphere.
+
+[Illustration: THE DZONGPEN OF KHARTA AND HIS WIFE.]
+
+Next day, with Bullock, I went to pay an official visit to the Jongpen
+at Kharta Shiga. He had made great preparations to receive us, and had
+put up a large tent in which Chinese carpets and tables were set out
+with pots of flowers arranged all round. Soon after our arrival we were
+given a most copious meal: bowl after bowl of well cooked macaroni and
+mince with pickled radishes and chillies were set before us. After we
+had finished this meal, I induced the Jongpen and his young wife to be
+photographed. She had a most elaborate head-dress of coral and pearls,
+with masses of false hair on either side of her head. It was not
+becoming. Barely had we finished taking the photograph when another meal
+was put in front of us: this time it consisted of Tibetan dumplings and
+mince patties, of which I gave the Jongpen's little dog the greater part
+surreptitiously; I then hurried off before I should be compelled to eat
+a third meal.
+
+On August 2 Mallory and Bullock started off with thirty-two coolies to
+explore the Eastern approaches to Mount Everest. It had been very hard
+to get any information about Mount Everest. The people knew the mountain
+by name, but told us that the only way to get near it was by crossing
+over the ridge to the South of the Kharta Valley, when we should find a
+big valley that would lead right up to Chomolungma. Where the Kharta
+River came from they could not tell me, and whether it took its source
+from the snows of Mount Everest they did not know. Tibetans' ignorance
+of any valleys outside their own was really extraordinary. I could
+seldom get any definite information about places outside their valley,
+and on asking two or three people, they would invariably give
+contradictory answers. It was the same as regards distance. They would
+tell you a place was one, two or three days' march away, but for
+shorter distances they had no time-table, and the nearest approach to
+this was a measurement by cups of tea. I remember one day asking a
+village yokel how far off the next village was, and he surprised me by
+answering, "Three cups of tea." Several times afterwards I got the
+answer to a question about distance given me in cups of tea, and I
+eventually worked out that three cups of tea was the equivalent of about
+5 miles, and was after that able to use this as a basis for measurements
+of distances.
+
+Two or three hours after Mallory and Bullock had gone, Wollaston and
+Morshead arrived from their trip to Nyenyam. They had had bad weather
+the whole time. Here, too, the weather remained overcast and
+threatening, with a strong South wind, the mountains remaining covered
+in clouds above 16,000 feet. To the South of us rain fell steadily all
+day, but the rain did not come up as far as our camp. One afternoon
+Morshead, Wollaston and I went over to have tea with our hospitable
+Zemindar Hopaphema about a mile away from us. On this occasion he gave
+us pods of fresh peas and the red hips and haws of the wild rose as a
+kind of _hors d'[oe]uvre_, followed by a junket served with pea flour.
+Then came bowls of hot milk with macaroni and minced meat, seasoned with
+chillies, together with potatoes and a kind of fungus that grew in the
+woods. After this meal, from which we suffered no ill effects, for our
+stomachs were getting accustomed to queer foods, he produced an old
+painted musical instrument with two sounding boards, on which he played
+and sang at the same time some old Tibetan love songs. Some of these had
+quite a catching and plaintive melody. He showed us also some Tibetan
+dances. Our interpreter, unfortunately, refused to give us a literal
+translation of some of the love songs, though he seemed very amused at
+them.
+
+Another afternoon I rode with Wollaston some 5 miles up the Kharta
+Valley to the Gandenchöfel Monastery. This was situated in a
+delightfully sheltered spot surrounded by poplars and ancient gnarled
+juniper trees of great size. On arrival we were shown into a
+picturesque courtyard, the walls of which were covered with paintings
+depicting scenes from the life of Buddha. Cushions and tables had been
+arranged for our reception and placed on a verandah where, on arrival,
+we were given cups of tea and hot milk. The Head Lama presently came out
+and after taking some tea with us, proceeded to show us round his
+temple. This was a curious building, square in shape, and surmounted by
+a cupola. It was very solidly built of stone and was, they
+told us, about 500 years old. It was founded by a saint called
+Jetsun-Nga-Wang-Chöfel, who after a great flood which swept down the
+valley, destroying all the houses in it, had taken a large frog (which
+animal is believed to represent the Water God) and buried it under the
+centre pillar of the temple. With great reverence they showed us the
+spot under which this unfortunate frog had been immured in the centre of
+the shrine. This immolation of the frog had apparently not been
+completely efficacious in preventing the floods as two other floods had
+subsequently occurred, and two small Chortens had been erected to make
+quite certain that the frog could not get out again and cause more
+floods. The interior of the temple was very dark in spite of numerous
+butter lamps. As our eyes gradually became accustomed to the dim light,
+we made out three figures of Buddha--a large one in the centre and
+smaller ones on either side. On the pillars were figures of the saint
+who had founded the monastery. In this temple were also represented some
+Indian saints, but these were shown as dark figures, very black and very
+ugly. Tibetans always despise the Indian and they therefore represent
+him as quite black and with the ugliest features imaginable. Around the
+shrine were twelve great plaster figures--about 12 feet to 15 feet in
+height--the guardians of the shrine, figures monstrously ugly, and
+evidently made so in order to frighten away the evil-doer. Outside the
+sanctuary there was a curious passage in the thickness of the walls
+leading all round the building, in which were stencilled and painted
+curious representations of Buddha. In one of the side rooms there was a
+huge prayer wheel, which rang a bell every time it was turned; it
+contained, the priests told us, many million prayers. After visiting the
+shrine, I took a photograph of the monks with their long trumpets, their
+bejewelled clarionets and their drums. After our tour of inspection we
+were given further refreshment in the way of macaroni and meat in a
+small secluded garden where the monks used to walk reading the
+Scriptures and meditating.
+
+On another day Wollaston and I made an excursion down to the gorges of
+the Arun. We first rode up the Kharta Valley, crossing the river by the
+first bridge, and then following the right bank of the river as far as
+we could go. After riding only a short way, we entered into a country
+and a scenery where we might have been a hundred miles away from Tibet.
+The change was extraordinarily sudden--a dense forest covered the
+hillsides, mostly of fir (_Abies Webbiana_) and birch, many of them fine
+old trees. The undergrowth consisted of rhododendrons, 8 feet to 10 feet
+in height and extremely difficult to get through. Besides these there
+were many larch and willow trees growing on the hillside, together with
+many new and delightful flowers. We went on until we were brought up by
+a series of perpendicular cliffs that descended 700 feet sheer down to
+the river below us. It was a grand sight from here to see the mighty
+Bhong-chu or Arun River, narrowed now to one-third of its former width,
+forcing its way in a series of rapids through these stupendous gorges
+covered with woods wherever the precipices allowed a tree to grow and
+with trees dipping their branches far below us in the flooded waters of
+the river. On the opposite side of the gorge we saw a small track
+wandering along the cliffs; the inhabitants told us it was impossible to
+get across the river lower down at this time of the year until you reach
+Lungdö, where there was a bridge some 20 miles lower down. Kharta now
+remained the base headquarters of the Expedition until it was time to
+return to India in October, and all the expeditions that we made up the
+Kharta Valley, or into the Kama Valley, were made from Kharta. The
+Jongpen there and Hopaphema did everything they could to assist us by
+giving us coolies and arranging for supplies to be sent up to the
+various camps.
+
+[Illustration: LAMAS OF KHARTA MONASTERY.]
+
+
+
+
+                                CHAPTER VII
+
+                              THE KAMA VALLEY
+
+
+We had not been able to gather much information locally about Mount
+Everest. A few of the shepherds said that they had heard that there was
+a great mountain in the next valley to the South, but they could not
+tell us whether the Kharta River came from this great mountain. The
+easiest way to get to this valley, they told us, was by crossing the
+Shao La, or the Langma La, both of which passes were to the South of the
+Kharta Valley, and, they said, led into this new valley. They called
+this valley the Kama Valley, and little did we realise at the time that
+in it we were going to find one of the most beautiful valleys in the
+world. Mallory and Bullock had already left Kharta on August 2 to
+explore this route, which we thought would lead us to the Eastern face
+of Mount Everest. As Wollaston and Morshead had now arrived at Kharta,
+there was nothing to prevent my following the others and learning
+something about the geography of the country. Eleven mule-loads of
+rations, consisting of flour, potatoes, sugar and rations for the
+surveyors, had just arrived; there was therefore now no cause for me to
+worry about shortage of supplies. These had been sent off from Yatung on
+June 15, but had only arrived at Kharta on August 2. Learning that I was
+about to start off, Hopaphema, the old Zemindar, hurriedly came round
+with a large basket full of spinach, potatoes, and turnips, which he
+insisted on my taking with me.
+
+[Illustration: MAKALU from 21,500 foot peak on ridge south of Kama-chu.]
+
+On August 5, taking with me Chheten Wangdi and a dozen coolies, I
+started off in the tracks of Mallory and Bullock. For the first few
+miles we travelled up the Kharta Valley, through rich fields of barley,
+by far the best that I had seen so far in Tibet. The crops were very
+even and everywhere quite 3 feet in height. The valley was thickly
+inhabited, containing villages nearly every mile, and many monasteries,
+some of which were surrounded by fine old gnarled juniper trees. Our
+local coolies made very poor progress, taking six hours to cover the
+first 6 miles, as they stopped at every village for a drink. After
+passing the last village, there was a steep climb of 1,000 feet. Here
+our coolies were very anxious to stop and spend the night, but I pushed
+on ahead, and they came on behind very slowly and reluctantly. Seeing
+that it was impossible to get over the Langma La, I stopped at the limit
+of firewood and camped at a height of 16,100 feet. Poo, who was acting
+as my cook, had forgotten to bring any matches with him, and I watched
+him with much interest lighting a fire of damp rhododendron bushes with
+the flint and tinder that he always carried. The day had been clear and
+very warm; and on the way up we had had some fine views of the great
+snowy peaks on the Eastern side of the Arun River. The villagers had
+told us that this pass was impossible for ponies, and I accordingly left
+mine behind at Kharta, though we found out that ponies could quite well
+have crossed the pass. Opposite our camp was a peak of black rock with a
+glacier just below it. During the night there was a little rain and the
+morning was unfortunately cloudy. As our coolies had informed us that
+there were three passes to be crossed in the next march, I had them all
+started off by 5.30 a.m., after which I left with my coolies, Ang Tenze
+and Nyima Tendu, who always accompanied me carrying a rifle, a shot-gun
+and three cameras of different sizes. Above the camp there was a steep
+climb of 1,000 feet on to a broad, rocky shelf in which was a pretty
+turquoise-blue lake. This was followed by another steep climb of 500
+feet on to another great shelf, after which a further climb of 500 feet
+brought us to the top of the Langma La, 18,000 feet. The three steps up
+to this pass were evidently the three passes that the coolies had told
+us about, as from the top we looked down into the next valley. All the
+coolies who were carrying loads complained of headaches, due no doubt
+to the steep climb and the high elevation of the pass. To the East there
+was a curious view looking over the Arun towards some high snow peaks.
+Clouds were lying in patches everywhere on the hillsides, as the air was
+saturated with moisture. To the West our gaze encountered a most
+wonderful amphitheatre of peaks and glaciers. Three great glaciers
+almost met in the deep green valley that lay at our feet. One of these
+glaciers evidently came down from Mount Everest, the second from the
+beautiful cliffs of Chomolönzo, the Northern peak of Makalu, of which we
+unfortunately could only get occasional and partial glimpses, an ice or
+rock cliff peeping out of the clouds every now and then at incredible
+heights above us. The third glacier came from Kama Changri, a fine peak
+to the North of the Kama Valley which later on we climbed. The clouds
+kept mostly at a height of about 22,000 feet, and prevented us from
+seeing the tops of the mountains. After waiting for an hour at the top
+of the pass in hopes of the clouds lifting, I started the descent,
+catching on the way a very pretty Marmot rat, with huge eyes and ears
+for his size, and a pretty bluish grey fur. Meeting shortly afterwards
+some of Mallory and Bullock's coolies, I gave this animal to them to
+take back to Wollaston. We now descended through grassy uplands for
+nearly 3,000 feet, past another beautiful blue lake called Shurim Tso,
+and came to a curious long and narrow terrace about 1,000 feet above the
+bottom of the valley. Here there was a tent belonging to some yak herds;
+and as wood and water were plentiful I determined to stop and spend the
+night with them. They called the place Tangsham. It was certainly a most
+glorious place for a camp, for it overlooked three great valleys and
+glaciers. Opposite us, on the other side of the valley, were the immense
+cliffs of Chomolönzo, which towered up to nearly 26,000 feet, while
+Mount Everest and its great ridges filled up the head of the valley. I
+spent the whole afternoon lying among the rhododendrons at 15,000 feet,
+and admiring the beautiful glimpses of these mighty peaks revealed by
+occasional breaks among the fleecy clouds. The shepherds were able to
+give me much information about the district, which proved very useful to
+us afterwards. They come up here every year for a few months in the
+summer and in the winter cross over to the valley of the Bong-chu.
+
+[Illustration: MAKALU AND CHOMOLÖNZO.]
+
+After a slight frost during the night, we had one of the few really
+perfect days that fell to our lot in the Kama Valley. As soon as I had
+finished breakfast I climbed up 1,000 feet behind the camp; opposite me
+were the wonderful white cliffs of Chomolönzo and Makalu, which dropped
+almost sheer for 11,000 feet into the valley below. Close at hand were
+precipices of black rock on which, in the dark hollows, nestled a few
+dirty glaciers. Mount Everest being some way further off, did not appear
+nearly as imposing. Our object now was to get as close to it as
+possible; we therefore descended into the valley, a steep drop of nearly
+1,000 feet, through luxuriant vegetation. A very beautiful blue primula
+was just beginning to come out. This Wollaston had already discovered a
+fortnight before near Lapchi-Kang. We then crossed the Rabkar Chu, a
+stream which came out of the Rabkar Glacier, by a very rickety bridge
+over which the water was washing. Beyond this was a very fertile plain
+covered with rhododendrons, juniper, willow and mountain ash. On it were
+a couple of small huts which were occupied by some yak herds. From here
+we had to follow along the edge of the Kang-do-shung Glacier which,
+coming down from Chomolönzo, plunges across the valley until it strikes
+against the rocks of the opposite side. Between the glacier and these
+cliffs was an old water-course up which we travelled, but
+stones kept frequently falling from the cliffs above and the passage was
+somewhat dangerous. This had evidently been the old channel of the
+stream that has its source in the glaciers of Mount Everest, but owing
+to the advance of the Kang-do-shung Glacier, is now compelled to find
+its way through this glacier and hurls itself into a great ice cavern in
+it. Opposite this ice cavern we had a steep climb for 500 feet, and
+found ourselves among pleasant grassy meadows, after a few miles of
+which we came to a place called Pethang Ringmo, where we found some yak
+herds living. We found that Mallory and Bullock had chosen this place to
+be their base camp. It was a most delightfully sunny spot at 16,400
+feet, right under the gigantic and marvellously beautiful cliffs of
+Chomolönzo, now all powdered over with the fresh snow of the night
+before and only separated from us by the Kangshung Glacier, here about a
+mile wide. Great avalanches thunder down its sides all the day long with
+a terrifying sound. Everest from here is seen to fill up the head of the
+valley with a most formidable circle of cliffs overhung by hanging
+glaciers, but it is not nearly such a beautiful or striking mountain as
+Makalu or Chomolönzo. The shepherds would insist that Makalu was the
+higher of the two mountains, and would not believe us when we said that
+Mount Everest was the higher. Next morning was foggy, but there was a
+glimpse of blue sky behind the mists, so after breakfast I hurried up
+the valley, intending to climb a ridge exactly opposite to Mount Everest
+which I had marked down the night before. After walking for an hour up
+the valley in a thick fog, by luck I struck the right ridge, which
+proved a very steep climb. Glimpses of blue sky and white peaks,
+however, gave us hopes of better views higher up. It took me two and a
+half hours to climb 3,000 feet, which at last brought me above the
+mists. The top of the ridge was 19,500 feet high, and from it we had
+most superb views. Mount Everest was only 3 or 4 miles away from us.
+From it to the South-east swept a huge amphitheatre of mighty peaks
+culminating in a new and unsurveyed peak, 28,100 feet in height, to
+which we gave the name of Lhotse, which in Tibetan means the South Peak.
+From this side the mountain appeared quite unclimbable, as the cliffs
+were all topped with hanging glaciers, from which great masses of ice
+came thundering down into the valley below all the day long. Between
+Mount Everest and Makalu, on the watershed between Tibet and Nepal,
+there stands up a very curious conical peak, to which we gave the name
+of Pethangtse. On either side of it are two very steep, but not very
+high, passes into Nepal; both of them are, however, probably
+unclimbable. To the South-east towered up the immense cliffs of Makalu,
+far the more beautiful mountain of the two. The whole morning I spent on
+this ridge, taking photographs whenever opportunity offered. The clouds
+kept coming up and melting away again and were most annoying, but they
+occasionally afforded us the most beautiful glimpses and peeps of the
+snow and rock peaks by which we were surrounded. At a height of over
+19,000 feet, I had a great chase after a new kind of rat; but it finally
+eluded me, and I was not able to add it to our already large collection.
+Even at these heights I found both yellow and white saxifrages and a
+blue gentian. From the top of this ridge I had been able to see
+Kanchenjunga and Jannu, though nearly 100 miles away, but their summits
+stood up out of the great sea of clouds which covered Nepal.
+
+[Illustration: CLIFFS OF CHOMOLÖNZO from camp at Pethang Ringmo.]
+
+On returning to camp in the afternoon, I found that Mallory and Bullock
+were there. They had climbed a snow peak on the North side of the Kama
+Valley, about 21,500 feet, and from this view point had been unable to
+discover a possible route up Mount Everest on the Eastern face; they
+thought, however, that there might be an alternative approach from the
+next valley to the North. They therefore intended returning to the
+Kharta Valley to follow that river to its source.
+
+Next morning was cloudy, and neither Everest nor Makalu were to be seen;
+but towards the East the view was clear, though the mountains appeared
+to be much too close. We started all together down the valley. On the
+way I climbed 1,000 feet up among the rocks opposite to the big glacier
+that descends from Chomolönzo. I failed, however, to get the good view
+of Makalu which I had been hoping for, owing to the clouds, and returned
+to my old camping ground at Tangsham, Mallory and Bullock branching off
+from here towards the Langma La. The shepherds had told us that there
+was another pass into the Kharta Valley called the Shao La, rather more
+to the South. I therefore intended to make use of this pass on the
+return journey to Kharta. As usual, in the evening, the clouds came up
+and enveloped us in a thick mist. Every night this happened in the Kama
+Valley, and was evidently due to the excessive moisture of the air. When
+we started the following morning, there was still a thick Scotch mist
+which made the vegetation very wet. We descended the Kama Valley, most
+of the time keeping high up above the river. On the opposite side of the
+valley were immense black cliffs descending sheer for many thousand
+feet. On the way we passed through acres of blue iris, mostly over now,
+and then through a very luxuriant vegetation which grew more and more
+varied as we descended lower. There was a lovely emerald-green lake
+beside the path, and like white sentinels on the hillsides grew the
+great rhubarb of Sikkim, the _Rheum nobile_. This was a most conspicuous
+plant with columns of the palest green leaves sheathing the flower
+spikes which grew fully 5 feet in height. There were several other
+varieties of rhubarb here, but none were as handsome as this. At one
+place we descended as low as 13,000 feet and came once more amongst
+dense forests of juniper, silver firs (_Abies Webbiana_), mountain ash,
+willow, birch and tall rhododendrons. From every tree hung long grey
+lichens attesting the moisture of the climate. Wherever there was an
+open space in the forest, it was carpeted with flowers. Two delightful
+varieties of primula were new to me, and were just coming out, one of
+them being almost black in colour. The big deep red meconopsis grew
+here, too, in great luxuriance. Gentians of all kinds abounded and many
+other varieties of flowers and ferns, due to the fact that Makalu seems
+to attract all the storms, causing the moist Monsoon currents to be
+drawn into this valley. As the day went on, the weather improved; the
+sun came out, and the clouds melted away, disclosing the magnificent
+peaks of Makalu. A big glacier descended from the East face from a side
+valley into the floor of the valley below us at a height of about 12,000
+feet. It was very curious to see fir trees, birch and juniper, and a
+very luxuriant vegetation growing on either side of the ice and on the
+moraines beside it.
+
+[Illustration: THE KAMA VALLEY.]
+
+Below this glacier the valley became quite flat with grassy meadows and
+patches of forest dotted about the pastures--a very unusual type of
+valley for the Himalayas. Almost opposite to this glacier we turned into
+a side valley; the path and the stream that came down this valley were
+often indistinguishable. All round the valley were great black cliffs;
+in one place where they were less precipitous the path found its way
+upwards. Our camp was pitched that night on a shelf above the cliffs
+where for a short time we had some very wonderful views. This place was
+called in Tibetan "The Field of Marigolds," though at the time we were
+there they were all over. We were at a height of 15,300 feet, and
+Makalu's two peaks were almost exactly opposite to us. The cloud effects
+were very striking; the storms seemed to gather round Makalu, and first
+one peak and then the other would appear out of the great white cumulus
+clouds whose shapes changed every minute. As usual, the mists came up in
+the evening, and we were enveloped in a very wet Scotch mist with a
+temperature of 46° Fahr. Next morning, instead of getting the lovely
+view that we had expected, a thick Scotch mist prevented our seeing more
+than 20 yards away. We crawled up to the top of the Shao La, 16,500
+feet, in driving rain, but after crossing over it we emerged into finer
+weather. On the descent we passed several fine lakes, on the cliffs
+above which were numerous ram chakor (Himalayan snowcock). I pursued a
+covey of these, and after a chase managed to shoot one. They are very
+fine birds, weighing between 5 and 6 lb.; they are extremely noisy and
+fond of their own voices. The parent birds are always very loth to leave
+their young, and early in the summer it is possible to approach very
+close to them; but later on in the year, when the young have become
+nearly full grown, they are very wily, and having excellent eyesight,
+do not allow anyone to approach within a couple of hundred yards. That
+afternoon I arrived back at Kharta, where the weather had been quite
+fine, and where there had been but little rain during my absence.
+
+During that night a thief broke into our store-room, forcing and
+breaking the lock outside. The only thing he took, as far as we could
+find out, was one of Wheeler's yak-dans (a leather mule trunk). The
+thief had probably mistaken this one for one of mine, which contained a
+considerable amount of money, and knowing that I was away, he thought
+that my kit must be packed away in the store-room. We informed the
+Jongpen and the head-men of the villages around of the theft, and had a
+couple of suspicious characters watched; but we never found any trace of
+the stolen articles, which luckily were of very small value. For the
+next fortnight I remained at Kharta.
+
+On August 19 Heron suddenly arrived back after a very interesting trip,
+during which he had explored all the mountains North of Tingri and
+Shekar Dzong up to the Brahmaputra watershed. He had had very bad
+weather all the time. Every night there had been heavy thunderstorms and
+practically all the bad weather had come from the North. The whole
+country was under water, and it was very difficult to get about. Some of
+the rivers that we had crossed earlier in the season were now a mile or
+more wide.
+
+On the following day Bullock and Mallory returned to Kharta after having
+explored the Upper Kharta Valley. They thought that they had found a
+possible way up Mount Everest from this valley, but at present the
+weather was too bad for them to carry on with their reconnaissance, and
+they had come down for a fortnight's rest, hoping that the Monsoon would
+be over by the beginning of September and that they would then be able
+to make a proper attack on the mountain. As Mallory and Bullock were
+likely to be at Kharta for some time, Wollaston and I seized this
+opportunity to visit the lower valley of the Kama-chu.
+
+Therefore, on August 23, with eleven of our own coolies and several
+Tibetan coolies, we climbed the Samchung Pass (15,000 feet), and then
+descended into the valley of the fourteen lakes, and after crossing the
+Chog La camped on the far side of the pass near a dark green and sacred
+lake called Ruddamlamtso. On the way we saw a new species of black rat
+in the moraine of a glacier; but Wollaston's servant, who had the
+collecting gun with him, was unfortunately far behind; he was always
+rather fond of drink and loth to leave the villages. The weather was
+cloudy, and there were no views from the top of either pass. The march
+was a strenuous one, taking the coolies thirteen hours to cover the
+whole distance, and they did not arrive till after dark. The
+Ruddamlamtso, the lake by which we were camped, had wonderfully clear
+water; I could see every stone at a depth of 20 feet, and it was
+evidently very deep. It is looked upon as a sacred lake, and to it
+people make yearly pilgrimages, walking round it burning incense and
+throwing spices into its waters.
+
+The following morning the clouds were low down everywhere on the
+hillsides and we had no views. There was a steep descent for 4 miles to
+Sakeding--12,100 feet, through the most interesting zones of vegetation.
+We followed the edge of the rushing stream, always white from the
+rapidity of its descent. On one side of the valley grew rhododendrons of
+many varieties and mountain ash, and on the other were hoary old
+junipers with twisted stems. Grey lichens hung down from every branch,
+and were often 5 or 6 feet in length. We came across some of the finest
+and largest red currants that we had yet seen. Of these we collected a
+great quantity, and they formed a very excellent stew. Birches, wild
+roses and berberis were the commonest shrubs, while nearly every rock
+was covered with an extremely pretty rose-coloured creeper, which in
+places caused the hillsides to look quite pink. Earlier in the year the
+iris must have been a very beautiful sight, as we passed through acres
+of their leaves. A big yellow rock-rose with flowers 2 inches across
+was also to be met with here, and many of the lower leaves of the
+rhododendrons were turning yellow to scarlet, making a great show of
+colour on the dark green of the hillside. Deep purple-coloured primulas
+and monkshood, as well as a curious hairy mauve-red monkshood with a
+very graceful growth, were also to be seen. The pretty white-crested
+red-start flitted about from rock to rock, and numerous tits of various
+kinds flew about in flocks from tree to tree as we descended.
+
+Sakeding (Pleasant terrace) had been at one time a village of
+considerable size, but a pestilence sent by the local demon had wiped
+out all its inhabitants. This demon was still reputed to be very active,
+and no one had dared to re-build the old houses of which the ruins,
+overgrown with weeds and bushes, could be seen here and there. It was a
+very pleasant site for a village, situated as it was on a terrace that
+projected out into the valley 1,000 feet above the stream below. During
+the summer months there is quite a trade passing through this place, the
+Tibetans bringing salt from the North, and the Nepalese coming up from
+Nepal with rice, dyes and vegetables, which they exchange. The rate of
+barter at this time was two measures of rice or three measures of madder
+dye for one measure of salt, and no money changes hands. Everything that
+was brought here was brought on the backs of coolies, and these Nepalese
+coolies were sturdy, cheery fellows, and thought nothing of carrying 80
+lb. of salt on their backs up and down the execrable paths of the
+district.
+
+From Sakeding we descended steeply through a forest of the finest
+juniper trees that I had yet seen. These grew 80 to 90 feet high, and
+many of their trunks were 18 feet to 20 feet in circumference. As a rule
+they had clean stems, without a branch for 50 feet or 60 feet. The
+branches were all hung with grey lichens. We now descended beside the
+muddy and tempestuous waters of the Kama-chu. The juniper forest
+gradually gave way to silver firs--wonderful trees of enormous size and
+great age. We passed through many open glades, park-like in appearance,
+with grand clumps of fir trees or sycamore dotted here and there. The
+hillsides were absolutely running over with water, and often for several
+hundred yards we walked along logs put down to try and avoid the mud and
+the running water. As many of these rounded logs were very slippery,
+both we and our coolies had to proceed with caution, and even so we
+experienced many a fall. At Chu-tronu--10,200 feet--there was a
+well-made wooden bridge, 60 feet long, which spanned the river where it
+flowed in a narrow channel between two great rocks. We crossed this
+bridge, and finding a broad open space there, I selected a spot suitable
+for our camp and ordered the coolies to cut down some of the grass where
+we intended to pitch the tents. I could not at first make out why they
+kept jumping about when thus engaged, but on going to investigate, I
+found that the place was alive with leeches; however, as there was no
+other better place in which to camp, we had to make the best of it. The
+men collected some dry bamboos out of an old shepherd's hut which was
+close by; these they burnt on the sites where we were to pitch our
+tents, hoping by this means to drive away the leeches. This method,
+however, was not very successful, for all that evening we were busy
+picking leeches off our clothes, legs, hands or heads. They climbed up
+the sides of the tents and dropped down into our food, our cups and on
+to our plates. Wollaston invented the best way of killing them, which
+was by cutting them in two with a pair of scissors. Our interpreter
+remonstrated with him, as he said this method increased the number of
+leeches, thinking that both ends of them would grow. After a somewhat
+restless and disturbed night, due to these leeches, we started off next
+morning to go down to the junction of the Kama River with the Arun. The
+distance as the crow flies was only about 6 miles, but we did not
+realise the kind of path that we should have to traverse. In that short
+distance we must have risen and fallen quite 5,000 feet. The path was
+never level and always very rough and stony. At first it led through
+beautiful glades running with moisture and over logs buried, most of
+them, inches deep in the water; they were, however, better to walk on
+than the soft mud there was on either side. The silver firs were now at
+their best--trees over 100 feet in height, and with stems 20 feet to 25
+feet in circumference. Here grew great hydrangeas 20 feet or more in
+height covered with flowers. Our only halts on the way down, and they
+were pretty frequent, were to pick off the leeches from our clothes. We
+took them off by tens at a time; they were very hungry, and varied in
+size from great striped horse-leeches to tiny ones as thin as a pin and
+able to penetrate anywhere. The track now left the upper terraces and
+descended very steeply towards the river, at times climbing sharply
+upwards again to avoid precipitous rocks and cliffs. During the descent,
+we gradually passed from the zone of the silver firs into that of the
+spruce, meeting the lovely _Picea Brunoniana_, which grew to an even
+greater size than the silver firs. Many of the trees were over 150 feet
+in height and without a branch for 70 feet or 80 feet; their stems too,
+were often 25 feet to 30 feet in circumference. This valley is so
+inaccessible that I am glad to think that these glorious forests can
+never be exploited commercially. After passing a great overhanging rock
+called Korabak, which is evidently much used as a halting-place, we
+descended steeply to the river, which now forms a series of cascades,
+leaping from rock to rock, a very remarkable spectacle. During the last
+6 miles of its course, this river--the product of four large glacier
+streams--descends at the rate of 450 feet every mile. In places there
+were waterfalls of 20 feet and more, where the river hurled itself into
+seething cauldrons; in one place I saw it confined to a breadth of
+barely 5 feet. The junction of this river with the Arun is only 7,500
+feet above the sea; just above the junction is a bridge which leads to
+the village of Kimonanga, a picturesque village situated on a terrace
+some 700 feet above the river and surrounded by some fine trees. In this
+valley we came across a few blue pines (_Pinus excelsa_) and also a
+large-leafed alder; near its junction with the Arun were many trees and
+orchids of a semi-tropical character. On the opposite side of the valley
+is a forest of evergreen oak trees, but as I was unable to cross the
+river I could not say to what species they belonged. On the way we
+passed many yellow raspberries on which we slaked our thirst. Our guide
+also dug up some of the roots of the wild arum to show us; it is a great
+flattish tuberous root, rather oval in shape. This the inhabitants dig
+up and, after allowing it to ferment by burying it in a hole for several
+days, pound it up, and then eat it; it was much esteemed by the
+villagers. It is necessary to ferment it first, as otherwise the root is
+extremely poisonous. We tasted a slice of bread made out of this root,
+and I have seldom tasted anything nastier. It is supposed, if not
+properly fermented, to cause all the hair to fall out of the head; but I
+should be inclined to imagine that it would do this even if it were
+properly fermented. Near the junction of the Kama and Arun Rivers, we
+climbed up on to a terrace 1,200 feet above, on which was situated the
+village of Lungdö. The great Arun gorges here become a considerable
+valley; for 20 miles above this point up to Kharta the Arun runs through
+a narrow and practically impassable gorge, but here the valley widens
+out for a few miles and contains several villages; a short distance
+below it enters again into another great gorge. The river now was in
+full flood and covered the whole of the bottom of the valley, being in
+places many hundred yards in width. At one spot, where it contracted,
+there was a well-made bridge leading to the village of Matsang. I was
+astonished to meet with maize growing at this height--8,700 feet. The
+villagers also grew cucumbers, pumpkins and several kinds of millet,
+including an extremely pretty red one. The head-man of Lungdö gave me
+some millet beer, which was very refreshing after the long march.
+Wollaston did not care for it, but between us we managed to eat three
+large and juicy cucumbers. The head-man was very friendly; and a local
+official was staying here who had just come from Kharta, who recognised
+us, and presented us with some excellent honey cakes. We neither of us
+looked forward to the uphill return journey, but after five and a half
+hours' hard walking I reached camp just before dark. Wollaston did not
+arrive till later, and I had to send a coolie with a lamp to bring him
+in. We were both of us much exhausted, as the day had been a long and
+trying one. That night we had a grand camp fire of rhododendron and fir
+logs. Hundreds of moths insisted on flying into the fire instead of
+entering the tent where Wollaston was ready with his cyanide bottle to
+catch them.
+
+The following morning the weather was dull and cloudy, and did not look
+very promising. We determined, however, to visit the Popti La, the pass
+between Tibet and Nepal, over which all the local traffic passes.
+Leaving the camp, we entered a small side valley to the South, the path
+climbing steeply upwards under big rhododendrons (_R. Falconeri_ and _R.
+Argenteum_) with leaves 18 inches long. Noticing many of their leaves
+strewn on the path, I inquired the reason for this. Our guide informed
+us that the carriers fastened these leaves together with thin strips of
+bamboo and thus provided an excellent waterproof cover for themselves
+and for their loads. After climbing about a mile, we saw some bamboo
+huts in the forest and a number of cows were grazing round them. These
+belonged to some Nepalese herds who come over here in the summer,
+bringing their cattle to graze. The path now followed the side of a
+rushing torrent, peaty brown in colour, which came hurrying down under
+the shade of birch, sycamore, silver firs, juniper and rhododendrons. As
+we ascended higher, the open spaces became more frequent, though the
+grass and weeds grew fully 3 feet in height, attesting the constant
+rainfall of this district. On leaving the path to collect a few seeds
+from some plants growing a short distance away from it, I found myself
+in a few moments covered with leeches which apparently thrive here at an
+altitude of over 12,000 feet; this must be almost a record height for
+these pests. The path climbed up steeply, the rhododendrons growing
+gradually smaller in size as we ascended. After going for four hours, we
+reached the top of the pass--14,000 feet. Here on the top was a stone
+half hidden in a pile of rocks with a notice, written in Chinese
+characters, that this was the boundary between Tibet and Nepal. Across
+the top of the pass was a long wall, mostly overgrown with grass,
+evidently at one time considered to be some kind of defence. Owing to
+the clouds being very low, we unfortunately had no view from the top,
+but just below us, on the Nepalese side, was a fine black lake, about
+half a mile long, with an island in the centre, which the Nepalese
+called Dungepokri. On the top were many interesting Alpine flowers,
+amongst them a charming white potentilla with a red centre; and a large
+cream-coloured primula, shading into deep orange. We also came across
+several new varieties of gentians. Here we rested for a couple of hours,
+hoping that the clouds might lift, but a nasty rain began to fall
+heavily. While we were waiting several coolies from Nepal passed by:
+from these we found out that the pass was closed by snow for five months
+in the year and that the trade market at Sakeding was closed by the end
+of October. We now turned our footsteps homeward, urged on by cold
+showers of rain. On the descent we were able to collect a few seeds.
+Autumn was approaching, though the trees had not yet begun to assume
+their autumn colours owing to the warm nights. That evening in the camp
+we had an enormous bonfire of birch, juniper and rhododendrons, which
+made the prettiest blaze imaginable, with flames of green, blue, violet
+and orange. The large fire also helped to keep away the leeches. Heavy
+rain fell again all night, and the thermometer did not descend below 55°
+Fahr. The morning, however, broke fine, and we started back again up the
+valley to Sakeding. The sun shone every now and then, giving us
+occasional glimpses of distant glaciers at the head of the valley. The
+walk through the forest, with the sunlight shining on the dark green
+leaves of the rhododendron and the dripping foliage, was very
+delightful. The undergrowth consisted of wild roses, berberis with its
+necklaces of scarlet berries, wild currants of a great size--sour to the
+taste, but excellent when stewed--wild raspberries, light feathery
+bamboos, birch, willow and a most luxuriant vegetation of flowers and
+grasses. In one or two places the mountain ash were just beginning to
+show traces of colour. We soon left the leeches behind us and followed
+our old track through the forest beside the rushing waters of the
+Kama-chu. Enormous rocks which had fallen from above had in places
+almost blocked up the river. Often on these great boulders in the middle
+of the stream were growing the graceful Himalayan larch. On the steepest
+rock faces grew vegetation of every kind, thanks to the excessive
+moisture of the climate, and from every tree and from every bush hung
+long and picturesque lichens. Crested tits and bullfinches lived in
+great numbers in this forest and gave it quite a homelike appearance.
+The climb from the river had been a steep one, and we pitched our camp
+at Sakeding in a downpour of rain, but towards the evening the weather
+cleared up, allowing us fine views of great snow peaks which showed
+above the mists on the opposite sides of the valley. It was too far to
+go from Sakeding to Kharta in one day; we therefore decided to camp
+before crossing the Chog La. We passed our old camp by the green lake
+Ruddamlamtso, and I had a long chase after some ram chakor, but they
+were too clever for me and ran up the hill faster than I could follow
+them. The large moraines which converged in this valley were specially
+interesting, and threw much light on its past history. Each moraine had
+its own long line of boulders formed of different kinds of rock,
+according to the character of the mountains from which they had been
+carried down by the ice. It was not difficult to imagine the vast
+glaciers by which these lines of boulders had been deposited; glaciers
+which must at one time have completely blocked the valley and the
+disappearance of which has made room for the chain of lakes which now
+occupy the valley. We pitched our camp at a place called
+Mendalongkyo--15,500 feet--in a pleasantly sheltered spot where a
+gurgling stream disappeared under an old moraine. In the afternoon
+Wollaston went out after rats, of which he secured a new variety. Our
+coolies had a great chase after a fat marmot, which they very nearly
+caught, but he got down into his hole just in time. Around the camp were
+quantities of a very beautiful pale blue gentian--a regular Eton blue
+colour. Wandering up the spur North-west of the camp I counted nine
+lakes in the next valley and four lakes in the one that we were in; as
+the rain began to fall again, I returned to camp.
+
+The next morning, August 29, we began our homeward journey to Kharta.
+Getting up early, we climbed on to the high ridge North-west of the
+camp, from which we had a fair view; but unfortunately both Makalu and
+Mount Everest were hidden by clouds. We waited for a long time in hopes
+of a better view, but the clouds only grew thicker. We therefore
+followed the ridge above the Chog La. On the way I shot a Tibetan snow
+partridge (_Lerwa nivicola_), an extremely pretty bird with lovely
+markings. This was the first I had seen.
+
+We now turned our backs upon the Kama Valley with much regret. We had
+explored many of these Himalayan valleys, but none seemed to me to be
+comparable with this, either for the beauty of its Alpine scenery, or
+for its wonderful vegetation. We shall not easily forget the smiling
+pastures carpeted with gentians and every variety of Alpine flower that
+rise to the very verge of icebound and snow-covered tracks, where mighty
+glaciers descend among the forests which clothe the lower slopes.
+
+After crossing the Chog La, we went down once more into the valley of
+the lakes and then, crossing the Samchung La, descended to Kharta which
+we found bathed in sunshine.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER VIII
+
+             THE UPPER KHARTA VALLEY AND THE 20,000 FOOT CAMP
+
+
+During the early part of August Mallory and Bullock, after they had
+found that there was no possible means of attacking Mount Everest from
+the Kama Valley, crossed the Langma La and returned to the Kharta
+Valley. Up this valley they now proceeded until they reached the
+glaciers in which the Kharta River has its source. After exploring a
+number of valleys, they at last found one which led straight to Mount
+Everest. Accompanied by Major Morshead, who had joined them during their
+excursion, they made a long and tiring reconnaissance of this valley,
+and satisfied themselves that it afforded a practicable approach to the
+North-eastern ridge of Mount Everest. The slopes were fairly gentle, but
+were at that time covered with soft fresh snow, knee deep. Over these
+snow-covered glaciers, up which they had proceeded with great
+difficulty, they found a col from which it was possible to attack the
+mountain. Under the existing conditions of soft snow and warm weather it
+would have been quite impossible to take laden coolies along this route,
+and they therefore returned to Kharta to wait until the monsoon
+conditions had abated and the snow should have become hard and frozen.
+
+On our return from the Kama Valley on August 29, we found Mallory and
+Bullock still at Kharta, waiting for the weather to improve. About this
+time it was showing distinct signs of improvement. The clouds were not
+so thick and there were many more bright intervals with blue skies. They
+therefore determined to start off on August 31, to form an advanced base
+camp up the Kharta Valley.
+
+On September 1, much to the surprise of every one, Raeburn arrived back
+from Darjeeling. He reported very wet conditions throughout Tibet, the
+rivers everywhere being unfordable, and most of the bridges washed away.
+He also reported having seen five bags of our mails at Chushar. Our
+posts had latterly been very erratic, and for five weeks no mails had
+arrived. We did not know what had happened to them. We were sending in a
+couple of our own coolies every fortnight to Phari with our outgoing
+mail, and the first lot of these coolies had not yet returned, so that
+we were all without news of the outside world. Although it was the
+beginning of September, the night temperatures at Kharta were still much
+too high, ranging from 52° Fahr. to 47° Fahr. On September 3 Morshead
+and Wheeler left for the Upper Kharta Valley, intending to go slowly and
+to map and fill in the detail of the valley as they went along.
+
+The tameness of the birds gave us many opportunities of studying their
+habits. A large family of redstarts lived in our garden at Kharta, and
+used to amuse me very much. The young birds were now fully fledged and
+spent most of the day in hopping in and out of my tent; they were not in
+the least degree afraid, and the mother would come and feed them
+actually inside my tent. On the terrace near the camp there were a
+number of prettily marked white rock pigeons which formed a welcome
+addition to our diet of Tibetan mutton, of which we were getting very
+tired.
+
+On September 5 Wollaston, Raeburn and I, with twenty-six Tibetan
+coolies, and eleven of our own, started off to join the climbing party
+up the Kharta Valley. The first 7 miles of this valley I knew well,
+having traversed them many times before. The barley fields were now fast
+ripening, and were a beautiful golden colour. Curious to relate, the
+barley that grew at 14,000 feet was riper than that which grew at 12,000
+feet. Two kinds of barley seemed to be grown here--the ordinary variety,
+and another with a red ear such as is, I believe, grown in the
+Shetlands. We rode past the tidy-looking monastery of Gandenchöfel,
+surrounded by its juniper trees, and after a steep climb past the
+entrance of the valley leading to the Langma La, descended on to some
+fine river terraces, on which were many prosperous farms and well-tilled
+fields. These extended for several more miles up the valley. We pitched
+our camp on a grassy flat a couple of miles above the last house, where
+willows, rhododendrons and junipers grew plentifully; the marshy ground
+was carpeted with gentians, one of the commonest being dark blue in
+colour with ten petals, and rather like a star in shape, the other being
+larger and of a pale Eton-blue colour. I managed to collect a certain
+number of seeds of both of these. We had a grand bonfire that evening,
+made of juniper and willow, the last that we were to have for a long
+time. The weather was disappointing and a drizzling rain fell all night
+with a temperature of 42° Fahr.
+
+It was still raining when we started in the morning, so that there were
+no views. A white andromeda was still in flower on the hillsides, but
+the rhododendrons were all over. On the opposite side of the valley
+juniper alone flourished and grew to an altitude of nearly 17,000 feet.
+After going a couple of miles, we passed Morshead and Wheeler's tents
+pitched on an old yak camp. When we arrived, they were still having
+breakfast, as the weather was too bad to do any surveying. On leaving
+them we had a steep climb over grassy slopes, where the drizzling rain
+now changed to snow, and for the rest of the day it fell steadily. There
+appeared to be many branch valleys, and as our views in the mist were
+very curtailed, we were not at all certain as to whether we were going
+up the right valley--I only knew approximately the height of the place
+at which we were to camp. Therefore, on arriving at that height, I sent
+my coolies off in two different directions up two different valleys to
+see where Mallory and Bullock's camp might be. The mist lifted for a
+moment, and one of them luckily saw Mallory, whose camp was only a few
+hundred yards from us. We decided to call this our "Advanced base camp."
+It was pitched in some small grassy hollows at a height of 17,350 feet.
+The site was well sheltered from the winds, and was a regular Alpine
+garden. Gentians of three different kinds were growing there, including
+the lovely light-blue one. There was also a beautiful little white
+saxifrage with yellow and brown spots inside the flower, a delightful
+pink androsace, and dwarf delphiniums with their single deep-blue
+flowers. Here grew also the musk-scented hairy light-blue delphinium
+with its overpowering smell of musk. The latter flower, the Tibetans
+told me, was a great preventative of lice, and I noticed that our cooks
+and most of our servants had picked great bundles of it. They also told
+me that if a man habitually wears this flower about him during his
+lifetime, after his death when cut up and exposed to the birds, no bird
+or wolf will touch his flesh owing to the strong scent apparently left
+by the musk. A pretty pink aster grew here in great clusters, and a few
+blue poppies were still out. Acchu, our cook, and Gyalzen Kazi, who were
+coming along behind us, both missed their way and wandered several miles
+further up the valley before they found out their mistake, and when they
+eventually arrived in camp, were both suffering from severe headaches,
+due to the great height. During our stay at this camp we had plenty of
+time and many opportunities of observing bird and animal life. Some of
+the birds were very brilliantly coloured. There was a snow bunting with
+bright scarlet breast and head, also a beautiful redstart with red body
+and black and white wings. Overhead the great Lämmergeier, or bearded
+vulture, sailed in graceful circles, while the big black raven croaked
+on the rocks by the camp. Morning and evening we could hear the
+ramchakor (_Tetraogallus tibetanus_) calling on the opposite side of the
+valley, and with glasses we could see them chasing one another and
+running round in circles. Red foxes I met with on several occasions over
+18,000 feet.
+
+Mallory and Bullock, who had already been here for a few days, had spent
+their time in carrying wood and stores up to a higher camp further up
+the valley; they had been having a certain amount of trouble with their
+coolies, due to the Sirdar, who was always trying to create
+difficulties. I therefore sent him away on a job to Chushar to collect
+some of our stores which were supposed to have been detained there, and
+which would keep him busy for a number of days and prevent him from
+interfering with our coolies at a critical period. We had brought up
+with us six live sheep, and very lively these proved. Dukpa, Mallory's
+cook, let three of them escape, but luckily some coolies coming up the
+valley saw two of them, and after a great chase brought them back. The
+third they could not catch and eventually drove him under a cliff, where
+they killed him with stones and brought his carcass back to us. The
+weather continued very unsettled. During the night a couple of inches of
+snow fell, but until the temperature became colder and the sky cleared,
+it was no use trying to go up to the upper camp. I shot a ramchakor on
+the opposite side of the valley. They are the most tasty of the Tibetan
+birds, and are quite excellent eating.
+
+On September 8, after a frosty night, Bullock, Mallory and I with three
+coolies, for the purpose of keeping fit, made a little excursion along a
+rocky ridge that lay to the South of us. On the top of the ridge there
+were a number of sharp rock pinnacles that had to be climbed. I found
+these gymnastics at a height of over 19,000 feet to be very exhausting,
+but Mallory did not seem to mind them in the least. There should have
+been a lovely view from here, but all we got was an occasional glimpse
+of glaciers and rocky peaks through the mist. The sun was trying to
+shine through the clouds and at first it was beautifully warm; but after
+a couple of hours snow began to fall, so we hurriedly descended on to
+the glacier below. Snow fell all the way back to camp, and by nightfall
+there were 3 inches of fresh snow round our tents. During the night the
+thermometer dropped to 21° Fahr., and the morning broke clear and
+frosty. I started off early to climb the hill behind the camp, from
+which there was a very extensive view, both Everest and Makalu being for
+the moment quite clear and free from cloud. To the North extended a
+great range of snow peaks between 23,000 feet and 24,000 feet in height,
+rather uninteresting in appearance, and to the East stretched a great
+sea of accumulating cloud, out of which appeared the tops of
+Kanchenjunga and Jannu. The peak on which we stood was just under 20,000
+feet; I spent several hours basking in the hot sunshine, which was
+rapidly melting the fresh snow. I was surprised to find growing at this
+height a tiny yellow saxifrage.
+
+That evening eight coolies arrived with our long-expected mail, and the
+rest of the day was spent in reading letters and sorting out papers, for
+over two hundred letters and papers had arrived for me alone. There was
+again a sharp frost of 10° that night and the early morning was
+beautiful, but clouds came quickly drifting up the valley and obscured
+the fine views we had from the camp of Mount Everest and the rocky peaks
+to the North of the camp. On September 11, in spite of a warm night,
+Mallory and Bullock, being very optimistic, left for the upper camp,
+while Morshead and Wheeler rejoined us from their camp below, not having
+been able to do any work down there owing to bad weather. Snow fell
+steadily all the evening to a depth of about 3 inches. Next day was
+cloudy, but warm, and the snow disappeared again with extraordinary
+rapidity. I went out with a shotgun to try and shoot some ramchakor, and
+while after them saw a very fine grey wolf who was also stalking the
+ramchakor. He came up to within 50 yards of me, so that I was able to
+have a good look at him. He had a beautiful coat, and it was very
+unfortunate that I did not have a rifle with me. I wandered some way up
+a side valley to the foot of a glacier, but saw no signs of birds, as
+the wolf had evidently been there before me. In the afternoon Mallory
+and Bullock returned from the upper camp, having been driven down by the
+bad weather: another 5 inches of snow fell that evening, so that we were
+kept busy beating our tents to keep the ridge poles from breaking. On
+September 13, 14 and 15, snow fell on and off the whole time; but in
+spite of the bad weather I managed to shoot a burhel for food. Their
+meat is very much better than that of the tame sheep. On September 16 we
+had at last a fine day with a sharp frost at night. Wheeler at once
+seized this opportunity and took up a station on a hill-top on the
+opposite side of the valley, from which he was able to get some useful
+views. The next day, after 13° of frost in the night, Mallory, Morshead
+and I started off to climb Kama Changri, a peak to the South of the
+camp, that overhung the Kama Valley. We left the camp at 2 a.m., by the
+light of a full moon, which made the going as light as though it were
+day. We soon reached our view-point of a few days before, where, except
+for the distant roar of the stream far away below in the valley, there
+was no other sound, only an intense stillness. Never anywhere have I
+seen the moon or the stars shine so brightly. To the South, far away
+from us, there were constant flashes of lightning--the valleys in Tibet,
+the great gorges of the Arun, the wooded valleys of Nepal all lay buried
+under a white sea of clouds, out of which emerged the higher mountains
+like islands out of a fairy sea. In this bright moonlight, mountains
+like Kanchenjunga--100 miles away--stood out sharp and distinct. Here on
+this sharp ridge, at a height of 21,000 feet, with no obstruction to
+hide the view, sunrise came to us in all its beauty and grandeur. To the
+West, and close at hand, towered up Mount Everest, still over 8,000 feet
+above us; at first showing up cold, grey and dead against a sky of deep
+purple. All of a sudden a ray of sunshine touched the summit, and soon
+flooded the higher snows and ridges with golden light, while behind, the
+deep purple of the sky changed to orange. Makalu was the next to catch
+the first rays of the sun and glowed as though alive; then the white sea
+of clouds was struck by the gleaming rays of the sun, and all aglow with
+colour rose slowly and seemed to break against the island peaks in great
+billows of fleecy white.
+
+Such a sunrise has seldom been the privilege of man to see, and once
+seen can never be forgotten. After sunrise the climbing became more
+unpleasant. We tried to follow the direct way up the mountain, but the
+snow was in bad condition and the slope very steep. We therefore crossed
+the glacier, putting on our snow-shoes, and followed easier snow slopes
+but bad owing to the soft snow. The going was very tiring; Mallory and
+Morshead appeared to feel the height very much. After six hours we
+reached the top, 21,300 feet, from which we had a most superb view. We
+looked straight down on to the Kama Valley. Makalu was immediately
+opposite us with its colossal precipices. Glaciers, cliffs of ice, rock
+peaks, fluted snow ridges and immense mountains towered all around us
+above a vast sea of clouds which stretched for hundreds of miles away to
+the plains of India. Here I was able to take many photographs, but no
+photograph can adequately portray the grandeur or the impressiveness of
+such a scene. We stopped on the top of Kama Changri for over three
+hours. It was extraordinarily warm; there was not a breath of air, and
+the sun seemed to shine with an intense heat. Clouds then began to roll
+up, and we returned to camp by an easier way down the glacier.
+
+Next day, in spite of 13° of frost at night, snow and sleet fell all day
+again, and made us very depressed. In order to prevent our going to
+sleep too soon after dinner, four of us used to play bridge every night,
+and I do not suppose that bridge has often been played at so great a
+height.
+
+On September 19, after a cold night with 16° of frost, Mallory, Bullock,
+Morshead and Wheeler started off for the 20,000-foot camp. The weather
+was now steadily growing colder every night. On September 20 we had 18°
+of frost, as well as a further fall of snow. During the night a very
+fine lunar halo was seen, but the morning broke clear. Wollaston,
+Raeburn and I started to join the remainder of the party at the
+20,000-foot camp, leaving Gyalzen Kazi, our second interpreter, behind
+in charge of the advance base camp. It was very necessary to have some
+one here to whom we could send back for any extra stores or supplies
+that might be wanted, and who would be able to forward to us anything
+that might be sent up from Kharta. A four hours' walk brought us to the
+camp. I had a thorough feeling of lassitude all the way. It required,
+indeed, some effort to walk at all, and a strong effort, both of mind
+and body, to reach camp. On the way beautiful views of Mount Everest
+gave us encouragement. The foot of the Kharta Glacier descends to 19,000
+feet. From that point on to the camp we travelled beside it. At first
+the glacier is cut up into wonderfully shaped "seracs," but as we got
+higher the surface became smoother. It was an exceptionally white
+glacier; there were no moraines on its surface, and it was covered
+everywhere with a fresh coating of thick snow. We found the camp on a
+terrace between two glaciers. That above the camp resembled the pictures
+of a Greenland ice cap. A thick coating of ice, to a depth of 50 to 60
+feet, covered the gentle slopes above us, and came down to within a
+couple of hundred yards of the camp. The drainage from the melting ice
+percolated through the stony ground, so that on digging to a depth of 6
+inches we came upon water. A couple of hundred feet below the camp was
+the big white glacier which descended from the Lhakpa La. The day was
+gloriously fine, and we obtained magnificent views of Mount Everest and
+the snowy chain to the South of us across the Kharta Glacier. Over the
+top of this snowy chain appeared the great rocky crests of Makalu. At an
+altitude of over 19,800 feet I saw a hare and heard several ramchakor
+calling. There grew close to the camp a few gentians with their curious
+square leaves, also a dwarf blue delphinium and a little white
+saxifrage. It was an extraordinary height at which to find flowers and
+their season of summer cannot last long. On arrival at the camp, we
+found only Wheeler and Bullock there, as Mallory and Morshead with
+fourteen coolies had gone on ahead to carry loads up to the Lhakpa La,
+which was to be our next camp. They returned in a very exhausted
+condition in the course of the afternoon. The snow, they reported, was
+in better condition than last time on the lower slopes; but as they got
+higher, they found it still very soft and powdery. These extra loads
+that they had taken up to this camp would enable the whole party to go
+up to it and to sleep there, if necessary, for several days. As the sun
+was setting behind Mount Everest, we were treated to a glorious view.
+The ring of clouds that surrounded it were all touched by the bright
+evening sunlight, while the mountain itself was in deep shadow except
+for great streamers of powdery fresh snow which were being blown off the
+whole length of its crests. We stood and watched this extraordinary
+sight for some time, devoutly hoping that the wind would soon die down.
+Unfortunately we were soon to experience what a strong wind meant at
+these heights.
+
+[Illustration: SEA OF CLOUD FROM PEAK NORTH OF KAMA VALLEY. Kanchenjunga
+in distance.]
+
+On the following night we had 20° of frost, and the weather appeared to
+be getting rather more settled. We were now sufficiently high up to be
+above the ordinary clouds, and we could look down upon the great sea of
+them which overhung the Arun Valley and the greater part of Nepal. As
+the sun warmed the clouds, they used to rise higher, but they seldom
+arrived as far as our camp owing to a strong North-westerly wind always
+blowing in the upper regions of the air which drove them back again.
+Watching the movements of the clouds day by day gave me the impression
+that the Mount Everest group forms a dividing line between the two
+monsoon systems. The monsoon that causes so much rain in Sikkim comes
+from the Bay of Bengal, and these moist currents sweep up to Mount
+Everest, but it is only when the current is very strong that they pass
+beyond it. At this time of year this monsoon was still active, whereas
+the Arabian Sea monsoon--that is to say, the moist winds from the
+Arabian Sea--which had given us previously much rain and snow on the
+Western sides and slopes of Mount Everest, was now over, with the result
+that on the West side of Everest we had blue skies every day and no rain
+clouds, whereas on the East side the clouds and the moisture brought up
+by the Bengal monsoon still prevailed. During the course of the morning
+I climbed an easy hill to the East side of the camp and some 500 feet
+above it. We walked along at first just below the ice cap, which was
+very pretty with its long icicles gleaming in the sunlight. We then
+crossed on to the ice cap and found the snow in excellent condition,
+firm and crisp to the tread, so that it was a pleasure to walk along it.
+From the top of this hill, 20,500 feet, was a very fine view to the
+East, over the great sea of cloud which filled up all the valleys as far
+as the Massif of Kanchenjunga which towered up in the distance, and the
+more slender peak of Jannu. Amongst the Sikkim peaks I could also
+recognise Chomiomo and the Jonsong peak. To the South Makalu towered up
+above all the other mountains: while between it and Mount Everest,
+beyond the Southern watershed of the Kama Valley, showed up some of the
+great Nepalese peaks, among which we noted Chamlang, 24,000 feet. To the
+West of us Mount Everest showed up sharp and clear and very white after
+all the fresh snow that had fallen in the last month. From this side
+Mount Everest certainly looks its best, standing up as a solitary peak
+instead of being rather dwarfed by the high ridges that radiate from it.
+The weather remained fine all day, and it was a real pleasure to sit
+outside one's tent and bask in the sun. Though we were 20,000 feet, we
+had breakfast, lunch and tea out of doors in front of our tents, and we
+could not have been warmer or enjoyed pleasanter conditions if we had
+been down at 5,000 feet.
+
+On September 22, leaving Raeburn behind, Mallory, Bullock, Morshead,
+Wheeler, Wollaston and myself started off to Lakhpa La camp. We left the
+20,000-foot camp in 22° of frost at four o'clock in the morning,
+accompanied by twenty-six coolies, who were divided up into four
+parties, each of which was properly roped. It was a beautiful moonlight
+night, and the mountains showed up nearly as brightly as in the daytime.
+We rapidly descended the 200 feet from our terrace to the glacier, when
+we all "roped up." The snow on the glacier was in excellent condition,
+and as it was frozen hard we made good progress. Dawn overtook us on
+the broad flat part of the glacier, the first beams of the sun falling
+on the summit of Mount Everest, which lay straight in front of us, and
+changing the colour of the snow gradually from pink to orange, all the
+time with a background of deep purple sky, every detail showing up sharp
+and clear in the frosty air. We mounted gradually past Kartse, the white
+conical-shaped peak climbed by Mallory and Bullock a month ago from the
+Kama Valley. We wended our way without much difficulty through the
+ice-fall of the glacier, below some superbly fluted snow ridges that
+rose straight above us. Then followed a long and at times a somewhat
+steep climb over soft powdery snow to the top of the pass. Even at these
+heights we came across tracks in the snow. We were able to pick out
+tracks of hares and foxes, but one that at first looked like a human
+foot puzzled us considerably. Our coolies at once jumped to the
+conclusion that this must be "The Wild Man of the Snows," to which they
+gave the name of Metohkangmi, "the abominable snow man" who interested
+the newspapers so much. On my return to civilised countries I read with
+interest delightful accounts of the ways and customs of this wild man
+whom we were supposed to have met. These tracks, which caused so much
+comment, were probably caused by a large "loping" grey wolf, which in
+the soft snow formed double tracks rather like those of a barefooted
+man. Tibet, however, is not the only country where there exists a "bogey
+man." In Tibet he takes the form of a hairy man who lives in the snows,
+and little Tibetan children who are naughty and disobedient are
+frightened by wonderful fairy tales that are told about him. To escape
+from him they must run down the hill, as then his long hair falls over
+his eyes and he is unable to see them. Many other such tales have they
+with which to strike terror into the hearts of bad boys and girls.
+
+I reached the top of the pass (22,350 feet) by 10.30 a.m., and was
+rewarded by a wonderful view of Mount Everest, now only a couple of
+miles away. From the pass there was a steep descent of about 1,200 feet
+to a glacier which after many wanderings finds its way into the Rongbuk
+Glacier. This valley had never been thoroughly investigated by Mallory
+and Bullock in their visit to the Rongbuk Valley. It does not, however,
+actually form the main Rongbuk Glacier, but stops several miles short of
+it, the entrance to the valley containing this huge glacier being both
+small and very insignificant. The bad weather that they had experienced
+in the Rongbuk Valley during the latter half of their stay there had
+made it impossible for Mallory and Bullock to explore this valley, or
+see what lay at its head.
+
+We were now opposite the Chang La (North Col) which joins Mount Everest
+to Changtse (the North peak), and from this col was, so far as we were
+able to judge, the only route to the summit. The way from the glacier up
+to the Chang La looked steep and unpromising, and we doubted whether it
+would be possible to take laden coolies up, even to this point. I took
+as many photographs as I could, and as quickly as possible, for there
+was an icy wind blowing which almost froze my hands. This wind blew the
+fine powdery snow off all the crests of the ridges and it penetrated
+everywhere. We found a little hollow in the snow a few feet below the
+crest, and here we set to work to pitch our camp. There was not much
+shelter, but it was the only possible place. We had only brought small
+Alpine Meade and Mummery tents with us. Two of us occupied each tent.
+They were very small and uncomfortable, and in order to enter them we
+had to crawl through a narrow funnel almost as though we were entering a
+dog kennel. The effort of crawling in was very exhausting and caused us
+to remain out of breath for a considerable time afterwards. Even these
+small tents were with difficulty pitched owing to the strong winds:
+cooking was quite out of the question until dark when the wind
+temporarily lulled. We had brought up with us some Primus stoves and
+spirit lamps. No one, except perhaps Wheeler, was very expert with the
+Primus stove, and though no doubt under favourable conditions they
+would be easy to work, even at these heights, we were never very
+successful with them and were forced to rely upon the spirit stoves.
+After sunset we had a scratch meal of consommé, which we managed to warm
+up, followed by some cold ham and biscuits, after which we retired to
+bed. The moment the sun went down there were 25° of frost. Up till now I
+had felt no ill-effects from the rarefied air; I had not even had a
+headache and my appetite was good, though I owned to feeling rather lazy
+and it always needed an effort to concentrate one's thoughts. The
+coolies who had accompanied us up to this camp all seemed to be well and
+were very cheerful. The eiderdown sleeping-bags were a great comfort;
+they were our only means of keeping thoroughly warm with 34° of frost
+outside. But I cannot say that I felt comfortable or, in fact, that I
+slept at all, as the snow which at most times had been much too soft,
+seemed here to freeze into uncomfortable lumps and bumps underneath
+one's back, so that I could never get comfortable all night. The wind
+howled round our flimsy tents, and I do not think anyone, except perhaps
+Mallory, got any sleep that night. In the morning we were all suffering
+from bad headaches, due to the airlessness of these little tents, and I
+am sure that anyone camping at high altitudes ought to have a much
+larger type of tent in which to sleep if he is to avoid headaches. We
+blessed the early morning sun when it appeared and began to unfreeze us.
+I noticed then that our faces and hands were all a curious blue colour
+in the morning, due to what is called, I believe, cyanosis of the blood.
+With much difficulty Wheeler made us a little tea, which if not drunk at
+once, froze; Mallory thawed out some sardines which had all been frozen
+solid. There was luckily less wind than during the night, and as the sun
+rose higher, we all became more alive. The coolies, too, were at first
+all torpid and complained of bad headaches, but on getting into the
+fresh air, out of their small and stuffy tents, the headaches rapidly
+passed away. After consultation, we decided that there was no object--in
+fact, that it would be dangerous--for the whole party to go on, so we
+decided that it would be best for the expert Alpine climbers only,
+together with a few picked coolies, to attempt the Chang La. If weather
+conditions were favourable, they might, we thought, see how high they
+could get on Mount Everest itself. We therefore quickly sorted out and
+divided up the stores, and after seeing Mallory, Bullock and Wheeler
+off, unpitched our own tents, being satisfied that we could be of no use
+by remaining where we were, and that it would be best that we should
+return to our 20,000-foot camp and carry down with us as many stores as
+we could. We accomplished this without any difficulty, and arrived back
+during the course of the afternoon. The contrast here was extraordinary.
+We seemed to be in a totally different climate, and our larger tents and
+camp beds appeared to us to be the height of luxury. We spent a very
+comfortable night in spite of 22° of frost, and all slept soundly after
+our exertions, though once or twice during the night I was awakened by
+rats gnawing at the food which had been left out on the boxes in my
+tent. One of the coolies also started to say his prayers in a loud tone
+of voice at 1 a.m., but after a few winged words he relapsed into
+silence.
+
+The next day was delightfully warm and sunny, though there had been
+during the night a good deal of lightning towards the South. The snow
+could be seen whirling off the crest of Mount Everest during the
+morning, and in the course of the afternoon the wind grew much stronger,
+and blew huge clouds of snow off the slopes of the mountain, and from
+all the surrounding ridges. We could see great wisps of snow being blown
+off the pass that we had just left, so that the climbing party must have
+been having a very cold time in their new camp. In the evening there was
+a curious false sunset in the East with fine purple and orange rays,
+while as usual the Kama and the Kharta Valleys were filled with a sea of
+cloud. Here, however, we seemed to be above and beyond the reach of the
+clouds. Next night there was again constant lightning to the South and
+23° of frost, but the weather kept fine and sunny. On climbing a
+snow-covered hill to the West of the camp, about 21,000 feet, I had some
+superb views of Everest and Makalu with their appalling cliffs and
+beautifully-fluted snow slopes. A strong North-westerly gale still
+continued in the upper regions of the air above 22,000 feet, and every
+ridge of Everest was smothered with clouds of blown snow. I had a
+pleasant glissade down steep snow slopes back to the camp, where the
+climate was delicious and where I could bask in the sun at the entrance
+of my tent with a sun temperature of 173° Fahr. Earlier in the season we
+had often recorded temperatures of 195° and 197° Fahr. in the sun with
+the black bulb thermometer. During the afternoon we were able with our
+glasses to see black specks appearing on the top of the Lhakpa La. These
+were the Alpine climbers and their coolies returning after their
+strenuous efforts on Mount Everest. We watched them with the greatest
+interest descending the glacier and wondered how far they had been
+successful. They all arrived back safely in the course of the evening,
+having been extraordinarily lucky in not having had any casualties or
+frost-bites in spite of the Arctic gales. Mallory will, however, tell of
+their adventures in another chapter.
+
+
+
+
+                                CHAPTER IX
+
+                  THE RETURN TO KHARTA BY THE KAMA VALLEY
+
+
+Winter was now rapidly approaching. Every night was growing steadily
+colder, and we were all anxious to get down to lower altitudes. Every
+one had been feeling the strain of life at these high altitudes. It had
+been, however, a great relief to us that all the party had got back to
+the 20,000-foot camp in safety, and that we had had no cases of sickness
+or frost-bite. The coolies had throughout worked most willingly and to
+the best of their ability. They had been well supplied with boots and
+socks, warm clothing of all kinds, cap comforters and fur gloves, as
+well as blankets, and for those who had slept at the higher camps,
+eiderdown sleeping-bags had been provided capable of holding four or
+five. Here at the 20,000-foot camp we did not have to depend on Primus
+stoves or spirit lamps, as while we were waiting at the advanced base
+camp we had daily sent up coolies with loads of wood for our future use,
+and even during our stay here the coolies who had been left behind under
+Gyalzen Kazi had been sending up further loads. We now divided our party
+into two: Mallory, Bullock, Raeburn and Morshead were to be responsible
+for taking all the stores back to Kharta, and for this purpose we had
+arranged with Chheten Wangdi and the Kharta Jongpen for a number of
+Tibetan coolies to help in the work of removal. The remainder of us,
+that is to say, Wollaston, Wheeler and myself, were to cross over a snow
+pass and return to Kharta via the Kama Valley. Wheeler was anxious to do
+this in order to complete his survey work, for up till now he had been
+unable to visit the Kama Valley. Wollaston had already seen the lower
+parts of the Kama Valley, but was very anxious to see the upper end,
+particularly after my descriptions of the scenery and the Alpine flowers
+that were to be met with there.
+
+On September 26 the two parties started off in different directions.
+Taking with us fifteen coolies, all pretty heavily laden, we descended
+to the great Kharta Glacier, which it was necessary for us to cross. We
+were not at all certain as to the conditions we were likely to meet with
+on the other side of the pass. The climb from the Kharta Glacier to the
+Karpo La, 20,300 feet, was quite gentle, though the snow was very soft
+and powdery. On the North side of the pass we found the slopes to be a
+snow-covered glacier, but on the South side there was a very steep rocky
+descent which had to be faced. From the top of the pass we had a
+remarkably fine view into the Kama Valley which lay below us. Makalu,
+Pethangtse and Everest stood up clear above the clouds which floated
+along the bottom of the Kama Valley. Across the gaps between these peaks
+we could see other snow ranges in Nepal. Here at the top of the pass we
+were luckily just sheltered from the Northwest and the gale, but on
+either side of us snow was being blown off the mountains in long white
+streamers. Our descent was down a very steep rocky rib. We began by
+roping ourselves together, but the coolies were all of them heavily
+laden and were, moreover, very clumsy on the rope, sending down so many
+loose stones that I found my position as foremost man quite untenable
+owing to the amount of débris and rocks which were dislodged above me.
+We therefore unroped, and Wollaston lowered the coolies one by one over
+the steepest part--a somewhat long proceeding--after which they were
+able independently to make their way down to the glacier below without
+mishap. We now put on the rope again, and so crossed the easy glacier
+which led down to the moraine on which I had been two months before.
+Wheeler branched off here and took up a position on one of the ridges.
+Here he found the gale very troublesome, his theodolite being nearly
+blown over several times. He managed, however, to take a number of
+readings and to get a good many photographs--sufficient to map the whole
+of the upper part of the Kama Valley. All that day the gale continued
+above 20,000 feet. Below this the valley was filled with clouds, over
+which at first we had magnificent views. As soon as we descended into
+the valley, we gradually became enveloped in the autumn mists, which
+lasted all the remainder of the way to Pethang Ringmo. This was the
+place where I had met the yak herds two months before when they were
+pasturing their yaks on the grassy uplands. They had left the place, and
+we were therefore no longer able to draw on them for butter and milk. I
+had, however, arranged for Wheeler's fat cook to be sent up from Kharta
+to this place to meet us and to bring with him some fresh meat and
+vegetables. These we found on arrival, the fat cook having only arrived
+an hour before. We all of us slept that night much better than we had
+been doing at the higher camps, and though even down here we had 14° of
+frost, I was delighted to find that my boots were not frozen as hard as
+nails, as they had been all the last week.
+
+From this camp I determined to attempt an expedition which I had long
+desired to make. My ambition was to reach the ridge between Makalu and
+Everest, and from it to have a look right down into Nepal. Mallory and
+Bullock did not much encourage me in my project, and doubted whether it
+could be accomplished within the short time which was now available. I
+decided, nevertheless, to make the attempt. On the night of the 26th all
+our servants overslept themselves, and I had some difficulty in waking
+them next morning. We succeeded, however, after a hurried breakfast in
+making a start at 5.45 a.m., just as the first sunlight was touching the
+highest peak of Mount Everest. It was a most perfect autumn morning,
+without a cloud in the sky and with the ground underfoot white with
+hoar-frost. After going a mile up the valley, we had to cross the
+Kangshung Glacier--here about a mile wide and consisting of a great mass
+of ice hummocks, often 100 feet or more in height, mostly covered with
+boulders, with the ice showing every now and then below us in curious
+caverns and lakes. It took us an hour to cross this glacier, as the
+walking was very tiring up and down hill over loose stones all the time;
+luckily, however, many of the stones were frozen to the ice, which made
+the crossing easier than it might have been later in the day. We then
+climbed on to a spur, over 19,000 feet, which jutted out into the
+valley. From this we had marvellous views right away to Kanchenjunga in
+the East. On the opposite side Mount Everest stood out with every detail
+showing clearly in the autumn sunshine. Above us towered the
+perpendicular cliffs of Chomolönzo, opening out into a most astonishing
+series of peaks, the existence of which we had never suspected when
+looking at the mountain from the valley below. For once in a way the air
+was drier and the valleys below were not filled with cloud, so there was
+a prospect of our having clear views all day. Wheeler had come a short
+way along the ridge until he got a good view-point, when he stopped to
+set up his theodolite and camera for a station, after which he came
+along no further. I followed the crest of the ridge as far as I could,
+finding it at times very difficult and rocky and having to make many
+detours to get along. A descent of about 500 feet was followed by a
+climb of another 1,000 feet, at the end of which we found ourselves
+exactly opposite to the great amphitheatre of granite formed by
+Chomolönzo and Makalu and facing Westwards. So steep were these great
+white granite cliffs that no snow lodged on them. Above them were other
+cliffs of ice with rather gentler slopes; at their feet was a great
+glacier that filled up the whole of this basin and then swept down till
+it almost joined the Kangshung Glacier. I had taken with me as usual Ang
+Tenze and Nyima Tendu, the two coolies who always accompanied me, each
+of them carrying a camera. We now came to a glacier which it was
+necessary to cross, and therefore roped up once more. The snow by this
+time had become rather soft, and we were constantly breaking through the
+crust. The glare and heat of the sun on this glacier were very intense,
+and both Nyima and I were feeling very limp from the heat. Ang Tenze was
+extraordinarily active and did not seem to mind heat or height--a quite
+exceptionally gifted mountaineer. Having successfully crossed the
+glacier, we left the soft snow and found our way over some easy rocks
+and eventually reached the top of the ridge for which we were making, at
+a height of about 21,500 feet, and some 500 feet above the snow-covered
+pass to the East of us. From the top of the ridge we had a most glorious
+view looking across range upon range of snowy mountains in Nepal.
+Immediately below us was a large snow "névé," towards which glaciers
+descended from a number of snow-covered peaks. From this névé a great
+glacier swept round towards the Southern side of Makalu, apparently
+descending into a valley that ran parallel to the Kama Valley and on the
+South side of Makalu. Chamlang and other snow peaks to the South showed
+up very clearly, covered with snow and ice to very much lower elevations
+than any mountain on the North side of the Himalayas. On either side of
+us towered up Makalu and Everest, but seen from this point the huge
+cliffs of Chomolönzo presented by far the most astounding sight. From
+here I could see a few thousand feet of the Southern slopes of Mount
+Everest which we had been unable to see from any other point before.
+From the angle at which I saw them these appeared very steep, and even
+if it were possible and permissible to go into Nepal, it seems
+improbable that a practicable route lies up that face of the mountain. I
+spent a couple of hours up here taking photographs, enjoying the views,
+and eating my lunch in comfort, for the sun was hot and for once in a
+way there was no wind. To the South-west of us, across the névé, there
+appeared to be another easy pass which seemed to lead round to the South
+of Mount Everest, and Ang Tenze, who came from the Khombu Valley, said
+that he thought that he recognised some of the mountain tops that he saw
+over this, and that if we crossed this pass, we should eventually
+descend into the Khombu Valley. He also told me that there were stories
+that once upon a time there was a pass from the Khombu Valley into the
+Kama Valley, and that this was probably the pass in question, but that
+it had been disused for a great number of years. To support his theory
+we found on the way down a kind of shelter built of stones and some
+pieces of juniper hidden under a big rock. This would have been too high
+up for any yak herds to camp, as it was above the grazing pastures, and
+seemed to prove that the spot might have been used as a halting-place
+for smugglers or people fleeing from the law before they crossed these
+passes. It had taken us six and a half hours from camp to get up to the
+top of this pass; and we had had no halts on the way beyond what were
+necessary to take photographs. The downward journey took us four hours.
+We tried another way by the side of the Makalu Glacier, desiring thereby
+to avoid the tiresome and rather difficult bit along the top of the
+ridge. This short cut proved, however, to be still more trying and
+wearisome. From the cliffs above there had been great rock falls down to
+the edge of the glacier, and for a couple of miles we had to jump from
+boulder to boulder and to clamber either up or down the whole time.
+There was still the Kangshung Glacier to cross, with more up and down
+hill work, the stones being much looser and more inclined to slip under
+foot than they were in the morning. Eventually we reached camp, just
+before dark, and feeling very tired. A cup of tea, however, with a
+little brandy in it, completely removed all fatigue. Wollaston had been
+able during the day to get some beautiful photographs of the
+snow-powdered cliffs of Chomolönzo, and also some interesting ones of
+the Kangshung Glacier. Besides these he had been able to collect a
+number of seeds. It is astonishing how quickly at these heights seeds
+ripen, and how short a time it is after flowering that they are fit for
+picking.
+
+[Illustration: CHOMOLÖNZO. from the alp below the Langma La, Kama
+Valley.]
+
+We had been very lucky in getting such a perfect day in the Kama
+Valley, for fine days there were very few. After our one perfect day the
+weather changed again, and for the next three days we descended the Kama
+Valley in sleet and snow. The first morning our march was only to our
+old camp at Tangsham on a glacial terrace 1,000 feet above the valley.
+At first Everest was clear and all the mountains to the West, but heavy
+clouds came rolling up from the South-east and soon enveloped
+everything. On the way I managed to collect for Wollaston a number of
+the seeds of that lovely blue primula which I had found in flower here
+in August. I shot, too, a common snipe, which I was very surprised to
+meet at these altitudes. I flushed him beside a small spring close to
+the camp. During the afternoon it snowed and sleeted, and Wheeler came
+in very tired in the evening after having spent the whole of the day on
+a prominent peak, from which he had been unable to get a single
+photograph or to take any bearings. In spite of the snow that evening we
+had a cheery bonfire of juniper, willow and rhododendron. The next
+morning, though we were down at 15,000 feet, there were a couple of
+inches of fresh snow on the ground. The weather at first was very misty,
+and we had no views at all. We soon, however, descended below the snow,
+and the autumnal colours in the valley began to show. On the opposite
+side of it below the great black cliffs, the bushes were all shades of
+brown and gold. In the forests the rose bushes had turned a brilliant
+red, and the mountain ash showed every shade of scarlet and crimson,
+contrasting well with the shiny dark green leaves of the rhododendron.
+The golden colours of the birch and the dark junipers also made a
+beautiful combination of colour. Rain set in again steadily, and as snow
+was falling on the "field of marigolds" where we had intended to camp,
+we pitched our tents in the midst of a huge rock-fall--1,000 feet lower
+down. Our coolies did not pitch any tents for themselves, but preferred
+to scatter in twos and threes and to camp under the overhanging rocks
+which they found apparently warmer and more comfortable than the tents.
+There had been a wonderful growth of vegetation among these huge
+boulders, many of them 40 feet to 50 feet in height, which had come down
+from the cliffs above. Wollaston and I spent most of the afternoon
+pottering round and collecting seeds of plants of different kinds. The
+next morning we had trouble in getting hold of the coolies; they were
+scattered among the rocks, and in spite of shouts, refused to budge
+until I went round with a big stick and poked them out of their holes. I
+crossed the Shao La in thick mist, though Wollaston and Wheeler, who
+came along an hour behind, had some beautiful glimpses of Makalu in the
+clouds and were able to get some photographs. After crossing the pass,
+we descended past several beautiful lakes and arrived in fine weather at
+Kharta in the afternoon. The autumn tints on the way down were again
+very beautiful, and most of the crops had already been gathered in.
+Mallory and Bullock had, we found, left Kharta, being in a great hurry
+to get back to civilisation again.
+
+It was September 30 when we reached Kharta. We had now finished our
+reconnaissance. We had investigated all the valleys to the West,
+North-west, North, North-east and East of the mountain, and had
+eventually found that there was only one possible route of approach to
+the summit. The bad weather and the furious North-westerly gales had
+prevented our attaining any great height this year. The rainy season had
+begun some three weeks later than usual. The rains, they told us, had
+been much heavier than in most years in Tibet, and the wet season had
+lasted until very nearly the end of September, after which time a period
+of gales set in which made climbing at heights above 23,000 feet a
+physical impossibility. Undoubtedly the best time to try and climb the
+mountain would be before the monsoon breaks in May or early June. It
+might be possible, if the monsoon happened to end by the beginning of
+September, to tackle the mountain early in September, but after the
+middle of that month the chances of doing any good grow steadily weaker
+and the cold increases with great rapidity. Whether it will be possible
+in any conditions to reach the summit I am very doubtful. We, however,
+had never intended to make a sustained effort to reach the top in 1921.
+The reconnaissance of the mountain and its approaches afforded us indeed
+no time to make such an effort, and we felt bound to investigate every
+valley that led up to it. The Everest Committee had already before we
+left for India in 1921 decided to send out a second Expedition in the
+following year, for the express purpose of climbing Mount Everest, and
+for this purpose had already then promised the leadership to
+Brig.-General C. G. Bruce, whose unrivalled knowledge of climbing and
+climatic conditions in the Himalayas specially fitted him for the work.
+Whether the task is capable of accomplishment I will not attempt to say,
+though I should think the chances are on the whole against success. If
+Mount Everest were 6,000, or even 5,000 feet lower, I think there can be
+no doubt that it could be climbed. There are no physical difficulties in
+the shape of the mountain which prevent it being climbed--the
+difficulties are all connected with its altitude. If the snow is soft
+and powdery, and the conditions are such as we met with so often; or if,
+again, there is difficult rock climbing in the last 2,000 or 3,000 feet
+of the climb, I do not think the summit will be reached. I cannot say
+what the effect will be if oxygen is taken to aid the human effort. I
+only know that cylinders of oxygen are very uncomfortable and heavy to
+carry, and that to wear a mask over the mouth and to climb so equipped
+would not seem to be very feasible or pleasant. Living at great heights,
+and trying to sleep at great heights, lowers the vitality enormously.
+Larger tents than those with which we were supplied might well be taken
+in order to prevent the depressing headaches that follow from sleeping
+in a confined and airless space. Among minor discomforts which count for
+much may be mentioned the difficulty of preparing good warm food, and
+for this purpose a coolie should be trained in cooking and in the use of
+the "Primus" and spirit stoves. This coolie should be a man accustomed
+to great heights, and he should accompany the party up to the highest
+camps in order to avoid the difficulties we had in connection with the
+preparation of our food and then having to live on such makeshifts as
+sardines and biscuits. I never lost my appetite at heights over 20,000
+feet--I was always able to eat well, though not everything appealed to
+the palate. Sweet things were especially wanted. That it is possible to
+acclimatise the system to live at heights is true, but only to a certain
+extent--up to about 18,000 feet we could acclimatise ourselves very
+comfortably, and I know in my own case that after six months' living in
+Tibet, I was able to do far more than when I first came into the
+country, but at greater heights I think a prolonged stay permanently
+lowers the vitality. Sleeplessness is another great enemy at heights,
+and most of the party I found slept very poorly at the highest camp.
+Mallory, I think, was the only exception. It ought to be possible to
+pick out a few coolies capable of carrying loads able to go as far as
+any European can get. Some of them seem to feel the height much less
+than others, and I believe that an unladen native would be able to go
+much higher if he had the knowledge of ice and snow that Alpine climbers
+have, and would not improbably reach a greater height than any European.
+Twenty-nine thousand feet is, however, a tremendous height for anyone to
+attain, and I own that I am not at all sanguine that the summit will be
+reached, though I have no doubt that this year will see the Duke of the
+Abruzzi's record of 24,600 broken, and I shall not be at all surprised
+to see a height of 25,000 or 26,000 feet arrived at.
+
+
+
+
+                                 CHAPTER X
+
+                        THE RETURN JOURNEY TO PHARI
+
+
+Autumn had already come to Kharta. The willows and the poplars under
+which we were camped were fast shedding their leaves, which rustled on
+the ground, or blew into our tents, a warning that winter was not far
+off. Even here there were one or two degrees of frost every night. The
+days, however, were still warm and sunny. The next five days were fully
+occupied with strenuous work. Wheeler and I took alternate mornings and
+afternoons in the dark room. We had each taken a large number of
+photographs during the past month. These had to be developed before we
+started on our return journey to Darjeeling, and this would be our last
+opportunity. An account of our last month's doings and our final
+reconnaissance had to be written out for _The Times_, and this, together
+with many other letters, had to be sent off to Phari as soon as
+possible. Our stores, tents, Alpine equipment, had all to be collected
+and sorted out. Lists had to be made of all of them, and most of them
+had to be re-packed. The coolies were perpetually worrying us for money
+and advances of pay in order that they might be able to buy Tibetan
+clothing, or have money which they could spend on drink at Kharta, where
+it was apparently very cheap. Our cook and most of the coolies used
+constantly to return to camp in the evening blind drunk, and I had to
+see that the cook was never allowed near the kitchen under these
+conditions. On such an occasion my servant, Poo, would have to do the
+cooking in his place. The chang, or barley beer, that they got must have
+been a much stronger brew than what was given to us, as what we had did
+not appear intoxicating at all, but the interpreters told us that
+coolie beer was double strength.
+
+The Jongpen was rather sad as the moment of our departure drew near. We
+invited him to lunch one day, and he seemed to appreciate the beauties
+of Scotch whisky, which he said was very much better than his own chang.
+We had to pay him a return visit the following day, when he gave us a
+great spread. Knowing that we were anxious to collect such curios as
+were available, he produced all kinds of things for our inspection. I
+bought from him a curious old Tibetan musket, elaborately decorated with
+silver, and fitted with a pair of antelope horns on which to rest it
+when firing. Some interesting copper and silver teapots we were also
+able to get from him, and I remember his showing Wollaston many pieces
+of finely embroidered Chinese silk. Both Hopaphema and the Jongpen had a
+very good idea of the value of money, and were not at all afraid of
+asking a stiff price for any of the curios which they produced. We
+managed, however, to pick up some interesting Chinese snuff bottles of
+carved agate, some with pictures painted inside. China cups of the
+Chienlung and Kanghe periods we were also able to get; there were,
+however, many things in the monasteries which we rather coveted, but
+which the Lamas would not sell. Their tables were very ornamentally
+carved with dragons and weird designs, all painted over in brilliant
+colours. The Jongpen had one such table, but unfortunately I found out
+that he had only borrowed it from the nearest monastery for the purpose
+of entertaining us, and therefore he could not sell it. We left behind
+us a good many stores which it was not worth while to bring along. Among
+them was a lot of acid hypo-sulphite of soda, which the Jongpen at once
+seized upon, and which he said he intended to make use of in washing his
+clothes, knowing that soda was used occasionally for this purpose. The
+Jongpen, of whom we had taken many photographs, and who had seen the
+results, was anxious to buy one of our cameras, and to develop and print
+everything himself. He imagined the whole process was very easy, and
+was extremely anxious to get hold of one of the Expedition's cameras,
+but we had to disappoint him in this. Nothing small would content
+him--he wanted the biggest of the lot, and was quite willing to exchange
+a sword or any other weapon for a camera. We, however, left behind with
+him three pairs of skis, which we had brought out with us, but which had
+never been unpacked. These skis had throughout our journeys been looked
+upon by the Tibetans with the greatest interest. They had heard about
+flying machines, and they thought that these were the framework of a
+flying machine which we had brought with us, and on which we intended to
+fly to the top of the mountains. Wherever we arrived there was always a
+great crowd assembled round these skis, discussing the various methods
+by which they could be put together and describing how the white man
+would then fly. I left them with the Jongpen and told him that they were
+very good exercise for him in the winter time, when the snow was deep,
+and that if he wanted to reduce his weight, which was already
+considerable, there could be no better method than by making use of them
+in the snow.
+
+At last, on October 5, we managed to leave Kharta. There were no pack
+animals available; we had therefore to make use of coolies for our
+transport for the first march; it took 140 of them to carry all our
+loads. For some time the scene of confusion was very amusing. The
+Jongpen himself came down, and it was only owing to his help that by
+mid-day we got all the loads sorted out and put on the backs of the
+coolies. Before he was able to do this he had to have recourse to the
+system of drawing lots by putting garters on each load, a system which I
+have already described in a previous chapter. Before we left, the
+Jongpen and Hopaphema brought us presents of sheep and vegetables, and
+they and all the people of the valley seemed genuinely sorry that we
+were departing. Throughout our long stay at Kharta they had been most
+helpful and had done everything they could for our comfort. They were
+both of them very human, with a delightful sense of humour, and we
+quickly became great friends. It was with much regret that we turned our
+backs on Kharta.
+
+We started off without a cloud in the sky, but with a strong South wind
+blowing. High up on the mountains we could see the snow still being
+blown off in white clouds. Our route lay up the valley of the Bhong-chu
+for about 10 miles until the river suddenly turned to the East to go
+through a deep and impassable gorge. We had then to follow the valley of
+the Zachar-chu for 4 miles to Lumeh, where we camped beside the great
+poplar trees. The bridge by which we had crossed the Zachar-chu in July
+no longer existed. It had been washed away in August, but now that the
+snows were no longer melting higher up, and the rainy season was over,
+the river was very much lower, and it was possible to ford it. The
+people at Lumeh were very pleased to see us again; we found tents
+pitched and food prepared for our reception. From here there were two
+routes open to us. We could either, by crossing two passes, drop down to
+Tsogo in the valley of the Bhong-chu, and after fording the river there,
+follow our previous route (of the outward journey) to Tingri, or we
+could cross a small pass just above Lumeh, meeting the Bhong-chu again
+immediately above the gorge, where there was a bridge across it. We
+chose the latter route, as it was probably a couple of days shorter and
+would take us through new country. On leaving Lumeh, for the first time
+for several days we had a cloudy morning, which was unfortunate, as from
+the top of the Quiok (Cuckoo Pass) we had hoped for a fine view. Our
+transport to-day consisted of yaks and donkeys, which came along very
+well. There was a steep climb of 2,000 feet to the top of the pass,
+15,000 feet, where we just managed to get a glimpse of Makalu in the
+clouds, but Everest was hidden. We thought that this would be our last
+chance of a view of the Everest and Makalu group, but it turned out not
+to be so. By going over this pass we had avoided the curious and
+impassable gorge by which the Bhong-chu cuts through a high range of
+mountains. It was only a little over 6 miles to the famous rope bridge
+at Gadompa. I could not help laughing when I first saw the bridge. It
+was such a comical, ramshackle-looking affair, and everything about it
+seemed torn and ragged and uneven. Two crooked wooden posts set up in
+piles of stones supported the ropes of raw hide which spanned the river.
+During the rainy season one of these posts and all the ropes had been
+buried deep under the water, but now that the river had dropped over 10
+feet, the posts were out of the water. Between these two wooden posts
+were three raw hide ropes, very frail and much frayed, and looking as
+though they might break at any moment. On these ropes was laid a
+semi-circular piece of wood, like the framework of a saddle, to which
+were attached two leather thongs. The person or bale of goods that had
+to be pulled across was tied by these two thongs to the framework, and
+this was allowed to slide rapidly with its load down to the point at
+which the "bridge" sagged most--somewhere about the middle of the
+river--which here rushed along in a formidable rapid. If the Tibetans on
+the far side failed to pull up the passenger or load and he or it was
+left for a minute, either would certainly get the full benefit of one of
+the ice-cold waves of the rapids and get thoroughly soaked before
+reaching the far side. The Tibetans had great fun with our coolies in
+transit, and very few of them were allowed to get over dry. The villages
+on either side are exempt from the duty of producing transport, and have
+instead to make themselves responsible for working the bridge. On one
+side the operators were all women and on the other all men. It took an
+average of five minutes to get each load or person across, and we spent
+twelve hours before we got all our loads over. For part of the time I
+superintended while Wheeler went to get some dinner, and after dinner,
+owing to there being a certain amount of moonlight, Wheeler carried on
+until the last load was brought over at midnight. It was a very chilly
+proceeding, as the wind blew very cold, with a suspicion of snow every
+now and then. It was a weird experience to see the loads of baggage
+suddenly appearing out of the darkness and then being unloaded and
+transferred to the yaks, who apparently were able to find their way
+about in the dark. We got everything over in safety without losing
+anything except a few eggs, which I saw drop out during the passage
+across, and I felt very much relieved that we had had no accident.
+
+That night we camped in a pleasant willow grove at the village of
+Kharkhung. In the morning we awoke to find fresh snow on the ground, but
+this speedily disappeared when the sun came out. Our new transport
+consisted of donkeys and some very wild yaks, which rapidly got rid of
+their loads. The march was only a short one of about 12 miles up the
+valley of the Bhong-chu. The valley was uninteresting and stony, with
+practically no undergrowth, and we eventually camped in a windy spot
+near the village of Lashar, nearly opposite to the sandy camp at Shiling
+where we had halted on our outward journey after crossing the
+quicksands. The night proved much colder here, with 18° of frost, but
+the wind luckily died down and the next morning was beautiful. We
+continued up the sandy valley of the Bhong-chu, which is here several
+miles wide, until we came to its junction with the Yaru, where we
+regained the route which we had followed on the outward journey. Just
+before leaving the main valley we found, on looking behind us, that we
+were in full sight of Mount Everest and its great South-eastern ridge,
+and also of the Lhakpa La where we had camped. This was our final view
+of Mount Everest, and knowing the geography of these peaks as we now
+did, this view gave us an added interest in them. We had climbed slowly
+and had not realised the great height which we had reached or the
+conspicuous position of our camp on the Lhakpa La which we now saw
+sharply defined against the horizon from a distance of 50 miles.
+
+We rode up the gorge of the Yaru, and at the village of Rongme we met
+the Phari Jongpen's brother. He was busy collecting the harvest rents,
+which are a fixed percentage of the crops. I gave him some of the
+photographs that I had taken of him and his house on the way up and very
+soon after a big crowd collected around. The Tibetans are very quick at
+recognising persons in a photograph, and they at once picked out all the
+people by name in a group. I then rode on past his house to the village
+of Shatog, where we camped. On the way I shot a couple of snipe and also
+saw a number of teal, wild geese and kulan (grey crane), but they were
+very wild and I could not get near enough for a shot. Heron joined us
+here. He had been exploring some of the valleys to the North, but had
+found nothing interesting or remarkable, geologically, and he
+accompanied us back as far as Khamba Dzong. We were anxious to push on
+as fast as possible, and determined to do a double march from here to
+Tinki Dzong, which our transport drivers said they could do quite
+easily. We started on a beautiful day after a sharp frost at night,
+causing many of the ponds to be frozen over. We crossed the broad swampy
+plain to Chushar. Wheeler, going on ahead at first, had a shot at some
+geese, but did not succeed in getting anything. We crossed the Yaru
+River by a very deep ford, and then kept along the North side of it,
+past numerous ponds on which were swimming many bar-headed geese; these
+were, however, very wily and would not allow us to approach within shot.
+We now had a steep 3,000-foot climb to the Tinki Pass. On the way up I
+came across some partridges; they were terrible runners, but after a
+good chase I managed to collect two. They turned out to be the ordinary
+Tibetan partridge (_Perdrix hodgsoniæ_). I then rode on down to Tinki,
+to which place I had sent on Chheten Wangdi in order to make
+arrangements for our reception and to have transport ready for us on the
+following day. The two Jongpens rode out to meet us; the elder of the
+two had been at Tinki when we passed through on the way out, but the
+other one I had not seen before as he had been away. I had very pleasant
+recollections of our reception there before, and was delighted to see
+the elder Jongpen, who was a most pleasant and agreeable gentleman.
+They presented us with a couple of hundred eggs, rice and some grain for
+the ponies, and had tents already pitched for us under the walls of the
+fort. Here the Jongpens came and sat talking with us for a long time.
+Our transport showed no signs of turning up, so we were very glad to
+make our dinner off the rice and eggs that had been given us. The bulk
+of the transport did not arrive till midnight. They had made every
+effort to stop at Chushar, and it was with great difficulty that Gyalzen
+Kazi had induced them to go on. The animal which was carrying Wheeler's
+kit died on the way, and his bedding did not arrive till noon the
+following day, another animal having been sent to bring it in. I had had
+my maximum and minimum thermometers exposed as usual under the fly of my
+tent, but during the night some wretch came and stole them. What good
+they could have been to him I cannot imagine, but it was very annoying
+and I hope he will drink the mercury. The weather had now changed again
+for the worse: all day there were heavy snow showers with snow falling
+on the mountains around and preventing any views. The march was only a
+short one to Lingga. The wild birds in the lake beside the fort were as
+tame as ever, the Brahminy ducks (ruddy sheldrake) almost waddling into
+our tents and not paying the slightest attention to us. On the water
+were swimming about thousands of duck, bar-headed geese and teal which
+the Jongpen's little dog used to have great fun in chasing. We were not
+able to follow our former route from Tinki to Lingga as the country had
+altered considerably. Most of the plain was now a broad lake several
+miles long, and we had to follow the North side of the water along the
+foot of the hills. On these big lakes were many duck, but they were very
+wild. I managed on the way, however, to shoot two bar-headed geese, a
+couple of Garganey teal and a pochard, which proved a very welcome
+addition to our bill of fare. One shot was a most extraordinary one. I
+was stalking some geese which were getting very restless and starting to
+fly away, when just in front of me got up two teal close together. I
+fired at the teal and both fell to my shot, and at the same time, to my
+great surprise, a goose, which was in the direct line of fire, and about
+40 yards away, also fell.
+
+We found the people at Lingga busy thrashing. The thrashing time in
+Tibet is a favourite one for drinking, and often the whole village after
+a day's harvest will be completely incapacitated as the result of too
+great an indulgence in chang. Their thrashing floors consist of an area
+of about half an acre of hard beaten earth on which the barley is spread
+to a depth of 6 to 8 inches. Fifty or sixty yaks are then driven into
+this enclosure, followed by thirty people or more, beating drums,
+rattling kerosene oil tins, ringing bells and shouting and yelling in
+order to frighten the yaks, who, tail in air, are driven backwards and
+forwards over the barley. This they continue doing until every one is
+tired and hoarse, when the whole of the workers, both male and female,
+adjourn for a long drink of beer, after which the same process is
+repeated.
+
+On October 11 we arrived at Khamba Dzong. We were having sharp frosts
+now every night, and the mountains, both to the North and South of us,
+were covered low down with a thick white coating of snow. It was not,
+however, unpleasantly cold, and the cloud effects were very beautiful.
+On the way I shot two goa--Tibetan gazelle--with good heads, and horns
+over 14 inches long. We had to halt here in order to rest our coolies.
+All day to the South there was a furious storm raging along the
+Himalayas, and when it cleared up in the evening there had evidently
+been a heavy snowfall. In the course of the afternoon we put up over
+Dr. Kellas's grave the stone which the Jongpen had had engraved for us
+during our absence. On it were inscribed in English and Tibetan
+characters his initials and the date of his death, and this marks his
+last resting-place.
+
+Raeburn, Wheeler and Heron now left us, as they wanted to return to
+Darjeeling by the short way over the Serpo La and down the Teesta
+Valley. This route is only possible for small parties; with all our
+transport we were unable to return that way as the villages on the way
+and in the Teesta Valley are small and can supply but very few animals
+or coolies. Wollaston and I had therefore to return to Phari and then to
+follow the main trade route, along which it is always possible to pick
+up any amount of hired transport. We left Khamba Dzong on October 13 in
+20° of frost. Kanchenjunga and the Everest group were just visible, but
+ominous clouds were rapidly coming up. Our march was the same as on the
+outward journey to Tatsang (Falcon's Nest)--a distance of about 21
+miles. We rode through the fine limestone gorge behind the fort,
+shooting on the way several Tibetan partridge (_Perdrix hodgsoniæ_). On
+reaching the top of the pass, I climbed another thousand feet on to the
+ridge to the South of the pass, where I had a wonderful panorama of
+snowy peaks, both to the South and to the North. Snow storms appeared to
+be raging on either side and the wind was extremely cold. I came across
+a fine flock of burhel (_Ovis nahura_), and had an easy shot at a fine
+ram, but missed him hopelessly, and they never gave me another chance. A
+little further on I missed a gazelle. On the plain below were grazing
+numerous kiang (_Equus hemionus_), their reddish-chestnut coats being
+well shown off by their white bellies and legs. Their mane appears to be
+of a darker colour, which is continued as a narrow stripe down the back.
+On the same plain I could see also a large flock of nyan (_Ovis
+hodgsoni_), all fair-sized rams. I had a long chase after the latter,
+but they never allowed me to approach close to them. Snow began to fall
+now and a regular blizzard set in, the fine powdery snow being blown
+along the ground into our faces. While riding along in this storm, I saw
+two fine nyan which I stalked. My 2·75 rifle was rather small for such a
+large animal, and though the larger of the two was badly hit by the
+first shot, he went off as though he were untouched and gave me a long
+chase after him. It was only possible to get a glimpse of him every now
+and then in the blizzard, and whenever I lay down to try and get a shot,
+the fine powdery snow blown along the surface of the ground nearly
+blinded me, so that it took five more bullets before he finally expired.
+He was a magnificent old beast with a grand head and horns, well over 40
+inches in length and of great thickness. The weight of the body was
+enormous. I had only Ang Tenze with me. With much difficulty we cut off
+the nyan's head and then tried to lift the carcass, which must have
+weighed well over 200 lb., on to one of the ponies. With the greatest
+trouble we eventually managed to get the carcass on to the pony's back,
+but the pony seemed gradually to subside on to the ground under the
+weight and was quite unable to move. While we were doing this, my pony
+took it into his head to run away, and though we made every attempt to
+catch him, he completely defeated us, and was last seen galloping away
+towards his home. I had therefore an 8 mile trudge through the snow to
+get back to camp, not arriving there till well after dark. Five of the
+coolies went back after dark to get the meat. They cut off as much as
+they could carry, and the remainder had to be left for the nuns, who
+sent out their servants to bring it in. I was cheered up, however, by
+getting an English mail and many letters. Among these was one from Sir
+Charles Bell from Lhasa, who wrote to ask the Expedition not to do any
+more shooting in Tibet, as the Tibetans did not approve of it; for the
+remainder of the time, therefore, the guns had to be put away.
+
+During the night there were 32° of frost, and everything inside our
+tents was frozen solid in the morning; but the wind luckily died down,
+and the next day was a most beautiful one. We knew that there was a long
+march before us, so our transport was off by eight o'clock. At Tatsang
+we were already 16,000 feet, and we gradually climbed higher, spending
+most of the day between 17,000 and 18,000 feet. For several miles we
+rode across a snow-covered plain over which the tops of Pawhunri,
+Chomiomo, and Kanchenjhow appeared to the South. As we rose higher, the
+snow gradually deepened to 6 inches and made the going very heavy. We
+had to cross three spurs of Pawhunri by passes of over 17,500 feet.
+Here the snow had been blown by the wind into drifts over 2 feet deep.
+We had arranged to camp at a place called Lunghi, but on our arrival
+there found that the nomads, who ordinarily spent the summer there, had
+already left and were encamped some 4 miles further down the valley. In
+a side valley I found some of their tents where I was able to warm
+myself and get some hot milk before moving on down the valley, where we
+were told that preparations had been made to receive us. There was
+luckily a bright moon and we rode on down to the spot, where we found
+some Tibetan tents which had been pitched for us; their owners had,
+moreover, had the forethought to have great braziers of cow dung burning
+in these tents. The smell was not agreeable, but we sat and warmed
+ourselves, waiting for our transport, which did not arrive until eleven
+o'clock that night. It was a bitterly cold wait, as the wind got up and
+blew down the valley with 25° of frost behind it. We were very glad to
+see our transport and coolies when they arrived; they had really come
+along very well, as a march of 23 miles in soft snow and at a great
+height all the time is no light feat.
+
+Breakfast the next morning was very comfortless, as the wind was still
+blowing with 28° of frost, and everything--boots and foodstuffs of all
+kinds--was frozen inside our tents. We looked forward with no little
+pleasure to finding ourselves inside once more and sitting in front of a
+fire out of the everlasting wind which makes Tibet so trying. The march
+was a fairly easy one of about 20 miles over gentle undulating country
+until we reached the West side of the Tang La; there was, however, a
+bitterly cold strong South wind which blew with great violence all day
+and penetrated through everything. Many of our coolies had much
+difficulty in coming along, as they were suffering from snow blindness
+and their feet were also very tender from the cold and the deep snow of
+the last few days. Chomolhari was a glorious sight all the way. We were
+gradually approaching it, and it seemed to rise directly from the plain
+in front of us. From its summit and from its ridges great streamers of
+snow were being blown off and the gale--apparently from the
+North-west--still continued. Nearly every day since we left Kharta we
+saw along the higher peaks of the Himalayas the snow being blown off in
+great wisps, showing that a strong Northwesterly current of air sets in
+at great heights after the monsoon is over. After reaching Darjeeling we
+noticed the same thing; every day, from Kanchenjunga and Kabru, could be
+seen the same great wisps of wind-blown snow. That night at Phari we
+were once more in a bungalow and out of the wind, and able to spend a
+very comfortable and pleasant evening reading our letters and papers in
+front of a fire which, though still mostly yak dung, was in a fireplace.
+October 16 we spent resting at Phari. Our coolies were much exhausted by
+the three days' march from Khamba Dzong, in which we had covered 65
+miles, most of the time at considerable heights and in deep snow. We had
+returned by the short way, which the people of Phari had told us in the
+spring was impassable, and over which they would not go, sending us
+instead around by the long way to Dochen, which took us six days instead
+of three.
+
+Phari is a place unfortunately too near civilisation. The Tibetans there
+have lost their good manners, such as we had been accustomed to meet in
+the more distant and out-of-the-way parts of the country. Much trade
+passes through the town, and the people there are too well off. They had
+an idea that the Expedition was a kind of milch cow out of which money
+could be extracted to their hearts' content. Of this view we had to
+disabuse them, and in consequence found them all very tiresome. The
+transport turned up the following morning, but they refused to load up
+unless they were paid in full beforehand and at a most exorbitant rate.
+This I refused to do, telephoning at the same time to the trade agent at
+Yatung. I sent for the Jongpen, and both Jongpens turned up. I rather
+imagine that they were at the bottom of this trouble, for one of them
+owed the Expedition some money; he had also, when forwarding on stores
+to us, seized the opportunity to charge five times the ordinary rate, on
+the pretext that he had supplied some of his own mules. After long
+arguments I eventually induced them to accept part of the payment, the
+remainder to be paid at Yatung, whereupon the Jongpens gave orders for
+the animals to be loaded. It was not, however, until the afternoon that
+we were able to leave Phari and to start on our downward march to
+Yatung.
+
+
+
+
+                                CHAPTER XI
+
+                           BACK TO CIVILISATION
+
+
+When we turned our backs on Phari and started to march down the Chumbi
+Valley, we had left the real Tibet behind us. I could not somehow look
+upon the Chumbi Valley as being a part of Tibet. Its characteristics,
+its houses, its people, its vegetation, are all so different from the
+greater part of Tibet. There are not the same cold winds that freeze the
+very marrow, nor are there the wide plains and the undulating hills with
+their extensive views.
+
+In spite of all discomforts, there is a very great charm and fascination
+about travelling in Tibet. Is it partly because it is an unknown
+country, and the unknown is always fascinating, or is it rather because
+of the innate beauty of the country itself, with its landscapes so free
+from all restraint and a horizon often 150 to 200 miles distant? Never
+anywhere have I seen a country so full of colour as is Tibet. There is
+not enough vegetation to hide the rocks and the stones. The foreground
+as well as the distant view is wonderfully full of colour and variety.
+Contrasts are one of the charms of life, and probably in this lies the
+secret of the charm and attractiveness of Tibet. It is essentially a
+country of contrasts. The climate, above all, has contrasts of its own.
+The sun is burningly hot, but in the shade the cold may be intense. To
+such a pitch can the extremes of heat and cold arrive, that a man may
+suffer from sunstroke and frost-bite at one and the same time.
+
+The Tibetans themselves are a strong, well-built and hardy
+race--Mongolian in type. The women usually put a mixture of grease and
+soot on their faces to protect them against the glare of the fresh snow
+or the biting winds, for even they, with their thick skins, do not seem
+to get used to the severity of the changes. How much more does the
+European suffer when he travels in Tibet and seems to need a fresh skin
+almost every day. The soot mixture does not add to the beauty of the
+women, though I came across some who were not bad looking. Many of the
+people are nomads, living in tents all the year round and moving about
+from camp to camp pasturing their herds of yaks and their flocks of
+sheep. It is curious that even in the winter-time they can find grazing
+places, but the secret lies in the fact that the slopes face the South
+in the regions where the wind blows strongest, so that the surface is
+usually bare. The snowfall in winter in most parts of Tibet is not
+heavy, and the climate being so dry, the snow is powdery, and the wind
+blows it along and forms great drifts in the hollows, leaving the
+exposed slopes usually clear. On these the herds, or flocks of sheep,
+obtain sufficient nourishment from such scattered patches of frozen
+grass or lichens as they are able to find. Of all the animals that the
+Tibetans have, the yak is the most useful. His long black hair, which
+reaches to the ground under his belly, is woven into tents or ropes. The
+milk, after they have drunk what they want, is turned into butter and
+cheese, of which they produce great quantities. When old, he is killed
+and his flesh is dried, providing meat for a long time. His hide
+supplies leather of every kind. It is always used untanned, for no
+tanning is ever done in Tibet and any tanned skins always come up from
+India. The yak dung is in many places the only fuel to be got and is
+most carefully picked up. To the present generation of young children
+the yak is probably familiar from that delightful rhyme in "The Bad
+Child's Book of Beasts":--
+
+             As a friend to the children, commend me the Yak--
+               You will find it exactly the thing;
+             It will carry and fetch, you can ride on its back
+               Or lead it about with a string.
+
+             The Tartar who dwells on the plains of Tibet,
+               A desolate region of snow,
+             Has for centuries made it a nursery pet,
+               And surely the Tartar should know.
+
+             Then tell your papa where the Yak can be got,
+               And if he is awfully rich,
+             He will buy you the creature--or else he will not;
+               I cannot be positive which.
+
+The traveller in Tibet can easily live on such supplies as can be drawn
+from the country. The Tibetan is always hospitable and will provide
+sheep, milk, cheese and butter almost everywhere. Vegetables, however,
+of any kind are very scarce, though in the summer a species of spinach
+can be got in some places. Living, as the Tibetans do, far away from all
+outside influences, their customs and manners have not changed, and are
+the same as they were several hundred years ago. I can fully sympathise
+with their present desire for seclusion and their eagerness not to be
+exploited by foreigners. They sent a few years ago some young Tibetan
+boys to Rugby to be educated in different professions. These boys have
+now returned again to Lhasa, and with their aid, and with the aid of
+others who are being sent out into the world to learn, they hope to be
+able to develop the resources of their own country at leisure, in their
+own way, and by themselves, without being exploited commercially by
+foreigners.
+
+The staple food of the Tibetans is tsampa (parched barley). This is
+ground up and either milk or tea is added, forming it into a kind of
+dough. This is put in a little bag, which they carry about with them
+when travelling, and is often their only food for several days. Tsampa
+can be obtained everywhere in Tibet, though it is easier to get it in
+the villages than from the tents of the nomads. Tea can, of course, be
+obtained everywhere, and, as I have described before, is mixed with salt
+and butter, churned up with great violence, and then poured into
+teapots. At every camp, and at every house, will be met fierce dogs.
+These dogs guard the flocks, or the nomad camps, and rather resemble
+large collies; as a rule, they are black and very fierce. The Tibetans
+were, however, always very good in tying them up before we approached
+their camps. In many of the houses we found tied up just outside the
+door another kind of dog, a huge brute of the mastiff type, always
+extremely savage and ready, if he had not been tied up, to tear the
+intruder to pieces. The peasants are still treated as serfs, though only
+in a mild form. For all Government officials, when on tour, they have to
+supply free transport and supplies of all kinds, so that official visits
+are not popular. At first the villagers were afraid that we might follow
+the example of the Tibetan officials and were much relieved to find that
+we did not do so.
+
+I cannot leave the subject of Tibet without a few words about the
+monasteries. These are divided into two great schools, the Red Cap
+School and the Yellow Cap School. The former was founded by the Buddhist
+Saint, Padma Sambhava or Guru Rimpoche, in A.D. 749. They are the older
+of the two monastic sects, but their morals are much looser than those
+of the Yellow Sect, and the Lamas or monks of this sect are often
+married. In one monastery belonging to the Red Sect near Kharta, the
+Lamas and their wives were all living together. The Yellow Cap, or
+Gelukpa Sect, was founded in the fifteenth century by Tsong Kapa, who
+instituted a very much stricter moral code, and this sect looks down
+very much upon the Red Caps. The State religion of the country is
+Buddhism. By the middle of the seventeenth century, after a series of
+reincarnations, Nawang Lobsang had made himself master of Tibet and
+transferred his capital to Lhasa. He accepted the title of Dalai Lama
+(Ocean of Learning) from the Chinese, hence the Dalai Lama at Lhasa, by
+this doctrine of political reincarnation, has absorbed all the political
+power in the country into his own hands, although the Tashi Lama at
+Tashilumpo is in theory his senior and superior in spiritual matters.
+The old simple creed of the Buddhists can scarcely be recognised
+nowadays and is overlaid with devil worship in all its forms,
+supernatural agencies abounding everywhere. The top of a pass, a
+mountain, a river, a bridge, a storm; each will have its own particular
+god who is to be worshipped and propitiated. In many of the larger
+monasteries, too, they have oracles who are consulted far and wide and
+supposed to be able to foretell the future. These often acquire
+considerable power and influence by methods not unlike those resorted to
+in ancient Greece. It has been estimated that a fifth of the whole
+population of Tibet has entered monastic life. The conditions probably
+much resemble those which prevailed in mediæval Europe. The monasteries
+contain nearly all the riches of the country. They own large estates;
+they are the source of all learning, and all the arts and crafts seem to
+take their inspiration from articles for use in the monasteries. The
+ordinary Tibetan, surrounded as he is by the various spirits which
+occupy every valley and mountain top, is very superstitious. He
+therefore has inside his house his prayer wheel and his little shrine,
+before which he offers up incense daily. His Mani walls or mendongs,
+covered with inscribed stones or carved figures of Buddha, are alongside
+the paths he daily uses; on the top of the mountains or passes, in
+addition to these prayer-covered stones, flutter rags printed over with
+prayers. All these are intended to propitiate the evil spirits. In
+places where there are particularly malignant devils, it may be
+necessary to build several Chortens in order to keep them in subjection,
+and these Chortens are filled with several thousands of prayers and
+sacred figures stamped in the clay.
+
+The country is divided up into districts, each under its own Jongpen,
+who is responsible direct to Lhasa or Shigatse and has yearly to send
+the revenue collected to headquarters. A certain percentage of the crops
+is collected every year, and in a year of good harvest the Jongpen is
+able to make a certain amount of money for himself in addition to what
+he has to send to Lhasa. Our visit to the Kharta Valley was an
+unexpected windfall for the Kharta Jongpen, as I fancy that much of the
+money that we paid out to the different villages for supplies or coolie
+hire eventually found its way into his pocket and was not likely to find
+its way to Lhasa. This may possibly have accounted for his pleasure in
+entertaining us and his desire to keep us there as long as possible. The
+Tibetans, however, everywhere have good manners and are invariably most
+polite--a pleasant characteristic. Although they are all Buddhists, and
+accordingly object to the taking of life, they do not in the least mind
+killing their sheep or their yaks for food, but they objected to our
+shooting wild sheep or gazelles or wild birds for food. I could have
+understood this objection better had they been vegetarians and not
+killed their sheep for eating purposes, but a real vegetarian, except in
+the strictest monasteries, is very rare in Tibet.
+
+There was a great fascination in roaming through the country as we did.
+It was the fascination of the unknown, this travelling in regions where
+Europeans had never travelled before, and where they had never even been
+seen. The people had exaggerated notions of our ferocity, and were full
+of fears as to what we might be like and as to what we might do. In
+these out-of-the-way parts they had heard vaguely of the fighting in
+1904, and they imagined that our visit might be on the same lines. They
+imagined, too, that all Europeans were cruel and seized what they wanted
+without payment. They were therefore much surprised when they found that
+we treated them fairly and paid for everything that we wanted at very
+good rates. The Expedition may, I venture to think, take credit to
+itself for having certainly done a great deal of good in promoting more
+friendly relations between the Tibetans and ourselves, and in giving
+them a better understanding of what an Englishman is. Their ignorance of
+the outside world was at times astounding. Tibetan officials and traders
+were an exception, but it was seldom that the ordinary Tibetan ever left
+the valley in which he was born and bred, with the result that except
+for the wildest rumours, they knew nothing of the outside world. For
+long-distance journeys, the Tibetans used ambling mules or ponies, which
+were capable of going long distances and keeping up a speed of about 5
+miles an hour. To our idea, the Tibetan saddle with its high wooden
+framework is very uncomfortable, but on the top of their saddles they
+would put their bedding, spreading over it a brilliant and often
+beautifully coloured carpet as a saddle cloth. On the top of this the
+rider would sit perched, and, with a good ambling pony, could get along
+very comfortably.
+
+I always enjoyed travelling and moving about in Tibet. It hardly has the
+climate of Tennyson's Island Valley of Avilion--"Where falls not hail or
+rain or snow, nor ever wind blows loudly"--for we used to get samples of
+nearly all of these almost every day. But no matter how barren nor how
+bare the immediate surroundings were there was a sense of exhilaration
+and freedom in the air. There was never a sense of being confined in a
+narrow space. There was always some distant view where the colours would
+be continually changing. In the summer-time the climate was not
+unpleasant, and there was always the pleasure of finding some new and
+beautiful flower, oftentimes springing up out of the driest sand.
+Wherever there was water, there was sure to be vegetation and many
+bright-coloured flowers with every kind of wild-bird life. The shrill
+whistle of the marmot would often alone break the silence of the scene.
+Animal life in some form was almost always visible, whether it was the
+wild kiang roaming on the plains, or the gazelle, or the wild sheep,
+there was always something of interest to watch. The little mouse hares
+which lived in great colonies would constantly dodge in and out of their
+holes and the song of the larks could always be heard.
+
+By the end of October the climate was beginning to get very cold, the
+thermometer descending at times to Zero Fahrenheit, so that we were
+quite ready to leave the country, being anxious to get warm again, if
+only for a short time. There was sorrow in our hearts, however, at
+parting with the friendly and hospitable folk whom we had encountered,
+and at leaving behind us the familiar landscapes with the transparent
+pale blue atmosphere that is so hard to describe, and the distant views
+of range upon range of snowy mountains often reflected in the calm
+waters of some blue coloured lake. The attractions of Tibet may yet be
+strong enough to draw us back again once more. Many years ago the same
+attraction impelled me to cross the Himalayan mountains and to visit
+another part of Tibet, but my excursion was, I am afraid, not favourably
+regarded by the Indian Government and my leave was stopped for six
+months. The same attraction, however, still exists for this land of many
+colours with its lonely sunsets full of beauty, with its nights where
+the eager stars gleam bright as diamonds, and where the full moon shines
+upon the nameless mountains covered with snow and still as death.
+
+As we turned our backs upon the country we left winter behind us, and
+descending the Chumbi Valley once more found ourselves in autumnal
+surroundings. The Himalayan larch were all of a beautiful golden colour;
+the birch were all turning brown, and the berberis were a brilliant
+scarlet. Red currants and the scarlet haws of the rose were still on the
+bushes. The currants were no longer sour to eat raw, and we picked many
+of them on the way down. Our pockets, too, were filled with seeds of
+rhododendrons and other flowers. On the way I was met by the native
+officer commanding the garrison at Yatung, which was now found by the
+90th Punjabis. As I passed their quarters, the guard turned out,
+presenting arms very smartly, and all the detachment came out and
+saluted. They were certainly a very well-trained detachment. Once more
+the Macdonald family most kindly sent over a generous meal, besides
+presents of every sort and kind of European vegetable. From Yatung we
+obtained forty-five mules for our transport. These came along very much
+faster than the yaks and the donkeys that we had been using. Here
+Gyalzen Kazi, one of our interpreters, left us to return to his home at
+Gangtok. I was very sorry to lose him. He had been a pleasant companion
+and had been of great assistance to the Expedition. He was always most
+willing to undertake any difficult or unpleasant job there might be, and
+I never heard a murmur or grumble from him of any kind during the whole
+time that he was with us. Our march was only a short one of 11 miles to
+Langra, where there was a Tibetan rest-house built in the Chinese style
+and rather reminding me of our rest-house at Tingri. It was a most
+perfect autumnal day, with scarcely a cloud in the sky. The woods
+everywhere were very beautiful, the dark silver fir trees showing up the
+scarlet and yellow of the bushes and the gold of the larch. Our cook,
+Acchu, was drunk again, but Poo prepared us a good meal instead. The
+next morning, to our surprise, on looking out we found a couple of
+inches of fresh snow on the ground and the snow was still falling
+steadily. The mules, nevertheless, were all loaded up in good time, and
+I followed on foot to the top of the Jelep Pass, snow falling steadily
+all the way--a fine granular snow. At the top of the pass the wind was
+blowing keenly, driving the snow into our faces. Besides the 6 inches of
+fresh snow here, there was a good deal of the old snow that had fallen a
+week or more ago, and in some places formed drifts several feet deep. It
+is seldom that a clear view is ever obtained on the Jelep Pass. It
+rained when we came over in May and it snowed now, and twice before,
+when I have crossed it, it rained all the time. Snow fell all the way
+down to Gnatong, where there were already a couple of inches of slush.
+The next morning was luckily fine, as we were to do a long march to
+Rongli--a distance of only 18 miles, but with a descent of 9,500 feet.
+The first few miles we walked through the fresh snow, but in the
+afternoon we were wandering among the sweet scents of a tropical jungle
+with orchids still flowering on the trees and ripe oranges in the garden
+of our bungalow. We had jumped from winter to summer in a few hours. The
+Tibetan mules came along excellently, doing the march in just over eight
+hours, a very different proceeding to our Government mules on the way
+up, which we were compelled to discard at Sedongchen. We reached
+Darjeeling on October 25. Lord Ronaldshay was unfortunately away on tour
+on his way to Bhutan, and as he had travelled via Gangtok, we had missed
+seeing him on the way. The next few days we spent in getting rid of the
+remainder of our stores, selling anything perishable that we could,
+getting tents dried and mended, and storing everything else in view of a
+second Expedition. We here said good-bye to our other interpreter,
+Chheten Wangdi, who had served us most faithfully throughout the
+Expedition, and it was with the greatest regret that we took leave of
+him on the railway station at Darjeeling.
+
+[Illustration: MEMBERS OF THE EXPEDITION.
+  _Standing_: WOLLASTON. HOWARD-BURY. HERON. RAEBURN.
+  _Sitting_: MALLORY. WHEELER. BULLOCK. MORSHEAD.]
+
+Our Expedition had accomplished all that it had set out to do. All the
+approaches to Mount Everest from the North-west, North, North-east and
+East had been carefully reconnoitred and a possible route to the top had
+been found up the North-east ridge. Climatic conditions alone had
+prevented a much greater height being attained. Friendly relations had
+been established with the Tibetan officials and people wherever we went.
+Our travels had taken us through much unexplored and new country wherein
+we had discovered some magnificent and undreamt-of valleys where
+primeval forests existed such as we had never imagined to find in Tibet
+and where deep filled glens with the richest semi-tropical vegetation
+descended as low as 7,000 feet. Many beautiful flowers were discovered
+in these Alpine valleys, and we were able to collect a quantity of seeds
+from these which I hope may help to enrich and to beautify our gardens
+at home. A new part of the country has been opened up to human
+knowledge. It has been photographed and described. The surveyors have
+made an original survey at a scale of 4 miles to the inch of an area of
+some 12,000 square miles; a detailed photographic survey of 600 square
+miles of the environs of Mount Everest has been worked out, and, besides
+this, the maps of another 4,000 square miles of country have been
+revised. Dr. Heron, our indefatigable geologist, himself travelled over
+the greater part of this area, and has carefully investigated the
+geology of the whole region. That the Expedition was able to accomplish
+so much in such a short time was due to the hearty co-operation and
+keenness of all the members of the party. We were a happy family and, to
+use a rowing expression, we all "pulled together." Such success as we
+attained is entirely due to their strenuous and ceaseless efforts, and I
+can only express my gratitude to them for the unselfish way in which
+they helped and assisted me on every occasion.
+
+The Expedition of 1921 is over; many problems have been solved, much new
+country has been brought within our ken, and many new beauties have been
+revealed, but the soul of man is never content with what has been
+attained. The solution of one problem only brings forward fresh problems
+to be solved, so this Expedition into unknown country brings within the
+realms of possibility further travels and further problems to be solved.
+There is much that yet remains to be done, much that remains to be
+discovered; and though we may not be privileged to discover a new race
+of hairy snow men, yet there is a wild and uncharted country full of
+beauty and interest that awaits those who dare face the discomfort and
+hardships of travelling in Tibet--discomforts which are soon forgotten
+and leave behind them only the memories of very wonderful scenes and
+places which the passing of time can never efface.
+
+  Let us probe the silent places, let us seek what luck betide us,
+    Let us journey to a lonely land I know;
+  There's a whisper in the night wind, there's a star, a gleam to guide us,
+    And the wild is calling, calling, let us go.
+
+                                                                  R. W. S.
+
+
+
+
+                    THE RECONNAISSANCE OF THE MOUNTAIN
+
+                                    By
+
+                          GEORGE H. LEIGH-MALLORY
+
+
+
+
+                                CHAPTER XII
+
+                           THE NORTHERN APPROACH
+
+
+As a matter of history it has been stated already in an earlier chapter
+of this book that the highest mountain in the world attracted attention
+so early as 1850. When we started our travels in 1921, something was
+already known about it from a surveyor's point of view; it was a
+triangulated peak with a position on the map; but from the mountaineer's
+point of view almost nothing was known. Mount Everest had been seen and
+photographed from various points on the Singalila ridge as well as from
+Kampa Dzong; from these photographs it may dimly be made out that snow
+lies on the upper part of the Eastern face at no very steep angle, while
+the arête bounding this face on the North comes down gently for a
+considerable distance. But the whole angle subtended at the great summit
+by the distance between the two of these view-points which are farthest
+apart is only 54°. The North-west sides of the mountain had never been
+photographed and nothing was known of its lower parts anywhere. Perhaps
+the distant view most valuable to a mountaineer is that from Sandakphu,
+because it suggests gigantic precipices on the South side of the
+mountain so that he need have no regrets that access is barred in that
+direction for political reasons.
+
+The present reconnaissance began at Kampa Dzong, no less than 100 miles
+away, and in consequence of misfortunes which the reader will not have
+forgotten was necessarily entrusted to Mr. G. H. Bullock and myself, the
+only representatives of the Alpine Club now remaining in the Expedition.
+It may seem an irony of fate that actually on the day after the
+distressing event of Dr. Kellas' death we experienced the strange
+elation of seeing Everest for the first time. It was a perfect early
+morning as we plodded up the barren slopes above our camp and rising
+behind the old rugged fort which is itself a singularly impressive and
+dramatic spectacle; we had mounted perhaps a thousand feet when we
+stayed and turned, and saw what we came to see. There was no mistaking
+the two great peaks in the West: that to the left must be Makalu, grey,
+severe and yet distinctly graceful, and the other away to the right--who
+could doubt its identity? It was a prodigious white fang excrescent from
+the jaw of the world. We saw Mount Everest not quite sharply defined on
+account of a slight haze in that direction; this circumstance added a
+touch of mystery and grandeur; we were satisfied that the highest of
+mountains would not disappoint us. And we learned one fact of great
+importance: the lower parts of the mountain were hidden by the range of
+nearer mountains clearly shown in the map running North from the Nila La
+and now called the Gyanka Range, but it was possible to distinguish all
+that showed near Everest beyond them by a difference in tone, and we
+were certain that one great rocky peak appearing a little way to the
+left of Everest must belong to its near vicinity.
+
+It was inevitable, as we proceeded to the West from Kampa Dzong, that we
+should lose sight of Mount Everest; after a few miles even its tip was
+obscured by the Gyanka Range, and we naturally began to wonder whether
+it would not be possible to ascend one of these nearer peaks which must
+surely give us a wonderful view. I had hopes that we should be crossing
+the range by a high pass, in which case it would be a simple matter to
+ascend some eminence near it. But at Tinki we learned that our route
+would lie in the gorge to the North of the mountains where the river
+Yaru cuts its way through from the East to join the Arun.
+
+From Gyanka Nangpa, which lies under a rocky summit over 20,000 feet
+high, Bullock and I, on June 11, made an early start and proceeded down
+the gorge. It was a perfect morning and for once we had tolerably swift
+animals to ride; we were fortunate in choosing the right place to ford
+the river and our spirits were high. How could they be otherwise? Ever
+since we had lost sight of Everest the Gyanka Mountains had been our
+ultimate horizon to the West. Day by day as we had approached them our
+thoughts had concentrated more and more upon what lay beyond. On the far
+side was a new country. Now the great Arun River was to divulge its
+secrets and we should see Everest again after nearly halving the
+distance. The nature of the gorge was such that our curiosity could not
+be satisfied until the last moment. After crossing the stream we
+followed the flat margin of its right bank until the cliffs converging
+to the exit were towering above us. Then in a minute we were out on the
+edge of a wide sandy basin stretching away with complex undulations to
+further hills. Sand and barren hills as before--but with a difference;
+for we saw the long Arun Valley proceeding Southwards to cut through the
+Himalayas and its western arm which we should have to follow to Tingri;
+and there were marks of more ancient river beds and strange inland
+lakes. It was a desolate scene, I suppose; no flowers were to be seen
+nor any sign of life beyond some stunted gorse bushes on a near hillside
+and a few patches of coarse brown grass, and the only habitations were
+dry inhuman ruins; but whatever else was dead, our interest was alive.
+
+After a brief halt a little way out in the plain, to take our bearings
+and speculate where the great mountains should appear, we made our way
+up a steep hill to a rocky crest overlooking the gorge. The only visible
+snow mountains were in Sikkim. Kanchenjunga was clear and eminent; we
+had never seen it so fine before; it now seemed singularly strong and
+monumental, like the leonine face of some splendid musician with a glory
+of white hair. In the direction of Everest no snow mountain appeared. We
+saw the long base tongues descending into the Arun Valley from the
+Gyanka Range, above them in the middle distance an amazingly sharp rock
+summit and below a blue depth most unlike Tibet as we had known it
+hitherto. A conical hill stood sentinel at the far end of the valley,
+and in the distance was a bank of clouds.
+
+Our attention was engaged by the remarkable spike of rock, a proper
+aiguille. As we were observing it a rift opened in the clouds behind; at
+first we had merely a fleeting glimpse of some mountain evidently much
+more distant, then a larger and clearer view revealed a recognizable
+form; it was Makalu appearing just where it should be according to our
+calculations with map and compass.
+
+We were now able to make out almost exactly where Everest should be; but
+the clouds were dark in that direction. We gazed at them intently
+through field glasses as though by some miracle we might pierce the
+veil. Presently the miracle happened. We caught the gleam of snow behind
+the grey mists. A whole group of mountains began to appear in gigantic
+fragments. Mountain shapes are often fantastic seen through a mist;
+these were like the wildest creation of a dream. A preposterous
+triangular lump rose out of the depths; its edge came leaping up at an
+angle of about 70° and ended nowhere. To the left a black serrated crest
+was hanging in the sky incredibly. Gradually, very gradually, we saw the
+great mountain sides and glaciers and arêtes, now one fragment and now
+another through the floating rifts, until far higher in the sky than
+imagination had dared to suggest the white summit of Everest appeared.
+And in this series of partial glimpses we had seen a whole; we were able
+to piece together the fragments, to interpret the dream. However much
+might remain to be understood, the centre had a clear meaning as one
+mountain shape, the shape of Everest.
+
+It is hardly possible of course from a distance of 57 miles to formulate
+an accurate idea of a mountain's shape. But some of its most remarkable
+features may be distinguished for what they are. We were looking at
+Everest from about North-east and evidently a long arête was thrust out
+towards us. Some little distance below the summit the arête came down to
+a black shoulder, which we conjectured would be an insuperable obstacle.
+To the right of this we saw the sky line in profile and judged it not
+impossibly steep. The edge was probably a true arête because it appeared
+to be joined by a col to a sharp peak to the North. From the direction
+of this col a valley came down to the East and evidently drained into
+the Arun. This was one fact of supreme importance which was now
+established and we noticed that it agreed with what was shown on the
+map; the map in fact went up in our esteem and we were inclined
+hereafter to believe in its veracity until we established the contrary.
+Another fact was even more remarkable. We knew something more about the
+great peak near Everest which we had seen from Kampa Dzong; we knew now
+that it was not a separate mountain; in a sense it was part of Everest,
+or rather Everest was not one mountain but two; this great black
+mountain to the South was connected with Everest by a continuous arête
+and divided from it only by a snow col which must itself be at least
+27,000 feet high. The black cliffs of this mountain, which faced us,
+were continuous with the icy East face of Everest itself.
+
+A bank of cloud still lay across the face of the mountain when Bullock
+and I left the crest where we were established. It was late in the
+afternoon. We had looked down into the gorge and watched our little
+donkeys crossing the stream. Now we proceeded to follow their tracks
+across the plain. The wind was fiercely blowing up the sand and swept it
+away to leeward, transforming the dead flat surface into a wriggling sea
+of watered silk. The party were all sheltering in their tents when we
+rejoined them. Our camp was situated on a grassy bank below which by
+some miracle a spring wells out from the sand. We also sought shelter.
+But a short while after sunset the wind subsided. We all came forth and
+proceeded to a little eminence near at hand; and as we looked down the
+valley there was Everest calm in the stillness of evening and clear in
+the last light.
+
+I have dwelt upon this episode at some length partly because in all our
+travels before we reached the mountain it is for me beyond other
+adventures unforgettable; and not less because the vision of Everest
+inhabiting our minds after this day had no small influence upon our
+deductions when we came to close quarters with the mountain. We made
+other opportunities before reaching Tingri to ascend likely hills for
+what we could see; notably from Shekar Dzong we made a divergence from
+the line of march and from a hill above Ponglet, on a morning of
+cloudless sunrise, saw the whole group of mountains of which Everest is
+the centre. But no view was so instructive as that above Shiling and we
+added little to the knowledge gained that day.
+
+On June 23, after a day's interval to arrange stores, the climbing party
+set forth from Tingri Dzong. We were two Sahibs, sixteen coolies, a
+Sirdar, Gyalzen and a cook Dukpa. The process of selecting the coolies
+had been begun some time before this; the long task of nailing their
+boots had been nearly completed on the march and we were now confident
+that sixteen of the best Sherpas with their climbing boots, ice axes and
+each a suit of underwear would serve us well. The Sirdar through whom
+coolies had been engaged in the first instance seemed to understand what
+was wanted and to have sufficient authority, and Dukpa, though we could
+not expect from him any culinary refinements, had shown himself a person
+of some energy and competence who should do much to reduce the
+discomforts of life in camp. Our equipment was seriously deficient in
+one respect: we were short of words. A few hours spent in Darjeeling
+with a Grammar of Tibetan had easily convinced me that I should profit
+little in the short time available by the study of that language. It had
+been assumed by both Bullock and myself that our experienced leaders
+would give the necessary orders for organisation in any dialect that
+might be required. We had found little opportunity since losing them to
+learn a language, and our one hope of conversing with the Sirdar was a
+vocabulary of about 150 words which I had written down in a notebook to
+be committed to memory on the march and consulted when occasion should
+arise.
+
+The task before us was not likely to prove a simple and straightforward
+matter, and we had no expectation that it would be quickly concluded. It
+would be necessary in the first place to find the mountain; as we looked
+across the wide plains from Tingri and saw the dark monsoon clouds
+gathered in all directions we were not reassured. And there would be
+more than one approach to be found. We should have to explore a number
+of valleys radiating from Everest and separated by high ridges which
+would make lateral communication extremely difficult; we must learn from
+which direction various parts of the mountain could most conveniently be
+reached. And beyond all investigation of the approaches we should have
+to scrutinise Mount Everest itself. Our reconnaissance must aim at a
+complete knowledge of the various faces and arêtes, a correct
+understanding of the whole form and structure of the mountain and the
+distribution of its various parts; we must distinguish the vulnerable
+places in its armour and finally pit our skill against the obstacles
+wherever an opportunity of ascent should appear until all such
+opportunities were exhausted. The whole magnitude of the enterprise was
+very present in our minds as we left Tingri. We decided that a
+preliminary reconnaissance should include the first two aims of finding
+the approaches to Mount Everest and determining its shape, while
+anything in the nature of an assault should be left to the last as a
+separate stage of organisation and effort. In the result we may claim to
+have kept these ends in view without allowing the less important to prey
+upon the greater. So long as a doubt remained as to the way we should
+choose we made no attempt to climb the peak; we required ourselves first
+to find out as much as possible by more distant observations.
+
+Mount Everest, as it turned out, did not prove difficult to find. Almost
+in the direct line from Tingri are two great peaks respectively 26,870
+and 25,990 feet high--known to the Survey of India as M_{1} and M_{2}
+and to Tibetans as Cho-Uyo and Gyachung Kang. They lie about W.N.W. of
+Everest. We had to decide whether we should pass to the South of them,
+leaving them on our left, or to the North. In the first case we surmised
+that we might find ourselves to the South of a western arête of Everest,
+and possibly in Nepal, which was out of bounds. The arête, if it
+existed, might perhaps be reached from the North and give us the view we
+should require of the South-western side, in which case one base would
+serve us for a large area of investigation and we should economise time
+that would otherwise be spent in moving our camp round from one side to
+another. Consequently we chose the Northern approach. We learned from
+local knowledge that in two days we might reach a village and monastery
+called Chöbuk, and from there could follow a long valley to Everest. And
+so it proved. Chöbuk was not reached without some difficulty, but this
+was occasioned not by obstacles in the country but by the manners of
+Tibetans. At Tingri we had hired four pack animals. We had proceeded 2
+or 3 miles across the plain when we perceived they were heading in the
+wrong direction. We were trusting to the guidance of their local drivers
+and felt very uncertain as to where exactly we should be aiming; but
+their line was about 60° to the South of our objective according to a
+guesswork compass bearing. An almost interminable three-cornered
+argument followed. It appeared that our guides intended to take five
+days to Chöbuk. They knew all about "ca' canny." In the end we decided
+to take the risk of a separation; Gyalzen went with the bullocks and our
+tents to change transport at the village where we were intended to stay
+the night, while the rest of us made a bee line for a bridge where we
+should have to cross the Rongbuk stream. At the foot of a vast moraine
+we waited on the edge of the "maidan," anxiously hoping that we should
+see some sign of fresh animals approaching; and at length we saw them.
+It was a late camp that evening on a strip of meadow beside the stream,
+but we had the comfort of reflecting that we had foiled the natives,
+whose aim was to retard our progress; and in the sequel we reached our
+destination with no further trouble.
+
+[Illustration: CHO-UYO.]
+
+On June 25 we crossed the stream at Chöbuk. Tibetan bridges are so
+constructed as to offer the passenger ample opportunities of
+experiencing the sensation of insecurity and contemplating the
+possibilities of disaster. This one was no exception. We had no wish to
+risk our stores, and it was planned that the beasts should swim. They
+were accordingly unladen and driven with yell and blow by a willing
+crowd, until one more frightened than the rest plunged into the torrent
+and the others followed. We now found ourselves on the right bank of the
+Rongbuk stream, and knew we had but to follow it up to reach the glacier
+at the head of the valley. An hour or so above Chöbuk we entered a gorge
+with high red cliffs above us on the left. Below them was a little space
+of fertile ground where the moisture draining down from the limestone
+above was caught before it reached the stream--a green ribbon stretched
+along the margin with grass and low bushes, yellow-flowering asters,
+rhododendrons and juniper. I think we had never seen anything so green
+since we came up on to the tableland of Tibet. It was a day of brilliant
+sunshine, as yet warm and windless. The memory of Alpine meadows came
+into my mind. I remembered their manifold allurements; I could almost
+smell the scent of pines. Now I was filled with the desire to lie here
+in this "oasis" and live at ease and sniff the clean fragrance of
+mountain plants. But we went on, on and up the long valley winding
+across a broad stony bay; and all the stony hillsides under the midday
+sun were alike monotonously dreary. At length we followed the path up a
+steeper rise crowned by two chortens between which it passes. We paused
+here in sheer astonishment. Perhaps we had half expected to see Mount
+Everest at this moment. In the back of my mind were a host of questions
+about it clamouring for answer. But the sight of it now banished every
+thought. We forgot the stony wastes and regrets for other beauties. We
+asked no questions and made no comment, but simply looked.
+
+It is perhaps because Everest presented itself so dramatically on this
+occasion that I find the Northern aspect more particularly imaged in my
+mind, when I recall the mountain. But in any case this aspect has a
+special significance. The Rongbuk Valley is well constructed to show off
+the peak at its head; for about 20 miles it is extraordinarily straight
+and in that distance rises only 4,000 feet, the glacier, which is 10
+miles long, no more steeply than the rest. In consequence of this
+arrangement one has only to be raised very slightly above the bed of the
+valley to see it almost as a flat way up to the very head of the glacier
+from which the cliffs of Everest spring. To the place where Everest
+stands one looks along rather than up. The glacier is prostrate; not a
+part of the mountain; not even a pediment; merely a floor footing the
+high walls. At the end of the valley and above the glacier Everest rises
+not so much a peak as a prodigious mountain-mass. There is no
+complication for the eye. The highest of the world's great mountains, it
+seems, has to make but a single gesture of magnificence to be lord of
+all, vast in unchallenged and isolated supremacy. To the discerning eye
+other mountains are visible, giants between 23,000 and 26,000 feet high.
+Not one of their slenderer heads even reaches their chief's shoulder;
+beside Everest they escape notice--such is the pre-eminence of the
+greatest.
+
+Considered as a structure Mount Everest is seen from the Rongbuk Valley
+to achieve height with amazing simplicity. The steep wall 10,000 feet
+high is contained between two colossal members--to the left the
+North-eastern arête, which leaves the summit at a gentle angle and in a
+distance of about half a mile descends only 1,000 feet before turning
+more sharply downwards from a clearly defined shoulder; and to the
+right the North-west arête (its true direction is about W.N.W.), which
+comes down steeply from the summit but makes up for the weaker nature of
+this support by immense length below. Such is the broad plan. In one
+respect it is modified. The wide angle between the two main arêtes
+involves perhaps too long a face; a further support is added. The
+Northern face is brought out a little below the North-east shoulder and
+then turned back to meet the crest again, so that from the point of the
+shoulder a broad arête leads down to the North and is connected by a
+snow col at about 23,000 feet with a Northern wing of mountains which
+forms the right bank of the Rongbuk Glacier and to some extent masks the
+view of the lower parts of Everest. Nothing could be stronger than this
+arrangement and it is nowhere fantastic. We do not see jagged crests and
+a multitude of pinnacles, and beautiful as such ornament may be we do
+not miss it. The outline is comparatively smooth because the
+stratification is horizontal, a circumstance which seems again to give
+strength, emphasising the broad foundations. And yet Everest is a rugged
+giant. It has not the smooth undulations of a snow mountain with white
+snow cap and glaciated flanks. It is rather a great rock mass, coated
+often with a thin layer of white powder which is blown about its sides,
+and bearing perennial snow only on the gentler ledges and on several
+wide faces less steep than the rest. One such place is the long arm of
+the North-west arête which with its slightly articulated buttresses is
+like the nave of a vast cathedral roofed with snow. I was, in fact,
+reminded often by this Northern view of Winchester Cathedral with its
+long high nave and low square tower; it is only at a considerable
+distance that one appreciates the great height of this building and the
+strength which seems capable of supporting a far taller tower. Similarly
+with Everest; the summit lies back so far along the immense arêtes that
+big as it always appears one required a distant view to realise its
+height; and it has no spire though it might easily bear one; I have
+thought sometimes that a Matterhorn might be piled on the top of Everest
+and the gigantic structure would support the added weight in stable
+equanimity.
+
+On June 26 we pitched our tents in full view of Everest and a little way
+beyond the large monastery of Chöyling which provides the habitations
+nearest to the mountain, about 16 miles away. After three days' march
+from the Expedition's headquarters at Tingri we had found the object of
+our quest and established a base in the Rongbuk Valley, which was to
+serve us for a month.
+
+The first steps in a prolonged reconnaissance such as we were proposing
+to undertake were easily determined by topographical circumstances.
+Neither Bullock nor I was previously acquainted with any big mountains
+outside the Alps; to our experience in the Alps we had continually to
+refer, both for understanding this country and for estimating the
+efforts required to reach a given point in it. The Alps provided a
+standard of comparison which alone could be our guide until we had
+acquired some fresh knowledge in the new surroundings. No feature of
+what we saw so immediately challenged this comparison as the glacier
+ahead of us; in so narrow a glacier it was hardly surprising that the
+lower part of it should be covered with stones, but higher the whole
+surface was white ice, and the white ice came down in a broad stream
+tapering gradually to a point when it was lost in the waste of the brown
+grey. What was the meaning of this? Even from a distance it was possible
+to make out that the white stream contained pinnacles of ice. Was it all
+composed of pinnacles? Would they prove an insuperable obstacle? In the
+Alps the main glaciers are most usually highways, the ways offered to
+the climber for his travelling. Were they not to prove highways here?
+
+Our first expedition was designed to satisfy our curiosity on this head.
+Allowing a bountiful margin of time for untoward contingencies we set
+forth on June 27 with five coolies at 3.15 a.m., and made our way up the
+valley with a good moon to help us. To be tramping under the stars
+toward a great mountain is always an adventure; now we were adventuring
+for the first time in a new mountain country which still held in store
+for us all its surprises and almost all its beauties. It was not our
+plan at present to make any allowance for the special condition of
+elevation; we expected to learn how that condition would tell and how to
+make allowances for the future. We started from our camp at 16,000
+feet--above the summit of Mont Blanc--just as we should have left an
+Alpine hut 6,000 feet lower, and when we took our first serious halt at
+7 a.m. had already crossed the narrow end of the glacier. That short
+experience--an hour or so--was sufficient for the moment. The hummocks
+of ice covered with stones of all sizes--like the huge waves of a brown
+angry sea--gave us no chance of ascending the glacier; one might
+hopefully follow a trough for a little distance but invariably to be
+stopped by the necessity of mounting once more to a crest and descending
+again on the other side. Nevertheless, we were not dissatisfied with our
+progress. We were now in a stream bed between the glacier and its left
+bank and above the exit of the main glacier stream, which comes out on
+this side well above the snout. The watercourse offered an opportunity
+of progress; it was dry almost everywhere and for a bout of leaping from
+boulder to boulder we were usually rewarded by a space of milder walking
+on the flat sandy bed. Our pace I considered entirely satisfactory as we
+went on after breakfast; unconsciously I was led into something like a
+race by one of the coolies who was pressing along at my side. I noticed
+that though he was slightly built he seemed extremely strong and active,
+compact of muscle; but he had not yet learnt the art of walking
+rhythmically and balancing easily from stone to stone. I wondered how
+long he would keep up. Presently we came to a corner where our stream
+bed ended and a small glacier-snout was visible above us apparently
+descending from the Northwest. We gathered on a high bank of stones to
+look out over the glacier. I observed now that the whole aspect of the
+party had changed. The majority were more than momentarily tired, they
+were visibly suffering from some sort of malaise. It was not yet nine
+o'clock and we had risen barely 2,000 feet, but their spirits had gone.
+There were grunts instead of laughter.
+
+The glacier's left bank which we were following was now trending to the
+right. To the South and standing in front of the great North-west arm of
+Everest was a comparatively small and very attractive snow peak, perhaps
+a little less than 21,000 feet high. We had harboured a vague ambition
+to reach its shoulder, a likely point for prospecting the head of the
+Rongbuk Glacier. But between us and this objective was a wide stretch of
+hummocky ice which had every appearance of being something more than a
+mere bay of the main glacier. We suspected a western branch and
+proceeded to confirm our suspicion. After a rough crossing below the
+glacier above us we were fortunate enough to find another trough wider
+than the first and having a flat sandy bottom where we walked easily
+enough. Presently leaving the coolies to rest on the edge of the glacier
+Bullock and I mounted a high stony shoulder, and from there, at 18,500
+feet, saw the glacier stretching away to the West, turning sharply below
+us to rise more steeply than before. Cloud prevented us from
+distinguishing what appeared to be a high mountain ridge at the far end
+of it.
+
+It was evident that nothing was to be gained at present by pushing our
+investigations further to the West. Our curiosity was as yet unsatisfied
+about those white spires of ice to which our eyes had constantly
+returned. We declined the alternative of retracing our steps and without
+further delay set about to cross the glacier. It was now eleven o'clock
+and we were under no delusion that the task before us would be other
+than arduous and long. But the reward in interest and valuable
+information promised to be great, for, by exploring the glacier's right
+bank during our descent we should learn all we wanted to know before
+making plans for an advance. And we hoped to be in before dark.
+
+The stone-covered ice on which we first embarked compared favourably
+with that of our earlier experience before breakfast. The sea, so to
+speak, was not so choppy; the waves were longer. We were able to follow
+convenient troughs for considerable distances. But at the bottom of a
+trough which points whither it will it is impossible to keep a definite
+direction and difficult to know to what extent one is erring. An hour's
+hard work was required to bring us to the edge of the white ice. Our
+first question was answered at a glance. It had always seemed improbable
+that these were séracs such as one meets on an Alpine icefall, and
+clearly they were not. We saw no signs of lateral crevasses. The shapes
+were comparatively conical and regular, not delicately poised but firmly
+based, safely perpendicular and not dangerously impending. They were the
+result not of movement but of melting, and it was remarkable that on
+either side the black ice looked over the white, as though the glacier
+had sunk in the middle. The pinnacles resembled a topsy-turvy system of
+colossal icicles, icicles thrust upwards from a common icy mass, the
+whole resting on a definable floor. The largest were about 50 feet high.
+
+We were divided from this fairy world of spires by a deep boundary moat
+and entered it on the far side by what may be described as a door but
+that it had no lintel. An alley led us over a low wall and we had
+reached the interior. A connected narrative of our wanderings in this
+amazing country could hardly be true to its disconnected character. The
+White Rabbit himself would have been bewildered here. No course seemed
+to lead anywhere. Our idea was to keep to the floor so far as we were
+able; but most usually we were scrambling up a chimney or slithering
+down one, cutting round the foot of a tower or actually traversing along
+an icy crest. To be repeatedly crossing little cols with the continued
+expectation of seeing a way beyond was a sufficiently exciting labour;
+it was also sufficiently laborious since the chopping of steps was
+necessary almost everywhere; but fatigue was out of sight in the
+enchanted scene, with the cool delight of little lakes, of the ice
+reflected in their unruffled waters and of blue sky showing between the
+white spires. We had but one misadventure, and that of no
+consequence--it was my fate when crossing the frozen surface of one
+little lake to suffer a sudden immersion: the loss of dignity perhaps
+was more serious than the chilling of ardour, for we soon came upon a
+broadening alley and came out from our labyrinth as suddenly as we
+entered it, to lie and bask in the warm sun.
+
+Our crossing of the white ice after all had taken little more than two
+hours, and we might well consider ourselves fortunate. But it must be
+remembered that we were far from fresh at the start and now the reaction
+set in. The stone-covered glacier on this side, besides being a much
+narrower belt was clearly not going to give us trouble, and after an
+ample halt we started across it easily enough. On the right bank we had
+noticed many hours before above the glacier a broad flat shelf,
+presumably an old moraine, and a clear mark along the hillside away down
+to a point below the snout. This was now our objective and no doubt once
+we had gained it our troubles would be ended. But in the first place it
+had to be gained. In the Alps it has often seemed laborious to go up
+hill towards the end of a day: it was a new sensation to find it an
+almost impossible exertion to drag oneself up a matter of 150 feet. And
+further exertions were to be required of us. A little way down the
+valley a glacier stream came in on our right; we had observed this
+before and hopefully expected to follow our terrace round and rejoin it
+on the far side of the gully. But it was late in the afternoon and the
+stream was at its fullest. We followed it down with defeated
+expectations; it always proved just too dangerous to cross. Finally it
+formed a lake at the edge of the glacier before disappearing beneath it
+and obliged us to make a detour on the ice once more. I suppose this
+obstacle was mild enough; but again an ascent was involved, and after it
+at least one member of the party seemed incapable of further effort.
+Another halt was necessary. We were now down to about 17,000 feet and at
+the head of a long passage at the side of the glacier, similar to that
+we had ascended in the morning on the other bank. Those who suffer from
+altitude on a mountain have a right to expect a recovery on the descent.
+But I saw no signs of one yet. It was a long painful hour balancing from
+boulder to boulder along the passage, with the conscious effort of
+keeping up the feat until we came out into the flat basin at the glacier
+end. Then as we left the glacier behind us the day seemed to come right.
+One obstacle remained, a stream which had been crossed with difficulty
+in the morning and was now swollen to a formidable torrent. It was
+carried with a rush--this was no moment for delay. Each man chose his
+own way for a wetting; for my part, after a series of exciting leaps on
+to submerged stones I landed in the deepest part of the stream with the
+pick of my axe dug into the far bank to help me scramble out. After this
+I remember only of the last 4 miles the keen race against the gathering
+darkness; fatigue was forgotten and we reached camp at 8.15 p.m., tired
+perhaps, but not exhausted.
+
+It has seemed necessary to give an account of this first expedition in
+some detail in order to emphasise certain conditions which governed all
+our movements from the Rongbuk Valley. We now knew how to get about.
+Flat though the glacier might be, it was no use for travelling in any
+part we had seen, not a road but an obstacle. The obstacle, however, had
+not proved insurmountable, and though the crossing had been laborious
+and long, we were not convinced that it need be so long another time;
+careful reconnaissance might reveal a better way, and we had little
+doubt that both the main glacier and its Western branch could be used
+freely for lateral communication if we chose. It would not always be
+necessary in organising an expedition to be encamped on one side of the
+glacier rather than the other. And we had discovered that it was not a
+difficult matter to make our way along the glacier sides; we could
+choose either a trough or a shelf.
+
+We had also been greatly interested by the phenomena of fatigue. The
+most surprising fact when we applied our standard of comparison was that
+coming down had proved so laborious; Bullock and I had each discovered
+independently that we got along better when we remembered to breathe
+hard, and we already suspected what we afterwards established--that it
+was necessary to adopt a conscious method of breathing deeply for coming
+down as for going up. Another inference, subsequently confirmed on many
+occasions, accused the glacier. The mid-day sun had been hot as we
+crossed it and I seemed to notice some enervating influence which had
+not affected me elsewhere. It was the glacier that had knocked me out,
+not the hard work alone but some malignant quality in the atmosphere,
+which I can neither describe nor explain; and in crossing a glacier
+during the day I always afterwards observed the same effect; I might
+feel as fit and fresh as I could wish on the moraine at the side but
+only once succeeded in crossing a glacier without feeling a despairing
+lassitude.
+
+I shall now proceed to quote from my diary:
+
+_June_ 28.--A slack day in camp. It is difficult to induce coolies to
+take any steps to make themselves more comfortable. We're lucky to have
+this fine weather. The mountain appears not to be intended for climbing.
+I've no inclination to think about it in steps to the summit.
+Nevertheless, we gaze much through field-glasses. E. is, generally
+speaking, convex, steep in lower parts and slanting back to summit. Last
+section of East arête[4] should go; but rocks up to the shoulder are
+uninviting. An arête must join up here, coming down towards us and
+connecting up with first peak to N.[5] There's no true North arête to
+the summit, as we had supposed at first. It's more like this:
+
+  [4] It had not yet been established that the true direction of this
+      arête is North-east.
+
+  [5] i.e. the North Peak (Changtse).
+
+[Illustration]
+
+G. H. B. thinks little of the North-west arm. But I'm not so sure; much
+easy going on that snow if we can get to it and rocks above probably
+easier than they look--steep but broken. Are we seeing the true edge? I
+wish some folk at home could see the precipice on this side--a grim
+spectacle most unlike the long gentle snow slopes suggested by photos.
+Amusing to think how one's vision of the last effort has changed; it
+looked like crawling half-blind up easy snow, an even slope all the way
+up from a camp on a flat snow shoulder; but it won't be that sort of
+grind; we'll want climbers and not half-dazed ones; a tougher job than I
+bargained for, sanguine as usual.
+
+E. is a rock mountain.
+
+Obviously we must get round to the West first. The Western glacier looks
+as flat as this one. Perhaps we shall be able to walk round into
+another cwm[6] on the far side of North-west buttress.
+
+  [6] Cwm, combe or corry--the rounded head of a valley.
+
+_June_ 29.--Established First Advanced Camp.
+
+The start late, about 8 a.m., an hour later than ordered. Loads must be
+arranged better if anything is to be done efficiently. Gyalzen's
+response to being hustled is to tie knots or collect tent pegs--with no
+idea of superintending operations. An exciting day with destination
+unfixed. We speculated that the shelf on the left bank would resemble
+that on right. A passage on stone-covered glacier unavoidable and bad
+for coolies--perhaps to-day's loads were too heavy for this sort of
+country. From breakfast place of 27th I went on with Gyalzen, following
+up a fresh-water stream to the shelf; good going on this shelf for forty
+minutes, with no sign of more water, and I decided to come back to the
+stream. Just as we were turning I saw a pond of water and a spring, an
+ideal place, and it's much better to be further on. Real good luck. Wind
+blows down the glacier and the camp is well sheltered. Only crab that we
+lose the sun early--4 p.m. to-day; but on the other hand it should hit
+us very soon after sunrise.
+
+Coolies in between 3.30 and 4.30. Dorji Gompa first, stout fellow, with
+a big load. They seem happy and interested.... It should now be possible
+to carry reconnaissance well up the main glacier and to the basin
+Westwards without moving further--once we get accustomed to this
+elevation.
+
+_June_ 30.--A short day with second[7] party, following the shelf to a
+corner which marks roughly the junction of the main glacier with its
+Western branch. A clearing day after a good night; we found a good way
+across to the opposite corner, about an hour across, and came back in
+leisurely fashion. Neither B. nor I felt fit.
+
+  [7] The coolies had been divided into three parties which were to
+      spend four or five days in the advanced camp by turns to be
+      trained in the practice of mountaineering while the rest supplied
+      this camp from our base.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER XIII
+
+                    THE NORTHERN APPROACH--_continued_
+
+
+The reader will gather from these notes some idea of the whole nature of
+our problem and the subjects of our most anxious thoughts. The camp
+established on June 25 lasted us until July 8. Meanwhile the idea was
+growing, the vision of Everest as a structural whole, and of the
+glaciers and lower summits to North and West. This idea resembled the
+beginning of an artist's painting, a mere rough design at the start, but
+growing by steps of clearer definition in one part and another towards
+the precise completion of a whole. For us the mountain parts defined
+themselves in the mind as the result of various expeditions. We set out
+to gain a point of view with particular questions to be answered;
+partial answers and a new point of view stimulated more curiosity, other
+questions, and again the necessity to reach a particular place whence we
+imagined they might best be answered. And at the same time another aim
+had to be kept in mind. The coolies, though mountain-men, were not
+mountaineers. They had to be trained in the craft of mountaineering, in
+treading safely on snow or ice in dangerous places, in climbing easy
+rocks and most particularly in the use of rope and ice-axe--and this not
+merely for our foremost needs, but to ensure that, whenever we were able
+to launch an assault upon Mount Everest, and all would be put to the
+most exhausting test, they should have that reserve strength of a
+practised balance and ordered method on which security must ultimately
+depend.
+
+On July 1 I set out with five coolies to reach the head of the great cwm
+under the North face of Mount Everest. The snow on the upper glacier was
+soft and made very heavy going. Bad weather came up and in a race
+against the clouds we were beaten and failed to find out what happened
+to the glacier at its Western head under the North-west arête. My view
+of the col lying between Everest and the North Peak (Changtse)--the
+North Col as we now began to call it, or in Tibetan Chang La--was also
+unsatisfactory; but I saw enough to make out a broken glacier running up
+eastwards towards the gap with steep and uninviting snow slopes under
+the pass. I was now sure that before attempting to reach this col from
+the Rongbuk Glacier, if ever we determined to reach it, we should have
+to reconnoitre the other side and if possible find a more hopeful
+alternative; moreover, from a nearer inspection of the slopes below the
+North-west arête I was convinced that they could be chosen for an attack
+only as a last resort; if anything were to be attempted here, we must
+find a better way up from the East.
+
+I had vaguely hoped to bring the party home sufficiently fresh to climb
+again on the following day. But the fatigue of going in deep snow for
+three hours up the glacier, though we had been no higher than 19,100
+feet, had been too great, and again we had noticed only a slight relief
+in coming down; it was a tired party that dragged back over the glacier
+crossing and into camp at 6.15 p.m., thirteen hours after starting.
+
+July 3 was devoted to an expedition designed chiefly to take coolies on
+to steeper ground and at the same time to explore the small glacier
+which we had observed above us on the first day to the North-west; by
+following up the terrace from our present camp we could now come to the
+snout of it in half an hour or less. After working up the glacier we
+made for a snow col between two high peaks. On reaching a bergschrund we
+found above its upper lip hard ice, which continued no doubt to the
+ridge. While Bullock looked after the party below I cut a staircase
+slanting up to a small island of rock 100 feet away; from that security
+I began to bring the party up. We had now the interesting experience of
+seeing our coolies for the first time on real hard ice; it was not a
+convincing spectacle, as they made their way up with the ungainly
+movements of beginners; and though the last man never left the secure
+anchorage of the bergschrund, the proportion of two Sahibs to five
+coolies seemed lamentably weak, and when one man slipped from the steep
+steps at an awkward corner, though Bullock was able to hold him, it was
+clearly time to retire. But the descent was a better performance; the
+coolies were apt pupils, and we felt that with practice on the glacier
+the best of them should become safe mountaineers. And on this day we had
+reached a height of 21,000 feet[8] from our camp at 17,500 feet. I had
+the great satisfaction of observing that one could cut steps quite
+happily at this altitude. The peak lying to the North of the col, which
+had been our objective on this day, attracted our attention by its
+position; we thought it should have a commanding view over all this
+complicated country, and after a day in camp very pleasantly spent in
+receiving a visit from Colonel Howard-Bury and Dr. Heron, set out on
+July 5 determined to reach its summit. The start was made at 4.15 a.m.
+in the first light, an hour earlier than usual; we proceeded up the
+stone shoots immediately above our camp and after a halt for photography
+at the glorious moment of sunrise had made 2,500 feet and reached the
+high shoulder above us at 7 a.m. This place was connected with our peak
+by a snowy col which had now to be reached by a long traverse over a
+South-facing slope. Though the angle was not steep very little snow was
+lying here, and where the ice was peeping through it was occasionally
+necessary to cut steps. I felt it was a satisfactory performance to
+reach the col at 9.30 a.m.; the coolies had come well, though one of
+them was burdened with the quarter-plate camera; but evidently their
+efforts had already tired them. Ahead of us was a long, curving snow
+arête, slightly corniced and leading ultimately to a rocky shoulder. We
+thought that once this shoulder was gained the summit would be within
+our reach. Shortly after we went on two coolies dropped out, and by
+11.30 a.m. the rest had given up the struggle. It was fortunate that
+they fell out here and not later, for they were able to make their way
+down in our tracks and regain the col below in safety. The angle
+steepened as we went on very slowly now, but still steadily enough,
+until we reached the rocks, a frail slatey structure with short
+perpendicular pitches. From the shoulder onwards my memories are dim. I
+have the impression of a summit continually receding from the position
+imagined by sanguine hopes and of a task growing constantly more severe,
+of steeper sides, of steps to be cut, of a dwindling pace, more frequent
+little halts standing where we were, and of breathing quicker but no
+less deep and always conscious; the respiratory engine had to be kept
+running as the indispensable source of energy, and ever as we went on
+more work was required of it. At last we found ourselves without an
+alternative under an icy wall; but the ice was a delusion; in the soft
+flaky substance smothering rocks behind it we had strength left to cut a
+way up to the crest again, and after a few more steps were on the summit
+itself.
+
+  [8] Calculated from the readings of two aneroids, allowing a correction
+      for the height of the camp as established later by Major Wheeler.
+
+It was now 2.45 p.m. The aneroid used by Bullock, which, after
+comparison with one of Howard-Bury's was supposed to read low,
+registered 23,050 feet,[9] and we puffed out our chests as we examined
+it, computing that we had risen from our camp over 5,500 feet. The views
+both earlier in the day and at this moment were of the highest interest.
+To the East we had confirmed our impression of the North Peak as having
+a high ridge stretching eastwards and forming the side of whatever
+valley connected with the Arun River in this direction; the upper parts
+of Everest's North face had been clearly visible for a long time, and we
+could now be certain that they lay back at no impossibly steep angle,
+more particularly above the North col and up to the North-east shoulder.
+All we had seen immediately to the West of the mountain had been of the
+greatest interest, and had suggested the idea that the crinkled summit
+there might be connected not directly with Mount Everest itself, but
+only by way of the South peak. And finally we now saw the connections of
+all that lay around us with the two great triangulated peaks away to the
+West, Gyachung Kang, 25,990 and Cho-Uyo, 26,870 feet. While complaining
+of the clouds which had come up as usual during the morning to spoil our
+view we were not dissatisfied with the expansion of our knowledge and we
+were elated besides to be where we were. But our situation was far from
+perfectly secure. The ascent had come very near to exhausting our
+strength; for my part I felt distinctly mountain-sick; we might reflect
+that we should not be obliged to cut more steps, but we should have to
+proceed downwards with perfect accuracy of balance and a long halt was
+desirable. However, the clouds were now gathering about us, dark
+thunder-clouds come up from the North and threatening; it was clear we
+must not wait; after fifteen minutes on the summit we started down at
+three o'clock. Fortune favoured us. The wind was no more than a breeze;
+a few flakes of snow were unnoticed in our flight; the temperature was
+mild; the storm's malice was somehow dissipated with no harm done. We
+rejoined the coolies before five o'clock and were back in our camp at
+7.15 p.m., happy to have avoided a descent in the dark.
+
+  [9] The survey established the height of this peak as 22,520 feet,
+      and our subsequent experience suggests that aneroid barometers
+      habitually read too high when approaching the upper limit of
+      their record.
+
+Our next plan, based on our experience of this long mountain ridge, was
+to practise the coolies in the use of crampons on hard snow and ice. But
+snow fell heavily on the night of the 6th; we deferred our project. It
+was the beginning of worse weather; the monsoon was breaking in earnest.
+And though crampons afterwards came up to our camps wherever we went
+they were not destined to help us, and in the event were never used.
+
+On July 8 we moved up with a fresh party of seven coolies, taking only
+our lightest tents and no more than was necessary for three nights, in
+the hope that by two energetic expeditions we should reach the Western
+cwm which, we suspected, must exist on the far side of the North-west
+arête, and learn enough to found more elaborate plans for exploring this
+side of the mountain should they turn out to be necessary. Again we were
+fortunate in finding a good camping ground, better even than the first,
+for the floor of this shelf was grassy and soft, and as we were looking
+South across the West Rongbuk Glacier we had the sun late as well as
+early. But we were not completely happy. A Mummery tent may be well
+enough in fair weather, though even then its low roof suggests a
+recumbent attitude; it makes a poor dining-room, even for two men, and
+is a cold shelter from snow. Moreover, the cold and draught discouraged
+our Primus stove--but I leave to the imagination of those who have
+learned by experience the nausea that comes from the paraffin fumes and
+one's dirty hands and all the mess that may be. It was chiefly a
+question of incompetence, no doubt, but there was no consolation in
+admitting that. In the morning, with the weather still very thick and
+the snow lying about us we saw the error of our ways. Is it not a first
+principle of mountaineering to be as comfortable as possible as long as
+one can? And how long should we require for these operations in such
+weather? It was clear that our Second Advanced Camp must be organised on
+a more permanent basis. On the 9th therefore I went down to the base and
+moved it up on the following day so as to be within reach of our present
+position by one long march. The new place greatly pleased me; it was
+much more sheltered than the lower site and the tents were pitched on
+flat turf where a clear spring flowed out from the hillside and only a
+quarter of an hour below the end of the glacier. Meanwhile Bullock
+brought up the Whymper tents and more stores from the First Advanced
+Camp, which was now established as a half-way house with our big 80-foot
+tent standing in solemn grandeur to protect all that remained there. On
+July 10 I was back at the Second Advanced Camp and felt satisfied that
+the new arrangements, and particularly the presence of our cook, would
+give us a fair measure of comfort.
+
+But we were still unable to move next day. The snowfall during the night
+was the heaviest we had yet seen and continued into the next day.
+Probably the coolies were not sorry for a rest after some hard work; and
+we reckoned to make a long expedition so soon as the weather should
+clear. Towards evening on the 10th the clouds broke. Away to the
+South-west of us and up the glacier was the barrier range on the
+frontier of Nepal, terminated by one great mountain, Pumori, over 24,000
+feet high. To the West Rongbuk Glacier they present the steepest slopes
+on which snow can lie; the crest above these slopes is surprisingly
+narrow and the peaks which it joins are fantastically shaped. This group
+of mountains, always beautiful and often in the highest degree
+impressive, was now to figure for our eyes as the principal in that
+oft-repeated drama which seems always to be a first night, fresh and
+full of wonder whenever we are present to watch it. The clinging
+curtains were rent and swirled aside and closed again, lifted and
+lowered and flung wide at last; sunlight broke through with sharp
+shadows and clean edges revealed--and we were there to witness the
+amazing spectacle. Below the terrible mountains one white smooth island
+rose from the quiet sea of ice and was bathed in the calm full light of
+the Western sun before the splendour failed.
+
+With hopes inspired by the clearing views of this lovely evening, we
+started at 5.30 a.m. on July 12 to follow the glacier round to the South
+and perhaps enter the Western cwm. The glacier was a difficult problem.
+It looked easy enough to follow up the medial moraine to what we called
+the Island, a low mountain pushed out from the frontier ridge into the
+great sea of ice. But the way on Southwards from there would have been a
+gamble with the chances of success against us. We decided to cross the
+glacier directly to the South with a certainty that once we had reached
+the moraine on the other side we should have a clear way before us. It
+was exhilarating to set out again under a clear sky, and we were
+delighted to think that a large part of this task was accomplished when
+the sun rose full of warmth and cheerfulness. The far side was cut off
+by a stream of white ice, so narrow here that we expected with a little
+good fortune to get through it in perhaps half an hour. We entered it by
+a frozen stream leading into a bay with high white towers and ridges
+above us. A side door led through into a further bay which took us in
+the confidence of success almost through the maze. With some vigorous
+blows we cut our way up the final wall and then found ourselves on a
+crest overlooking the moraine with a sheer ice-precipice of about 100
+feet below us.
+
+The only hope was to come down again and work round to the right. Some
+exciting climbing and much hard work brought us at length to the foot of
+the cliffs and on the right side. The performance had taken us two and a
+half hours and it was now nearly ten o'clock. Clouds had already come up
+to obscure the mountains, and from the point of view of a prolonged
+exploration the day was clearly lost. Our course now was to make the
+best of it and yet get back so early to camp that we could set forth
+again on the following day. We had the interest, after following the
+moraine to the corner where the glacier bends Southwards, of making our
+way into the middle of the ice and finding out how unpleasant it can be
+to walk on a glacier melted everywhere into little valleys and ridges
+and covered with fresh snow. We got back at 3 p.m.
+
+[Illustration: SUMMIT OF MOUNT EVEREST AND NORTH PEAK from the Island,
+West Rongbuk Glacier.]
+
+On July 13, determined to make good, we started at 4.15 a.m. With the
+knowledge gained on the previous day and the use of 250 feet of spare
+rope we were able to find our way through the ice pinnacles and reached
+the far moraine in less than an hour and a half; and we had the further
+good fortune when we took to the snow to find it now in such good
+condition that we were able to walk on the surface without using our
+snow-shoes. As we proceeded up the slopes where the snow steepened the
+weather began to thicken and we halted at 8 a.m. in a thick mist with a
+nasty wind and some snow falling. It was a cold halt. We were already
+somewhat disillusioned about our glacier, which seemed to be much more
+narrow than was to be expected if it were really a high-road to the
+Western cwm, and as we went on with the wind blowing the snow into our
+faces so that nothing could be clearly distinguished we had the sense of
+a narrowing place and a perception of the even surface being broken up
+into large crevasses on one side and the other. At 9.30 we could go no
+further. For a few hundred yards we had been traversing a slope which
+rose above us on our left, and now coming out on to a little spur we
+stood peering down through the mist and knew ourselves to be on the edge
+of a considerable precipice. Not a single feature of the landscape
+around us was even faintly visible in the cloud. For a time we stayed on
+with the dim hope of better things and then reluctantly retired, baffled
+and bewildered.
+
+Where had we been? It was impossible to know; but at least it was
+certain there was no clear way to the West side of Everest. We could
+only suppose that we had reached a col on the frontier of Nepal.
+
+A further disappointment awaited us when we reached camp at 1 p.m. I had
+made a simple plan to ensure our supply of gobar[10] and rations from
+the base camp. The supplies had not come up and it was not the sort of
+weather to be without a fire for cooking.
+
+  [10] In the Rongbuk Valley there was no wood and our supply of yak dung
+       had to come up from Chöbuk.
+
+I shall now proceed to quote my diary:--
+
+_July_ 14.--A day of rest, but with no republican demonstrations. Very
+late breakfast after some snow in the night. Piquet after tiffin and
+again after dinner was very consoling. The little streams we found here
+on our arrival are drying up; it seems that not much snow can have
+fallen higher.
+
+_July_ 15.--Started 6 a.m. to explore the glacier to West and
+North-west. A very interesting view just short of the Island; the South
+peak appearing. Fifty minutes there for photos; then hurried on in the
+hope of seeing more higher up and at a greater distance. It is really a
+dry glacier here but with snow frozen over the surface making many
+pitfalls. We had a good many wettings in cold water up to the knees. The
+clouds were just coming up as we halted on the medial moraine. I waited
+there in hope of better views, while Bullock took on the coolies. They
+put on snow-shoes for the first time and seemed to go very well in them.
+Ultimately I struggled across the glacier, bearing various burdens, to
+meet them as they came down on a parallel moraine. Snow-shoes seemed
+useful, but very awkward to leap in. Bullock went a long way up the
+glacier, rising very slightly towards the peak Cho-Uyo, 26,870 feet.
+Evidently there is a flat pass over into Nepal near this peak, but he
+did not quite reach it.
+
+The topographical mystery centres about the West Peak. Is there an arête
+connecting this with the great rock peak South of Everest or is it
+joined up with the col we reached the day before yesterday? The shape of
+the West cwm and the question of its exit will be solved if we can
+answer these questions. Bullock and I are agreed that the glacier there
+has probably an exit on the Nepal side. It all remains extremely
+puzzling. We saw the North col quite clearly to-day, and again the way
+up from there does not look difficult.
+
+A finer day and quite useful. Chitayn[11] started out with us and went
+back. He appears to be seedy, but has been quite hopeless as Sirdar down
+in the base camp and is without authority. It is a great handicap
+having no one to look after things down there. Chitayn is returning to
+Tingri to-morrow. I hope he will cheer up again.
+
+  [11] A useful coolie with experience in the Indian Army. I had used him
+       as second Sirdar.
+
+_July_ 16.--I made an early start with two coolies at 2.45 a.m. and
+followed the medial moraine to the Island. Reached the near summit at
+sunrise about 5.30. Difficult to imagine anything more exciting than the
+clear view of all peaks. Those near me to the South-west quickly bathed
+in sun and those to the South and East showing me their dark faces. To
+the left of our col of July 13 a beautiful sharp peak stood in front of
+the gap between Everest and the North Peak, Changtse. Over this col I
+saw the North-west buttress of Everest hiding the lower half of the West
+face which must be a tremendous precipice of rock. The last summit of
+the South Peak, Lhotse, was immediately behind the shoulder; to the
+right (i.e. West) of it I saw a terrible arête stretching a long
+distance before it turned upwards in my direction and towards the West
+Peak. This mountain dropped very abruptly to the North, indicating a big
+gap on the far side of our col. There was the mysterious cwm lying in
+cold shadow long after the sun warmed me! But I now half understand it.
+The col under the North-west buttress at the head of the Rongbuk Glacier
+is one entrance, and our col of July 13, with how big a drop one knows
+not, another.
+
+I stayed till 7 a.m. taking photos, a dozen plates exposed in all. The
+sky was heavy and a band of cloud had come across Everest before I left.
+
+Back to breakfast towards 9 a.m. A pleasant morning collecting flowers,
+not a great variety but some delicious honey scents and an occasional
+cheerful blue poppy.
+
+_July_ 17.--More trouble with our arrangements. The Sirdar has muddled
+the rations and the day is wasted. However, the weather is bad, constant
+snow showers from 1 to 8 p.m., so that I am somewhat reconciled to this
+reverse.
+
+_July_ 18.--Yesterday's plan carried out--to move up a camp with light
+tents and make a big push over into the West cwm; eight coolies to
+carry the loads. But the loads have been too heavy. What can be cut out
+next time? I cannot see many unnecessary articles. Heavy snow showers
+fell as we came up and we had rather a cheerless encampment, but with
+much heaving of stones made good places for the tents. A glorious night
+before we turned in. Dark masses of cloud were gathered round the peak
+above us; below, the glacier was clear and many splendid mountains were
+half visible. The whole scene was beautifully lit by a bright moon.
+
+_July_ 19.--Started 3 a.m.; still some cloud, particularly to the West.
+The moon just showed over the mountains in that direction which cast
+their strange black shadows on the snowfield. One amazing black tooth
+was standing up against the moonlight. No luck on the glacier and we had
+to put on snow-shoes at once. An exciting walk. I so much feared the
+cloud would spoil all. It was just light enough to get on without
+lanterns after the moon went down. At dawn almost everything was
+covered, but not by heavy clouds. Like guilty creatures of darkness
+surprised by the light they went scattering away as we came up and the
+whole scene opened out. The North ridge of Everest was clear and bright
+even before sunrise. We reached the col at 5 a.m., a fantastically
+beautiful scene; and we looked across into the West cwm at last,
+terribly cold and forbidding under the shadow of Everest. It was nearly
+an hour after sunrise before the sun hit the West Peak.
+
+But another disappointment--it is a big drop about 1,500 feet down to
+the glacier, and a hopeless precipice. I was hoping to get away to the
+left and traverse into the cwm; that too quite hopeless. However, we
+have seen this Western glacier and are not sorry we have not to go up
+it. It is terribly steep and broken. In any case work on this side could
+only be carried out from a base in Nepal, so we have done with the
+Western side. It was not a very likely chance that the gap between
+Everest and the South Peak could be reached from the West. From what we
+have seen now I do not much fancy it would be possible, even could one
+get up the glacier.
+
+[Illustration: MOUNT EVEREST FROM THE RONGBUK GLACIER nine miles
+north-west.]
+
+We saw a lovely group of mountains away to the South in Nepal. I wonder
+what they are and if anything is known about them. It is a big world!
+
+                     *       *       *       *       *
+
+With this expedition on July 19 our reconnaissance of these parts had
+ended. We proceeded at once to move down our belongings; on July 20 all
+tents and stores were brought down to the base camp and we had said
+good-bye to the West Rongbuk Glacier.
+
+So far as we were concerned with finding a way up the mountain, little
+enough had been accomplished; and yet our growing view of the mountain
+had been steadily leading to one conviction. If ever the mountain were
+to be climbed, the way would not lie along the whole length of any one
+of its colossal ridges. Progress could only be made along comparatively
+easy ground, and anything like a prolonged sharp crest or a series of
+towers would inevitably bar the way simply by the time which would be
+required to overcome such obstacles. But the North arête coming down to
+the gap between Everest and the North Peak, Changtse, is not of this
+character. From the horizontal structure of the mountain there is no
+excrescence of rock pinnacles in this part and the steep walls of rock
+which run across the North face are merged with it before they reach
+this part, which is comparatively smooth and continuous, a bluntly
+rounded edge. We had still to see other parts of the mountain, but
+already it seemed unlikely that we would find more favourable ground
+than this. The great question before us now was to be one of access.
+Could the North col be reached from the East and how could we attain
+this point?
+
+At the very moment when we reached the base camp I received a note from
+Colonel Howard-Bury telling us that his departure from Tingri was fixed
+for July 23 and that he would be sleeping at Chöbuk in the valley below
+us two days later on his way to Kharta. It was now an obvious plan to
+synchronise our movements with his.
+
+Besides the branch which we had already explored the Rongbuk Glacier has
+yet another which joins the main stream from the East about 10 miles
+from Everest. It had always excited our curiosity, and I now proposed to
+explore it in the initial stages of a journey across the unknown ridges
+and valleys which separated us from Kharta. I calculated that we should
+want eight days' provisions, and that we should just have time to
+organise a camp in advance and start on the 25th with a selected party,
+sending down the rest to join Howard-Bury. And it was an integral part
+of the scheme that on one of the intervening days I should ascend a spur
+to the North of the glacier where we proposed to march in order to
+obtain a better idea of this country to the East. But we were now in the
+thickest of the monsoon weather; the 21st and 22nd were both wet days
+and we woke on the 23rd to find snow all around us nearly a foot deep;
+it had come down as low as 16,000 feet. It was hardly the weather to cut
+ourselves adrift and wander among the uncharted spurs of Everest, and we
+thought of delaying our start. Further it transpired that our
+organisation was not running smoothly--it never did run smoothly so long
+as we employed, as an indispensable Sirdar, a whey-faced treacherous
+knave whose sly and calculated villainy too often, before it was
+discovered, deprived our coolies of their food, and whose acquiescence
+in his own illimitable incompetence was only less disgusting than his
+infamous duplicity. It was the hopeless sense that things were bound to
+go wrong if we trusted to this man's services--and we had no one else at
+that time through whom it was possible to order supplies from the
+natives--that turned the scale and spoilt the plan. Even so, in the
+natural course of events, I should have obtained my preliminary view.
+But on the night of the 22nd I received from Howard-Bury an extremely
+depressing piece of news, that all my photos taken with the
+quarter-plate camera had failed--for the good reason that the plates
+had been inserted back to front, a result of ignorance and
+misunderstanding. It was necessary as far as possible to repair this
+hideous error, and the next two days were spent in a photographic
+expedition. And so it came about that we saw no more until a much later
+date of the East Rongbuk Glacier. Had our plan been carried out even in
+the smallest part by a cursory survey of what lay ahead, I should not
+now have to tell a story which is lamentably incomplete in one respect.
+For the East Rongbuk Glacier is one way, and the obvious way when you
+see it, to the North Col. It was discovered by Major Wheeler before ever
+we saw it, in the course of his photographic survey; but neither he, nor
+Bullock, nor I have ever traversed its whole length.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+We should have attached more importance, no doubt, in the early stages
+of reconnaissance, to the East Rongbuk Glacier had we not been deceived
+in two ways by appearances. It had been an early impression left in my
+mind, at all events, by what we saw from Shiling, that a deep valley
+came down to the East as the R.G.S. map suggests, draining into the Arun
+and having the North-east arête of Everest as its right bank at the
+start. Further, the head of this valley seemed to be, as one would
+expect, the gap between Everest and the first peak to the North which
+itself has also an Eastern arm to form the left bank of such a valley.
+The impression was confirmed not only by an excellent view from a hill
+above Ponglet (two days before Tingri and about 35 miles North of
+Everest), but by all nearer and more recent views of the mountains East
+of the Rongbuk Glacier. The idea that a glacier running parallel to the
+Rongbuk started from the slopes of Everest itself and came so far to
+turn Westward in the end hardly occurred to us at this time. From
+anything we had seen there was no place for such a glacier, and it was
+almost unimaginable that the great mountain range running North from the
+North Col, Chang La, was in no part a true watershed. We saw the East
+Rongbuk Glacier stretching away to the East and perceived also a bay to
+the South. But how, if this bay were of any importance, could the
+glacier stream be so small? We had found it too large to cross, it is
+true, late in the afternoon of our first expedition, but only just too
+large; and again it seems now an unbelievable fact that so large an area
+of ice should give so small a volume of water. The glacier streams are
+remarkably small in all the country we explored, but this one far more
+surprisingly small than any other we saw.
+
+[Illustration: SUMMIT OF MOUNT EVEREST AND SOUTH PEAK from the Island,
+West Rongbuk Glacier.]
+
+It was some measure of consolation in these circumstances to make use of
+a gleam of fine weather. When the bad news arrived on July 22 about the
+failure of my photographs we had ceased to hear the raindrops pattering
+on the tent, but could feel well enough when we pushed up the roof that
+snow was lying on the outer fly. It was a depressing evening. I thought
+of the many wonderful occasions when I had caught the mountain as I
+thought just at the right moment, its moments of most lovely
+splendour--of all those moments that would never return and of the
+record of all we had seen which neither ourselves nor perhaps anyone
+else would ever see again. I was not a cheerful companion. Moreover,
+from the back of my mind I was warned, even in the first despair of
+disappointment, that I should have to set out to repair the damage so
+far as I was able, and I hated the thought of this expedition. These
+were our days of rest after a month's high-living; we were off with one
+adventure and on with another; tents, stores, everything had been
+brought down to our base and we had said good-bye to the West Rongbuk
+Glacier. The clouds were still about us next morning and snow lay on the
+ground 9 inches deep. But by midday much of the snow had melted at our
+level and the clouds began to clear. At 2 p.m. we started up with the
+Mummery tents and stores for one night. I made my way with one coolie to
+a spot some little distance above our First Advanced Camp. As we pushed
+up the stormy hillside the last clouds gathered about Everest, and
+lingering in the deep North cwm were dispersed and the great
+white-mantled mountains lay all clear in the light of a glorious
+evening. Before we raced down to join Bullock my first dozen plates had
+been duly exposed; whatever the balance of hopes and fears for a fine
+morning to-morrow something had been done already to make good.
+
+My ultimate destination was the Island which I had found before to
+command some of the most splendid and most instructive views. I was
+close up under the slopes of this little mountain before sunrise next
+morning. It has rarely been my lot to experience in the course of a few
+hours so much variety of expectation, of disappointment and of hope
+deferred, before the issue is decided. A pall of cloud lying like a
+blanket above the glacier was no good omen after the clear weather; as
+the sun got up a faint gleam on the ice encouraged me to go on;
+presently the grey clouds began to move and spread in all directions
+until I was enveloped and saw nothing. Suddenly the frontier crest came
+out and its highest peak towering fantastically above me; I turned about
+and saw to the West and North-west the wide glacier in the sun--beyond
+it Gyachung Kang and Cho-Uyo, 26,870 to 25,990 feet: but Everest
+remained hidden, obscured by an impenetrable cloud. I watched the
+changing shadows on the white snow and gazed helplessly into the grey
+mass continually rolled up from Nepal into the deep hollow beyond the
+glacier head. But a breeze came up from the East; the curtain was
+quietly withdrawn; Everest and the South Peak stood up against the clear
+blue sky. The camera was ready and I was satisfied. A few minutes later
+the great cloud rolled back and I saw no more.
+
+Meanwhile Bullock had not been idle. He paid a visit to the North cwm,
+more successful than mine in July, for he reached the pass leading over
+into Nepal under the North-west arête and had perfectly clear views of
+Chang La, of which he brought back some valuable photos. But perhaps an
+even greater satisfaction than reckoning the results of what we both
+felt was a successful day was ours, when we listened in our tents that
+evening at the base camp to the growling of thunder and reflected that
+the fair interval already ended had been caught and turned to good
+account.
+
+In snow and sleet and wind next morning, July 25, our tents were struck.
+We turned our backs on the Rongbuk Glacier and hastened along the path
+to Chöbuk. The valley was somehow changed as we came down, and more
+agreeable to the eye. Presently I discovered the reason. The grass had
+grown on the hillside since we went up. We were coming down to summer
+green.
+
+
+
+
+                                CHAPTER XIV
+
+                           THE EASTERN APPROACH
+
+
+The new base at Kharta established by Colonel Howard-Bury at the end of
+July was well suited to meet the needs of climbers, and no less
+agreeable, I believe, to all members of the Expedition. At the moderate
+elevation of 12,300 feet and in an almost ideal climate, where the air
+was always warm but never hot or stuffy, where the sun shone brightly
+but never fiercely, and clouds floated about the hills and brought
+moisture from the South, but never too much rain, here the body could
+find a delicious change when tired of the discipline of high-living, and
+in a place so accessible to traders from Nepal could easily be fed with
+fresh food. But perhaps after life in the Rongbuk Valley, with hardly a
+green thing to look at and too much of the endless unfriendly
+stone-shoots and the ugly waste of glaciers, and even after visions of
+sublime snow-beauty, a change was more needed for the mind. It was a
+delight to be again in a land of flowery meadows and trees and crops; to
+look into the deep green gorge only a mile away where the Arun goes down
+into Nepal was to be reminded of a rich vegetation and teeming life, a
+contrast full of pleasure with Nature's niggardliness in arid,
+wind-swept Tibet; and the forgotten rustle of wind in the willows came
+back as a soothing sound full of grateful memories, banishing the least
+thought of disagreeable things.
+
+The Kharta base, besides, was convenient for our reconnaissance. Below
+us a broad glacier stream joined the Arun above the gorge; it was the
+first met with since we had left the Rongbuk stream; it came down from
+the West and therefore, presumably, from Everest. To follow it up was
+an obvious plan as the next stage in our activities. After four clear
+days for idleness and reorganisation at Kharta we set forth again on
+August 2 with this object. The valley of our glacier stream would lead
+us, we supposed, to the mountain; in two days, perhaps, we should see
+Chang La ahead of us. A local headman provided by the Jongpen and
+entrusted with the task of leading us to Chomolungma would show us where
+it might be necessary to cross the stream and, in case the valley
+forked, would ensure us against a bad mistake.
+
+The start on this day was not propitious. We had enjoyed the sheltered
+ease at Kharta; the coolies were dilatory and unwilling; the
+distribution of loads was muddled; there was much discontent about
+rations, and our Sirdar was no longer trusted by the men. At a village
+where we stopped to buy tsampa some 3 miles up the valley I witnessed a
+curious scene. As the tsampa was sold it had to be measured. The Sirdar
+on his knees before a large pile of finely ground flour was ladling it
+into a bag with a disused Quaker Oats tin. Each measure-full was counted
+by all the coolies standing round in a circle; they were making sure of
+having their full ration. Nor was this all; they wanted to see as part
+of their supplies, not only tsampa and rice, but tea, sugar, butter,
+cooking fat and meat on the Army scale. This was a new demand altogether
+beyond the bargain made with them. The point, of course, had to be
+clearly made, that for their so-called luxuries I must be trusted to do
+my best with the surplus money (100 tankas or thereabouts) remaining
+over from their allowances after buying the flour and rice. These luxury
+supplies were always somewhat of a difficulty; the coolies had been very
+short of such things on the Northern side--we had no doubt that some of
+the ration money had found its way into the Sirdar's pockets. It would
+be possible, we hoped, to prevent this happening again. But even so the
+matter was not simple. What the coolies wanted was not always to be
+bought, or at the local price it was too expensive. On this occasion a
+bountiful supply of chillies solved our difficulty. After too many
+words, and not all in the best temper, the sight of so many of the red,
+bright, attractive chillies prevailed; at length my orders were obeyed;
+the coolies took up their loads and we started off again.
+
+[Illustration: PETHANG-TSE.]
+
+With so much dissatisfaction in the air it was necessary for Bullock and
+me to drive rather than lead the party. In a valley where there are many
+individual farms and little villages, the coolies' path is well beset
+with pitfalls and with gin. Without discipline the Sahib might easily
+find himself at the end of a day's march with perhaps only half his
+loads. It was a slow march this day; we had barely accomplished 8 miles,
+when Bullock and I with the hindmost came round a shoulder on the right
+bank about 4 p.m. and found the tents pitched on a grassy shelf and
+looking up a valley where a stream came in from our left. The Tibetan
+headman and his Tibetan coolies who were carrying some of our loads had
+evidently no intention of going further, and after some argument I was
+content to make the stipulation that if the coolies (our own as well as
+the Tibetans) chose to encamp after half a day's march, they should do a
+double march next day.
+
+The prospect was far from satisfactory: we were at a valley junction of
+which we had heard tell, and the headman pointed the way to the left.
+Here indeed was a valley, but no glacier stream. It was a pleasant green
+nullah covered with rhododendrons and juniper, but presented nothing
+that one may expect of an important valley. Moreover, so far as I could
+learn, there were no villages in this direction: I had counted on
+reaching one that night with the intention of buying provisions, more
+particularly goats and butter. Where were we going and what should we
+find? The headman announced that it would take us five more days to
+reach Chomolungma: he was told that he must bring us there in two, and
+so the matter was left.
+
+If the coolies behaved badly on this first day, they certainly made up
+for it on the second. The bed of the little valley which we now
+followed rose steeply ahead of us, and the path along the hill slopes on
+its left bank soon took us up beyond the rhododendrons. We came at last
+for a mid-day halt to the shores of a lake. It was the first I had seen
+in the neighbourhood of Everest; a little blue lake, perhaps 600 yards
+long, set on a flat shelf up there among the clouds and rocks, a
+sympathetic place harbouring a wealth of little rock plants on its steep
+banks; and as our present height by the aneroid was little less than
+17,000 feet, we were assured that on this Eastern side of Everest we
+should find Nature in a gentler mood. But we were not satisfied with our
+direction; we were going too much to the South. Through the mists we had
+seen nothing to help us. For a few moments some crags had appeared to
+the left looming surprisingly big; but that was our only peep, and it
+told us nothing. Perhaps from the pass ahead of us we should have better
+fortune.
+
+At the Langma La when we reached it we found ourselves to be well 4,000
+feet above our camp of the previous night. We had followed a track, but
+not always a smooth one, and as we stayed in hopes of a clearing view, I
+began to wonder whether the Tibetan coolies would manage to arrive with
+their loads; they were notably less strong than our Sherpas and yet had
+been burdened with the wet heavy tents. Meanwhile we saw nothing above
+our own height. We had hoped that once our col was crossed we should
+bear more directly Westward again; but the Tibetan headman when he came
+up with good news of his coolies, pointed our way across a deep valley
+below us, and the direction of his pointing was nearly due South.
+Everest, we imagined, must be nearly due West of Kharta, and our
+direction at the end of this second day by a rough dead reckoning would
+be something like South-west. We were more than ever mystified.
+Fortunately our difficulties with the coolies seemed to be ended. Two of
+our own men stayed at the pass to relieve the Tibetans of the tents and
+bring them quickly on. Grumblings had subsided in friendliness, and all
+marched splendidly on this day. They were undepressed with the gloomy
+circumstance of again encamping in the rain.
+
+In the Sahibs' tent that night there took place a long and fragmentary
+conversation with the headman, our Sirdar acting as interpreter. We
+gained one piece of information: there were two Chomolungmas. It was not
+difficult to guess that, if Everest were one, the other must be Makalu.
+We asked to be guided to the furthest Chomolungma.
+
+The morning of August 4 was not more favourable to our reconnaissance.
+We went down steeply to the valley bed, crossed a stream and a rickety
+bridge, and wound on through lovely meadows and much dwarf rhododendron
+till we came to the end of a glacier and mounted by its left bank.
+Towards mid-day the weather showed signs of clearing; suddenly on our
+left across the glacier we saw gigantic precipices looming through the
+clouds. We guessed they must belong in some way to Makalu. We were told
+that this was the first Chomolungma, while the valley we were now
+following would lead us to the other. It was easy to conclude that one
+valley, this one, must come up on the North side of Makalu all the way
+to Everest. But we saw no more. In a few moments the grey clouds blowing
+swiftly up from below had enveloped us, rain began to fall heavily, and
+when eventually we came to broad meadows above the glaciers, where yaks
+were grazing and Tibetan tents were pitched, we were content to stop. At
+least we should have the advantage here of good butter and cream from
+this dairy farm. There was indeed no point in going farther; we had no
+desire to run our heads against the East face of Everest; we must now
+wait for a view.
+
+The weather signs were decidedly more hopeful as I looked out of our
+tent next morning, and we decided at once to spend the day in some sort
+of reconnaissance up the valley. Presently away at the head of it we saw
+the clouds breaking about the mountain-sides. Everest itself began to
+clear; the great North-east arête came out, cutting the sky to the
+right; and little by little the whole Eastern face was revealed to us.
+
+As I recall now our first impression of the amazing scenery around us, I
+seem chiefly to remember the fresh surprise and vivid delight which, for
+all we had seen before, seemed a new sensation. Even the map of the Kama
+Valley, now that we have it, may stir the imagination. Besides Everest
+itself the crest of the South Peak, 28,000 feet high, and its prodigious
+South-east shoulder overlook the Western end; while Makalu, 12 miles
+from Everest, thrusts out Northwards a great arm and another peak to
+choke the exit; so that whereas the frontier ridge from Everest to
+Makalu goes in a South-easterly direction, the Kangshung Glacier in the
+main valley runs nearly due East. In this spacious manner three of the
+five highest summits in the world overlook the Kama Valley.
+
+And we now saw a scene of magnificence and splendour even more
+remarkable than the facts suggest. Among all the mountains I have seen,
+and, if we may judge by photographs, all that ever have been seen,
+Makalu is incomparable for its spectacular and rugged grandeur. It was
+significant to us that the astonishing precipices rising above us on the
+far side of the glacier as we looked across from our camp, a terrific
+awe-inspiring sweep of snow-bound rocks, were the sides not so much of
+an individual mountain, but rather of a gigantic bastion or outwork
+defending Makalu. At the broad head of the Kama Valley the two summits
+of Everest are enclosed between the North-east arête and the South-east
+arête bending round from the South Peak; below them is a basin of
+tumbled ice well marked by a number of moraines and receiving a series
+of tributaries pouring down between the buttresses which support the
+mountain faces in this immense cirque. Perhaps the astonishing charm and
+beauty here lie in the complications half hidden behind a mask of
+apparent simplicity, so that one's eye never tires of following up the
+lines of the great arêtes, of following down the arms pushed out from
+their great shoulders, and of following along the broken edge of the
+hanging glacier covering the upper half of this Eastern face of Everest
+so as to determine at one point after another its relation with the
+buttresses below and with their abutments against the rocks which it
+covers. But for me the most magnificent and sublime in mountain scenery
+can be made lovelier by some more tender touch; and that, too, is added
+here. When all is said about Chomolungma, the Goddess Mother of the
+World, and about Chomo Uri, the Goddess of the Turquoise Mountain, I
+come back to the valley, the valley bed itself, the broad pastures,
+where our tents lay, where cattle grazed and where butter was made, the
+little stream we followed up to the valley head, wandering along its
+well-turfed banks under the high moraine, the few rare plants,
+saxifrages, gentians and primulas, so well watered there, and a soft,
+familiar blueness in the air which even here may charm us. Though I bow
+to the goddesses I cannot forget at their feet a gentler spirit than
+theirs, a little shy perhaps, but constant in the changing winds and
+variable moods of mountains and always friendly.
+
+[Illustration: SUMMIT OF MAKALU.]
+
+The deviation from our intended line of approach involved by entering
+the Kama Valley was not one which we were likely to regret. In so far as
+our object was to follow up a glacier to the North Col we were now on
+the wrong side of a watershed. A spur of mountains continues Eastwards
+from the foot of Everest's North-east arête; these were on our right as
+we looked up the Kama Valley; the glacier of our quest must lie on the
+far side of them. But the pursuit of this glacier was not our sole
+object. We had also to examine both the East face and North-east arête
+of our mountain and determine the possibilities of attack on this side.
+A plan was now made to satisfy us in all ways. We chose as our objective
+a conspicuous snowy summit, Carpo-ri, on the watershed and apparently
+the second to the East from the foot of the North-east arête. Could we
+climb it we should not only see over into the valley North of us and up
+to Chang La itself, we hoped, but also examine, from the point most
+convenient for judging the steepness of its slopes, the whole of the
+Eastern side of Mount Everest.
+
+On August 6 the Whymper tents were taken up, and a camp was made under a
+moraine at about 17,500 feet, where a stream flows quietly through a
+flat space before plunging steeply down into the valley. In this
+sheltered spot we bid defiance to the usual snowstorm of the afternoon;
+perhaps as night came on and snow was still falling we were vaguely
+disquieted, but we refused to believe in anything worse than the
+heavens' passing spite, and before we put out our candles the weather
+cleared. We went out into the keen air; it was a night of early moons.
+Mounting a little rise of stones and faintly crunching under our feet
+the granular atoms of fresh fallen snow we were already aware of some
+unusual loveliness in the moment and the scenes. We were not kept
+waiting for the supreme effects; the curtain was withdrawn. Rising from
+the bright mists Mount Everest above us was immanent, vast,
+incalculable--no fleeting apparition of elusive dream-form: nothing
+could have been more set and permanent, stedfast like Keats's star, "in
+lone splendour hung aloft the night," a watcher of all the nights,
+diffusing, it seemed universally, an exalted radiance.
+
+It is the property of all that is most sublime in mountain scenery to be
+uniquely splendid, or at least to seem so, and it is commonly the fate
+of the sublime in this sort very soon to be mixed with what is trivial.
+Not infrequently we had experience of wonderful moments; it is always
+exciting to spend a night under the stars. And such a situation may be
+arranged quite comfortably; lying with his head but just within the tent
+a man has but to stir in his sleep to see, at all events, half the
+starry sky. Then perhaps thoughts come tumbling from the heavens and
+slip in at the tent-door; his dozing is an ecstasy: until, at length,
+the alarm-watch sounds; and after?... Mean considerations din it all
+away, all that delight. On the morning of August 7 the trivial, with us,
+preponderated. Something more than the usual inertia reigned in our
+frozen camp at 2 a.m. The cook was feeling unwell; the coolies prolonged
+their minutes of grace after the warning shout, dallied with the thought
+of meeting the cold air, procrastinated, drew the blankets more closely
+round them, and--snored once more. An expedition over the snow to the
+outlying tents by a half-clad Sahib, who expects to enjoy at least the
+advantage of withdrawing himself at the last moment from the friendly
+down-bag, is calculated to disturb the recumbency of others; and a
+kick-off in this manner to the day's work is at all events exhilarating.
+The task of extricating our frozen belongings, where they lay and ought
+not to have lain, was performed with alacrity if not with zeal; feet did
+not loiter over slippery boulders as we mounted the moraine, and in
+spite of the half-hour lost, or gained, we were well up by sunrise. Even
+before the first glimmer of dawn the snow-mantled, slumbering monsters
+around us had been somehow touched to life by a faint blue light showing
+their form and presence--a light that changed as the day grew to a pale
+yellow on Everest and then to a bright blue-grey before it flamed all
+golden as the sun hit the summit and the shadow crept perceptibly down
+the slope until the whole mountain stood bare and splendid in the
+morning glory. With some premonition of what was in store for us we had
+already halted to enjoy the scene, and I was able to observe exactly how
+the various ridges and summits caught the sun. It was remarkable that
+while Everest was never, for a moment, pink, Makalu was tinged with the
+redder shades, and the colour of the sky in that direction was a livid
+Chinese blue red-flushed. Its bearing from us was about South-east by
+South, and its distance nearly twice that of Everest, which lay chiefly
+to the South-west.
+
+The first crux of the expedition before us would evidently be the ascent
+of a steep wall up to the conspicuous col lying East of our mountain.
+The least laborious way was offered by an outcrop of rocks. The obstacle
+looked decidedly formidable and the coolies had little or no experience
+of rock-climbing. But it proved a pleasure reminiscent of many good
+moments once again to be grasping firm granite and to be encouraging
+novices to tread delicately by throwing down an occasional stone to
+remind them of the perils of clumsy movements. The coolies, as usual,
+were apt pupils, and after agreeable exertions and one gymnastic
+performance we all reached the col at 9 a.m. with no bleeding scalps.
+
+We had already by this hour taken time to observe the great Eastern face
+of Mount Everest, and more particularly the lower edge of the hanging
+glacier; it required but little further gazing to be convinced--to know
+that almost everywhere the rocks below must be exposed to ice falling
+from this glacier; that if, elsewhere, it might be possible to climb up,
+the performance would be too arduous, would take too much time and would
+lead to no convenient platform; that, in short, other men, less wise,
+might attempt this way if they would, but, emphatically, it was not for
+us.
+
+Our interest was rather in the other direction. We had now gained the
+watershed. Below us on the far side was a glacier flowing East, and
+beyond it two important rock peaks, which we at once suspected must be
+two triangulated points each above 23,000 feet. Was this at last the
+valley observed so long ago from the hill above Shiling, more than 50
+miles away, to point up towards the gap between Changtse and Everest? As
+yet we could not say. The head of the glacier was out of sight behind
+the Northern slopes of our mountain. We must ascend further, probably to
+its summit, to satisfy our curiosity--to see, we hoped, Changtse and its
+relation to this glacier, and perhaps the Chang La of our quest.
+
+[Illustration: SOUTH-EAST RIDGE OF MOUNT EVEREST
+from above the 20,000 foot camp, Kharta Valley.]
+
+The task before us was not one which had suggested from a distant view
+any serious difficulties. The angle of sight from our breakfast-place on
+the col to the next white summit West of us was certainly not very
+steep. But no continuous ridge would lead us upwards. The East face in
+front of us and the South face to our left presented two bands of
+fortification, crowned each by a flat emplacement receding a
+considerable distance, before the final cone. We knew already that the
+snow's surface, despite a thin crust, could not hold us, and counted on
+snow-shoes to save labour at the gentler angles. But the escarpments in
+front of us were imposing. The first yielded to a frontal attack pushed
+home with a proper after-breakfast vigour. The second when we reached it
+was a more formidable obstacle. The steepness of the Eastern slope was
+undeniable and forbidding and the edge of its junction with the South
+side was defined by a cornice. On that side, however, lay the only hope.
+
+We had first to traverse a broad gully. The powdery snow lay deep; we
+hesitated on the brink. Here, if anywhere, the unmelted powdery
+substance was likely to avalanche. Confidence was restored in sufficient
+measure by contemplating an island of rock. Here lay a solution. By the
+aid of its sound anchorage the party was secured across the dangerous
+passage. With his rope adequately belayed by a coolie, though the manner
+was hardly professional, the leader hewed at the cornice above his head,
+fixed a fist-and-axe hold in the crest and struggled over. Such
+performances are not accomplished at heights above 20,000 feet without
+the feeling that something has been done. Appearances suggested the
+necessity of establishing the whole party firmly above the cornice
+before proceeding many steps upward, and the first man had the diversion
+of observing at his leisure the ungraceful attitudes and explosive
+grunts of men strong indeed, but unaccustomed to meet this kind of
+obstacle. But with the usual menace of clouds, which even now were
+filling the head of the Kama Valley, it was no season for delay; and it
+was no place to be treated lightly. The angle was quite as steep as we
+liked; on the slopes to our left again we should evidently be exposed to
+the danger of an avalanche. It was necessary to avoid treading on our
+frail cornice and no less important to keep near the edge. Here a foot
+of powdery snow masked a disintegrated substance of loose ice. Nothing
+less than a vigorous swinging blow had any other effect than to bury
+the pick and require a fourfold effort to pull it out again. Luckily one
+or even two such blows usually sufficed to make a firm step. But 400
+feet of such work seemed an ample quantity. If was a relief at length to
+reach level snow, to don our rackets again and to follow a coolie
+bursting with energy now sent first to tread a path. At 12.15 p.m. we
+reached the far edge of this flat shoulder lying under the final slopes
+of our mountain and at the most 500 feet below the summit.
+
+No one without experience of the problem could guess how difficult it
+may be to sit down on a perfectly flat place with snow-shoes strapped to
+the feet. To squat is clearly impossible; and if the feet are pushed out
+in front the projection behind the heel tends to tilt the body backwards
+so that the back is strained in the mere effort to sit without falling.
+The remedy of course is to take off the snow-shoes; but the human
+mountaineer after exhausting efforts is too lazy for that at an
+elevation of 21,000 feet. He prefers not to sit; he chooses to lie--in
+the one convenient posture under the circumstances--flat upon his back
+and with his toes and snow-shoes turned vertically upwards. On this
+occasion the majority of the party without more ado turned up their
+toes.
+
+[Illustration: DIAGRAM SHOWING THAT THE KHARTA GLACIER DOES NOT LEAD TO
+THE NORTH COL.]
+
+The situation, however, was one of the greatest interest. We were still
+separated from Mount Everest by a spur at our own height turning
+Northwards from the foot of the North-east arête and by the bay enclosed
+between this and its continuation Eastward to which our mountain
+belonged. But the distance from the North-east arête was small enough
+and we were now looking almost directly up its amazing crest. If any
+doubts remained at this time as to that line of attack, they now
+received a _coup de grâce_. Not only was the crest itself seen to be
+both sharp and steep, suggesting an almost infinite labour, but the
+slopes on either hand appeared in most places an impracticable
+alternative; and leading up to the great rock towers of the North-east
+shoulder, the final section, the point of a cruel sickle, appeared
+effectually to bar further progress should anyone have been content to
+spend a week or so on the lower parts. To discern so much required no
+prolonged study; to the right (North) the country was more intricate.
+The summit of Changtse was eventually revealed, as the clouds cleared
+off, beyond, apparently a long way beyond, the crest of the spur in
+front of us. To the extreme right, looking past the final slopes of the
+white cone above us was a more elevated skyline and below it the upper
+part of the glacier, the lower end of which we had seen earlier in the
+day descending Eastward. But its extreme limit was not quite visible. We
+had still to ask the question as to where exactly it lay. Could this
+glacier conceivably proceed in an almost level course up to Chang La,
+itself? Or was it cut off much nearer to us by the high skyline which we
+saw beyond it? Was it possible, as in the second case must be, that this
+skyline was continuous with the East arête of Changtse, the whole
+forming the left bank of the glacier? If no answer was absolutely
+certain, the probability at least was all on one side--on the wrong
+side alike for our present and our future plans. We could hardly doubt
+that the glacier-head lay not far away under Chang La, but here near at
+hand under another col; beyond this must be the glacier of our quest,
+turning East, as presumably it must turn beyond the skyline we saw now,
+and beyond the rock peaks which we had observed to the North of us when
+first we reached the watershed.
+
+One more effort was now required so that we might see a little more.
+Chang La itself was still invisible. Might we not see it from the summit
+of our mountain? And was it not in any case an attractive summit? An
+examination of the various pairs of upturned toes where the prostrate
+forms were still grouped grotesquely in the snow was not encouraging.
+But the most vigorous of the coolies was with us, Nyima, a sturdy boy of
+eighteen, who from the very start of the Expedition had consistently
+displayed a willing spirit in every emergency. To my demand for
+volunteers he responded immediately, and soon persuaded a second coolie,
+Dasno, who had been going very strongly on this day, to accompany him.
+As the three of us started off the clouds suddenly boiled up from below
+and enveloped us completely. A few minutes brought us to the foot of the
+steepest slopes; we took off our snow-shoes and crossed a bergschrund,
+wading up to our thighs. Dasno had already had enough and fell out. But
+the conical shape of our peak was just sufficiently irregular to offer a
+defined blunt edge where two surfaces intersected. Even here the snow
+was deep enough to be a formidable obstacle at that steep angle; but the
+edge was safe from avalanches. As we struggled on I glanced repeatedly
+away to the left. Presently through a hole in the clouds all was clear
+for a moment to the West; again I saw Changtse, and now my eyes followed
+the line of its arête descending towards Everest until the col itself
+was visible over the spur in front of us. The view was little enough;
+the mere rim appeared; the wall or the slopes below it, all that I most
+wanted to see, remained hidden. We struggled on to the top, in all
+nearly an hour's work of the most exhausting kind. The reward was in the
+beauty of the spot, the faintly-defined edges of clean snow and the
+convex surfaces bent slightly back from the steepness on every side to
+form the most graceful summit I have seen. To the North-east we saw
+clearly for a minute down the glacier. The rest was cloud, a thin veil,
+but all too much, inexorably hiding from us Changtse and Chang La.
+
+A disappointment? Perhaps. But that sort of suffering cannot be
+prolonged in a mind sufficiently interested. Possibly it is never a
+genuine emotion; rather an automatic reaction after too sanguine hopes.
+And such hopes had no part in our system. We counted on nothing. Days as
+we found them were not seldom of the disappointing kind; this one had
+been of the best, remarkably clear and fine. If we were baffled that was
+no worse than we expected. To be bewildered was all in the game. But our
+sensation was something beyond bewilderment. We felt ourselves to be
+foiled. We were unpleasantly stung by this slap in the face. We had
+indeed solved all doubts as to the East face and North-east arête, and
+had solved them quickly. But the way to Chang La, which had seemed
+almost within our grasp, had suddenly eluded us, and had escaped, how
+far we could not tell. Though its actual distance from our summit might
+be short, as indeed it must be, the glacier of our quest appeared now at
+the end of a receding vista; and this was all our prospect.
+
+Our next plans were made on the descent. With the relaxation of physical
+effort the feeling of dazed fatigue wears off and a mind duly strung to
+activity may work well enough. The immediate object was to reach our
+tents not too late to send a coolie down to the base camp the same
+evening; on the following morning a reinforcement of four men would
+enable us to carry down all our loads with sufficient ease, and with no
+delay we should move the whole party along the next stage back towards
+Langma La--and thus save a day. The main idea was simple. It still
+seemed probable that the elusive glacier drained ultimately Eastwards,
+in which case its waters _must_ flow into the Kharta stream; thither we
+had now to retrace our steps and follow up the main valley as we had
+originally intended; it might be necessary to investigate more valleys
+than one, but there sooner or later a way would be found. Only, time was
+short. At the earliest we could be back in the Kharta Valley on August
+9. By August 20 I reckoned the preliminary reconnaissance should come to
+an end, if we were to have sufficient time before the beginning of
+September for rest and reorganisation at Kharta--and such was the core
+of our plan.
+
+These projects left out of account an entirely new factor. In the early
+stages of the reconnaissance I had taken careful note of the party's
+health. One or two of the coolies had quickly fallen victims to the high
+altitudes; but the rest seemed steadily to grow stronger. Nothing had so
+much surprised us as the rapid acclimatisation of the majority, and the
+good effects, so far as they appeared, of living in high camps. Both
+Bullock and myself left the Rongbuk Valley feeling as fit as we could
+wish to feel. All qualms about our health had subsided. For my part I
+was a confirmed optimist, and never imagined for myself the smallest
+deviation from my uniform standard of health and strength. On August 7,
+as we toiled over the névé in the afternoon, I felt for the first time a
+symptom of weariness beyond muscular fatigue and beyond the vague
+lassitude of mountain-sickness. By the time we reached the moraine I had
+a bad headache. In the tent at last I was tired and shivering and there
+spent a fevered night. The next morning broke with undeniable glory. A
+photograph of our yesterday's conquest must be obtained. I dragged
+myself and the quarter-plate camera a few steps up to the crest of the
+moraine--only to find that a further peregrination of perhaps 300 yards
+would be necessary for my purpose: and 300 yards was more than I could
+face. I was perforce content with less interesting exposures and
+returned to breakfast with the dismal knowledge that for the moment at
+all events I was _hors de combat_. We learned a little later that
+Colonel Howard-Bury had arrived the night before in our base camp. It
+was easily decided to spend the day there with him--the day I had hoped
+to save; after the long dragging march down the green way, which on the
+ascent had been so pleasant with butterflies and flowers, I was obliged
+to spend it in bed.
+
+Three days later, on August 11, our tents were pitched in a sheltered
+place well up the Kharta Valley, at a height of about 16,500 feet. Two
+tributary streams had been passed by, the first coming in from the North
+as being clearly too small to be of consequence, and the second from the
+South, because wherever its source might be, it could not be far enough
+to the North. Ahead of us we had seen that the valley forked; we must
+follow the larger stream and then no doubt we should come soon enough to
+the glacier of our quest and be able at last to determine whether it
+would serve us to approach Chang La. August 12, a day of necessary
+idleness after three long marches, was spent by the coolies in
+collecting fuel, of which we were delighted to observe a great
+abundance, rhododendron and gobar all about us, and, only a short way
+down the valley, the best we could hope for, juniper. The last march had
+been too much for me, and again I was obliged to keep my bed with a sore
+throat and swollen glands.
+
+It seemed certain that the next two days must provide the climax or
+anticlimax of our whole reconnaissance. The mystery must surely now be
+penetrated and the most important discovery of all be made. A
+competition with my companion for the honour of being first was, I hope,
+as far from my thoughts as ever it had been. From the start Bullock and
+I had shared the whole campaign and worked and made our plans together,
+and neither for a moment had envied the other the monopoly of a
+particular adventure. Nevertheless, after all that had passed, the
+experience of being left out at the finish would not be agreeable to
+me; I confess that not to be in at the death after leading the hunt so
+long was a bitter expectation. But the hunt must not be stopped, and on
+the morning of August 13, from the ungrateful comfort of my
+sleeping-bag, I waved farewell to Bullock. How many days would he be
+absent before he came to tell his story, and what sort of story would it
+be? Would he know for certain that the way was found? or how much longer
+would our doubts continue?
+
+It was impossible to stay in bed with such thoughts, and by the middle
+of the morning I was sitting in the sun to write home my dismal tale. A
+hint from one of the coolies interrupted my meditations; I looked round
+and now saw, to my great surprise and unfeigned delight, the approaching
+figure of Major Morshead. I had long been hoping that he might be free
+to join us; and he arrived at the due moment to cheer my present
+solitude, to strengthen the party, and to help us when help was greatly
+needed. Moreover, he brought from Wollaston for my use a medical dope;
+stimulated by the unusual act of drug-taking, or possibly by the drug
+itself, I began to entertain a hope for the morrow, a feeling
+incommunicably faint but distinguishably a hope.
+
+Meanwhile Bullock, though he had not started early, had got off soon
+enough in the morning to pitch his tents if all went well some hours
+before dark, and in all probability at least so far up as to be within
+view of the glacier snout. As the night was closing in a coolie was
+observed running down the last steep sandy slope to our camp. He brought
+a chit from Bullock: "I can see up the glacier ahead of me and it ends
+in another high pass. I shall get to the pass to-morrow morning if I
+can, and ought to see our glacier over it. But it looks, after all, as
+though the most unlikely solution is the right one and the glacier goes
+out into the Rongbuk Valley."
+
+Into the Rongbuk Valley! We had discussed the possibility. The glacier
+coming in there from the East remained unexplored. But even if we left
+out of account all that was suggested by the East arête of Changtse and
+other features of this country, there remained the unanswerable
+difficulty about the stream, the little stream which we had but just
+failed to cross in the afternoon of our first expedition. How could so
+little water drain so large an area of ice as must exist on this
+supposition?
+
+In any case we were checked again. The mystery deepened. And though the
+interest might increase, the prospect of finding a way to Chang La, with
+the necessary margin of time before the end of the month, was still
+receding, and, whether or no the unexpected should turn out to be the
+truth, the present situation suggested the unpleasant complication of
+moving our base once more somewhere away to the North.
+
+On the following day with the gathering energy of returning health I set
+forth with Morshead: we walked in a leisurely fashion up the valley
+rejected by Bullock and had the surprising good fortune of a clear sky
+until noon. I soon decided that we were looking up the glacier where we
+had looked down on the 7th, as Bullock too had decided on the previous
+day: at the head of it was a high snow col and beyond that the tip of
+Changtse. What lay between them? If a combe existed there, as presumably
+it did, the bed of it must be high: there could hardly be room, I
+thought, for a very big drop on the far side of the col. Might not this,
+after all, be a sufficiently good approach, a more convenient way
+perhaps than to mount the glacier from its foot, wherever that might be?
+The near col, so far as I could judge, should easily be reached from
+this side. Why not get to the col and find out what lay beyond it? The
+time had come to abandon our object of finding the foot of a glacier in
+order to follow it up; for we could more easily come to the head of it
+and if necessary follow it down.
+
+I was sanguine about this new plan, which seemed to have good prospects
+of success and might obviate the difficulties and inconvenience of
+shifting the base (possibly again to the Rongbuk side, which I had no
+desire to revisit) and, as I still felt far from fit, I was in some
+hopes now that two more days would bring us to the end of our present
+labours. Bullock very readily agreed to the proposal. He brought no
+positive information from the col which he had reached, though he
+inclined to the idea that the water crossed at Harlung on our journey to
+Kharta, a moderate stream, but perhaps too clear, might provide the
+solution of our problem. A fresh bone was now thrown into our stew. A
+letter arrived from Howard-Bury with an enclosure from Wheeler, a sketch
+map of what he had seen more particularly East of the Rongbuk Glacier,
+on which the Eastern branch, with its Western exit, was clearly marked
+where we now know it to be. It was, unfortunately, a very rough map,
+professedly nothing more, and was notably wrong in some respects about
+which we had accurate knowledge. We were not yet convinced that the head
+of the East Rongbuk Glacier was really situated under the slopes of
+Everest, and not perhaps under the Eastern arm of Changtse. Still, we
+had some more pickings to digest. Our business was to reach the nearer
+pass, and I felt sure that once we had looked over it to the other side
+whatever doubts remained could be cleared up in subsequent discussion
+with Wheeler. Meanwhile, I hoped, we should have discovered one way to
+Chang La, and a sufficiently good one.
+
+It took us in the sequel not two but four days to reach the pass which
+was ultimately known as Lhakpa La (Windy Gap). The story may serve as a
+fair illustration of the sort of difficulty with which we had to
+contend. It was arranged on the 15th that we should meet Bullock's
+coolies at the divide in the valley; they were bringing down his camp
+and we could all go on together: but our messenger succeeded in
+collecting only half their number and much delay was caused in waiting
+for the others. From here we followed the Western stream, a stony and
+rather fatiguing walk of two hours or so (unladen) up to the end of the
+glacier, and then followed a moraine shelf on its left bank, I hoped we
+should find an easy way round to the obvious camping place we had
+previously observed from the Carpo-ri. But the shelf ended abruptly on
+steep stony slopes, clouds obscured our view, and after our misfortunes
+in the morning we were now short of time, so that it was necessary to
+stay where we were for the night. A thick layer of mist was still lying
+along the valley when we woke, and we could see nothing, but were
+resolved, nevertheless, to reach the col if possible. We went up, for
+the best chance of a view, to the crest of the hill above us, and
+followed it to the summit (6.30 a.m.). The view was splendid, and I took
+some good photographs; but the drop on the far side was more serious
+than our hopes had suggested. We tried to make the best of things by
+contouring and eventually halted for breakfast on the edge of the
+glacier a long way North of the direct line at 8.45 a.m. Before we went
+on we were again enveloped in mist, and after stumbling across the
+glacier in snow-shoes to the foot of an icefall, we turned back at 11
+a.m. By that time we were a tired party and could not have reached the
+col; and even had we reached it, we should have seen nothing. Still we
+felt when we found our tents again that with all we had seen the day had
+not been lost, and we determined, before renewing our attempt on Lhakpa
+La, to push on the camp. There was still time to send a message down to
+the Sirdar so as to get up more coolies and supplies and move forward
+next day. From this higher camp we hoped that the col might be reached
+at an early hour, and in that case it would be possible for a party to
+cross it and descend the glacier on the other side.
+
+The first coolies who came up in the morning brought a message from the
+Sirdar to the effect that supplies were short and he could send none up.
+The rations were calculated to last for another three days, but their
+distribution had been muddled. However, enough was subsequently sent up
+to carry us over into the next day, though it was necessary of course to
+abandon our project of a more distant reconnaissance. Our camp was
+happily established in the usual snowstorm. The weather, in fact, was
+not treating us kindly. Snow was falling in these days for about eight
+to ten hours on the average and we were relieved at last to see a fine
+morning.
+
+On August 18, with the low moon near setting, the three of us with one
+coolie set forth on the most critical expedition of our whole
+reconnaissance. Failure on this day must involve us in a lamentable
+delay before the party could again be brought up for the attack; at the
+earliest we should be able to renew the attempt four days later, and if
+in the end the way were not established here the whole prospect of the
+assault in September would be in jeopardy. We scaled the little cliff on
+to the glacier that morning with the full consciousness that one way or
+another it was an imperative necessity to reach the col. The first few
+steps on the glacier showed us what to expect; we sank in to our knees.
+The remedy was, of course, to put on rackets--which indeed are no great
+encumbrance, but a growing burden on a long march and on steep slopes
+most difficult to manage. We wore them for the rest of the day whenever
+we were walking on snow. About dawn the light became difficult; a thin
+floating mist confused the snow surfaces; ascents and descents were
+equally indistinguishable, so that the errant foot might unexpectedly
+hit the slope too soon or equally plunge down with sudden violence to
+unexpected depths. Crevasses forced, or seemed to force, us away to the
+right and over to the rocks of the left bank. We were faced with one of
+those critical decisions which determine success or failure. It seemed
+best to climb the rocks and avoid complications in the icefall. There
+was an easy way through on our left which we afterwards used; but
+perhaps we did well; ours was a certain way though long, and we had
+enough trudging that day; the rocks, though covered with snow to a depth
+of several inches, were not difficult, and a long traverse brought us
+back to the glacier at about 8.30 a.m.
+
+Our greatest enemy as we went on was not, after all, the deep powdery
+snow. The racket sank slightly below the surface and carried a little
+snow each step as one lifted it; the work was arduous for the first man.
+But at a slow pace it was possible to plod on without undue exhaustion.
+The heat was a different matter. In the glacier-furnace the thin mist
+became steam, it enveloped us with a clinging garment from which no
+escape was possible, and far from being protected by it from the sun's
+fierce heat, we seemed to be scorched all the more because of it. The
+atmosphere was enervating to the last degree; to halt even for a few
+minutes was to be almost overwhelmed by inertia, so difficult it seemed,
+once the machinery had stopped and lost momentum, to heave it into
+motion again. And yet we must go on in one direction or the other or
+else succumb to sheer lassitude and overpowering drowsiness. The final
+slopes, about 700 feet at a fairly steep angle, undoubtedly called for
+greater efforts than any hitherto required of us.
+
+The importance of breathing hard and deeply had impressed itself upon us
+again and again. I had come to think of my own practice as a very
+definite and conscious performance adopted to suit the occasion. The
+principles were always the same--to time the breathing regularly to fit
+the step, and to use not merely the upper part of the lungs, but the
+full capacity of the breathing apparatus, expanding and contracting not
+the chest only, but also the diaphragm, and this not occasionally but
+with every breath whenever the body was required to work at high
+pressure. Probably no one who has not tried it would guess how difficult
+it is to acquire an unconscious habit of deep breathing. It was easy
+enough to set the machine going in the right fashion; it was another
+task to keep it running. The moment attention to their performance was
+relaxed, the lungs too would begin to relax their efforts, and often I
+woke from some day-dream with a feeling of undue fatigue, to find the
+cause of my lassitude only in the lungs' laziness. The best chance of
+keeping them up to their work, I found, was to impose a rhythm
+primarily upon the lungs and swing the legs in time with it.
+
+The practice employed for walking uphill under normal conditions is
+exactly contrary, in that case the rhythm is consciously imposed on the
+legs and the rest of the body takes care of itself.
+
+During the various expeditions of our reconnaissance I came to employ
+two distinct methods of working the legs with the lungs. As soon as
+conscious breathing was necessary it was my custom deliberately to
+inhale on one step and exhale on the next. Later, at a higher elevation,
+or when the expenditure of muscular energy became more exhausting, I
+would both inhale and exhale for each step, in either case timing the
+first movement of lifting the leg to synchronise with the beginning, so
+to speak, of the breathing-stroke. On this occasion as we pushed our way
+up towards Lhakpa La I adopted a variation of this second method, a
+third stage, pausing a minute or so for the most furious sort of
+breathing after a series of steps, forty or thirty or twenty, as the
+strength ebbed, in order to gain potential energy for the next spasm of
+lifting efforts. Never before had our lungs been tested quite so
+severely. It was well for us that these final slopes were no steeper. It
+was difficult and tiring enough as it was to prevent the rackets
+sliding, though without them we could not possibly have advanced in such
+snow. But happily the consequences of a slip were not likely to be
+serious. We were able to struggle on without regarding dangers,
+half-dazed with the heat and the glare and with mere fatigue,
+occasionally encouraged by a glimpse of the skyline above us, a clean
+edge of snow where the angle set back to the pass, more often enveloped
+in the scorching mist which made with the snow a continuous whiteness,
+so that the smooth slope, even so near as where the foot must be placed
+next, was usually indistinguishable. We had proceeded a considerable
+distance and I was satisfied with our progress, when the leader broke
+the monotony; he was seen to hesitate in the act of stepping up, to
+topple over and fall headlong downwards. This time he had guessed
+wrong; his foot had hit unexpectedly against the steepening slope.
+Somehow he had passed in extreme fatigue from the physical state of
+stable equilibrium; he had become such a man as you may "knock down with
+a feather," and this little misadventure had upset his balance. Mere
+surprise gave him strength to stop his slide. He raised himself,
+disgusted, to his feet again and after sundry gruntings the party went
+on.
+
+Some little way further up Major Morshead, who was walking last in the
+party, with one brief exclamation to tell us what he intended, quietly
+untied the rope and remained where he was in his steps, unable to go
+further.
+
+At length we found ourselves on flatter ground; the pass was still
+invisible, how far ahead of us we could not guess. Unexpectedly we came
+upon the brink of a crevasse. We worked round it, vaguely wondering
+whether after all our pains we were to meet with many troubles of this
+sort. And then after a few more steps we were visibly on some edge of
+things; we had reached the col itself.
+
+Some twenty minutes later, as we sat on the snow gazing most intently at
+all that lay about us, Bullock and I were surprised by a shout. A moment
+later Major Morshead rejoined us, to the great rejoicing of all three.
+
+It was about 1.15 p.m. when the first two of us had reached Lhakpa La;
+the clouds, which had been earlier only a thin veil, rent occasionally
+to give us clear glimpses, had thickened perceptibly during the last
+hour, so that we had now no hope of a clear view. In a sense, despite
+our early start from a high camp, we were too late. Little was to be
+seen above our level. The slopes of Everest away on our left were
+visible only where they impinged upon the glacier. But we were not
+actually in cloud on the col. The South-facing rocks of Changtse
+presented their profile, steep and jagged, an imposing spectacle so far
+up as we could see; between them and Everest we looked down on a broad
+bay, the smooth surface of which was only occasionally broken by large
+crevasses. The descent to it from where we were could also be seen well
+enough, and we judged it perfectly simple and not much more than 800
+feet.[12] The East ridge of Changtse had no existence for us; we looked
+across at what presumably were the splayed-out slopes supporting it.
+Below them was a narrow glacier (it grew when we crossed it to broader
+dimensions), shaping its course somewhat to the West of North, joined
+after losing its white snow-covering by another and cleaner glacier
+coming steeply down from the left, then apparently bending with this
+confluent to the right, and finally lost to view. We could see no more;
+the mountain sides, which must hem it in on the North, remained
+completely hidden, and for all we had seen the exit of this glacier was
+still a mystery.
+
+  [12] It turned out to be a full 1,200 feet.
+
+Another great question remained unsolved. We had been able to make out
+the way across the head of the glacier towards the wall under Chang La;
+and the way was easy enough. But the wall itself, in spite of some
+fleeting glimpses and partial revelations, we had never really seen. We
+conjectured its height should be 500 feet or little more; and it was
+probably steep. It had been impossible to found an opinion as to whether
+the col were accessible. Nevertheless, I held an opinion, however flimsy
+the foundations. I had seen the rim of the col from both sides, and knew
+that above it on either hand were unserrated edges. When we added to
+whatever chances might be offered by the whole extent of the wall, which
+was considerable, the possibilities of finding a way to the col by the
+slopes of Everest to the South or by those of Changtse to the North, I
+felt we had enough in our favour. I was prepared, so to speak, to bet my
+bottom dollar that a way could be found, and was resolved that before we
+turned homewards this year we must get up from the East. When I thought
+of the 4,000 feet on the other side, the length combined with the
+difficulties, the distance that would necessarily separate us there from
+any convenient base and all the limitations in our strength, I could
+have no reasonable doubt that here to the East lay the best chance of
+success.
+
+[Illustration: NORTH-EAST OF MOUNT EVEREST AND CHANG LA
+from Lhakpa La.]
+
+It remained to determine by which of two possible routes we should reach
+the glacier-head between Lhakpa La and Chang La. Presuming that Wheeler
+was right we could use the old base at the foot of the Rongbuk Glacier
+which was only one stage, though a very long one, from Chöbuk, and
+proceed simply enough by two rough marches and one which should be
+easier to a camp at the foot of the wall or possibly to the col itself.
+On the East we could use as an advanced base a place two easy marches
+from Kharta; from there I reckoned one long day and two easy ones,
+provided the snow were hard, to Chang La. Against this route was the
+loss of height in crossing Lhakpa La; and for it the convenience of a
+good encampment on stones at 20,000 feet, better than anything we might
+expect to find at a similar elevation on the other side. So far the pros
+and cons were evenly balanced. But there was one great and perhaps
+insuperable obstacle in working from the Rongbuk Valley. We had always
+found difficulties there in obtaining an adequate supply of fuel. There
+is no wood at Chöbuk or for some distance below it. A few small bushes
+grow in a little patch of vegetation by the riverside an hour higher up.
+But it is a very niggardly supply, and when I thought of the larger
+scale of the preparations we should now have to make, it became clear
+that we should have to rely on gobar, which, besides being a more
+extravagant fuel in the sense that it gives less fire for a given weight
+than wood, is also difficult to get in the Rongbuk Valley, for little
+enough is to be found there, and the monastery at Chöyling is a large
+consumer. On the other hand, in the Kharta Valley we were in a land of
+plenty. Gobar and rhododendron were to be had within a stone's throw of
+our present advanced base camp, and a little lower was an abundance of
+juniper. Food supplies also were better here; fresh vegetables and eggs,
+luxuries never seen on the other side, could easily be obtained from
+Kharta, and even the sheep in this region could be praised at the
+expense of the Rongbuk breed, which was incomparably skinny; lurking in
+the thigh of one recently killed we had actually discovered a nugget of
+fat.
+
+And presuming Wheeler were wrong? In any case we knew enough of the
+country to be sure that a valley further to the North would offer us
+little better than the Rongbuk Valley, for it must be situated in the
+drier area unvisited by the monsoon currents from the Arun. The
+conclusion was drawn as we came down from Lhakpa La more swiftly than
+the reader of these arguments might suppose. We had now found a way to
+approach Chang La--not an ideal way, because it would involve a descent,
+and not one that could be used immediately; but good enough for our
+purpose. If laden coolies could not be brought to the Lhakpa at present
+over so much soft snow they might find the march to their liking later;
+for good snow at angles not too steep involves far less labour than
+rougher ground; and might we not expect the snow to harden before long?
+The whole plan of campaign had been founded upon the belief that
+September would be the best month for climbing, and our greatest
+efforts, some sort of an assault upon the mountain, were timed to take
+place then. We must now proceed upon the assumption that what the wise
+men prophesied about the matter would come true; and they promised a
+fine September. About the beginning of the month the monsoon would come
+to an end; then we should have a succession of bright, clear days to
+melt the snow and cold, starry nights to freeze it hard. At worst the
+calm spell would only be broken by a short anger. In September, perhaps
+a fortnight hence, on these same slopes where now we toiled we should
+find a solid substance beneath our feet and an easy way.
+
+The abiding thought, therefore, after the first rush downwards on the
+steep slopes below the col contained a measure of solid satisfaction. We
+had now brought to an end our preliminary reconnaissance. Ahead of us
+was a new phase in our operations, and one which should hold in store
+for us the finest adventure of all, the climax of all reconnoitring
+expeditions, that advance which was to bring us as near to the summit as
+our strength would take us. As we plodded on, retracing our steps, some
+little satisfaction was highly acceptable. To the tired party even
+descent seemed laborious. We reached the edge of the glacier where we
+had come on to it at 5.30 p.m. But the march from there to our lower
+camp was both long and rough. Major Morshead, who had not been trained
+with Bullock and me to the pace of such expeditions, had kept up so far
+in the gamest fashion; but he was now much exhausted. The day ended with
+a series of little spurts, balancing over the snow-sprinkled boulders
+along and along the valley, in the dim misty moonlit scene, until at 2
+o'clock in the morning we reached our lower camp, twenty-three hours
+after the early start.
+
+On August 20 we went down to Kharta for ten days' rest and
+reorganisation. The party was gathering there for the assault, in which
+all were to help to the best of their powers. Col. Howard-Bury and
+Mr. Wollaston were there; Dr. Heron came in on the following day, and a
+little later Major Wheeler. A conversation with this officer, who had
+been working in the Rongbuk Valley since Bullock and I had left it, was
+naturally of the highest interest, and he now confirmed what his
+sketch-map had suggested: that the glacier on to which we had looked
+down from Lhakpa La drained into the Rongbuk Valley. But this certain
+knowledge could have no bearing on our plans; we remained content with
+the way we had found and troubled our heads no more for the present
+about the East Rongbuk Glacier.
+
+
+
+
+                                CHAPTER XV
+
+                                THE ASSAULT
+
+
+In the agreeable climate of Kharta we were sufficiently occupied with
+the results of photography and preparations for the future; and there
+was time besides for unmixed idleness, which we knew how to appreciate.
+Our thoughts turned often to the weather. Local lore confirmed our
+expectations for September, and we looked each day for signs of a
+change. It was arranged, in hope if not in confidence, to move up on the
+first signs of improvement. Already before we came down to Kharta our
+Advanced Base Camp had been moved up; it was now situated at about
+17,300 feet on a convenient grassy plateau and only a reasonable stage
+below our 20,000-foot camp, where some light tents and stores had also
+been left. At these two camps we had, in fact, left everything which we
+should not absolutely require at Kharta, so that few mountaineering
+stores would have to be carried forward from the Base when we came up
+again. Our first task would be to supply the Advanced Base with food and
+fuel, and a start had already been made by collecting here a pile of
+wood, nominally thirty loads. Transport in any case was not likely to be
+a difficulty in the early stages. Local coolies could easily be hired,
+and Howard-Bury was to follow us up after a short interval with all
+available strength to help in every possible way.
+
+The first object which our plans must include was, of course, to reach
+Chang La; by finding the way to this point we should establish a line of
+attack and complete a stage of our reconnaissance. Secondly we must aim
+at reaching the North-east Shoulder. In so far as it was an object of
+reconnaissance to determine whether it was possible to climb Mount
+Everest, our task could never be complete until we had actually climbed
+it; but short of that it was important to have a view of the final
+stage, and could we reach the great shoulder of the arête we should at
+least be in a better position to estimate what lay between there and the
+summit. Finally we saw no reason to exclude the supreme object itself.
+It would involve no sacrifice of meaner ends; the best would not
+interfere with the good. For if it should turn out that the additional
+supplies required for a longer campaign were more than our coolies could
+carry, we would simply drop them and aim less high.
+
+In organising the assault we had first to consider how our camps could
+be established, at Lhakpa La or perhaps better beyond it at a lower
+elevation, at Chang La, and finally as high as possible, somewhere under
+the shoulder, we thought, at about 26,500 feet. From the camp on Chang
+La we should have to carry up ten loads, each of 15 lb., which would
+provide tents enough, and sleeping-sacks and food for a maximum of four
+Sahibs and four coolies; sixteen coolies were allowed for this task;
+twelve therefore would have to return on the day of their ascent and
+sleep at Chang La, and on the assumption that they would require an
+escort of Sahibs who must also sleep at this camp, four small tents must
+remain there, making six in all to be carried up to this point. The
+lower end of the ladder must be so constructed as to support this weight
+at the top. It was comparatively a simple matter to provide the earlier
+camps. The first above the advanced base--that at 20,000 feet--could be
+filled before we moved up to sleep there, the coolies returning on the
+same day whenever they carried up loads. And the same plan could be
+adopted for the second at Lhakpa La; only one journey there, I
+calculated, would be required before we started in force from the
+20,000-foot camp to go straight ahead without delay. The crux would lie
+in the stage from Lhakpa La to Chang La. At the most we should have
+twenty-three coolies, sixteen who had been all along with the climbing
+party, three whom Wheeler had partially trained, and four more Sherpas,
+the maximum number being determined by the supply of boots. But it would
+not be necessary to carry on all the loads from Lhakpa La; and return
+journeys could be made from Chang La both by those who were not to stay
+there and by the twelve already mentioned who might fetch supplies if
+necessary on the final day of the assault. This plan was never executed
+in its later stages, and we cannot know for certain whether it would
+have held good. But it may be conjectured, in view of our experience,
+that the weakest link would have broken; either an extra day would have
+been spent between Lhakpa La and Chang La, or, if we had reached Chang
+La according to programme with the minimum of supplies, the coolies
+would not have been brought to this point a second time and the climbing
+party would have been cut off from its reserves. And, granted the most
+favourable conditions for the attempt, in asking the coolies to carry
+loads of 30 lb. on two consecutive days at these high altitudes, we were
+probably expecting too much of them. It must be concluded, if this
+opinion is correct, that we had not enough coolies for what we intended.
+
+On the last day of August, Bullock and I were established once again at
+our Advanced Base. The weather had not yet cleared, though it was
+showing some signs of change. But it had been necessary to move up for
+the coolies' sake. At Kharta, where they found little to amuse them and
+no work to employ their time, they had sought diversion with the aid of
+liquor and become discontented and ill-affected. They were badly in need
+of a routine, which at the Advanced Base was easily enough provided.
+Besides, I wanted to be ready, and it seemed not too soon to begin
+carrying loads up to the next camp. There was no occasion for hurry in
+the event. We were obliged to wait nearly three weeks, until September
+19, before moving forward. The delay served no useful purpose, the work
+of supplying our present needs and providing for the future was
+sufficiently spread over the long tale of days, but interspersed with
+more rest and leisure than anyone required.
+
+In some respects life at the Advanced Base compared favourably with our
+experience at other camps. The place had a charm of its own. The short
+turf about us, the boulders and little streams reminded me of Welsh
+hillsides; and these high pastures were often decorated by the brilliant
+blues of _Gentiana ornata_ and by the most exquisite of saxifrages,
+which, with the yellow and ochre markings on the cream glaze of its tiny
+bowl, recalls the marginal ornament on some Persian page. Whenever the
+weather cleared for a few hours we saw down the valley a splendid peak
+in a scene of romantic beauty, and by walking up to a stony shoulder
+only 2,000 feet above us, we had amazing views of Everest and Makalu.
+And it was an advantage during these days of waiting to be a larger
+party, as we soon became.
+
+Bury and Wollaston, and also Raeburn whom we rejoiced to see again, had
+come up on the 6th, Morshead and Wheeler on the 11th, and for two nights
+Heron was of our company. We made little excursions to keep ourselves
+fit, and on one occasion enjoyed some rock-climbing. But it amused
+nobody to watch the procession of clouds which precipitated sleet by day
+and snow by night, and our appetite for adventure could not be
+stimulated by making time pass in some endurable fashion and counting
+the unhopeful signs.
+
+Under these circumstances I became more than ever observant of the
+party's physical condition. I find a passage in one of my letters
+written during this period of waiting in which I boast of finding myself
+"still able to go up about 1,500 feet in an hour--not bad going at these
+altitudes"--a reassuring statement enough but for the one word "still,"
+which betrays all my anxiety. In fact there was too much cause to be
+anxious. Three of our strongest coolies were ill at this camp; others
+seemed to be tired more easily than they should be. And what of the
+Sahibs? At least it must be said that several of them were not looking
+their best. Bullock, though he never complained, seemed no longer to be
+the fit man he was at the end of July. And for my part I began to
+experience a certain lack of exuberance when going up hill. I came to
+realise that all such efforts were unduly exhausting; my reserve of
+strength had somehow diminished. The whole machine, in fact, was running
+down; the days continued to pass with their cloud and rain and snow,
+always postponing our final effort to a later date and a colder season;
+and with them our chances of success were slowly vanishing.
+
+When at last the weather cleared, it was evident that the fate of our
+enterprise would be decided by the sun's power to melt the snow. In a
+subsequent chapter I shall have more to say about the snow's melting; it
+may suffice to remark here that, before we left the Advanced Base, I had
+good reason to expect that we should meet adverse conditions, and was
+resolved at the same time that nothing was to be gained by waiting. The
+coolies were lightly laden up to the First Advanced Camp and
+sufficiently unfatigued to proceed next day. On the 20th, therefore,
+leaving Bullock to accompany Wheeler, Morshead and I set forth to get
+fourteen loads up to Lhakpa La. We had one spare coolie who carried no
+load, and Sanglu, who was now our acting Sirdar, four of us in all, to
+break the trail for the loaded men. Snow-shoes were not carried because
+there were not enough to go round. Though our prospects of reaching a
+high point on Everest were already sufficiently dim, I intended to carry
+out the original plan until obliged by circumstances to modify it; it
+might prove necessary to spend an extra day in reaching Chang La, and in
+that case we could perhaps afford to stop short of Lhakpa La and
+establish our camp below its final slopes. But if the strain on this
+first day was likely to be severe, I argued that the coolies could rest
+to-morrow, and that the second journey in frozen tracks would be easy
+enough. That we should be passing the night a few hundred feet higher
+(at 22,500 feet) was a relatively unimportant consideration. The great
+matter was to put heart into the coolies; it would be infinitely more
+encouraging to reach the crest with a sense of complete achievement, to
+see the clear prospect ahead and to proceed downwards on the other side.
+
+Our start at an early hour on the 20th was propitious enough. It was the
+same moonlit glacier of our expedition a month before as we made good
+our approach to its surface. But the conditions were altered. For the
+first time since we had come to these mountains we experienced the
+wonderful delight of treading snow that is both crisp and solid. We
+walked briskly over it, directly towards Mount Everest, with all the
+hope such a performance might inspire. The night was exceedingly cold
+and there was no untoward delay. In less than an hour we were at the
+foot of the icefall. We were determined on this occasion not to avoid it
+by the rocks of the left bank, but to find a quicker way through the
+tumbled ice. At first all went well. A smooth-floored corridor took us
+helpfully upwards. And then, in the dim light, we were among the
+crevasses. To be seriously held up here might well be fatal to our
+object, and in the most exciting kind of mountaineering adventures we
+had the stimulus of this thought. We plunged into the maze and struggled
+for a little time, crossing frail bridges over fantastic depths and
+making steps up steep little walls, until it seemed we were in serious
+trouble. One leap proposed by the leader proved too much for some of the
+laden coolies and a good deal of pushing and pulling was required to
+bring them over the formidable gap. We had begun to waste time. Halted
+on a sharp little crest between two monstrous chasms Morshead and I
+discussed the situation, and thereafter gravely proceeded to reconnoitre
+the ground to our left. In ten minutes we came to another corridor like
+the first, which brought us out above the icefall.
+
+We were well satisfied with our progress as we halted at sunrise, and it
+was a pleasant change to get our feet out of the snow and knock a little
+warmth into chilled toes. But our confidence had ebbed. Even as we
+entered the icefall our feet had occasionally broken the crust; as we
+came out of it we were stamping a trail.
+
+Dorji Gompa, our unladen coolie, and perhaps the strongest man of all,
+took the lead when we went on, and plugged manfully upwards. But already
+the party was showing signs of fatigue. One coolie, and then two others,
+fell out and could not be induced to come further. I sent Dorji Gompa
+back to bring on one of their loads. Morshead, Sanglu and I took turns
+ahead and soon came to the worst snow we had encountered anywhere. In it
+no firm steps could be stamped by the leaders to save the coolies
+behind, and each man in turn had to contend with the shifting substance
+of fine powder. The party straggled badly. It was necessary for some of
+us to press on and prove that the goal could be reached. Many of the men
+were obliged to halt at frequent intervals. But time was on our side.
+Gradually the party fought its way up the final slopes. As we approached
+the pass I looked back with Morshead over the little groups along our
+track and saw some distance below the last moving figure another lying
+huddled up on the snow. I soon learnt the meaning of this: it was Dorji
+Gompa who lay there. He had carried on not one load as I had asked him,
+but two, until he had fallen there dazed and exhausted.
+
+At length eleven loads reached the pass and two more were only 800 feet
+lower. If we had not done all we set out to do I was satisfied we had
+done enough. We had established tracks to Lhakpa La which should serve
+us well when they had frozen hard, and not too many loads remained below
+to be brought up two days later.
+
+We now obtained a clear view of Chang La; it was possible to make more
+exact calculations, and it was evident we must modify our plans. We saw
+a wall of formidable dimensions, perhaps 1,000 feet high; the surface
+was unpleasantly broken by insuperable bergschrunds and the general
+angle was undoubtedly steep. The slopes of Everest to the South were out
+of the question, and if it were possible to avoid a direct assault by
+the North side the way here would be long, difficult and exceedingly
+laborious. The wall itself offered the best chance, and I was in good
+hopes we could get up. But it would not be work for untrained men, and
+to have on the rope a number of laden coolies, more or less mountain
+sick, conducted by so small a nucleus as three Sahibs, who would also
+presumably be feeling the effects of altitude, was a proposition not to
+be contemplated for a moment. We must have as strong a party as possible
+in the first place, simply to reach the col, and afterwards to bring up
+a camp, if we were able, as a separate operation. With this idea I
+selected the party. Wollaston felt that his place of duty was not with
+the van; only Wheeler besides had sufficient mountaineering experience,
+and it was decided that he alone should accompany Bullock and myself on
+our first attempt to reach the col. Nevertheless, it seemed undesirable
+to abandon so early the hope that Bury and Morshead would be of use to
+us later on; and Wollaston clearly must start with us from the
+20,000-foot camp where all had gathered on the 20th.
+
+I had hoped we should have a full complement of coolies on the 22nd, but
+when morning came it was found that three, including two of the best
+men, were too ill to start. Consequently some of the loads were rather
+heavier than I intended. But all arrived safely at Lhakpa La before
+midday. Visited by malicious gusts from the North-west, the pass was
+cheerless and chilly; however, the rim afforded us some protection, and
+we decided to pitch our tents there rather than descend on the other
+side with the whole party, a move which I felt might complicate the
+return. I was not very happy about the prospects for the morrow. For my
+own part I had been excessively and unaccountably tired in coming up to
+the col; I observed no great sparkle of energy or enthusiasm among my
+companions; Sanglu was practically _hors de combat_; some of the coolies
+had with difficulty been brought to the col and were more or less
+exhausted; and many complaints of headache, even from the best of them,
+were a bad sign.
+
+There was no question of bustling off before dawn on the 23rd, but we
+rose early enough, as I supposed, to push on to Chang La if we were
+sufficiently strong. Morshead and I in a Mummery tent had slept well and
+I congratulated myself on an act of mutilation in cutting two large
+slits in its roof. The rest had not fared so well, but seemed fit
+enough, and the wonderful prospect from our camp at sunrise was a
+cheering sight. With the coolies, however, the case was different. Those
+who had been unwell overnight had not recovered, and it was evident that
+only a comparatively small number would be able to come on; eventually I
+gathered ten, two men who both protested they were ill casting lots for
+the last place; and of these ten it was evident that none were
+unaffected by the height and several were more seriously
+mountain-sick.[13] Under these circumstances it was necessary to
+consider which loads should be carried on. Bury, Wollaston and Morshead
+suggested that they should go back at once so as not to burden the party
+with the extra weight of their belongings, and it seemed the wisest plan
+that they should return. Certain stores were left behind at Lhakpa La as
+reserve supplies for the climbing party. I decided at an early hour that
+our best chance was to take an easy day; after a late start and a very
+slow march we pitched our tents on the open snow up towards the col.
+
+  [13] I use this expression to denote not a state of intermittent
+       vomiting, but simply one in which physical exertion exhausts the
+       body abnormally and causes a remarkable disinclination to further
+       exertion.
+
+It might have been supposed that in so deep a cwm and sheltered on three
+sides by steep mountain slopes, we should find a tranquil air and the
+soothing, though chilly calm of undisturbed frost. Night came clearly
+indeed, but with no gentle intentions. Fierce squalls of wind visited
+our tents and shook and worried them with the disagreeable threat of
+tearing them away from their moorings, and then scurried off, leaving us
+in wonder at the change and asking what next to expect. It was a cold
+wind at an altitude of 22,000 feet, and however little one may have
+suffered, the atmosphere discouraged sleep. Again I believe I was more
+fortunate than my companions, but Bullock and Wheeler fared badly. Lack
+of sleep, since it makes one sleepy, always discourages an early start,
+and hot drinks take time to brew; in any case, it was wise to start
+rather late so as to have the benefit of warm sun whenever our feet
+should be obliged to linger in cold snow or ice steps. It was an hour or
+so after sunrise when we left the camp and half an hour later we were
+breaking the crust on the first slopes under the wall. We had taken
+three coolies who were sufficiently fit and competent, and now proceeded
+to use them for the hardest work. Apart from one brief spell of cutting
+when we passed the corner of a bergschrund it was a matter of
+straightforward plugging, firstly slanting up to the right on partially
+frozen avalanche snow and then left in one long upward traverse to the
+summit. Only one passage shortly below the col caused either anxiety or
+trouble; here the snow was lying at a very steep angle and was deep
+enough to be disagreeable. About 500 steps of very hard work covered
+all the worst of the traverse and we were on the col shortly before
+11.30 a.m. By this time two coolies were distinctly tired, though by no
+means incapable of coming on; the third, who had been in front, was
+comparatively fresh. Wheeler thought he might be good for some further
+effort, but had lost all feeling in his feet. Bullock was tired, but by
+sheer will power would evidently come on--how far, one couldn't say. For
+my part I had had the wonderful good fortune of sleeping tolerably well
+at both high camps and now finding my best form; I supposed I might be
+capable of another 2,000 feet, and there would be no time for more. But
+what lay ahead of us? My eyes had often strayed, as we came up, to the
+rounded edge above the col and the final rocks below the North-east
+arête. If ever we had doubted whether the arête were accessible, it was
+impossible to doubt any longer. For a long way up those easy rock and
+snow slopes was neither danger nor difficulty. But at present there was
+wind. Even where we stood under the lee of a little ice cliff it came in
+fierce gusts at frequent intervals, blowing up the powdery snow in a
+suffocating tourbillon. On the col beyond it was blowing a gale. And
+higher was a more fearful sight. The powdery fresh snow on the great
+face of Everest was being swept along in unbroken spindrift and the very
+ridge where our route lay was marked out to receive its unmitigated
+fury. We could see the blown snow deflected upwards for a moment where
+the wind met the ridge, only to rush violently down in a frightful
+blizzard on the leeward side. To see, in fact, was enough; the wind had
+settled the question; it would have been folly to go on. Nevertheless,
+some little discussion took place as to what might be possible, and we
+struggled a few steps further to put the matter to the test. For a few
+moments we exposed ourselves on the col to feel the full strength of the
+blast, then struggled back to shelter. Nothing more was said about
+pushing our assault any further.
+
+It remained to take a final decision on the morning of the 25th. We were
+evidently too weak a party to play a waiting game at this altitude. We
+must either take our camp to the col or go back. A serious objection to
+going forward lay in the shortage of coolies' rations. Had the men been
+fit it would not have been too much for them to return, as I had
+planned, unladen to Lhakpa La and reach Chang La again the same day. I
+doubted whether any two could be found to do that now; and to subtract
+two was to leave only eight, of whom two were unfit to go on, so that
+six would remain to carry seven loads. However, the distance to the col
+was so short that I was confident such difficulties could be overcome
+one way or another.
+
+A more unpleasant consideration was the thought of requiring a party
+which already felt the height too much to sleep at least a 1,000 feet
+higher. We might well find it more than we could do to get back over
+Lhakpa La, and be forced to make a hungry descent down the Rongbuk
+Valley. There would be no disaster in that event. The crucial matter was
+the condition of the climbers. Were we fit to push the adventure
+further? The situation, if any one of the whole party collapsed, would
+be extremely disagreeable, and all the worse if he should be one of the
+Sahibs, who were none too many to look after the coolies in case of
+mountaineering difficulties. Such a collapse I judged might well be the
+fate of one or other of us if we were to push our assault above Chang La
+to the limit of our strength. And what more were we likely to accomplish
+from a camp on Chang La? The second night had been no less windy than
+the first. Soon after the weather cleared the wind had been strong from
+North-west, and seemed each day to become more violent. The only signs
+of a change now pointed to no improvement, but rather to a heavy fall of
+snow--by no means an improbable event according to local lore. The
+arguments, in fact, were all on one side; it would be bad heroics to
+take wrong risks; and fairly facing the situation one could only admit
+the necessity of retreat.
+
+It may be added that the real weakness of the party became only too
+apparent in the course of our return journey over Lhakpa La on this
+final day; and it must be safe to say that none of the three climbers
+has ever felt a spasm of regret about the decision to go back or a
+moment's doubt as to its rightness. It was imposed upon us by
+circumstances without a reasonable alternative.
+
+
+
+
+                                CHAPTER XVI
+
+                       WEATHER AND CONDITION OF SNOW
+
+
+Without consulting the meteorologist at Simla it is difficult to accept
+assertions about the monsoon as ultimate truth. Beyond a general, rather
+vague, agreement as to what should normally be expected, opinions differ
+not a little as to the measure and frequency of divergences from the
+norm. And individuals who observe in one locality more or less than they
+hope or expect are apt to forget that their dearth or plenty may be
+elsewhere compensated by capricious incidence. Nevertheless it seems
+certain that this year's rainfall in North-east India was above the
+normal both in amount and duration. "We had good rain," people said, and
+I was tempted to reply, "We had bad snow." Travelling through India I
+frequently asked questions on this point, and almost invariably heard of
+an unusually bountiful rainfall, seldom of one which was merely
+sufficient. Inhabitants of Darjeeling, who have observed the hills in
+the changing seasons for many years, told me that it was almost unheard
+of that so much snow should fall in September and lie so low. The
+general tenor of such remarks may probably be applied to an area
+including not only Mount Everest itself and the great peaks in its
+neighbourhood, but also a considerable tract of country to the North.
+The monsoon, according to Tibetan information, started perhaps a little
+later than usual, but was still more late in coming to an end; the
+Tibetans ordinarily lie with an object, and there could be no object in
+deceiving us about the weather. It may be concluded the year was
+abnormally wet, though to what extent on Everest itself can hardly be
+divined.
+
+During our outward journey through Sikkim we saw nothing of the high
+peaks. It was not until the day of our march to Phari Dzong (May 28)
+that we had a clear view of the snows, and we had then the good fortune
+to see Chomolhari late in the morning. But Chomolhari and the range to
+the North of it were less visited by clouds than the peaks further
+South. Pawhunri, Kanchenjunga, Chomiomo were less often visible, and
+even at this early season we began to observe the usual habit of clouds
+to rise from the valleys or to form about the summits at an early hour,
+to be dissipated not before evening. The weather was not necessarily bad
+because the peaks were veiled. When we first saw Everest from Kampa
+Dzong on June 6, it was obscured some three hours after sunrise, but the
+weather seemed fine: and on two subsequent days we made the same
+observation. On June 13, from the hills above Shiling, Bullock and I
+were trying to make out the Everest group through glasses for about
+three hours. When first we looked in that direction, it appeared that a
+storm was in progress, with dark clouds drifting up from the West; but
+Kanchenjunga at the same time was a glorious sight, and all the
+mountains were clear before sunset. The most splendid of the distant
+views was from Ponglet on June 19: we were up our hill half an hour
+after sunrise and half an hour later there was nothing to be seen. There
+may have been malice in the clouds that day. It was radiantly fine where
+we were; but in the afternoon we came under the edge of a thunderstorm
+which drenched the main body of the Expedition as they were approaching
+Tingri; and there was a definite break in the weather at this time.
+
+I suppose this break may be taken as the forerunner of the monsoon on
+Mount Everest. Storms there may have been before; but, generally
+speaking, it had been fine over the mountains since the beginning of
+June, and though the evidence is slight enough it seems probable that
+Everest received little or no snow before June 20. When first we saw it,
+a few days later, from the Rongbuk Glacier, it was still comparatively
+black. It appeared a rocky mass with a white arm to the right, some
+permanent snow on the ledges and in the gullies of the face turned
+Northwards in our direction and some snow again on the high North-east
+arête; but with no pretensions to be a snow-mountain, a real sugar-cake
+as it seemed afterwards to become. We were lucky in having a few fine
+days at the outset of our reconnaissance. The conditions then were very
+different from those which obtained later. The recent snow must have
+melted quickly; we found clean ice on an East-facing slope at 21,000
+feet and also at a gentler angle on one facing West. On Ri-ring the
+slopes were generally covered with snow near the crest, thinly but
+sufficiently, or we should never have got up; near the summit we found
+ice on both sides, North and South. It is impossible to say up to what
+height one might have found ice in June. Appearances suggested that on
+all but the steepest slopes above 23,000 feet the surface was hard snow
+rather than ice.
+
+It was on the day following our ascent of Ri-ring, July 6, that we first
+experienced a real snowfall; and we woke next morning to find 3 or 4
+inches covering the ground. In so far as an exact date can be ascribed
+to what is hardly a single event, July 6-7 may be taken as the beginning
+of the monsoon. We imagined at first that this snowfall was an important
+matter, sufficient to prevent climbing at any considerable height for
+several days. But from subsequent observations we came to treat such
+snowfalls with a certain degree of contempt. It was more often than not
+the case during the whole of July until the date of our departure that
+snow fell during the day--sometimes perhaps for a comparatively short
+period between noon and sunset, not seldom for many hours,
+intermittently during the day from the middle of the morning, and
+continuing into the night. But it was often so far as we were concerned
+a harmless phenomenon. Snow was precipitated from clouds so thin that
+they were easily penetrated by the sun's heat; it melted where it lay,
+and the moisture so readily evaporated that the snow had hardly stopped
+falling before the ground was dry. One might suppose that a few hundred
+feet higher, where the snow could be seen to lie where it fell, the
+effects would be more severe; but it was remarkable after half a day's
+unceasing precipitation of this fine granular snow that one might go up
+early next morning, perhaps to 20,000 feet, and find no more than a thin
+covering of 2 or 3 inches on the stones.
+
+In saying that this sort of weather was harmless, I am not denying that
+it hindered our operations; but from the point of view merely of the
+climber it was remarkably innocuous. A case in point is our ascent of
+Ri-ring. As we were nearing the summit a thunderstorm gathered to the
+North and dark clouds came up on every hand, threatening a violent
+disturbance. I have related in an earlier chapter how we hurried down,
+expecting at the least a cold unpleasant wind and some nasty snow
+showers; but the air remained calm and the temperature warm and such
+grains of snow as fell were hardly remarked in our flight. A more
+disagreeable experience was our first journey to the col from which we
+afterwards looked into the West Cwm of Everest; we reached the pass in
+the teeth of a wind which drove the snow into our faces; but the weather
+had no real sting, and the wind, though cold, seemed to touch us
+lightly. Wind, in fact, was never an enemy to be feared during the whole
+period of the monsoon, and snowstorms, though they prevented more than
+one expedition, never turned us back. The delays in our reconnaissance
+caused by bad weather were of course considerable; we were forced to
+push our camps higher than would have otherwise been necessary, and
+often found ourselves hurrying after a start before dawn in a desperate
+race with the clouds to reach a view-point before the view had
+disappeared. And the precipitation of snow on the glaciers forced us
+invariably to wear snow-shoes on névé, and consequently limited the
+numbers in our parties.
+
+I have already alluded to a more serious snowfall which took place from
+July 20 to 25. Another occurred during the first days of August and
+another again on August 20 and 21, when snow came down below 16,000
+feet. In September, towards the end of the monsoon, the weather was more
+monotonously malicious and the snowfall tended to be heavier; I find two
+heavy falls noted particularly in my diary. But on the whole it was the
+habit of snow to fall lightly. It is remarkable, when one calls to mind
+such a big snowfall as may occur during the climbing season in the Alps
+before the weather is resolved to be fine, how little snow by comparison
+fell on any one day in the region of Mount Everest. And perhaps in the
+end the slopes were more laden by the smaller precipitations which
+deposited a daily accretion.
+
+We naturally sought an answer to the interminable query as to how much
+melting took place at the highest altitudes. Melting of course was
+always quicker on rocks. But even on the glaciers it was remarkably
+rapid whenever the sun shone brightly, and we were more than once
+surprised after a period of cloudy weather with constant snow showers to
+find how much the snow had consolidated. It seemed to us on more than
+one occasion that while snow had been falling at our camps and on the
+lower peaks, Everest itself must have escaped. But, generally speaking,
+after July 6 the mountain was remarkably white and became increasingly
+whiter, and only at the least two perfectly fine days, which rarely came
+together, made any perceptible difference. It was remarkable how little
+ice was ever observable on the steep Eastern face, where one would
+expect to see icicles hanging about the rocks. It is my own impression
+for what it is worth, and its value I fear is small, that though snow
+will melt readily enough low down, at least up to 23,000 feet during the
+warmer weather even on cloudy days, at greater altitudes, perhaps above
+25,000 feet, it rarely melts even in bright sunshine. In September this
+year I doubt if it melted at all above 23,000 feet after the weather
+cleared. At lower elevations the direction and angle of the slope made
+all the difference. After one fine day the snow on a steep East slope
+had solidified to a remarkable degree at about 20,000 feet; on a
+North-facing slope at a similar elevation it had been quite unaffected;
+on flat surfaces 1,000 feet higher a perceptible crust had formed, but
+the snow remained powdery below it as on the day when it fell. After
+three and four fine days the snowy surface of a glacier was absolutely
+hard at about 20,000 feet and remained solid in the afternoon. Fifteen
+hundred feet higher we were breaking a hard crust and sinking in a foot
+or more. This condition may have been partly due to the local behaviour
+of clouds, which were apt to cling about a ridge overlooking the glacier
+and cast a shadow on this part of it. But higher, on more open ground,
+we met the same condition; and again the slopes facing North preserved a
+powdery snow which never changed before it was blown down in avalanches.
+Perhaps the most convincing phenomena were the powdery snow high up on
+the Eastern slopes under the North col and the snow on the Western
+slopes at a similar elevation under Lhakpa La, which was hardly more
+solid, while 1,000 feet lower we found excellent snow. It is difficult
+to resist the conclusion that altitude is a determining factor in the
+sun's power of melting. It is possible that a line might always be drawn
+on any given day above which the temperature of the air is too cold for
+snow to melt where it has fallen on snow, and another to meet the case
+where it covers rocks. From our all too limited observations in June I
+should judge that in the middle of summer such imaginary lines would be
+above the height of Everest, but in other and cooler seasons we should
+quickly find them lower and a long way below the summit.
+
+In close connection with the snow's melting we had to consider the
+possibility of avalanches. Our observations on this head were so meagre
+that I can only make with the greatest diffidence a few statements about
+them. It is astonishing to reflect how seldom we either saw or heard an
+avalanche, or even noticed the débris of one under steep slopes which
+had been laden with snow. Only on two occasions, I believe, were we
+confronted in practice with the question as to whether a slope could
+safely be crossed. The first was on August 7 in ascending the peak
+Carpo-ri, of which I have previously made mention. The heavy snowfall at
+the beginning of the month had ceased during the night August 4-5; the
+following days had been warm but cloudy, and on both there had been
+prolonged snow showers of the lighter sort in the afternoon and evening.
+On the night of August 6 we had hard frost at 17,500 feet, and there was
+a considerable sprinkling of fresh snow on the stones of the moraine.
+Between the col and the summit we met some very steep snow slopes on the
+South side: we carried no clinometer and I shall not venture to estimate
+their angles of inclination. It was on this occasion, as I have
+narrated, that in crossing a shallow scoop I was very much afraid of an
+avalanche, but was able to choose a safe line where we were protected
+and helped by an island of rocks. The snow here was inclined to be
+powdery; but it had solidified in some degree and, where we had to tread
+it, adhered sufficiently to the slope so as to give one a distinct
+confidence that it would not slide off wherever it might be crossed.
+Above this place we were able to avoid danger by following an edge where
+the snow was not so deep; but here again I noticed with surprise the
+adhesion between new snow and old. The ice below was not solid and
+smooth, but frothy and rough, and easily penetrated by a strong blow of
+the axe; it seemed to have been formed very quickly. The snow showed no
+inclination to slide off, though it was not of the substance in which a
+secure step could be made: and I concluded that the process of
+assimilation between the old surface and the new snow must proceed very
+rapidly whenever the temperature was warm enough. On the final slope,
+which was even steeper, more snow was lying--it was a more powdery
+substance: I was able again to escape danger on an edge dividing two
+faces; but it was surprising that no avalanche had already taken place
+and that the snow contrived to stay where it was.
+
+The other occasion when we had to face and determine the possibility of
+an avalanche was in traversing the slopes to the North Col. Here our
+feet undoubtedly found a solid bed to tread upon, but the substance
+above it was dubiously loose. It was my conviction at the time that with
+axes well driven in above us we were perfectly safe here. But on the way
+down we observed a space of 5 yards or so where the surface snow had
+slid away below our tracks. The disquieting thoughts that necessarily
+followed this discovery left and still leave me in some doubt as to how
+great a risk, if any, we were actually taking. But it is natural to
+suppose that at a higher elevation or in a cooler season, because the
+snow adheres less rapidly to the slopes on which it lies, an avalanche
+of new snow is more likely to occur.
+
+
+                                TEMPERATURE
+
+Before attempting to draw conclusions as to the relative chances of
+finding favourable conditions between one month and another, a few words
+must be said about temperature.
+
+So far as the temperature of the air was concerned, we experienced no
+severe cold and suffered no hardships from first to last. I do not mean
+to affirm that it was always warm. We welcomed frost at nights as one
+does in the Alps. One night so early as July 18, in a camp above 19,000
+feet, was exceptionally cold. At our two last camps in September the
+thermometer went down to two or three degrees below zero (Fahr.) and the
+wind at the final camp made it more difficult to keep warm; with as
+little protection as the coolies had, I should no doubt have shivered in
+my tent. The air also seemed very cold before sunrise on September 20,
+though we were walking fast; but it did not bite the tip of my nose or
+ears or cause any disagreeable result. In general it may be said that
+there could be no difficulty in providing equipment against any cold we
+encountered. Heat was a much more dangerous enemy, as I indicated in
+describing our first ascent to Lhakpa La. Personally I never felt the
+sun's power on my head, but I felt it on my back so early as 8 a.m. as a
+definite attack on my energy and vital power, and more than once, though
+the sun was not shining, in crossing a glacier late in the day I was
+reduced from a state of alert activity to one of heavy lassitude.
+
+The temperature of the snow is another consideration of very great
+importance. Even in July I felt the snow to be cold in the middle of the
+day towards the summit of Ri-ring, and when wearing snow-shoes in fresh
+snow under 20,000 feet coolies and all felt the cold in their feet.
+Later I apprehended a real danger from this source. The coolies were
+encouraged to anoint their feet with whale oil, and we avoided accident
+and even complaint: but I always admired their resistance to cold.
+Personally, though I am not particularly a cold-footed person, I took
+the precaution of wearing two pairs of long socks which were both new
+and thick, and a third from which, unfortunately, the toes had to be
+amputated owing to the timid miscalculation of my bootmaker: this
+equipment sufficed and I found my feet perfectly warm, while one of my
+companions was obliged to pull off a boot in order to restore
+circulation, and the other went on with numb feet and barely escaped
+frost-bite. And I must again emphasise the fact that this was on an
+Eastern slope well warmed by the sun in the middle of the morning and at
+an altitude no higher than about 22,500 feet. It may readily be
+concluded that forethought and care are in no respect more necessary
+than in guarding against frozen feet among a large party at the highest
+altitudes. And the difficulty of guarding against this danger might well
+determine the limits at either end of the warmest weather within which
+an assault should be launched on Everest itself or any one of the
+half-dozen or so highest peaks.
+
+
+                       THE BEST SEASON FOR CLIMBING
+
+It will hardly be doubtful from the whole tendency of my preceding
+remarks about weather and conditions that my opinion inclines
+decisively to the earlier rather than the later season as offering the
+best chances of climbing Mount Everest. We cannot of course assume that
+because September was a bad month this year it will always be a bad
+month. But supposing the monsoon were to end punctually and a fair spell
+to have set in by the first day of September--even then it appears to me
+improbable that the fresh snow fallen during the monsoon would
+sufficiently melt near the top of the mountain two and a half months
+after midsummer. As to the prospects of wind, we can only be content
+with the statement that in this particular year the wind after the end
+of the monsoon would alone have defeated even the most determined
+attempt to reach the summit. A wind strong enough to blow up the snow
+must always, I believe, prevent an ascent. A superman might perhaps be
+found, but never a party of men whose endurance at high altitudes would
+warrant the risk of exhaustion in struggling for long hours against such
+adverse circumstances. For the earlier season it may be said again, as a
+simple observation upon which little enough can be built, that the
+appearance of the clouds before the monsoon did not suggest wind, but
+rather a calm air on the summit. What precisely the conditions may be,
+for instance, in May and June, 1922, or what we ought normally to
+expect, cannot be determined with certainty. Will the whole of the snow
+fallen during the monsoon of 1921 have melted before the next monsoon,
+and if so by what date? Will the amount of snow on the mountain be the
+same in June, 1922, as twelve months before? Or will black and white
+appear in altered proportions? And if the snow has melted, where will
+ice be found? It might well be that under the North Col all the steeper
+slopes will have lost their snow. And what of the final arête? One
+conjecture seems as good as another, and the experience of more
+travelled mountaineers will suggest the most probable answer to these
+questions with an instinct less fallible than mine. Nevertheless, I
+think it may be said that the chances are all in favour of the earlier
+season. We know, for instance, about this year that snow must have
+melted since the last monsoon and actually was melting fast in June, but
+the summer's snow does not always melt before the winter--not this year,
+for instance: the chances, therefore, of finding it melted in June are
+better than those of finding it melted in September. It may be contended
+that it might then have melted too much so that a party would find ice
+where they would wish to find snow. But one must prefer the lesser of
+two evils. Ice is far from an insuperable obstacle on Mount Everest;
+almost anywhere above Chang La crampons would overcome it: but powdery
+snow, in case the snow has melted too little, is a deadly handicap.
+Finally, the earlier is the warmer season with less danger to vulnerable
+feet and requiring a lighter equipment.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER XVII
+
+                          THE ROUTE TO THE SUMMIT
+
+
+The reader who has carefully followed the preceding story will hardly
+have failed to notice that the route which has been chosen as the only
+one offering reasonable chances of success remains still very largely a
+matter of speculation. But the reconnaissance, unless it were actually
+to reach the summit, was obliged to leave much unproved, and its value
+must depend upon observations in various sorts and not merely upon the
+practice of treading the snow and rocks. Speculation in this case is
+founded upon experience of certain phenomena and a study of the
+mountain's features; and it is by relating what has been only seen with
+known facts that inferences have been drawn.
+
+It may perhaps be accounted a misfortune that the party of 1921 did not
+approach Chang La by the East Rongbuk Glacier. The Lhakpa La proved a
+bigger obstacle than was expected. But in conditions such as we hope to
+find before the monsoon, this way would have much to recommend it. It
+avoids all laborious walking on a dry glacier, and with hard snow the
+walk up to the pass from the camp on stones at 20,000 feet should not be
+unduly fatiguing. Still the fact remains that the descent from the
+Lhakpa La on to the East Rongbuk Glacier is not less than 1,200 feet.
+Would it not be better to follow up this glacier from the Rongbuk
+Valley? The absence of wood on this side need not deter the party of
+1922. For them plenty of time will be available sufficiently to provide
+their base with fuel, and the sole consideration should be the easiest
+line of approach; and though no one has traversed the whole length of
+the East Rongbuk Glacier, enough is known to choose this way with
+confidence. Here, as on other glaciers which we saw, the difficulties
+clearly lie below the limit of perpetual snow, and the greater part of
+them were avoided or solved by Major Wheeler, who found a practicable
+way on to the middle of the glacier at about 19,000 feet, and felt
+certain that the medial moraine ahead of him would serve for an ascent
+and be no more arduous than the moraines of the West Rongbuk Glacier had
+proved to be. The view of this way from the Lhakpa La confirmed his
+opinion, and though it may be called a speculation to choose it, whereas
+the way from the East has been established by experiment, it is a fair
+inference from experience to conclude that the untraversed section of
+the East Rongbuk Glacier, a distance which could be accomplished very
+easily in one march if all went well, will afford a simple approach to
+Chang La.
+
+The Eastern wall, about 1,000 feet high, by which the gap itself must be
+reached, can never be lightly esteemed. Here reconnaissance has forged a
+link. But those who reached the col were not laden with tents and
+stores; and on another occasion the conditions may be different. There
+may be the danger of an avalanche or the difficulty of ice. From what we
+saw this year before the monsoon had brought a heavy snowfall it is by
+no means improbable that ice will be found at the end of May on the
+steepest slope below Chang La. In that case much labour will be required
+to hew and keep in repair a staircase, and perhaps fix a banister, so
+that the laden coolies, not all of whom will be competent ice-men, may
+be brought up in safety.
+
+The summit of Mount Everest is about 6,000 feet above Chang La; the
+distance is something like 2½ miles and the whole of it is unexplored.
+What grounds have we for thinking that the mountaineering difficulties
+will not prove insuperable, that in so far as mere climbing is concerned
+the route is practicable? Two factors, generally speaking, have to be
+considered: the nature of the ground and the general angle of
+inclination. Where the climber is confined to a narrow crest and can
+find no way to circumvent an obstacle, a very small tower or wall, a
+matter of 20 feet, may bar his progress. There the general angle may be
+what it likes: the important matter for him is that the angle is too
+steep in a particular place. But on a mountain's face where his choice
+is not limited to a strict and narrow way, the general angle is of
+primary importance: if it is sufficiently gentle, the climber will find
+that he may wander almost where he will to avoid the steeper places.
+Long before we reached Chang La Mr. Bullock and I were fairly well
+convinced that the slope from here to the North-east Shoulder was
+sufficiently gentle and that the nature of the ill-defined ridge
+connecting these two points was not such as to limit the choice of route
+to a narrow line. Looking up from the North Col, we learnt nothing more
+about the angles. The view, however, was not without value; it amply
+confirmed our opinion as to the character of what lay ahead of us. The
+ridge is not a crest; its section is a wide and rounded angle. It is not
+decorated by pinnacles, it does not rise in steps. It presents a smooth
+continuous way, and whether the rocks are still covered with powdery
+snow, or only slightly sprinkled and for the most part bare, the party
+of 1922 should be able to go up a long way at all events without meeting
+any serious obstacle. It may not prove a perfectly simple matter
+actually to reach the North-east arête above the shoulder at about
+28,000 feet. The angle becomes steeper towards this arête. But even in
+the last section below it, the choice of a way should not be
+inconveniently restricted. On the right of the ascending party will be
+permanent snow on various sloping ledges, an easy alternative to rocks
+if the snow is found in good condition, and always offering a detour by
+which to avoid an obstacle.
+
+From the North-east Shoulder to the summit of the mountain the way is
+not so smooth. The rise is only 1,000 feet in a distance of half a mile,
+but the first part of the crest is distinctly jagged by several towers
+and the last part is steep. Much will depend upon the possibility of
+escaping from the crest to avoid the obstacles and of regaining it
+easily. The South-east side (left going up) is terribly steep, and it
+will almost certainly be out of the question to traverse there. But the
+sloping snow-covered ledges on the North-west may serve very well; the
+difficulty about them is their tendency to be horizontal in direction
+and to diverge from the arête where it slopes upwards, so that a party
+which had followed one in preference to the crest might find themselves
+cut off by a cliff running across the face above them. But one way or
+another I think it should be possible with the help of such ledges to
+reach the final obstacle. The summit itself is like the thin end of a
+wedge thrust up from the mass in which it is embedded. The edge of it,
+with the highest point at the far end, can only be reached from the
+North-east by climbing a steep blunt edge of snow. The height of this
+final obstacle must be fully 200 feet. Mr. Bullock and I examined it
+often through our field-glasses, and though it did not appear
+insuperable, whatever our point of view, it never looked anything but
+steep.
+
+                     *       *       *       *       *
+
+To determine whether it is humanly possible to climb to the summit of
+Mount Everest or what may be the chances of success in such an
+undertaking, other factors besides the mere mountaineering difficulties
+have to be considered. It is at least probable that the obstacles
+presented by this mountain could be overcome by any competent party if
+they met them in the Alps. But it is a very different matter to be
+confronted with such obstacles at elevations between 23,000 and 29,000
+feet. We do not know that it is physiologically possible at such high
+altitudes for the human body to make the efforts required to lift itself
+up even on the simplest ground. The condition of the party of 1921 in
+September during the days of the Assault cannot be taken as evidence
+that the feat is impossible. The long periods spent in high camps and
+the tax of many exhausting expeditions had undoubtedly reduced the
+physical efficiency of Sahibs and coolies alike. The party of 1922, on
+the other hand, will presumably choose for their attempt a time when the
+climbers are at the top of their form and their powers will depend on
+the extent of their adaptability to the condition of high altitude.
+Nothing perhaps was so astonishing in the party of reconnaissance as the
+rapidity with which they became acclimatised and capable of great
+exertions between 18,000 and 21,000 feet. Where is the limit of this
+process? Will the multiplication of red corpuscles continue so that men
+may become acclimatised much higher? There is evidence enough to show
+that they may exist comfortably enough, eating and digesting hearty
+meals and retaining a feeling of vitality and energy up to 23,000 feet.
+It may be that, after two or three days quietly spent at this height,
+the body would sufficiently adjust itself to endure the still greater
+difference from normal atmospheric pressure 6,000 feet higher. At all
+events, a practical test can alone provide the proof in such a case.
+Experiments carried out in a laboratory by putting a man into a sealed
+chamber and reducing the pressure say to half an atmosphere, valuable as
+they may be when related to the experiences of airmen, can establish
+nothing for mountaineers; for they leave out of account the
+all-important physiological factor of acclimatisation. But in any case
+it is to be expected that efforts above 23,000 feet will be more
+exhausting than those at lower elevations; and it may well be that the
+nature of the ground will turn the scale against the climber. For him it
+is all important that he should be able to breathe regularly, the demand
+upon his lungs along the final arête cannot fail to be a terrible
+strain, and anything like a tussle up some steep obstacle which would
+interfere with the regularity of his breathing might prove to be an
+ordeal beyond his strength.
+
+As a way out of these difficulties of breathing, the use of oxygen has
+often been recommended and experiments were made by Dr. Kellas,[14]
+which will be continued in 1922.
+
+  [14] See _Geographical Journal._
+
+Even so there will remain the difficulty of establishing one or perhaps
+two camps above Chang La (23,000 feet). It is by no means certain that
+any place exists above this point on which tents could be pitched.
+Perhaps the party will manage without tents, but no great economy of
+weight will be effected that way; those who sleep out at an elevation of
+25,000 or 26,000 feet will have to be bountifully provided with warm
+things. Probably about fifteen, or at least twelve loads will have to be
+carried up from Chang La. It is not expected that oxygen will be
+available for this purpose, and the task, whatever organisation is
+provided, will be severe, possibly beyond the limits of human strength.
+
+Further, another sort of difficulty will jeopardise the chances of
+success. It might be possible for two men to struggle somehow to the
+summit, disregarding every other consideration. It is a different matter
+to climb the mountain as mountaineers would have it climbed. Principles,
+time-honoured in the Alpine Club, must of course be respected in the
+ascent of Mount Everest. The party must keep a margin of safety. It is
+not to be a mad enterprise rashly pushed on regardless of danger. The
+ill-considered acceptance of any and every risk has no part in the
+essence of persevering courage. A mountaineering enterprise may keep
+sanity and sound judgment and remain an adventure. And of all principles
+by which we hold the first is that of mutual help. What is to be done
+for a man who is sick or abnormally exhausted at these high altitudes?
+His companions must see to it that he is taken down at the first
+opportunity and with an adequate escort; and the obligation is the same
+whether he be Sahib or coolie; if we ask a man to carry our loads up the
+mountain we must care for his welfare at need. It may be taken for
+granted that such need will arise and will interfere very seriously with
+any organisation however ingeniously and carefully it may be arranged.
+
+                     *       *       *       *       *
+
+[Illustration: MOUNT EVEREST
+from the 20,000 foot camp--wind blowing snow off the mountain.]
+
+In all it may be said that one factor beyond all others is required for
+success. Too many chances are against the climbers; too many
+contingencies may turn against them. Anything like a breakdown of the
+transport will be fatal; soft snow on the mountain will be an
+impregnable defence; a big wind will send back the strongest; even so
+small a matter as a boot fitting a shade too tight may endanger one
+man's foot and involve the whole party in retreat. The climbers must
+have above all things, if they are to win through, good fortune, and the
+greatest good fortune of all for mountaineers, some constant spirit of
+kindness in Mount Everest itself, the forgetfulness for long enough of
+its more cruel moods; for we must remember that the highest of mountains
+is capable of severity, a severity so awful and so fatal that the wiser
+sort of men do well to think and tremble even on the threshold of their
+high endeavour.
+
+
+
+
+                              NATURAL HISTORY
+
+                           BY A. F. R. WOLLASTON
+
+
+                               CHAPTER XVIII
+
+                  AN EXCURSION TO NYENYAM AND LAPCHE KANG
+
+
+By a liberal interpretation of the expression "Mount Everest" we
+considered it necessary to explore the surrounding country as far as a
+hundred miles or more from the mountain, East, North and South; in all
+directions, that is, excepting toward the forbidden territory of Nepal.
+So it happened one day in July that Major Morshead and I, already nearly
+fifty miles from Everest, set out in a South-westerly direction, he
+anxious to add a few hundred square miles of new country to his map, and
+I intent on animals and plants. Our way lay across the Tingri Plain to
+Langkor, both names famous in the annals of Tibetan Buddhism. The
+following story was told us by an old monk in the monastery at
+Langkor:--
+
+Many generations ago there was born in the Indian village of Pulahari a
+child named Tamba Sangay. When he grew into a youth he became restless
+and dissatisfied with his native place, so he went to visit the Lord
+Buddha and asked him what he should do. The Lord Buddha told him that he
+must take a stone and throw it far, and where the stone fell there he
+should spend his life. So Tamba Sangay took a rounded stone and threw it
+far, so that no one saw where it fell. Many months he sought in vain
+until he passed over the Hills into Tibet, and there he came to a place
+where, although it was winter, was a large black space bare of snow.
+The people told him that the cattle walked round and round in that space
+to keep it clear from snow, and in the middle of it was a rounded stone.
+So Tamba Sangay knew that the stone was his, and there he made a cell
+and dwelt until he was taken on wings to Heaven. And the place is called
+Langkor, which means "the cattle go round," to this day. The people for
+many miles about had heard the stone as it came flying over the Hills
+from India; it made a whistling sound like _Ting_, so the country came
+to be called Tingri, the Hill of the Ting.
+
+We visited the Langkor monastery and saw the casket in which the stone
+of Tamba Sangay is kept, only to be opened once a year by a high
+dignitary from Lhasa. Close by was a fair-sized river, the bridge over
+which had been carried away by a recent flood. The greater part of the
+population was busily engaged in repairing the bridge, to the
+accompaniment at frequent intervals of hideous blasts on a large
+conch-shell: this, we were told, was to keep the rain away and stop the
+floods. Rain fell heavily in spite of the noise, but the bridge was
+finished before nightfall.
+
+On the following day we had a long pull of many miles up to the Thung
+La, a pass of 18,000 feet, from which we had hoped for fine views over
+the surrounding country. A driving storm of snow blotted out the views
+and covered the ground, so that nothing was to be seen but little
+clumps, a few inches high, of poppies of the most heavenly blue. Going
+down the steep track beyond the pass I was stopped by hearing the
+unfamiliar note of a bird, so it seemed: the cry was almost exactly that
+of a female peregrine when its eyrie has been disturbed, but coming from
+a labyrinth of fallen rocks it could not be. Tracking the note from one
+rock to another, I came suddenly within a few yards of a large marmot,
+which sat up and waved her tail at me; she called again and two
+half-grown young ones appeared close by; then all dived into a burrow.
+These marmots are larger and far less timid of mankind than the marmots
+of the Alps.
+
+A few miles below the pass the valley widened into an almost level
+bottom of half a mile or more, with steep bare limestone hills on either
+side. Here and there were small hamlets, where the inhabitants used the
+water of the river to irrigate their fields of barley and of blazing
+golden mustard, whose sweetness scented the valley in the sunshine. Like
+most of the butter, which is made in vast quantities in Southern Tibet,
+the mustard seed produces oil for monastery lamps. At one place we came
+across a spring, almost a fountain, bubbling out of the foothill, of
+clearest sparkling mineral water that would be the envy of Bath or of
+Marienbad; in a few yards it had become a racing stream a dozen feet in
+width.
+
+Four days of leisurely walking down the valley brought us to the village
+of Nyenyam, where the whole population, a most unpleasant-looking crowd
+of four or five hundred people, came out to stare at us. A few only were
+Tibetans; the majority were obviously of Indian origin, calling
+themselves Nepalese, but without any of the distinctive features of that
+race. We had received some weeks earlier a cordial invitation from the
+Jongpens of Nyenyam to visit the place, and we were accordingly much
+disappointed to find that no person of authority came out to welcome us.
+A Jongpen, it should be said, is an official appointed by the Lhasa
+authorities to administer a district and collect revenues: in a place of
+any importance, as at Nyenyam, there are often two, the idea being that
+one will keep an eye on the other and prevent him from over-enriching
+himself. We visited these worthies, whom we found dressed in priceless
+Chinese silk gowns and cultivating the extreme fashion of long nails on
+all their fingers, in strange contrast to the squalor and dilapidation
+of their dwelling, and were annoyed to find that they denied all
+knowledge of the invitation. The bearer of the message was produced and
+lied manfully in their cause; the name of Nyenyam was not, as it
+happened, mentioned in our passport, and we were made to look somewhat
+foolish. Finally the Jongpens said (with their tongues in their cheeks
+and reminding us of a vulgar song) that they were very glad to see us,
+but they hoped that we would go. They then went out of their way to give
+us false information about the local passes and made our prolonged stay
+in the place impossible by discouraging the traders from dealing with
+us.[15]
+
+  [15] In fairness it must be said that this was the only occasion on
+       which we met with anything but help and civility from Tibetan
+       officials.
+
+Nyenyam, though more squalid and evil-smelling than any place in my
+experience, is of some importance as being the last Tibetan town before
+the frontier of Nepal is reached. It is well placed on a level terrace
+above the junction of the Pö Chu with an almost equally big river
+flowing from the glaciers of the great mountain mass of Gosainthan.
+Immediately below the town the river enters the stupendous gorge that
+cuts through the heart of the Himalaya to the more open country of
+Nepal, 8,000 feet below. To the West of Nyenyam rises a great range of
+mountains culminating in the beautiful peaks of Gosainthan, which we had
+hoped to visit, and somewhere to the East lay the mysterious sacred
+mountain of Lapche Kang. Our friends the Jongpens assured us that there
+was no direct route to Lapche, that we must go back the way by which we
+had come, and so on; but we were weary of their obstructions and made up
+our minds to find a way to the holy places.
+
+So far our transport animals had been the yak, or the cross-bred ox-yak,
+a stronger beast; we were now going through country where only coolies
+could carry loads. We retraced our steps a few miles up the valley to a
+village ruled over by a friendly woman, the widow of the late headman.
+True, she demanded for the coolies an exorbitant wage, which we cut down
+by about a half, but she pressed into our service every able-bodied
+person in the neighbourhood, young and old, men and women. They have a
+fair and simple way of apportioning the loads. All Tibetans, men and
+women alike, wear long rope-soled boots with woollen cloth tops
+extending toward the knee, where they are secured by garters, long
+strips of narrow woven cloth. When all the loads are ready, each person
+takes off one garter and gives it to the headman, who shuffles them well
+and in his turn hands them over to some neutral person who knows not the
+ownership of the garters. He lays one on the top of each load, and whose
+garter it is must carry the load without any further talk. It is amusing
+to watch the excitement in their faces as the garters are dealt out, and
+to hear the shrieks of delight of the lucky ones and the groans of the
+less fortunate. It makes one feel weak and ashamed to see a small girl
+of apparently no more than fourteen years shouldering a huge tent or an
+unwieldy box, until one remembers that they begin to carry almost as
+soon as they can walk and are accustomed to far heavier loads than ever
+they carry for us.
+
+Our path led us up a steep side-valley from the Pö Chu, ascending over a
+vast moraine to the foot of a small glacier about two miles in length.
+Here I saw a rare sight: a Lämmergeier (bearded vulture) came sailing
+down in wide circles and settled on the ice barely a hundred paces from
+us, where he began to peck at something--a dead hare perhaps, but it was
+impossible to see or to approach nearer over the crevasses. The
+Lämmergeier, vulture though it is, is one of the noblest birds in flight
+that may be seen: hardly a day passes in the high mountains without one
+or more swooping down to look at you, sometimes so near that you can see
+his beard and gleaming eye; but to see one on the ground is rare indeed.
+The long-tailed aeroplane at a very great height resembles the
+Lämmergeier more than any other bird.
+
+We struggled up the glacier, inches deep in soft new snow, crossed
+crevasses by means of rotten planks which gravely offended our
+mountaineering sense, and came through dense fog to our pass at its
+head. Here began the sacred mountain of Lapche Kang, and on the rocks
+beside the pass, and on many of the pinnacles high up above the pass as
+well, were cairns of stones supporting little reed-stemmed flags of
+prayers. Some of our party had brought up from below such little flags,
+which they planted where their fancy prompted. As we went down on the
+other side we came to countless little "chortens," miniature temples,
+and, where the ground was level for a space, to long walls of stones,
+each one inscribed with the universal Buddhist prayer OM MANI PADME HUM.
+
+Yaks are most satisfactory beasts of burden; if their pace is slow--it
+is seldom more than two miles an hour--they go with hardly a halt,
+cropping a tuft of grass here and there, until daylight fails. But the
+Tibetan coolie is of quite another nature; he (or she) starts off gaily
+enough in the morning, but very soon he is glad to stop for a gossip or
+to alter the trim of his load, and then it is time to drink tea, and
+again at every convenient halting-place more tea, not the liquid that we
+are accustomed to drink, but a curious mixture of powdered brick-tea,
+salt, soda and butter, of a better taste than one would suppose. So on
+this occasion it was long after noon when we had crossed the pass, and
+when the day began to fade in a drenching cloud of rain, the Tibetans
+found shelter in some caves, and persuaded us to camp. An uneven space
+among rocks just held our tents; we dined off the fragrant smoke of
+green rhododendron and soaking juniper, and we slept (if at all) to the
+roar of boulders rolling in the torrent-bed a few feet from where we
+lay.
+
+But it was well that we had not stumbled on in the dark. In the morning
+light we walked over grassy "alps" still yellow with sweet-scented
+primulas, and the steep sides of the narrowing valley below were bright
+with roses, pink and white spiræas, yellow berberis and many other
+flowers. Soon it became evident that we were approaching a place of more
+than ordinary holiness; every stone had its prayer-flag, and the tops of
+trees, which began to appear here, were also decorated. Great boulders
+were defaced with the familiar words engraven on them in letters many
+feet in height. In a little while we came to a small wooden hut filled
+from floor to roof with thousands of little flags brought there by
+pilgrims; the posts and lintel of the door were smeared with dabs of
+butter, and the crevices of the walls were filled with little bunches of
+fresh-cut flowers. Outside was a rude altar made of stones from the
+river-bed, where a Lama was burning incense and chanting prayers.
+
+[Illustration: TEMPLE AT LAPCHE KANG.]
+
+We passed through the village, a tiny hamlet of a dozen houses, and came
+to the celebrated temple of Lapche. A square stone wall, about 60 yards
+each way, on the inner side of which are sheds to shelter pilgrims,
+encloses a roughly paved courtyard where stands the temple, a plain
+square building of stone with a pagoda-like roof surmounted by a
+burnished copper ornament. There is nothing remarkable about the temple
+excepting the hundred and more prayer wheels set in the wall at a
+convenient height for the pilgrims to turn as they walk round the
+building. Inside are countless Buddhas, the usual smell of smoky
+butter-lamps, and an effigy of the saint. The whole place is dirty and
+dishevelled, in the supposed care of one old woman and a monk, and
+nobody would believe that this is one of the most famous places in the
+country and that every year hundreds of Buddhists from India and from
+all parts of Tibet make pilgrimage to it.
+
+Mila Respa, poet and saint and (it is said) a Tibetan incarnation of
+Buddha, spent his earthly life in this mountain valley, living under
+rocks and in caves, where the faithful may see his footprints even now.
+He seems to have been not lacking in a sense of humour. He was walking
+with a disciple on the mountain one day, when they found an old yak's
+horn lying in the path. Mila Respa told the disciple to pick it up and
+take it with him. The disciple refused, saying that it was useless, and
+passed on without noticing that the saint himself had picked up the horn
+and put it under his cloak. Soon afterwards a mighty storm descended on
+them--whether or not it was caused by the saint is not known. He took
+the horn from under his cloak and crept inside it. "Now," said he, when
+he was safely sheltered from the rain, "you see that nothing in the
+world is useless."
+
+We stayed for two days at Lapche Kang, picking flowers and enjoying the
+beauty of the place, in spite of the clouds which swept up from the
+South and filled the valley from early morning onwards. To a naturalist
+it was a tantalizing place; there were many unfamiliar birds that we had
+not seen in Tibet, but in such a sacred place I dared not offend the
+people by taking life, and I even had some qualms in catching
+butterflies. One of the prettiest sights I saw was a wall-creeper, like
+a big crimson-winged moth, fluttering over the temple buildings in
+search for insects.
+
+Having found Lapche Kang, where no European had before penetrated, and
+having placed it on the map, our next object was to go over the ranges
+Eastward to the Rongshar Valley, the head of which had been visited by
+members of the Expedition a few weeks earlier. This was accomplished in
+two long days of rather confused climbing over two passes of about
+17,000 feet, crossing sundry glaciers and stumbling over moraines, and
+nearly always in an impenetrable fog. Our views of mountains were none
+at all, but the beauty of the flowers at our feet was almost
+compensation for that. Among many stand out two in particular, both of
+them primulas. One was ivory-white, about the bigness of a cowslip, with
+wide open bells and the most delicate primrose scent: the other carried
+from four to six bells, each as big as a lady's thimble, of deep azure
+blue and lined inside with frosted silver.[16]
+
+  [16] Both of these are new species; the former has been described as
+       _Primula Buryana_, the latter as _P. Wollastonii_.
+
+As we went down the last steep slope into the Rongshar Valley, the
+clouds parted for a few moments, and across the valley and incredibly
+high above our heads appeared the summit of Gauri-Sankar,[17] one of the
+most beautiful of Himalayan peaks, blazing in the afternoon sun. It was
+a glorious vision, but it rather added to our regret for the views of
+peaks that we might have seen. The next morning at daybreak the whole
+mountain was clear from its foot in the Rongshar River (10,000 feet) up
+through woods of pine and birch, to rhododendrons and rocks, and so by a
+knife-edged ridge of ice to its glistening summit. It recalled to me the
+Bietsch-horn more than any other Alpine peak, a Bietsch-horn on the
+giant scale and seemingly impassable to man.
+
+  [17] Gauri-Sankar (23,440 ft.) was for many years confused with Mount
+       Everest, which is still misnamed Gauri-Sankar in German maps.
+
+[Illustration: GAURI-SANKAR.]
+
+The valley of the Rongshar, like the Nyenyam and other valleys we had
+visited, though within the Tibetan border, is really more Nepalese in
+character. The climate is much damper than in Tibet, as one can see by
+the wisps of lichen on the trees and the greenness of the vegetation far
+up the mountain sides, especially at this season of monsoon, when the
+South wind blows dense clouds of drenching moisture through the gorges.
+Like those valleys the Rongshar is sacred, which is inconvenient when
+the question of food supply is pressing. The people had cattle and
+flocks of goats; they would sell us an ox or a goat, but we must not
+kill it within the valley, or ill-luck would come to them. They were a
+friendly and good-tempered people, much given to religion. In many
+places we had seen prayer wheels worked by water, but here for the first
+time we saw one driven by the wind. Though it does not do much work at
+night, it probably steals a march on the water wheels in winter, when
+the streams are frozen.
+
+We walked up the valley of Rongshar, which in July should be called the
+Valley of Roses; on all sides were bushes, trees almost, of the deep red
+single rose in bloom, and the air was filled with the scent of them.
+After a journey of about 150 miles through unknown country we came to
+the village of Tazang, which had been visited by some of us before.
+Thence over the Phüse La (the Pass of Small Rats) we came into real
+Tibet again, and so in a few days to the Eastern side of Mount Everest.
+
+
+
+
+                                CHAPTER XIX
+
+                           NATURAL HISTORY NOTES
+
+
+To a naturalist Tibet offers considerable difficulties: it is true that
+in some places animals are so tame that they will almost eat out of your
+hand; for instance, in the Rongbuk Valley the burhel (wild sheep) come
+to the cells of the hermits for food, and in every village the ravens
+and rock-doves are as fearless as the sparrows in London. But against
+this tameness must be set the Buddhist religion, which forbids the
+people from taking life, so that, whereas in most countries the native
+children are the best friends of the naturalist, in Tibet we got no help
+from them whatever. Also, in order to avoid giving possible offence, we
+were careful to refrain from shooting in the neighbourhood of
+monasteries and villages, and that was a very severe drawback, as birds
+congregated principally about the cultivated lands near villages.
+Another difficulty we found was in catching small mammals, which showed
+the greatest reluctance to enter our traps, whatever the bait might be.
+One species only, a vole (_Phaiomys leucurus_), was trapped; all the
+others were shot, and that involved a considerable expenditure of time
+in waiting motionless beside burrows. In spite of these disadvantages we
+made considerable collections of mammals and birds, and we brought back
+a large number of dried plants and seeds, many of which it is hoped will
+live in the gardens of this country.
+
+[Illustration: LOWER KAMA-CHU.]
+
+Crossing over the Jelep La from Sikkim into Tibet in the latter part of
+May we found the country at 12,000 feet and upwards at the height of
+spring. The open level spaces were carpeted with a dark purple and
+yellow primula (_P. gammieana_), a delicate little yellow flower
+(_Lloydia tibetica_) and many saxifrages. The steep hillsides were
+ablaze with the flowers of the large rhododendrons (_R. thomsoni_, _R.
+falconeri_, _R. aucklandi_) and the smaller _Rhododendron
+campylocarpum_, an almost infinite variety of colours.[18] A descent
+through woods of pines, oaks and walnuts brought us to the picturesque
+village of Richengong, in the Chumbi Valley, where we found
+house-martins nesting under the eaves of the houses. Following up the
+Ammo Chu, in its lower course between 9,000 and 12,000 feet, we found
+the valley gay with pink and white spiræas and cotoneasters, red and
+white roses, yellow berberis, a fragrant white-flowered bog-myrtle,
+anemones and white clematis. Dippers, wagtails and the white-capped
+redstart were the commonest birds along the river-banks. From Yatung we
+made an excursion of a few miles up the Kambu Valley, and there found a
+very beautiful Enkianthus (_Enkianthus himalaicus_), a small tree about
+15 feet high, with clusters of pink and white flowers; in the autumn the
+leaves turn to a deep copper red.
+
+  [18] We marked many of the best-flowering specimens with the
+       intention of collecting their seeds on our return in the autumn.
+       Unfortunately when we came over the Jelep La in October it was
+       in a heavy snowstorm which made collecting impossible.
+
+At about 11,000 feet is a level terrace, the plain of Lingmatang, where
+the stream meanders for two or three miles through a lovely meadow
+covered in the spring with a tiny pink primula (_P. minutissima_): it
+looks a perfect trout stream, but what fish there are (_Schizopygopsis
+stoliczae_) are small and few in number.
+
+Between 11,000 and 13,000 feet you ascend through mixed woods of pine,
+larch, birch and juniper with an undergrowth of rhododendrons and
+mountain ash. The larches here have a much less formal habit of growth
+than those of this country, and in the autumn they turn to a brilliant
+golden colour. The berries of the mountain ash, when ripe, are white and
+very conspicuous. At this altitude _Rhododendron cinnabarinum_ reaches
+its best growth, in bushes of from 8 to 10 feet in height, and the
+flowers have a very wide range of colour. In the woods hereabouts may
+often be heard and sometimes seen the blood pheasant, and here lives
+also--but we did not see it--the Tibetan stag.
+
+At about 13,000 feet at the end of May you find a yellow primula
+covering the ground more thickly than cowslips in this country; the air
+is laden with the scent of it, and growing with it is a pretty little
+heath-like flower (_Cassiope fastigiata_) with snow-white bells. Here
+and there is seen the large blue poppy (_Meconopsis_ sp.) and a white
+anemone with five or six flowers on one stem. Soon the trees get
+scantier and scantier, pines disappear altogether and then birches and
+willows and junipers, until only dwarf rhododendrons (_R. setosum_) are
+left, covering the hillsides like purple heather.
+
+In a few miles the country changes in character completely, and you come
+out on to the open plain of Phari. Here at 14,000 feet we saw the common
+cuckoo sitting on a telegraph wire and calling vigorously. This is Tibet
+proper, and henceforward you may travel for scores of miles and hardly
+see any plant more than a few inches high. In some places a little
+trumpet-shaped purple flower (_Incarvillea younghusbandii_) is fairly
+common, it lies prone on the sand with its leaves usually buried out of
+sight; and as we went Westward we found a dwarf blue iris (_I.
+tenuifolia_). Animals are few and far between: the Kiang, the wild ass
+of Tibet, is occasionally seen in small parties; they are very
+conspicuous on the open plains in full daylight, but almost invisible at
+dusk. The Tibetan gazelle is fairly numerous, and it is not uncommon to
+see one or two in company with a flock of native sheep and taking no
+notice of the shepherd, but when a stranger tries to approach they are
+off like a flash. Another animal of the plains is the Tibetan antelope
+(_Pantholops_), which is found in large numbers a little to the North of
+the region we visited, but the only signs of it we saw were the horns
+used as supporting prongs for the long muzzle-loading guns of the
+Tibetans. The Tibetan antelope was probably the Unicorn described by the
+French priest Huc in 1845.
+
+The only mammals that are commonly seen on the plains are the small
+mouse-hares or pikas (_Ochotona_), which live in colonies on the less
+stony parts of the plain, where their burrows often caused our ponies to
+stumble; they scurry off to their holes at your approach, but if you
+wait a few moments you will see heads peeping out at you from all sides.
+These engaging little creatures have been called "Whistling Hares," but
+of the three species which we found none was ever heard to utter a sound
+of any kind. The Tibetan name for them is Phüse. It is interesting to
+record that from one specimen I took three fleas of two species, both of
+them new to science.
+
+Birds are few on these stony wastes, larks, wheatears and snow-finches
+being the commonest. Elwes' shore-lark was found feeding young birds at
+the beginning of June, when the ground was not yet free from snow, and
+the song of the Tibetan skylark, remarkably like that of our own
+skylark, was heard over every patch of native cultivation.
+
+A small spiny lizard (_Phrynocephalus theobaldi_) is common on the
+plains and on the lower hills up to 17,000 feet; it lives in shallow
+burrows on the sand and under stones.
+
+Rising out of the plain North of the Himalayas are ranges of rounded
+limestone hills, 18,000 to 19,000 feet high, running roughly East and
+West. The hills between Phari and Khamba Dzong are the home of the big
+sheep (_Ovis hodgsoni_), which are occasionally seen in small companies.
+There are many ranges to the West of Khamba Dzong, apparently well
+suited to this animal, but it was never seen. On the slopes of these
+hills are found partridges (_Perdix hodgsoniæ_), and in the ravines are
+seen Alpine choughs, rock-doves (_Columba rupestris_) and crag-martins.
+Once or twice at night we heard the shriek of the great eagle-owl, but
+the bird was not seen.
+
+At rare intervals on these plains one meets with small rivers,
+tributaries of the Arun River; along their banks is usually more grass
+than elsewhere, and here the wandering Tibetan herdsmen bring their yaks
+to graze. The wild yak is not found anywhere in this region. It might be
+supposed that so hairy an animal as the yak would become dirty and
+unkempt. Actually they are among the cleanest of creatures, and they may
+often be seen scraping holes in soft banks where they roll and kick and
+comb themselves into silky condition. The usual colour of the
+domesticated yak is black, more rarely a yellowish brown. A common
+variety has a white face and white tail. The calves are born in the
+spring, late April or early May.
+
+Here and there the rivers overflow their banks and form lakes or meres,
+which in the summer are the haunt of innumerable wild-fowl: bar-headed
+geese and redshanks nest here, families of ruddy shelducks (the Brahminy
+duck of India) and garganey teal are seen swimming on the pools.
+Overhead fly sand-martins, brown-headed gulls, common terns and
+white-tailed eagles. Near one of these lakes one day I watched at close
+distance a red fox stalking a pair of bar-headed geese, a most
+interesting sight, and had the satisfaction of saving the birds by
+firing a shot in the air with my small collecting gun just as the fox
+was about to pounce on his intended victim.
+
+Tinki Dzong is a veritable bird sanctuary. The Dzong itself is a
+rambling fort covering a dozen or so of acres, and about its walls nest
+hundreds of birds--ravens, magpies, red-billed choughs, tree-sparrows,
+hoopoes, Indian redstarts, Hodgson's pied wagtails and rock-doves. In
+the shallow pool outside the Dzong were swimming bar-headed geese and
+ruddy shelducks, with families of young birds, all as tame as domestic
+poultry. A pair of white storks was seen here in June, but they did not
+appear to be breeding. In the autumn the lakes in this neighbourhood are
+the resort of large packs of wigeon, gadwall and pochard. The Jongpen
+explained to us that it was the particular wish of the Dalai Lama that
+no birds should be molested here, and for several years two lamas lived
+at Tinki, whose special business it was to protect the birds.
+
+[Illustration: JUNIPERS IN THE KAMA VALLEY.]
+
+Crossing over a pass of about 17,000 feet (Tinki La), the slopes gay
+with a little purple and white daphne (_Stellera_), said by the natives
+to be poisonous to animals, we came to a plain of a different character,
+miles of blown sand heaped here and there into enormous dunes, on which
+grows a yellow-flowering gorse. Here, near Chushar, we first met with
+rose-finches (Severtzoff's and Przjewalsk's) and the brown ground-chough
+(_Podoces humilis_): the last-named is a remarkable-looking bird, which
+progresses by a series of apparently top-heavy bounds, at the end of
+which it turns round to steady itself; in the middle of June it was
+feeding its young in nests at the bottom of deep holes in sand or old
+mud walls.
+
+Following up the valley of the Bhong-chu we crossed the river by a stone
+bridge near Shekar Dzong. Here we found a colony of white-rumped swifts
+nesting high up in cliffs and ruddy shelducks nesting in holes among the
+loose boulders below. Occasionally we saw a pair of black-necked cranes,
+which are said by the natives to breed near lakes a little to the North,
+but we had no opportunity of visiting them. The slopes of the hills
+facing South were covered with a very pretty shrub (_Sophora_) with blue
+and white flowers and delicate silvery grey leaves, and among the loose
+stones a small clematis (_C. orientalis_) was just beginning to appear.
+Groups of small trees, like a sea buckthorn, growing 15 to 20 feet high,
+indicate a gradual change in the climate as you go Westwards. Here also
+for the first time we began to find a few butterflies, of the genera
+_Lycæna_ and _Colias_.
+
+At Tingri we found ourselves in a large plain about 20 miles long by 12
+wide; a large part of the plain is saturated with soda and is almost
+uninhabited by bird or beast. In our three weeks' stay at Tingri we
+collected several mammals, including a new subspecies of hamster
+(_Cricetulus alticola tibetanus_) and a number of birds. This was the
+only place where we ever received any natural history specimen from a
+Tibetan. A woman came into our camp one day and, after making certain
+that she was not observed by any of the villagers, produced from a sack
+a well-worn domestic cat's skin stuffed with grass and a freshly killed
+stoat (_Mustela longstaffi_). The skin of the stoat is highly prized by
+the Tibetans, who say that it has the property of restoring faded
+turquoises to their former beauty. About the houses of the village were
+nesting tree-sparrows, hoopoes, rock-doves and ravens, the latter so
+tame that they hardly troubled to get out of the way of passers-by. In a
+tower of the old fort lived a pair of the Eastern little owl (_Athene
+bactriana_), which appeared to live principally on voles. On the plain
+the commonest birds were the long-billed calandra lark, Brook's
+short-toed lark, the Tibetan skylark, and Elwes' shore-lark, all of
+which were found with eggs, probably the second brood of the season, at
+the beginning of July. The nest of the yellow-headed wagtail, rare at
+Tingri, was found with eggs, and Blanford's snow-finch was found feeding
+its young more than 2 feet down the burrow of a pika (_Ochotona
+curzoniæ_). The common tern and the greater sand-plover nested on the
+shingly islands in the river.
+
+Plants at Tingri were few and inconspicuous: a small yellow cistus, the
+dwarf blue iris, a small aster and a curious hairy, claret-coloured
+flower (_Thermopsis_) were the most noticeable. Along the rivers which
+traverse the plain is very good grazing for the large flocks of sheep
+and goats of the Tibetans; the sheep are small and are grown entirely
+for wool. By a simple system of irrigation a large area of land near
+Tingri has been brought into cultivation. The principal crop here is
+barley, which constitutes the chief food of the people; they also grow a
+large radish or small turnip, the young leaves of which are excellent
+food. The animals usually used for ploughing are a cross between the yak
+and ordinary domestic cattle, called by the Tibetans "zoh"; they are
+more powerful than the yak and are excellent transport animals. We found
+barley grown in many districts up to 15,000 feet--it does not always
+ripen--and in the valley of the Dzakar Chu near its junction with the
+Arun River is a small area where wheat is grown at an altitude of about
+12,800 feet. Peas are grown in the Arun Valley near Kharta, where they
+ripen in September and are pounded into meal for winter food of cattle
+as well as of the Tibetans themselves. Mustard is grown in the lower
+valleys below 14,000 feet. It is to be regretted that we did not bring
+back specimens of these hardy cereals.
+
+During the course of an excursion of about three weeks in July to the
+West and South of Tingri we covered a large tract of unexplored country,
+much of which is more Nepalese than Tibetan in character. Going over the
+Thung La we found numerous butterflies of the genus _Parnassus_, and
+near the top of the pass (18,000 feet) we found for the first time the
+beautiful little blue _Gentiana am[oe]na_; it is not easy to see until
+you are right over it, when it looks like a little square blue china
+cup; some of the flowers are as much as an inch in diameter. Here also
+was just beginning to flower the dwarf blue poppy (_Meconopsis
+horridula_), which grows in a small compact clump, 6 to 8 inches high,
+with as many as sixteen flowers and buds on one plant; the flowers are
+nearly 2 inches across and of a heavenly blue. In this region, too, we
+met for the first time marmots, which live in large colonies at about
+16,000 feet; the Himalayan is larger than the Alpine marmot, and it has
+a longish tail which it whisks sharply from side to side when it is
+alarmed; it has a twittering cry, curiously like that of a bird of prey.
+
+Continuing down the valley of the Pö Chu to Nyenyam, we found several
+birds that we had not met hitherto, notably the brown accentor,
+Himalayan tree-pipit, Adams's snowfinch, the Himalayan greenfinch and
+Tickell's willow-warbler. At about 12,500 feet we first found the
+white-backed dove (_Columba leuconota_), which inhabits the deep gorges
+of the Himalayas but does not extend out on to the Tibetan plain. Beside
+the big torrent that flows South from Gosainthan we saw a pair of that
+curious curlew-like bird, the ibis-bill (_Ibidorhynchus struthersi_); it
+was evident that they had eggs or young on an island in the torrent, at
+about 13,800 feet, but unfortunately it was impossible to reach it.
+
+The most conspicuous flowers in this region were a little bushy cistus
+with golden flowers the size of a half-crown, a dwarf rhododendron (_R.
+lanatum_) with hairy leaves, a white potentilla with red centre, which
+carpeted the drier hillsides, a white gentian (_G. robusta_), and a very
+remarkable louse-wort (_Pedicularis megalantha_) with two quite distinct
+forms--one purple, the other yellow.
+
+Crossing a pass to the East of Nyenyam, we camped on a level spot
+covered densely with white primulas (_P. Buryana_) six to eight inches
+high; an inch or two of snow fell during the night, and so white are
+these flowers that it was difficult to see them against the snow. Near
+the top of another pass we found at about the same altitude, 15,000
+feet, another primula (_P. Wollastonii_) with three to six bells on each
+stem, the size of a small thimble, of a deep blue colour, and lined
+inside with frosted silver. In the moister valleys hereabouts a pretty
+pink-flowered polygonum (_P. vacciniifolium_) rambled everywhere over
+the rocks and boulders. The Rongshar Valley in July was chiefly notable
+for the large gooseberry bushes, 10 to 12 feet high, and for the
+profusion of red and white roses. A wall-creeper, the only one we saw in
+Tibet, was seen creeping about the temple at Lapche, a few miles to the
+West of Rongshar.
+
+From the beginning of August our headquarters were at Kharta in the Arun
+Valley, about 20 miles East of Mount Everest, and from there we made
+excursions South to the Kama Valley, and West up the Kharta Valley in
+the direction of Everest. Kharta itself is curiously situated as regards
+climate: the wide dry valley of the Arun narrows abruptly and the river
+passes into a deep gorge, where it falls rapidly at a rate of about 200
+feet to the mile on its way to Nepal. The heavy monsoon clouds roll up
+the gorge to its mouth, where they are cut off sharply, so that within a
+mile you may pass from the dry climate of Tibet to the moist, steamy air
+of a Nepalese character, with its luxuriant vegetation.
+
+In the immediate neighbourhood of Kharta were several birds we had not
+met elsewhere, notably Prince Henry's laughing thrush (_Trochalopterum
+henrici_), which is very much venerated as a sacred bird by the
+Tibetans, the Central Asian blackbird, almost indistinguishable from our
+blackbird except by its voice, the solitary thrush, Indian brown
+turtledove, and a meadow-bunting (_Emberiza godlewskii_), probably a
+migrant from the North.
+
+Several species of small gentians and two very fragrant onosmas were
+flowering in August, and in this place _Clematis orientalis_ attains its
+best growth, clambering over the trees and the houses of the natives;
+the flower of this clematis has a very wide range of colour from an
+apricot yellow to almost black. About the houses are often planted
+junipers and poplars, and it was about 10 miles from Kharta that we saw
+a poplar nearly 40 feet in girth, which we were informed was five
+hundred years old.
+
+A few miles to the south of Kharta is a valley filled with a dozen or so
+of small lakes or tarns, inhabited apparently only by tadpoles (_Rana
+pleskei_); no fish could be seen. Not far from here was discovered
+an interesting toad of a new species (_Cophophryne alticola_).
+Growing about the lakes were large beds of purple and yellow iris
+(_I. sibirica_, near); the steeper banks were blue with a very striking
+campanula (_Cyananthus pedunculatus_); growing out from among the dwarf
+rhododendrons in dry places were tall spikes of a claret-coloured
+meconopsis, now going to seed--some spikes had as many as twenty
+seed-pods; and in the moist places beside the lakes and streams was the
+tall yellow primula (_P. elongata_), growing to a height of over 30
+inches.
+
+Ascending from the lakes to the Chog La we saw a small black rat amongst
+the huge boulders of a moraine; it appeared to be a very active little
+animal, and though four or five were seen at different times in similar
+situations we failed to secure a specimen. Near the Chog La we found the
+snow-partridge (_Lerwa lerwa_), and one was shot out of a flock of very
+beautiful blue birds--Hodgson's grandala. Another very handsome bird in
+this region is the red-breasted rose-finch, which is found up to 18,000
+feet. Descending from the Chog La towards the Kama Valley we found at
+16,000 feet the giant rhubarb (_Rheum nobile_), and at 14,000 feet we
+picked quantities of the wild edible rhubarb. A little lower down we
+came to large blue scabius, 3 to 4 feet high, a dark blue monkshood and
+quantities of the tall yellow poppy. Rhododendrons, birches and junipers
+begin at about 13,500 feet, and at 12,000 feet the junipers are the
+predominating tree; they are of immense size, upwards of 20 feet in
+girth and from 120 to 150 feet in height and of a very even and perfect
+growth. Here we met with the Sikkim black tit (_Parus beavani_), and a
+little lower down among the firs (_Abies webbiana_) we came upon
+bullfinches (_Pyrrhula erythrocephala_). At 11,000 feet I saw a langur
+monkey (_Semnopithecus entellus_), the only monkey I saw in Tibet.
+Excepting one solitary bat, the only other mammal we saw in this valley
+was another species of pika (_Ochotona roylei nepalensis_), which
+appears here to be confined to a zone between the altitudes of 12,000
+and 14,000 feet; it is not found in dry valleys.
+
+Among the trees in the lower Kama Valley grow many parnassias, a tall
+green fritillaria, a handsome red swertia and a very sweet-scented pink
+orchis. We found the tubers (but not the flowers) of an arum, which the
+Tibetans collect and make of it a very unpalatable bread. We went down
+through large rhododendrons, magnolias, bamboos, alders, sycamores, all
+draped in long wisps of lichen (_Usnea_), to the junction of the Kama
+with the Arun River, where we found ourselves in the region of the blue
+pine. The lower part of the Kama Valley is unpleasantly full of leeches,
+and in the course of an excursion to the Popti La (14,000 feet), one of
+the principal passes from Tibet to Sikkim, we were astonished to find
+them very numerous and active at an altitude of 12,000 feet. At our
+low-altitude camps in this valley hundreds of moths were attracted by
+the light of our camp fire, and a few came to the dim candle lamps in
+our tents. A collector who came here with a proper equipment could not
+fail to make a large collection of moths.
+
+[Illustration: FOREST IN THE KAMA VALLEY.]
+
+Proceeding up the Kharta Valley in the beginning of September we found
+that most of the roses and rhododendrons had gone to seed, but some of
+the gentians, particularly _Gentiana ornata_, were at their best. Near
+our camp at 17,000 feet, along the edges of streams, a very handsome
+gentian (_G. nubigena_) with half a dozen flowers growing on a single
+stem was very conspicuous, and growing with it was an aromatic little
+purple and yellow aster (_A. heterochæta_); in the same place was a
+bright yellow senecio (_S. arnicoides_) with shining, glossy leaves. A
+curious dark blue dead-nettle (_Dracocephalum speciosum_) was found on
+dry ground at the same altitude. In the stony places grew up to 19,000
+feet the dwarf blue meconopsis mentioned above, and many saxifrages,
+notably a very small white one (_S. umbellulata_). On the steeper rocks
+from 16,000 feet to the snow-line (roughly 20,000 feet) were found
+edelweiss (_Leontopodium_) of three species. Very noticeable at these
+altitudes are the curious saussureas, large composites packed with
+cotton wool; if you open one of them on the coldest day, even when it is
+covered with snow, you find it quite warm inside, and often a bumble bee
+will come buzzing out.
+
+Another very interesting plant at 17,000 to 18,000 feet is a dwarf blue
+hairy delphinium (_D. brunnoneanum_) with a strong smell. The Tibetans
+dry the flowers of this plant and use them as a preventive against lice.
+This has its disadvantages, for when a Tibetan dies his body is
+undertaken by the professional butcher, who cuts it up and exposes it on
+the hills to be disposed of by the vultures and wolves. A body tainted
+with the delphinium flowers is unpalatable to the scavengers, and it is
+known that a man must have been wicked in life whose body is rejected by
+the vultures and wolves.
+
+The smallest rhododendrons (_R. setosum_ and _R. lepidotum_) disappear
+before 19,000 feet, after which vegetation is almost non-existent. A
+few grasses and mosses are still found to 20,000 feet, and the highest
+plant we found was a small arenaria (_A. musciformis_), which grows in
+flat cushions a few inches wide up to 20,100 feet.
+
+Mammals in the upper Kharta Valley are not numerous. A pika of a new
+species (_Ochotona wollastoni_) is found from 15,000 to 20,000 feet, and
+a new vole (_Phaiomys everesti_) was found at 17,000 feet. The small
+black rat previously seen was here too, and an unseen mouse entered our
+tents and ate our food at 20,000 feet. Fox and hare were both seen above
+18,000 feet, and undoubted tracks of them on the Kharta Glacier at
+21,000 feet. Wolves were seen about 19,000 feet, and those tracks seen
+in snow at 21,500 feet, which gave rise to so much discussion, were
+almost certainly those of a wolf. Burhel were fairly common between
+17,000 and 19,000 feet, and we found their droppings on stones at 20,000
+feet.
+
+Birds of several species were found from 17,000 feet upwards. The
+Tibetan snow-partridge (_Tetraogallus tibetanus_) is common in large
+parties up to the snow-line. Dippers (_Cinclus cashmirensis_) are found
+in the streams up to 17,000 feet, and at about the same altitude lives
+in the big boulders of moraines a small and very dark wren, which is
+almost certainly new, but only one immature bird was brought home.
+Snow-finches and the Eastern alpine accentor appeared to be resident up
+to the snow-line. Several migrating birds were seen in September at
+17,000 feet and above, among them Temminck's stint, painted snipe,
+pin-tailed snipe, house-martin and several pipits. More than once at
+night the cry of migrating waders was heard, curlew being unmistakable,
+and (I think) bar-tailed godwit.
+
+Our camps at 17,000 feet and at 20,000 feet were visited daily by
+Lämmergeier, raven, red-billed chough, alpine chough and black-eared
+kite, and I saw twice a hoopoe fly over the Kharta Glacier at about
+21,000 feet; a small pale hawk flew overhead at the same time. The
+highest bird seen was a Lämmergeier (bearded vulture); when I was
+taking photographs from our camp on the Lhakpa La (22,350 feet) I saw
+one of these birds come sailing over the top of the North peak of
+Everest and apparently high above the peak, probably at an altitude of
+not less than 25,000 feet.[19]
+
+  [19] Detailed accounts of the collections made will be found: Mammals,
+       _Annals and Magazine of Nat. Hist._, Feb. 1922. Birds, _Ibid._,
+       July, 1922. Insects, _Annals and Magazine of Nat. Hist._, May and
+       June, 1922.
+
+
+
+
+                                CHAPTER XX
+
+                   AN APPRECIATION OF THE RECONNAISSANCE
+
+                    BY PROFESSOR NORMAN COLLIE, F.R.S.
+
+                       President of the Alpine Club
+
+
+The chance of wandering into the wild places of the earth is given to
+few. But those who have once visited the Himalaya will never forget
+either the magnificence or the beauty of that immense mountain land,
+whether it be the valley country that lies between the great
+snow-covered ranges and the plains, where wonderful forests, flowers,
+clear streams and lesser peaks form a fitting guard to the mighty
+snow-peaks that lie beyond, or the great peaks themselves, that can be
+seen far away to the North, as one approaches through the foot-hills
+that lead up to them. The huge snow-covered giants may be a week's
+journey away, they may be far more, yet when seen through the clear air
+of the hills, perhaps 100 miles distant, they look immense,
+inaccessible, remote and lonely. But as one approaches nearer and nearer
+to them, they ever grow more splendid, glistening white in the mid-day
+sun, rose-red at dawn, or a golden orange at sunset, with faint
+opalescent green shadows that deepen as the daylight fails, till when
+night comes they stand far up in the sky, pale and ghostly against the
+glittering stars. Those who have been fortunate enough to see these
+things, know the fascination they exert. It is the call of the great
+spaces and of the great mountains. It is a call that mocks at the song
+of the Lotus-eaters of old, it is more insidious than the Siren's call,
+and it is a call that, once heard, is never forgotten.
+
+One may be contented and busy with the multitudinous little events of
+ordinary civilised life, but a chance phrase or some allusion wakes the
+memory of the wild mountain lands, and one feels sick with desire for
+the open spaces and the old trails. The dreams of the wanderer are far
+more real than most of the happenings that make up the average man's
+life. It may be the memory of some desolate peaks set against an angry
+sky, or of islands set in summer seas, or some grim fight with deserts
+of endless sands, or with tropical forests that have held their growth
+for a thousand years; it may be the memory of rushing rivers, or lakes
+set in wild woods where the beavers build their houses, or sunsets over
+great oceans--the spell binds one, the present does not exist, one is
+back again on the old trail--"The Red Gods have called us out, and we
+must go."
+
+There is no part of the world where lofty mountains exist at all
+comparable with the Himalaya. Elsewhere the highest is Aconcagua, 23,060
+feet. But in the Himalaya there are over eighty peaks that tower above
+24,000 feet, probably twenty above 26,000 feet, six above 27,000 feet,
+and the highest of all, Mount Everest, is 29,141 feet.
+
+The huge range of mountains, of which the Himalaya forms the chief part,
+is by far the greatest mountain range in the world. Starting to the
+North of Afghanistan, it sweeps Eastwards, without a break, to the
+confines of China, over 2,000 miles away. Yet in this vast world of
+mountains, very few have been climbed. For many years to come the
+Himalaya will provide sport for the mountaineer when most of the other
+mountain ranges of the world will have been exhausted, as far as
+exploration and new ascents are concerned.
+
+Mountaineering is a sport of which Englishmen should be proud; for they
+were the first really to pursue it as a pastime. The Alpine Club was the
+first mountaineering club, and if one inquires into the records of
+climbing and discovery amongst the mountains of the world, one usually
+finds that it was an Englishman who led the way. It is the Englishman's
+love of sport for its own sake that has enticed him on to battle with
+the dangers and difficulties that are offered with such a lavish hand by
+the great mountains.
+
+As a sport, mountaineering is second to none. It is the finest mental
+and physical tonic that a man can take. Whether it be the grim
+determination of desperate struggles with difficult rocks, or with ice,
+or whether it be the sight of range after range of splendid peaks
+basking in the sunshine, or of mists half hiding the black precipices,
+or the changing fairy colours of a sunrise, or the subtle curves of the
+wind-blown snow, all these are good for one. They produce a sane mind in
+a sane body. The joy of living becomes a real and a great joy, all is
+right with the world, and life flies on golden wings. It is, of course,
+true that there are many other beautiful and health-giving places
+besides the mountains. The great expanses of the prairie lands, the
+forests, the seas set with lonely islands, and in England the downs and
+the homely lanes and villages nestling amongst woods, with clear streams
+wandering through the pastures where the cattle feed--all these are
+good; but the mountains give something more. There things are larger,
+man is more alone, one feels that one is much nearer to Nature, one is
+not held down by an artificial civilisation. And although the life may
+be more strenuous (for Nature can be savage at times, as well as
+beautiful), and the struggle may be hard, yet the battle is the more
+worth winning.
+
+Nowhere in any mountain land does Nature offer the good things of the
+wilds with more prodigal hand than in the Himalaya. On the Southern
+slopes, coming down from the great snow-peaks, are the finest river
+gorges in the world, wonderful forests of mighty trees, open alps
+nestling high up at the head of the valleys, that look out over great
+expanses of the lesser ranges; and as one ascends higher and higher, the
+views of the great peaks draped in everlasting snow, changing
+perpetually as the clouds and mists form and re-form over them, astonish
+one by their magnificence.
+
+All things that the Himalaya gives are big things, and now that the
+mountaineer has conquered the lesser ranges, he turns to the Himalaya,
+where the peaks stand head and shoulders above all others. Up to the
+present, however, owing to the difficulties of distance and size, none
+of the greater peaks have been climbed.
+
+In climbing the great peaks of the Himalaya, the difficulties are far
+greater than those of less lofty ranges. On most of the highest the mere
+climbing presents such difficulties that it would be foolish to attempt
+their ascent. Thousands of feet of steep rock or ice guard their
+summits. Unless climbing above 24,000 feet is moderately easy, and no
+strenuous work is required, it could not be accomplished. For in the
+rarefied air at high altitudes there is insufficient oxygen to promote
+the normal oxidation of bodily tissue. Above 20,000 feet a cubic foot of
+air contains less than half the amount of oxygen that it does at
+sea-level. As the whole metabolism of the body is kept in working order
+by the oxygen supplied through the lungs, the obvious result of high
+altitudes is to interfere with the various processes occurring in the
+system. The combustion of bodily material is less, the amount of energy
+produced is therefore less also, and so capacity for work is diminished
+progressively as one ascends.
+
+But that one is able still to work, and work hard, at these altitudes is
+evident by the experiences of Dr. Longstaff and Mr. Meade. On Trisul,
+23,360 feet, Dr. Longstaff in ten and a half hours ascended from 17,450
+feet to the summit. Whilst on Kamet, Mr. Meade's coolies carried a camp
+up to 23,600 feet. Dr. Kellas also in 1920 found his ascent on
+moderately easy snow above 21,000 feet approximated to 600 feet per
+hour. All these climbers were, however, acclimatised to high altitudes.
+The effect on anyone making a balloon or aeroplane ascent from sea-level
+would be different. Tissaudier in a balloon ascent fainted at 26,500
+feet and on regaining consciousness found both his companions dead. Even
+on Pike's Peak, 14,109 feet, in the United States, many of those who go
+up in the railway suffer from faintness, sickness, breathlessness and
+general lassitude. Yet there are places on the earth,--the
+Pamirs,--where people live their lives at higher altitudes than Pike's
+Peak, without any effects of the diminished pressure being felt. They
+are acclimatised; their bodies, being accustomed to their surroundings,
+are good working machines.
+
+Although it is true that at high altitudes there is less oxygen to
+breathe, the body rapidly protects itself by increasing the number of
+red blood corpuscles. These red corpuscles are the carriers of oxygen
+from the air to the various parts of the body. An increased number of
+carriers means an increase of oxygen to the body. It is just possible,
+therefore, that anyone properly acclimatised to, say, 23,000 feet would
+be able to ascend the remaining 6,000 feet, to the summit of Mount
+Everest. Moreover, if oxygen could be continuously supplied to the
+climbers by adventitious aid there is little doubt that 29,000 feet
+could be reached.
+
+The physiological difficulties met with in ascending to high altitudes
+are doubtless of a very high order, but can to a certain extent be
+eliminated by ascending gradually, day after day, so as to allow the
+body to accommodate itself by degrees to the new surroundings.
+
+There are, however, other difficulties that must be reckoned with, such
+as intense cold and frequent high winds. In any engine where loss of
+heat occurs, there is a corresponding loss of available energy. A
+bitterly cold wind not only robs one of much heat, but lowers the
+vitality as well. At altitudes above 24,000 feet, the temperature is
+often arctic, and the thermometer may fall far below zero. On the other
+hand, the rays of the sun are intense. The ultra-violet rays, that are
+mostly cut off by the air at sea-level, are a real source of danger
+where there is only one-third of an atmosphere pressure, as in the case
+at the summit of Mount Everest.
+
+The mountaineer also encounters dangers in the Himalaya, on the same
+scale as the difficulties. A snow-slide on a British mountain or in the
+Alps is an avalanche; often in the Himalaya it becomes almost a
+convulsion of nature. The huge ice-fields and glaciers that hang on the
+upper slopes of the mountains, when let loose, have not hundreds of feet
+to fall, but thousands, and the wind that is thereby produced spreads
+with hurricane force over the glaciers below, on to which the main body
+of the avalanche has fallen. Sometimes even the broken débris will rush
+across a wide glacier.
+
+Rock falls also assume gigantic proportions in the Himalaya. But all
+these dangers can be largely avoided by the skilled mountaineer, and he
+can choose routes up a mountain where they are not likely to occur. Some
+risks, however, must be always run, but they can be reduced to a
+minimum.
+
+On Mount Everest, as we now know, most of these dangers will be less
+than on any of the other very high mountains in the Himalaya. Also there
+are no difficulties in the approach to Mount Everest from India. In this
+respect it differs from such peaks as K^2 and others. As a rule the
+highest mountains in the Himalaya always lie far back from the plains in
+the main chain, beyond the foot-hills and the intervening ranges. To
+approach them from the South in India, weeks of travel are often
+necessary, up deep gorges, and over rivers, where it is next to
+impossible to take baggage animals. Fortunately the approach to Mount
+Everest by the route from Darjeeling to Phari Dzong and thence over an
+easy pass into Tibet avoids all these difficulties. In Tibet a high
+tableland, averaging 13,000 feet, is reached.
+
+Travelling in Tibet, North of the main range of the Himalaya, is
+entirely different from that on the South of the range. Instead of
+deep-cut gorges, a rolling, bare, stone-covered country exists, over
+which it is easy to take baggage animals, the only obstacle being the
+rivers that sometimes are not bridged, and are often swollen by the
+melting snow. From Kampa Dzong to Tingri Dzong, the base of operations
+for the Expedition, is an open country. Mount Everest lies 40 to 50
+miles South of Tingri Dzong; the approach also is without difficulty.
+
+The ascent of Mount Everest was not the primary object of the Expedition
+of 1921. A mountain the size of Mount Everest cannot be climbed by
+simply getting to it and starting the ascent immediately.
+
+A reasonable route has to be discovered to the summit; which usually can
+only be done by a complete reconnaissance of the mountain. This has been
+admirably done, and a most magnificent series of photographs has been
+brought back by the members of the Expedition.
+
+Mount Everest consists of a huge pyramid, having three main arêtes, the
+West, the South-east, and the North-east. It is the last, the North-east
+arête, that is obviously the easiest, being snow-covered along most of
+its length. Nowhere is it excessively steep, and nowhere are there
+precipices of rock to stop the climber. We now know that it can be
+reached, by means of a subsidiary ridge, from a col 23,000 feet, the
+Chang La, that lies to the north of the North-east arête. This col was
+the highest point on Mount Everest reached by the Expedition, and had it
+not been for savage weather a considerably higher altitude would have
+been attained; for above the col for several thousand feet lay an
+unbroken snow-slope.
+
+It was only after much hard work, and over two months' exploration, that
+a route to this col was discovered. As is usually the case even with
+mountains far smaller than Mount Everest, it can be seen that if a
+point, often a long way below the summit, can be reached, not much
+farther difficulty will be encountered. But the puzzle is, how can that
+point be arrived at from below?
+
+Quite early in the exploration of Mount Everest it was obvious that if
+the 23,000-foot col could be reached, most of the physical difficulties
+of the approach to the mountain would have been surmounted. But it was
+not so obvious how to win to the col. It lies on the South-east at the
+head of the main Rongbuk Glacier; it was therefore to this glacier that
+the mountaineers, Messrs. Mallory and Bullock, went from Tingri Dzong on
+June 23. They spent a month exploring the country to the North and the
+West of Mount Everest from the Rongbuk Glacier. Much valuable
+information was accumulated. A peak, Ri-Ring, 22,520 feet, was climbed
+and a pass on the West ridge of Mount Everest was visited, from which
+were seen views of the South-west face of the great mountain and also
+many high peaks in Nepal. Unfortunately, however, no feasible route from
+the main Rongbuk Glacier to the 23,000-foot col could be found. The next
+attempt was made by leaving the Rongbuk Glacier and exploring the Kama
+Valley that flows South-east from Mount Everest. Here a most magnificent
+ice-world was discovered. For a chain of giant peaks running South-east
+from Mount Everest to Makalu, 27,790 feet, guards the whole of the
+South-west side of the valley. But as an approach to the North-east
+arête of Mount Everest this valley was found to be useless. From the
+point of view, however, of exploration it was most fortunate that this
+valley was visited. The photographs of Makalu and its satellite
+Chomolönzo, N.^{53}, 25,413 feet, are superb; moreover the lower reaches
+of the Kama Valley, as it dips down to the deep Arun Valley, was full of
+luxuriant vegetation, totally different from the wind-swept wilderness
+of Tibet.
+
+The Kharta Valley, that runs North-east from Mount Everest, was the next
+exploited, to see whether from it an easy approach to the North-east
+arête existed. But by this time the monsoon weather was at its worst.
+Days of rain and mist, with snow higher up, succeeded one another,
+making climbing impossible. However, towards the end of September a high
+camp at 22,500 feet was made at the head of the Kharta Valley. From this
+camp the 23,000-foot col, Chang La, was finally reached, by crossing the
+head of a glacier that ran to the North. Higher climbing was out of the
+question; a furious North-west gale lasting for four days drove the
+party off the mountain.
+
+The glacier mentioned above, running to the North, was found to be a
+tributary of the main Rongbuk Glacier, and has been named the East
+Rongbuk Glacier. There is no doubt that the easiest route to Chang La,
+the North Col, will not be all the way round by the Kharta Valley, but
+up this East Rongbuk Glacier.
+
+Several other interesting expeditions were carried out by other members
+of the party. Colonel Howard Bury visited the group of five great peaks
+(25,202 to 26,867 feet), that lie about 15 miles North-west of Mount
+Everest. He explored the Kyetrak Glacier to its summit the Khombu La,
+also crossed the Phüse La with the Rongshar Valley that drains down into
+Nepal. Later he visited another pass on the ridge that connects Mount
+Everest with Makalu. From this pass most interesting views of the
+country South of Mount Everest were obtained.
+
+Major Wheeler's and Major Morshead's map of the country that lies
+between the Himalaya and the Bramapootra River will be of the highest
+value, and the results of Dr. Heron's geological survey and
+Mr. Wollaston's collections of birds, beasts, insects and flowers, when
+they have been thoroughly examined, will certainly yield much new
+scientific information. The Expedition therefore has accomplished all
+that was expected of it, and has brought back material of the greatest
+interest, from a part of the world about which almost nothing was known,
+and into which Europeans had never been.
+
+The attempt to ascend Mount Everest itself necessarily had to be
+postponed, but this year the Expedition that is being sent out will have
+for its primary object the ascent of the mountain. There will be easy
+access to the base of the peak from Chöbuk, where a base camp will be
+established, and from thence a feasible route on to the summit of the
+great North-east arête has been discovered.
+
+Most fortunately this year General Bruce was able to undertake the
+leadership of the Expedition. His unrivalled experience of climbing in
+the Himalaya and particularly his special capacity for handling
+Himalayan people will be invaluable to the Expedition. Not only will he
+be able to organise and instil the right spirit into the coolie corps
+upon whom so much will depend for ultimate success, but he will also be
+able to give much wise advice to the actual climbers who are to take
+part in the ascent of the mountain.
+
+Moreover, with his long experience of dealing with Asiatics he can be
+trusted to deal with the Tibetan people and officials in such a way as
+to retain their present good-will.
+
+As the main object of the Expedition this year is to make a definite
+attempt to reach the summit of Mount Everest, it has been decided that
+the actual climbing party should be as strong as possible. But a limit
+to the size of the Expedition was imposed by the necessity of respect
+for the feelings of the Tibetans, and a warning had been received from
+Lhasa to keep the numbers as small as possible. For, although the
+authorities at Lhasa might be friendly enough, and although there might
+be no difficulty in obtaining transport from the district round Tingri
+Dzong, where animals were plentiful, yet a large party might press
+hardly on the inhabitants in the matter of food, such as wheat and
+barley. This consideration had therefore to be regarded. Still it was
+thought that the district would not be unduly pressed by a party of
+twelve Europeans. This number will include a climbing party of six
+chosen mountaineers, with two in reserve, making eight in all. With
+General Bruce, a doctor (who would also be a naturalist), a photographer
+and a painter, the expeditionary force of Europeans will be complete.
+
+Colonel E. L. Strutt, C.M.G., has been chosen as second in command. He
+possesses first-rate mountaineering experience, and has been
+Vice-President of the Alpine Club.
+
+Mr. Mallory fortunately has been able to accept the invitation of the
+Committee to return to Mount Everest again this year. The remainder of
+the climbing party are: Captain George Finch, who was unable to join the
+Expedition last year on account of his health; Mr. T. H. Somervell, a
+surgeon, a member of the Alpine Club and an extremely energetic climber;
+Major E. F. Norton (Royal Artillery); and Dr. A. W. Wakefield, renowned
+for his strenuous climbing in the Lake District and work in Labrador.
+Besides these six mountaineers, Captain Geoffrey Bruce and Captain C.
+J. Morris, both of Gurkha Regiments, and able to speak the language of
+the Himalayan coolies, will assist General Bruce both in looking after
+and encouraging the coolies, and also help in the general arrangement
+and organisation of the Expedition as a whole. They also are accustomed
+to mountaineering and will act as a reserve to the six climbers.
+
+As doctor and naturalist Dr. T. G. Longstaff has been invited to join
+the Expedition. He has made many climbs in the Himalaya and other
+mountain regions, including the ascent of Trisul, 23,360 feet. He is not
+expected to join the climbing party, but his experience will be of great
+benefit to the Expedition generally.
+
+As photographer, Captain J. B. L. Noel has been selected. He had
+reconnoitred in the direction of Mount Everest in 1913. For several
+years he has made a special study of photography in all its various
+branches.
+
+But besides photographs of the mountains, the Expedition is anxious to
+bring back pictures which would alone be able not only to serve as a
+record of the infinitely delicate colouring of that lofty region, but at
+the same time would show how probably some of the grandest scenery of
+mighty mountains should be represented from the point of view of an
+artist.
+
+Difficulty was experienced in finding a suitable painter, for painters
+capable of doing justice to mountain scenery, and who are also
+physically fit to travel amongst them at such altitudes as those round
+Mount Everest, are few. We have, therefore, to depend on Mr. Somervell
+to paint us pictures.
+
+In the meantime communications were also passing between Colonel Bailey,
+the Political Agent in Sikkim, and the Mount Everest Committee regarding
+the enlistment of coolies for the special corps, and the engagement of
+the very best headman obtainable to look after them. Many of the coolies
+who were with the Expedition in 1921 had volunteered to rejoin this
+year. But a stronger corps and more carefully selected men were needed.
+The Maharaja of Nepal has been asked to allow some of the most famous
+Gurkha mountain climbers to join the Expedition, and the Government of
+India has been asked to put two or three non-commissioned Gurkha
+officers at the service of General Bruce, to assist him generally in
+looking after the coolies, and seeing that they were properly fed and
+paid, and that they behaved themselves properly.
+
+The members of last year's Expedition on their return were freely and
+fully consulted as to equipment and provisioning of this year's party;
+the experience gained last year has been therefore made use of in every
+way possible. Suggestions for the improvement of the Mummery-Meade tents
+have been adopted. Better clothing has been provided for the coolies.
+General Bruce has purchased leather coats, waistcoats, socks, jerseys
+and boots from the equipment provided for our troops in North Russia
+during the war, which will be admirably suited for the majority of the
+coolies, whilst for the few chosen for high climbing on Mount Everest
+itself, clothing precisely similar to that worn by the British climbers
+has been provided.
+
+Captain Farrar and the equipment committee have provided a most varied
+and ample supply of provisions which was despatched to India in January.
+The Primus-stoves have been overhauled and retested by Captain Finch.
+
+Colonel Jack and Mr. Hinks have carefully examined all the instruments
+brought back. The aneroids have been retested, and all broken
+instruments replaced.
+
+The photographic outfit has been considerably enlarged, including a
+cinematograph instrument. The question of supplying oxygen has been most
+thoroughly gone into. All flyers in aeroplanes at high altitudes find
+oxygen absolutely necessary. In mountain climbing, however, the almost
+insuperable difficulty is the weight of the apparatus supplying the
+oxygen. As far as possible, this weight has been reduced to a minimum. A
+large number of cylinders, the lightest and smallest obtainable, have
+been sent out full of compressed oxygen, and it is hoped that they will
+be capable of being used by the party that will attempt to climb to the
+summit of Mount Everest. If the climbers are capable of carrying them,
+and so getting a continuous supply of oxygen during the whole of the
+climb, there is little doubt that climbing up to 29,000 feet is
+possible. In aeroplanes considerably higher altitudes have been reached
+with the help of oxygen. Moreover, there is this fact in favour of the
+climbers on Mount Everest, they will be acclimatised to altitudes of
+20,000 feet, whilst anyone in an aeroplane is not so acclimatised,
+having risen from sea-level. The climbers will have to accommodate
+themselves only to an increased height of 9,000 feet, whilst those in an
+aeroplane have to suffer a diminution in pressure equivalent to 29,000
+feet.
+
+Finally, arrangements have been made with the Press for the publication
+of telegrams and photographs from the Expedition. Full information of
+the progress of the Expedition will therefore be available for the
+public, and it will be possible to follow the climbing party, after they
+leave the base camp, which will be somewhere near Chöbuk, as they ascend
+the East Rongbuk Glacier to the advanced base under the North col.
+Afterwards all the preliminary arrangements will be reported, and
+finally there will be an account of the great attempt to reach the
+summit.
+
+The Expedition will be starting nearly two months earlier than in 1921.
+The weather in May and June, before the monsoon breaks in July,
+apparently is more or less settled, and so the most must be made of it.
+In 1921 from the end of July till September high climbing was
+impossible. It is therefore obvious that a determined attempt to climb
+Mount Everest should be made before the monsoon sets in.
+
+The ascent from the North col, Changa La, 23,000 feet, to the summit of
+Mount Everest, 29,000 feet, is only 6,000 feet, and the distance to
+traverse is about 2 miles. As far as can be judged from the numerous
+photographs of Mount Everest, the climbing is straightforward with no
+insurmountable difficulties in the form of steep rock precipices. There
+will be no glaciers overhanging the route which might send down
+avalanches, and no excessively steep ice-slopes.
+
+[Illustration: MOUNT EVEREST AT SUNSET from the 20,000 foot camp, Kharta
+Valley.]
+
+But the final ascent will test the endurance of the climbers to the
+utmost. Many people have found the last 1,000 feet of Mont Blanc more
+than they could accomplish. The last 1,000 feet of Mount Everest will
+only be conquered by men whose physique is perfect, and who are trained
+and acclimatised to the last possible limit, and who have the
+determination to struggle on when every fibre of their body is calling
+out--Hold! enough!
+
+The struggle will be a great one, but it will be worth the while. To do
+some new thing beyond anything that has been previously accomplished,
+and not to be dominated by his environment, has made man what he is, and
+has raised him above the beasts. He always has been seeking new worlds
+to conquer. He has penetrated into the forbidding ice-worlds at the two
+poles, and many are the secrets he has wrested from Nature. There
+remains yet the highest spot on the world's surface. No doubt he will
+win there also, and in the winning will add one more victory over the
+guarded secrets of things as they are.
+
+
+
+
+                                APPENDIX I
+
+                                THE SURVEY
+
+                      BY MAJOR H. T. MORSHEAD, D.S.O.
+
+
+The personnel selected to form the Survey Detachment under my charge
+were as follows: Brevet-Major E. O. Wheeler, M.C., R.E., Mr. Lalbir
+Singh Thapa, Surveyors Gujjar Singh and Turubaz Khan, Photographer Abdul
+Jalil Khan, sixteen khalasis, etc.
+
+The tasks allotted to the detachment were:--
+
+(1) A general survey of the whole unmapped area covered by the
+Expedition, on a scale of 1 inch to 4 miles.
+
+(2) A detailed survey of the immediate environs of Mount Everest on the
+scale of 1 inch to 1 mile.
+
+(3) A complete revision of the existing ¼-inch map of Sikkim.
+
+With the exception of a few rough notes and sketches by early travellers
+and missionaries in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, our first
+knowledge of the Southern portion of the Tibetan province of Tsang dated
+from the epoch of the Survey of India by trained native explorers in the
+middle of the nineteenth century. Thus, much of the area visited by the
+Expedition in 1921 was traversed by the explorer Hari Ram during the
+course of his two journeys in 1871-2 and 1885 respectively. At that
+time, however, foreign surveyors were not regarded with favour in Tibet;
+work could only be carried on surreptitiously, and the resulting map
+merely consisted of a small-scale route traverse which gave no
+indication of the surface features beyond the explorer's actual route.
+
+The first rigorous survey undertaken in the neighbourhood was that
+carried out by Captain C. H. D. Ryder, R.E. (now Colonel Ryder, C.I.E.,
+D.S.O., Surveyor-General of India), during the Tibet Mission of
+1903-1904. During the stay of the Mission at Kampa, the ¼-inch survey
+was carried as far West as longitude 88°; while, on the subsequent
+return march up the Tsangpo Valley, surveys were extended as far as the
+Southern watershed of the great river--the so-called Ladak Range--in
+latitude 29° approximately.
+
+West of longitude 88° there thus remained a stretch of unsurveyed
+country some 14,000 square miles in area, between the Ladak Range on the
+North and the Great Himalaya Range on the South--the latter forming the
+Northern frontier of Nepal. The Mount Everest Expedition provided an
+opportunity of making good the whole of this area, with the exception of
+some 2,000 square miles at the extreme Western end, into which, in view
+of the restrictions of the Indian Foreign Department, I did not feel
+justified in penetrating.
+
+Fortunately, Colonel Bury's plans contemplated an outward Northerly
+journey via Shekar and Tingri to the Western flanks of Mount Everest,
+whence the reconnaissance of the mountain was to be carried out from
+West to East, parallel to the Northern frontier of Nepal. This rendered
+feasible the mapping of the whole unsurveyed area between the Southern
+watershed of the Tsangpo and the Great Himalaya Range, as far West as
+longitude 85° 30', without in any way infringing the Foreign
+Department's orders and restrictions.
+
+For the purpose of the detailed survey of the Mount Everest regions, it
+was arranged for my Assistant, Major Wheeler, to make a thorough test of
+the Canadian pattern of photo-survey apparatus, of which he had had
+previous experience in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. This method of
+survey, which had not hitherto been employed in India, is particularly
+adapted for use in high mountain regions. Fortunately, the experimental
+outfit, which had recently been ordered from England, was delivered just
+in time to accompany the Expedition. Wheeler's account of his season's
+work will be found in Appendix II.
+
+With a view to carrying out the revision survey of Sikkim while awaiting
+the arrival of the members of the Expedition from England, the Survey
+Detachment was authorised to assemble at Darjeeling early in April, six
+weeks before the date fixed for the start of the Expedition. In spite of
+an unusually wet and cloudy spring, the three surveyors made such good
+use of their time that 2,500 square miles of country were completed
+before the advance of the Expedition necessitated the temporary
+abandonment of this work.
+
+After completing the necessary preliminaries with Colonel Bury, I myself
+left Darjeeling on May 13, intending to rejoin the remainder of the
+Expedition in Sikkim. Continuous rain, however, rendered the latter task
+impossible; the Sikkim roads were, moreover, blocked in several places
+by severe landslips, so that I was only with difficulty able to reach
+Kampa by the 28th. It transpired, however, that there was no cause for
+hurry, since the main body of the Expedition, travelling via the Chumbi
+Valley, had encountered greater difficulties than mine, and did not
+arrive at Kampa until June 5. While awaiting their arrival, I filled in
+the time by occupying and re-observing from Colonel Ryder's old
+triangulation stations of 1903, overlooking the Kampa Plain.
+
+I had received no news whatever of the Expedition or of the outside
+world since leaving Darjeeling three-and-a-half weeks previously.
+Consequently the death of my old friend Dr. Kellas on the very day of
+their arrival at Kampa came to me as a very severe shock.
+
+The Sikkim revision-survey having been so much hampered by bad weather,
+I decided to take only two of the three surveyors with the Expedition
+into Tibet, leaving Surveyor Turabaz Khan to complete the comparatively
+dry areas of Northern Sikkim before the arrival of the monsoon. This he
+succeeded in doing at the cost of considerable personal discomfort,
+returning to Darjeeling in July.
+
+It was not until we reached the summit of the Tinki Pass on June 11 that
+we found ourselves for the first time looking into unsurveyed country.
+From here onwards as far as Tingri the survey was kept up by Lalbir
+Singh, whose unflagging energy alone enabled him to keep pace with the
+long marches of the Expedition. Each morning he was away with his
+plane-table and squad of coolies long before our breakfast was served,
+seldom reaching camp before nightfall. The gathering clouds and other
+ominous signs of a rapidly approaching monsoon, however, forbade any
+respite.
+
+On arrival at Tingri, after spending a week in fruitless efforts to
+observe the triangulated peaks of the main Himalayan Range through the
+dense monsoon clouds which were daily piling up more and more thickly
+from the South, I departed on June 26 with Surveyor Gujjar Singh on a
+short trip to explore and map the upper valley of the Bhong Chu.
+
+Our first march led across the wide Tingri Plain, past the hot spring
+village of Tsamda, to the hamlet of Dokcho, at the Southern extremity of
+the Sutso Plain. This plain is covered with the ruins of numerous
+villages and watch-towers, the haunt of countless rock-pigeons. They are
+all of loftier and more substantial construction than the miserable
+hovels which form the scattered hamlets of to-day--indicating,
+apparently, the former presence of a large and warlike population. It is
+impossible even to hazard a guess at the age of these ruins, which may
+have preserved their present state for generations in the comparatively
+arid climate of Tibet. Many of the towers are 60 feet or more in height;
+roofs and floors have all disappeared, but the massive mud walls in
+many instances still bear the marks of the wooden shuttering used in
+their erection. This method of construction is unknown, I believe, in
+Tibet at the present day.
+
+The next day's march, skirting the Western edge of the plain, brought us
+to the village of Phuri, where the river flows in a flat-bottomed,
+cultivated valley, between bare brown hills. On the 28th we camped at
+Menkhap-to, the highest village in the valley. The headman, a sort of
+local "warden of the marches," refused to see me and shut himself up in
+his house, guarding his door with three huge mastiffs who effectively
+frustrated the efforts of my messengers to establish communications.
+Evidently he feared the subsequent results to himself of harbouring
+strangers. The remaining villagers were quite friendly, however, and
+supplied all my requirements. One man, the owner of a gun, surprised me
+by a request for 12-bore cartridges just after I had greatly shocked his
+neighbour's Buddhist susceptibilities by killing a butterfly for my
+collection! Much snow is reported to fall at Menkhap-to, which is
+deserted during the winter months, when the inhabitants descend to
+Menkhap-me ("lower Menkhap") and the Sutso Plain.
+
+Above Menkhap-to the road leaves the main valley and proceeds Westwards
+over a spur known as the Lungchen La (17,700 feet). This spur commands
+an extensive view across the wide, uninhabited Pekhu Plain, with its
+three lakes, as far as the snowy range running North-west from the
+summit of Gosainthan. On a fine day, the whole panorama can be sketched
+in from a couple of fixings on either side of the pass; unfortunately,
+at the time of our arrival bad weather had set in, and the whole
+snow-range was hidden in cloud. I had therefore to leave Gujjar Singh
+camped near the summit of the pass to await a fine day for the
+completion of his surveys, and myself returned at the end of the month
+to Tingri, where I rejoined Mr. Wollaston, who had been detained at
+headquarters by an outbreak of enteric fever amongst the Expedition
+servants.
+
+Wild game is plentiful in the Upper Bhong Valley. I shot numerous hares,
+some ramchakor and a bar-headed goose during the trip; while Gujjar
+Singh caught a young, week-old burhel lamb on the summit of the Lungchen
+Pass, which, however, died after three weeks in captivity. Gazelle are
+common on the Sutso Plain.
+
+By the end of June, Lalbir Singh had finished the inking of his previous
+surveys, and was ready for fresh work. Accordingly, after spending a
+couple of days in examining his board, and checking the spelling of his
+village names with the aid of the local Tibetan officials, I despatched
+him on a lengthy programme of work in Pharuk and Kharta. It was three
+months before I saw him again.
+
+About this time a messenger arrived from the Dzongpen of Nyenyam,
+inviting us to visit his district, which lay four marches to the
+Southwest, in the valley of the Po Chu or Bhotia Kosi R. Although
+Nyenyam was not one of the districts specifically mentioned in our
+passport, Wollaston and I decided, with the concurrence of Colonel Bury,
+to avail ourselves of the opportunity of visiting this little-known
+area.
+
+Leaving Tingri on July 13, with the interpreter Gyalzen Kazi and
+Surveyor Gujjar Singh, who had now returned after completing his work on
+the Lungchen Pass, we camped that evening at Langkor, a small village at
+the Western edge of the Tingri Plain. A cantilever bridge which spans
+the Gya Chu opposite the village had been carried away by floods shortly
+before our arrival, and the whole population of the hamlet, male and
+female, were busily engaged in its reconstruction, working in relays to
+the accompaniment of prolonged and vigorous blasts on a "conch" which a
+monk was diligently blowing in order--as it was explained to us--to
+avert further rainfall until the bridge should be completed. His efforts
+were rewarded with tolerable success, as the rain held off all day in
+spite of the threatening storm-clouds which loomed up from the
+South-west.
+
+The most interesting feature of Langkor is an ancient temple, an
+appanage of the great Drophung monastery of Lhasa. This building, which
+is said to be over 1,000 years old, contains a sacred stone alleged to
+have been hurled across the Himalayan Range from India, and to have
+pitched in the Tingri Plains. The name Tingri is said to be derived from
+the noise ("ting") made by the falling stone. The stone is carefully
+preserved inside a wooden box, which is opened with much ceremony on the
+first day of the Tibetan new year. The temple, which is managed by a
+committee of fifteen civilian monks (nyakchang), also contains a library
+of 4,400 books, and an image of the Indian saint Tamba Sanye which is
+popularly believed to have grown by itself from the ground _in situ_.
+
+Crossing the Tang La (17,980 feet) in a driving snowstorm, a long march
+of 22 miles brought us next day to the bleak village of Tulung, in the
+upper valley of the Po Chu. As we descended the Western side of the pass
+the snow-clouds gradually dispersed, disclosing glimpses of the
+magnificent twin summits of Gosainthan (26,290 feet), 30 miles to the
+West. Several of our coolies succumbed to mountain sickness on the pass,
+with the result that my bedding and the kitchen box only reached camp at
+9 p.m.
+
+On July 15 our road lay for 8 miles along the flat valley of the Po Chu;
+the river then turns sharply Southwards, passing for 3 miles through a
+gorge of granite and schist. Bushes of wild currant, gooseberry,
+berberis and dog-rose here begin to appear, and around the village of
+Targyeling, where we camped, were smiling fields of mustard and
+buckwheat, in addition to the usual Tibetan crops of barley and dwarf
+pea. After a month spent in the bleak Tibetan uplands, it was a relief
+to pitch our tents in a homely green field, alongside a rippling brook
+lined with familiar ranunculus, cow parsley, forget-me-not, and a
+singularly beautiful pale mauve cranesbill, and to feast our eyes on the
+glorious purple of the wild thyme which clothed the hillsides in great
+patches of colour.
+
+The next day, still following the course of the Po Chu, we reached
+Nyenyam, a large and very insanitary village which is known under the
+name of Kuti by the Nepalis who constitute the majority of its
+inhabitants. These Nepali traders (Newars) have their own Hindu temple
+in the village. There is also a Nepalese chauki (court-house) with a
+haqim (magistrate) invested with summary powers of jurisdiction over
+Nepali subjects; he is specially charged with the settlement of trade
+disputes, and with the encouragement of Tibeto-Nepalese trade and
+commerce.
+
+As is customary in all important districts of Tibet, there are here two
+Dzongpens, who by a polite fiction are known as "Eastern" and "Western"
+(Dzongshar and Dzongnup) respectively. Actually, the functions of the
+two Dzongpens are identical; the _raison d'être_ of the double regime
+being an attempt to protect the peasants from extortion by the device of
+providing two administrators, who, in theory at least, act as a check
+upon each other's peculations. At the time of our arrival, those two
+worthies were so busy preparing a joint picnic that we had considerable
+difficulty in getting their attention.
+
+I spent three days in exploring the neighbourhood of Nyenyam, while
+Wollaston was engaged in his botanical and zoological pursuits. Gujjar
+Singh, with the plane-table, was detained by bad weather higher up the
+valley. Below Nyenyam the river enters a very deep, narrow gorge; pines
+and other forest trees begin to appear. The road, which here becomes
+impassable for animals, crosses the river four times in 6 miles by
+cantilever bridges before reaching the village of Choksum, but I could
+find no trace of the portion described by explorer Hari Ram in 1871 as
+consisting of slabs of stone 9 to 18 inches wide supported on iron pegs
+let into the vertical face of the rock at a height of 1,500 feet above
+the river. At Choksum (10,500 feet) the river falls at an average rate
+of 500 feet per mile. The Nepal frontier is crossed near Dram village,
+some 10 miles further down stream, but owing to the vile state of the
+weather, which rendered even the roughest attempts at surveying
+impossible, I abandoned all idea of reaching the spot.
+
+On July 20 we retraced our steps 9 miles up the valley to Tashishong,
+where we found Dr. Heron encamped, together with Gujjar Singh, whose
+work had been hung up for a week by continued cloud and rainfall. Heron
+returned Northwards next day, while we followed a rough easterly track
+leading over the Lapche Range to the village of the same name in the
+valley of the Kang Chu. The weather on this day was atrocious, and our
+last pretence of accurate surveying broke down. We were unable to reach
+Lapche village by dusk, and spent a somewhat cheerless night on boulders
+in drenching rain at 14,600 feet, with no fuel except a few green twigs
+of dwarf rhododendron.
+
+Lapche (La-Rimpoche, "precious hill") is sacred as the home and
+birthplace of Jetsun Mila Repa, a wandering lama and saint who lived in
+Southern Tibet in the eleventh century, and who taught by parables and
+songs, some of which have considerable literary merit. The two principal
+works ascribed to him are an autobiography, or namtar, and a collection
+of tracts called Labum, or the "myriad songs." They are still among the
+most popular books in Tibet.[20] His hermit-cell still remains under a
+rock on the hillside, and his memory is preserved by an ancient temple
+and monastery, the resort of numerous pilgrims, alongside which we
+pitched our tents.
+
+  [20] _Journey to Lhasa and Central Tibet_, by S. C. Dass, C.I.E., page
+       205, footnote by Hon. W. W. Rockhill.
+
+Lapche village is situated on a spur overlooking the junction of two
+branches of the Kang stream--the latter being a tributary of the
+Rongshar River, which, in turn, joins the Bhotia Kosi River in Nepal.
+The extreme dampness of the local climate is indicated by the trailing
+streamers of lichen which festoon the trees, and by the pent roofs of
+the buildings. The village contains some ten or twelve houses, of which
+half are occupied by Tibetans and half by Nepalese subjects
+(Sherpas)--each community having its own headman. The inhabitants were
+very friendly and pleasant, and gave us a good deal of information. The
+village is deserted during the winter months, when the whole population
+migrates across the border into Nepal. The Tibetans pay no taxes to
+Nepal during their half-yearly sojourn in the lower valley; conversely,
+the Nepalis during their summer residence in Lapche are not subject to
+Tibetan taxation or to the imposition of ulag (forced labour). The
+Tibetans of Lapche pay their taxes in the form of butter direct to the
+Lapche monastery, the head lama, or abbot, of which resides at Phuto
+Gompa near Nyenyam. The Nepal frontier is some 10 miles below Lapche,
+opposite the snow-peak of Karro Pumri. Katmandu can be reached in eight
+days, but the track is bad and very little trade passes this way.
+
+Transport arrangements necessitated a day's halt at Lapche, which was
+fortunately enlivened by the timely arrival of a large parcel of letters
+and newspapers, which Colonel Bury had thoughtfully sent after us from
+Tingri--almost the last news of the outside world which we were to
+receive for over two months.
+
+From Lapche we proceeded to the Rongshar Valley, crossing the Kangchen
+and Kangchung ("big snow" and "little snow") passes. Descending the hill
+to Trintang village, where we camped on July 25, the clouds lifted
+momentarily, disclosing an amazing view of the superb snow summit of
+Gauri-Sankar towering magnificently above us just across the valley.
+This mountain, which is called by the Tibetans Chomo Tsering, or Trashi
+Tsering, is the westernmost of a group of five very sacred peaks known
+collectively as Tsering Tse-nga ("Tsering five peaks"). Unfortunately,
+owing to constant clouds, I was unable to identify with certainty the
+remaining four peaks of Tingki Shalzang, Miyo Lobzang, Chopen Drinzang
+and Tekar Drozang. Owing to the sacred nature of the Rongshar Valley,
+the slaughtering of animals is strictly forbidden; the large flocks and
+herds of the villagers are only sold for slaughter in the adjoining
+districts of Tingri and Nepal, and we were only able to buy a sheep on
+promising not to kill it until after quitting the valley.
+
+Trintang village occupies a plateau 1,750 feet above the level of the
+river; 1,400 feet below is the village of Tropde, to which the Trintang
+residents all descend in winter. Rongshar Dzong, which is situated in
+the lower village, has no importance; at the time of our visit the
+Dzongpen had gone to his home on leave of absence, leaving his affairs
+in the hands of a steward.
+
+A day's halt being necessary in order to collect transport, I took the
+opportunity of descending the Rongshar Valley as far as the Nepal
+frontier, while Gujjar Singh endeavoured, without much success, to pick
+up the threads of his survey by identifying the snowy peaks which
+occasionally afforded brief glimpses through rifts in the clouds. The
+Rongshar River drops 1,400 feet in 7 miles between Tropde and the Nepal
+frontier, which is crossed at an altitude of roughly 9,000 feet.
+
+On July 27 we marched 20 miles up the Rongshar Valley to the village of
+Tazang (Takpa-Santsam, "limit of birch trees"), which, as its name
+implies, is situated at the extreme upper limit of the forest zone. On
+the way we passed the village and monastery of Chuphar, whence a track
+leads South-east over the difficult snow-pass of Menlung ("vale of
+medicinal herbs") to the villages of Rowaling and Tangpa in the Kangphu
+Valley of Nepal.
+
+Tazang had already been visited by Colonel Bury, a month previously. The
+local headman was too drunk, on the evening of our arrival, to send out
+the necessary messages summoning the village transport-yaks from their
+grazing grounds. In consequence, our baggage was only got under weigh at
+11 a.m. next morning, and we were compelled to pitch our tents at a
+grazing camp (16,500 feet) after only covering 9 miles. The weather
+showed signs of improvement in proportion as we receded from the
+Himalayan gorges, but dense banks of cloud still obscured all the
+hill-tops. An easy march over the Phuse La (17,850 feet) brought us on
+the 29th to the bleak village of Kyetrak, situated at the foot of the
+great Kyetrak Glacier, on the extreme Southern edge of the Tingri
+plain--an area which we had already surveyed six weeks previously.
+
+From Kyetrak we proceeded via the Lamna La to Chöbuk, thence following
+the tracks of the Expedition headquarters which Colonel Bury had just
+transferred from Tingri to Kharta in the lower Bhong Chu Valley. On
+reaching headquarters on August 2, we found Colonel Bury in sole
+occupation--Mallory and Bullock having left that very morning on a
+reconnaissance of the Eastern approaches to Mount Everest.
+
+The weather during the whole of August was such as to render out-of-door
+survey operations impossible. Gujjar Singh was occupied during the month
+in adjusting and inking his surveys, while I filled in several days in
+making tracings of all work so far completed, after which, for the
+remainder of the season, I joined the mountaineers, whose doings are
+recorded elsewhere in this book.
+
+On the return journey in October I despatched Gujjar Singh from Gyangkar
+Nangpa to complete the remaining portions of the Sikkim revision-survey;
+at the same spot I picked up Lalbir Singh, who, after completing his
+survey of the Pharuk and Kharta areas, had crossed the Bhong Chu below
+Lungdö and worked his way back via Tashirakar and Sar. Travelling via
+Kampa and Lachen Valley, we reached Darjeeling on October 16. Tracings
+of the new survey were hastily finished and sent to press, with the
+result that a complete preliminary ¼-inch map in six colours was
+published before the last members of the Expedition had sailed for
+England. A ½-inch preliminary sketch-map of the environs of Mount
+Everest was also prepared by Major Wheeler at the same time for the use
+of the mountaineers in discussing the details of their next year's
+climb.
+
+The out-turn of work during the Expedition was as follows:--
+
+  ¼-inch revision survey                             4,000 square miles
+  ¼-inch original survey                            12,000 square miles
+  Detail photo-survey (environs of Mount Everest)      600 square miles
+
+The surveyors all worked splendidly under difficult and trying
+conditions. Major Wheeler had probably the hardest time of any member of
+the Expedition, and his success in achieving single-handed the mapping
+of 600 square miles of some of the most mountainous country in the world
+is sufficient proof of his determination and grit. It is difficult for
+those who have not actually had the experience to conceive the degree of
+mental and physical discomfort which results to the surveyor from
+prolonged camping at high altitudes during the monsoon, waiting for the
+fine day which never comes. Such was our fate for four months during the
+Expedition of 1921, yet on looking back one feels that the results were
+well worth while. The discomforts soon fade from recollection; the
+pleasures alone remain in one's memory, and there is not one of us but
+would gladly repeat our season's experiences, if so required.
+
+
+
+
+                                APPENDIX II
+
+                          THE PHOTOGRAPHIC SURVEY
+
+                       BY MAJOR E. O. WHEELER, M.C.
+
+
+I had purchased a set of photo-topographical surveying instruments of
+the Canadian pattern, on behalf of the Survey of India, while on leave
+in 1920. A trial of this method of surveying mountainous country was to
+be carried out in Garhwal in 1921; but when Survey of India officers
+were asked for to accompany the Mount Everest Expedition, I was detailed
+to carry out the trial there. Possibly a word of explanation of the
+method used may not be amiss.
+
+The "Canadian" method--if I may call it so; for although it was invented
+and has been used elsewhere, it has been far more extensively applied in
+Canada than in any other part of the world--may be briefly described as
+"plane-tabling by photography." It requires, equally with the
+plane-table, an accurate framework, on which to base the detailed
+survey; and simply substitutes a small (3-inch vernier) theodolite and
+camera for the sight-rule and plane-table. Stations are fixed and
+photographs oriented by means of the theodolite; the photographs, which
+are taken so as to be as nearly as possible true perspectives, represent
+the country as it would be seen by the plane-tabler, and detail on them
+may be fixed by intersections or sketched in by eye in exactly the same
+way as on the plane-table.
+
+Angles are read and photographs taken in the field; and, if considered
+necessary to test exposures or protect photographic plates from
+deterioration due to climatic conditions, development of plates is also
+carried out there. Otherwise, the map is made wholly in the office,
+using either contact prints or enlargements, from the negatives taken in
+the field. The latter are usually preferable. The main advantages at
+high altitudes over the plane-table are, that a much larger area can be
+covered in a given time in the field, that the instruments are more
+portable for difficult climbing, that there is no necessity to do
+accurate drawing with numbed fingers, and that the draughtsman may see
+the country from several points of view at one time. On the other hand,
+more equipment is necessary, and--a great disadvantage sometimes, as in
+this case--the map does not come into being as one goes along.
+
+After carrying out various preliminary adjustments and tests at the
+office of the Trigonometrical Survey at Dehra Dun, I reached Darjeeling
+on April 30, and Tingri on June 19, travelling with Expedition
+Headquarters via Ph[=a]ri Dzong.
+
+_En route_ Tingri, we had caught glimpses of Everest and the
+neighbouring peaks; so that by the time we arrived there, I was able,
+with the help of the existing maps and what local information we had
+obtained, to decide on the area I would attempt to survey. I say
+"attempt," for little was really known then about the geography, and
+still less about the weather conditions throughout the summer. As it
+turned out in the end, the area had to be much curtailed, and certain
+parts surveyed in considerably less detail than I should have liked:
+almost wholly on account of the weather. Although it was often fairly
+clear at 6 a.m. or so, photographs taken before 8, particularly at the
+latter end of the season, were of little use for surveying purposes.
+
+However, at the outset, I had hoped to map, on the scale of 1 inch = 1
+mile, the whole area between the Arun Gorge on the East and the R[=a]
+Chu on the West: and from the Nep[=a]l-Tibet boundary Northwards for
+some 20 miles; i.e. to the point where the various streams, flowing in a
+Northerly direction from the high boundary ridge, issue from the
+mountains proper into the more rolling foot-hills on the Southern
+outskirts of the Tibetan Plateau. This area includes Mount Everest
+itself near the centre of its Southern side, Mak[=a]lu and Pk. 25,413 to
+the South-east, Pks. 23,800 (Kh[=a]rtaphu), 23,420, and 23,080 to the
+North-east and North, and Pks. 25,990 (Gy[=a]chung Kang), 25,202, 25,909
+and 26,867 (Cho Oyu) to the North-west; and comprises some 1,000 square
+miles of country: a suitable season's work, given reasonably fine
+weather. This unfortunately we did not get.
+
+On June 24, the day after Messrs. Mallory and Bullock had started for
+the Rongbuk Valley, Dr. Heron and I marched South across the plain to
+the village of Sharto, _en route_ Kyetr[=a]k, in the R[=a] Chu Valley,
+where I intended to establish my base camp while surveying the
+Kyetr[=a]k Glacier and West face of the Cho Oyu--Gyachung K[=a]ng group.
+The next day we moved on to Kyetr[=a]k, 1 mile below the snout of the
+glacier, and made camp there. This bleak village and the route to it and
+over the Phüse La have already been described.
+
+June 26 was fine, so after crossing the R[=a] Chu on local ponies,
+ourselves and our ice-axes and rucksacks perched on Tibetan saddles--a
+cold and uncomfortable proceeding in the early morning--we ascended the
+18,000-foot hill immediately West of the village. Up to 1 p.m. we had
+excellent views across and up the Kyetr[=a]k Valley; but only a glimpse
+of Gauri Sankar (Chomo Tsering) to the South-west, where heavy clouds
+soon began to roll up. Cho Oyu and Pk. 25,909 and their spurs
+unfortunately cut out all distant views to the South-east, as they did
+everywhere in the upper part of this valley; so that my first view of
+Everest was from Tingri a month later. Next day, we started shortly
+after daylight for a spur on the East side of the valley;
+unfortunately--and this happened in the case of almost every peak I
+started for until mid-September--clouds began to roll up, and we were
+forced to stop to take the photographs before we had reached a really
+good view-point.
+
+Colonel Bury arrived at Kyetr[=a]k shortly after we got back to camp. On
+the 28th he and Heron started off early for a flying visit to the
+Kyetr[=a]k Glacier and Nangba La; I started later, after getting kit
+together, for a camp half-way up the glacier, and about 6 miles from
+Kyetr[=a]k. About 2 p.m. I found a comparatively dry spot on shale at
+18,000 feet, and pitched my tents there, the last of the coolies
+arriving only at 6 p.m. The place was bleak enough, but was as far as I
+could get that day, and seemed suitable for two climbs--one on either
+side of the glacier.
+
+My equipment consisted of the camera, theodolite, and a small
+plane-table--to help in identifying triangulated points--by way of
+instruments, which were carried by three coolies who remained with me.
+Ten other coolies slept at the base camp at Kyetr[=a]k, and carried
+stores up to me or moved the camp, as required; the camp consisted of a
+Whymper tent for the three coolies and a Meade for myself; bedding,
+food, a Primus stove and tin of kerosene for my own cooking, and yak
+dung fuel for the coolies. My servant remained at the base camp and sent
+up cooked meat and vegetables; otherwise I cooked for myself.
+
+June 29 and 30 were useless days; but on July 1 the weather cleared a
+bit, and after crossing the glacier, I went up a sharp rock shoulder of
+Cho Rapzang. The peak was mainly loose granite blocks at a steep angle,
+so that progress was slow: it was noon when I reached the top (about
+19,500 feet), and as I did so the clouds settled down, and it began to
+snow. However, at 4 p.m. it cleared sufficiently for some work to be
+done; after that we came down as quickly as possible in another
+blinding snowstorm, and reached camp just after dark; I for one very
+tired. I found the coolies exceedingly slow in coming down the loose
+blocks, I think because their balance was bad--they had to use their
+hands far more than I did.
+
+I had a good view of the glacier from here: the East side is very steep
+and broken, with several tributary glaciers flowing down from Cho Oyu
+and Pk. 25,909, and from a 23,000-foot Peak (not triangulated) to the
+North of the latter. The West side, except for Cho Rapzang, round which
+the glacier flows, is a snowfield falling more or less gently from a low
+ridge running from the pass to the West of Cho Rapzang. The glacier
+itself is like many others in this region, moraine covered for 3 or 4
+miles above its snout, "pinnacled" for another mile, and finally
+practically flat. But this flat portion gives by no means good going;
+when frozen it is very irregular and trying to walk over; and when
+thawed, is slushy and water soaked. There are two large water channels
+in the ice which are unpleasant to cross; these are from 10 to 15 feet
+wide and 20 feet deep, and carry a large volume of water in the
+afternoon. Crossing without a rope is distinctly dangerous, for although
+one can find places easy enough to jump, a slip would be certain death,
+for once in the channel it would be quite impossible to get out, or even
+to stop oneself on its smooth ice floor and sides.
+
+Cloudy weather then set in; but on the 3rd I got a few photographs from
+a shoulder near by, and moved camp 2 or 3 miles farther up the glacier
+(at about 18,500 feet). I was in this camp for nine days and only
+succeeded in taking two low stations, one on either side of the glacier
+and each about 1½ miles from the pass (Nangba La) to Nep[=a]l; but the
+valley on the South side, leading down to Khungphu, turns sharply to the
+East just below the pass, and little could be seen of the Nepalese side.
+Each of these stations I went up twice--to wait all day long the first
+time, in each case, for weather which never came. To reach the station
+on the East side of the glacier I had the only comparatively difficult
+rock climbing which I met with during the course of the Expedition; and
+on the way down watched my theodolite coolie, whom I had left behind
+exhausted in the morning, tumble off a steep rock arête, theodolite and
+all; fortunately he jammed in a crack a few feet below, and was unhurt.
+During the day he had started up after us on his own, and had lost his
+way in the clouds.
+
+On July 12--another wet day--I moved camp some distance down the main
+glacier and up a tributary flowing from Pk. 25,909 and Cho Oyu, and next
+day ascended a shoulder whence a good view into the cirque below these
+two peaks was obtained--or should have been obtained! But again I sat
+till dusk and saw little or nothing. Early the following day, however,
+it was fairly clear, so I got my photographs and then moved camp back to
+the base at Kyetr[=a]k.
+
+The next three days were spent in moving my base camp to the bridge
+across the R[=a] Chu, 6 miles below Kyetr[=a]k; taking a light camp up
+to about 18,000 feet on the prominent hill immediately East of the
+bridge, climbing the latter, sitting through the usual storms without
+doing any work, and returning to the bridge. Time was getting on, and
+the weather was still bad, so I then decided to leave my camp at the
+bridge and move into Headquarters myself to get developing, etc., up to
+date, and have a short rest. I walked into Tingri, with two coolies, on
+July 18, and found Colonel Bury there alone: and the Headquarters house
+felt very comfortable indeed after a Meade tent, in spite of nightly
+pilgrimages from one dry spot to another, as the roof leaked!
+
+Five busy days were spent at Tingri developing and printing; and as the
+weather showed little sign of improvement, I decided to go on with
+Headquarters to Chöbuk, in the Rongbuk Valley and work on that side, so
+as to make sure of completing the most important part, in the vicinity
+of Everest, and return to the Kyetr[=a]k Valley if there should be time.
+So on the 24th Colonel Bury and I left Tingri and reached Chöbuk on the
+25th, where we met Mallory and Bullock, just in from their
+reconnaissance of the North and North-west sides of Everest. A talk with
+them gave me some idea of the country, and the view from an 18,000-foot
+hill above Chöbuk enabled me to make a plan of campaign: far more
+extensive, as always, than the weather eventually allowed.
+
+Colonel Bury, Mallory and Bullock had gone on to Kh[=a]rta on July 26;
+on the 27th I moved up the right bank of the Rongbuk Valley some 10
+miles, to the monastery, above which I took a 20,000-foot station the
+next day. The weather was dreadful, but at 6 p.m. I got a round of
+photographs, which really turned out very well considering the time of
+day at which they were taken: it took me four and a half hours to get up
+this peak--fresh snow and scree--and although I had no glissades, only
+half an hour to come down.
+
+On the 27th I moved camp to a grassy hollow near the snout of the
+glacier--Mallory and Bullock's base--and next day occupied another hill
+overlooking the main glacier and valley, and looking up the side valley
+on the East, which joins the Dz[=a]kar Chu just below the glacier snout.
+The next three days were spent in establishing a light camp on the left
+bank of the East branch of the Rongbuk Glacier, about 3 miles from its
+snout, and taking a station on its left bank to overlook both the East
+and main glaciers.
+
+The Rongbuk Glacier is made up of two large branches, one flowing from
+the snow basin immediately below the great North wall of Everest, and
+the other, the "West Rongbuk" which joins the main stream about 4 miles
+above the snout of the glacier, flowing East in the basin between the
+high North-west ridge of Everest and the South-east slopes of Pk. 25,990
+(Gy[=a]chung Kang). At one time there was a third branch, the "East
+Rongbuk," which must have also joined the main stream, but this has
+receded until its snout is now a mile or more East of the main glacier,
+and only its torrent pours into a large cave in the latter. The East
+Rongbuk itself consists of two branches: one, the more southerly, flows
+from the great snow basin (which we eventually crossed to reach the
+North Col) between Everest, its North Peak and Col, and Pk. 23,800
+(Kh[=a]rtaphu); and the other, which joins the South branch about 2
+miles from its snout, from between Pks. 23,800 and 23,420. The former
+gives a 20,000-foot pass, very steep on the South side, to the K[=a]ma
+Valley; and the latter, an easy pass of about the same height to the
+head of one branch of the Kh[=a]rta Valley.
+
+I camped, at about 19,500 feet, on the moraine-covered glacier opposite
+the junction of the northerly branch from Pks. 23,800 and 23,420. On the
+way up I followed the watercourse between the ice of the Main Rongbuk
+Glacier and the scree and conglomerate slopes to the East of it, as far
+as the mouth of the East Rongbuk stream (3 miles), which gave good
+though boulder-strewn going. Thence a short scramble up "cut-bank" on
+the right bank of the East Rongbuk stream to the shelf of an old lateral
+moraine of that glacier, and along the latter--excellent going--to near
+its snout. The stream is pretty big in the evening; but quite easy to
+cross--except for iced rocks--in the early morning: and from there I
+followed up a series of lateral moraines on the left bank, to my camp.
+It was not till I was coming down that I discovered that the
+moraine-covered glacier itself--here covered with shale instead of
+boulders and scree as in the case of the main glacier--gave comfortable
+walking.
+
+A little distance below my camp site, the moraine-covered snout gives
+place to pinnacled ice, divided into three sections by two broad, shaly
+medial moraines. Either of the latter would be very suitable for a camp,
+and would give an excellent route to our 21,500-foot camp below the
+Chang La. The latter might, I think, be reached by this route in three
+days from the base camp at the snout of the main glacier, camping the
+first night at 19,000 feet at the start of the medial moraine, the
+second at 20,000 feet on the medial moraine some 2 miles above the
+junction of the Northern and Southern branches of the East Rongbuk, and
+the third night on snow at 21,500 feet below the North Col. The better
+moraine to ascend would require reconnaissance; for the pinnacles
+between them are difficult and slow to cross. The valley sides are steep
+in the lower reaches of the glacier, but more shaly and gentle on both
+branches, above their junction.
+
+August 3 broke clear; and I started up a likely looking peak behind
+(South of) camp, which appeared to be on the ridge between the East and
+main glaciers. I afterwards found that this was not the case; at the
+time I had to stop on a lower point as the clouds settled down. From
+here I had a glimpse of a big peak--Mak[=a]lu, I thought--over the pass
+at the head of the southerly branch of the glacier: and this gave me the
+idea that there must be a comparatively low pass from here to the
+K[=a]ma Valley. But clouds prevented me seeing more and studying the
+topography more carefully. There were heavy snowstorms on August 4 and
+5, but the 6th looked better, and after four hours' most strenuous
+step-cutting up and slithering down pinnacles, I crossed the glacier and
+ascended a 21,000-foot station on the other side, from which I obtained
+good, if cloudy, views of the East Rongbuk Glacier. Snow in the night
+and a dull morning made me decide to abandon this area--I could get my
+camp no farther up owing to having insufficient warm clothes to camp all
+my coolies at this height--and I returned to the base camp, preparatory
+to tackling the West side of the Rongbuk Valley. Six hours' easy going
+took me to my base camp.
+
+After two days' rest and office work, I crossed the glacier and put a
+light camp at about 19,000 feet in a small hanging valley below the
+"Finger," a black rock gendarme which is a very prominent landmark on
+the left bank of the Rongbuk Valley. On August 11 it snowed heavily, and
+I found my bed, in which I spent the day, very hard indeed--the camp
+being pitched on large boulders on top of the moraine. On the 12th,
+13th, and 14th, I started for the "Finger," the first time by the ridge
+immediately above camp, which gave some nice climbing with the rocks
+partly snow covered as they were, and the other two days, by a much
+quicker but less interesting route up soft snow and scree. Each day the
+clouds came down, and although I waited till nearly dark at about 20,500
+feet on the ridge, it was not till the third day that I got a round of
+indifferent photographs.
+
+Time was getting on, so on the 15th I called my "Finger" station "good
+enough" and moved camp up the left bank of the main glacier to a point
+on the old lateral moraine, opposite the entrance of the stream from the
+East Rongbuk; and the next day round the corner to the West, some
+distance up the West Rongbuk Glacier, and about 1,000 feet above it. _En
+route_, I tried to get some photographs from the high moraine at the
+junction of the West with the main glacier; but again the weather
+defeated me, and I got into camp--another uncomfortable one--soaked to
+the skin.
+
+I was in this camp for five days; most of them spent huddled under rocks
+waiting for the clouds to lift. I had one beautiful day, my only one in
+six weeks, and got some very nice photographs of Mount Everest and its
+West ridge. It is surprising how a little good weather and the feeling
+of having really done some work affects one's spirits!
+
+On August 21 I moved back to my base camp at the glacier snout, again
+trying for a station at the corner--and failing. I had not done nearly
+as much as I wanted to do; but there seemed to be no end to the bad
+weather, and only a month or a bit more remained in which to map the
+whole of the East side of the mountain: and I had heard from Colonel
+Bury that there would be a considerable amount of work on that side.
+Originally, I had hoped not only to return to the bridge over the R[=a]
+Chu to complete the work in the Kyetr[=a]k Valley, but also to take
+several stations in the valleys running North from the 23,000-foot group
+North of Everest. But again apart from shortage of time, the weather
+made it out of the question, and I went through to Kh[=a]rta, via the
+Doya La, arriving there on August 27.
+
+The change in scenery immediately one crosses the Doya La is most
+marked, both as regards rock and vegetation. The former--mostly
+gneiss--is far more rugged and interesting, and there is infinitely more
+of the latter. The Headquarters camp at Kh[=a]rta, in a little poplar
+grove, was pleasant indeed after the bleak, uninteresting Rongbuk
+Valley; and I thoroughly enjoyed my five days there, developing and
+printing; busy days, but very different from lying on one's back on the
+sharp boulders of the Rongbuk moraines. Mallory, Bullock and Morshead
+were in Kh[=a]rta when I arrived; Colonel Bury and Wollaston returned
+from their excursion to the Popti La soon after, and Raeburn arrived on
+September 1. It was a great treat to me to be able to "swap lies" with
+so many people, after two months almost wholly alone!
+
+On September 3 Morshead and I started up the Kh[=a]rta Chu in the wake
+of Mallory and Bullock, who had gone up to get the "bundobust" for the
+final fling going. As usual, bad weather dogged my footsteps, and
+although the weather while I was in Kh[=a]rta had been glorious,
+Morshead and I spent seven days in taking two very indifferent stations
+in the lower part of the Kh[=a]rta Valley, before joining the remainder
+of the expedition at the "Advanced Base" on September 11. A further
+eight days were spent there, waiting for the weather; but in that time I
+was able to get two very useful stations, one on either side of the
+valley.
+
+On September 19 I moved up to "No. 1 Camp" with Mallory, Bullock and
+Morshead; and shared the fortunes of the rest of the Expedition as far
+as Kampa Dzong on the way back to Darjeeling, where Raeburn, Heron and I
+left Headquarters to return to Darjeeling via L[=a]chen and the Teesta
+Valley. I was delighted to get into the "final push," and enjoyed the
+few days' change from surveying to climbing, enormously; except that I
+felt the cold very much in my feet, and had it not been for Mallory's
+good offices--he rubbed my feet for a solid hour after we came down from
+Chang La--I feel sure that the result might have been much more serious
+than the slight discomfort I afterwards experienced.
+
+I took three stations in the neighbourhood of No. 1 Camp--one on either
+side of the Kh[=a]rta Glacier, and one at 22,300 feet on the "Lhakpa
+La." This was on snow, with my instrument resting on, and steadied by,
+bags of "tsampa"; which proved to be a most excellent substitute for
+rock!
+
+On September 26 I crossed with Colonel Bury and Wollaston to the K[=a]ma
+Valley; unfortunately, we only had two clear days there, and I had to
+leave it without covering as much ground as I should have liked,
+though--as usual--I spent my days in snowstorms, hoping for breaks in
+the clouds.
+
+The return to Darjeeling via the Serpo La, L[=a]chen, and the Teesta
+Valley, made a pleasant change from the Ph[=a]ri route; but again bad
+weather spoiled our views, and we saw nothing at all of Kanchenjunga
+and its neighbours. Raeburn went in by the usual road via Gangtok; Heron
+and I followed the river--an excellent route in spite of the prevalence
+of leeches--and reached Pashok on October 19. Heron went on to
+Darjeeling, a further 18 miles, the same day. I followed on the 20th.
+
+I enjoyed the Expedition and my work with it, thoroughly; but in my
+opinion, Tibet, at any rate that portion of it in which we were, is a
+place to have _been_, rather than one to go to!
+
+
+
+
+                               APPENDIX III
+
+            A NOTE ON THE GEOLOGICAL RESULTS OF THE EXPEDITION
+
+         BY A. M. HERON, D.Sc., F.G.S., Geological Survey of India.
+
+
+The area geologically examined is somewhat over 8,000 square miles,
+comprising the Tibetan portion of the Arun drainage area, with, in the
+West, the headwaters of the Bhotia Kosi and its tributaries.
+
+The circumstances of the Expedition were not favourable for work in any
+detail, but an endeavour was made to traverse and map as large an area
+as possible on a scale of ¼-inch to the mile, on skeleton maps very
+kindly furnished by Major Morshead and his surveyors as their
+plane-tabling proceeded; my work must therefore be considered as a
+geological reconnaissance pure and simple.
+
+If I am accorded the privilege of accompanying the second Expedition, by
+which time Major Wheeler's map on a scale of 1-inch to the mile will be
+available, I hope to be able to make a detailed survey of the vicinity
+of Mount Everest and investigate the complicated inter-relationships of
+the metamorphosed sedimentaries and the associated gneisses and
+granites.
+
+My survey continues to the Westward Sir Henry Hayden's work during the
+Tibet Expedition in 1903-4.
+
+Geologically this area is divided into two broad divisions: (_a_)
+Tibetan and sedimentary, (_b_) Himalayan and crystalline, a distinction
+which is clearly displayed in the topography resulting from the
+underlying geological structure, for to the North we have the somewhat
+tame and lumpy mountains of Tibet contrasting with the higher, steeper
+and more rugged Himalayas on the South.
+
+The Tibetan zone consists of an intensely folded succession of shales
+and limestones, with subordinate sandstone quartzites, the folds
+striking East-West and mainly lying over towards the South, showing that
+the movements which produced them came from the North.
+
+The uppermost rocks consist of the Kampa system of Hayden, a great
+thickness of limestones, which, where the rocks have escaped
+alteration, yield an assemblage of fossils which determine their age as
+Cretaceous and Eocene.
+
+Below these is a monotonous succession of shales, practically
+unfossiliferous, with occasional quartzites and limestones representing
+the Upper and Middle Jurassic with at the base beds probably belonging
+to the Lias.
+
+These Jurassic shales are by far the most conspicuous formation in this
+part of Tibet, being repeated many times in complicated folds.
+
+The Cretaceous-Eocene limestones form comparatively narrow bands,
+occurring as compressed synclines caught up in the folded complex of
+Jurassic shales.
+
+Along the Southern border of the Tibetan zone, below the base of the
+Jurassic shales, is a great thickness (2,000 feet-3,000 feet) of thinly
+bedded limestones in which the fossils have been destroyed and the rocks
+themselves converted over considerable areas into crystalline limestones
+and calc-gneisses containing tremolite, epidote, tourmaline, etc., but
+still retaining their original bedded structure in the banding of the
+altered rock.
+
+The absence of determinable fossils makes it impossible to determine the
+age of these with certainty, but from their lithological character and
+position in the sequence, it is possible that they correspond with the
+Tso Lhamo limestone in Sikkim (Lias) and the Kioto limestone of the
+Zangskar range (Lower Jurassic and Upper Trias).
+
+The Himalayan and crystalline zone is essentially composed of foliated
+and banded biotite-gneiss, usually garnetiferous, on which lie, at
+comparatively low angles and with a general Northerly dip, the
+above-mentioned calc-gneisses.
+
+These occur most abundantly to the North and West of Everest, in the
+Keprak, Rongbu, Hlalung and Rebu Valleys. The group of high peaks to the
+North-west of Everest (overlooking the Khombu Pass) is made up of these
+and intrusive schorl granite, and it would seem that the precipitous
+North-western face and spurs of Everest are the same.
+
+The Eastern and North-eastern valleys, Chongphu, Kharta and Kama, which
+are in general at a lower level than the North-western valleys, are
+excavated in the biotite-gneiss. On the North-eastern face of Everest
+fresh snow was too abundant at the time of my visit to make out what the
+rocks were.
+
+Associated with the limestones and calc-gneisses are quartzites and
+tourmaline-biotite schists which probably represent the lowest portions
+of the shales immediately overlying the limestones.
+
+It is probable that the biotite-gneiss is an igneous rock intrusive in
+the calc-gneisses and schists, but this and many other puzzling features
+of the crystallines require more detailed study than I was able to give
+this year.
+
+Both biotite-gneiss and metamorphosed sedimentaries are crowded with
+dykes and sills, of all dimensions, of schorl granite or pegmatite to
+such an extent that this granite is frequently the predominant rock. It
+is highly resistant to weathering and it is doubtless due to its
+presence in large amount that such comparatively soft rocks as the
+calc-gneisses take part in forming some of the highest summits.
+
+In the same way the scattered peaks of over 20,000 feet on the watershed
+between the Arun and the Tsangpo owe their prominence to their being
+groups of veins of a very similar granite, differing in that it contains
+biotite in place of schorl. Around these separate centres of intrusion
+are areoles of metamorphism in which the Jurassic shales have been
+converted into slates and phyllites.
+
+Economically the area traversed by the Expedition is devoid of interest.
+Barring a little copper staining on a few boulders on moraines no traces
+of ore were seen.
+
+
+
+
+                                APPENDIX IV
+
+                         THE SCIENTIFIC EQUIPMENT
+
+   BY A. R. HINKS, F.R.S., Secretary of the Royal Geographical Society.
+
+
+The most important scientific work of the first year's expedition should
+have been the study of the physiological effects of high altitude that
+Dr. Kellas had undertaken, with the support of Professor Haldane,
+F.R.S., and of the Oxygen Research Committee of the Department of
+Scientific and Industrial Research. In his work on Kamet in 1920,
+Dr. Kellas had tried, and provisionally decided against, the use of
+oxygen compressed in cylinders: but he laboured under the grave
+disadvantage that the light cylinders he hoped to obtain had been, after
+his departure for India, pronounced unsafe; and the cylinders sent out
+were clearly too heavy for effective use in climbing. Dr. Kellas had
+therefore fallen back on the use of oxygen prepared from the reaction
+between water and oxylith in an apparatus which included a kind of gas
+mask. He was prepared also to make several difficult researches into the
+physiological processes of adaptation to low oxygen pressure; and some
+delicate apparatus was prepared and sent out to him by the Oxygen
+Research Committee. Unhappily these interesting and important enquiries
+came to nought, for there was no one competent to carry them on after
+his lamented death at Kampa Dzong; and the Expedition of 1922 was
+thereby deprived of much information that should have been at its
+disposal in studying the use of oxygen for the grand assault.
+
+The scientific equipment for which the Mount Everest Committee were
+directly responsible was not ambitious: the Survey of India were
+responsible for the whole of the survey and brought their own equipment,
+which is described elsewhere in this book. It was necessary to provide
+the climbing party only with aneroids, compasses, reserve field-glasses,
+thermometers and cameras, with subsidiary apparatus for checking the
+aneroids at the base camps, and heavier cameras for work at lower
+levels.
+
+The aneroids by Cary, Porter & Co. and by Short & Mason were
+constructed in pairs, to operate from 15,000 to 23,000, and 22,000 to
+30,000 feet respectively. They seem to have performed well on the whole,
+and tests made at the National Physical Laboratory since their return
+show that they have changed very little; but it cannot be said that
+their performances were very effectively controlled in the field, for
+until late in the season there were no trigonometrical heights
+available, and the climbers had little opportunity in their rather
+isolated circumstances of employing their aneroids to the best
+advantage, for purely differential work. Nor is there much to be said as
+yet on the value of the shortened form of George mercurial barometer, to
+come into action only at 15,000 feet (Cary, Porter & Co.). These
+instruments will find effective use only in the second season, when the
+reference points of the trigonometrical survey will be available as
+fundamental data.
+
+The climbers carried "Magnapole" compasses with luminous points, and
+sometimes a Mark VIII prismatic; these all worked well. The simpler
+compass is the more convenient for use on snow when goggles must be
+worn. A luminous liquid compass (Short & Mason) was found very useful on
+long reconnaissance rides.
+
+For the record of temperatures in camps Messrs. Negretti & Zambra had
+made three small pairs of maximum and minimum thermometers in leather
+travelling cases. These suffered some casualties, by theft, or being
+accidentally left out in the sun; and the pattern has been repeated for
+the second year's work.
+
+The heavier photographic equipment included an old and well-seasoned
+7½ × 5 Hare Camera, lent to the Expedition, but newly fitted by Messrs.
+Dallmeyer with a Stigmatic lens of 9 inches focal length, a negative
+telephoto lens of 4 inches focal length giving enlargement up to 6
+times, and a set of Wratten filters. With this camera Mr. Wollaston
+secured some of the finest pictures taken on the Expedition.
+
+There were also two quarter-plate cameras for glass plates: a Sinclair
+Una camera fitted by Messrs. Dallmeyer with a Stigmatic lens of 5.3
+inches focal length, and Adon telephoto lens; and a second Sinclair
+camera lent by Captain Noel.
+
+One or the other of these two was used by Mr. Mallory at many of the
+high camps, and both the Hare 7½ × 5 and the Sinclair quarter-plate went
+to the 22,500-foot camp at the Lhakpa La: doubtless the greatest height
+yet attained by so large a camera as the former. The principal
+difficulty with these cameras was unsteadiness in a heavy wind when the
+telephoto lens was in use: and the tripods have been strengthened and
+the lens supports stiffened before they go out again.
+
+The plates were of two kinds: Imperial Special Rapid and Fine Grain
+slow. The latter were generally preferred, and could hardly have been
+better. The Imperial Dry Plate Company, who generously made and
+presented these plates to the Expedition, deserve special thanks for
+their skill and for their generosity.
+
+The cameras which used films were a Panoram Kodak of 5 inches focal
+length, with films 12 × 4 inches; a No. 1 Autograph Kodak, and two Vest
+Pocket Kodaks, all three fitted with Cooke lenses by Messrs. Taylor,
+Taylor & Hobson. The Panoram Kodak was used very successfully by Colonel
+Howard-Bury, and the splendid series of panoramas is the most useful, if
+not quite the most beautiful, set of photographs brought home. The
+smaller cameras were used by the climbing party with many good results.
+
+Finally it must be said that a large part of the best photographs were
+taken by Colonel Howard-Bury with his own 7 × 5 Kodak, and the results
+very generously placed at the disposal of the Committee.
+
+All the instruments were examined and tested at the National Physical
+Laboratory, and the thanks of the Committee are due to the Director and
+his staff, who gave most valuable advice and assistance.
+
+
+
+
+                                APPENDIX V
+
+           MAMMALS, BIRDS AND PLANTS COLLECTED BY THE EXPEDITION
+
+                           BY A. F. R. WOLLASTON
+
+
+                       A.--LIST OF MAMMALS COLLECTED
+
+  Stoat. _Mustela temon_
+  Stoat. _Mustela longstaffi_
+  Marmot. _Marmota himalayana_
+  Hamster. _Cricetulus alticola tibetanus_, subsp. n.
+  Vole. _Phaiomys leucurus_
+  Vole. _Phaiomys everesti_
+  Vole. _Microtus_ (_Alticola_), sp.
+  Pika. _Ochotona roylei nepalensis_
+  Pika. _Ochotona wollastoni_, sp. n.
+  Pika. _Ochotona curzoniæ_
+
+
+                        B.--LIST OF BIRDS COLLECTED
+
+  Central Asian blackbird. _Turdus maxima_
+  Solitary thrush. _Monticola solitarius_
+  White-breasted Asiatic dipper. _Cinclus cashmirensis_
+  Indian stone-chat. _Saxicola torquata indica_
+  Gould's desert chat. _Saxicola montana_
+  Bush chat. _Pratincola prjevalskii_
+  Indian redstart. _Ruticilla rufiventris_
+  Guldenstadt's Afghan redstart. _Ruticilla grandis_
+  White-capped redstart. _Chimarrhornis leucocephalus_
+  Hodgson's grandala. _Grandala c[oe]licolor_
+  Tickell's willow-warbler. _Phylloscopus affinis_
+  Mandelli's willow-warbler. _Phylloscopus mandellii_
+  Smoky willow-warbler. _Phylloscopus fulviventris_
+  Spotted bush-warbler. _Lusciniola thoracica_
+  Prince Henry's laughing thrush. _Trochalopterum henrici_
+  Eastern alpine accentor. _Accentor rufiliatus_
+  Red-breasted accentor. _Accentor rubeculoides_
+  Rufous-breasted accentor. _Accentor strophiatus_
+  Brown accentor. _Accentor fulvescens_
+  Sikkim black tit. _Parus beavani_
+  Wren. _Troglodytes_, sp.
+  Hodgson's pied wagtail. _Motacilla hodgsoni_
+  White-faced wagtail. _Motacilla leucopsis_
+  Yellow-headed wagtail. _Motacilla citreola._
+  Blyth's pipit. _Anthus citreola_
+  Indian tree-pipit. _Anthus maculatus_
+  Hodgson's pipit. _Anthus rosaceus_
+  Grey-backed shrike. _Lanius tephronotus_
+  Slaty-blue flycatcher. _Cyornis leucomelanurus_
+  Himalayan greenfinch. _Hypacanthis spinoides_
+  Tree-sparrow. _Passer montanus_
+  Cinnamon tree-sparrow. _Passer cinnamomeus_
+  Blanford's snow-finch. _Montifringilla blanfordi_
+  Adams' snow-finch. _Montifringilla adamsi._
+  Hodgson's ground-finch. _Fringilauda nemoricola_
+  Brandt's ground-linnet. _Leucosticte brandti._
+  Walton's twite. _Linota rufostrigata_
+  Red-breasted rose-finch. _Pyrrhospiza punicea_
+  Scarlet rose-finch. _Carpodacus erythrinus_
+  Hodgson's rose-finch. _Carpodacus pulcherrimus_
+  Severtzoff's rose-finch. _Carpodacus severtzoi_
+  Prejewalk's rose-finch. _Carpodacus rubicilloides_
+  Red-headed bullfinch. _Pyrrhula erythrocephala_
+  Godlevski's meadow bunting. _Emberiza godlevskii_
+  Elwes' shore-lark. _Otocorys elwesi_
+  Long-billed calandra lark. _Melanocorpha maxima_
+  Tibetan skylark. _Alauda inopinata_
+  Short-toed lark. _Calandrella brachydactyla_
+  Brook's short-toed lark. _Calandrella acutirostris tibetana_
+  Chough. _Pyrrhocorax graculus_
+  Brown ground-chough. _Podoces humilis_
+  Common hoopoe. _Upupa epops_
+  Pied crested cuckoo. _Coccystes jacobinus_
+  Eastern little owl. _Athene bactriana_
+  White-backed dove. _Columba leuconota_
+  Snow partridge. _Lerwa lerwa_
+  Temminck's stint. _Tringa temmincki_
+  Redshank. _Totanus calidris_
+  Dusky redshank. _Totanus fuscus_
+  Greater sand plover. _Aegialitis mongola_
+  Common tern. _Sterna fluviatilis_
+
+In addition to the above the following birds were identified, but
+specimens of them were not obtained:--
+
+  Wall-creeper
+  House martin
+  Sand martin
+  Rock martin
+  Alpine chough
+  Magpie
+  Black crow
+  Raven
+  Swift
+  Siberian swift
+  Cuckoo
+  Himalayan vulture
+  Lämmergeier
+  Sea eagle
+  Pallas' sea eagle
+  Black-eared kite
+  Barheaded goose
+  Ruddy sheldrake
+  Garganey
+  Wigeon
+  Pochard
+  Gadwall
+  Hill rock-dove
+  Chinese turtle dove
+  Tibetan partridge
+  Tibetan snow partridge
+  Blood pheasant
+  Black-necked crane
+  White stork
+  Ibis-bill
+  Painted snipe
+  Pin-tailed snipe
+  Brown-headed gull
+
+
+C.--LIST OF PLANTS COLLECTED BETWEEN JUNE AND SEPTEMBER, 1921,
+12,000-20,400 FT.
+
+  Clematis orientalis, L.
+  Ranunculus pulchellus, C. A. Mey., var. sericeus, Hk. f. & T.
+  Ranunculus pulchellus, C. A. Mey.
+  Anemone obtusiloba, Don
+  Anemone polyanthes, Don
+  Anemone rivularis, Ham.
+  Geranium Grevilleanum, Wall.
+  Caltha scaposa, Hk. f. & T.
+  Delphinium Brunonianum, Royle
+  Aconitum gymnandrum, Max.
+  Aconitum orochryseum, Stapf, sp. nov.
+  Delphinium Pylzowii, Maxim.
+  Halenia elliptica, Don
+  Delphinium grandiflorum, L.
+  Hypecoum leptocarpum, Hk. f. & T.
+  Meconopsis horridula, Hk. f. & T.
+  Meconopsis grandis, Prain?
+  Meconopsis, sp.
+  Corydalis, sp.
+  Corydalis juncea, Wall.
+  Corydalis Moorcroftiana, Wall.
+  Arabis tibetica, Hk. f. & T.
+  Lepidium ruderale, L.
+  Arenaria ciliolata, Edgew.
+  Dilophia salsa, Hk. f. & T.
+  Cardamine macrophylla, Willd.
+  Arenaria Stracheyi, Edgew.
+  Silene Waltoni, F. N. Williams
+  Silene Moorcroftiana, Wall.
+  Arenaria musciformis, Wall.
+  Arenaria melandrioides, Edgew.
+  Polygonum islandicum, Hk. f.
+  Geranium collinum, A. DC.
+  Impatiens sulcatus, Wall.
+  Thermopsis barbata, Royle
+  Thermopsis lanceolata, R. Br.
+  Sophora Moorcroftiana, Benth.
+  Stracheya tibetica, Benth.
+  Astragalus strictus, Grah.
+  Oxytropis microphylla, DC
+  Gueldenstædtia uniflora, Benth.
+  Desmodium nutans, Wall.
+  Potentilla coriandrifolia, Hk. f.
+  Potentilla multifida, L.
+  Potentilla sericea, L.
+  Potentilla microphylla, Don
+  Potentilla peduncularis, Don
+  Potentilla Griffithii, Hk. f.
+  Spiræa arcuata, Hk. f.
+  Saxifraga Lychnitis, Hk. f. & T.
+  Saxifraga nutans, Hk. f. & T.
+  Saxifraga aristulata, Hk. f.
+  Saxifraga near S. saginoides, Hk. f. & T.
+  Saxifraga flagellaris, Willd.
+  Saxifraga Hirculus, L.
+  Saxifraga Lychnitis, Hk. f. & T.
+  Saxifraga fimbriata, Wall.
+  Saxifraga pilifera, Hk. f. & T.
+  Saxifraga Caveana, W. W. Sm.
+  Saxifraga microphylla, Royle
+  Saxifraga pallida, Wall.
+  Saxifraga umbellulata, Hk. f. &  T.
+  Parnassia ovata, Ledeb.
+  Parnassia pusilla, Wall.
+  Eutrema Prewalskii, Hk. f. & T.
+  Sedum fastigiatum, Hk. f. & T.
+  Sedum trifidum, Wall.
+  Sedum crenulatum, Hk. f. & T.
+  Sedum himalense, Don
+  Epilobium palustre, L.
+  Epilobium reticulatum, C. B. Cl.
+  Pleurospermum Hookeri, C. B. Cl.
+  Scabiosa Hookeri, C. B. Cl.
+  Valeriana Hardwickii, Wall.
+  Aster, sp.
+  Aster heterochætus, C. B. Cl.
+  Allardia glabra, Dene.
+  Aster tibeticus, Hk. f.
+  Cremanthodium Decaisnei, C. B. Cl.
+  Aster diplostephioides, C. B. Cl.
+  Erigeron, sp.
+  Leontopodium fimbrilligerum, J. R. Drum.?
+  Leontopodium monocephalum, Edgew.
+  Leontopodium Stracheyi, C. B. Cl.
+  Anaphalis xylorhiza, Sch. Bip.
+  Anaphalis cuneifolia, Hook. f.
+  Tanacetum tibeticum, Hk. f. & T.
+  Senecio arnicoides, Wall. var. frigida, Hk. f.
+  Cremanthodium pinnatifidum, Benth.
+  Chrysanthemum Atkinsoni, C. B. Cl.?
+  Artemisia Moorcroftiana, Wall.
+  Sonchus sp.
+  Senecio glomerata, Decne.
+  Senecio (§ Ligularia) sp.
+  Senecio chrysanthemoides, DC.
+  Tanacetum khartense, Dunn, sp. nov.
+  Aster sp.
+  Lactuca macrantha, C. B. Cl.
+  Senecio sorocephala, Hemsl.
+  Saussurea gossypina, Wall.
+  Saussurea tridactyla, Sch. Bip.
+  Tanacetum gossypinum, Hk. f. & T.
+  Saussurea wernerioides, Sch. Bip.
+  Crepis glomerata, Hk. f.?
+  Saussurea graminifolia, Wall.
+  Senecio arnicoides, Wall.
+  Saussurea uniflora, Wall.
+  Morina polyphylla, Wall.
+  Saussurea glandulifera, Sch. Bip.
+  Lactuca Dubyæa, C. B. Cl.
+  Lactuca Lessertiana, C. B. Cl.
+  Cassiope fastigiata, D. Don
+  Daphne retusa, Hemsl.
+  Rhododendron lepidotum, Wall.
+  Rhododendron setosum, Don
+  Rhododendron near R. lepidotum, Wall.
+  Rhododendron campylocarpum, Hk. f.
+  Rhododendron cinnabarinum, Hk. f.
+  Rhododendron lanatum, Hk. f.
+  Rhododendron arboreum, Sm.
+  Rhododendron Thomsoni, Hk. f.
+  Cyananthus incanus, Hk. f. & T.
+  Glossocomia tenera, DC.
+  Cyananthus pedunculatus, C. B. Cl.
+  Campanula modesta, Hk. f. & T.
+  Campanula colorata, Wall.
+  Campanula aristata, Wall.
+  Androsace chamæjasme, Hort., var. coronata, Wall.
+  Androsace villosa, L. var.?
+  Androsace strigillosa, Franch.
+  Primula minutissima, Jacq.
+  Primula Buryana, Balf. f. sp. nov.
+  Primula Wollastonii, Balf. f. sp. nov.
+  Primula pusilla, Wall.
+  Primula sikkimensis, Hook, microform
+  Primula capitata, Hook.
+  Primula capitata, microform.
+  Primula uniflora, Klatt
+  Primula Dickieana, Watt.
+  Primula obliqua, W. W. Sm.
+  Primula indobella. Balf. f.
+  Primula minutissima, Jacq.
+  Primula glabra, Klatt
+  Primula Younghusbandii, sp. nov.
+  Primula tibetica, Watt.
+  Primula denticulata, Sm.
+  Primula sikkimensis, Hook.
+  Primula nivalis, Pallas, var. macrocarpa, Pax.
+  Gentiana am[oe]na, C. B. Cl.
+  Gentiana ornata, Wall.
+  Gentiana sp. Probably new but the material is too imperfect to decide
+      this.
+  Gentiana Elwesii, C. B. Cl.
+  Gentiana robusta, King
+  Gentiana micantiformis, Burkill
+  Gentiana nubigena, Edgew.
+  Gentiana tubiflora, Wall., var. longiflora, Turrill, var. nov.
+  Gentiana stellata, Turrill, sp. nov.
+  Gentiana tenella, Fries
+  Swertia cuneata, Wall.
+  Arenaria Stracheyi, Edgew.
+  Swertia Kingii, Hk. f.
+  Swertia Younghusbandii, Burkill
+  Swertia multicaulis, D. Don
+  Nardostachys grandiflora, DC.
+  Trigonotis rotundifolia, Benth.
+  Eritrichium densiflorum, Duthie
+  Microula sikkimensis, Hemsl.
+  Onosma Waddellii, Duthie
+  Onosma Hookeri, C. B. Cl.
+  Verbascum Thapsus, L.
+  Lancea tibetica, Hk. f. & T.
+  Lagotis crassifolia, Prain
+  Pedicularis trichoglossa, Hk. f.
+  Pedicularis Elwesii, Hk. f.
+  Pedicularis megalantha, Don, forma
+  Pedicularis megalantha, Don, var. pauciflora, Prain
+  Pedicularis Roylei, Maxim.
+  Pedicularis siphonantha, Don
+  Pedicularis cheilanthifolia, Schrank
+  Pedicularis tubiflora, Fischer
+  Pedicularis integrifolia, Hk. f.
+  Pedicularis globifera, Hk. f.
+  Incarvillea Younghusbandii, Sprague
+  Escholtzia eriostachya, Benth.
+  Nardostachys Iatamansi, DC.
+  Dracocephalum breviflorum, Turrill, sp. nov.
+  Dracocephalum tanguticum, Maxim.
+  Dracocephalum heterophyllum, Benth.
+  Dracocephalum speciosum, Benth.
+  Veronica lanuginosa, Benth.
+  Nepeta discolor, Benth.
+  Nepeta Thomsoni, Benth.
+  Atriplex rosea, L.
+  Polygonum vaccinifolium, Wall.
+  Polygonum viviparum, L.
+  Polygonum tortuosum, Don
+  Polygonum affine, Don
+  Polygonum amphibium, L.
+  Stellera chamæjasme, L.
+  Euphorbia Stracheyi, Boiss.
+  Orchis cylindrostachys, Kränzl.
+  Liparis sp.
+  Goodyera fusca, Lindl.
+  Dendrobium alpestre, Royle
+  Pleione Hookeriana, S. Moore
+  Orchis Chusna, Don
+  Roscoea purpurea, Sm.
+  Iris nepalensis, Don
+  Iris goniocarpa, Baker
+  Iris tenuifolia, Pallas
+  Lloydia tibetica, Baker
+  Lloydia sp.
+  Fritillaria Hookeri, Baker
+  Fritillaria near F. Stracheyi, Hk. f.
+  Fritillaria cirrhosa, Don
+  Allium, sp.
+  Allium Wallichii, Kunth
+  Allium Govenianum, Wall.?
+  Allium cyaneum, Regel
+  Larix Griffithii, Hk. f.
+  Dryopteris Linneana, C. Chr.
+  Dryopteris Filix-mas, var. serrato-dentata, C. Chr.
+  Cryptogramma Brunoniana, Wall.
+  Calophaca crassicaulis, Benth.
+  Glaux maritima, L.
+  Androsace sessiliflora, Turrill, sp. nov.
+  Astragalus oreotrophes, W. W. Sm.
+  Thamnolia vermicularis, Schær.
+  Stereocaulon alpinus, Laur.
+  Thelochistes flavicans, Norm.
+
+NOTE.--The material of some of the numbers was insufficient for accurate
+determination; in a few cases the material necessary for comparison was
+on loan, and in the case of one or two genera, such as _Aster_, revision
+of the North Asian and Indian species will have to be undertaken before
+certain plants can be definitely named. The numbers in the list coming
+under these categories are named "---- sp."
+
+                                          ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS, KEW.
+
+                                                         _March 7, 1922._
+
+
+
+
+                                   INDEX
+
+  Abdul Jalil, photographic assistant, 59, 319
+  Abruzzi, Duke of the, 2, 3, 5, 155
+  Acchu, cook, 103, 133, 178
+  Acclimatisation to high altitudes, 277, 308, 341
+  Alpine Club, 1, 7, 14-19, 305
+  Altitude, effects on human frame, 5, 102, 104-5, 137-8, 154-5, 199, 204,
+    206-7, 253-4, 276, 307-8, 315, 341; on breathing, 200, 243-4, 277; on
+    tinned fish, 50
+  Ammo-chu, river, 39, 44, 291
+  Aneroids, 341
+  Ang Tenze, coolie, 113, 149-51, 166
+  Ari, bungalow, 33
+  Arun, river, 89, 104-5; gorges, 110, 125, 221, 297, 298; _see_ Bhong-chu
+  Avalanches, 231, 267-9, 308-9
+
+  Bailey, Major, 31, 314
+  Bamtso, lake, 49
+  Bell, Sir Charles, 16, 24, 166
+  Bhompo's, Buddhist sect, 39
+  Bhong-chu, river, 64-5, 69-71, 89-90, 93, 99, 100, 110, 159, 161, 295;
+    upper valley, 320, 322; _see_ Arun
+  Bhotias, 24
+  Bhotia ponies, 27
+  Bhotia Kosi, river, 338
+  Birds, 290-303, 312, 344-6
+  Brahma Putra, river, 61; _see_ Tsangpo
+  Bridges, 69, 93-4, 103, 115, 123, 159-60, 191
+  Bruce, General, 1, 3, 13, 17, 154, 312
+  Buchan, J., 19
+  Buddhism and Buddhists, 25, 67-8, 173; books, 41; red cap sect, 173;
+    yellow cap sect, 58, 173; regard for animal life, 59, 80, 166, 290;
+    _see_ Monasteries, prayer-wheels
+  Bullock, G. H., 19, 26, 52; _see_ Mallory
+  Bullocks, 48, etc.;  _see_ Transport
+  Burrard, Sir S., 10-12
+  Carpo-ri, mountain, 227; ascended, 117, 229-35, 268
+  Chamlang, mountain, 140
+  Chandra Nursery, 32
+  Chang La (North Col), 142; first view of, 204, 207, 212, 220; way to,
+    233-40, 246-8, 256; camp on, 259-60; best route to, 273-4, 311-12,
+    334-5
+  Changtse, North peak of Everest, 142, 213, 215, 233-4
+  Chelmsford, Lord, 16
+  Chheten Wangdi, interpreter, 25, 39, 69, 91, 95, 112, 162, 179
+  Chinese in Tibet, 38-9, 71-2, 173; in Nepal, 71
+  Chitayn, coolie, 212
+  Chöbuk, monastery and bridge, 82, 95, 190, 191, 312, 327
+  Chödzong, village, 86
+  Chog La, 106, 121, 129, 299-300
+  Choksum, village, 324
+  Chomiomo, mountain, 52, 54, 140, 166
+  Chomolhari, mountain, 45, 48, 60, 64, 167, 263
+  Chomolönzo, mountain, 114, 116, 149-51
+  Chomolungma (Mount Everest or Makalu), 13, 24, 107, 224
+  Chomo-Uri (Mount Everest), 64
+  Chorabsang, mountain, 77-8; (= Cho Rapsang, 331)
+  Chortens, 40, 66, 174, 286, etc.
+  Cho Uyo, mountain, 73, 76, 78, 101, 207, 219, 330
+  Chöyling monastery, 194
+  Chulungphu, village, 89, 104
+  Chumbi valley, 25, 37-44, 170, 177-8; village, 38; fauna and flora, 291
+  Chushar Nango, village, 60-61, 131, 134, 295
+  Chuphar, village and monastery, 327
+  Chu-tronu, 123
+  Collie, J. N., 17-18
+  Compasses, 342
+  Conway, Sir M., 4, 5
+  Coolies, 23-5; behaviour, 47, 146, 156, 213, 216, 222-3, etc.; as
+    carriers, 92-4, 113, 122, 158, 284-6; _see_ Transport; in
+    mountaineering, 84, 188, 195, 203-6, 212, 230, 251 ff., 332
+  Crampons, 207-8, 272  Cups of tea, as measures of distance, 108
+  Curios, 67, 157
+  Curzon, Lord, 1, 19
+
+  Dak, village, 93
+  Dalai Lama, the, 16, 173
+  Darjeeling, 23-28, 179
+  Dasno, coolie, 234
+  Desiccation, 51
+  Dochen, bungalow, 49, 168
+  Dokcho, village, 321
+  Donka monastery, 40-42
+  Donkeys, 48, 64, 65, etc.; _See_ Transport
+  Dorje, cook, 50
+  Dorji Gompa, coolie, 202, 256
+  Doto nunnery, 51
+  Doya La, 88, 104, 336
+  Dram, village, 325
+  Drophung monastery, 323
+  Dug pass, 50
+  Dukpa, cook, 134, 188
+  Dunge pokri, island, 127
+  Dzakar (or Zakar) Chu, river, 93-5, 159, 297, 333
+
+  Eaton, J. E. C., 17
+  Equipment, 20, 315, 341
+  Everest, Mount, 1-2, 183; position, 9, 13; height, 10-12; names, 13, 64,
+    225; seen from Khamba Dzong, 54, 56, 183-4; from Shiling, 64, 186-88,
+    217, 230, 263; from Rongbuk Valley, 192, 263-4; from Kama Valley, 116,
+    226; local ignorance of, 107, 112, 116; structure, 192-4, 203, 215,
+    310; best season for ascent, 153, 248, 270; difficulties of, 154, 276,
+    308; plans for, in 1921, 250-52
+  -- -- Committee, 16 ff.
+  -- -- Expedition, origin of, 14-16; value of, 5; objects, 17-18; cost,
+    19; equipment, 20, 315, 341; results, 179-80, 310-12, 338, 341. _See_
+    Survey
+  Everest, Sir G., 13
+
+  Farrar, Captain J. P., 14, 17, 19, 315
+  Finch, Captain G., 19, 313, 315
+  "Finger," the, station, 335-6
+  Fourteen lakes, valley of the, 106, 121; fauna and flora, 299
+  Fowkes, Sergeant, 28
+  Freshfield, D. W., 1, 14-16, 18
+  Fuel, 80, 105, 171, 211, 237, 247, 273, 331
+
+  Gadompa, village and bridge, 160-61
+  Galinka, village and monastery, 40
+  Gandenchöfel monastery, 108, 131
+  Gauri Sankar, mountain, 288, 326, 331
+  Gautsa, bungalow, 44
+  Gelupka (= Yellow Cap) sect, 173
+  Geshe Rimpoche, Lama, 40
+  Ghoom, 29
+  Glaciers, ancient extent of, 128; characteristics, 194, 197, 218;
+    atmosphere, 200, 243, 270
+  Gnatong, village, 35-6, 178
+  Gosainthan, mountain, 64, 101, 284, 322-3
+  Graham, Dr., 30-31
+  _Graphic_, the, 19
+  Gujjar Singh, surveyor, 319, 323-7
+  Gurkhas in Tibet, 71, 95, 106
+  Guru Rimpoche, saint, 173
+  Gyachung Kang, mountain, 207, 219, 330
+  Gyalzen Kazi, interpreter, 25, 56, 133, 137, 163, 177-8, 188, 190, 202,
+    323
+  Gyangka-nangpa, house, 62, 184
+  Gyanka range of mountains, 184
+
+  Haldane, J. S., 341
+  Halung, village, 86-7, 103, 240; valley, 339
+  Hari Ram, explorer, 319, 324
+  Harvest rents, 161, 174
+  _Hatarana_, steamer, 24
+  Hayden, Sir H., 338
+  Hermits, 80, 83-4, 99
+  Heron, Dr. A. M., 20, 26; expeditions from Tingri, 74, 77-85, 98, 120,
+    325; first expedition to Kharta, 86-95, 162, 164, 179-80; in Upper
+    Kharta Valley, 253; returns by Kama Valley, 146-153, 337, and Teesta
+    Valley, 164, 337; note on geological results, 338-340
+  Himalaya, 7-8, 11, 304 ff.; H. and the Alps, 194
+  Hinks, A. R., 17, 20, 315; notes on scientific equipment, 341-2
+  Holdich, Sir T., 15
+  Hopaphema, landowner, 91-3, 104, 108, 111-12, 157-8
+  Hot springs. _See_ Kambu, Tsamda
+  Howard-Bury, Colonel C. K., 13, 15, 17, 20, 343; author of the general
+    narrative of the expedition, 23-180; expeditions from Tingri, 75-85;
+    first expedition to Kharta, 86-95; expeditions from Kharta, 106-111;
+    visits Kama Valley, 112 ff.; ascent of 19,500 ft. ridge, 116;  of Kama
+    Changri, 136-7; of Lhakpa La, 140-145, 257 ff.
+  Huc, abbé, 293
+
+  India Office, 16
+  India, Government of, 16, 23
+  -- Survey of, 20, 26-7, 341
+  Interpreters, 25, 47; discretion of, 108
+  Isaacs, Mr., 39
+  "Island," the, 209, 213, 219
+
+  Jack, Colonel E. M., 17, 20, 315
+  Jannu, mountain, 117, 135, 140
+  Jelep La, 36, 37, 178, 290, 291 note
+  Jetsun-Nga-Wang-Chöfel, saint, 109, 325
+  Jongpens, 174-5, 283, 324
+  Jonsong, mountain, 47, 140
+
+  Kabru, mountain, 26, 47, 168
+  Kala-tso, lake, 51
+  Kalimpong, village, 29-30
+  Kama Valley, 112-119, 146-52, 225-7, 311, 339; fauna and flora, 300-01
+  Kama Changri, mountain, 114, 136-7
+  Kama-chu, river, 122-4
+  Kambu hot springs, 40-43; valley, 291
+  Kanchenjunga, mountain, 9, 46, 117, 135, 140, 185
+  Kanchenjhow, mountain, 52, 54, 104, 166
+  Kang-chu, river, 325
+  Kangchen and -chung passes, 326
+  Kangdoshung glacier, 115-16
+  Kangshung glacier, 149-51
+  Karpo La, 147
+  Karro Pumri, mountain, 326
+  Kartse, mountain, 141
+  Kellas, A. M., 14, 18, 26, 341; illness and death, 46-49, 52-54, 164,
+    321
+  Khamba Dzong, fort and village, 13, 24, 53-57, 96, 164
+  Kharkung, village, 161
+  Kharta, 24, 90; first visit to, 88-93; headquarters of the expedition,
+    104-5, 110; survey of, 323, 327; valley formation, 339;  fauna and
+    flora, 299, 301-03
+  Khartaphu, mountain, 330
+  Khe or Khetam, village, 50-51
+  Kheru, 51
+  Khombu pass, 76, 78-9, 312, 339
+  -- valley, 150-51
+  Kimonanga, village, 124
+  Korabak, rock, 124
+  Kuti (= Nyenyam), village, 324
+  Kyetrak, village and valley, 74-77, 327, 331
+  -- glacier, 70, 77-79, 312;
+  river, 79
+  Kyishong, village, 65, 102
+
+  Lachen, 56, 337
+  Lalbir Singh Thapa, surveyor, 319, 322, 327
+  Lamna La, 81, 327
+  Langkor, village and temple, 281, 323
+  Langma La, 112-13, 130, 224
+  Langra, rest-house, 37, 178
+  Lapche, village and monastery, 287, 325-6
+  Lapche Kang, mountain, 115, 284-5, 325
+  Lashar, village, 161
+  Lebong, races at, 27
+  Leeches, 34-5, 123-4, 126, 300, 337
+  Lhakpa La (Windy Gap), 138, 161, 273-4; first visits to, 240-249, 255-6;
+    camp on, 140-44, 257-8, 261
+  Lhasa, 16, 24, 173, 174; road to, 48-49
+  Lhonak peaks, 52
+  Lhotse, mountain (S. peak of Everest), 116, 213
+  Lingga, village, 57, 163-4
+  Lingmatang, plain, 40, 44, 291
+  Longstaff, Dr. T. G., 1, 5, 314
+  Lumeh, village, 93-4, 159
+  Lungchen La, 322
+  Lungdö, village, 110, 125
+  Lunghi, 167
+
+  Macdonald, David and family, 31, 38, 177
+  Makalu, mountain, 104, 116, 118-19, 137, 186, 225-6, etc.; glacier, 151
+  Mallory, G. H. L., 19, 26, 313; reconnoitres N. approach to Everest, 74,
+    181-220; ascends Ri-Ring (23,050 ft.), 205-7, 264; moves to Kharta,
+    102-106; reconnoitres E. approach to Everest, 117, 221-249; back to
+    Kharta, 130; ascends Kama Changri, 136-7; final assault and ascent of
+    North Col, 131-145, 250-261; leaves Kharta, 153; views on weather
+    conditions, 262-72; on the route up Everest, 273-79
+  Mammals, 290-303, 312, 344, etc.
+  Mani Walls, 40, 174, etc.
+  Maps of Tibet, 62
+  "Marigolds, Field of," 119, 152
+  Matsang, village, 125
+  Meade, C. F., 5, 17, 19
+  Mendalongkyo, 129
+  Mende, village, 57
+  Menkhap-to and -me, villages, 322
+  Menlung pass, 327
+  "Metohkangmi," 141
+  Mila Respa, saint, 287
+  Monasteries, 99, 113, 173. _See_ Donka, Galinka, Ganden Chöfel, Rongbuk,
+    Shekar Chöte, etc.
+  Monsoon, 31, 48, 88, 91, 139, 216, 248, 262 ff. _See_ Rainfall
+  Morshead, Major H. T., 20, 25-27, 54, 65, 75, 96; trip to Nyenyam, 97,
+    108, 281-9, 323-5; at Kharta, 112; survey of Kharta Valley, 131-2,
+    135; first ascent of Lhakpa La, 130, 230-49; ascends Kama Changri,
+    136-7; second ascent of Lhakpa La, 140-144, 253-8; map by, 312, 338;
+    account of survey by, 319-28
+  Mountain sickness, 207, 258, 323. _See_ Altitude
+  Mountaineering, 2-4, 6-8, 305-6
+  Mules, lent by Government, 27-8; breakdown of, 33-4; Tibetan, 32-33, 48,
+    etc. _See_ Transport
+
+  Nangba (= Khombu), pass, 77, 331
+  Narsing, mountain, 26
+  Nathu La, 37
+  Nawang Lobsang, first Dalai Lama, 173
+  Nepal, 13
+  Nepalese coolies, 25, 122; invasion of Tibet, 71, 73; traders, 122, 127,
+    324; herdsmen, 126
+  Nezogu bridge, 100, 102
+  Ngawangyonten, official, 94
+  Nieves penitentes, 78
+  Nila pass, 61, 184
+  Noel, Major J. B. L., 14, 314
+  Nomads, 51, 171
+  North Col of Everest, 212, 215. _See_ Chang La
+  North cwm of Everest, 200, 203-4
+  North peak. _See_ Chang-tse
+  North-East Arête, 215, 227, 235, 250-51, 259, 274-6, 310
+  Norton, Major E. F., 313
+  Nuns and nunneries, 51, 80, 83, 166
+  Nyenyam, 73, 97, 108, 283-4, 297, 324
+  Nyima Tendu, coolie, 113, 149-51, 234
+
+  Oxygen for climbers, 154, 277, 307-8, 315-16, 341
+
+  Padamchen (= Sedongchen), 33
+  Padma Sambhava, saint, 173
+  Pashok, 337
+  Pawhunri mountains, 46, 52, 54, 166
+  Pedong, 31-2
+  Pekhu plain, 322
+  Peshoke, bungalow, 29
+  Pethang Ringmo, 116, 138
+  Pethangtse, mountain, 117, 147
+  Phari, fort and village, 24, 35, 45-8, 168; plain, 46, 292
+  Pharuk, district, 323, 327
+  Phema, village, 38
+  _Philadelphia Ledger_, the, 19
+  Photography, 68, 72-3, 91, 156, 216-17, 314, 315, 342-3, etc.; perils
+    of, 74-5; surveying by, 320, 329-30
+  Phuri, village, 322
+  Phuse La. _See_ Pusi pass
+  Pilgrims, 70, 99, 121
+  Plants, 290-302, 312, 346-50, etc.
+  Pö-chu, river, 284-5, 297-8, 323-4
+  Ponglet, view from, 188, 218, 263
+  Ponies, 27, 34, 48, 87, 101, etc. _See_ Transport
+  Poo, coolie, 75, 113, 156, 178
+  Popti La, 106, 126-7, 300
+  Postal arrangements, 96-7, 131, 135
+  Prayer wheels, 39-40, 53, 91, 98, 110, 174, 289
+  Primus stoves, 142-3, 154, 208, 315, 331
+  Pulahari, village, 281
+  Pulme, 94
+  Pumori, mountain, 209
+  Punagang monastery, 39
+  Pusi pass, 77, 79, 289 (= Phuse La, 327, 330)
+
+  Quiok, pass, 159
+
+  Rabkar-chu, river and glacier, 115
+  Ra-chu, river, 70, 330
+  Rainfall, 29, 37, 56, 99, 105, 262 ff.
+  Rawling, Major, 13-14
+  Reading, Lord, 23
+  Rebu, village, 87, 103; valley, 339
+  Rhenock, 32
+  Ri-Ring, mountain, ascended, 205-6, 270, 311
+  Richengong, village, 38, 291
+  Ronaldshay, Lord, 23, 179
+  Rongbuk, glacier, 84; central and W. branches explored, 194-220;
+    E. branch, 142, 216-18, 238-40, 247-9, 273-4, 334-6; stream from,
+    199, 218
+  -- monastery, 83
+  -- valley, 82, 191, 339
+  Rongkong, village, 63
+  Rongli, bungalow, 32, 178
+  Rongme, village, 63
+  Rongshar, valley, 77, 288-9, 298, 325-6
+  Ruddamlamtso, lake, 121, 128
+  Rugby, Tibetan boys at, 172
+  Ryder, Colonel C. H. D., 13, 319
+
+  Sakeding, village, 121-22, 127-8
+  Samchung, pass, 106, 121, 129
+  Sand dunes, 58, 63-4, 295
+  Sandakphu, 12, 13
+  Sanglu, coolie, 254, 256-7
+  Sedongchen, village, 33-4
+  Senchal, 29
+  Serpo-La, 164, 337
+  Shao La, 112, 118, 153
+  Sharto, village, 75, 330
+  Shassi (= New Yatung), 38
+  Shatog, village, 162
+  Shekar-Chöte, monastery, 67-8, 94
+  Shekar Dzong, fort and village, 45, 66-7, 96, 295
+  Sherpa Bhotias, coolies, 24, 188, 224, 252
+  Shidag, nunnery, 51
+  Shigatse, 51, 55, 174
+  Shiling, 161, 188. _See_ Everest, Mount
+  Shung-chu, river, 79
+  Shurim Tso, lake, 114
+  Sikkim, survey of, 27, 320-21, 327; journey through, 29-36; flora of,
+    _ibid._
+  Siniolchum, mountain, 46
+  Sipri mountains, 99
+  Skis, 158
+  Snow, 248, 254, 264-8;  temperature of, 270; powdery, 171, 231, 243,
+    256; powdery snow and wind, 139, 142, 144, 159, 167-8, 259-60, 271,
+    etc.
+  Snow-blindness, 103, 167, 171
+  Snowfall, 37, 171
+  Snow line, 56
+  Snow men, the abominable, 141
+  Snow shoes, 137, 211-14, 232, 243, 254, 265, 270
+  Somers Cocks, E. L., 16
+  Somervell, H. T., 312, 313
+  Strutt, Colonel E. L., 313
+  Sun's rays, 270, 308
+  Survey work of expedition, 179, 312. _See_ Heron, Morshead, Wheeler
+  Sutso plain, 99, 321-22
+
+  Takda, cantonment, 29
+  Tamba Sanye, saint, 281, 323
+  Tameness of animals, 59-60, 76-77, 80, 83, 88, 94, 131
+  Tang La, 48, 167, 323
+  Tang-pün-sum, plain, 48
+  Tangsham, 114, 117, 152
+  Targyeling, village, 324
+  Tasang, village, 79, 289, 327
+  Tashi Dzom, 95
+  Tashilumpo monastery, 51, 173
+  Tashishong, 325
+  Tatsang, nunnery, 52, 165-6
+  Teesta Valley, 27, 29-30, 164, 337
+  Temperature, 269-70, 308, 342
+  Tents, airlessness of, 143, 154, 258
+  Thermometers, 342
+  Thrashing, 164
+  Thung-La, 282; fauna and flora, 297
+  Tibet, 13, 36, 170 ff.; geology of, 338; Government, 173-4; helps the
+    expedition, 16, 24, 45, etc.
+  Tibetans, 170 ff.
+  Tibetan beer, 57, 125, 156; bread, 125; burial, 74, 133; climate, 49,
+    176; coinage and currency, 47, 59, 123; coolies, 223-4; houses, 38,
+    89, 321; marriage, 74; meals, 48, 59, 62, 67, 101, 108, etc.; mules,
+    177-9; ornaments, 73, 101, 107; ponies, 27, 55, 101, 176;
+    superstitions, 66, 72, 109, 122, 141, 174, 282; tea, 41, etc.
+  _Times_, newspaper, 19, 156
+  Tingri, 70-75, 95-101; plain of, 70; its fauna and flora, 96, 295-7;
+    origin of name, 282, 323
+  Tinki, fort and village, 58, 162; birds of, 294; pass, 60, 162, 321;
+    flowers of, 295
+  Trangso Chumbab, rest-house, 65
+  Transport, 27-8, 34-5, 45, 48, 60, 65, 69, 86, 92, 158-9, 165, 173, 284.
+    _See_  Coolies, Mules, Yaks
+  Trintang, village, 326
+  Tropde, village, 326
+  Tsakor, village, 70
+  Tsamda, hot springs, 99, 321
+  Tsampa, 172-3, 222, 337
+  Tsang, province, 319
+  Tsangpo, river, 319-20
+  Tsering, five peaks, 326
+  Tsogo, 65, 159
+  Tsomotretung, lake, 61
+  Tsong Kapa, monk, 173
+  Tulsi Dass, gardener, 32
+  Tulung, village, 323
+  Tuna, rest-house, 48
+  Turubaz Khan, surveyor, 319, 321
+
+  Wakefield, Dr. A. W., 313
+  Waugh, Sir A., 10, 12, 13
+  Weather. _See_ Monsoon, Rainfall, Wind
+  West cwm of Everest, 208-9, 212, 214
+  Wheeler, Major, E. O., 20, 26, 52, 164, 252, 320; expedition to Kyetrak,
+    74, 77-81, 98, 330-33; to Rongbuk Valley, 102, 333-36; discovers
+    E. Rongbuk glacier, 217, 240, 247-8, 334; arrives at Kharta, 249; to
+    Lhakpa La, 140-44, 257; to Chang La, 144-5, 258-61; returns by Kama
+    Valley, 146-153, 337, and Teesta Valley, 164, 337; map by, 312, 328,
+    338; account of photographic survey by, 329-337
+  Wind, 50, 72, 75, 147-8, 171, 178, 265, 308, 342. _See_ Snow
+  Wollaston, A. F. R., 20, 26; returns with Raeburn to Sikkim, 56; rejoins
+    at Tingri, 74, 75, 96; trip to Nyenyam, 97, 108, 323-25; described by
+    him, 281-89; at Kharta, 249; to Lhakpa La, 140 ff., 257-8; returns by
+    Kama Valley, 146-153, 165, 342; natural history notes by, 290-303,
+    344-350; collections, 312
+
+  Yaks, 61, 81, 161, 171, 286, 294, etc.
+  Yaru, river, 56-7, 61-3, 101-2
+  Yatung, 38-9, 177
+  Younghusband, Sir F., 1, 15-17, 19, 20
+  Zachar-chu. _See_ Dzakar-chu
+
+  Zambu, village, 81
+
+                     *       *       *       *       *
+
+_Printed in Great Britain by_ Butler & Tanner, _Frome and London_
+
+                     *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: MAP I.
+
+PRELIMINARY MAP to illustrate the route of the MOUNT EVEREST EXPEDITION
+1921.
+
+Reduced from the map on the scale 1/253440
+
+by Major Morshead and assistants of the Survey of India, accompanying the
+expedition: the neighbourhood of the Mountain from Map II.
+
+Scale 1/750,000 or 1 Inch = 11·84 Stat. Miles.]
+
+                     *       *       *       *       *
+
+[Illustration: MAP II
+
+Preliminary Map of MOUNT EVEREST
+
+constructed at the R. G. S. from photographs and sketches made by the
+EXPEDITION of 1921]
+
+                     *       *       *       *       *
+
+[Illustration: MAP III
+
+THE GEOLOGY of the MOUNT EVEREST REGION from the surveys of
+Dr. A. M. HERON
+
+Geological Survey of India 1921.
+
+The topography from Map I.
+
+Scale 1/750,000 or 1 Inch = 11·84 Stat. Miles.
+
+                     *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+The table below lists all corrections applied to the original text.
+
+  p ix: Kama Valley. Kangchenjunga -> Kanchenjunga
+  p 12: Ladnia     |     1849     |    108    |   29,998 -> 28,998
+  p 13: call it Chomo-lungmo -> Chomolungma
+  p 24: Despatched -> Dispatched
+  p 26: two, Gujar -> Gujjar
+  p 44: of the Ammochu -> Ammo-chu
+  P 54: KAMPA -> KHAMBA
+  p 64: known as Chomo-lungma-> Chomolungma
+  p 101: and raisins as a -> an
+  p 107: right up to Chomo-lungma -> Chomolungma
+  p 109: saint called Jetsun-Nga-Wang-Chhöfel -> Chöfel
+  p 133: the great lammergeier -> Lämmergeier
+  p 138: VALLEY. Kangchenjunga -> Kanchenjunga
+  p 146: to Kharta viâ-> via
+  p 149: cliffs of Chomolonzo -> Chomolönzo
+  p 149: formed by Chomolonzo -> Chomolönzo
+  p 163: a couple of Gargany -> Garganey
+  p 188: might be required we -> required. We
+  p 236: toiled over the nevé -> névé
+  p 265: snow-shoes on nevé -> névé
+  p 271: before the next moonsoon -> monsoon
+  p 275: offering a détour -> detour
+  p 290: Rongbuk Valley the burrhel -> burhel
+  p 291: Dippers, wag-tails -> wagtails
+  p 294: packs of widgeon -> wigeon
+  p 302: of a wolf. Burrhel -> Burhel
+  p 302: Dippers (_Cinclus cashmiriensis_) -> cashmirensis_)
+  p 302: daily by lammergeier -> Lämmergeier
+  p 302: seen was a lammergeier -> Lämmergeier
+  p 303: Birds, _Ibis._ -> _Ibid._
+  p 309: the broken debris -> débris
+  p 311: its satellite Chomo-Lönzo -> Chomolönzo
+  p 322: hares, some ram-chakor -> ramchakor
+  p 322: a young, week-old barhal -> burhel
+  p 323: with the interpreter Gyaldzan -> Gyalzen
+  p 325: by Nepalese subjects (Sharpas) -> (Sherpas)
+  p 326: summit of Gaurisankar -> Gauri-Sankar
+  p 327: Bhong Chu below Lungdo -> Lungdö
+  p 330: plain to the village of Shärto -> Sharto
+  p 333: I took a 20,000-foot tation -> station
+  p 337: Darjeeling via Lachen -> L[=a]chen
+  p 337: on either side of the Kharta -> Kh[=a]rta
+  p 337: at all of Kangchenjunga -> Kanchenjunga
+  p 339: Lhamo limestone in Sikhim -> Sikkim
+  p 339: overlooking the Khumbu -> Khombu
+  p 345: Calandrella acutirostris tibitana -> tibetana
+  p 346: Greater sand plover. _Aægialitis -> _Aegialitis
+  p 346: Lammergeier -> Lämmergeier
+  p 351: Bhompos -> Bhompo's
+  p 351: _see_ Tsan-po -> Tsangpo
+  p 351: Carpo-Ri -> Carpo-ri
+  p 351: Chang La (North Col) -> (North Col),
+  p 351: first view of, 204; -> 204,
+  p 351: Chodzong -> Chödzong
+  p 351: Choyling -> Chöyling
+  p 352: 65, etc. -> etc.;
+  p 352: results -> results,
+  p 353: to Kharta, 86-95; -> 86-95,
+  p 353: Jetsun-Nga-Wang-Chhöfel -> Chöfel
+  p 354: Lungdo -> Lungdö
+  p 354: Monasteries, 99, 113, 173 -> 173.
+  p 354: Ganden Chhofel -> Chöfel
+  p 354: _See_ rainfall -> Rainfall
+  p 354: _See_ altitude -> Altitude
+  p 355: Samchang -> Samchung
+  p 355: flora of, _ibid_ -> _ibid._
+  p 356: Tsang-po -> Tsangpo
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Mount Everest the Reconnaissance, 1921, by 
+Charles Kenneth Howard-Bury and George H. Leigh-Mallory and A. F. R. Wollaston
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+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Mount Everest the Reconnaissance, 1921, by 
+Charles Kenneth Howard-Bury and George H. Leigh-Mallory and A. F. R. Wollaston
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license
+
+
+Title: Mount Everest the Reconnaissance, 1921
+
+Author: Charles Kenneth Howard-Bury
+        George H. Leigh-Mallory
+        A. F. R. Wollaston
+
+Release Date: April 10, 2012 [EBook #39421]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MOUNT EVEREST ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Jens Nordmann, Greg Bergquist and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<div class="note">
+<p class="center"><b>Transcriber's Note</b></p>
+<p style="text-indent: 0;">The original spelling and minor inconsistencies
+in the spelling and formatting have been maintained. Obvious misprints were corrected
+and <ins title="like this">marked-up</ins>. The original text will be
+displayed as a mouse-over pop-up.</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="hr65" />
+
+<p style="text-align: center; font-size: 250%; font-weight: bold; text-indent: 0;">MOUNT EVEREST</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/img_005.jpg" width="316" height="500"
+        alt="see caption"
+        title="see caption" />
+        <a id="img_005"></a>
+<p class="caption"><i>The Summit</i>.</p>
+</div>
+
+<h1>MOUNT EVEREST</h1>
+
+<p class="title"><span style="font-size: 200%; font-weight: bold;">THE RECONNAISSANCE, 1921</span>
+<br /><br /><br /><br />
+<span style="font-size: 120%;">By</span><br />
+<span style="font-size: 150%;">Lieut.-Col. C. K. HOWARD-BURY, D.S.O.</span><br /><br />
+AND OTHER MEMBERS OF THE MOUNT EVEREST EXPEDITION
+<br /><br /><br /><br />
+<span style="font-size: 125%;"><i>WITH ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS</i></span>
+<br /><br /><br /><br />
+<span style="font-size: 140%;">LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO.</span><br />
+<span style="font-size: 120%;">55 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK</span><br />
+LONDON: EDWARD ARNOLD&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;CO.<br />
+<span style="font-size: 110%;">1922</span></p>
+
+<hr class="hr65" />
+
+<h2>PREFACE</h2>
+
+<p>The Mount Everest Committee of the Royal Geographical
+Society and the Alpine Club desire to express their thanks
+to Colonel Howard-Bury, Mr.&nbsp;Wollaston, Mr.&nbsp;Mallory, Major
+Morshead, Major Wheeler and Dr.&nbsp;Heron for the trouble
+they have taken to write so soon after their return an account
+of their several parts in the joint work of the Expedition.
+They have thereby enabled the present Expedition to start
+with full knowledge of the results of the reconnaissance,
+and the public to follow the progress of the attempt to reach
+the summit with full information at hand.</p>
+
+<p>The Committee also wish to take this opportunity of
+thanking the Imperial Dry Plate Company for having generously
+presented photographic plates to the Expedition and
+so contributed to the production of the excellent photographs
+that have been brought back.</p>
+
+<p>They also desire to thank the Peninsular and Oriental
+Steam Navigation Company for their liberality in allowing
+the members to travel at reduced fares; and the Government
+of India for allowing the stores and equipment of the
+Expedition to enter India free of duty.</p>
+
+<table id="p008" summary="preface">
+  <tr>
+    <td>J. E. C. <span class="smcap">Eaton</span></td>
+    <td rowspan="2" valign="middle"><span style="font-size: 200%;">}</span></td>
+    <td rowspan="2" valign="middle"><i>Hon. Secretaries.</i></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>A. R. <span class="smcap">Hinks</span></td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+
+<hr class="hr65" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[vii]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>CONTENTS</h2>
+
+<table summary="TOC">
+  <tr>
+    <td align="right" colspan="3"><small>PAGE</small></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="center" colspan="2"><span class="smcap">Introduction.</span> By <span class="smcap">Sir Francis Younghusband</span>, K.C.S.I., K.C.I.E.,<br />
+President of the Royal Geographical Society</td>
+    <td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="center" colspan="3">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="center" colspan="3">THE NARRATIVE OF THE EXPEDITION<br />
+By <span class="smcap">Lieut.-Col. C. K. Howard-Bury</span>, D.S.O.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="right">CHAP.</td>
+    <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="right">I</td>
+    <td align="left"><span class="smcap">From Darjeeling through Sikkim</span></td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#Page_23">23</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="right">II</td>
+    <td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Chumbi Valley and the Tibetan Plateau</span></td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#Page_37">37</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="right">III</td>
+    <td align="left"><span class="smcap">From Khamba Dzong through Unknown Country to Tingri</span></td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#Page_55">55</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="right">IV</td>
+    <td align="left"><span class="smcap">Tingri and the Country to the South</span></td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#Page_71">71</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="right">V</td>
+    <td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Search for Kharta</span></td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#Page_86">86</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="right">VI</td>
+    <td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Move to Kharta</span></td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#Page_98">98</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="right">VII</td>
+    <td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Kama Valley</span></td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#Page_112">112</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="right">VIII</td>
+    <td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Upper Kharta Valley and the 20,000-foot Camp</span></td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#Page_130">130</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="right">IX</td>
+    <td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Return to Kharta by the Kama Valley</span></td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#Page_146">146</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="right">X</td>
+    <td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Return Journey to Phari</span></td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#Page_156">156</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="right">XI</td>
+    <td align="left"><span class="smcap">Back to Civilisation</span></td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#Page_170">170</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="center" colspan="3">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="center" colspan="3">THE RECONNAISSANCE OF THE MOUNTAIN<br />
+By <span class="smcap">George H. Leigh-Mallory</span></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="right">XII</td>
+    <td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Northern Approach</span></td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#Page_183">183</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="right">XIII</td>
+    <td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Northern Approach (<i>continued</i>)</span></td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#Page_203">203</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="right">XIV</td>
+    <td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Eastern Approach</span></td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#Page_221">221</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="right">XV</td>
+    <td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Assault</span></td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#Page_250">250</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="right">XVI</td>
+    <td align="left"><span class="smcap">Weather and Condition of Snow</span></td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#Page_262">262</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="right">XVII</td>
+    <td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Route to the Summit</span></td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#Page_273">273</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="center" colspan="3">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="center" colspan="3">NATURAL HISTORY<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[viii]</a></span><br />
+By A. F. R. <span class="smcap">Wollaston</span></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="right">XVIII</td>
+    <td align="left"><span class="smcap">An Excursion to Nyenyam and Lapche Kang</span></td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#Page_281">281</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="right">XIX</td>
+    <td align="left"><span class="smcap">Natural History Notes</span></td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#Page_290">290</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="center" colspan="3"><hr class="hr35" /></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="right">XX</td>
+    <td align="left"><span class="smcap">An Appreciation of the Reconnaissance.</span> By <span class="smcap">Professor
+Norman Collie</span>, F.R.S., President of the Alpine Club</td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#Page_304">304</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="center" colspan="3">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="center" colspan="3">APPENDICES</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="right">I</td>
+    <td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Survey.</span> By Major H. T. <span class="smcap">Morshead</span>, D.S.O.</td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#Page_319">319</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="right">II</td>
+    <td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Photographic Survey.</span> By Major E. O. <span class="smcap">Wheeler</span>, M.C.</td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#Page_329">329</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="right">III</td>
+    <td align="left"><span class="smcap">A Note on the Geological Results of the Expedition.</span>
+By A. M. <span class="smcap">Heron</span>, D.Sc., F.G.S., Geological Survey of India</td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#Page_338">338</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="right">IV</td>
+    <td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Scientific Equipment.</span> By A. R. <span class="smcap">Hinks</span>, F.R.S.,
+Secretary of the Royal Geographical Society</td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#Page_341">341</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="right">V</td>
+    <td align="left"><span class="smcap">Mammals, Birds and Plants collected by the Expedition.</span>
+By A. F. R. <span class="smcap">Wollaston</span></td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#Page_344">344</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>&nbsp;</td>
+    <td align="left"><span class="smcap">Index</span></td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#Page_351">351</a></td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+
+<hr class="hr65" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[ix]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2>
+
+<table summary="Illustrations">
+  <tr>
+    <td>&nbsp;</td>
+    <td align="right">FACING<br />PAGE</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">The Summit<span style="margin-left: 25em;"><a href="#img_005"><i>Frontispiece</i></a></span></td>
+    <td>&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">Chomolhari from the South</td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#img_046">46</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">Loading up at Dochen</td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#img_050">50</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">Kampa Dzong</td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#img_054">54</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">Tinki Dzong</td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#img_058">58</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">Gyangka Range from near Chushar</td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#img_062">62</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">Shekar Dzong</td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#img_066">66</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">The Abbot of Shekar Chöte</td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#img_068">68</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">Military Governor, his Wife and Mother</td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#img_100">100</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">The Dzongpen of Kharta and his Wife</td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#img_106">106</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">Lamas of Kharta Monastery</td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#img_110">110</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">Makalu from 21,500-foot peak on ridge south of Kama-chu</td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#img_112">112</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">Makalu and Chomolönzo</td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#img_114">114</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">Cliffs of Chomolönzo from camp at Pethang Ringmo</td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#img_116">116</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">The Kama Valley</td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#img_118">118</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">Sea of cloud from peak north of Kama Valley. <ins title="Kangchenjunga">Kanchenjunga</ins> in distance</td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#img_138">138</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">Chomolönzo from the alp below the Langma La, Kama Valley</td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#img_150">150</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">Members of the Expedition</td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#img_178">178</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">Cho-Uyo</td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#img_190">190</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">Summit of Mount Everest and North Peak from the Island, West Rongbuk Glacier</td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#img_210">210</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">Mount Everest from the Rongbuk Glacier, nine miles north-west</td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#img_214">214</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">Summit of Mount Everest and South Peak from the Island, West Rongbuk Glacier</td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#img_218">218</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">Pethang-tse</td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#img_222">222</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">Summit of Makalu</td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#img_226">226</a><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x">[x]</a></span></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">South-east Ridge of Mount Everest from above the 20,000-foot camp, Kharta Valley</td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#img_230">230</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">North-east of Mount Everest and Chang La from Lhakpa La</td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#img_246">246</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">Mount Everest from the 20,000-foot camp&mdash;wind blowing snow off the mountain</td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#img_278">278</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">Temple at Lapche Kang</td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#img_286">286</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">Gauri-Sankar</td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#img_288">288</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">Lower Kama-chu</td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#img_290">290</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">Junipers in the Kama Valley</td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#img_294">294</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">Forest in the Kama Valley</td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#img_300">300</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">Mount Everest at sunset from the 20,000-foot camp, Kharta Valley</td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#img_316">316</a></td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+
+<hr class="hr65" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xi" id="Page_xi">[xi]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>LIST OF MAPS</h2>
+
+<table cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" summary="Maps">
+  <tr>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#img_357">I</a></td>
+    <td align="left">Map to illustrate the route of the Mount Everest Expedition. Scale 1/750,000</td>
+    <td><i>At end</i></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#img_358">II</a></td>
+    <td align="left">Map of Mount Everest. Scale 1/100,000</td>
+    <td align="center">&#8222;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#img_359">III</a></td>
+    <td align="left">Geological Map of the Mount Everest Region</td>
+    <td align="center">&#8222;</td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+
+<hr class="hr65" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>INTRODUCTION</h2>
+
+<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="smcap">By Sir</span> FRANCIS YOUNGHUSBAND, K.C.S.I., K.C.I.E.</p>
+
+<p>The idea of climbing Mount Everest has been vaguely
+in men's mind for thirty or forty years past. Certainly
+that veteran mountain-climber and mountain-lover, Douglas
+Freshfield, had it persistently rising within him as he broke
+away from the Swiss Alps and subdued the giants of the
+Caucasus and then sought still higher peaks to conquer.
+Lord Curzon also had had it in his mind, and when Viceroy
+of India had written suggesting that the Royal Geographical
+Society and the Alpine Club should make a joint exploration
+of the mountain. Bruce, Longstaff and Mumm would
+have made this exploration in 1905 if the permission of the
+Nepalese and Tibetan Governments had been available.
+So also would Rawling a few years later. All these, and
+doubtless others, had contemplated at least a preliminary
+reconnaissance of Mount Everest.</p>
+
+<p>But, so far as I know, the first man to propose a definite
+expedition to Mount Everest was the then Captain Bruce,
+who, when he and I were together in Chitral in 1893,
+proposed to me that we should make a glorious termination
+to a journey from Chinese Turkestan across Tibet by
+ascending Mount Everest. And it is Bruce who has held
+to the idea ever since and sought any opportunity that
+offered of getting at the mountain.</p>
+
+<p>It stands to reason that men with any zest for mountaineering
+could not possibly allow Mount Everest to remain<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span>
+untouched. The time, the opportunity, the money, the
+ability to make the necessary preliminary preparation
+might be lacking, but the wish and the will to stand on
+the summit of the world's highest mountain must have been
+in the heart of many a mountaineer since the Alps have
+been so firmly trampled under foot. The higher climbers
+climb, the higher they want to climb. It is certain that
+they will never rest content till the proudest peaks of the
+Himalaya are as subdued and tamed as the once dreaded
+summits of the Alps now are.</p>
+
+<p>Men simply cannot resist exercising and stretching to
+their fullest tether the faculties and aptitudes with which
+they each happen to be specially endowed. One born with
+an aptitude for painting is dull and morose and fidgety until
+he can get colours and a brush into his hand and commence
+painting. Another is itching to make things&mdash;to use his
+hands and fashion wood or stone or metal into forms which
+he is continually creating in his mind. Another is restless
+until he can sing. Another is ever pining to be on a public
+platform swaying the audience with his oratory and playing
+on their feelings as on a musical instrument. Each has
+his own inner aptitude which he aches to give vent to and
+bring into play. And more than this, he secretly owns
+within himself an exceedingly high standard&mdash;the highest
+standard&mdash;of what he wants to attain to along his own
+particular line, and he is never really content in his mind
+and at peace with himself when he is not stretching himself
+out to the full towards this high pinnacle which he has set
+before him.</p>
+
+<p>Now fortunately all men are not born with the same
+aptitudes. We do not all want to sing or all want to orate
+or all want to paint. Some few want to climb mountains.
+These men love to pit themselves against what most
+others would consider an insuperable obstacle. They enjoy
+measuring themselves against it and being forced to exercise
+all their energies and faculties to overcome it. The Duke
+of the Abruzzi is as good an example of this type as I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span>
+know. He was never happy until he had discovered some
+inaccessible and impracticable mountain and then thrown
+himself against it and come to grips with it in dead earnest
+and either conquered it or been thrown back from it utterly
+and completely exhausted, but with the satisfaction that
+anyhow he had exercised every nerve and muscle and faculty
+to the full. His native mountains he had early conquered
+over and over again, so he had to look further afield to Mount
+Elias in Alaska and Ruwenzori in East Africa; and having
+vanquished these he would doubtless have turned his eyes
+to Mount Everest if for political reasons the way to that
+mountain had not been barred, and he was compelled
+therefore to look to the next highest mountain, namely, the
+peak K2 in the Karakoram Himalaya in the neighbourhood
+of which he attained to a greater height, 24,600 feet, than
+has yet been attained by any man on foot.</p>
+
+<p>The Duke no doubt is human and would like his name
+to go down to posterity as having conquered some
+conspicuously lofty and difficult peak. But undoubtedly
+the ruling passion with him would be this love of pitting
+himself against a great mountain and feeling that he was
+being forced to exert himself to the full. To such men a
+tussle with a mountain is a real tonic&mdash;something bracing
+and refreshing. And even if they are laid out flat by the
+mountain instead of standing triumphant on its summit
+they have enjoyed the struggle and would go back for
+another if they ever had the chance.</p>
+
+<p>Others&mdash;like Bruce&mdash;climb from sheer exuberance of
+spirits. Blessed with boundless energy they revel in its
+exercise. It is only on the mountain side, breathing its
+pure air, buffeting against its storms, testing their nerve,
+running hair-breadth risks, exercising their intelligence and
+judgment, feeling their manhood and looking on Nature face
+to face and with open heart and mind that they are truly
+happy. For these men days on the mountain are days
+when they really live. And as the cobwebs in their brains
+get blown away, as the blood begins to course refreshingly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span>
+through their veins, as all their faculties become tuned up
+and their whole being becomes more sensitive, they detect
+appeals from Nature they had never heard before and see
+beauties which are revealed only to those who win them.
+They may not at the moment be aware of the deepest
+impressions they are receiving. But to those who have
+struggled with them the mountains reveal beauties they
+will not disclose to those who make no effort. That is the
+reward the mountains give to effort. And it is because they
+have much to give and give it so lavishly to those who will
+wrestle with them that men love the mountains and go back
+to them again and again.</p>
+
+<p>And naturally the mountains reserve their choicest gifts
+for those who stand upon their summits. The climber's
+vision is then no longer confined and enclosed. He can see
+now all round. His width of outlook is enlarged to its full
+extremity. He sees in every direction. He has a sense of
+being raised above the world and being proudly conscious
+that he has raised himself there by his own exertions, he has
+a peculiar satisfaction and for the time forgets all frets and
+worries in the serener atmosphere in which he now for a
+moment dwells.</p>
+
+<p>And it is only for a moment that he can dwell there. For
+men cannot always live on the heights. They must come
+down to the plains again and engage in the practical life of
+the world. But the vision from the heights never leaves
+them. They want to return there. They want to reach a
+higher height. Their standard of achievement rises. And
+so it has come about that mountaineers when they had
+climbed the highest heights in Europe went off to the
+Caucasus, to the Andes, and eventually to the Himalaya
+to climb something higher still. Freshfield conquered the
+Caucasus, Whymper and Conway the Andes, and the
+assault upon the Himalaya is now in full swing.</p>
+
+<p>It is therefore only in the natural course of things that
+men should want to climb the highest summit of the
+Himalaya. And though those who set out to climb Mount<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span>
+Everest will probably think little of the eventual results,
+being perfectly satisfied in their own minds, without any
+elaborate reasoning, that what they are attempting is
+something supremely worth while, yet it is easy for lookers
+on to see that much unexpected good will result from their
+activities. The climbers will be actuated by sheer love of
+mountaineering, and that is enough for them. But climbing
+Mount Everest is no futile and useless performance of
+no satisfaction to anyone but the climbers. Results will
+follow from it of the highest value to mankind at large.</p>
+
+<p>For the climbers are unwittingly carrying out an
+experiment of momentous consequence to mankind. They
+are testing the capacity of the human race to stand the
+highest altitudes on this earth which is its home. No
+scientific man, no physiologist or physician, can now say
+for certain whether or not a human body can reach a height
+of 29,000 feet above the sea. We know that in an aeroplane
+he can be carried up to a much greater height. But we do
+not know whether he can climb on his own feet such an
+altitude. That knowledge of men's capacity can only be
+acquired by practical experiment in the field.</p>
+
+<p>And in the process of acquiring the knowledge a valuable
+result will ensue. By testing their capacities men actually
+increase them. By exercising their capacities to the full
+mountaineers seem to enlarge them. A century ago the
+ascent of Mount Blanc seemed the limit of human capacity.
+Nowadays hundreds ascend the mountain every year. And
+going further afield men ascended the highest peaks in the
+Caucasus and then in the Andes and have been reaching
+higher and higher altitudes in the Himalaya. Conway
+reached 23,000 feet, Kellas 23,186 feet, Longstaff 23,360
+feet, Dr.&nbsp;Workman 23,000 feet, Kellas and Meade 23,600
+feet and the Duke of the Abruzzi 24,600 feet. It looks therefore
+as if man by attempting more was actually making
+himself capable of achieving more. By straining after the
+highest he is increasing his capacity to attain it.</p>
+
+<p>In this measuring of themselves against the mountains<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span>
+men are indeed very like puppies crawling about and testing
+their capacities on their surroundings&mdash;crawling up on to
+some obstacle, tumbling back discomfited but returning
+gallantly to the attack and at last triumphantly surmounting
+it. Thus do they find out what they can do and how they
+stand in relation to their surroundings. Also by exercising
+and stretching their muscles and faculties to the full they
+actually increase their capacity.</p>
+
+<p>Men are still only in the puppy stage of existence. We
+are prone to think ourselves very &ldquo;grown up&rdquo; but really
+we are only in our childhood. In the latest discussions as
+to the period of time which must have elapsed since life
+first appeared upon this earth a period of the order of a
+thousand million years was named. But of that immense
+period man has been in existence for only a quarter or half
+a million years. So the probability is that he has still long
+years before him and must be now only in his childhood&mdash;in
+his puppyhood. We certainly find that as he inquisitively
+looks about his surroundings and measures himself
+against them he is steadily increasing his mastery over them.
+In the last five hundred years record after record has
+been beaten. Men have ventured more and shown more
+adaptability and a sterner hardihood and endurance than
+ever before. They have ventured across the oceans,
+circumnavigated the globe, reached the poles, risen into the
+air, and it can be only a question of time&mdash;a few months
+or a few years&mdash;before they reach the highest summit of
+the earth.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;What then?&rdquo; some will ask. &ldquo;Suppose men do
+reach the top of Mount Everest, what then?&rdquo; &ldquo;Suppose
+we do establish the fact that man has the capacity to surmount
+the highest summit of his surroundings, of what good is that
+knowledge?&rdquo; This is the kind of question promoters of
+the enterprise continually have to answer. One reply is
+obvious. The sight of climbers struggling upwards to the
+supreme pinnacle will have taught men to lift their eyes
+unto the hills&mdash;to raise them off the ground and direct them,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span>
+if only for a moment, to something pure and lofty and
+satisfying to that inner craving for the worthiest which all
+men have hidden in their souls. And when they see men
+thrown back at first but venturing again and again to the
+assault till with faltering footsteps and gasping breaths
+they at last reach the summit they will thrill with pride.
+They will no longer be obsessed with the thought of what
+mites they are in comparison with the mountains&mdash;how
+insignificant they are beside their material surroundings.
+They will have a proper pride in themselves and a well-grounded
+faith in the capacity of spirit to dominate material.</p>
+
+<p>And direct practical results flow from this increasing
+confidence which man is acquiring in face of the mountains.
+A century ago Napoleon's crossing of the Alps was thought
+an astounding feat. During the last thirty years troops&mdash;and
+Indian troops&mdash;have been moved about the Himalaya
+in all seasons and crossed passes over 15,000 feet above sea
+level in the depth of winter. On the Gilgit frontier, in
+Chitral, and in Tibet, neither cold nor snow nor wind stopped
+them. In winter or in summer, in spring or in autumn,
+they have faced the Himalayan passes. And they have
+been able to negotiate them successfully because of their
+increased knowledge of men's capacities and of the way
+to overcome difficulties that constant wrestling with
+mountains in all parts of the world during the last half-century
+has given. The activities of the Alpine Club have
+produced direct practical results in the movement of troops
+in the Himalaya.</p>
+
+<p>More still will follow. When men have proved that
+they can surmount the highest peak in the Himalaya they
+will take heart to climb other peaks and become more and
+more at home in that wonderful region, extending for nigh
+two thousand miles from the Roof of the World in the North
+and West to the borders of Burma and China in the South
+and East and containing more than seventy peaks over
+24,000 feet in height&mdash;that is higher than any in the Andes,
+the second highest range of mountains in the world&mdash;and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span>
+more than eleven hundred peaks over 20,000 feet in height.
+This great mountain region which in Europe would stretch
+from Calais to the Caspian is one vast mine of beauty of
+every varied description. And a mine of beauty has this
+advantage over a mine of material wealth&mdash;that we can
+never exhaust it. And not only can we never exhaust it,
+but the more we take out the more we find, and the more
+we give away the richer we are. We may go on digging
+into a gold mine, but eventually we shall find there is no
+gold left. We shall have exhausted our mine. But we may
+dig into that mine of beauty in the Himalaya and never
+exhaust it. The more we dig the more we shall find&mdash;richer
+beauty, subtler beauty, more varied beauty&mdash;beauty of
+mountain form and beauty of pure and delicate colour,
+beauty of forest, beauty of river and beauty of lake and
+combined beauty of rushing torrent, precipitous cliff, richest
+vegetation and overtopping snowy summit. And when we
+have discovered these treasures and made them our own
+we can actually increase their value to ourselves by giving
+them away to others. By imparting to others the enjoyment
+which we have felt we shall have increased our own
+enjoyment.</p>
+
+<p>We cannot expect those who are first engaged in climbing
+Mount Everest to have the time or inclination to observe
+and describe the full beauty there is. They will be set on overcoming
+the physical difficulties and they will be so exhausted
+for the moment by the effort they will have made that they
+will not have the repose of mind which is so necessary for
+seeing and depicting beauty. But when they have pioneered
+the way and beaten down a path, others will more leisurely
+follow after. Many even of these may not be able to express
+in words or in picture the enjoyment they have felt and be
+able to communicate it to others. They may not be given
+to public speech or writing and may have no capacity for
+painting. The flame of their enjoyment may be kept sacred
+and hidden within them, and it may be only in the privacy
+of colloquy with some kindred soul that the white glow of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span>
+their enjoyment may ever be shown. But, others there
+may be who have the capacity for making the world at
+large share with them some little of the joy they have felt&mdash;who
+can make our nerves tingle and our blood course quicker,
+our eyes uplift themselves and our outlook widen as we
+go out with them to face and overcome the mountains.
+Such men as these from their very intimacy with the
+mountains are able to point out beauties which distant
+beholders would never suspect. And as Leslie Stephen
+through his love of mountains has been able to attract
+thousands to the Alps and given them enjoyment, clean
+and fresh, which but for him they might never have known,
+so we hope that in the fulness of time a greater Stephen
+will tell of the unsurpassable beauty of the Himalaya and
+by so doing add appreciably to the enjoyment of human
+life.</p>
+
+<hr class="hr45" />
+
+<p>Such are some of the advantages which men in general
+will obtain from the attempt to climb Mount Everest.
+But it is time now to say something of the mountain
+itself.</p>
+
+<p>Mount Everest for its size is a singularly shy and retiring
+mountain. It hides itself away behind other mountains.
+On the north side, in Tibet, it does indeed stand up proudly
+and alone, a true monarch among mountains. But it stands
+in a very sparsely inhabited part of Tibet, and very few
+people ever go to Tibet. From the Indian side only its
+tip appears among a mighty array of peaks which being
+nearer look higher. Consequently for a long time no one
+suspected Mount Everest of being the supreme mountain
+not only of the Himalaya but of the world. At the time
+when Hooker was making his Himalayan journeys&mdash;that
+was in 1849&mdash;Kanchenjunga was believed to be the highest.</p>
+
+<p>How it was eventually discovered to be the highest is
+a story worth recording. In the very year that Hooker
+was botanising in the Sikkim Himalaya the officers of the
+Great Trigonometrical Survey were making observations<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span>
+from the plains of India to the peaks in Nepal which could
+be seen from there. When they could find a native name
+for a peak they called it by that name. But in most cases
+no native name was forthcoming, and in those cases a Roman
+number was affixed to the peak. Among these unnamed
+peaks to which observations to determine the altitude and
+position were taken from stations in the plains was Peak XV.
+The observations were recorded, but the resulting height
+was not computed till three years later, and then one day the
+Bengali Chief Computer rushed into the room of the Surveyor-General,
+Sir Andrew Waugh, breathlessly exclaiming, &ldquo;Sir!
+I have discovered the highest mountain in the world.&rdquo; The
+mean result of all the observations taken from the six stations
+from which Peak XV had been observed came to 29,002
+feet, and this Peak XV is what is now known as Mount
+Everest.</p>
+
+<p>The question is often asked, &ldquo;Why twenty-nine thousand
+and two?&rdquo; &ldquo;Why be so particular about the two?&rdquo;
+The answer is that that particular figure is the mean of
+many observations. But it is not infallible. It is indeed
+in all probability below rather than above the mark, and
+a later computation of the observed results puts the height
+at 29,141 feet. In any case, however, there are, as Sir
+Sidney Burrard has pointed out in his discussion of this
+point in Burrard and Hayden's <i>Himalaya and Tibet</i>, many
+causes of slight error in observing and computing the altitude
+of a distant and very lofty peak. The observations are
+made with a theodolite. The telescope of the theodolite
+may not be absolutely perfect. The theodolite may not
+be levelled with perfect accuracy. The graduations on
+the circle of the theodolite may not be quite accurate. The
+observer himself may not have observed with sufficient
+perfection. An error of ten feet may have resulted from
+these causes. Then there are other and greater sources of
+possible error. There may be error in the assumed height
+of the observing station; and the altitudes of peaks are
+always varying in nature with the increase and decrease<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span>
+of snow in summer and winter and in a season of heavy
+snowfall or a season of light snowfall. Another source of
+error arises from the varying effects of gravitational attraction.
+&ldquo;The attraction of the great mass of the Himalaya
+and Tibet,&rdquo; says Burrard, &ldquo;pulls all liquids towards itself,
+as the moon attracts the ocean and the surface of the water
+assumes an irregular form at the foot of the Himalaya.
+If the ocean were to overflow Northern India its surface
+would be deformed by Himalayan attraction. The liquid
+in levels is similarly affected and theodolites cannot consequently
+be adjusted; their plates when levelled are still
+tilted upward towards the mountains, and angles of observation
+are too small by the amount the horizon is inclined to
+the tangential plane. At Darjeeling the surface of water
+in repose is inclined about 35&#782; to this plane, at Kurseong
+about 51&#782;, at Siliguri about 23&#782;, at Dehra Dun and Mussooree
+about 37&#782;. For this reason all angles of elevation to Himalayan
+peaks measured from the plains, as Mount Everest was
+measured, are too small and consequently all our values
+of Himalayan heights are too small. Errors of this nature
+range from 40 to 100 feet.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>This then is a considerable source of error, but the
+most serious source of uncertainty affecting the value of
+heights is the refraction of the atmosphere. A ray of light
+from a peak to an observer's eye does not travel along a
+straight line but assumes a curved path concave to the
+earth. The ray enters the observer's eye in a direction
+tangential to the curve at that point, and this is the direction
+in which the observer sees the peak. It makes the peak
+appear too high. Corrections have therefore to be applied.
+But there is no certainty as to what should be the amount
+of the correction; and it is now believed that the computers
+of the height of Mount Everest applied too great a correction
+for refraction and consequently reduced its height too
+much.</p>
+
+<p>Burrard brings together in the following table the different
+errors to which the carefully determined height of Mount<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span>
+Everest is liable:&mdash;</p>
+
+<table id="p012_1" cellspacing="2" cellpadding="2" summary="Height_1">
+  <tr>
+    <td class="td1">Source of error.</td>
+    <td class="td2">Magnitude of possible error.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="td3">Variation of snow level from the mean</td>
+    <td class="td2">Unknown</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">Errors of observation</td>
+    <td class="td4">10 feet</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">Adoption of erroneous height for observing station</td>
+    <td class="td4">10 feet</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">Deviation of gravity</td>
+    <td class="td4">60 feet, too small</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="td5">Atmospheric refraction</td>
+    <td class="td6">150 feet, too small</td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>The following table shows how the different values of
+the height of Mount Everest have been deduced:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="smcap">Height of Mount Everest</span></p>
+
+<table id="p012_2" cellspacing="2" cellpadding="2" summary="Height_2">
+  <tr>
+    <td class="td1">Observing station.</td>
+    <td class="td2">Year of<br />observation.</td>
+    <td class="td2">Distance<br />in miles.</td>
+    <td class="td2">Height as<br />determined<br />by Waugh.</td>
+    <td class="td2">Determination<br />of height<br />with revised<br />correction for<br />refraction.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="td3">&nbsp;</td>
+    <td class="td2">&nbsp;</td>
+    <td class="td2">&nbsp;</td>
+    <td class="td2">Feet</td>
+    <td class="td2">Feet</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">Jirol</td>
+    <td class="td4">1849</td>
+    <td class="td4">118</td>
+    <td class="td4">28,991</td>
+    <td class="td4">29,141</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">Mirzapur</td>
+    <td class="td4">1849</td>
+    <td class="td4">108</td>
+    <td class="td4">29,005</td>
+    <td class="td4">29,135</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">Joafpati</td>
+    <td class="td4">1849</td>
+    <td class="td4">108</td>
+    <td class="td4">29,001</td>
+    <td class="td4">29,117</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">Ladnia</td>
+    <td class="td4">1849</td>
+    <td class="td4">108</td>
+    <td class="td4"><ins title="29,998">28,998</ins></td>
+    <td class="td4">29,144</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">Harpur</td>
+    <td class="td4">1849</td>
+    <td class="td4">111</td>
+    <td class="td4">29,026</td>
+    <td class="td4">29,146</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">Minai</td>
+    <td class="td4">1850</td>
+    <td class="td4">113</td>
+    <td class="td4">28,990</td>
+    <td class="td4">29,160</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">Suberkum</td>
+    <td class="td4">1881</td>
+    <td class="td4">87</td>
+    <td class="td4">&mdash;</td>
+    <td class="td4">29,141</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">Suberkum</td>
+    <td class="td4">1883</td>
+    <td class="td4">87</td>
+    <td class="td4">&mdash;</td>
+    <td class="td4">29,127</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">Tiger Hill</td>
+    <td class="td4">1880</td>
+    <td class="td4">107</td>
+    <td class="td4">&mdash;</td>
+    <td class="td4">29,140</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">Sandakphu</td>
+    <td class="td4">1883</td>
+    <td class="td4">89</td>
+    <td class="td4">&mdash;</td>
+    <td class="td4">29,142</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">Phallut</td>
+    <td class="td4">1902</td>
+    <td class="td4">85</td>
+    <td class="td4">&mdash;</td>
+    <td class="td4">29,151</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="td5">Senchal</td>
+    <td class="td6">1902</td>
+    <td class="td6">108</td>
+    <td class="td6">&mdash;</td>
+    <td class="td6">29,134</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="td5">Mean</td>
+    <td class="td6">&mdash;</td>
+    <td class="td6">&mdash;</td>
+    <td class="td6">29,002</td>
+    <td class="td6">29,141</td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>The height 29,141 is still, Burrard thinks, too small, as
+it has yet to be corrected for the deviations of gravity. But
+though it is a more reliable result than 29,002, the latter is
+still to be retained in maps and publications of the Survey<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span>
+of India.</p>
+
+<p>As to the name, it was called Everest after the distinguished
+Surveyor-General of India under whose direction
+the triangulation had been carried out, one result of which
+was the discovery of the mountain. From the Indian
+side and Nepal it is not a conspicuous peak on account of
+its lying so far back. No native name for it could be
+discovered and Sir Andrew Waugh, the successor of Sir
+George Everest, called it after his predecessor. From the
+Tibetan side it is much more conspicuous and, as General
+Bruce stated in his lecture to the Royal Geographical Society
+in November 1920, and as Colonel Howard-Bury found
+in 1921, the Tibetans call it <ins title="Chomo-lungmo">Chomolungma</ins>, which Colonel
+Howard-Bury translated, the &ldquo;Goddess Mother of the
+Mountains&rdquo;&mdash;a most appropriate name. But the name
+Mount Everest is now so firmly established throughout the
+world that it would be impossible to change it. It is
+therefore now definitely adopted.</p>
+
+<p>Now, this mountain so coveted by mountaineers is
+unfortunately situated exactly on the border between two
+of the most secluded countries in the world&mdash;Nepal and
+Tibet. To reach it the climbers must pass through one
+or other of these countries and the difficulty of getting the
+necessary permission is what has so far prevented any
+attempt being made to attack Mount Everest. But recently
+access through Tibet has become more possible, and it so
+happens that it is on the Tibetan side that the summit seems
+most accessible. From the distant views that could be
+obtained of it from Sandakphu beyond Darjeeling and
+from Kampa Dzong in Tibet, a ridge running from the summit
+in a northerly direction seemed to give good promise of
+access. Major Ryder and Captain Rawling in 1904, viewing
+the mountain from a distance of sixty miles almost due
+north, thought the mountain might be approached from
+that direction. At the same time the Tibetans were
+distinctly more favourable to travellers than they had ever
+been before. The chances therefore of at least exploring<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span>
+Mount Everest were much more promising, and Major
+Rawling was planning an expedition of exploration when
+the war broke out and he was killed.</p>
+
+<p>Mr.&nbsp;Douglas Freshfield would certainly have taken the
+matter up during his Presidency of the Royal Geographical
+Society, but he had the misfortune to hold that post during
+the years of the war and no action was possible. But as
+soon as the war was over interest in Mount Everest revived.
+In March 1919 Captain J. B. L. Noel read a paper to the
+Royal Geographical Society describing a reconnaissance
+he had made in the direction of the mountain in the year
+1913. He showed how attention during the last few years
+had been focused more and more upon the Himalaya and
+said, &ldquo;Now that the Poles have been reached, it is generally
+felt that the next and equally important task is the exploration
+and mapping of Mount Everest.&rdquo; So he urged that
+the exploration which had been the ambition of the late
+General Rawling with whom he was to have joined should
+be accomplished in his memory. &ldquo;It cannot be long,&rdquo;
+he continued, &ldquo;before the culminating summit of the world
+is visited and its ridges, valleys and glaciers are mapped
+and photographed.&rdquo; And at the conclusion of his lecture
+he said that &ldquo;some day the political difficulties will be
+overcome and a fully equipped expedition must explore and
+map Mount Everest.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>It was not clear whether Captain Noel was advocating
+a definite attempt to climb the mountain and reach the
+actual summit, and Mr.&nbsp;Douglas Freshfield and Dr.&nbsp;Kellas
+who followed after him referred only to the approaches to
+Mount Everest. But Captain J. P. Farrar, the then
+President of the Alpine Club, seems to have considered it
+&ldquo;a proposal to attempt the ascent of Mount Everest,&rdquo; and
+said that the Alpine Club took the keenest interest in the
+proposal and was prepared not only to lend such financial
+aid as was in its power, but also to recommend two or three
+young mountaineers quite capable of dealing with any
+purely mountaineering difficulties which were likely to be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span>
+met with on Mount Everest.</p>
+
+<p>The hour was late, but I was so struck by the ring of
+assurance and determination in the words of the President
+of the Alpine Club that I could not help asking the President,
+Sir Thomas Holdich, to let me say a few words. I then
+told how General Bruce had made to me, twenty-six years
+ago, the proposal to climb Mount Everest. I said the
+Royal Geographical Society was interested in the project
+and now we had heard the President of the Alpine Club
+say that he had young mountaineers ready to undertake
+the work. I added, &ldquo;It must be done.&rdquo; There might be
+one or two attempts before we were successful, but the first
+thing to do was to get over the trouble with our own
+Government. If they were approached properly by Societies
+like the Royal Geographical Society and the Alpine Club,
+and a reasonable scheme were put before them and it were
+proved to them that we meant business, then, I said, they
+would be reasonable and do what we wanted. This was a
+big business and must be done in a big way and I hoped
+that something really serious would come of that meeting.<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></p>
+
+<p>Sir Thomas Holdich in closing the meeting advocated
+approaching Mount Everest through Nepal, and hoped
+that at some time not very remote we should hear more
+about the proposed expedition to Mount Everest.</p>
+
+<p>Only a few days after the meeting I met Colonel Howard-Bury
+at lunch with a Fellow of our Society, Mr.&nbsp;C. P.
+McCarthy. He was not a mountaineer in the Alpine Club sense
+of the word, but he had spent much of his time shooting in the
+Alps and in the Himalaya, and becoming deeply interested<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span>
+in the Mount Everest project, had a talk with Mr.&nbsp;Freshfield
+about it and made a formal application to the Society for
+their support in undertaking an expedition. Things now
+began to move, and the Society applied to the India Office
+for permission to send an expedition into Tibet for the
+purpose of exploring Mount Everest. The Government
+of India in reply said that they were not prepared at the
+moment to approach the Tibetan Government; but they
+did not return any absolute refusal.</p>
+
+<p>During my Presidency the Society, in conjunction with
+the Alpine Club, still further pressed the matter. We asked
+the Secretary of State for India to receive a deputation
+from the two bodies, and the request being granted and the
+deputation being assured of his sympathy we invited Colonel
+Howard-Bury to proceed to India in June 1920 to explain
+our wishes personally to the Government of India, and ask
+them to obtain for us from the Dalai Lama the necessary
+permission to enter Tibet for the purpose of exploring and
+climbing Mount Everest. Lord Chelmsford, the Viceroy,
+received Colonel Howard-Bury most sympathetically and
+after some preliminary difficulties had been overcome, Mr.
+Bell, the Political Agent in Sikkim, who happened to be in
+Lhasa, was instructed to ask the Dalai Lama for permission,
+and Mr.&nbsp;Bell being on most friendly terms with His Holiness,
+permission was at once granted.</p>
+
+<p>The one great obstacle in the way of approaching Mount
+Everest had now at last been removed. What so many
+keen mountaineers had for years dreamed of was within
+sight. And as soon as the welcome news arrived&mdash;early in
+January 1921&mdash;preparations were commenced to organise
+an expedition. A joint Committee of three representatives
+each from the Royal Geographical Society and the Alpine
+Club was formed under the Chairmanship of the President
+of the former Society and was named the Mount Everest
+Committee. The three members of the Society were Sir
+Francis Younghusband, Mr.&nbsp;E. L. Somers-Cocks (Honorary
+Treasurer) and Colonel Jack. The three members of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span>
+Alpine Club were Professor Norman Collie, Captain J. P.
+Farrar and Mr.&nbsp;C. F. Meade. Mr.&nbsp;Eaton and Mr.&nbsp;Hinks were
+Honorary Secretaries.</p>
+
+<p>Our first business was to select a leader for the Expedition.
+General Bruce, who had had the idea in his mind for so
+many years, who knew the Himalaya as no one else did,
+and who had a special aptitude for handling Himalayan
+people, was now in England, and it was to him our thoughts
+first turned. But he had just taken up an appointment
+with the Glamorganshire Territorial Association and was not
+then available. In these circumstances we were fortunate in
+having ready to hand a man with such high qualifications as
+Colonel Howard-Bury. He had much to do on his property
+in Ireland, but he willingly accepted our invitation to lead
+the Expedition, and we could then proceed to the choice of
+the mountaineers.</p>
+
+<p>From the very first we decided that the main object
+of the Expedition was to be the ascent of the mountain and
+that all other activities were to be made subordinate to the
+supreme object of reaching the summit. It was to be no
+mere surveying or geologising or botanising expedition
+which would as a secondary object try to climb the mountain
+if it saw a chance. To climb the mountain was to be
+the first object and the mapping and everything else was
+to come afterwards. The reason for this is obvious. What
+men really want to know is whether man can ascend the
+highest mountain.</p>
+
+<p>Knowledge of the topography, fauna and flora of that
+particular area is of very small consequence in comparison
+with the knowledge of human capacity to surmount the
+highest point in men's physical surroundings on this earth.
+By some perversity of human nature there are men who
+shy at putting the ascent of Mount Everest in the forefront,
+because it is adventurous and must therefore, they seem
+to think, cease to be a scientific object. They profess to
+be unconcerned with the climbing of the mountain so long
+as a map is made or plants collected. But the plain man<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span>
+instinctively sees the value of the adventure and knows
+that the successful ascent of Mount Everest will show what
+man is capable of and put new hope and heart into the human
+race.</p>
+
+<p>But while it was decided to make the ascent of Mount
+Everest the main object of the Expedition, Professor Norman
+Collie and Mr.&nbsp;Douglas Freshfield from the first insisted
+that a whole season must be devoted to a thorough reconnaissance
+of the mountain with a view to finding not only
+a feasible route to the summit but what was without any
+doubt the most feasible route. We knew nothing of the
+immediate approaches to the mountain. But we knew
+that the only chance of reaching the summit was by finding
+some way up which would entail little rock-climbing or ice
+step-cutting. The mountain had therefore to be prospected
+from every side to find a comparatively easy route and to
+make sure that no other easier route than the one selected
+existed. This was considered ample work for the Expedition
+for one season, while the following season would be
+devoted to an all-out effort to reach the summit along the
+route selected in the first year.</p>
+
+<p>On this basis the first year's Expedition had accordingly
+to be organised. The mountain party was to consist of
+four members, two of whom were to be men of considerable
+experience and two younger men who it was hoped would
+form the nucleus of the climbing party the next year.
+Mr.&nbsp;Harold Raeburn, a member of the Alpine Club who
+had had great experience of snow and rock work in the
+Alps, and who had in 1920 been climbing on the spurs of
+Kanchenjunga, was invited to lead the mountain party.
+Dr.&nbsp;Kellas, who had made several climbing expeditions in
+the Himalaya and had in 1920 ascended to a height of 23,400
+feet on Mount Kamet, was also invited to join the climbing
+party. He had been making experiments in the use of
+oxygen at high altitudes and was still out in India preparing
+to continue these experiments on Mount Kamet in 1921.
+It was suggested to him that he should make the experiments<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span>
+on Mount Everest instead, and the party would thereby
+have the benefit of his wide Himalayan experience. This
+invitation he accepted.</p>
+
+<p>The two younger members selected for the climbing
+party were Mr.&nbsp;George Leigh Mallory and Captain George
+Finch, both with a very high reputation for climbing in the
+Alps. Unfortunately Captain Finch was for the time
+indisposed and his place at the last moment had to be
+taken by Mr.&nbsp;Bullock of the Consular Service, who had
+been at Winchester with Mr.&nbsp;Mallory and who happened
+to be at home on leave. Through the courtesy of Lord
+Curzon he was able to get special leave of absence from the
+Foreign Office.</p>
+
+<p>While we were finding the men we had also to be finding
+the money. As a quite rough guess we estimated the
+Expedition for the two years would cost about £10,000, and
+at least a substantial portion of this had to be raised by
+private subscription. Appeals were made by their Presidents
+to the Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society and to
+members of the Alpine Club, and Captain Farrar was
+especially energetic in urging the claims of the enterprise.
+As a result the members of the Alpine Club subscribed over
+£3,000 and the Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society
+nearly that amount. Later on with the advice and help
+of Mr.&nbsp;John Buchan arrangements were made with <i>The
+Times</i> and the <i>Philadelphia Ledger</i> for the purchase of the
+rights of publication of telegrams from the Expedition, and
+with the <i>Graphic</i> for the purchase of photographs. So
+eventually the financial position of the Expedition was assured.</p>
+
+<p>The equipment and provisioning of the Expedition was
+undertaken by the Equipment Committee&mdash;Captain Farrar
+and Mr.&nbsp;Meade&mdash;and the greatest trouble was taken to
+ensure that the most suitable and best tents, sleeping
+bags, clothing, boots, ice-axes, ropes, cooking apparatus,
+provisions, etc., were purchased and that they were
+properly packed and listed.</p>
+
+<p>In the same way the scientific equipment was undertaken<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span>
+by Colonel Jack and Mr.&nbsp;Hinks.</p>
+
+<p>Finally the services of Mr.&nbsp;Wollaston, well known for
+his journeys in New Guinea and East Africa, were secured
+as Medical Officer and Naturalist to the Expedition.</p>
+
+<p>Throughout these preparations the advice and help of
+the best men in every line were freely and willingly forthcoming.
+For such an enterprise all were ready to give a
+helping hand. Whether they were scientific men, or business
+men or journalists, they were ready to throw aside their own
+work and devote hours to ensuring that the Expedition should
+be a success along the lines on which they severally had
+most experience.</p>
+
+<p>And most valuable was the encouragement given to the
+Expedition by the interest which His Majesty showed in
+conversation with the President, and His Royal Highness
+the Prince of Wales in receiving Colonel Howard-Bury&mdash;an
+interest which was shown in practical form by generous
+subscriptions to the funds of the Expedition.</p>
+
+<p>The Expedition was able, therefore, to set out from England
+under the most favourable auspices, and it was to be joined
+in India by two officers of the Indian Survey Department,
+Major Morshead and Major Wheeler, and by an officer of
+the Indian Geological Survey, Dr.&nbsp;Heron. It was thus
+admirably equipped for the acquirement of knowledge.
+But acquirement of knowledge was not the only object
+which the Expedition had in view. It could not be doubted
+that the region would possess beauty of exceptional grandeur.
+So it was hoped that the Expedition would discover, describe
+and reveal to us, by camera and by pen, beauty no less
+valuable than the knowledge.</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes">
+
+<p style="text-indent: 0;">Footnote:</p>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> In the enthusiasm of the moment I seem to have displayed a regrettable
+excess of &ldquo;nationalism&rdquo;! According to the record, I expressed the
+hope that it would be an Englishman who first stood on the summit of
+Mount Everest. I trust my foreign friends will excuse me! I have this
+at least to plead in extenuation, that if I have always striven for my own
+countrymen when they led the way, I have never been backward in helping
+explorers of other nationalities whom I have met in the Himalaya; and
+I have received the thanks of both the French and Italian Governments
+for the help I have given to French and Italian explorers.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="hr65" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="title"><span style="font-size: 200%">THE NARRATIVE OF THE EXPEDITION</span><br /><br />
+
+<span style="font-size: 125%">By</span><br /><br />
+
+<span style="font-size: 125%">LIEUT.-COL. C. K. HOWARD-BURY, D.S.O.</span></p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22"></a></span></p>
+
+<hr class="hr65" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER I</h2>
+
+<p class="title"><span style="font-size: 150%">FROM DARJEELING THROUGH SIKKIM</span></p>
+
+<p>Early in May most of the members of the Expedition
+had assembled at Darjeeling. Mr.&nbsp;Raeburn had been the
+first to arrive there in order to collect as many coolies of the
+right type as he could. I had come out a few weeks earlier
+in order to visit the Indian Authorities at Simla and to
+make sure that there were no political difficulties in the way.
+There I found every one very kind and helpful and all were
+anxious to do their best to assist the Expedition. Owing
+to the heavy deficit in the Indian Budget, the expenses of
+every Department had been rigorously cut down, and the
+Government of India were unable to give us financial
+assistance. They agreed, however, to take upon themselves
+the whole of the expenses of the survey, and to lend the
+Expedition the services of an officer of the Geological
+Department. The Viceroy, Lord Reading, who, together
+with Lady Reading, took the greatest interest in the
+Expedition, kindly gave us a subscription of 750 rupees,
+and at Darjeeling the Governor of Bengal, Lord Ronaldshay,
+had not only put up several members of the Expedition at
+his most comfortable house, but had also given the Expedition
+several rooms in which to collect their stores for separation
+and division into loads. Local stores, such as tea, sugar,
+flour and potatoes had to be bought on the spot. Coolies
+had to be collected and arrangements made for fitting them
+out with boots and warm clothing. The coolies were to
+receive pay at the rate of 12 annas per day while in Sikkim,
+and when in Tibet were to receive another 6 annas per day,
+either in cash or the equivalent in rations. The former
+proved the most acceptable eventually, except during the
+period when the coolies were up on the glaciers, where there<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span>
+were no villages and consequently nothing could be bought.</p>
+
+<p>A passport had been sent to us by the Government at
+Lhasa under the seal of the Prime Minister of Tibet, of which
+the following is a translation:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p style="text-indent: 0em; font-size: 90%;"><i>To</i><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;"><i>The Jongpens and Headmen of Pharijong, Ting-ke, Khamba and Kharta.</i></span></p>
+
+<p style="font-size: 90%;">You are to bear in mind that a party of Sahibs are coming to see the
+Chha-mo-lung-ma mountain and they will evince great friendship towards
+the Tibetans. On the request of the Great Minister Bell a passport has
+been issued requiring you and all officials and subjects of the Tibetan Government
+to supply transport, e.g. riding ponies, pack animals and coolies
+as required by the Sahibs, the rates for which should be fixed to mutual
+satisfaction. Any other assistance that the Sahibs may require either
+by day or by night, on the march or during halts, should be faithfully
+given, and their requirements about transport or anything else should be
+promptly attended to. All the people of the country, wherever the Sahibs
+may happen to come, should render all necessary assistance in the best
+possible way, in order to maintain friendly relations between the British and
+Tibetan Governments.</p>
+
+<p style="text-indent: 0em; font-size: 90%;"><ins title="Despatched">Dispatched</ins> during the Iron-Bird Year.<br />
+Seal of the Prime Minister.</p>
+
+<p>Our start had been originally arranged for the middle of
+May, but the &ldquo;Hatarana,&rdquo; in which were most of our
+stores, was unable to obtain a berth, as accommodation in
+the Docks at Calcutta was very insufficient for the large
+number of steamers that call there; she had therefore to
+lie out in the Hoogly for a fortnight before she could get
+room in the Docks. However, by May 11 everything was
+unloaded at Calcutta. The Darjeeling-Himalayan Railway
+had generously given the Expedition a free pass over their line
+for all stores and goods, and as the Customs had granted a
+free entry into the country, everything was up in Darjeeling
+by May 14. The time of waiting at Darjeeling had, however,
+not been wasted. Four cooks had been engaged for the
+Expedition and some forty coolies. These were Sherpa
+Bhotias, whose homes were in the North-east corner of
+Nepal, some of them coming from villages only a few miles
+to the South of Mount Everest. They were an especially
+hardy type of coolie, accustomed to living in a cold climate<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span>
+and at great heights. They were Buddhists by religion and
+therefore had no caste prejudices about food, and could
+eat anything. They proved at times quarrelsome and rather
+fond of strong drink; they turned out, however, to be a useful
+and capable type of man, easily trained in snow and ice work
+and not afraid of the snow. We later on picked up a few
+Tibetan coolies in the Chumbi Valley and these proved to
+be as good as the best of the Sherpas. They were very
+hardy and got on well with the Tibetans, who were always
+rather suspicious of our Nepalese coolies. They were also
+less troublesome to manage and could carry heavy loads at
+great heights. These coolies had all to be fitted with boots
+and very difficult this sometimes proved to be, as often their
+feet were almost as broad as they were long. Blankets,
+cap comforters, fur gloves and warm clothing were issued
+to all of them, and for those who had to sleep at the
+highest camps, eiderdown sleeping-bags were also taken.
+Arrangements had also to be made for interpreters to
+accompany the Expedition, as with the exception of Major
+Morshead, who knew a little Tibetan, no one was able to
+speak the language. It was a matter of great importance
+to get hold of the right type of man as interpreter. It was
+essential to find men of some position and standing who
+knew not only the Tibetan language, but also all their ways
+and customs. After many names had been suggested, we
+were very lucky in getting hold of two men who possessed
+these qualifications to a great extent. Gyalzen Kazi, who
+came from Gangtok in Sikkim, where he was a Kazi and
+landowner, was a young and ambitious man who knew the
+Tibetan language well and was well read in their sacred
+writings and scriptures. The other one, Chheten Wangdi,
+was a Tibetan who had been for a time a captain in the
+Tibetan army, and who had left them and been attached
+to the Indian army in Egypt during the war. He was a
+most energetic, hard-working man, knew all the Tibetan
+manners and customs, and was up to all their tricks of
+procrastination and attempts at overcharging. By his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span>
+knowledge and persuasive powers the Expedition was saved
+many thousand rupees.</p>
+
+<p>The Expedition when it left Darjeeling included nine
+Europeans. The Alpine climbers were Mr.&nbsp;Harold Raeburn,
+Dr.&nbsp;A. M. Kellas, Mr.&nbsp;G. L. Mallory and Mr.&nbsp;C. H. Bullock.
+Dr.&nbsp;Kellas had unfortunately in the early spring of this
+year tried his constitution very severely by climbing Narsing,<a name="FNanchor_2_2_1" id="FNanchor_2_2_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2_1" class="fnanchor">[2]</a>
+and he had also spent several nights at very low temperatures
+in camps over 20,000 feet, on the slopes of Kabru,<a name="FNanchor_2_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> so
+that when he arrived at Darjeeling a few days before the
+Expedition was due to start, he was not in as fit a condition
+as he should have been. The two Surveyors were Major
+H. T. Morshead, D.S.O., and Major O. E. Wheeler, M.C.
+These officers had been lent by the Survey of India. Major
+Morshead had already a considerable experience of travelling
+in the Eastern borders of Tibet and in the Kham country,
+where he had carried out some useful survey work, and
+under him were three native surveyors, one of whom was
+left in Sikkim to revise the existing maps, which were very
+inaccurate, while the other two, <ins title="Gujar">Gujjar</ins> Singh and Lalbir
+Singh, accompanied the Expedition and filled in all the
+details of the country traversed on their plane tables at a
+scale of 4 miles to the inch. Major O. E. Wheeler, the other
+Surveyor, was a member of the Canadian Alpine Club and
+a very keen climber himself. He was an expert in the
+Canadian system of Photo Survey&mdash;a method especially
+useful and applicable to a difficult and mountainous country.
+The Indian Government had also lent the Expedition the
+services of Dr.&nbsp;A. M. Heron, of the Geological Survey of
+India, in order to study the geology of the country through
+which it was about to go, and about which nothing was
+known, and to investigate the problems which surround the
+age and the structure of the Himalayan range. Besides
+these, there was Mr.&nbsp;A. F. Wollaston, a member of the Alpine
+Club and a very distinguished traveller as well, who had
+made some most interesting journeys around Ruwenzori<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span>
+in Africa and in the interior of New Guinea. He accompanied
+the Expedition in the capacity of Doctor, Naturalist and
+Botanist, and was equipped with a complete collector's
+outfit.</p>
+
+<p>During our time of enforced waiting at Darjeeling, we
+came in for the Lebong races&mdash;a unique and very amusing
+entertainment. The course is a small circular one, where
+the top of the Lebong spur has been levelled, and only genuine
+Tibetan and Bhotia ponies are allowed to race there. There
+were always large entries for these races, as they were very
+popular among the hill-folk, who flocked into Darjeeling
+from great distances, dressed in their finest clothes and with
+their women covered with jewellery and wearing clothing
+of brilliant shades of green and red. There was very heavy
+betting on each race, and the amount of money that the
+coolies, sirdars or servants were able to put up was
+astonishing. In most of the races there was at least a field
+of ten, which made the start a very amusing affair. The
+jockeys were all hill-boys, and as they and the ponies were
+up to every dodge and trick, and were equally anxious to
+get off first, and as most of the ponies had mouths of iron,
+it was always a long time before a start could be made, and
+in nearly every race one or more of the ponies would run
+out of the course at the point nearest its own home.</p>
+
+<p>On May 13 Major Morshead with his assistant surveyors
+and fifty coolies left Darjeeling for Khamba Dzong. They
+went the direct road up the Teesta Valley correcting the
+Sikkim map as they went along. Their object in going
+this way was to connect the Indian Survey with the new
+survey that it was proposed to carry out in Tibet. This
+would occupy all Major Morshead's time until we should be
+able to join him at Khamba Dzong in June.</p>
+
+<p>The chief transport of the Expedition consisted of 100
+mules belonging to the Supply and Transport Corps and
+lent to us by the Commander-in-Chief. These arrived at
+Darjeeling a few days before we were due to start and were
+camped in the open on the old parade ground at the top of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span>
+Katapahar. Sub-Conductor Taylor, who had already had
+experience of mule transport in Tibet in 1904&ndash;5, and was
+to have come in charge of them, was unfortunately laid up
+at the last moment with a bad attack of influenza. The
+next man chosen was passed medically unfit, and the third
+man in temporary charge of the mules was, when he arrived
+at Darjeeling, already suffering from ague. It was not till
+May 15 that Sergeant Fowkes arrived, who was to take
+charge of the mules. He was a very capable and energetic
+N.C.O., and their subsequent failure was in no way due to
+him, but solely to the fact that the mules were in no kind of
+condition to do hard work in the hills, being sleek and fat
+from the plains where they had had very little work to do.
+The muleteers, or drabies, were all hill-men and had been
+picked out specially for us and fitted out with every kind
+of warm clothing. Though there were a hundred mules,
+this did not mean that there were a hundred mules to carry
+our loads&mdash;so much extra warm clothing and blankets had
+been given to the drabies that together with all their line
+gear it needed twenty-seven mules to carry their kit, which
+left only seventy-three mules for the Expedition loads,
+each mule carrying 160 lb., and this was not nearly sufficient
+for our requirements. A certain amount of our stores had
+therefore to be left behind at Government House, Darjeeling,
+for a second journey, and we only took with us sufficient
+food and supplies for three and a half months, relying on
+the mules going back and returning with the remainder of
+the stores in July or August. Owing to the camping grounds
+being small, and bungalow accommodation limited on the
+journey across Sikkim, we divided ourselves into two parties
+with fifty mules and twenty coolies in each party; Wollaston,
+Wheeler, Mallory and myself being with the first party and
+Raeburn, Kellas, Bullock and Heron with the second.</p>
+
+<p>The first party left Darjeeling on May 18, and the second
+party the following day. I remained behind to see the
+second party off, and then by doing a double march I caught
+the first party up that evening at Kalimpong, not, however,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span>
+without noticing on the way that several of our mules were
+already knocked up. The night before we started rain
+came down in torrents, and it was still pouring when the
+mules came round in the morning, and though the rain stopped
+soon afterwards yet the hillsides were all wreathed in soft
+grey mists and every moss-hung branch and tree dripped
+steadily with moisture all day long. The first day's march
+from Darjeeling was to Peshoke&mdash;a seventeen-mile march
+and down hill all the way after Ghoom. From Darjeeling
+we gradually ascended some 500 feet to Ghoom and then
+for 6 miles followed the well-engineered cart road which
+leads below Senchal to the new military cantonment of
+Takda which is, I believe, about to be abandoned, as the
+Gurkhas, for whom it was built, are not at all happy there.
+During the war it was used as a German internment camp.
+Along this ridge there are magnificent forests of evergreen
+oaks, all of which were covered with ferns and orchids and
+long trailing mosses. This first ridge rising straight out of
+the plains condenses all the moisture-laden winds that blow
+up from the Bay of Bengal and causes it almost always to
+be enveloped in clouds and mists. The path now rapidly
+descended 4,000 feet, through tea plantations. The whole
+hillside was covered with tea bushes, neatly planted in lines,
+and showing a very vivid green at this time of the year.
+Here and there grew tall tree ferns, 20 feet to 30 feet in height,
+their stems covered with ferns and Coelogene orchids. The
+air was now growing hotter and hotter as we descended,
+but the wonderful and varied vegetation, the beautiful and
+brilliantly coloured butterflies&mdash;for which the Teesta Valley
+is famous&mdash;that flitted across the path in front of us, proved
+an irresistible attraction, and made us forget the fact that
+we were dripping with perspiration from every pore. We
+had already descended nearly 5,000 feet by the time that
+we reached the P.W.D. bungalow at Peshoke, which was
+situated in a clearing in the forest. We were, however,
+still 2,000 feet above the muddy Teesta River which ran
+down below us in its steamy gorge, and the next morning<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span>
+saw us descending 2,000 feet through a Sal forest by a slippery
+path of clay leading to the suspension bridge which crosses
+the mighty river that with its affluents drains the whole of
+Sikkim. It rushes along with irresistible force in mighty
+waves and rapids, and though attempts have been made
+to float timber down it for commercial purposes, yet the
+current is too swift and the logs were all smashed to pieces.
+Here at the bridge we were only 700 feet above the sea and
+the heat was intense. Several mules had been left exhausted
+at Peshoke and had been unable to proceed the following
+day and several more only just reached Kalimpong, the
+second day's march, only 12 miles from Peshoke, but the
+climb of 3,300 feet up from the bridge over the Teesta in
+the steamy and enervating heat proved too much for
+them. The forests here were very beautiful&mdash;huge sal
+trees and giant terminalia abounded with weird and
+wonderful creepers embracing their stems, or hanging down
+from their branches. The handsome pothos&mdash;the finest of the
+creepers&mdash;grew everywhere. The curious pandanus or screw
+pine displayed its long and picturesque fronds, while here
+and there among the dark green of the tropical forest showed
+up as a brilliant patch of colour the scarlet blooms of the
+clerodendrons. Above the forests the hillsides had been
+terraced with immense labour into rice fields, which at this
+time of year were not yet planted out, but the fields of maize
+were already ripening. At Kalimpong there was a large
+and comfortable Dak bungalow, surrounded by a well-kept
+garden full of roses and scarlet hibiscus with a beautiful
+and large-flowered mauve solanum growing up the pillars
+on the verandah. At Kalimpong we were entertained by
+Dr.&nbsp;Graham and his charming daughters, who showed us
+true hospitality and kindness. They live in a very pretty
+house embowered in roses on the crest of the hill and
+commanding lovely views over the Teesta Valley and up
+to the snowy peaks of Kanchenjunga. Higher up on the
+spur are the homes and the industrial schools that many
+years of hard work have brought into being, thanks to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span>
+indefatigable labours of Dr.&nbsp;Graham and the late Mrs.
+Graham; these now hold between 600 and 700 pupils, both
+boys and girls, who, when they leave these schools, have
+all been taught some useful trade and are sent out as useful
+members of society. They are given as practical an
+education as could be wished for anywhere. At the
+Grahams' house I met David Macdonald, the British Trade
+Agent at Yatung, who was acting temporarily as political
+agent in Sikkim until Major Bailey arrived from England.
+He was an old friend of mine, as I had met him before in
+Tibet. He promised us every assistance in his power and
+had telegraphed to Yatung and to the Jongpen at Phari
+to have supplies and anything we wanted in readiness at
+those places. He told me that an old Tibetan Lama, who
+knew Mount Everest well, had described it as &ldquo;Miti guti
+cha-phu long-nga,&rdquo; &ldquo;the mountain visible from all directions,
+and where a bird becomes blind if it flies so high.&rdquo; Throughout
+our journey across Sikkim the weather was very bad,
+with heavy falls of rain every day and night. We had had
+the bad luck to strike the Chota Bursat, or little monsoon,
+which usually heralds the coming of the proper monsoon a
+fortnight or three weeks later.</p>
+
+<p>The march to Pedong was an easy one of 14 miles with
+a gentle climb of 3,000 feet followed by a descent of 2,000
+feet past gardens beautiful with their great trees of scarlet
+hibiscus, daturas and bougainvilleas, which grew with
+wonderful luxuriance in this climate where frost is almost
+unknown in winter and where in summer the temperature
+scarcely ever exceeds 85° Fahrenheit. We passed some of
+the most wonderful datura hedges that I have ever seen
+with trees 15 feet to 20 feet in height and laden with hundreds
+of enormous white trumpet-shaped blooms 8 inches in
+diameter and fully a foot long. I could only stand and
+admire. At night these great white flowers glowed as though
+with phosphorescence in the dark and had a strangely sweet
+smell. I got thoroughly soaked on the march, for a couple
+of minutes of these deluges are sufficient to go through any<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span>
+waterproof.</p>
+
+<p>Our mules were now beginning to give us great trouble.
+Several had to be left behind after each march and fresh
+animals had to be hired locally to replace those left behind.
+At Pedong there were more wonderful daturas, and all
+along the next march we kept passing grand bushes of these
+flowers. It rained all that night and most of the following
+day, so that we had a very wet and trying march to Rongli&mdash;the
+distance was only 12 miles, but this included a very
+steep descent of over 3,000 feet to the bottom of a steamy
+valley, followed by a climb of 3,000 feet across an intervening
+ridge and then down another 2,000 feet to the Rongli
+bungalow. The poor mules were very tired by the end of
+the march and one had died of colic on the way. Most
+of the others too were getting very sore backs from the
+constant rain. On the way Wollaston and I stopped at
+Rhenock to have a look at the Chandra Nursery kept by
+Tulsi Dass, where there were many interesting plants, chiefly
+collected in the Sikkim forests. There was a tree growing
+everywhere in the forests with a white flower which Sikkim
+people called Chilauni, and all along the paths the Sikkim
+durbar had been busy planting mulberry, walnut and toon
+trees. There was a curious pink ground plant that grew in
+the forests which I was told belonged to the Amomum species.
+There were also beautiful orchids in the trees, mauve, white
+and yellow, belonging to the Dendrobium, Coelogene and
+Cymbidium families&mdash;some with fine sprays of flowers 18
+inches long. Here at Rongli the mules were so tired that
+we had to give them a day's rest before they could go on
+any further. It was a hot and feverish spot to stop in,
+and only necessity compelled us to do so, as we were unable
+to get any extra transport the following morning to
+supplement the mules that were sick.</p>
+
+<p>All that day we had passed numbers of mules coming
+down from Tibet laden with bales of wool, and others were
+returning to Tibet with sheets of copper, manufactured goods,
+grain and rice which had been bought in exchange. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span>
+dark faces of the muleteers with their turquoise earrings
+formed a pretty picture and they were full of friendly smiles
+and greetings for us. The mules travelled on their own&mdash;if
+any mule stopped on the path, a stone always aimed with
+the greatest accuracy reminded him that it was time to
+go on. Owing to our having to halt a day at Rongli, we had
+to stop the second party, and were able to do this at Ari,
+a bungalow 3 miles short of Rongli. I rode up to see
+how they were getting on, and found they were having the
+same trouble with their mules that we had been having.
+On May 23 we left for Sedongchen, or Padamchen as the
+Tibetans called it. Sedongchen is the old local name,
+so-called because there once grew there a very large
+&ldquo;Sedong&rdquo; tree. This is a tree that has a white sap which
+irritates the skin intensely and sets up a rash. Sedongchen
+was only 9 miles from Rongli, but there was a very steep
+climb, from 2,700 feet up to 7,000 feet, and our mules only
+just managed to arrive there. The first part of the way
+is alongside the rushing stream of the Rongli, through
+lovely woods and dense tropical vegetation. Caladiums,
+kolocasias and begonias were growing on every rock, and
+the giant pothos with its large shining leaves grew up the
+stems of many of the trees. Climbers of all kinds, such as
+vines and peppers, hung down from the branches. Here, too,
+were magnificent forest trees, fully 150 feet high, with clean
+straight trunks and without a branch for a hundred feet;
+others nearly equally tall, which the Sikkim people call
+&ldquo;Panisage,&rdquo; had huge buttresses and trunks nearly 40 feet
+in circumference. Every branch here was covered by thick
+matted growth of orchids. For the first time since leaving
+Darjeeling the sun shone, and after we left the forests we
+found the uphill climb very hot. On to-day's march,
+out of the fifty mules with which we started there were only
+fourteen carrying our own kit, and of those fourteen we
+found on arrival at Sedongchen that none would be fit to
+proceed on the following day. It was therefore with great
+reluctance that I felt compelled to send back the Government<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span>
+mules, as they could not only not carry their own line
+gear, but had become an extra and very large source of
+expense and worry to us. That the mules should have
+completely broken down like this after a five days' march
+showed that they must have been in no kind of training
+and condition and were completely unfitted for heavy work
+in the mountains. The hill ponies and mules that we had
+hired to supplement them, although they had been given
+the heaviest loads, always arrived first, and made nothing
+of each march. By this failure of the Government transport
+we were now thrown back on our own resources, and obliged
+to depend everywhere on what local transport we could
+obtain, and this often took some time to collect.</p>
+
+<p>At Sedongchen there was a pleasant bungalow, rather
+Swiss in appearance, with fine views down the Rongli Valley
+and across all the forest ridges over which we had come,
+right back to Darjeeling. Opposite us, to the South-east,
+were densely wooded hills with clouds and mists drifting along
+the tops, while here and there a waterfall showed up white
+amidst the dark green vegetation.</p>
+
+<p>Rain came down steadily all night, but the morning
+proved somewhat finer. Being on the main trade route,
+we were luckily able to get other transport to replace the
+Government mules and to arrange for hired mules as far
+as Yatung. The local animal is a wonderful beast, extremely
+sure footed, and not minding in the least a climb of 6,000
+feet. The path from Sedongchen is really only a stone
+causeway, very slippery and unpleasant either to walk or
+ride upon, but probably anything else would be worn away
+by the torrential rains that fall here. At one place we
+had to make a wide detour, as the rain of the night before
+had washed away some hundred yards of the pathway,
+but luckily this was not in a very steep part, as otherwise
+we might have been delayed for several days. The constant
+rain had already brought out the leeches, and on most
+of the stones or blades of grass beside the path they sat
+waiting for their meal of blood and clung on to any mule<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span>
+or human being that passed by. The mules suffered severely,
+and drops of blood on the stones became frequent from
+the bleeding wounds.</p>
+
+<p>The climb from Sedongchen to Gnatong was very steep
+with a rise of over 5,000 feet in the first 5 miles, and we
+soon got out of the zone of the leeches and on to the most
+wonderful zone of flowering rhododendrons. The rhododendrons
+in the lower forest chiefly consisted of <i>R. Argenteum</i>
+and <i>R. Falconeri</i>. These grew in a great forest of oaks and
+magnolias, all covered with beautiful ferns among which
+showed up delightful mauve or white orchids. The lower
+rhododendrons had already flowered, but as we got higher
+we found masses of <i>R. Cinnabarinum</i>, with flowers showing
+every shade of orange and red. Then came rhododendrons
+of every colour&mdash;pink, deep crimson, yellow, mauve, white
+or cream coloured. It was impossible to imagine anything
+more beautiful, and every yard of the path was a pure
+delight. Among the smaller flowers were the large pink
+saxifrage, while the deep reddish-purple primula covered
+every open space. There was also a very tiny pink primula&mdash;the
+smallest I have ever seen&mdash;and another one like a
+pink primrose, that grew on the banks above the path.
+We went along quite slowly all the way, botanising and
+admiring the scenery. The path mostly led along the top
+of a ridge, and the views and colours of the many-hued
+rhododendrons in the gullies on either side were very delightful.
+Gnatong, where we were to spend the night, was a very
+small and rather dirty village lying in a hollow and surrounded
+by grassy hills. The fir trees (<i>Abies Webbiana</i>)
+no longer surrounded it, as those anywhere near had been
+cut down for firewood, or for building houses. From here
+I was able to telephone to Mr.&nbsp;Isaacs, Mr.&nbsp;Macdonald's
+head clerk at Yatung, to ask him to make arrangements
+for ponies and mules for us both at Yatung and at Phari
+now that our transport had broken down. Wonderful
+rumours seemed to have preceded our advent. Stories
+that we were coming with 1,000 mules and 500 men seemed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span>
+to have been spread about in Tibet.</p>
+
+<p>Gnatong is a most depressing place, and only owes its
+existence to the fact that it is the first stopping place for
+the caravans that cross over the Jelep Pass on the British
+side of the frontier. Rain always falls there, the rainfall
+in the year being nearly 200 inches, and when rain does
+not fall the place is enveloped in mist, with the result that
+the mud was horrible. It poured with rain all the time
+that we were there and we left again in heavy rain for the
+Jelep Pass 8 miles distant. We were already over 12,000
+feet when we started, and the top of the pass was 14,390
+feet, so that it was not a very serious climb. There was
+no view of any kind to be had as the rain fell steadily all
+the way and the hillsides were all veiled in mist. We had
+occasional glimpses of a hillside pink, white or yellow with
+rhododendrons, which now grew only about 5 feet high.
+I counted six or seven different varieties of primulas on the
+way, but near the top there was still plenty of the old winter
+snow lying about and the Alpine flowers were scarcely out.
+A big heap of stones marked the summit of the pass and
+the frontier between Sikkim and Tibet, and a few sticks,
+to which were attached strings covered with small pieces
+of rag on which were inscribed prayers, fluttered out in
+the strong wind that always blows up there. In the cold
+rain this was not a cheerful spot to linger in, so we hurried
+on down a steep and stony path and after descending a few
+hundred feet emerged out of the mist and rain and obtained
+glimpses of a really blue sky such as we had not seen for
+weeks. We had arrived at last in Tibet.</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes">
+
+<p style="text-indent: 0;">Footnote:</p>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2_1" id="Footnote_2_2_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2_1"></a><a name="Footnote_2_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> Narsing and Kabru are two high mountains in the North of Sikkim.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="hr65" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER II</h2>
+
+<p class="title"><span style="font-size: 150%">THE CHUMBI VALLEY AND THE TIBETAN PLATEAU</span></p>
+
+<p>The range of mountains which here forms the boundary
+between Sikkim and Tibet runs nearly North and South,
+and the two main passes across it are the Jelep La and
+the Nathu La, the latter being a few miles to the North
+of the Jelep La and about the same height. The Jelep La
+being the main trade route across which the telegraph line
+runs, and over which the postal runners travel, is kept open
+all the year round, though often after a heavy blizzard it
+is closed for ten days or a fortnight. On the Sikkim side
+the snow-fall is always the heaviest; this range of mountains
+stops most of the moist currents that drive up from the
+Bay of Bengal, with the result that the rainfall in the Chumbi
+Valley on the Tibetan side is only about a quarter of what
+it is at Gnatong on the Sikkim side.</p>
+
+<p>The descent into the Chumbi Valley was very steep
+and stony, as there was a drop of over 5,000 feet from the
+top of the pass. The beauty of the valley and its wild flowers
+made up, however, for the badness of the path. The rhododendrons
+on the descent were extremely fine, and the whole
+character of the vegetation was altered and became more
+European. The great pink rhododendron <i>Aucklandi</i> showed
+up splendidly in the dark forests of silver fir (<i>A. Webbiana</i>)
+which here grows into a fine tree. There was also the yellow
+rhododendron Campylocarpum and a white rhododendron,
+probably Decorum; the beautiful <i>R. Cinnabarinum</i> with
+its orange bells of waxy flowers relieved the darkness of the
+firs. There was a small Tibetan rest-house called Langra
+where our coolies wanted to stop, but we pushed on past
+this and descended steeply through more wonderful forests.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span>
+As we got lower we found birch, sycamore, willow and elder
+still clothed in the light green of early spring. A fine white
+clematis, a pink and white spiræa, a yellow berberis, white
+roses and the dark purple iris grew in profusion on either
+side of the path. Underneath these were the small flowers
+of the wild strawberry, which the Macdonald family
+collected later on in the year and made into jam in great
+quantities.</p>
+
+<p>Near the entrance to this side valley we came to Old
+Yatung with its Chinese custom-house and wall built right
+across the valley to keep the British from going any further.
+All this was now deserted and in ruins. Soon afterwards
+we arrived in the main Chumbi Valley where were broad
+fields filled with potatoes and ripening barley. The houses
+here were mostly built of stone and wood and in two stories.
+In character they much resembled Tirolese houses except
+for the elaborate carving over the doors and windows and
+the many colours in which they were painted. We passed
+through the prosperous villages of Richengong, Phema and
+Chumbi before arriving at New Yatung, or Shassi as the
+Tibetans still prefer to call it. Here was a comfortable
+bungalow overlooking the bazaar on the other side of the
+river. Knowing that we had had a long and tiring march
+and that our coolies would only arrive late that night, Mrs.
+Macdonald had with much thoughtfulness sent over her
+servants who had tea and dinner prepared for us on a generous
+scale. No attention could have been more acceptable. It
+rained steadily all that night&mdash;a somewhat unusual occurrence
+in this valley&mdash;but the next morning it cleared up and the
+day was delightful.</p>
+
+<p>The Chumbi Valley is one of the richest valleys in Tibet.
+Yatung lies at a height of 9,400 feet. Apples and pears
+do well here, and barley, wheat and potatoes are grown
+in great quantities. At this time of the year the air is scented
+by the wild roses which grow in large bushes covered with
+hundreds of cream-coloured and sweetly scented flowers.
+The villages all look extremely prosperous and an air of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span>
+peace and contentment seems to pervade the valley. We
+had to hire a new lot of animals to take us on to Phari&mdash;28
+miles further up the Chumbi Valley. These all arrived
+in good time, and by eight o'clock on May 27 our loads
+were all on their way. Before leaving, I sent off a telegram
+to Sir Francis Younghusband to announce the arrival of
+the Expedition in Tibet, a telegram which arrived opportunely
+at the Anniversary Dinner of the Royal Geographical Society,
+just at the commencement of dinner.</p>
+
+<p>There is a small garrison at Yatung, consisting of twenty-five
+men of the 73rd Carnatics. There was also a hospital
+and a supply depot from which we were able to purchase
+sugar, flour, ata (coarse native flour) and potatoes, while
+later on we were able to send back to it for further supplies.
+We formed quite an imposing procession as we started off:
+Wollaston and myself on our ponies, Gyalzen Kazi and
+Chheten Wangdi, our interpreters, on their ponies which
+they had brought along with them. There was Mr.&nbsp;Isaacs,
+the head clerk, with a red-coated chaprassi and a syce also
+mounted, who accompanied us on a visit to two monasteries
+further up the valley. The path followed close to the banks
+of the Ammo-chu, which was now a clear stream and contained
+many a likely pool for fish. The valley was full of delightful
+flowers; curious ground orchids, with several beautiful varieties
+of the ladies' slipper grew there; the wild roses, especially
+the large red one, were very sweet-scented and filled the air
+with fragrance. Berberis, clematis and some charming dwarf
+rhododendrons abounded. After going about 3 miles the
+valley narrowed, and we passed the spot where the Chinese
+had built another wall across the valley to keep us out.
+Just above this wall there was a deserted Chinese village,
+for now all the Chinese have been driven out of the country
+and are not allowed to go back and live there. High above
+us on the hillside was the Punagang Monastery belonging
+to the old sect of the Bhompo's, who turn their prayer
+wheels the opposite to every one else and always keep to
+the right of Chortens and Mani walls. This monastery was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span>
+too far off the path for us to visit it. We soon afterwards
+passed the large and flourishing village of Galinka surrounded
+by fields of barley. Here we turned aside to visit the Galinka
+Monastery, which stood in the midst of the village. This
+was quite a new building, with a great gilt image of Buddha
+inside it. The monks were still busy painting pictures of
+scenes from the life of Buddha on the walls. They apparently
+did quite a good trade in selling clay images of Buddha
+in his different forms and postures. These were stamped
+by a very well cut brass die, which the monks told me had
+been made at Shigatse. In a side room was a huge prayer wheel
+some 12 feet high and 5 feet to 6 feet in diameter. It was
+covered over with painted leather inscribed with the usual
+Om Mani Padme Hum (Hail, jewel of the lotus flower).
+They told us the inside was also filled with prayers, and that
+it contained one and a half million of these, so that each
+time the wheel was turned a million and a half prayers
+were said for the person who turned it. After each complete
+revolution it rings a bell. We were allowed to turn it several
+times, so that I hope the many million prayers sent up may
+benefit us. After leaving the monastery, the path rose
+steeply and the river came down in a series of waterfalls.
+Above us were masses of pink and mauve rhododendrons,
+flowering cherries, viburnum, berberis, roses and other
+delightful shrubs. Soon afterwards, at the entrance to
+the Lingmatang plain, we crossed the river and rode up
+a rocky spur formed of great boulders that had some time
+or another fallen down and blocked up the valley, forming
+a lake some 2 miles long, but this lake no longer existed,
+and there was only a flat grassy plain grazed over by yaks
+and ponies. On the top of the spur was the Donka Monastery
+in a grand situation, commanding beautiful views up and
+down the valley. I had hoped to see my friend the Geshe
+Lama or Geshe Rimpoche, as he is sometimes known, with
+whom I had lunched last year at the hot springs at Kambu,
+but unfortunately he was away at Lhasa. He is a man of
+very great learning and held in high veneration throughout<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span>
+these valleys.</p>
+
+<p>On entering the big stone courtyard of the monastery
+a crowd of children and Lamas at once flocked round us.
+We were shown over the main temple, but it was badly
+lit with a few butter lamps and we could see little of its
+contents; amongst these were several statues of Buddha
+under his different forms. There were also kept there 108
+volumes of the Tangyur, one of the Buddhist sacred writings.
+These books were very curious. Each volume consisted
+of a number of loose oblong parchment sheets 2 to 3 feet
+long and from 8 inches to a foot wide. These were kept
+together by two elaborately carved boards between which
+they were pressed. The writing was all done by hand by the
+Lamas, who copied out and illuminated books with the
+greatest care and skill in the same manner that the monks
+in the Middle Ages illuminated their missals. The book-shelves
+of the library consisted of a number of pigeon-holes
+in the walls in which these volumes were kept. Here, too,
+they were busy making clay images to bury under the Chorten
+that they were building above the monastery. Next door
+was another and newer temple, built to house the Oracle,
+and called the Sanctuary of the Oracle. He, too, was
+unfortunately away, as he was taking the hot waters at
+Kambu, but we were shown his throne and the robes that
+he puts on when he prophesies. There was a curiously
+shaped head-dress of silver, adorned all round with silver
+skulls, and a very quaintly shaped bow and arrow which
+the Oracle held in one hand while a huge trident was grasped
+in the other. I am told that he is consulted far and wide and
+has a great reputation for truth. We were then taken upstairs
+to a sunny verandah, just outside the Geshe Rimpoche's
+private room and commanding fine views up and down the
+valley. Here we were given Tibetan tea, made with salt
+and butter, and served up in agate cups with beautifully
+chased silver covers. After drinking this tea we were shown
+over the Geshe's private apartments and chapel, the prevailing
+colour scheme of the room being yellow. The little shrines<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span>
+with their silver bowls in front&mdash;the incense burner and the
+flame that is never allowed to go out&mdash;were all very interesting
+to us. We then took a photograph of the Lamas in front
+of their temple, after which the head Lama accompanied
+us some way down the path to say good-bye, hoping we
+would come and see them again on our return.</p>
+
+<p>I have alluded several times to the hot springs at Kambu.
+These springs are two days' journey from Yatung up the
+Kambu Valley, but can also be reached quite easily from
+Phari. There is a curious account of these springs written
+by an old Lama and translated by Major Campbell. The
+writer describes the Upper Kambu Valley as quite a pleasant
+spot where cooling streams and medicinal plants are found
+in abundance. Medicinal waters of five kinds flow from
+the rocks, forming twelve pools, the waters of which are
+efficacious in curing the 440 diseases to which the human
+race is subject. The springs are then made to describe their
+own qualities in the first person:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p style="font-size: 90%;">1. <span class="smcap">The Lhamo Spring</span> (The Spring of the Goddess): My virtue is
+derived from the essence of stone&mdash;I am guarded by the Goddess Tsering,
+and my virtue therefore consists in purging the sins and obscurities of
+the human body. Those who bathe first in my waters will be purged of
+all sin and the power of all diseases will be abated.</p>
+
+<p style="font-size: 90%;">2. <span class="smcap">The Chagu Spring</span> (The Spring of the Vulture): My virtue is derived
+from black sulphur. As regards my properties, a vulture with a broken
+wing once fell into my waters and was healed. I benefit diseases of women,
+also sores, gout and fractures. I possess particular virtue for all diseases
+below the waist. I do not benefit neuralgia, nervous diseases, or loss of
+appetite.</p>
+
+<p style="font-size: 90%;">3 and 4. <span class="smcap">The Pon Springs</span> (The Springs of the Official): We two brothers
+derive our properties from both yellow and black sulphur. One of us
+provokes catarrh, while the other allays it. A learned man, who wished
+us well, once said that we were beneficial in cases of hemorrhoids, kidney
+diseases and rheumatism. We are not aware of possessing these qualities,
+and rather tend to cause harm in such cases.</p>
+
+<p style="font-size: 90%;">5. <span class="smcap">The Traggye Spring</span> (The Spring born of the Rock): My virtue
+is derived from a combination of sulphur and the essence of stone. I was
+formerly efficacious in cases of diseases of the arteries and nerve trouble,
+but later on the Brothers of the Pon Spring rushed down on poor me like
+tyrants so that no one now regards me. The caretaker of the Springs
+and visitors treats me like a beggar and pays no attention to me. Even<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span>
+now if some person with the permission of the Brothers of the Pon Spring
+would carry out some repairs, so as to separate my waters from theirs, I
+would guarantee to benefit those suffering from arterial diseases, nerve
+trouble, impurities of the blood and bile.</p>
+
+<p style="font-size: 90%;">6. <span class="smcap">The Serka Spring</span> (The Spring of the Crevice): My virtues are
+derived from sulphur and carbon. I am not beneficial to those suffering
+from ailments arising from nerve trouble, bile and acidity. I am beneficial
+to those suffering from chapped hands and feet due to hard work among
+earth and stones and also in cases of diseases of the kidneys and bladder.
+I am somewhat hurtful to those suffering from headache arising from
+nervous catarrh, or impurities of the blood.</p>
+
+<p style="font-size: 90%;">7. <span class="smcap">The Tang Spring</span> (The Spring of the Plain): My virtues are derived
+from carbon and a little sulphur. I am beneficial in cases of hemorrhoids,
+kidney disease, rheumatism and other diseases below the waist, also in
+cases of venereal disease. There is a danger of the waist becoming bent
+like a bow through too much bathing in my waters.</p>
+
+<p style="font-size: 90%;">8. <span class="smcap">The Traggyab Spring</span> (The Spring behind the Rock): I am beneficial
+in cases of disease of the arteries and anaemia&mdash;I am not aware that I am
+harmful in other cases.</p>
+
+<p style="font-size: 90%;">9. <span class="smcap">The Tongbu Spring</span> (The Spring of the Hole): My virtues are
+derived from a large proportion of crystalline stone and a little sulphur.
+I guarantee to be beneficial in cases of white phlegm, brown phlegm and
+other forms of phlegmatic disease. Also in diseases arising out of these,
+and in cases of impurities of the blood and colic pains. Please bear this
+in mind.</p>
+
+<p style="font-size: 90%;">10. <span class="smcap">The Nub</span> (The Western Spring): My virtues are derived from a
+little carbon. I am beneficial in cases of liver disease, impurities of the
+blood, flatulence, kidney disease, dyspepsia, brown phlegm, tumours, gout,
+rheumatism, gleet, and complications arising from these. I do not boast
+in the way that the other Springs do.</p>
+
+<p style="font-size: 90%;">11. <span class="smcap">The Dzepo Spring</span> (The Leper's Spring): I am cousin to the Western
+Spring. He guarantees to cure diseases arising from two or three causes,
+also kidney disease, flat foot, rheumatism and gout. I am beneficial in
+cases of hemorrhoids, gout, rheumatism and diseases of the feet. I possess
+particular virtue in cases of leprosy, sores and wounds.</p>
+
+<p style="font-size: 90%;">12. <span class="smcap">The Lama Spring</span> (The Spring of the Lama): My virtues are
+derived from a large proportion of lime and a little sulphur. I am beneficial
+in cases of lung disease, tumours, dyspepsia, both chronic and recent,
+poverty of the blood and venereal diseases.</p>
+
+<p class="blockquot"><span class="smcap">Written by Tsewang in the hope that the People of
+Bhutan, Sikkim, and the surrounding country will bear this
+in mind.</span></p>
+
+<p class="blockquot"><span class="smcap">Copied by Tenrab, clearly and exactly, from the original
+in the Male Iron Dog Year in the first half of the Earth
+Month.</span></p>
+
+<p>After leaving the monastery we had a pleasant gallop<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span>
+across the Lingmatang Plain, after which the valley narrowed
+again and the path followed close beside the rushing stream.
+It was a delightful ride through forests of birch, larch, juniper,
+spruce, silver fir and mountain ash. Never anywhere have I
+seen birch trees grow to such a size. They were grand rugged
+old trees that matched the rugged scenery of the gorge.
+Blue poppies, fritillaries, ground orchids and sweet-scented
+primulas grew along the path, and mixed up everywhere
+in the forest were great bushes of <i>R. Cinnabarinum</i>, which
+varied in shade from yellow and orange to deep red.
+Wagtails and white-crested redstarts dodged about from rock
+to rock in the rushing stream, and the clear note of the
+shrike could usually be heard above the noise of the waters.
+The weather had luckily kept fine all day, so that we were
+able to dawdle along and enjoy the scenery and flowers.</p>
+
+<p>After going about 12 miles we came to the bungalow of
+Gautsa, situated at a height of about 12,000 feet, and at
+the bottom of the gorge; here we spent the night. During
+the night there was heavy rain, and when we woke in the
+morning, fresh snow was low down on all the hills and within
+1,500 feet of the bungalow. However, the day again proved
+brilliantly fine. For breakfast we had been given some
+large wild-goose eggs belonging to the bar-headed goose.
+Mine I had boiled, and found excellent, though one was
+sufficient for a meal. Two that the others had were rather
+<i>passé</i>, and were not equally appreciated. The day's path
+was at first very stony and climbed steadily uphill beside
+the torrent of the <ins title="Ammochu">Ammo-chu</ins>. Pale blue iris, yellow primulas,
+a pink viburnum and a large yellow-belled lonicera grew
+beside the path, but the rhododendrons were still by far
+the most wonderful of the flowering shrubs. We passed
+many big blue meconopsis, and some of these flowers measured
+fully 3 inches across. Dwarf rhododendrons, only a foot
+high&mdash;some pure white and others pink, continued up until
+about 13,500 feet, and then the hillsides became purple
+from another little rhododendron, which looked in the
+distance like heather and gave the rounded hills quite a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span>
+Scotch appearance. As we rose higher the flowers decreased
+in number. Larks and wheatears ran along the ground in
+front of us, and small tailless marmot rats dodged in and out
+of their holes as we approached. The distance from Goutsa
+to Phari was about 16 miles, of which the last 8 miles were
+over flat country with a springy turf, on which it was a
+pleasure to be able to canter again after having passed
+over so many miles of stony roads. Chomolhari, the Mountain
+of the Goddess, stood up as a wonderful sight with its sharp
+peak outlined against the clear blue sky. On its summit
+the wind was evidently very strong, as we could see the
+fresh snow being whirled off in clouds.</p>
+
+<p>Phari is an extremely dirty village dominated by a stone
+fort and lying under the shadow of the great mountain
+Chomolhari, 23,930 feet high. It is 14,300 feet above sea
+level, and the climate there is always cold, as it is never
+without a strong wind. In the afternoon the Jongpen, or
+Governor of the district, came to call on me. He was a
+young man with an intelligent and pleasant face, and came
+from the country between Khamba Dzong and Shekar Dzong,
+so that he was able to give us much useful information
+about the road; he promised that he would write to his
+brother, who was acting as agent for him at his home, telling
+him to entertain us and give us all facilities in the matters
+of transport and supplies. He told us that he had received
+written instructions from the Lhasa Government to arrange
+for supplies and transport for us, and he promised that he
+would do his best. I gave him photographs that I had
+taken last year of his fort, and also of Chomolhari; these
+pleased him very much, and in return he presented us with
+a dried sheep which looked mummified and smelt very
+strongly, but which proved very acceptable to our coolies.
+It was necessary to stop here for several days as the second
+party had to catch up, and they too needed a day's rest.
+Also the transport that was to carry us along to Khamba
+Dzong would not be ready for several days, so the following
+morning I went to call on the Jongpen in his fort, where<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span>
+I found him living in some very dark rooms. I presented
+him with one of the new lever electric torches, which he
+much appreciated, though at first he and his servants were
+rather frightened by it. He gave us tea and sweetmeats,
+and soon afterwards the head-men of all the villages came
+in, and were given orders about our transport. Their quaint
+attitudes of respect and their darkly bronzed faces, that
+just showed up in the light, reminded me forcibly of an old
+Dutch picture. Some men, too, had been sent from Khamba
+Dzong for orders and to know when we should be likely
+to arrive there. In the course of the afternoon Dr.&nbsp;Heron
+and I rode over to a monastery about 3 miles away where
+I had been last year, and where I had taken some photographs.
+Some prints of these I brought back to the monastery,
+and the monks were very pleased with them. They were
+in the middle of a service when we arrived, as it was some
+kind of festival, and the dark temple was illuminated by
+hundreds of little butter lamps. The monks were all chanting
+their scriptures, and this they continued to do all the afternoon.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/img_046.jpg" width="335" height="500"
+        alt="see caption"
+        title="see caption" />
+        <a id="img_046"></a>
+<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Chomolhari from the South.</span></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>On returning to Phari, we found that a message had
+come from the Jongpen to ask us to dine with him the
+following evening. The change in the climate and the bad
+cooking had affected the stomachs of all the members of
+the Expedition, and none of us was feeling very well. Dr.
+Kellas was the worst, and as soon as he arrived at Phari
+he retired to bed. The following morning was misty and
+the ground was all white with hoar-frost, though it was
+the last day in May; but as I was anxious to get some
+photographs of Chomolhari we rode, with the Chaukidar as
+a guide, through the mist across the plain to some hills
+just to the South of the great mountain; after a few miles
+we found ourselves above the clouds with the sun shining
+in a brilliant blue sky. The whole of the Phari Plain was
+covered by a sea of clouds. On the far side rose the Pawhunri
+group of mountains, while further to the South, Kanchenjunga
+towered above all the other peaks, such as Siniolchum,
+Kabru and Jonsong, all of which stood out very clearly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span>
+in this brilliant atmosphere. I rode up a delightful little
+mountain valley full of dwarf rhododendrons and Alpine
+primulas until I reached a height of 16,000 feet. We then
+left the ponies and climbed on to the top of the hill, which
+was about 17,500 feet; from this point we had glorious views
+of Chomolhari immediately across the valley, while on the
+other side we looked over to the snowy peaks and ranges
+in Bhutan far to the South of us. We found the wind very
+keen at this height, and after taking several photographs
+we rode back again to Phari.</p>
+
+<p>Here I found the place full of troubles. Our Coolie Sirdar
+was, as we were beginning to find out, not only useless, but
+very mischievous, and he was evidently at the bottom of
+an attempted mutiny among our coolies, who refused to
+go on. The Sirdar strongly objected to our interpreters,
+who were preventing him from fleecing us in the matter
+of stores and supplies. However, after much talking they
+were all satisfied. Then it was the turn of the cooks, all
+of whom the Sirdar had chosen. I should not have minded
+one or two of these going, as they were very bad cooks and
+usually drunk, and the fact that all of us had been ill was
+solely due to their bad cooking; but I could not let them
+all go, so it was necessary to find out which were the most
+useless, and this we were able to do in the course of the next
+few days. Dr.&nbsp;Kellas was getting no better; he refused to
+take any food, and was very depressed about himself. At
+Phari I was able to change a certain number of our rupees
+into Tibetan currency. The then rate of exchange was
+33 rupees to 1 sersang&mdash;a gold coin&mdash;and 4½ silver trangkas
+to 1 rupee. The trangkas were a thin and very badly stamped
+coin about the size of a two-shilling piece. We found them,
+however, to be the most useful form of currency as the gold
+coin, though much easier to carry, could only be exchanged
+at a few places, and it was seldom that we met people who
+were rich enough to be able to change them.</p>
+
+<p>That night four of us went over to have dinner with
+the Jongpen. First we were given tea and sweetmeats,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span>
+followed by strong ginger wine, which was most comforting
+to our stomachs in their delicate condition. Then came
+dishes of mutton in varying forms with vegetables and
+macaroni. They were all served up in Chinese fashion in
+little dishes and some were quite appetising. We were
+very late in starting the next morning as all the loads had
+to be sorted and laid out for the very miscellaneous transport
+that had been given us. This consisted of ponies, mules,
+donkeys, bullocks and yaks. For riding-animals we were
+given mules, which trotted well and covered the ground
+quite quickly, though some of the Alpine climbers found
+them hard to manage and were apt to part company with
+their steeds. Our transport was by now becoming rather
+complicated as forty-four animals were going right through
+to Khamba Dzong and forty-four were being changed at
+every stage. Dr.&nbsp;Kellas was not well enough to ride and
+was carried in an arm-chair all day. Soon after starting
+I passed two of our cooks on the road hopelessly drunk,
+and left them there. Our way led over the Tang La, a very
+gentle and scarcely perceptible pass, 15,200 feet, but
+important as being the main Himalayan watershed. All
+day there was a very strong South wind blowing, but it
+was luckily at our backs, and we did not feel it too much.
+We then quickly trotted the 10 miles across the absolutely
+level Tang-pün-sum Plain. Here I saw several herds of
+kiang, the wild ass of Tibet, and got within 50 yards of one
+lot, but unfortunately the coolie who was carrying my
+camera was not up with me at the time. We also passed
+a certain number of Tibetan gazelle, but they were all very
+wary. The Monsoon clouds came up to the South of us in
+great rolling billows, but not a drop of moisture came over
+the Tang La. Chomolhari was a magnificent sight all day
+with its 7,000 feet of precipices descending sheer into the
+plain. Tuna (14,800 feet), about 20 miles from Phari, was
+our first halt. We were still on the main road to Lhasa
+and found a comfortable rest-house into which the eight of
+us all managed to stow ourselves. Dr.&nbsp;Kellas, though rather<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span>
+better the next day, was still too weak to ride, and was
+carried for the next march on a litter. We were now in
+the true Tibetan climate, with brilliant sunshine, blue skies,
+still mornings and strong winds all the afternoon.</p>
+
+<p>The next march from Tuna to Dochen was still on the
+Lhasa Road. I did not follow the path, but rode with a
+local man from the village over the great Tang-pün-sum
+Plain in search of goa&mdash;Tibetan gazelle. We saw many
+of them on the plains, but they were the wiliest and most
+difficult animals to approach, and in this flat and bare
+country it was not possible ever to get within 300 yards
+of them. As a rule they ran off when we were still half
+a mile away. They are restless little creatures, always
+on the move, and never at any time an easy mark to hit.
+I thoroughly enjoyed this ride over the plains and our
+glorious views of Chomolhari and the great snow-covered
+and glaciated chain to the North of it along the foot of
+which we were travelling. A curious pink trumpet-shaped
+flower grew in great quantities on the plain; the leaves
+were buried under the sand and only the flower showed
+its head above the ground. There were also white pincushions
+of a kind of tiny saxifrage. This plain, over which
+we were riding, was evidently once upon a time a lake bed,
+as the pebbles were rounded and there were distinct evidences
+of former shores along the sides of the hills. Many kiang
+were grazing on it and many thousands of sheep were being
+pastured there. As we approached the lake called Bamtso,
+the country became very marshy, and our ponies got bogged
+several times. The bungalow at Dochen was situated near
+the shores of the Bamtso. Never have I seen a lake with
+so many colours in it. It was very shallow, and the shades
+varied from deep blue and purple to light green, while in
+places it was almost red from a weed that grew in it. Behind
+it was a background of snow and glacier-covered mountains,
+which in the still mornings was reflected faithfully in its
+waters and formed a charming picture. Swimming on this
+lake were many bar-headed geese and Brahminy ducks, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span>
+along the shores were many terns and yellow wagtails.</p>
+
+<p>That evening an amusing thing happened in the kitchen.
+One of our cooks was heating up a tin of tinned fish and had
+put it in some hot water without previously opening it.
+When he thought it was sufficiently hot, he started to open
+it, with the result that it exploded violently, covering him
+and every one else in the kitchen with small pieces of fish.
+I was able then to explain to the Tibetans who were carrying
+our loads that our stores were very dangerous, and that if
+any were at any time stolen, they would be liable to explode
+and hurt them. It was, of course, the rarefied air that had
+caused this, for Dochen is at a height of 14,700 feet above
+sea level.</p>
+
+<p>Every day on from now the wind used to blow with great
+violence all the afternoon, but would die down after sunset.
+It must have been of a local nature caused by the rapid
+changes from high temperature to low, because the clouds
+above at the same time were hardly moving. I sent back
+Dorje, one of our cooks, from this place, as it was the fourth
+time that he had been drunk, and this I hoped would be
+a lesson to the others. We now left the Lhasa Road and
+turned off Westwards, having henceforward to rely on our
+tents.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/img_050.jpg" width="500" height="329"
+        alt="see caption"
+        title="see caption" />
+        <a id="img_050"></a>
+<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Loading up at Dochen.</span></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>From Dochen to Khe was a short march of 11 miles over
+the Dug Pass, 16,400 feet. I did not follow the road taken
+by the transport animals, but took a local guide and rode
+over the hill-tops in search of ovis ammon. I did not see
+any, however, though we sighted two or three goa, but they
+were very wild and would not allow me to approach within
+500 yards of them. There were numbers of blue hares,
+however, and some ram chakor, the Himalayan snow cock.
+But beyond this the hillsides were very bare of game. There
+were pin-cushions of a beautiful little blue sedum growing
+at a height of over 17,000 feet, also there was a big red
+stonecrop. Khe is now only a small and dirty village with
+practically no water except a half-dried muddy pond, but
+at one time it must have been a place of some importance,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span>
+as ruins and buildings of considerable size extend over
+an area of more than a mile. The Kala-tso evidently at
+one time came right up to this ruined town of Khetam,
+and the fact that it is deserted now is probably due to the
+shrinkage of the lake. This was only one of the many signs
+of desiccation that we saw in our travels in Tibet. There
+were some curious ruins which looked like old crenellated
+walls, but these walls were only places on which barley dough
+used to be exposed to feed the crows as a sign of prosperity.
+It was a curious custom and could only have prevailed in
+a very fertile valley, which this place is no longer. The age
+of the city I could not find out, but the few survivors told
+me that the holy shrine at Tashilumpo, which now is at
+Shigatse, ought to have been built here. According to
+a local legend, there was a certain stone in Khetam shaped
+like a ewe's-womb, and one day a donkey driver finding
+that his loads were unequal in weight, picked up this stone
+and put it on the light load to balance the other, quite
+unaware of the importance of the stone. This stone was
+then carried from Gyantse to Shigatse, where a high and
+important Lama saw it, and recognising that this was a
+very holy stone, had it kept there. The powerful monastery
+of Tashilumpo was built over this stone. We passed two
+small nunneries called Doto and Shidag in snug little valleys
+to the North of the plain, and on asking why there should
+be so many nunneries in these parts when in the greater
+part of Tibet men predominated, I was told that this was
+due to the fact that it was close to the Nepalese frontier
+where there had always been much fighting, so that most
+of the men had been killed and only women had survived.
+After a short and easy march we came to a small pocket
+in the hills called Kheru. Here were encamped some people
+belonging to a nomad tribe who always lived in tents. They
+were very friendly, put tents at our disposal, and did their
+best to make us comfortable. They told us that they came
+here every year in the twelfth month, about January, and
+left again in the fifth month of the Tibetan year (June) for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span>
+a place near Tuna, where they disposed of their wool, butter
+and cheese at the Phari market. There were altogether
+about twenty families here owning some 200 yaks and 3,000
+sheep. Dr.&nbsp;Kellas was slightly better, but Raeburn was
+not feeling at all well, and Wheeler was suffering from
+indigestion, so that we were rather a sick party. Kheru
+lies at a height of 15,700 feet, but it had been very hot all
+day in the brilliant sunshine, and on the way we had passed
+lizards and a number of common peacock butterflies. Next
+morning our march was to Tatsang (Falcon's Nest), a distance
+of 15 or 16 miles, and over two passes 16,450 and 17,100
+feet. The going was easy all the way, as the gradients
+both up and down the passes were very gentle. Between
+the two passes was a broad valley, filled with huge flocks of
+sheep and herds of yaks, and after crossing the second pass,
+we descended into a great barren and stony plain, more
+than 10 miles across which was Tatsang and over which the
+wind blew very keenly. To the South of us appeared the
+snowy crests of Pawhunri, Kanchenjhow and Chomiomo and
+the Lhonak peaks. Again I did not keep with the transport,
+but followed the crests of the hills, where I had lovely views;
+on the way I saw plenty of gazelle, and was lucky enough
+to shoot one of them, as they are very good eating. Our
+camp at Tatsang was pitched just below the nunnery there,
+which is on the top of a rock and where there are about
+thirty nuns. Our camp was on a pleasant grassy spot where
+some excellent springs bubble up out of the ground. These
+within a few yards formed quite a big stream full of small
+snow trout. They do not really belong to the trout family,
+although they have somewhat similar spots, and are very
+good to eat. Bullock, with his butterfly net, and the coolies
+with their hands, managed to catch quite a number of fish,
+and we had them for dinner that night. The ground round
+our tents was full of holes out of which the marmot rats
+kept appearing. They were very tame, and did not seem
+to be in the least afraid of us. Dr.&nbsp;Kellas had had a very
+trying day. He had been rather better, and had started<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span>
+riding a yak, but he found this too exhausting and coolies
+had to be sent back from Tatsang to bring him on in a litter,
+so that he did not arrive at Tatsang till late in the evening.
+Tatsang is 16,000 feet, so the night was cold, the thermometer
+inside the tent registering 7° of frost, though it was
+June 4; outside there must have been quite 15° as the
+running streams were all frozen over, but once the sun had
+risen everything warmed up and we had a beautiful warm
+day. Dr.&nbsp;Kellas started off in his litter at 7 a.m. in quite
+good spirits. I did not start till an hour later, as I had
+wanted to see everything off, and then went up to visit
+the nunnery, over which the lady abbess showed me. There
+were thirty nuns living there, all with shorn heads and
+wearing a curious wool head-dress. The place where they
+worshipped was full of prayer wheels, both large and small.
+They sat down behind these, and each nun turned one or
+two of them if they could manage it. The room was very
+dark, with a low ceiling, and at the end were several statues
+of Buddha covered over with gauze veils. In another room
+there was a large prayer wheel which they said contained
+half a million prayers.</p>
+
+<p>After leaving the nunnery we jogged along a dry and
+barren valley which gradually rose in about 12 miles to
+a pass 17,200 feet. On the way we passed Dr.&nbsp;Kellas in
+his litter, who then seemed to me to be still quite cheerful.
+I then rode on and at the top of the pass saw three ovis
+ammon, and after a chase of about a mile I shot one, which
+afforded plenty of food for the coolies for some days. It
+was a full grown ram about five years old and we had great
+trouble in getting the carcass on to a mule, as it was enormous
+and very heavy. After this I rode on down the valley for
+another 10 miles to Khamba Dzong. There were actually
+a few bushes in this valley, which was carpeted with the
+pretty pink trumpet-shaped flower mentioned above, also
+with light and dark blue iris. Suddenly the valley narrowed
+into a fine limestone gorge, and all at once the fort of Khamba
+Dzong appeared towering above us on the cliffs. It was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span>
+really a very impressive sight and some of the architecture
+of the round towers was very fine. I found that Morshead
+had been waiting here for about nine days, but had employed
+his time in fixing the old triangulation points. Soon after
+I arrived the Jongpen came down to pay us a visit. He
+was quite a young fellow, only about twenty-four, but very
+pleasant and polite.</p>
+
+<p>While we were talking, a man came running up to us
+very excitedly to say that Dr.&nbsp;Kellas had suddenly died on
+the way. We could hardly believe this, as he was apparently
+gradually getting better; but Wollaston at once rode off
+to see if it was true, and unfortunately found that there
+was no doubt about it. It was a case of sudden failure of
+the heart, due to his weak condition, while being carried over
+the high pass. His death meant a very great loss to the
+Expedition in every way, as he alone was qualified to carry
+out the experiments in oxygen and blood pressure which
+would have been so valuable to the Expedition, and on
+which subject he was so great an expert. His very keenness
+had been the cause of his illness, for he had tried his
+constitution too severely in the early months of that year
+by expeditions into the heart of the Himalayas to see if he
+could get fresh photographs from other angles of Mount
+Everest. The following day we buried him on the slopes of
+the hill to the South of Khamba Dzong, in a site unsurpassed
+for beauty that looks across the broad plains of Tibet to
+the mighty chain of the Himalayas out of which rise up
+the three great peaks of Pawhunri, Kanchenjhow and
+Chomiomo, which he alone had climbed. From the same
+spot, far away to the West&mdash;more than a hundred miles
+away&mdash;could be seen the snowy crest of Mount Everest
+towering far above all the other mountains. He lies,
+therefore, within sight of his greatest feats in climbing and
+within view of the mountain that he had longed for so
+many years to approach&mdash;a fitting resting-place for a great
+mountaineer.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/img_054.jpg" width="324" height="500"
+        alt="see caption"
+        title="see caption" />
+        <a id="img_054"></a>
+<p class="caption"><ins title="Kampa Dzong."><span class="smcap">Khamba Dzong.</span></ins></p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="hr65" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>Chapter III</h2>
+
+<p class="title"><span style="font-size: 150%">FROM KHAMBA DZONG THROUGH UNKNOWN COUNTRY TO TINGRI</span></p>
+
+<p>Our camp at Khamba Dzong<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> was pitched in a walled
+enclosure at the foot of the fort, built on a great crag that
+rose 500 feet sheer above us. They called this enclosure a
+Bagichah, or garden, because it once boasted of three willow
+trees. Only one of these three is alive to-day, the other
+two being merely dead stumps of wood. The Jongpen here,
+who was under the direct orders of Shigatse, was very friendly,
+and after our arrival presented us with five live sheep, a
+hundred eggs, and a small carpet which he had had made
+in his own factory in the fort. Next afternoon Morshead,
+Wollaston and myself went up to pay the Jongpen a visit
+in his fort. It was a steep climb from our camp, past long
+Mendongs or Mani walls covered with inscribed prayers.
+The Jongpen was at the entrance waiting to receive us.
+He then showed us over his stables, where he had several
+nice Tibetan ponies, which strongly objected to Europeans
+and lashed out fiercely as we approached them. After
+looking at them we went up many flights of most dangerously
+steep stairs, almost in pitch darkness the whole time, until
+we came to a small courtyard. Then after climbing up
+more steps, we were ushered into a small latticed room
+where we were given the usual Tibetan tea and sweetmeats.
+I presented the Jongpen with one of the new lever electric
+torches, with which he was much pleased, saying it would
+be of much use to him in going up and down his dark
+staircases. After tea he took us up on to the roof of the
+fort, which was quite flat, and from which we had a most
+magnificent view. We stood on the top of a great precipice
+and looked straight down at our camp, which lay many<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span>
+hundred feet below but almost within a stone's throw. From
+here too we could look across the wide plains and valleys
+of the Yaru and its tributaries to the main chain of the
+Himalayas which formed the Southern boundary to the
+picture. From this side they do not appear nearly as
+imposing as they do when seen from the South. Seen as
+they are from a height of over 15,000 feet, the distance to
+the sky line is not nearly so great, and as a rule we found
+the Northern slopes to be much less steep than those on
+the Southern side. The snow line, too, was also several
+thousand feet higher. Every day great masses of moist
+cumulus clouds came rolling up and round the peaks to the
+South of us, indicating heavy falls of rain and snow on the
+South, but very little of this came over the watershed&mdash;only
+an occasional slight hailstorm or a few drops of rain.
+From this point we could see as far West as Mount Everest,
+still over a hundred miles away. After spending some time
+up there and admiring and discussing the view, we descended
+once more into the fort, where the Jongpen showed us some
+of the carpets that his womenfolk were busy making and
+promised to have some ready for us by the time that we
+came back. We also much admired the curious old locks
+by which the doors and boxes were fastened; before leaving,
+he made me a present of one of these locks.</p>
+
+<p>June 7 saw us still at Khamba Dzong, as the transport
+would not be ready till the following day. Raeburn, who
+for some time had been suffering from the same complaint
+as Dr.&nbsp;Kellas, was unfortunately getting no better and was
+getting weaker every day. We were therefore reluctantly
+compelled to send him back again into Sikkim to Lachen,
+where he could be taken charge of by the lady missionaries
+and properly looked after. Wollaston and Gyalzen Kazi
+were to accompany him down to Lachen, and if possible to
+rejoin us by the time that we got to Tingri. This break-up
+of our climbing party was most annoying and seriously
+weakened our party, obliging us to alter our plans for
+reconnoitring in a thorough manner the various approaches<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span>
+to Mount Everest. The following day, after a good deal
+of delay and argument about the loads, we got everything
+loaded up and started off for Lingga, a march of about 16
+miles to the West. For the first few miles we rode across a
+great plain on which were several small herds of goa, but
+these were very wary and kept well out of shot. The path
+then took us alongside a small isolated rocky hill in which
+we kept putting up numerous hares who often got up right
+under our ponies' feet. We crossed the Yaru River, now
+only a small stream, at the picturesque village of Mende
+with its fine willow trees, and then after passing over a spur,
+formed of slaty rock, we descended into another great plain
+which extended all the way to Tingri. Five miles across this
+plain was the village of Lingga, surrounded by marshes and
+ponds, with barley fields and rich grass growing between
+the patches of water. There were several other villages in
+sight, so that the plain was evidently fertile and could support
+a considerable population. This was the first place where
+we became bothered by sand flies, which in the morning
+were very troublesome; but when the wind got up, as it
+always did in the afternoons, it blew them away, and for
+once was welcome. The villagers were very hospitable;
+they produced tea and beer brewed from barley for us as
+soon as we arrived there. The latter is quite a pleasant
+drink on a hot day, but it did not agree with my inside at
+all. The people here had never seen a European before,
+and though at first inclined to be rather shy, they soon
+became very friendly and curious. Some pieces of silver
+paper from chocolates quite won the hearts of the children
+who flocked around and did not in the least mind being
+photographed. To the South extended the chain of snows
+of the main range of the Himalayas, and on the way we
+had several clear and distinct views of Mount Everest.
+Morshead, who had left the day before, was camped at a
+small monastery a few miles to the North of us in order to
+follow the crest of the ridge of hills and to survey both sides,
+but was to join us again at Tinki. The weather now was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span>
+really delightful, though to the South of us we still saw
+heavy clouds which brought showers of snow as far as the
+mountains, but they did not reach us.</p>
+
+<p>From here to Tinki was about 13 miles over a perfectly
+level plain. The midges or sand flies were very troublesome
+the whole way and came in hundreds round one's head, got
+inside one's topee, and were thoroughly objectionable. The
+plain appeared very fertile, as there seemed to be plenty of
+water and great herds of yaks and flocks of sheep were
+grazing upon it. In the marshes and ponds were many
+bar-headed geese, Brahminy ducks, mallard and teal. After
+the rains, it is evident that a great part of this plain is under
+water. About a couple of miles from Tinki we crossed some
+curious sand dunes, about 20 feet high, which are evidently
+on the move, and soon afterwards the Jongpen of Tinki
+came riding out to meet us with a few mounted followers,
+he himself riding a fine white pony. He was very Chinese
+in appearance, wearing finely embroidered silks with a
+Chinese hat and a long pigtail, and his manners were
+excellent. He escorted us to the place where our camp
+was to be, and had had three or four tents already pitched for
+us. Tea and country beer were at once served, and we
+rested in the shade of his Chinese tents until our transport
+arrived.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/img_058.jpg" width="336" height="500"
+        alt="see caption"
+        title="see caption" />
+        <a id="img_058"></a>
+<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Tinki Dzong.</span></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>We were encamped in a very picturesque spot beside a
+large pond that was full of bar-headed geese, Brahminy
+ducks and terns. On the opposite side of this pond rose
+the walls and towers of the fort of Tinki. As soon as we had
+settled down, the Jongpen came again to pay us a formal
+visit, presented us with four sheep and a couple of hundred
+eggs and promised to do everything he could to help us and
+to forward us on our way. Half a mile above us was a large
+village and a big monastery belonging to the Yellow Sect of
+Buddhists who also owned a fine grove of willows. The
+bottom of the valley was all covered with barley fields, now
+a tender green and coming up well. As the fresh transport
+had not arrived, we had to spend the following day there. This<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span>
+gave an opportunity for Abdul Jalil, our photographic
+assistant, to rejoin us. We had sent him back to Phari
+in order to change some more rupees into Tibetan currency,
+as we found that Indian notes or rupees were not accepted
+any further to the West. Abdul Jalil had been very nervous
+about travelling with so much money and had borrowed a
+revolver and a rifle from members of the Expedition besides
+two large Tibetan swords and a dagger which he obtained
+from the Jongpen. In the morning, with Bullock, I went
+to return the call of the Jongpen. His fort at the time was
+under repair, so he was living in a small house outside the
+main building. He was very affable and gave us tea: we
+were then able to make all the arrangements for transport
+except the actual fixing of the price. For this he said he
+would have to consult his head-men. Just as we were about
+to leave he insisted on our eating the large meal which he
+had had prepared for us. He gave us small dishes of excellent
+macaroni and mince, seasoned up with chillies and very
+well cooked&mdash;much better than anything our cooks could
+produce. This we had to eat with chopsticks&mdash;a somewhat
+difficult proceeding, as we were not yet used to them. Later
+on, however, after much practice, we found no difficulty in
+consuming the numerous bowls of this excellent dish that
+the Tibetans always set before one. The Jongpen told us
+that he had been twenty-nine years in Government service,
+and he was expecting to have a better post than this shortly.
+His health was poor and he said he had been suffering much
+from indigestion, so I gave him some pills and tabloids, for
+which he was very grateful. On the return journey, he
+told me that he had greatly benefited by my treatment.
+The bar-headed geese and the wild duck here were
+extraordinarily tame, allowing us to approach within five
+yards of them and showing no signs of fear. They would
+come and waddle round our tents, picking up any scraps
+of food. The Jongpen had begged us not to shoot or kill
+any of them, as he said a Lama had been sent specially
+from Lhasa some years ago in order to tame the creatures,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span>
+and certainly the result was extraordinary; it was most
+interesting to watch these birds, ordinarily so wild, from
+so close a distance. In the evening the Jongpen came over
+to see us again, and after a good hour's bargaining over the
+price of the transport, we finally reached a reasonable and
+amicable agreement. Every evening, to the South of us,
+there were constant flashes of lightning all along the horizon.
+In the morning I woke up to the unusual sound of drops
+of rain, but this only lasted for five minutes and then cleared
+up, though the sky remained clouded all the morning. There
+was the usual fighting and confusion about the loads, each
+person trying to get the lightest loads for his own animal.
+The result was that there was much talking and fighting,
+and nothing was actually done until some head-man would
+come and take control and decide the dispute. The method
+of adjudication was as follows:&mdash;From each of the families
+who were regarded as responsible for the supply of a transport
+animal was taken one of the embroidered garters by which
+the man's felt boots are kept in their place. These garters
+were shuffled, as one might shuffle a pack of cards, after
+which a single garter was laid upon each load. The family
+to which the garter belonged thereupon became responsible
+for that load and had to pack it upon the animal's back.
+Although we had only ninety animals, there were forty-five
+different families supplying them.</p>
+
+<p>The march from Tinki to Chushar Nango was about 14
+miles and was up the valley behind Tinki to the Tinki Pass.
+On the way we passed well-irrigated fields of barley and
+then climbed up a spur covered with a small yellow cistus.
+After this a long gentle pull brought us to the top of the
+pass, 17,100 feet. There was a very fine view from here
+to the East looking over Tinki and Khamba Dzong and along
+the Northern slopes of the Himalayas. I climbed up a hill
+about 600 feet above the pass, whence I had a more extensive
+view still. I could see far away to the East to Chomolhari,
+while in the foreground was the large and picturesque lake
+called Tsomotretung backed by the rugged chain of peaks<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span>
+that separated us from the valley of the Brahmaputra.
+To the West we looked down into the valley of the Yaru,
+which flowed gently through a broad and flat valley. To the
+South-west was a range of sharp granite peaks rising up to
+22,000 feet, which ran North and South and forced the
+Yaru to flow round them before it could find its way into
+Nepal. The descent from the pass was much steeper. We
+passed many of our old friends the pink trumpet-shaped
+flowers, also a curious white and pink flower, rather like a
+daphne in shape, and smelling very sweetly, which grew in
+masses along the path. It was evidently poisonous as no
+animal would touch it. I picked some flowers of it and
+put them in my buttonhole, but was warned by the Tibetans
+not to do so, as they said it was poisonous and would give
+me a headache. Lower down the valley was full of small
+dwarf gorse bushes&mdash;1 foot to 18 inches high&mdash;which carpeted
+the ground. Everywhere were flocks of sheep and cattle
+grazing in the valley. Our camp was pitched on a grassy
+flat just below the village of Chushar Nango with its fine
+old ruined tower of stone with machicolated galleries all
+round it. To the South of us was the Nila Pass, which
+afforded an easy way into Nepal. The climate here was
+fairly warm, but the wind blew very strongly all that evening.
+Next day we saw the mountains all covered with fresh snow
+down to 16,000 feet, but we only experienced a slight drizzle
+as most of the snowflakes evaporated before they reached
+the ground, though clouds remained overhead all the morning.
+Morshead and his surveyors had been kept very busy up till
+now surveying and plotting in the intervening country from
+the tops of the hills, but owing to the clouds they were
+unable to do anything. We were all very late in starting,
+as our transport animals had been changed and the yaks
+that were supplied to us were very wild. In the first few
+minutes after starting we saw the plain strewn with our
+kits and stores, and yaks careering off in every direction
+with their tails in the air.</p>
+
+<p>The march to Gyangkar Nangpa to-day was only a short<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span>
+one and led across a wide plain through which flowed the
+muddy and sluggish waters of the Yaru. The existing maps
+of this country were quite misleading and we could no longer
+depend on them. The rivers flowed in opposite directions
+to those shown on the map and mountains were shown
+where there were none. After about 2 or 3 miles, we had
+to ford the river, which was about 80 yards wide and not
+quite 3 feet deep. We then rode on across the plain, which
+was in some parts sandy and in others muddy or gravelly;
+evidently during the rainy season a shallow lake. In places
+the dwarf gorse grew on it. The sandy tracks were covered
+with curious hillocks 5 to 6 feet in height formed by the
+drifting sand and the gorse bushes. These in order to keep
+alive were compelled to push their branches through the
+sand which in its turn became piled up around them.
+Towards the West end of the plain were marshes and shallow
+lakes around which we had to make big detours.</p>
+
+<p>Gyangkar Nangpa, which was our destination, was the
+country residence of the Phari Jongpen. His brother, who
+was acting as agent for him, rode out to meet us and escorted
+us to his house, a fine solid stone building dominating all
+the small houses. The tops of the walls were covered with
+gorse and juniper, rather suggestive of Christmas decorations.
+Tents were pitched for us in a grass paddock close to a grove
+of willows. We were then conducted upstairs into a pleasant
+room where were some fine gilt Chinese cabinets and some
+good Chinese rugs. Here the Jongpen had a meal prepared
+for us. We were first given tea, milk and beer, after which
+some fifteen dumplings apiece, each as big as a small apple,
+were put down in front of us together with three other bowls.
+In one of these was a black Chinese sauce, in another a chillie
+paste, and a third contained a barley soup. We were then
+given chopsticks with which we were expected to convey
+the dumplings into the barley soup, break them up there,
+season them with the various sauces, and then convey them
+to our mouths&mdash;a not too easy feat. This meal was so
+satisfying that we felt that we did not want to eat anything<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span>
+for a long time afterwards. We were told that in the rainy
+season the river here was unfordable, as it rose several feet
+and flooded over the plains, and it was then necessary to
+keep to the North or to the South of it. In the evening
+the agent came to make an official call and presented us
+with a sheep and a number of eggs. We invited him to
+dinner and gave him his first taste of such European cooking
+as could be provided by our native cooks.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/img_062.jpg" width="500" height="313"
+        alt="see caption"
+        title="see caption" />
+        <a id="img_062"></a>
+<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Gyangka Range from near Chushar.</span></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>There was a slight frost during the night, but the day
+turned out very fine. Our host accompanied us to the village
+of Rongkong, one of the villages belonging to his brother,
+and here he said good-bye to us. The day's march was
+uninteresting. We followed along the left bank of the
+Yaru past well-irrigated barley fields, for there was any
+amount of water here, until the valley narrowed and the
+sides came down steeper, when it became covered with
+gorse bushes. This valley we descended for about 10 miles
+until it debouched into another, a broader sandy valley
+where the Yaru changed its course to the South. We forded
+it at a point where it was about 90 yards wide and 3½ feet
+deep, and we then sat down and waited for our transport
+to come up. Beyond us lay a wide sandy valley through
+which a stream flowed sometimes on the surface, but more
+often underground, when it formed dangerous quicksands.
+When the transport came up, our drivers were very anxious
+to cross immediately, as there was a strong wind blowing
+and a violent sandstorm. They said that it would be much
+safer to cross now that all the fresh sand had blown over
+the wet sand. In the morning, they said, after a still night,
+it was very dangerous, so following their advice we started
+off, every one dressed up as though for a gas attack,
+with goggles over the eyes and comforters or handkerchiefs
+tied over the mouth and nose to keep the sand out. At
+first we wound our way through big sand dunes, off which
+the sand was blowing like smoke. Under one of these sand
+dunes we found our coolies halted and lost. Some of the
+donkeys, too, had been unloaded here, as they could not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span>
+find their way across in the sandstorm. After leaving the
+dunes, there were wide stretches of wet sand to cross, over
+which the dried sand from the dunes was being blown like
+long wisps of smoke so that the whole ground appeared to
+be moving. In places where the wet sand shook and quivered
+we galloped along. Eventually we and our transport arrived
+on the far side of the plain in safety. It was now too late,
+however, to go on any further, so we camped on the dunes
+near the quicksands in the teeth of the gale. The sand was
+being whirled up on to us and into our tents until everything
+and every one was full of sand. Water was handy, but
+yak dung, our only fuel, was scarce and scanty.</p>
+
+<p>Just before dark a very beautiful and lofty peak appeared
+to the Southwards. Our drivers called it Chomo Uri (The
+Goddess of the Turquoise Peak) and we had many
+discussions as to what mountain this was. In the morning,
+after taking its bearings carefully, we decided that this
+could be no other than Mount Everest. We found out
+afterwards that the name, Chomo Uri, was purely a local
+name for the mountain. Throughout Tibet it was known
+as <ins title="Chomo-lungma">Chomolungma</ins>&mdash;Goddess Mother of the Country&mdash;and
+this is its proper Tibetan name.</p>
+
+<p>Next morning, after an uncomfortable and windy night,
+we rode for several miles across a plain covered with sand
+dunes 20 feet or more in height. On reaching the entrance
+to the valley of Bhong-chu, I determined to separate myself
+from the main party in order to explore a peak which attracted
+my attention on the North side of the valley and seemed to
+promise good views of Mount Everest and its surroundings.
+After a climb of some 3,000 feet, I found myself on a spur
+from which I had a very wonderful view. The view extended
+to the East from beyond Chomolhari&mdash;over 120 miles away&mdash;and
+embraced practically all the high snow peaks from
+Chomolhari to Gosainthan, a distance of some 250 miles.
+In the centre Mount Everest stood up all by itself, a wonderful
+peak towering above its neighbours and entirely without a
+rival. I spent four or five hours at the top of this hill, basking<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span>
+in the sun, as it was delightfully hot. I saw several swallow-tailed
+butterflies, also a number of bees, wasps and horse
+flies. Major Morshead and his surveyors soon afterwards
+joined us, intending to take advantage of the fine view.
+In the afternoon I left the peak and descended into the valley
+in search of our new camp, for we had now left the Yaru and
+had turned up into the valley of the Bhong-chu, a river that
+flowed from the West, with a very considerable volume of
+water. As there was rinderpest in the valley, our transport
+consisted now of donkeys only, many of them being very
+diminutive in size, but quite accustomed to carrying heavy
+loads. Our camp was pitched at a place called Trangso
+Chumbab, where there was an old Chinese rest-house. The
+Bhong-chu here was nearly 200 yards in width, but there
+was quite a good ford across it to Tsogo. Here we found
+many flourishing villages and much cultivation. We seemed
+to be entering a much more populated part of the country;
+from the top of the hill I counted in one valley no less than
+fifteen villages and quite a number of willow groves. From
+here a longish march of 18 miles up the valley of the Bhong-chu
+brought us to Kyishong&mdash;a pretty little village on the banks
+of the river. There were a few willow trees here and a lot
+of sea buckthorn. I did not keep to the road, but started
+early across a big plain on which I was lucky enough to
+shoot a goa with quite good horns. The day was very hot
+and sultry, and after crossing the plain I went up a side
+valley which turned out to be extremely pretty. It was
+very narrow and a mass of wild rose bushes. These roses
+were all of a creamy yellow, and every bush was covered
+with hundreds of sweet-smelling flowers. There was also a
+curious black clematis and several species of broom and
+rock cistus. Here and there were grassy patches with
+bubbling springs of crystal clearness. Rock pigeons,
+Brahminy ducks, blackbirds and numerous other varieties
+of small birds came down to drink here and did not mind us
+at all. About two o'clock the weather suddenly changed
+and violent thunderstorms started all round us, first on the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span>
+opposite side of the valley and then on every side. Heavy
+hail came down at the same time and the ground soon became
+white. On descending into the valley, I put up what was
+to me a new kind of partridge, also numerous mountain
+hares. On emerging into the main valley, I noticed a group
+of five large Chortens. I was told that the centre Chorten
+had been built over a very bad demon, and that it kept
+him down. The other four Chortens at the corners prevented
+his ever getting away.</p>
+
+<p>The next day's march to Shekar Dzong was a short one
+of only 12 miles. We followed the main valley for about
+6 miles through some interesting conglomerate gorges
+alternating with open spaces covered with sea buckthorn.
+We then turned off Northwards up a side valley which led
+us to the town and fort of Shekar. This place was very
+finely situated on a big rocky and sharp-pointed mountain
+like an enlarged St. Michael's Mount. The actual town
+stands at the foot of the hill, but a large monastery, holding
+over 400 monks and consisting of innumerable buildings, is
+literally perched half-way up the cliff. The buildings are
+connected by walls and towers with the fort, which rises
+above them all. The fort again is connected by turreted
+walls with a curious Gothic-like structure on the summit of
+the hill where incense is offered up daily. On our arrival
+the whole town turned out and surrounded us with much
+curiosity, for we were the first Europeans that they had ever
+seen. A small tent had been pitched for us, but there was
+such a crowd round it that I retreated to a willow grove
+close by, which was protected by a wall. As the Jongpen
+had not come to see us, Chheten Wangdi went over to find
+him; presently he came along with a basket of eggs and
+with many apologies for not coming before, but he said that
+he had had no warning of our arrival. This was but partly
+true, for though our passport did not particularly mention
+this place, it authorised all officials to help us to their utmost,
+and the Jongpen certainly knew and had heard that we
+were coming. I asked him to give orders that no intoxicating<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span>
+spirits should be served out to our followers, remembering
+the trouble we had had in one or two places before owing to
+their all getting drunk. Our tents were all pitched inside
+an enclosure and in the shade of the willow grove, and above
+us towered the picturesque buildings of the fort and the
+monastery. This was by far the largest and most interesting
+place that we had yet come across. For our mess tent we were
+given a fine Chinese tent such as they always seem to keep for
+the entertainment of guests of honour. As in most places, there
+were two Jongpens residing here, one lay and the other
+ecclesiastical, and finding that Tingri was under their jurisdiction,
+we asked them to issue orders to their representatives
+at Tingri to help us in every way with supplies and transport.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/img_066.jpg" width="500" height="300"
+        alt="see caption"
+        title="see caption" />
+        <a id="img_066"></a>
+<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Shekar Dzong.</span></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>June 17 we spent resting at Shekar. In the morning
+Morshead and I went to call on the Jongpen; he lives in
+a poor house at the foot of the hill, his official residence
+being three-quarters of the way up, but he wisely prefers
+to live at the bottom, not being very fond of exercise. He
+was busy adding on to his house, and we were shown into
+the old part in which he was living. He gave us the usual
+Tibetan tea and sweetmeats and then insisted on our having
+macaroni and meat seasoned with chillies, which was
+excellent, followed by junket served in china bowls. He
+had some very fine teacups of agate and hornblende schist
+with finely chased silver covers, which I admired very much.
+That afternoon several of us went up to visit the big monastery
+of Shekar Chö-te. This consisted of a great number
+of buildings terraced one above the other on a very steep
+rocky slope. A path along the face of the rock brought
+us to several archways under which we passed. We then
+had to go up and down some picturesque but very steep and
+narrow streets until we came to a large courtyard. On
+one side of this was the main temple. In this temple were
+several gilt statues of Buddha decorated all over with
+turquoises and other precious stones, and behind them
+a huge figure of Buddha quite 50 feet high. Every year,
+they told us, they had to re-gild his face. Around were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span>
+eight curious figures about 10 feet high and dressed in quaint
+flounces which they said were the guardians of the shrine.
+We then went up steep and slippery ladders, in almost
+pitch darkness, and came out on a platform opposite the
+face of the great Buddha. Here were some beautifully
+chased silver teapots and other interesting pieces of silver,
+richly decorated in relief. Inside the shrine, which was
+very dark, the smell of rancid butter was almost overpowering
+as all the lamps burnt butter. The official head of the
+monastery showed us round. He was apparently appointed
+from Lhasa and was responsible for all the revenues and
+financial dealings of the monastery. We were given very
+buttery tea in the roof courtyard, which was a pleasant
+spot, and here I photographed a group of several monks.
+They had never seen a camera or photographs before, but
+they had heard that such a thing was possible and were
+very much interested in it. Before leaving we went in to
+see the Head Lama who had lived over sixty-six years in
+this monastery. He was looked upon as being extremely
+holy and as the re-incarnation of a former abbot, and they
+therefore practically worshipped him. There was only one
+tooth left in his mouth, but for all that he had a very pleasant
+smile. All around his room were silver-gilt Chortens inlaid
+with turquoises and precious stones and incense was being
+burnt everywhere. After much persuasion the other monks
+induced him to come outside and have his photograph
+taken, telling him that he was an old man, and that his
+time on earth was now short, and they would like to have
+a picture of him to remember him by. He was accordingly
+brought out, dressed up in robes of beautiful golden brocades,
+with priceless silk Chinese hangings arranged behind him
+while he sat on a raised dais with his dorje and his bell in
+front of him, placed upon a finely carved Chinese table. The
+fame of this photograph spread throughout the country
+and in places hundreds of miles away I was asked for photographs
+of the Old Abbot of Shekar Chö-te, nor could I give
+a more welcome present at any house than a photograph<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span>
+of the Old Abbot. Being looked upon as a saint, he was
+worshipped, and they would put these little photographs
+in shrines and burn incense in front of them.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/img_068.jpg" width="321" height="500"
+        alt="see caption"
+        title="see caption" />
+        <a id="img_068"></a>
+<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">The Abbot of Shekar Chöte.</span></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>About midnight that night I was suddenly awakened
+by yells and loud shouting and hammering close to my
+tent and next to that in which Bullock and Mallory were
+sleeping. The latter turned out and found that a Tibetan
+had seized an ice axe and a mallet and was busy hammering
+on our store boxes. He gave chase, but failed to catch
+the intruder. Some of our coolies, however, found out
+where he had gone to, and Chheten Wangdi had him handed
+over to the Jongpen. On investigation in the morning the
+man proved to be a madman whom his parents always kept
+locked up during nights when the moon was full, but he had
+managed to escape, so we handed him back to his family.</p>
+
+<p>Our transport was very slow in arriving, and there were
+so many delays that it was midday before the procession
+finally moved off. The loads, too, were very badly put on
+and kept falling off, also the transport was quite the worst
+that we had yet had. For about 5 miles the path went
+up and down hill and through much sand until we came
+to the bridge over the Bhong-chu. This bridge consisted of
+four or five stout pillars of loose stones which acted as piers,
+on which were laid a few pieces of wood, on which flat stones
+were placed. It was a rough form of bridge, but served
+at ordinary times for its purpose. During the course of
+this summer, however, after heavy rain, these piers so
+dammed up the water as to cause it to rise some 4 or 5 feet
+on the upper side of them with the result that the immense
+weight of water swept the whole bridge away. Bullock
+and Mallory with half a dozen coolies had left early in the
+morning, intending to bivouac out for a couple of nights
+and climb one of the hills to the South of the Bhong-chu
+in order to get a view of Mount Everest. After we had gone
+about 5 miles we met them close to the bridge, as they had
+lost their way and had been walking for about 15 miles:
+not having found the bridge, they had forded the river<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span>
+and had got wet up to their necks in crossing it. At dusk
+we reached the village of Tsakor, where we found a tent
+pitched for us, and here we spent the night. Our transport
+did not turn up till nearly nine o'clock, and so we all slept
+in the mess tent. From here to Tingri was still another
+20 miles&mdash;the path following the right bank of the Bhong-chu
+the whole way. In places the river was as much as 200
+yards wide and flowed very sluggishly. We were told that
+the waters were very low, but that next month, when the
+rains had broken, the river often filled the whole of the
+bottom of the valley. On the way we passed some very
+handsome black-necked cranes as large as the Saurus crane.
+These had black heads and bills, with red eyes, light grey
+bodies and black tails with fine feathers. On this march
+the midges were dreadfully annoying the whole way, and we
+were surrounded with clouds of them the whole time. Their
+bite was very tiresome and extremely irritating. On the
+way we passed a Mongolian who had taken eleven months
+in coming from Lhasa and who was on his way to Nepal.
+His method of progression was by throwing himself at full
+length down on the ground. He then got up and at the spot
+where his hands touched the ground repeated the motion
+again. As we approached Tingri, the valley widened out
+and bent round to the South. Tingri itself was situated
+on the side of a small hill in the middle of a great plain,
+from which, looking to the South, was visible the wonderful
+chain of snowy peaks, many of them over 25,000 feet in
+height, which extends Westwards from Mount Everest. We
+crossed the Ra-chu&mdash;a tributary of the Bhong-chu, partly by
+bridges and partly by fords; it was split up into a number
+of small and very muddy channels that took their rise from
+the Kyetrak Glacier. Tingri was to be our first base for
+reconnoitring the Northern and North-western approaches
+to Mount Everest. It was June 19 when we arrived there,
+so that it had taken us just a month's travelling from
+Darjeeling to perform this part of our journey.</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes">
+
+<p style="text-indent: 0;">Footnote:</p>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> Dzong means fort.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="hr65" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER IV</h2>
+
+<p class="title"><span style="font-size: 150%">TINGRI AND THE COUNTRY TO THE SOUTH</span></p>
+
+<p>Tingri is a place of some importance, with a considerable
+trade at certain seasons of the year. It is the last place
+of any size on this side of the Nepalese frontier and boasts
+of a military governor. The garrison, however, when we
+visited it, consisted only of a sergeant and four or five
+soldiers. There were about three hundred houses in Tingri,
+all clustered together on the slopes of a small isolated hill
+standing in the middle of the great plain. On the top of
+the hill was the old Chinese fort, now all falling into
+ruin, but still littered with papers and books, written in
+Chinese characters, left behind by the Chinese on their hasty
+departure. Inside were quaint mural frescoes of curious old
+men riding stags or winged dragons painted in many colours.
+All the way up the valley of the Bhong-chu we had seen ruins
+of walls and evidences of much fighting. These all dated
+back, we were told, to the time of the Nepalese invasions
+of Tibet in the eighteenth century when the Gurkhas penetrated
+so far into Tibet that they actually got to Shigatse,
+and the Tibetans had to call upon the Chinese Empire for
+help. The Chinese came into the country with a large
+army, defeated the Gurkhas, drove them out of Tibet and
+crossed the Himalayas with a considerable army into Nepal,
+an extraordinary military feat considering the enormous
+difficulty of moving an army in these unhospitable regions
+over the high mountain passes through which it is approached.
+The Chinese, after this, never left Tibet until they were
+driven out by the Tibetans only a few years ago. In the hills
+round Tingri we came across many evidences of the fighting
+which then took place. This probably accounted for the
+large number of ruined and deserted villages that we saw<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span>
+in the valleys around. At the foot of the hill was a large
+Chinese rest-house which was only used to house Tibetan
+officials when they came there on duty. The Tibetans
+themselves did not like to live in or use the place, as many
+Chinese had died there and they thought that their ghosts
+haunted the spot. This rest-house was, however, swept
+out and prepared for our reception, as we had told the
+Tibetans that we should probably stay there for some time
+and should want a house to protect us from the wind and
+to provide a dark room for developing our photographs.
+The rest-house consisted of three courtyards in the outer
+one we put the coolies, in the middle one the surveyors,
+and the inner one we kept for ourselves. In appearance
+the building was quite picturesque with its mural paintings
+of flying dogs and fierce dragons; but in spite of
+its picturesqueness outside and its handsome appearance, the
+rooms inside were small, and when the rain came it poured
+through the roof and our beds had to be shifted many times
+during the night to avoid the drips of water. It however
+provided an excellent dark room for us after we had well
+plastered the walls, the floor and the ceiling with mud and
+got rid of the dust of ages. To do any photographic work
+in Tibet a house is a necessity, as with the violent wind
+that blows every day all one's belongings get covered with
+dust which would ruin any negative. At first we found
+water a great difficulty as the local water was full of mud,
+but we eventually discovered a beautifully clear spring,
+about half a mile away, which bubbled up in a deep bluey
+green basin, and this water we used always, both for drinking
+and for photographic work. Tingri had many advantages
+as a base. Stores, supplies and transport were always
+available there, as it was the headquarters of the district.
+It also provided an easy means of approach to Mount
+Everest from the North-west and to the high group of
+mountains that lay to the West of Mount Everest. After
+sorting out all our stores and equipment and seeing in
+what state they were after the journey, our next business<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span>
+was the making of a dark room, as we had taken many
+photographs on the journey that required developing. The
+weather at this time was very fine, but the Tibetans kept
+on telling us that the rainy season ought to be starting, so
+we determined as soon as possible to send out parties in
+different directions to make the most of the favourable
+opportunity. The first morning after our arrival we were
+up on the top of the hill by six o'clock in the hope of getting
+a good view to the South, but the clouds were already over
+most of the mountains. Everest we could see quite clearly,
+and Cho-Uyo, the great 26,800 feet peak that lies to the
+West of Mount Everest. The Depon here, who was acting
+as the Governor of the place, was a nice young fellow and
+very cheery, and later on I got to know him very well and
+went over to his house and was entertained by him and
+his wife. He told me that the Tibetans still paid tribute
+to Nepal for all that part of the country, and that the
+amount they had to pay was the equivalent of 5,000 rupees
+per annum. The Nepalese kept a head-man at Tingri and
+another at Nyenyam to deal with all criminal cases and
+offences committed by Nepalese subjects when in Tibet.
+I found later on that the Tibetans were very frightened
+of the Nepalese, or of having any dealings with a Gurkha.
+I took photographs of the Depon's wife and all their children,
+and of his mother-in-law, which delighted them immensely;
+the wife at first was very shy of coming forward, but after
+many tears and protestations her husband finally induced
+her to be photographed. The great semi-circular head-dresses
+that the women wear are usually covered with
+turquoises, and coral, and often with strings of seed
+pearls across them. Round their necks hang long chains
+of either turquoise or coral beads, sometimes mixed with
+lumps of amber. Suspended round the neck by a shorter
+chain is generally a very elaborately decorated charm box,
+those belonging to the richer or upper classes being of gold
+inlaid with turquoises, the poorer people having them made
+of silver with poorer turquoises. The officials, as a rule,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span>
+have a long ear-ring, 4 or 5 inches long, of turquoises and
+pearls, suspended from the left ear, while in the right ear
+they wear a single turquoise of very good quality. Nearly
+every one carries a rosary, with which their hands are playing
+about the whole day. We were told that the laws governing
+marriage in those parts were strictly regulated. Owing
+to the excessive number of males, a form of polyandry
+prevails. If there were four brothers in a family, and the
+eldest one married a wife, his wife would also be the property
+of the three younger brothers; but if the second or third
+brother married, their wives would be common only to
+themselves and their youngest brother. In Tibet, when,
+owing to the severe climate, digging is impossible for about
+six months in the year, if a man dies his body is handed
+over to professional corpse butchers, of whom there are
+one or two in every village. These butchers cut the body
+up into small pieces, which are taken out on to a hill-top
+and scattered about for the birds of the air or the wolves
+to devour. If by any chance there is a delay in consuming
+these remains, this is looked upon as a sign that the man
+has led an evil life during his lifetime.</p>
+
+<p>On June 22 Wollaston rejoined us again. He had
+escorted Raeburn to Lachen, and had there arranged for
+an assistant surgeon to come up and take him back as far
+as Gangtok. Wollaston had then come on as fast as possible
+to rejoin us. His kit did not arrive till the following day, as
+he had ridden in direct from Shekar Dzong. The following
+day Bullock and Mallory left us, making direct for Mount
+Everest, and intending to reconnoitre the North and Northwestern
+slopes. Looked at from here it is certainly a
+very wonderful mountain, as it seems to stand up all by
+itself, but from this side it looks far too steep to be climbed.
+On June 25 Wheeler and Heron went off to Kyetrak, from
+which point Wheeler was to begin his photographic survey.
+I had intended to start the following day and join them,
+but the acid hypo that I had been using for fixing had given
+off so many sulphur fumes that I had been quite &ldquo;gassed&rdquo;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span>
+for several days and had lost my voice in consequence.
+Unfortunately my orderly and Wheeler's bearer, who were
+both Mahommedans, were taken ill with enteric. Wheeler's
+bearer was in a very bad way, and a few days after my
+departure he died, but my orderly, after a bad attack,
+recovered, and when I returned three weeks later he was
+able to be up and to walk about a little. As Wollaston
+was likely to be detained here for some time owing to these
+cases of sickness, and as Morshead wanted to get in some
+surveying all round Tingri, I thought it would be a good
+opportunity to visit the different parties that we had sent
+out, and also to get, if possible, some information about
+Kharta, which I intended should be our second base. The
+coolies that we had still with us at Tingri were kept busy
+by Wollaston, and daily they would bring in rats, birds,
+lizards, beetles, or fish which they had collected for him.
+The local people would not make any attempt to collect
+these animals, as they said it was against their religion. On
+June 26 I started out to the South and camped the first
+night at Sharto, a small village about 9 miles across the
+plain to the South of Tingri. On the way we passed numbers
+of bees that seemed to be coming up out of the ground and
+swarming. These were all of a very light brown colour.
+Sharto is only a small village, but there are no other houses
+between it and Kyetrak, so that it was necessary to stop
+there. As the wind always blows with great strength here,
+the tents were pitched within some sheltering walls. In
+every place that we went to now we managed to get some
+kind of green food which was turned into spinach; a small
+kind of weed that grows in the barley fields was generally
+thus used. At other times we tried turnip leaves, or again,
+when we were higher and above the limits of cultivation,
+the young shoots of the nettle which grows up to 17,000
+feet, and is really very good. I had taken with me this time
+a Tibetan whom we had picked up on the way. He was
+called Poo, and he turned out to be an excellent cook who
+could make any of the Tibetan dishes. As he was a sensible<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span>
+fellow, and very seldom drunk, I made a good deal of use
+of him. He accompanied me in all my wanderings, and I
+could not have found a more useful servant when travelling,
+as he never seemed to mind the cold or the height and could
+always produce a fire of some kind, even though he had
+forgotten to bring any matches. That evening at Sharto
+there was a curious false sunset in the East with rays
+of light in the deep purple of the sky. All the hills stood
+out with wonderful sharpness, and the colours were very
+beautiful. Towards nightfall we saw a number of kiang,
+which came quite close up to the camp and started feeding
+on the barley fields in spite of the pillars of stones and the
+strings which are put round the fields to keep both them
+and the hares away from the crops. The next morning I
+started off early as I intended to climb a hill 17,700 feet,
+on the way to Kyetrak. This hill, however, proved further
+off than I anticipated, and we had some difficulty in crossing
+a glacier stream, so that I did not get up to the top till 9
+a.m., by which time the clouds had hidden a great part of
+the mountains to the South of us. The view, nevertheless,
+was extraordinarily fine. The top of Everest just showed
+above a great icy range to the East of us, and South-east
+was that great group of mountains of which Cho-Uyo, 26,800
+feet, is the highest. Immense granite precipices descended
+sheer for several thousand feet until they reached great
+winding glaciers, while from over the Khombu Pass long wisps
+of cloud came sailing round these peaks and eventually hid
+them from our view. To the North the view extended
+right up to the watershed of the Brahmaputra, 80 to 100
+miles distant. The different colours of the hills, the light
+and shade from the clouds, all formed a charming picture.
+Once over 17,000 feet, I met my old friend the dwarf blue
+poppy (<i>Meconopsis</i>) and many pretty white, blue and yellow
+saxifrages that grew on the rocks. Descending from this
+hill into the Kyetrak Valley, we passed a number of goa
+which were quite tame, but unfortunately they were all
+females. We had two more big glacial torrents to cross<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span>
+which later in the afternoon would probably have been
+impassable as by that time they would have risen another
+2 feet, due to the melting of the snow and the ice by the
+hot sun in the morning; indeed, we only just managed to
+get across when we did. The main Kyetrak stream comes
+from the great glacier that descends from Cho-Uyo and the
+Khombu Pass. Opposite the village of Kyetrak it is luckily
+divided into a number of small streams, so that it is usually
+possible to get across it, though in the afternoons it is always
+somewhat difficult.</p>
+
+<p>This village lies at a height of 16,000 feet, at the foot
+of the Khombu or Nangba Pass and the Pusi Pass. The
+former is a high glacier-covered pass, about 19,000 feet,
+that leads into the Khombu Valley in Nepal. The other,
+the Pusi Pass, is a much lower and easier pass that leads
+into the Rongshar Valley. Between these two passes lies
+a very beautiful glacier-covered peak called Chorabsang.
+Here at Kyetrak I met Heron and Wheeler encamped in
+the shelter of some walls close to the village, which consisted
+of a few dirty stone houses and a big Chorten. The people
+told me that they lived here all the year round, and that
+they owned the grazing for many miles to the North and
+possessed herds of yaks several thousand in number. Traffic
+could be kept up over these passes, they said, at all times
+of the year, though only with great difficulty, and with
+much danger, whole convoys being sometimes wiped out by
+blizzards when trying to cross the Khombu Pass, as the
+fine powdery snow is blown down into their faces from every
+direction and they finally get suffocated by it. That night
+there was a sharp frost, and the following morning Heron
+and I started to go up towards the Khombu Pass, following
+at first the East side of the Kyetrak Glacier. For about
+6 or 7 miles we rode beside the great moraine that
+extended along the East side of this glacier; every now and
+then we climbed up on to a mound on the edge of the glacier
+in order to take photographs of it. The ice was all torn
+and riven into wonderful shapes and opposite us was the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span>
+finely crevassed peak of Chorabsang. I pushed on, leaving
+Heron to come on at a slower pace, as I was anxious to get
+to the top of the pass before the clouds should have come
+up and hidden all the views. Every day it cost us a race
+to get up to a point of vantage before the clouds should
+have come up and hidden everything. Leaving the pony
+behind, with one coolie, I pressed forward for some 4 miles
+up a very stony and slippery moraine on the glacier. Here
+were many curious ice formations&mdash;ice tables with a big
+flat rock superimposed, curious upright pillars of ice, and
+the main glacier itself was worn by stone and water into the
+weirdest shapes and forms. In places, too, we came across
+that curious formation which in South America is called
+Nieve Penitentes. As we passed onwards, new glaciers
+opened up in every valley. The views up some of these
+side valleys, which often widened out into great amphitheatres,
+were very grand, especially that of the huge glacier
+that swept down from below the rock walls of Cho-Uyo.</p>
+
+<p>On arriving at the end of the moraine, the boots that
+my coolie was wearing came to pieces and he said he could
+go no further across the snow, so shouldering the big camera,
+I started off alone. At first the ice was firm, but soon I
+came to soft snow and much water underneath it: they
+made the going very unpleasant and I kept floundering
+about up to my knees in snow and water. At length I came
+to a large crevasse along the edge of which I followed for
+over half a mile as most of the snow bridges across it were
+unsafe. At last I found my way across and by climbing on
+to some rocks was able to look over the top of the pass and
+down into Nepal. The height of the pass seemed to be
+about 19,000 feet, and as the day was very hot, I lay down
+and went sound asleep, only waking up when it began to
+snow. I then started, none too soon, on my homeward
+journey: all the way back snow fell heavily. I was very
+thankful to meet my coolie again and to hand over the
+camera to him: carrying a camera for five or six hours in
+soft snow at a height of over 18,000 feet is a heavy tax upon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span>
+the endurance of anyone unaccustomed to carrying weights.
+Wheeler meanwhile had moved up his camp from Kyetrak
+to a spot on the moraine East of the glacier and intended
+to spend a week or fortnight in that valley.</p>
+
+<p>The next morning Heron and I started to go over the
+Pusi Pass (Marmot Pass), so called because of the number
+of marmots that frequent the Southern slopes. After
+fording the Kyetrak River, we climbed up the moraine to
+the West of the Kyetrak Glacier and then turned up some
+easy grass hills until we came to the top of the pass, 17,700
+feet. Here at the very top were growing some delightful
+little dwarf forget-me-nots&mdash;not an inch high&mdash;also many
+white and yellow saxifrages. Most of the views were
+unfortunately hidden by clouds, though one fine triple-headed
+peak showed up well to the South. We passed
+several flocks of female burhel (<i>Ovis nahura</i>), which were
+quite tame, and allowed us to ride up to within 50 yards
+of them. The hillsides were bare at first and grassy and
+the air felt distinctly cold and damp. We now commenced
+our long descent, and at 16,000 feet began to meet with
+juniper bushes and many dwarf rhododendrons. As we
+got lower, many more varieties of bushes appeared. There
+were two or three kinds of berberis, loniceras, white and pink
+spiræas, and quantities of white roses; besides these were
+masses of primulas and anemones, and pink, white or mauve
+geraniums. We now followed the right bank of the Shung-chu,
+a great glacial torrent, which joined by several others
+became an unfordable stream. The path was well engineered,
+sometimes close to the river, and sometimes built out on
+rocks high above the stream. All of a sudden the valley
+narrowed into a great gorge. We had left all the granites
+and slates behind and had suddenly come into the zone
+of the gneiss, which extended many miles to the South.
+A little way further down, at a place where two other valleys
+meet, we caught sight of some green barley fields lying round
+the small village of Tasang where we encamped on a terrace
+for the night. We were now at a height of only 13,300<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span>
+feet, and were able to get fresh eggs and vegetables again.
+It was a great pleasure once more to have wood fires in
+place of the yak dung with its acrid smoke, which caused
+all one's food to taste unpleasantly. Here we used as fuel
+the aromatic wood of the juniper.</p>
+
+<p>This valley is looked upon as a holy one, owing to the
+number of juniper bushes that grow in it, and several
+hermits and nuns had taken up their abode in it and
+shut themselves up in caves in order to meditate. The
+nearest village used to supply them with food, and morning
+and evening could be seen ascending the blue smoke of the
+juniper, which they burnt as incense before the entrances of
+their dwelling places. There was a hermit who lived close
+to the village and whose cave we could see high up in the
+rocks above. The villagers told us that after meditating
+for a period of ten years, he would be able to live on
+only ten grains of barley a day, and they were looking
+forward to that day. There was another anchorite female
+who was supposed to have lived here for 138 years and
+who was greatly revered. She had forbidden any of the
+animals in the valley to be killed, and that was the reason
+why the flocks of burhel we had passed were so extremely
+tame. The next day, giving our transport a rest, Heron
+and I walked for 7 or 8 miles down the valley. On the
+opposite side of the valley the only trees were birches and
+willow, and it was curious that, at these comparatively
+low heights, there were no large rhododendrons or fir trees.
+On the other side of the valley, the vegetation consisted
+wholly of juniper, berberis or wild roses. We descended
+to 12,000 feet, most of the time going through narrow gorges.
+At one place we came across a number of gooseberry bushes
+covered with young gooseberries, of which we gathered a
+sufficient supply to last us for several days. The rose bushes
+were charming all the way. At first they were all of the
+white creamy coloured variety, but lower down we came
+on the big red one with flowers often more than 3 inches
+in diameter. Wherever there were springs of water there<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span>
+grew masses of anemones and yellow primulas. We now
+returned to our camp at Tasang, and rain then started and
+continued the remainder of the day. The people told
+us that this valley was passable for animals for three days'
+journey, after which the river entered into some terrible
+gorges down which it was only just possible for a coolie to
+get along, and these latter gorges formed the boundary
+between Tibet and Nepal. On July 1 we started to return
+to Kyetrak; the morning was misty when we started, and
+though the higher peaks were all hidden in the clouds, the
+sun shone brightly and the day was quite hot. Our kit
+did not arrive till between five and six o'clock, and the yaks
+had a great deal of trouble in getting across the Kyetrak
+River, as it had risen considerably. Wheeler was still at
+his high camp further up the valley, waiting for a really clear
+day. The clouds, too, were his great enemies, as they came
+up very early every morning from over the Khombu Pass.</p>
+
+<p>From here Heron and I had decided to go on and see
+how Mallory and Bullock had been faring in the next valley,
+so the next morning, after breakfasting at 5 a.m., we started
+off. It was one of the coldest mornings we had had, with
+a very hard frost, and being on the shady side of the valley
+we did not get the sun till several hours after we had started.
+After going down the valley for about 6 miles, we turned
+off to the East and crossed several easy passes, the higher
+of them, the Lamna La, being 16,900 feet. The country
+was very barren of flowers and vegetation, but there was
+a certain amount of grazing for yaks and sheep. The march
+to Zambu was a fairly long one of 20 miles, but the yaks
+came along well. This was a more prosperous-looking
+village than most of them, and the houses were all whitewashed.
+We were still too high for barley fields as we were
+just 16,000 feet, but the wealth of the village lay in its herds
+of yaks and sheep; the villagers told us they owned 3,000
+yaks. Shepherds in this country are but poorly paid,
+getting only thirty trangkas (10<i>s.</i>) per annum. But house
+servants are still worse off, getting only eight trangkas<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span>
+(2<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i>) per annum. However, they seem to thrive under
+those wages and there is no discontent or trades unionism
+among them. Our camp was pitched in a sunny spot not
+far from the village, looking straight over towards Mount
+Everest, whose top appeared over the opposite hills. From
+this side its precipices looked most formidable and there
+was also a magnificent ridge which we had not seen before.
+There was a slight frost again that night.</p>
+
+<p>Breakfasting, as usual, at 5 a.m., I started up the hill
+South of the camp and was lucky enough to get a clear
+view of Everest and the Rongbuk Valley that led up to
+it. This valley ran right up to the foot of Mount Everest
+and seemed an easy enough approach, but the mountain
+itself looked absolutely unscalable from this side, showing
+nothing but a series of very steep precipices. The day
+turned out to be a very hot one. I descended into the
+valley below, and started to ride up towards Mount Everest.
+Presently I came to an unfordable stream, and after making
+several attempts to get across this, found myself compelled
+to return several miles down the valley to the monastery
+of Chöbu, where there was a slender footbridge. The pony
+that I was riding was swum across, a rope being attached to
+its head. He was then pulled over to the far side, a proceeding
+he did not at all enjoy. The yaks, too, were unladen,
+and the loads carried by hand over the bridge. After this
+the yaks were driven into the river and made to swim across,
+but they only went as far as an island in the middle of the
+river. From this place they would not budge in spite of
+stones, curses and threats, until at length a man with a
+sling, fetched from the monastery, hurled stones at them with
+great violence: this procedure apparently so stung them
+up that they thought it advisable to cross the remainder
+of the stream. At the entrance to the valley, we passed
+some very tame burhel within a few yards of the path, and
+then went along at the foot of some fine cliffs with limestone
+on the top and layers of hornblende and granite below. At
+first there was quite a rich vegetation growing here,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span>
+considering we were just on 16,000 feet. There were juniper
+bushes, clematis, willows, a genista, rock roses, and even
+some yellow primulas, but as we got further into the valley
+it became more stony, and on either side of the path were
+small piles of stones heaped up by pilgrims. The valley
+was considered very sacred and was apparently a great place
+of pilgrimage. We found the base camp of the Alpine
+climbers pitched close to the Rongbuk Monastery, where
+there lived a very high re-incarnated Lama who was in
+meditation and not allowed to see anyone. This valley
+was called the Rongbuk, or inner valley&mdash;a name well
+suited to it; the legend was that from this valley there used
+to be a pass over into the Khombu Valley, but the high
+Lama who lived here forbade the use of it, as it disturbed
+the meditations of the recluses and hermits, of which there
+were several hundred here. At first these good people did
+not at all approve of our coming into this valley, as they
+thought we should be likely to disturb and distract their
+meditations.</p>
+
+<p>The Rongbuk Monastery lies at a height of 16,500 feet,
+and is an unpleasantly cold spot. This monastery contains
+twenty permanent Lamas who always live there, together
+with the re-incarnated Lama. Besides these, there are three
+hundred other associated Lamas who come in periodically,
+remaining there for periods of varying length. These
+Associate Lamas are mostly well-to-do, and having sufficient
+money to support themselves are not a drain upon the
+villagers. They will often invest several thousand trangkas
+with some village, and in return for this money the village
+will supply them with food, barley, milk, eggs and fuel.
+Higher up the valley there was a smaller monastery, and
+dotted along the hillside were numerous cells and caves
+where monks or nuns had retired to meditate. Every
+animal that we saw in this valley was extraordinarily tame.
+In the mornings we watched the burhel coming to some
+hermits' cells not a hundred yards away from the camp,
+to be fed, and from there they went on to other cells. They<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span>
+seemed to have no fear whatever of human beings. On
+the way up the valley we passed within 40 to 50 yards of
+a fine flock of rams, but they barely moved away, and on
+the way back we passed some females that were so inquisitive
+that they actually came up to within 10 yards of us in order
+to have a look at us. The rock pigeons came and fed out
+of one's hand, and the ravens and all the other birds here
+were equally tame; it was most interesting to be able to
+watch all their habits and to see them at such close quarters.
+On July 4, Heron and I walked up the valley to see Mallory
+and Bullock, who had got an Alpine camp some 7 miles
+further up the valley at a height of 18,000 feet, where they
+were training their coolies in snow and ice work and trying
+to find out whether there was any possible way of attacking
+Mount Everest from this side. It was a beautiful morning
+when we started, and on the way we passed one or two
+small monasteries and numerous cells where hermits and
+recluses were living in retirement and meditation. After
+crossing several small lake beds and old moraines&mdash;for the
+big Rongbuk Glacier seemed to have been retiring in the
+last few years&mdash;we came to the big moraine-covered Rongbuk
+Glacier. This glacier appeared to be about 8 or 9 miles
+long, starting immediately below an immense circle of cliffs
+which formed the North face of Mount Everest. We found
+afterwards that there were several other side glaciers that
+joined in it, which were even larger and longer than the
+centre glacier. After some steep scrambles up the moraine-covered
+glacier and on to a high terrace on the West side of
+it, we found Mallory and Bullock with their coolies encamped
+in a pleasantly sheltered spot with plenty of water close
+at hand and commanding the most magnificent views of
+Mount Everest, which here seemed to be only about 6 miles
+away and towered up above the glacier, showing immense
+cliffs 10,000 feet high. Mallory and Bullock were hard at
+work training the coolies in snow and ice work and exploring
+all the different glaciers from that side. They were, however,
+much handicapped by there only being two of them, which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span>
+made the work more strenuous. After spending the day
+with them, Heron and I returned to our camp in the evening.
+The evening light on Mount Everest was wonderfully beautiful.
+The weather seems nearly always to clear up about sunset,
+and its summit then usually towers far above the clouds
+in a clear sky. At dusk several of the Lamas came for
+medicines of different kinds, which we gave them, and much
+to our surprise in the morning they presented us with a
+number of fresh eggs in gratitude. Having seen Mallory
+and Bullock well established in this valley, our next most
+important duty seemed to be to select a site for our next
+base camp. Some place on the East side of Mount Everest
+would have to be chosen, and it seemed that somewhere
+in the Kharta Valley would be the most likely spot. Heron
+and I therefore determined that we would make a quick
+reconnaissance of that district before returning to Tingri.
+On the following day we moved down from the Rongbuk
+Monastery.</p>
+
+<hr class="hr65" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER V</h2>
+
+<p class="title"><span style="font-size: 150%">THE SEARCH FOR KHARTA</span></p>
+
+<p>After leaving Mallory and Bullock to continue the search
+for a possible route up Mount Everest from the Rongbuk
+side, Heron and I, on July 5, started off down the Rongbuk
+Valley in order to visit Kharta. We had been told that it
+was only two days' easy march from the monastery to get
+there. It was a cold morning when we started off; there
+had been a sharp frost during the night and the sun did
+not reach us till late in the morning. Mount Everest stood
+out at the head of the valley wonderfully clear and clothed
+with a fresh mantle of white. Instead of crossing over the
+river by the bridge, at Chöbu, we kept straight on down
+the valley till we came to Chödzong, where were the first
+barley fields and cultivation. There was plenty of water
+here for irrigation purposes, and some fine grassy fields
+on which many ponies were grazing. We had to change
+our transport in this village and get fresh animals, so that
+it was not till three o'clock in the afternoon that we got
+started again. In Tibet they have a system of stages, and
+animals from one village are taken, as a rule, for one stage
+only. As each stage usually ends at the next village, and as
+villages are frequent, this is a most awkward and inconvenient
+arrangement&mdash;as it necessitates three or four changes a
+day. In order to avoid these constant changes, we used to
+persuade the villagers by promises of extra baksheesh,
+especially where we had a large number of animals, to
+undertake two or three stages. After leaving Chödzong
+we climbed up over a steep pass 1,200 feet above the valley
+and found a still deeper descent to the village of Halung,
+which lay at our feet. Here we waited for our transport,
+but as this did not arrive till dark, we decided to camp<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span>
+there, though we had only done 18 miles from Rongbuk;
+the yak travels very slowly. We were now again at 14,800
+feet and found a much warmer climate, with green barley
+fields and here and there patches of yellow mustard. A
+large rhubarb with a curious crinkled leaf grew here and
+there in the fields. We tried to eat this rhubarb; it
+had an unpleasant taste, but this disappeared when it
+was cooked and it proved a welcome addition to our diet.
+The Tibetans do not use it for food, as sugar&mdash;without
+which it would be uneatable&mdash;is scarce and expensive in
+the country. The plant serves, however, as an acid for
+dyes.</p>
+
+<p>Halung is a very prosperous-looking village with well-built
+houses. The villagers soon had three tents pitched
+for us on a grassy field between the village and the river;
+cushions, cooking pots and fuel were also brought out for us.
+Here we camped for the night in reasonable comfort. On
+the following morning the loads were all carried by hand
+across a fragile bridge over the glacier stream, while the
+yaks and the ponies were driven across it. We then rode
+for a mile down the green and well-watered valley, and
+afterwards turned up into another valley where every flat
+space was green with barley-fields intermixed with brilliant
+patches of yellow from the fields of mustard. A small
+glacier stream fed this valley and supplied plenty of water
+for irrigation. After passing several small villages we rode
+across a spur also covered with barley-fields to Rebu, where
+we had to change our transport. This was quite a picturesque
+village situated on a rocky knoll, part of the village being
+on one side and part on the other of the river. Along the
+various irrigation canals were wild flowers of all kinds.
+Monkshood grew there, also black and yellow clematis,
+rhubarb, ranunculus and primulas of different kinds. By
+ten o'clock our transport was changed and we were given
+ponies instead of yaks: they travel much quicker and we
+had apparently a long way to go yet before we could reach
+the next village. We were expecting all the time to get to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span>
+Kharta that evening, but where distances are concerned
+all Tibetans are liars, and after doing 26 miles we stopped,
+Kharta being apparently as far off as ever. After leaving
+Rebu the path led for some miles up an uninteresting valley,
+in which limestone cliffs on one side and sandstone cliffs
+on the other came down almost to the stream, the waters
+of which, in contrast to the muddy glacier streams that
+we had been meeting the whole time, were as clear as crystal.
+There were many small birds along the banks, all of them
+wonderfully tame; these, when we were resting for lunch,
+hopped all round us and under our legs, carrying off crumbs
+or any morsels of food. We now climbed up on to a pass
+called the Doya La, 17,000 feet, from the top of which were
+fine views of great rocky peaks on either side, those on the
+South being covered in parts with hanging glaciers. About
+a quarter of a mile from the top of the pass we struck some
+granite soil on which grew an extraordinary variety of
+Alpine flowers; the blue poppy abounded, pink, yellow
+and white saxifrages covered all the rocks, and besides these
+were many other plants which I had not seen before and
+which were quite new to me. The range which we now
+crossed acts as a barrier against the approach of the Monsoon
+clouds and prevents them from passing over into Tibet.
+Over on the North side the country is mostly dry and very
+little grows there, whereas on the South there is a rich and
+varied vegetation and the air feels soft and moist. The
+road from the pass led by an easy descent into a fine valley
+with a green lake lying at its head under the dark cliffs
+of some bold rocky peaks. We followed this valley for
+many miles, a strong head wind blowing against us the whole
+of the time, and found ourselves before long once more
+among the junipers and willows. We also saw pink and
+white rhododendrons, and in places a small yellow one
+with waxy blossoms. The yellow rock cistus, spiræas, roses,
+yellow primulas, blue monkshood, campanulas, blue anemones,
+and hundreds of other wild flowers formed a rich flora which
+showed that a considerable precipitation from the Monsoon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span>
+fell in this valley.</p>
+
+<p>At last we came to a village, but every one fled at our
+approach, and we could get no information about the route.
+A little further on we came across more villages, in one
+of which, with much difficulty and after a long chase, we
+captured a man and made him guide us to the village of
+Chulungphu, where we decided to stop the night. After
+a little time we induced some of the villagers to come out
+from their hiding-places, and to produce tents and fuel for
+us. The camp was pitched in a field of sweet-scented primulas
+near the village. The architecture of these houses was quite
+different from what we had met before&mdash;they all appear
+to be strongly fortified, as they have practically no windows
+and there are only small loopholes facing outwards. They
+are all built of a brown stone&mdash;a kind of gneiss, and have
+sods on the parapet over which are laid branches of juniper.
+The next morning we woke to the sound of pattering rain
+and found all the hills wreathed in grey mist. This was
+their first rain this year, so the inhabitants told us. It was
+pleasant to one's skin after the dry climate and biting winds
+that we had been experiencing on the other side of the
+passes to feel oneself wrapped in a softer and milder air.
+We rode down this valley for about 6 miles until it debouched
+into the main Arun Valley. The people, however, do not
+know it by this name here, but call it still the Bhong-chu
+until it reaches Nepal. We passed villages all the way,
+villages brown in colour and built of a brown gneiss,
+around which grew fields of barley and mustard. After
+the barren valleys which we had left, these appeared very
+fertile; rose and currant bushes surrounded every field,
+while the hillsides were covered with juniper and willows.
+Along the path grew spiræas and clematis, while beside
+every watercourse were yellow marsh marigolds and primulas.
+A feature of the Arun Valley, which was fairly wide here,
+was the old terraces on its slopes, now all covered with
+barley, pea and mustard fields, the latter being a blaze of
+yellow. There were many villages here and some pleasant<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span>
+country houses surrounded by groves of willows and poplars.
+Down here the people were not quite so frightened of us
+as they were in the valley from which we had just come,
+where they had run away from us whenever we approached.
+The Bong-chu here is a large river with a very great flow
+of water, and quite unfordable. The nearest place where
+it could be crossed is at a rope bridge some 18 miles higher
+up, and during the rainy season this bridge is impassable,
+and communication with the other side completely cut
+off. To the South and close by, at a height of 12,000 feet,
+the Bhong-chu enters a terrific gorge on either side of which
+tower up great cliffs with snowy peaks high above them.
+On some of the slopes which are not quite so steep there
+are thick forests of fir trees and rhododendrons where, I
+was told, the muskdeer lived. After descending the valley
+for 3 miles, we turned up a side valley pointing Westwards.
+Down this flowed a very large and unfordable glacial stream.
+This evidently came down from the neighbourhood of
+Mount Everest, but local information as to its source was
+very vague, and it was evident that we should have to
+prospect for ourselves. Some 3 miles up this valley we came
+to a place called by the natives Kharta Shika, where the
+Governor of the Kharta District resides. Kharta was not
+apparently a village at all, but a district including a number
+of small villages. We halted a short distance below Kharta
+Shika and presently the Governor came out to meet us with
+a present of sweetmeats and the usual scarf. He apologised
+for not meeting us before, as he said that he had no information
+as to the date of our arrival. He begged that we would
+come over to his garden where he had ordered a fine Chinese
+tent to be pitched for us. We crossed the river by a wooden
+bridge, and after going through the village came to the
+Governor's house. Crossing through the courtyard we
+entered his garden, which lay in a nice sheltered spot
+surrounded by willow trees with a stream of clear water
+running through it. Big wild roses grew there and a few
+European flowers that he had planted, while under a very<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span>
+ancient poplar there was a large painted prayer wheel, some 8
+feet high, which was turned by a stream of water. Here in his
+garden he provided us with a meal of excellent macaroni
+and a very hot chilli salad. It was very pleasant to rest
+the eyes on the luscious green of the well irrigated garden,
+and to be for once sheltered from the wind. During the
+night we were awakened by a regular shower bath. The
+Chinese tent, beautiful as it was in outward appearance,
+was sadly lacking in waterproof qualities. As it rained
+steadily most of the night, we had to take cover under our
+mackintoshes on which were pools of water in the morning.
+There seemed to be no doubt that the proper Monsoon had
+at last broken, and the Jongpen himself told us that this
+was the first really heavy rain that they had had. All the
+people considered that we had brought this rain with us
+and were very grateful in consequence; later on, when we
+left, they begged us not to stop the rain, as they wanted
+it badly for their crops.</p>
+
+<p>As it cleared up a little about nine o'clock in the morning,
+though the hills were still all in cloud, we rode out with
+Chheten Wangdi, the Jongpen and Hopaphema, who was
+the largest landowner about here, to look out for a site
+for our next base camp. We wanted, if possible, to get a
+house that could be used as a store-room and also for photographic
+purposes. We rode down into the main valley,
+and after looking over several houses, we eventually selected
+one on an old river terrace with fine views all around and
+standing quite by itself well away from any village. The
+water supply was good and handy, and there was a pleasant
+garden of poplars and willows, in which we could pitch our
+tents. After a certain amount of bargaining, the owners
+were willing to let us have the house and the garden for the
+large rent of one trangka (3½<i>d.</i>) a day. It was apparently
+the first time anyone in that valley had ever wanted to
+rent a house, and there were no house agents there to run one
+up into exorbitant prices. We then rode on to Hopaphema's
+house, which was a fine solidly built dwelling surrounded<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span>
+by large juniper trees, willows and poplars. Later on we
+got to know this man very well, and used to call him always
+the &ldquo;Sergeant,&rdquo; as he was supposed to do any recruiting
+for the Tibetan army that was needed in that valley. He
+had a very kindly disposition, was always very hospitable,
+and had a great sense of humour. He had a tent pitched
+for our reception under a very old poplar with a grass plot
+in front surrounded by bushes of wild red roses. Here we
+were given tea, milk and beer, and then the usual macaroni
+and mince was produced. On leaving, he insisted on my
+taking away a large quantity of turnip leaves, as he knew
+I was very fond of green food, and they made an excellent
+&ldquo;spinach.&rdquo; The Tibetans that we met have invariably
+proved very kindly and hospitable.</p>
+
+<p>On returning to Kharta, where I had left Heron, I found
+that it had been raining all the time, though in the main
+valley we had had it quite fine. In the evening I took a
+walk up to an old fort not far from our camp. This fort
+in old days had commanded the only path from here that
+led into Nepal, but now it had all fallen into ruin. Close
+by it, however, was a delightful dell full of hoary willow
+trees, underneath which the ground was carpeted with
+yellow primulas growing among the bushes of scarlet roses.
+Near by were two old poplar trees, whose trunks measured
+between 20 and 30 feet in circumference and were evidently
+of a very great age. The primulas everywhere were really
+astonishing. They outlined every watercourse with yellow
+and often grew between 2 and 3 feet high with enormous
+heads of sweet cowslip-scented yellow flowers. It rained
+again during the whole of the night, and the fine spray
+that came through the Chinese tent made sleep rather
+difficult. The next morning we started to go back to Tingri,
+and for the first day's march were given coolies for our
+transport. In this district coolies are used a great deal
+as all the trade with Nepal has to be carried on by them,
+the paths over the passes being quite impassable for pack
+transport; the Jongpen told us that we would find them<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span>
+quite as fast as ponies.</p>
+
+<p>To-day's march was to Lumeh&mdash;a distance of about
+17 miles&mdash;and the coolies arrived very soon after we did,
+having come along extraordinarily well. Our route for the
+first 3 miles was down the Kharta Valley until it joined
+the valley of the Bhong-chu; we then followed the right bank
+of this for some 10 miles. On the way we stopped at the
+house of Hopaphema, who insisted on giving us a meal
+of milk, macaroni and mince, although it was only just
+over an hour since we had had breakfast. On our departure
+he gave us a basket of eggs and some more turnip leaves
+to take along with us, and altogether showed himself a
+most friendly and hospitable host. At first we rode through
+fields of barley, peas and mustard for several miles, the valley
+then became much more barren and the path occasionally
+was taken high up on the face of a cliff, where the river
+swept round close beneath the mountain side. At other
+times we crossed broad stony terraces. We came eventually
+to the village of Dak, where the monks from the monastery
+had pitched tents for us and had another meal provided
+for us. Coolies had to be changed here, our old coolies
+arriving while we were having our meal; after the loads
+had been transferred, our new transport proceeded along to
+Lumeh, where we intended to spend the night. The path
+after Dak was in places dangerous owing to falling stones,
+and our guide every now and then urged us to hurry, as
+owing to the heavy rain of the preceding night many stones
+had been loosened. The main Bhong-chu suddenly turned
+off to the East from here, unexpectedly forcing a passage
+through a very curious and deep gorge, where it burst its
+way through the highest mountains. We did not, however,
+follow the valley of the Bhong-chu, but kept on up what
+appeared to be the main valley; this was really only the
+valley of the Lower Rongbuk that in its lower portion is
+called the Dzakar-chu. This river we crossed by a wooden
+bridge, built on the cantilever principle, and which a couple
+of months later was washed away. After riding for a couple<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span>
+of miles over a nice grassy turf we came to Lumeh. Here
+was a very fine country house around which were grouped a
+few smaller houses. This was the residence of Ngawangyonten,
+who was managing the district for the big monastery at
+Shekar Dzong, whose property it was. He had tents already
+pitched for us, and fuel, milk and eggs already prepared.
+Around this house were five of the largest poplar trees that
+I have ever seen. The largest was almost 40 feet in circumference
+at the base, and the others were all between 20
+and 25 feet in circumference. The villagers told us that
+they thought these trees had been planted about 500 years
+ago. Magpies and hoopoes were very common in this
+valley&mdash;the former were quite tame and allowed us to
+approach very close. The barley-fields seemed to hold many
+hares. Some fine crops of wheat as well as barley were
+grown here, although the height was 12,800 feet. Every
+night now we had heavy rain which brought fresh snow
+down to 16,000 feet. As the clouds remained low all day
+we seldom got any distant views.</p>
+
+<p>The march to Pulme, our next point up the valley of
+the Dzakar-chu, was 22 miles, a very dull and uninteresting
+ride. The going was bad&mdash;we often had to follow the bed
+of the river, which was now in flood and extended to the
+cliffs on both sides&mdash;at other times we kept high up on
+the steep sides of a gorge, sometimes of gneiss, sometimes
+of limestone rock. In places where the valley widened
+out, the river bed was full of bushes of tamarisk and sea
+buckthorn, but otherwise the vegetation was scanty. After
+going 15 miles we were to change coolies; but the Lumeh
+coolies, who were extremely poor and very different from
+those that we had taken from Kharta, took eleven hours
+to cover the 15 miles, and did not arrive till six in the evening.
+Much to Heron's disgust, I proposed to push on to Pulme,
+late as it was; but the road was good, and we trotted the
+7 miles in an hour and a half, though the coolies and the
+donkeys did not arrive till well after dark. Fortunately we
+found tents as usual pitched for our reception. We had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span>
+originally intended to ford the Dzakar-chu that evening
+and camp on the far side, but it was too dangerous to do it
+in the dark, though the villagers told us that by morning
+the stream would be a couple of feet higher. The river is
+a great obstacle at this time of the year, as there is no bridge
+over it here, the next bridge being at Chöbu, 20 miles higher
+up the valley.</p>
+
+<p>The following day I started on my return journey to
+Tingri, leaving at 5.30 in the morning with Chheten Wangdi.
+I succeeded in fording the Dzakar-chu, which was deep and
+very swift. My pony was swept off his legs once and I got
+very wet, the icy cold water coming right over the saddle.</p>
+
+<p>Heron and the coolies were to follow on slowly and
+were to take two days in reaching Tingri, but I was anxious
+to get back, having been away already longer than I intended.
+Four miles away, at Tashi Dzom, I changed ponies and
+procured a guide who was to take me on to Tingri, leaving
+Chheten Wangdi behind with Heron. This guide proved
+quite an amusing fellow, and suddenly surprised me by
+counting in English one, two, three, four, and then saying
+&ldquo;Right turn&rdquo; and &ldquo;Left turn,&rdquo; and other military words
+of command. On inquiring where he had learned this
+English, I found that at one time he had served as a soldier
+at Lhasa, where the military words of command are in
+English, and these were the only English words that he
+knew. After leaving Tashi Dzom we turned up into a broad
+side valley with villages every half-mile and surrounded
+by barley, mustard and pea fields. What was, however,
+especially noticeable about all these valleys that we had
+been passing through for the last two days, was the extraordinary
+number of ruined villages that there were everywhere.
+This was not due to lack of water, for there was plenty of
+water in all the streams; these valleys, however, must have
+at one time been very thickly inhabited, and it is probable
+that the dearth of population to-day is due to the wars
+with the Gurkhas in the eighteenth century. We had a very
+wet ride&mdash;one storm after another overtook us, and a cold<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span>
+rain fell heavily all the way to Tingri. We gradually ascended
+out of the cultivation and crossing a low pass, about 16,000
+feet, looked down again on the great Tingri Plain. There
+was still, however, a long way to go, and it was not till
+after five o'clock in the evening that I reached Tingri,
+drenched to the skin. It had been a ride of between 36 and
+40 miles.</p>
+
+<p>At Tingri I found Wollaston and Morshead. The former
+had been very busy all the time I had been away in collecting
+insects, butterflies, rats, mice, birds and flowers, and had
+amassed quite a number of specimens. Morshead had been
+out a good deal with his surveyors to the North and to
+the West, but had been driven in by the bad weather of
+the last few days. This had apparently been general and
+we might say that the rainy season this year had begun
+on July 7, which the Tibetans considered very late for
+those parts. The following afternoon Heron arrived, and
+my kit also, which I was very glad to get, as I had only
+had a spare tent to roll around me the previous night.</p>
+
+<p>The next day or two was spent mostly in reading letters
+and newspapers. Our postal arrangements were at first
+rather complicated, there being no regular postal service to
+the provinces in Tibet. We had, therefore, to make an
+arrangement with each Jongpen to forward on our mail.
+Phari was the last post office, and the postmaster there
+had to arrange with the Phari Jongpen for a messenger
+every week to go with our posts to Khamba Dzong; we
+had left money with him for the purpose of paying the
+postman. At Khamba Dzong we had arranged with the
+Jongpen there that he should forward our letters to Tinki,
+and at Tinki we had made further arrangements for them
+to be sent on to Shekar Dzong and from Shekar Dzong they
+were to be sent to Tingri. We had left money for this
+purpose with the various Jongpens, and each Jongpen as
+he received the mail bag was to affix his seal on it and send
+it on as quickly as he could to the next Jongpen. This
+system worked very well for the first two months, but after<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span>
+we had moved to Kharta, partly owing to floods, and partly
+perhaps to the laziness of the Shekar Jongpen, our mails
+were all held up and we eventually had to send coolies back
+from our camp to Phari to bring them along. The best
+plan another time would be to take with the Expedition a
+certain number of coolies to be used purely for going backwards
+and forwards with the mails. On July 13 Morshead and
+Wollaston left to go to Nyenyam in response to a cordial
+invitation from the Jongpen, asking that some of the
+Expedition should visit the place. We were glad to accept,
+and this should be a very interesting part of the country
+botanically.</p>
+
+<hr class="hr65" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER VI</h2>
+
+<p class="title"><span style="font-size: 150%">THE MOVE TO KHARTA</span></p>
+
+<p>I had arrived back at Tingri on July 11, and remained
+there in the Chinese rest-house until July 24, when I started
+to move the base camp and all the stores round to Kharta.
+During the time I was not left always alone, for Heron came
+in occasionally for a night between his various geological
+expeditions to the North. Wheeler also came down for
+a change and a rest, and to develop the photographs that
+he had taken. He had been having a very trying and
+provoking time in the high camps, as the weather had been
+bad, with frequent snowfalls. Nearly every day he climbed
+up to a spur 20,000 feet or more in height, yet in spite of
+waiting all day there in the icy cold winds or driving snow,
+it was but seldom that he was able to get a photograph,
+and then the clouds would only lift for a few minutes.</p>
+
+<p>There was always plenty to do at Tingri, so the time
+passed quickly. Much photographic work had to be done
+and much developing and printing of the many photographs
+that were being sent in by the various members of the party.
+Supplies had also to be sent out and arrangements made
+for the comforts of the climbing party in the Rongbuk Valley.
+There were also several expeditions to be made round Tingri,
+and these were full of interest. Anemometers were very
+popular in this district; they were fixed by the Tibetans
+above small prayer wheels, and owing to the constant winds,
+it was seldom that the prayer wheels were not revolving.
+Many yaks' horns, carved all over with prayers, were lying
+about on the different Chortens or Mani walls. The barley,
+which was only just coming up when we arrived, was now
+18 inches high and coming into ear, and though we were
+over 14,000 feet, the crops looked very healthy and even.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span>
+Every evening during this period we had heavy storms of
+rain with much lightning and thunder, and fresh snow used
+to fall during the night as low as 15,000 feet, but most of it
+melted again during the day. During this period the plains
+round Tingri were rapidly becoming marshes and the rivers
+quite unfordable. The storms always gathered to the North
+of us, along the Sipri limestone ridge, and the high mountain
+chain that formed the watershed between the Brahmaputra
+and the Bhong-chu. These storms generally worked down
+towards the South. Occasionally fine days came to us
+when there was a strong South wind to blow the rain back,
+and it was seldom that the Monsoon clouds brought rain
+directly to us from the South. The Sipri range was a very
+conspicuous limestone range to the North of us, the limestone
+being worn into the most curious shapes. It was looked
+upon by the Tibetans as being a holy mountain, and on its
+slopes were many small monasteries. Hermits also took
+up their abode in the limestone caves below the summit.
+Pilgrims used to come from great distances to make the
+circuit of the mountain. This took generally five days,
+and much merit was acquired by doing so.</p>
+
+<p>On July 17 I made an excursion out to the Hot Springs
+at Tsamda, about 7 miles away to the North-west across
+the plain. The valley of the Bhong-chu narrows there for
+a few miles before opening out again into the wide Sutso
+Plain. There were two or three hot springs here, but only
+one large one, and this was enclosed by walls within which
+were little stone huts in which people could change their
+clothes. The water was just the right temperature for a
+nice hot bath. When I went there, there was one man
+bathing and also washing his clothes in it. The Tibetans
+said, however, that this was not the proper season for bathing.
+The autumn was the correct time for them to have their
+annual bath before the winter sets in. The water was saline
+and had, I think, a little iron in it, but was not very
+unpleasant to the taste. The rocks from which it gushes
+out are very extraordinary, the strata forming a very steep<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span>
+arch, on the top of which there is a crack, from the very
+end of which, and at its lowest point, the springs came
+bubbling out. Near by in the valley there were also a good
+many saline deposits. In one of the smaller springs there
+were a number of little pink worm-like animals that were
+swimming about and clinging with their mouths to the
+sides of the rock. Riding back to Tingri by a different way
+across the plain, I saw a number of kiang and a few goa,
+but they were very wild and would not allow us to approach
+to within 500 yards. I also passed three of the handsome
+black-necked cranes. The way across the plain was rather
+boggy, and we had some difficulty in finding it. When
+I got back I found that Heron had come in for a couple of
+nights, and the following day Wheeler too joined us, having
+walked in from Nezogu, the bridge over the Kyetrak River.
+He was anxious to develop some photographs, and as the
+weather was very bad, he could do no good by remaining
+in his high camp.</p>
+
+<p>On July 20 we had very brilliant flashes of lightning,
+followed by a heavy storm of rain during the night. This
+was too much for the flat earth roof of the rest-house, and
+the water poured into all our rooms, causing us to move
+our beds many times during the night in search of a dry
+spot. I started off early in the morning as I had intended
+to climb the hills to the East of Tingri, but the rain that
+had fallen at Tingri had meant a heavy fall of snow on the
+mountains and the snow had fallen as low down as 15,000
+feet. We passed several goa on the way, but they were too
+shy to allow us to get a shot, also some kiang, which were
+very tame, and showed up well in the snow. As we got
+higher, the snow became about 4 inches deep, but was
+melting rapidly. The glare and the heat were intense. I
+saw a good many flocks of burhel, but no very large heads.
+The views as I followed the crests of the hills were extremely
+fine; on the North I looked down into the valley of the
+Bhong-chu, which was in flood and had filled the whole of
+the bottom of the valley with water, and on the other side<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span>
+I looked over the Tingri Plain to the great range of snow
+peaks which finally ended in the mighty mass of Gosainthan.
+The weather had been very hot and oppressive all day,
+and as usual in the evening we had another very severe
+thunderstorm with heavy rain all through the night. The
+following day was more like an English November day&mdash;cold
+and grey with drizzling rain&mdash;and with the snow on
+the hills down to 15,000 feet. I bought a Tibetan pony
+during the morning for the large sum of £7. It was a bay,
+an excellent ambler, and very surefooted. The Tibetan
+name by which he was known was Dug-dra-kyang-po, which
+means &ldquo;The bay pony like a dragon.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/img_100.jpg" width="500" height="334"
+        alt="see caption"
+        title="see caption" />
+        <a id="img_100"></a>
+<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Military Governor, his Wife and Mother.</span></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>I went over to have lunch with the Depon's representative.
+His family were all dressed up very smartly for the
+occasion, the women folk wearing their best head-dresses
+of turquoises, coral and pearls. He gave us rice and raisins
+as <ins title="a">an</ins> <i>hors d'&oelig;uvre</i>, and an <i>entrée</i> of junket, followed by some
+pickled turnips, which I thought very nasty, after which
+we had the usual macaroni and mince. He had been very
+friendly and kindly to us the whole time that we were at
+Tingri, and had always supplied us with everything we asked
+for. On July 22 we saw a very fine solar halo with well-marked
+rings of yellow, brown, green and white, but the
+rain continued steadily nearly all the time. The day before
+we were to leave Tingri I sent away my orderly, together
+with two coolies who had been sick, and whom the doctor
+had recommended that we should send back to Darjeeling.
+They were given sufficient food to take them back to
+Darjeeling and an extra fifteen days' pay, the orderly also
+being given a horse to ride. Towards evening the weather
+improved and we had some lovely views of Mount Everest
+and that great group of snow peaks of which Cho-Uyo is
+the highest. They all looked very white under their new
+coating of snow, which lies thickly down to 16,000 feet.</p>
+
+<p>On July 24 we eventually got off from Tingri; the last
+few days had been spent in packing up and re-arranging
+all the stores. There was the usual talking, shouting and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span>
+arguing, but all the loads were eventually packed on to
+the animals, or loaded on to the backs of the coolies by
+nine o'clock. We then took a last farewell of the Depon's
+representative, who was very sorry to see us go, and who
+had done so much to make our stay pleasant there.</p>
+
+<p>The first march was to Nezogu, where there was a bridge
+over the Kyetrak; this was about 19 miles, partly across
+the Tingri Plain and then over a tiresome moraine. While
+crossing the moraine, I shot a goa which had quite a good
+head. Wheeler had accompanied me, as he had left his
+camp at the bridge, and on arrival there we found his
+tents all pitched and his cook waiting ready to receive us.
+Our own kit did not arrive till it was getting dark, when
+the weather looked very ominous. Rain fell steadily most
+of the night, and just before dawn this turned to snow,
+so that when we woke up there were a couple of inches of
+fresh snow on the ground. As it was still snowing steadily,
+we were in no great hurry to start, and did not get off until
+nine o'clock. The weather than gradually improved and
+the fresh snow soon melted, though the ground was left
+in a very boggy condition. The march to Chöbu was about
+15 miles over the easy Lamna Pass. Knowing the way, I
+climbed on to a ridge to the South, where I had a fine view
+again of Mount Everest and the Rongbuk Valley. We
+pitched our camp on the far side of the Rongbuk River,
+our loads being carried across the frail bridge by the villagers,
+and our ponies being swum across. Here Mallory and
+Bullock joined us. They had been experiencing latterly
+very bad weather in the Upper Rongbuk Valley, and
+constant heavy falls of snow had seriously hindered their
+reconnaissance work. Their coolies, too, were getting
+rather tired and stale from remaining at such heights for
+a considerable time, and were badly in want of a rest. I
+had therefore arranged for them to meet me here and to
+accompany me round to Kharta, from which place they
+could then explore the Eastern approaches of Mount Everest.
+During the night I suffered much from inflammation of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span>
+eyes, due to the snow that had fallen the day before. They
+were so painful as to make sleep quite impossible. I was
+not, however, the only one to suffer, as Chheten Wangdi,
+the interpreter, Acchu, the cook, and several of the coolies
+that were with me were all suffering from the same complaint
+in the morning. Though the sun had not been
+shining and the day had been misty, the glare from the
+new snow had been very much more powerful than anything
+we had expected and taught us a lesson that whenever
+there was the slightest fall of snow, we should always wear
+our snow goggles. From Chöbu we marched to Rebu&mdash;a
+distance of about 15 miles. Knowing the way, I took
+Mallory and Bullock by the upper road over a pass to
+Halung; from the top of this pass we branched off on to
+a spur where there was a very fine view of Mount Everest
+and the mountains to the North and North-east of it.
+There had been so much fresh snow everywhere that it
+was often very difficult to recognize the peaks, but Mount
+Everest from this side looked as impossible as ever with
+the great black bands of perpendicular cliffs that seemed
+to encircle it.</p>
+
+<p>The day was actually fine and the march was a pleasant
+one through a fertile valley full of fields of barley, mustard
+and peas. The wild flowers all round Rebu were still very
+beautiful. Our camp was pitched on a grassy spot on the
+bank of a rushing stream and close to the village of Rebu.</p>
+
+<p>The following morning the weather was again fine, and as
+the yaks were all ready for us, we were started by 7.30 a.m.
+This start was quite amusing; we ourselves had first to cross
+a flooded stream over which there was a very wobbly
+stone bridge. With much excitement and noise the yaks
+were then driven across the stream, but the current was
+too strong for the bullocks, which had to be unloaded
+and their loads carried over. While this was being done,
+the bridge collapsed, and a good lady and a bullock that
+were trying to get over by the bridge all fell into the
+water together. There was then a terrible excitement and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span>
+mix-up, every one shouting and screaming, but they both
+scrambled safely to the shore, and beyond a wetting, no
+one was any the worse. We then took the road that I had
+travelled three weeks before over the Doya La. Knowing
+that there was a good view to be got from the top of the
+pass, I hurried ahead and climbed a rocky hill, 17,700 feet,
+close to the pass, where I saw a wonderful scene. Range
+upon range of snowy mountains extended right away to
+Kanchenjunga, and the course of the Arun could be traced
+wandering down through Nepal, while to the South towered
+up the great walls of Makalu. Mount Everest itself I could
+not see, as there were a good many clouds about, but to the
+South-west were some fine snow and rock peaks of which
+I took several photographs. I then basked in the sun for
+a couple of hours and enjoyed the view. The wild flowers
+on the top of the pass were delightful; I found three different
+kinds of gentians and the blue poppies were as numerous as
+ever. The primulas, however, had many of them already
+gone to seed, but the saxifrages still covered the rocks,
+and it was a delight to wander along and note the different
+varieties. Riding on to Chulungphu, we found tents pitched
+for us and fuel and milk all ready. In place of the primulas
+the ground was now carpeted with gentians. From here
+to Kharta the march was only a short one, but we thoroughly
+enjoyed riding along between the bushes of wild rose or
+juniper. The former were no longer in blossom, but there
+were many other new varieties of flowers appearing. I
+rode on ahead to the spot that I had chosen, three weeks
+previously, for our new base camp, and I found that Hopaphema
+had already pitched some tents for us. He had also
+prepared a meal for us and made every arrangement for
+our comfort. Our camp was pitched under the willows
+and poplar trees in the garden, and it was pleasant to hear
+the rustle of the leaves in the wind once more. We were
+now at a height of only 12,300 feet, and the change in
+altitude was a very great relief to the climbing party and
+the coolies who had come down from the high camps.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span>
+There were also plenty of green vegetables to be got here,
+and the coolies appreciated the change enormously. Just
+below us flowed the Arun, now a majestic river over a
+hundred yards wide. A mile lower down in its course it
+entered into the great gorges in which within a space of
+20 miles it dropped from 12,000 feet to 7,500 feet, a drop
+of over 200 feet in the mile. From our camp we used to
+watch the Monsoon clouds come up every day through the
+gorge in thin wisps, but every day they melted away always
+at the same spot; and though rain fell heavily a mile below
+us, yet with us the sun shone brightly, and it was rare for
+any rain to reach us. Twenty miles away to the North
+again were heavy clouds and storms, and rain fell there
+daily, so that we seemed to be living in a dry zone between
+the two storm systems. The forests of fir and birch trees
+came up to the limit of the rainfall and then ceased suddenly
+where the rain stopped a mile below us. At this point the
+Kharta River formed a sharp dividing line between the wet
+and dry zones.</p>
+
+<p>The next day was spent in settling down, arranging all
+our stores and making a new dark room in the house we
+had rented. The climate here was delicious and a great
+change from Tingri. The temperature in my tent used to
+go up to 75° Fahr. during the day.</p>
+
+<p>The day after we arrived the Jongpen came down to
+pay an official call and brought a welcome present of a
+hundred eggs and five animals laden with fuel. He apologised
+for not coming the day before, but said he had been
+very busy trying a murder case where eighteen people
+had been poisoned by a family that had a feud with them,
+the poison used being aconite, with which they were evidently
+quite familiar. He told us that our coolies could collect
+fuel anywhere on the right bank of the Kharta River, but
+begged that we would not collect it anywhere near where
+we were living, as the villagers would object.</p>
+
+<p>On July 30 I started off to explore a neighbouring pass
+and valley which looked interesting. Mallory and Bullock<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span>
+were having a few days' rest before starting off again, and
+so they remained in camp. Riding a few miles up the Kharta
+Valley, I crossed the river by a bridge at the first village,
+and then had a very steep and stony climb of nearly 3,000
+feet to the Samchung Pass, 15,000 feet. As we approached
+the pass, and entered a moister climate, the vegetation
+increased rapidly. On these slopes there were rhododendrons
+5 feet high, mountain ash, birch, willows, spiræas
+and juniper. At the top of the pass there was not much of
+a view, but prowling round I came across some very fine
+saussuræas with their great white woolly heads and a
+wonderful meconopsis of a deep claret colour that I had never
+seen before. There were fifteen to twenty flowers on each
+stem, and it grew from 2 to 3 feet high. Eight varieties
+of gentians also grew in the same valley, and a quantity of
+other attractive Alpine plants. From the pass we descended
+about 500 feet into a delightful high level glen full of small
+lakes, evidently once upon a time formed by glaciers which
+must have filled the whole of the valley. I counted fourteen
+lakes in this valley, two or three of them being nearly half
+a mile long, and all of them of different colours varying
+from a turquoise blue to green and black. For some miles
+we rode and walked up the valley. The road consisted of
+big loose stones, often with water flowing underneath them,
+and usually with big holes in between, so that our ponies
+were lucky in not breaking their legs. There was then
+a steep climb which brought us on to a second pass, the
+Chog La, 16,100 feet, close to which were three small glaciers.
+Across the top of the pass there was a wall built many years
+ago as a second line of defence against the Gurkhas, the
+first line being on the top of the Popti Pass. Unfortunately
+the clouds now came up, and it began to rain, so that we
+had no view into the Kama Valley, though later on I was
+to make the acquaintance of this most charming valley.
+For an hour and a half I sheltered behind the wall, but
+as the clouds did not lift I returned towards Kharta.
+As we descended into the valley again the glimpses of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span>
+lakes seen between the mists reminded me much of the
+upper lakes at Killarney. There were the same ferns,
+willows, birch and rhododendrons, and much the same
+moist atmosphere.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/img_106.jpg" width="500" height="325"
+        alt="see caption"
+        title="see caption" />
+        <a id="img_106"></a>
+<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">The Dzongpen of Kharta and his Wife.</span></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Next day, with Bullock, I went to pay an official visit
+to the Jongpen at Kharta Shiga. He had made great preparations
+to receive us, and had put up a large tent in which
+Chinese carpets and tables were set out with pots of flowers
+arranged all round. Soon after our arrival we were given
+a most copious meal: bowl after bowl of well cooked macaroni
+and mince with pickled radishes and chillies were set before
+us. After we had finished this meal, I induced the Jongpen
+and his young wife to be photographed. She had a most
+elaborate head-dress of coral and pearls, with masses of
+false hair on either side of her head. It was not becoming.
+Barely had we finished taking the photograph when another
+meal was put in front of us: this time it consisted of Tibetan
+dumplings and mince patties, of which I gave the Jongpen's
+little dog the greater part surreptitiously; I then hurried
+off before I should be compelled to eat a third meal.</p>
+
+<p>On August 2 Mallory and Bullock started off with thirty-two
+coolies to explore the Eastern approaches to Mount
+Everest. It had been very hard to get any information
+about Mount Everest. The people knew the mountain by
+name, but told us that the only way to get near it was by
+crossing over the ridge to the South of the Kharta Valley,
+when we should find a big valley that would lead right up
+to <ins title="Chomo-lungma">Chomolungma</ins>. Where the Kharta River came from
+they could not tell me, and whether it took its source from
+the snows of Mount Everest they did not know. Tibetans'
+ignorance of any valleys outside their own was really extraordinary.
+I could seldom get any definite information about
+places outside their valley, and on asking two or three
+people, they would invariably give contradictory answers.
+It was the same as regards distance. They would tell you
+a place was one, two or three days' march away, but for
+shorter distances they had no time-table, and the nearest<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span>
+approach to this was a measurement by cups of tea. I
+remember one day asking a village yokel how far off the
+next village was, and he surprised me by answering, &ldquo;Three
+cups of tea.&rdquo; Several times afterwards I got the answer
+to a question about distance given me in cups of tea, and
+I eventually worked out that three cups of tea was the
+equivalent of about 5 miles, and was after that able to use
+this as a basis for measurements of distances.</p>
+
+<p>Two or three hours after Mallory and Bullock had gone,
+Wollaston and Morshead arrived from their trip to Nyenyam.
+They had had bad weather the whole time. Here, too,
+the weather remained overcast and threatening, with a strong
+South wind, the mountains remaining covered in clouds
+above 16,000 feet. To the South of us rain fell steadily
+all day, but the rain did not come up as far as our camp.
+One afternoon Morshead, Wollaston and I went over to
+have tea with our hospitable Zemindar Hopaphema about
+a mile away from us. On this occasion he gave us pods of
+fresh peas and the red hips and haws of the wild rose as a
+kind of <i>hors d'&oelig;uvre</i>, followed by a junket served with pea
+flour. Then came bowls of hot milk with macaroni and
+minced meat, seasoned with chillies, together with potatoes
+and a kind of fungus that grew in the woods. After this
+meal, from which we suffered no ill effects, for our stomachs
+were getting accustomed to queer foods, he produced an
+old painted musical instrument with two sounding boards,
+on which he played and sang at the same time some old
+Tibetan love songs. Some of these had quite a catching
+and plaintive melody. He showed us also some Tibetan
+dances. Our interpreter, unfortunately, refused to give us
+a literal translation of some of the love songs, though he
+seemed very amused at them.</p>
+
+<p>Another afternoon I rode with Wollaston some 5 miles
+up the Kharta Valley to the Gandenchöfel Monastery.
+This was situated in a delightfully sheltered spot surrounded
+by poplars and ancient gnarled juniper trees of great size.
+On arrival we were shown into a picturesque courtyard,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span>
+the walls of which were covered with paintings depicting
+scenes from the life of Buddha. Cushions and tables had
+been arranged for our reception and placed on a verandah
+where, on arrival, we were given cups of tea and hot milk.
+The Head Lama presently came out and after taking some
+tea with us, proceeded to show us round his temple. This
+was a curious building, square in shape, and surmounted
+by a cupola. It was very solidly built of stone and was,
+they told us, about 500 years old. It was founded by a
+saint called Jetsun-Nga-Wang-<ins title="Chhöfel">Chöfel</ins>, who after a great
+flood which swept down the valley, destroying all the houses
+in it, had taken a large frog (which animal is believed to
+represent the Water God) and buried it under the centre
+pillar of the temple. With great reverence they showed
+us the spot under which this unfortunate frog had been
+immured in the centre of the shrine. This immolation of
+the frog had apparently not been completely efficacious in
+preventing the floods as two other floods had subsequently
+occurred, and two small Chortens had been erected to make
+quite certain that the frog could not get out again and cause
+more floods. The interior of the temple was very dark
+in spite of numerous butter lamps. As our eyes gradually
+became accustomed to the dim light, we made out three
+figures of Buddha&mdash;a large one in the centre and smaller
+ones on either side. On the pillars were figures of the saint
+who had founded the monastery. In this temple were also
+represented some Indian saints, but these were shown as
+dark figures, very black and very ugly. Tibetans always
+despise the Indian and they therefore represent him as quite
+black and with the ugliest features imaginable. Around
+the shrine were twelve great plaster figures&mdash;about 12 feet
+to 15 feet in height&mdash;the guardians of the shrine, figures
+monstrously ugly, and evidently made so in order to frighten
+away the evil-doer. Outside the sanctuary there was a
+curious passage in the thickness of the walls leading all
+round the building, in which were stencilled and painted
+curious representations of Buddha. In one of the side rooms<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span>
+there was a huge prayer wheel, which rang a bell every
+time it was turned; it contained, the priests told us, many
+million prayers. After visiting the shrine, I took a photograph
+of the monks with their long trumpets, their bejewelled
+clarionets and their drums. After our tour of inspection
+we were given further refreshment in the way of macaroni
+and meat in a small secluded garden where the monks used
+to walk reading the Scriptures and meditating.</p>
+
+<p>On another day Wollaston and I made an excursion down
+to the gorges of the Arun. We first rode up the Kharta
+Valley, crossing the river by the first bridge, and then following
+the right bank of the river as far as we could go. After
+riding only a short way, we entered into a country and a
+scenery where we might have been a hundred miles away
+from Tibet. The change was extraordinarily sudden&mdash;a
+dense forest covered the hillsides, mostly of fir (<i>Abies
+Webbiana</i>) and birch, many of them fine old trees. The
+undergrowth consisted of rhododendrons, 8 feet to 10 feet
+in height and extremely difficult to get through. Besides
+these there were many larch and willow trees growing on
+the hillside, together with many new and delightful flowers.
+We went on until we were brought up by a series of perpendicular
+cliffs that descended 700 feet sheer down to the
+river below us. It was a grand sight from here to see the
+mighty Bhong-chu or Arun River, narrowed now to one-third
+of its former width, forcing its way in a series of rapids
+through these stupendous gorges covered with woods wherever
+the precipices allowed a tree to grow and with trees dipping
+their branches far below us in the flooded waters of the
+river. On the opposite side of the gorge we saw a small
+track wandering along the cliffs; the inhabitants told us
+it was impossible to get across the river lower down at this
+time of the year until you reach Lungdö, where there was a
+bridge some 20 miles lower down. Kharta now remained
+the base headquarters of the Expedition until it was time
+to return to India in October, and all the expeditions that
+we made up the Kharta Valley, or into the Kama Valley,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span>
+were made from Kharta. The Jongpen there and Hopaphema
+did everything they could to assist us by giving us coolies
+and arranging for supplies to be sent up to the various
+camps.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/img_110.jpg" width="500" height="316"
+        alt="see caption"
+        title="see caption" />
+        <a id="img_110"></a>
+<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Lamas of Kharta Monastery.</span></p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="hr65" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER VII</h2>
+
+<p class="title"><span style="font-size: 150%">THE KAMA VALLEY</span></p>
+
+<p>We had not been able to gather much information locally
+about Mount Everest. A few of the shepherds said that
+they had heard that there was a great mountain in the next
+valley to the South, but they could not tell us whether
+the Kharta River came from this great mountain. The
+easiest way to get to this valley, they told us, was by crossing
+the Shao La, or the Langma La, both of which passes were
+to the South of the Kharta Valley, and, they said, led into
+this new valley. They called this valley the Kama Valley,
+and little did we realise at the time that in it we were going
+to find one of the most beautiful valleys in the world. Mallory
+and Bullock had already left Kharta on August 2 to explore
+this route, which we thought would lead us to the Eastern
+face of Mount Everest. As Wollaston and Morshead had
+now arrived at Kharta, there was nothing to prevent my
+following the others and learning something about the
+geography of the country. Eleven mule-loads of rations,
+consisting of flour, potatoes, sugar and rations for the
+surveyors, had just arrived; there was therefore now no
+cause for me to worry about shortage of supplies. These
+had been sent off from Yatung on June 15, but had only
+arrived at Kharta on August 2. Learning that I was about
+to start off, Hopaphema, the old Zemindar, hurriedly came
+round with a large basket full of spinach, potatoes, and
+turnips, which he insisted on my taking with me.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/img_112.jpg" width="500" height="322"
+        alt="see caption"
+        title="see caption" />
+        <a id="img_112"></a>
+<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Makalu</span><br />
+from 21,500 foot peak on ridge south of Kama-chu.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>On August 5, taking with me Chheten Wangdi and a
+dozen coolies, I started off in the tracks of Mallory and
+Bullock. For the first few miles we travelled up the Kharta
+Valley, through rich fields of barley, by far the best that I
+had seen so far in Tibet. The crops were very even and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span>
+everywhere quite 3 feet in height. The valley was thickly
+inhabited, containing villages nearly every mile, and many
+monasteries, some of which were surrounded by fine old
+gnarled juniper trees. Our local coolies made very poor
+progress, taking six hours to cover the first 6 miles, as
+they stopped at every village for a drink. After passing
+the last village, there was a steep climb of 1,000 feet. Here
+our coolies were very anxious to stop and spend the night,
+but I pushed on ahead, and they came on behind very slowly
+and reluctantly. Seeing that it was impossible to get over
+the Langma La, I stopped at the limit of firewood and camped
+at a height of 16,100 feet. Poo, who was acting as my cook,
+had forgotten to bring any matches with him, and I watched
+him with much interest lighting a fire of damp rhododendron
+bushes with the flint and tinder that he always carried.
+The day had been clear and very warm; and on the way
+up we had had some fine views of the great snowy peaks
+on the Eastern side of the Arun River. The villagers had
+told us that this pass was impossible for ponies, and I accordingly
+left mine behind at Kharta, though we found out that
+ponies could quite well have crossed the pass. Opposite
+our camp was a peak of black rock with a glacier just below
+it. During the night there was a little rain and the morning
+was unfortunately cloudy. As our coolies had informed us
+that there were three passes to be crossed in the next march,
+I had them all started off by 5.30 a.m., after which I left
+with my coolies, Ang Tenze and Nyima Tendu, who always
+accompanied me carrying a rifle, a shot-gun and three cameras
+of different sizes. Above the camp there was a steep climb
+of 1,000 feet on to a broad, rocky shelf in which was a pretty
+turquoise-blue lake. This was followed by another steep climb
+of 500 feet on to another great shelf, after which a further
+climb of 500 feet brought us to the top of the Langma La,
+18,000 feet. The three steps up to this pass were evidently
+the three passes that the coolies had told us about, as from
+the top we looked down into the next valley. All the coolies
+who were carrying loads complained of headaches, due no<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span>
+doubt to the steep climb and the high elevation of the pass.
+To the East there was a curious view looking over the Arun
+towards some high snow peaks. Clouds were lying in patches
+everywhere on the hillsides, as the air was saturated with
+moisture. To the West our gaze encountered a most wonderful
+amphitheatre of peaks and glaciers. Three great glaciers
+almost met in the deep green valley that lay at our feet.
+One of these glaciers evidently came down from Mount
+Everest, the second from the beautiful cliffs of Chomolönzo,
+the Northern peak of Makalu, of which we unfortunately
+could only get occasional and partial glimpses, an ice or
+rock cliff peeping out of the clouds every now and then at
+incredible heights above us. The third glacier came from
+Kama Changri, a fine peak to the North of the Kama Valley
+which later on we climbed. The clouds kept mostly at a height
+of about 22,000 feet, and prevented us from seeing the tops
+of the mountains. After waiting for an hour at the top of
+the pass in hopes of the clouds lifting, I started the descent,
+catching on the way a very pretty Marmot rat, with huge
+eyes and ears for his size, and a pretty bluish grey fur.
+Meeting shortly afterwards some of Mallory and Bullock's
+coolies, I gave this animal to them to take back to Wollaston.
+We now descended through grassy uplands for nearly 3,000
+feet, past another beautiful blue lake called Shurim Tso,
+and came to a curious long and narrow terrace about
+1,000 feet above the bottom of the valley. Here there
+was a tent belonging to some yak herds; and as wood and
+water were plentiful I determined to stop and spend the
+night with them. They called the place Tangsham. It was
+certainly a most glorious place for a camp, for it overlooked
+three great valleys and glaciers. Opposite us, on the other
+side of the valley, were the immense cliffs of Chomolönzo,
+which towered up to nearly 26,000 feet, while Mount Everest
+and its great ridges filled up the head of the valley. I spent
+the whole afternoon lying among the rhododendrons at
+15,000 feet, and admiring the beautiful glimpses of these
+mighty peaks revealed by occasional breaks among the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span>
+fleecy clouds. The shepherds were able to give me much
+information about the district, which proved very useful
+to us afterwards. They come up here every year for a few
+months in the summer and in the winter cross over to the
+valley of the Bong-chu.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/img_114.jpg" width="500" height="311"
+        alt="see caption"
+        title="see caption" />
+        <a id="img_114"></a>
+<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Makalu and Chomolönzo.</span></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>After a slight frost during the night, we had one of the
+few really perfect days that fell to our lot in the Kama
+Valley. As soon as I had finished breakfast I climbed up
+1,000 feet behind the camp; opposite me were the
+wonderful white cliffs of Chomolönzo and Makalu, which
+dropped almost sheer for 11,000 feet into the valley below.
+Close at hand were precipices of black rock on which, in
+the dark hollows, nestled a few dirty glaciers. Mount Everest
+being some way further off, did not appear nearly as imposing.
+Our object now was to get as close to it as possible; we
+therefore descended into the valley, a steep drop of nearly
+1,000 feet, through luxuriant vegetation. A very beautiful
+blue primula was just beginning to come out. This Wollaston
+had already discovered a fortnight before near Lapchi-Kang.
+We then crossed the Rabkar Chu, a stream which came out
+of the Rabkar Glacier, by a very rickety bridge over which
+the water was washing. Beyond this was a very fertile
+plain covered with rhododendrons, juniper, willow and
+mountain ash. On it were a couple of small huts which
+were occupied by some yak herds. From here we had to
+follow along the edge of the Kang-do-shung Glacier which,
+coming down from Chomolönzo, plunges across the valley
+until it strikes against the rocks of the opposite side. Between
+the glacier and these cliffs was an old water-course up which
+we travelled, but stones kept frequently falling from the
+cliffs above and the passage was somewhat dangerous.
+This had evidently been the old channel of the stream that
+has its source in the glaciers of Mount Everest, but owing
+to the advance of the Kang-do-shung Glacier, is now compelled
+to find its way through this glacier and hurls itself into a
+great ice cavern in it. Opposite this ice cavern we had a
+steep climb for 500 feet, and found ourselves among pleasant<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span>
+grassy meadows, after a few miles of which we came to a place
+called Pethang Ringmo, where we found some yak herds
+living. We found that Mallory and Bullock had chosen this
+place to be their base camp. It was a most delightfully
+sunny spot at 16,400 feet, right under the gigantic and
+marvellously beautiful cliffs of Chomolönzo, now all powdered
+over with the fresh snow of the night before and only separated
+from us by the Kangshung Glacier, here about a mile wide.
+Great avalanches thunder down its sides all the day long
+with a terrifying sound. Everest from here is seen to fill
+up the head of the valley with a most formidable circle of cliffs
+overhung by hanging glaciers, but it is not nearly such a
+beautiful or striking mountain as Makalu or Chomolönzo.
+The shepherds would insist that Makalu was the higher of
+the two mountains, and would not believe us when we said
+that Mount Everest was the higher. Next morning was
+foggy, but there was a glimpse of blue sky behind the mists,
+so after breakfast I hurried up the valley, intending to climb
+a ridge exactly opposite to Mount Everest which I had marked
+down the night before. After walking for an hour up the
+valley in a thick fog, by luck I struck the right ridge, which
+proved a very steep climb. Glimpses of blue sky and white
+peaks, however, gave us hopes of better views higher up.
+It took me two and a half hours to climb 3,000 feet, which
+at last brought me above the mists. The top of the ridge
+was 19,500 feet high, and from it we had most superb views.
+Mount Everest was only 3 or 4 miles away from us. From
+it to the South-east swept a huge amphitheatre of mighty
+peaks culminating in a new and unsurveyed peak, 28,100 feet
+in height, to which we gave the name of Lhotse, which in
+Tibetan means the South Peak. From this side the mountain
+appeared quite unclimbable, as the cliffs were all topped
+with hanging glaciers, from which great masses of ice came
+thundering down into the valley below all the day long.
+Between Mount Everest and Makalu, on the watershed
+between Tibet and Nepal, there stands up a very curious
+conical peak, to which we gave the name of Pethangtse.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span>
+On either side of it are two very steep, but not very high,
+passes into Nepal; both of them are, however, probably
+unclimbable. To the South-east towered up the immense
+cliffs of Makalu, far the more beautiful mountain of the
+two. The whole morning I spent on this ridge, taking
+photographs whenever opportunity offered. The clouds
+kept coming up and melting away again and were most
+annoying, but they occasionally afforded us the most beautiful
+glimpses and peeps of the snow and rock peaks by which
+we were surrounded. At a height of over 19,000 feet, I had
+a great chase after a new kind of rat; but it finally eluded
+me, and I was not able to add it to our already large collection.
+Even at these heights I found both yellow and white saxifrages
+and a blue gentian. From the top of this ridge I had been
+able to see Kanchenjunga and Jannu, though nearly 100
+miles away, but their summits stood up out of the great sea
+of clouds which covered Nepal.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/img_116.jpg" width="330" height="500"
+        alt="see caption"
+        title="see caption" />
+        <a id="img_116"></a>
+<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Cliffs of Chomolönzo</span><br />
+from camp at Pethang Ringmo.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>On returning to camp in the afternoon, I found that
+Mallory and Bullock were there. They had climbed a snow
+peak on the North side of the Kama Valley, about 21,500
+feet, and from this view point had been unable to discover
+a possible route up Mount Everest on the Eastern face;
+they thought, however, that there might be an alternative
+approach from the next valley to the North. They therefore
+intended returning to the Kharta Valley to follow that river
+to its source.</p>
+
+<p>Next morning was cloudy, and neither Everest nor Makalu
+were to be seen; but towards the East the view was clear,
+though the mountains appeared to be much too close. We
+started all together down the valley. On the way I climbed
+1,000 feet up among the rocks opposite to the big
+glacier that descends from Chomolönzo. I failed, however,
+to get the good view of Makalu which I had been hoping
+for, owing to the clouds, and returned to my old camping
+ground at Tangsham, Mallory and Bullock branching off
+from here towards the Langma La. The shepherds had told
+us that there was another pass into the Kharta Valley called<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span>
+the Shao La, rather more to the South. I therefore intended
+to make use of this pass on the return journey to Kharta.
+As usual, in the evening, the clouds came up and enveloped
+us in a thick mist. Every night this happened in the Kama
+Valley, and was evidently due to the excessive moisture of
+the air. When we started the following morning, there was
+still a thick Scotch mist which made the vegetation very
+wet. We descended the Kama Valley, most of the time
+keeping high up above the river. On the opposite side of
+the valley were immense black cliffs descending sheer for
+many thousand feet. On the way we passed through acres
+of blue iris, mostly over now, and then through a very
+luxuriant vegetation which grew more and more varied
+as we descended lower. There was a lovely emerald-green
+lake beside the path, and like white sentinels on the hillsides
+grew the great rhubarb of Sikkim, the <i>Rheum nobile</i>. This
+was a most conspicuous plant with columns of the palest
+green leaves sheathing the flower spikes which grew fully
+5 feet in height. There were several other varieties of rhubarb
+here, but none were as handsome as this. At one place we
+descended as low as 13,000 feet and came once more amongst
+dense forests of juniper, silver firs (<i>Abies Webbiana</i>), mountain
+ash, willow, birch and tall rhododendrons. From every
+tree hung long grey lichens attesting the moisture of the
+climate. Wherever there was an open space in the forest,
+it was carpeted with flowers. Two delightful varieties
+of primula were new to me, and were just coming out, one
+of them being almost black in colour. The big deep red
+meconopsis grew here, too, in great luxuriance. Gentians
+of all kinds abounded and many other varieties of flowers
+and ferns, due to the fact that Makalu seems to attract
+all the storms, causing the moist Monsoon currents to be
+drawn into this valley. As the day went on, the weather
+improved; the sun came out, and the clouds melted away,
+disclosing the magnificent peaks of Makalu. A big glacier
+descended from the East face from a side valley into the
+floor of the valley below us at a height of about 12,000 feet.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span>
+It was very curious to see fir trees, birch and juniper, and
+a very luxuriant vegetation growing on either side of the
+ice and on the moraines beside it.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/img_118.jpg" width="328" height="500"
+        alt="see caption"
+        title="see caption" />
+        <a id="img_118"></a>
+<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">The Kama Valley.</span></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Below this glacier the valley became quite flat with
+grassy meadows and patches of forest dotted about the
+pastures&mdash;a very unusual type of valley for the Himalayas.
+Almost opposite to this glacier we turned into a side valley;
+the path and the stream that came down this valley were
+often indistinguishable. All round the valley were great
+black cliffs; in one place where they were less precipitous
+the path found its way upwards. Our camp was pitched
+that night on a shelf above the cliffs where for a short time
+we had some very wonderful views. This place was called
+in Tibetan &ldquo;The Field of Marigolds,&rdquo; though at the time
+we were there they were all over. We were at a height of
+15,300 feet, and Makalu's two peaks were almost exactly
+opposite to us. The cloud effects were very striking; the
+storms seemed to gather round Makalu, and first one peak
+and then the other would appear out of the great white
+cumulus clouds whose shapes changed every minute. As
+usual, the mists came up in the evening, and we were enveloped
+in a very wet Scotch mist with a temperature of 46° Fahr.
+Next morning, instead of getting the lovely view that we had
+expected, a thick Scotch mist prevented our seeing more
+than 20 yards away. We crawled up to the top of the
+Shao La, 16,500 feet, in driving rain, but after crossing over
+it we emerged into finer weather. On the descent we passed
+several fine lakes, on the cliffs above which were numerous
+ram chakor (Himalayan snowcock). I pursued a covey of
+these, and after a chase managed to shoot one. They are
+very fine birds, weighing between 5 and 6 lb.; they are
+extremely noisy and fond of their own voices. The parent
+birds are always very loth to leave their young, and early
+in the summer it is possible to approach very close to them;
+but later on in the year, when the young have become nearly
+full grown, they are very wily, and having excellent eyesight,
+do not allow anyone to approach within a couple of hundred<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span>
+yards. That afternoon I arrived back at Kharta, where
+the weather had been quite fine, and where there had been
+but little rain during my absence.</p>
+
+<p>During that night a thief broke into our store-room,
+forcing and breaking the lock outside. The only thing he
+took, as far as we could find out, was one of Wheeler's
+yak-dans (a leather mule trunk). The thief had probably
+mistaken this one for one of mine, which contained a
+considerable amount of money, and knowing that I was
+away, he thought that my kit must be packed away in the
+store-room. We informed the Jongpen and the head-men
+of the villages around of the theft, and had a couple of
+suspicious characters watched; but we never found any
+trace of the stolen articles, which luckily were of very small
+value. For the next fortnight I remained at Kharta.</p>
+
+<p>On August 19 Heron suddenly arrived back after a
+very interesting trip, during which he had explored all
+the mountains North of Tingri and Shekar Dzong up to the
+Brahmaputra watershed. He had had very bad weather
+all the time. Every night there had been heavy thunderstorms
+and practically all the bad weather had come from
+the North. The whole country was under water, and it
+was very difficult to get about. Some of the rivers that
+we had crossed earlier in the season were now a mile or more
+wide.</p>
+
+<p>On the following day Bullock and Mallory returned to
+Kharta after having explored the Upper Kharta Valley.
+They thought that they had found a possible way up Mount
+Everest from this valley, but at present the weather was too
+bad for them to carry on with their reconnaissance, and they
+had come down for a fortnight's rest, hoping that the Monsoon
+would be over by the beginning of September and that they
+would then be able to make a proper attack on the mountain.
+As Mallory and Bullock were likely to be at Kharta for
+some time, Wollaston and I seized this opportunity to visit
+the lower valley of the Kama-chu.</p>
+
+<p>Therefore, on August 23, with eleven of our own coolies<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span>
+and several Tibetan coolies, we climbed the Samchung
+Pass (15,000 feet), and then descended into the valley of
+the fourteen lakes, and after crossing the Chog La camped
+on the far side of the pass near a dark green and sacred
+lake called Ruddamlamtso. On the way we saw a new species
+of black rat in the moraine of a glacier; but Wollaston's
+servant, who had the collecting gun with him, was unfortunately
+far behind; he was always rather fond of drink and
+loth to leave the villages. The weather was cloudy, and
+there were no views from the top of either pass. The march
+was a strenuous one, taking the coolies thirteen hours to
+cover the whole distance, and they did not arrive till after
+dark. The Ruddamlamtso, the lake by which we were
+camped, had wonderfully clear water; I could see every
+stone at a depth of 20 feet, and it was evidently very deep.
+It is looked upon as a sacred lake, and to it people make
+yearly pilgrimages, walking round it burning incense and
+throwing spices into its waters.</p>
+
+<p>The following morning the clouds were low down everywhere
+on the hillsides and we had no views. There was
+a steep descent for 4 miles to Sakeding&mdash;12,100 feet, through
+the most interesting zones of vegetation. We followed
+the edge of the rushing stream, always white from the rapidity
+of its descent. On one side of the valley grew rhododendrons
+of many varieties and mountain ash, and on the other were
+hoary old junipers with twisted stems. Grey lichens hung
+down from every branch, and were often 5 or 6 feet in length.
+We came across some of the finest and largest red currants
+that we had yet seen. Of these we collected a great quantity,
+and they formed a very excellent stew. Birches, wild roses
+and berberis were the commonest shrubs, while nearly every
+rock was covered with an extremely pretty rose-coloured
+creeper, which in places caused the hillsides to look quite
+pink. Earlier in the year the iris must have been a very
+beautiful sight, as we passed through acres of their leaves.
+A big yellow rock-rose with flowers 2 inches across was
+also to be met with here, and many of the lower leaves of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span>
+the rhododendrons were turning yellow to scarlet, making
+a great show of colour on the dark green of the hillside.
+Deep purple-coloured primulas and monkshood, as well
+as a curious hairy mauve-red monkshood with a very
+graceful growth, were also to be seen. The pretty white-crested
+red-start flitted about from rock to rock, and numerous
+tits of various kinds flew about in flocks from tree to tree
+as we descended.</p>
+
+<p>Sakeding (Pleasant terrace) had been at one time a
+village of considerable size, but a pestilence sent by the
+local demon had wiped out all its inhabitants. This demon
+was still reputed to be very active, and no one had dared
+to re-build the old houses of which the ruins, overgrown
+with weeds and bushes, could be seen here and there. It
+was a very pleasant site for a village, situated as it was
+on a terrace that projected out into the valley 1,000
+feet above the stream below. During the summer months
+there is quite a trade passing through this place, the Tibetans
+bringing salt from the North, and the Nepalese coming up
+from Nepal with rice, dyes and vegetables, which they
+exchange. The rate of barter at this time was two measures
+of rice or three measures of madder dye for one measure
+of salt, and no money changes hands. Everything that
+was brought here was brought on the backs of coolies, and
+these Nepalese coolies were sturdy, cheery fellows, and thought
+nothing of carrying 80 lb. of salt on their backs up and down
+the execrable paths of the district.</p>
+
+<p>From Sakeding we descended steeply through a forest
+of the finest juniper trees that I had yet seen. These grew
+80 to 90 feet high, and many of their trunks were 18 feet
+to 20 feet in circumference. As a rule they had clean stems,
+without a branch for 50 feet or 60 feet. The branches
+were all hung with grey lichens. We now descended beside
+the muddy and tempestuous waters of the Kama-chu. The
+juniper forest gradually gave way to silver firs&mdash;wonderful
+trees of enormous size and great age. We passed through
+many open glades, park-like in appearance, with grand<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span>
+clumps of fir trees or sycamore dotted here and there. The
+hillsides were absolutely running over with water, and
+often for several hundred yards we walked along logs put
+down to try and avoid the mud and the running water.
+As many of these rounded logs were very slippery, both we
+and our coolies had to proceed with caution, and even so
+we experienced many a fall. At Chu-tronu&mdash;10,200 feet&mdash;there
+was a well-made wooden bridge, 60 feet long, which
+spanned the river where it flowed in a narrow channel between
+two great rocks. We crossed this bridge, and finding a
+broad open space there, I selected a spot suitable for our
+camp and ordered the coolies to cut down some of the grass
+where we intended to pitch the tents. I could not at first
+make out why they kept jumping about when thus engaged,
+but on going to investigate, I found that the place was
+alive with leeches; however, as there was no other better
+place in which to camp, we had to make the best of it. The
+men collected some dry bamboos out of an old shepherd's
+hut which was close by; these they burnt on the sites where
+we were to pitch our tents, hoping by this means to drive
+away the leeches. This method, however, was not very
+successful, for all that evening we were busy picking leeches
+off our clothes, legs, hands or heads. They climbed up
+the sides of the tents and dropped down into our food, our
+cups and on to our plates. Wollaston invented the best
+way of killing them, which was by cutting them in two
+with a pair of scissors. Our interpreter remonstrated with
+him, as he said this method increased the number of leeches,
+thinking that both ends of them would grow. After a somewhat
+restless and disturbed night, due to these leeches,
+we started off next morning to go down to the junction
+of the Kama River with the Arun. The distance as the crow
+flies was only about 6 miles, but we did not realise the kind
+of path that we should have to traverse. In that short
+distance we must have risen and fallen quite 5,000 feet.
+The path was never level and always very rough and stony.
+At first it led through beautiful glades running with moisture<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span>
+and over logs buried, most of them, inches deep in the water;
+they were, however, better to walk on than the soft mud
+there was on either side. The silver firs were now at their
+best&mdash;trees over 100 feet in height, and with stems 20 feet
+to 25 feet in circumference. Here grew great hydrangeas
+20 feet or more in height covered with flowers. Our only
+halts on the way down, and they were pretty frequent,
+were to pick off the leeches from our clothes. We took
+them off by tens at a time; they were very hungry, and
+varied in size from great striped horse-leeches to tiny ones
+as thin as a pin and able to penetrate anywhere. The track
+now left the upper terraces and descended very steeply
+towards the river, at times climbing sharply upwards again
+to avoid precipitous rocks and cliffs. During the descent,
+we gradually passed from the zone of the silver firs into
+that of the spruce, meeting the lovely <i>Picea Brunoniana</i>, which
+grew to an even greater size than the silver firs. Many of the
+trees were over 150 feet in height and without a branch for 70
+feet or 80 feet; their stems too, were often 25 feet to 30 feet in
+circumference. This valley is so inaccessible that I am glad
+to think that these glorious forests can never be exploited
+commercially. After passing a great overhanging rock
+called Korabak, which is evidently much used as a halting-place,
+we descended steeply to the river, which now forms a
+series of cascades, leaping from rock to rock, a very remarkable
+spectacle. During the last 6 miles of its course, this river&mdash;the
+product of four large glacier streams&mdash;descends at the
+rate of 450 feet every mile. In places there were waterfalls
+of 20 feet and more, where the river hurled itself into seething
+cauldrons; in one place I saw it confined to a breadth of
+barely 5 feet. The junction of this river with the Arun is
+only 7,500 feet above the sea; just above the junction
+is a bridge which leads to the village of Kimonanga, a
+picturesque village situated on a terrace some 700 feet
+above the river and surrounded by some fine trees. In this
+valley we came across a few blue pines (<i>Pinus excelsa</i>) and
+also a large-leafed alder; near its junction with the Arun<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span>
+were many trees and orchids of a semi-tropical character.
+On the opposite side of the valley is a forest of evergreen
+oak trees, but as I was unable to cross the river I could
+not say to what species they belonged. On the way we
+passed many yellow raspberries on which we slaked our
+thirst. Our guide also dug up some of the roots of the wild
+arum to show us; it is a great flattish tuberous root, rather
+oval in shape. This the inhabitants dig up and, after allowing
+it to ferment by burying it in a hole for several days, pound
+it up, and then eat it; it was much esteemed by the villagers.
+It is necessary to ferment it first, as otherwise the root is
+extremely poisonous. We tasted a slice of bread made out
+of this root, and I have seldom tasted anything nastier.
+It is supposed, if not properly fermented, to cause all the
+hair to fall out of the head; but I should be inclined to
+imagine that it would do this even if it were properly
+fermented. Near the junction of the Kama and Arun Rivers,
+we climbed up on to a terrace 1,200 feet above, on which
+was situated the village of Lungdö. The great Arun gorges
+here become a considerable valley; for 20 miles above this
+point up to Kharta the Arun runs through a narrow and
+practically impassable gorge, but here the valley widens
+out for a few miles and contains several villages; a short
+distance below it enters again into another great gorge.
+The river now was in full flood and covered the whole of
+the bottom of the valley, being in places many hundred
+yards in width. At one spot, where it contracted, there
+was a well-made bridge leading to the village of Matsang.
+I was astonished to meet with maize growing at this height&mdash;8,700
+feet. The villagers also grew cucumbers, pumpkins
+and several kinds of millet, including an extremely pretty red
+one. The head-man of Lungdö gave me some millet beer,
+which was very refreshing after the long march. Wollaston
+did not care for it, but between us we managed to eat three
+large and juicy cucumbers. The head-man was very friendly;
+and a local official was staying here who had just come
+from Kharta, who recognised us, and presented us with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span>
+some excellent honey cakes. We neither of us looked forward
+to the uphill return journey, but after five and a half hours'
+hard walking I reached camp just before dark. Wollaston
+did not arrive till later, and I had to send a coolie with a
+lamp to bring him in. We were both of us much exhausted,
+as the day had been a long and trying one. That night
+we had a grand camp fire of rhododendron and fir logs.
+Hundreds of moths insisted on flying into the fire instead of
+entering the tent where Wollaston was ready with his cyanide
+bottle to catch them.</p>
+
+<p>The following morning the weather was dull and cloudy,
+and did not look very promising. We determined, however,
+to visit the Popti La, the pass between Tibet and Nepal,
+over which all the local traffic passes. Leaving the camp,
+we entered a small side valley to the South, the path climbing
+steeply upwards under big rhododendrons (<i>R. Falconeri</i>
+and <i>R. Argenteum</i>) with leaves 18 inches long. Noticing
+many of their leaves strewn on the path, I inquired the
+reason for this. Our guide informed us that the carriers
+fastened these leaves together with thin strips of bamboo
+and thus provided an excellent waterproof cover for themselves
+and for their loads. After climbing about a mile,
+we saw some bamboo huts in the forest and a number of
+cows were grazing round them. These belonged to some
+Nepalese herds who come over here in the summer, bringing
+their cattle to graze. The path now followed the side of a
+rushing torrent, peaty brown in colour, which came hurrying
+down under the shade of birch, sycamore, silver firs, juniper
+and rhododendrons. As we ascended higher, the open spaces
+became more frequent, though the grass and weeds grew
+fully 3 feet in height, attesting the constant rainfall of this
+district. On leaving the path to collect a few seeds from
+some plants growing a short distance away from it, I found
+myself in a few moments covered with leeches which apparently
+thrive here at an altitude of over 12,000 feet; this must
+be almost a record height for these pests. The path climbed
+up steeply, the rhododendrons growing gradually smaller<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span>
+in size as we ascended. After going for four hours, we reached
+the top of the pass&mdash;14,000 feet. Here on the top was a
+stone half hidden in a pile of rocks with a notice, written
+in Chinese characters, that this was the boundary between
+Tibet and Nepal. Across the top of the pass was a long
+wall, mostly overgrown with grass, evidently at one time
+considered to be some kind of defence. Owing to the clouds
+being very low, we unfortunately had no view from the
+top, but just below us, on the Nepalese side, was a fine
+black lake, about half a mile long, with an island in the centre,
+which the Nepalese called Dungepokri. On the top were
+many interesting Alpine flowers, amongst them a charming
+white potentilla with a red centre; and a large cream-coloured
+primula, shading into deep orange. We also came across
+several new varieties of gentians. Here we rested for a
+couple of hours, hoping that the clouds might lift, but a
+nasty rain began to fall heavily. While we were waiting
+several coolies from Nepal passed by: from these we found
+out that the pass was closed by snow for five months in
+the year and that the trade market at Sakeding was closed
+by the end of October. We now turned our footsteps homeward,
+urged on by cold showers of rain. On the descent
+we were able to collect a few seeds. Autumn was approaching,
+though the trees had not yet begun to assume their autumn
+colours owing to the warm nights. That evening in the
+camp we had an enormous bonfire of birch, juniper and
+rhododendrons, which made the prettiest blaze imaginable,
+with flames of green, blue, violet and orange. The large
+fire also helped to keep away the leeches. Heavy rain fell
+again all night, and the thermometer did not descend below
+55° Fahr. The morning, however, broke fine, and we started
+back again up the valley to Sakeding. The sun shone every
+now and then, giving us occasional glimpses of distant glaciers
+at the head of the valley. The walk through the forest,
+with the sunlight shining on the dark green leaves of the
+rhododendron and the dripping foliage, was very delightful.
+The undergrowth consisted of wild roses, berberis with its<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span>
+necklaces of scarlet berries, wild currants of a great size&mdash;sour
+to the taste, but excellent when stewed&mdash;wild raspberries,
+light feathery bamboos, birch, willow and a most luxuriant
+vegetation of flowers and grasses. In one or two places
+the mountain ash were just beginning to show traces of
+colour. We soon left the leeches behind us and followed
+our old track through the forest beside the rushing waters
+of the Kama-chu. Enormous rocks which had fallen from
+above had in places almost blocked up the river. Often
+on these great boulders in the middle of the stream were
+growing the graceful Himalayan larch. On the steepest
+rock faces grew vegetation of every kind, thanks to the
+excessive moisture of the climate, and from every tree and
+from every bush hung long and picturesque lichens. Crested
+tits and bullfinches lived in great numbers in this forest
+and gave it quite a homelike appearance. The climb from
+the river had been a steep one, and we pitched our camp
+at Sakeding in a downpour of rain, but towards the evening
+the weather cleared up, allowing us fine views of great snow
+peaks which showed above the mists on the opposite sides
+of the valley. It was too far to go from Sakeding to Kharta
+in one day; we therefore decided to camp before crossing
+the Chog La. We passed our old camp by the green lake
+Ruddamlamtso, and I had a long chase after some ram chakor,
+but they were too clever for me and ran up the hill faster
+than I could follow them. The large moraines which converged
+in this valley were specially interesting, and threw
+much light on its past history. Each moraine had its own
+long line of boulders formed of different kinds of rock,
+according to the character of the mountains from which they
+had been carried down by the ice. It was not difficult to
+imagine the vast glaciers by which these lines of boulders
+had been deposited; glaciers which must at one time have
+completely blocked the valley and the disappearance of
+which has made room for the chain of lakes which now
+occupy the valley. We pitched our camp at a place called
+Mendalongkyo&mdash;15,500 feet&mdash;in a pleasantly sheltered spot<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span>
+where a gurgling stream disappeared under an old moraine.
+In the afternoon Wollaston went out after rats, of which
+he secured a new variety. Our coolies had a great chase
+after a fat marmot, which they very nearly caught, but he
+got down into his hole just in time. Around the camp
+were quantities of a very beautiful pale blue gentian&mdash;a
+regular Eton blue colour. Wandering up the spur North-west
+of the camp I counted nine lakes in the next valley
+and four lakes in the one that we were in; as the rain
+began to fall again, I returned to camp.</p>
+
+<p>The next morning, August 29, we began our homeward
+journey to Kharta. Getting up early, we climbed on to
+the high ridge North-west of the camp, from which we had
+a fair view; but unfortunately both Makalu and Mount
+Everest were hidden by clouds. We waited for a long time
+in hopes of a better view, but the clouds only grew thicker.
+We therefore followed the ridge above the Chog La. On
+the way I shot a Tibetan snow partridge (<i>Lerwa nivicola</i>),
+an extremely pretty bird with lovely markings. This was
+the first I had seen.</p>
+
+<p>We now turned our backs upon the Kama Valley with
+much regret. We had explored many of these Himalayan
+valleys, but none seemed to me to be comparable with this,
+either for the beauty of its Alpine scenery, or for its wonderful
+vegetation. We shall not easily forget the smiling pastures
+carpeted with gentians and every variety of Alpine flower
+that rise to the very verge of icebound and snow-covered
+tracks, where mighty glaciers descend among the forests
+which clothe the lower slopes.</p>
+
+<p>After crossing the Chog La, we went down once more into
+the valley of the lakes and then, crossing the Samchung La,
+descended to Kharta which we found bathed in sunshine.</p>
+
+<hr class="hr65" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER VIII</h2>
+
+<p class="title"><span style="font-size: 150%">THE UPPER KHARTA VALLEY AND THE 20,000 FOOT CAMP</span></p>
+
+<p>During the early part of August Mallory and Bullock,
+after they had found that there was no possible means of
+attacking Mount Everest from the Kama Valley, crossed
+the Langma La and returned to the Kharta Valley. Up
+this valley they now proceeded until they reached the glaciers
+in which the Kharta River has its source. After exploring
+a number of valleys, they at last found one which led straight
+to Mount Everest. Accompanied by Major Morshead, who
+had joined them during their excursion, they made a long and
+tiring reconnaissance of this valley, and satisfied themselves
+that it afforded a practicable approach to the North-eastern
+ridge of Mount Everest. The slopes were fairly gentle, but
+were at that time covered with soft fresh snow, knee deep.
+Over these snow-covered glaciers, up which they had
+proceeded with great difficulty, they found a col from which
+it was possible to attack the mountain. Under the existing
+conditions of soft snow and warm weather it would have
+been quite impossible to take laden coolies along this route,
+and they therefore returned to Kharta to wait until the
+monsoon conditions had abated and the snow should have
+become hard and frozen.</p>
+
+<p>On our return from the Kama Valley on August 29, we
+found Mallory and Bullock still at Kharta, waiting for the
+weather to improve. About this time it was showing distinct
+signs of improvement. The clouds were not so thick and
+there were many more bright intervals with blue skies.
+They therefore determined to start off on August 31, to
+form an advanced base camp up the Kharta Valley.</p>
+
+<p>On September 1, much to the surprise of every one,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span>
+Raeburn arrived back from Darjeeling. He reported very
+wet conditions throughout Tibet, the rivers everywhere
+being unfordable, and most of the bridges washed away.
+He also reported having seen five bags of our mails at Chushar.
+Our posts had latterly been very erratic, and for five weeks
+no mails had arrived. We did not know what had happened
+to them. We were sending in a couple of our own coolies
+every fortnight to Phari with our outgoing mail, and the
+first lot of these coolies had not yet returned, so that we
+were all without news of the outside world. Although it
+was the beginning of September, the night temperatures at
+Kharta were still much too high, ranging from 52° Fahr. to
+47° Fahr. On September 3 Morshead and Wheeler left for
+the Upper Kharta Valley, intending to go slowly and to
+map and fill in the detail of the valley as they went along.</p>
+
+<p>The tameness of the birds gave us many opportunities
+of studying their habits. A large family of redstarts lived
+in our garden at Kharta, and used to amuse me very much.
+The young birds were now fully fledged and spent most of
+the day in hopping in and out of my tent; they were not in
+the least degree afraid, and the mother would come and feed
+them actually inside my tent. On the terrace near the
+camp there were a number of prettily marked white rock
+pigeons which formed a welcome addition to our diet of
+Tibetan mutton, of which we were getting very tired.</p>
+
+<p>On September 5 Wollaston, Raeburn and I, with twenty-six
+Tibetan coolies, and eleven of our own, started off to
+join the climbing party up the Kharta Valley. The first
+7 miles of this valley I knew well, having traversed them
+many times before. The barley fields were now fast ripening,
+and were a beautiful golden colour. Curious to relate, the
+barley that grew at 14,000 feet was riper than that which
+grew at 12,000 feet. Two kinds of barley seemed to be
+grown here&mdash;the ordinary variety, and another with a red
+ear such as is, I believe, grown in the Shetlands. We rode
+past the tidy-looking monastery of Gandenchöfel, surrounded
+by its juniper trees, and after a steep climb past the entrance<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span>
+of the valley leading to the Langma La, descended on to
+some fine river terraces, on which were many prosperous
+farms and well-tilled fields. These extended for several
+more miles up the valley. We pitched our camp on a grassy
+flat a couple of miles above the last house, where willows,
+rhododendrons and junipers grew plentifully; the marshy
+ground was carpeted with gentians, one of the commonest
+being dark blue in colour with ten petals, and rather like a
+star in shape, the other being larger and of a pale Eton-blue
+colour. I managed to collect a certain number of seeds of
+both of these. We had a grand bonfire that evening, made
+of juniper and willow, the last that we were to have for a
+long time. The weather was disappointing and a drizzling
+rain fell all night with a temperature of 42° Fahr.</p>
+
+<p>It was still raining when we started in the morning, so
+that there were no views. A white andromeda was still in
+flower on the hillsides, but the rhododendrons were all over.
+On the opposite side of the valley juniper alone flourished
+and grew to an altitude of nearly 17,000 feet. After going
+a couple of miles, we passed Morshead and Wheeler's tents
+pitched on an old yak camp. When we arrived, they were
+still having breakfast, as the weather was too bad to do
+any surveying. On leaving them we had a steep climb
+over grassy slopes, where the drizzling rain now changed
+to snow, and for the rest of the day it fell steadily. There
+appeared to be many branch valleys, and as our views in
+the mist were very curtailed, we were not at all certain as
+to whether we were going up the right valley&mdash;I only knew
+approximately the height of the place at which we were
+to camp. Therefore, on arriving at that height, I sent my
+coolies off in two different directions up two different valleys
+to see where Mallory and Bullock's camp might be. The
+mist lifted for a moment, and one of them luckily saw Mallory,
+whose camp was only a few hundred yards from us. We
+decided to call this our &ldquo;Advanced base camp.&rdquo; It was
+pitched in some small grassy hollows at a height of 17,350
+feet. The site was well sheltered from the winds, and was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span>
+a regular Alpine garden. Gentians of three different kinds
+were growing there, including the lovely light-blue one.
+There was also a beautiful little white saxifrage with yellow
+and brown spots inside the flower, a delightful pink androsace,
+and dwarf delphiniums with their single deep-blue flowers.
+Here grew also the musk-scented hairy light-blue delphinium
+with its overpowering smell of musk. The latter flower,
+the Tibetans told me, was a great preventative of lice, and
+I noticed that our cooks and most of our servants had picked
+great bundles of it. They also told me that if a man habitually
+wears this flower about him during his lifetime, after
+his death when cut up and exposed to the birds, no bird or
+wolf will touch his flesh owing to the strong scent apparently
+left by the musk. A pretty pink aster grew here in great
+clusters, and a few blue poppies were still out. Acchu, our
+cook, and Gyalzen Kazi, who were coming along behind us,
+both missed their way and wandered several miles further
+up the valley before they found out their mistake, and when
+they eventually arrived in camp, were both suffering from
+severe headaches, due to the great height. During our
+stay at this camp we had plenty of time and many opportunities
+of observing bird and animal life. Some of the
+birds were very brilliantly coloured. There was a snow
+bunting with bright scarlet breast and head, also a beautiful
+redstart with red body and black and white wings. Overhead
+the great <ins title="lammergeier">Lämmergeier</ins>, or bearded vulture, sailed in graceful
+circles, while the big black raven croaked on the rocks by
+the camp. Morning and evening we could hear the ramchakor
+(<i>Tetraogallus tibetanus</i>) calling on the opposite side of the
+valley, and with glasses we could see them chasing one
+another and running round in circles. Red foxes I met
+with on several occasions over 18,000 feet.</p>
+
+<p>Mallory and Bullock, who had already been here for a
+few days, had spent their time in carrying wood and stores
+up to a higher camp further up the valley; they had been
+having a certain amount of trouble with their coolies, due
+to the Sirdar, who was always trying to create difficulties.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span>
+I therefore sent him away on a job to Chushar to collect
+some of our stores which were supposed to have been detained
+there, and which would keep him busy for a number of days
+and prevent him from interfering with our coolies at a critical
+period. We had brought up with us six live sheep, and
+very lively these proved. Dukpa, Mallory's cook, let three
+of them escape, but luckily some coolies coming up the
+valley saw two of them, and after a great chase brought
+them back. The third they could not catch and eventually
+drove him under a cliff, where they killed him with stones
+and brought his carcass back to us. The weather continued
+very unsettled. During the night a couple of inches of snow
+fell, but until the temperature became colder and the sky
+cleared, it was no use trying to go up to the upper camp.
+I shot a ramchakor on the opposite side of the valley. They
+are the most tasty of the Tibetan birds, and are quite
+excellent eating.</p>
+
+<p>On September 8, after a frosty night, Bullock, Mallory
+and I with three coolies, for the purpose of keeping fit, made
+a little excursion along a rocky ridge that lay to the South
+of us. On the top of the ridge there were a number of sharp
+rock pinnacles that had to be climbed. I found these gymnastics
+at a height of over 19,000 feet to be very exhausting,
+but Mallory did not seem to mind them in the least. There
+should have been a lovely view from here, but all we got
+was an occasional glimpse of glaciers and rocky peaks through
+the mist. The sun was trying to shine through the clouds
+and at first it was beautifully warm; but after a couple of
+hours snow began to fall, so we hurriedly descended on to
+the glacier below. Snow fell all the way back to camp, and
+by nightfall there were 3 inches of fresh snow round our
+tents. During the night the thermometer dropped to 21°
+Fahr., and the morning broke clear and frosty. I started
+off early to climb the hill behind the camp, from which there
+was a very extensive view, both Everest and Makalu being
+for the moment quite clear and free from cloud. To the
+North extended a great range of snow peaks between 23,000<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span>
+feet and 24,000 feet in height, rather uninteresting in appearance,
+and to the East stretched a great sea of accumulating
+cloud, out of which appeared the tops of Kanchenjunga and
+Jannu. The peak on which we stood was just under 20,000
+feet; I spent several hours basking in the hot sunshine,
+which was rapidly melting the fresh snow. I was surprised
+to find growing at this height a tiny yellow saxifrage.</p>
+
+<p>That evening eight coolies arrived with our long-expected
+mail, and the rest of the day was spent in reading letters
+and sorting out papers, for over two hundred letters and
+papers had arrived for me alone. There was again a sharp
+frost of 10° that night and the early morning was beautiful,
+but clouds came quickly drifting up the valley and obscured
+the fine views we had from the camp of Mount Everest and
+the rocky peaks to the North of the camp. On September 11,
+in spite of a warm night, Mallory and Bullock, being very
+optimistic, left for the upper camp, while Morshead and
+Wheeler rejoined us from their camp below, not having
+been able to do any work down there owing to bad weather.
+Snow fell steadily all the evening to a depth of about 3 inches.
+Next day was cloudy, but warm, and the snow disappeared
+again with extraordinary rapidity. I went out with a shotgun
+to try and shoot some ramchakor, and while after them
+saw a very fine grey wolf who was also stalking the ramchakor.
+He came up to within 50 yards of me, so that I
+was able to have a good look at him. He had a beautiful
+coat, and it was very unfortunate that I did not have a rifle
+with me. I wandered some way up a side valley to the
+foot of a glacier, but saw no signs of birds, as the wolf had
+evidently been there before me. In the afternoon Mallory
+and Bullock returned from the upper camp, having been
+driven down by the bad weather: another 5 inches of snow
+fell that evening, so that we were kept busy beating our
+tents to keep the ridge poles from breaking. On September
+13, 14 and 15, snow fell on and off the whole time; but in
+spite of the bad weather I managed to shoot a burhel for
+food. Their meat is very much better than that of the tame<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span>
+sheep. On September 16 we had at last a fine day with a
+sharp frost at night. Wheeler at once seized this opportunity
+and took up a station on a hill-top on the opposite side
+of the valley, from which he was able to get some useful
+views. The next day, after 13° of frost in the night, Mallory,
+Morshead and I started off to climb Kama Changri, a peak
+to the South of the camp, that overhung the Kama Valley.
+We left the camp at 2 a.m., by the light of a full moon, which
+made the going as light as though it were day. We soon
+reached our view-point of a few days before, where, except
+for the distant roar of the stream far away below in the
+valley, there was no other sound, only an intense stillness.
+Never anywhere have I seen the moon or the stars shine so
+brightly. To the South, far away from us, there were
+constant flashes of lightning&mdash;the valleys in Tibet, the great
+gorges of the Arun, the wooded valleys of Nepal all lay
+buried under a white sea of clouds, out of which emerged
+the higher mountains like islands out of a fairy sea. In
+this bright moonlight, mountains like Kanchenjunga&mdash;100
+miles away&mdash;stood out sharp and distinct. Here on this
+sharp ridge, at a height of 21,000 feet, with no obstruction
+to hide the view, sunrise came to us in all its beauty and
+grandeur. To the West, and close at hand, towered up Mount
+Everest, still over 8,000 feet above us; at first showing up
+cold, grey and dead against a sky of deep purple. All of
+a sudden a ray of sunshine touched the summit, and soon
+flooded the higher snows and ridges with golden light, while
+behind, the deep purple of the sky changed to orange. Makalu
+was the next to catch the first rays of the sun and glowed
+as though alive; then the white sea of clouds was struck by
+the gleaming rays of the sun, and all aglow with colour rose
+slowly and seemed to break against the island peaks in great
+billows of fleecy white.</p>
+
+<p>Such a sunrise has seldom been the privilege of man to
+see, and once seen can never be forgotten. After sunrise
+the climbing became more unpleasant. We tried to follow
+the direct way up the mountain, but the snow was in bad<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span>
+condition and the slope very steep. We therefore crossed
+the glacier, putting on our snow-shoes, and followed easier
+snow slopes but bad owing to the soft snow. The going was
+very tiring; Mallory and Morshead appeared to feel the
+height very much. After six hours we reached the top,
+21,300 feet, from which we had a most superb view. We
+looked straight down on to the Kama Valley. Makalu was
+immediately opposite us with its colossal precipices. Glaciers,
+cliffs of ice, rock peaks, fluted snow ridges and immense
+mountains towered all around us above a vast sea of clouds
+which stretched for hundreds of miles away to the plains of
+India. Here I was able to take many photographs, but no
+photograph can adequately portray the grandeur or the
+impressiveness of such a scene. We stopped on the top of
+Kama Changri for over three hours. It was extraordinarily
+warm; there was not a breath of air, and the sun seemed
+to shine with an intense heat. Clouds then began to roll
+up, and we returned to camp by an easier way down the
+glacier.</p>
+
+<p>Next day, in spite of 13° of frost at night, snow and sleet
+fell all day again, and made us very depressed. In order to
+prevent our going to sleep too soon after dinner, four of us
+used to play bridge every night, and I do not suppose that
+bridge has often been played at so great a height.</p>
+
+<p>On September 19, after a cold night with 16° of frost,
+Mallory, Bullock, Morshead and Wheeler started off for the
+20,000-foot camp. The weather was now steadily growing
+colder every night. On September 20 we had 18° of frost,
+as well as a further fall of snow. During the night a very
+fine lunar halo was seen, but the morning broke clear.
+Wollaston, Raeburn and I started to join the remainder
+of the party at the 20,000-foot camp, leaving Gyalzen Kazi,
+our second interpreter, behind in charge of the advance
+base camp. It was very necessary to have some one here
+to whom we could send back for any extra stores or supplies
+that might be wanted, and who would be able to forward
+to us anything that might be sent up from Kharta. A<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span>
+four hours' walk brought us to the camp. I had a thorough
+feeling of lassitude all the way. It required, indeed, some
+effort to walk at all, and a strong effort, both of mind and
+body, to reach camp. On the way beautiful views of Mount
+Everest gave us encouragement. The foot of the Kharta
+Glacier descends to 19,000 feet. From that point on to
+the camp we travelled beside it. At first the glacier is cut
+up into wonderfully shaped &ldquo;seracs,&rdquo; but as we got higher
+the surface became smoother. It was an exceptionally
+white glacier; there were no moraines on its surface, and
+it was covered everywhere with a fresh coating of thick
+snow. We found the camp on a terrace between two glaciers.
+That above the camp resembled the pictures of a Greenland
+ice cap. A thick coating of ice, to a depth of 50 to 60 feet,
+covered the gentle slopes above us, and came down to within
+a couple of hundred yards of the camp. The drainage from
+the melting ice percolated through the stony ground, so
+that on digging to a depth of 6 inches we came upon water.
+A couple of hundred feet below the camp was the big white
+glacier which descended from the Lhakpa La. The day was
+gloriously fine, and we obtained magnificent views of Mount
+Everest and the snowy chain to the South of us across the
+Kharta Glacier. Over the top of this snowy chain appeared
+the great rocky crests of Makalu. At an altitude of over
+19,800 feet I saw a hare and heard several ramchakor calling.
+There grew close to the camp a few gentians with their
+curious square leaves, also a dwarf blue delphinium and
+a little white saxifrage. It was an extraordinary height
+at which to find flowers and their season of summer cannot
+last long. On arrival at the camp, we found only Wheeler
+and Bullock there, as Mallory and Morshead with fourteen
+coolies had gone on ahead to carry loads up to the Lhakpa La,
+which was to be our next camp. They returned in a very
+exhausted condition in the course of the afternoon. The
+snow, they reported, was in better condition than last time
+on the lower slopes; but as they got higher, they found
+it still very soft and powdery. These extra loads that they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span>
+had taken up to this camp would enable the whole party
+to go up to it and to sleep there, if necessary, for several
+days. As the sun was setting behind Mount Everest, we
+were treated to a glorious view. The ring of clouds that
+surrounded it were all touched by the bright evening sunlight,
+while the mountain itself was in deep shadow except for
+great streamers of powdery fresh snow which were being
+blown off the whole length of its crests. We stood and
+watched this extraordinary sight for some time, devoutly
+hoping that the wind would soon die down. Unfortunately
+we were soon to experience what a strong wind meant at
+these heights.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/img_138.jpg" width="500" height="322"
+        alt="see caption"
+        title="see caption" />
+        <a id="img_138"></a>
+<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Sea of cloud from peak north of Kama Valley.</span><br />
+<ins title="Kangchenjunga">Kanchenjunga</ins> in distance.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>On the following night we had 20° of frost, and the
+weather appeared to be getting rather more settled. We
+were now sufficiently high up to be above the ordinary clouds,
+and we could look down upon the great sea of them which
+overhung the Arun Valley and the greater part of Nepal.
+As the sun warmed the clouds, they used to rise higher,
+but they seldom arrived as far as our camp owing to a strong
+North-westerly wind always blowing in the upper regions
+of the air which drove them back again. Watching the
+movements of the clouds day by day gave me the impression
+that the Mount Everest group forms a dividing line between
+the two monsoon systems. The monsoon that causes so
+much rain in Sikkim comes from the Bay of Bengal, and
+these moist currents sweep up to Mount Everest, but it is
+only when the current is very strong that they pass beyond
+it. At this time of year this monsoon was still active, whereas
+the Arabian Sea monsoon&mdash;that is to say, the moist
+winds from the Arabian Sea&mdash;which had given us previously
+much rain and snow on the Western sides and slopes of
+Mount Everest, was now over, with the result that on the
+West side of Everest we had blue skies every day and no
+rain clouds, whereas on the East side the clouds and the
+moisture brought up by the Bengal monsoon still prevailed.
+During the course of the morning I climbed an easy hill to
+the East side of the camp and some 500 feet above it. We<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span>
+walked along at first just below the ice cap, which was very
+pretty with its long icicles gleaming in the sunlight. We
+then crossed on to the ice cap and found the snow in excellent
+condition, firm and crisp to the tread, so that it was a pleasure
+to walk along it. From the top of this hill, 20,500 feet,
+was a very fine view to the East, over the great sea of cloud
+which filled up all the valleys as far as the Massif of
+Kanchenjunga which towered up in the distance, and the
+more slender peak of Jannu. Amongst the Sikkim peaks
+I could also recognise Chomiomo and the Jonsong peak.
+To the South Makalu towered up above all the other
+mountains: while between it and Mount Everest, beyond
+the Southern watershed of the Kama Valley, showed up
+some of the great Nepalese peaks, among which we noted
+Chamlang, 24,000 feet. To the West of us Mount Everest
+showed up sharp and clear and very white after all the fresh
+snow that had fallen in the last month. From this side
+Mount Everest certainly looks its best, standing up as a
+solitary peak instead of being rather dwarfed by the high
+ridges that radiate from it. The weather remained fine
+all day, and it was a real pleasure to sit outside one's tent
+and bask in the sun. Though we were 20,000 feet, we had
+breakfast, lunch and tea out of doors in front of our tents,
+and we could not have been warmer or enjoyed pleasanter
+conditions if we had been down at 5,000 feet.</p>
+
+<p>On September 22, leaving Raeburn behind, Mallory,
+Bullock, Morshead, Wheeler, Wollaston and myself started
+off to Lakhpa La camp. We left the 20,000-foot camp in
+22° of frost at four o'clock in the morning, accompanied
+by twenty-six coolies, who were divided up into four parties,
+each of which was properly roped. It was a beautiful
+moonlight night, and the mountains showed up nearly
+as brightly as in the daytime. We rapidly descended the
+200 feet from our terrace to the glacier, when we all &ldquo;roped
+up.&rdquo; The snow on the glacier was in excellent condition,
+and as it was frozen hard we made good progress. Dawn
+overtook us on the broad flat part of the glacier, the first<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span>
+beams of the sun falling on the summit of Mount Everest,
+which lay straight in front of us, and changing the colour
+of the snow gradually from pink to orange, all the time
+with a background of deep purple sky, every detail showing
+up sharp and clear in the frosty air. We mounted gradually
+past Kartse, the white conical-shaped peak climbed by
+Mallory and Bullock a month ago from the Kama Valley.
+We wended our way without much difficulty through the
+ice-fall of the glacier, below some superbly fluted snow ridges
+that rose straight above us. Then followed a long and at
+times a somewhat steep climb over soft powdery snow to
+the top of the pass. Even at these heights we came across
+tracks in the snow. We were able to pick out tracks of
+hares and foxes, but one that at first looked like a human
+foot puzzled us considerably. Our coolies at once jumped
+to the conclusion that this must be &ldquo;The Wild Man of the
+Snows,&rdquo; to which they gave the name of Metohkangmi,
+&ldquo;the abominable snow man&rdquo; who interested the newspapers
+so much. On my return to civilised countries I read with
+interest delightful accounts of the ways and customs of this
+wild man whom we were supposed to have met. These
+tracks, which caused so much comment, were probably caused
+by a large &ldquo;loping&rdquo; grey wolf, which in the soft snow formed
+double tracks rather like those of a barefooted man. Tibet,
+however, is not the only country where there exists a &ldquo;bogey
+man.&rdquo; In Tibet he takes the form of a hairy man who
+lives in the snows, and little Tibetan children who are naughty
+and disobedient are frightened by wonderful fairy tales
+that are told about him. To escape from him they must
+run down the hill, as then his long hair falls over his eyes
+and he is unable to see them. Many other such tales have
+they with which to strike terror into the hearts of bad boys
+and girls.</p>
+
+<p>I reached the top of the pass (22,350 feet) by 10.30 a.m.,
+and was rewarded by a wonderful view of Mount Everest,
+now only a couple of miles away. From the pass there
+was a steep descent of about 1,200 feet to a glacier which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span>
+after many wanderings finds its way into the Rongbuk
+Glacier. This valley had never been thoroughly investigated
+by Mallory and Bullock in their visit to the Rongbuk Valley.
+It does not, however, actually form the main Rongbuk
+Glacier, but stops several miles short of it, the entrance
+to the valley containing this huge glacier being both small
+and very insignificant. The bad weather that they had
+experienced in the Rongbuk Valley during the latter half
+of their stay there had made it impossible for Mallory and
+Bullock to explore this valley, or see what lay at its head.</p>
+
+<p>We were now opposite the Chang La (North Col) which
+joins Mount Everest to Changtse (the North peak), and
+from this col was, so far as we were able to judge, the only
+route to the summit. The way from the glacier up to the
+Chang La looked steep and unpromising, and we doubted
+whether it would be possible to take laden coolies up, even
+to this point. I took as many photographs as I could, and
+as quickly as possible, for there was an icy wind blowing
+which almost froze my hands. This wind blew the fine
+powdery snow off all the crests of the ridges and it penetrated
+everywhere. We found a little hollow in the snow a few
+feet below the crest, and here we set to work to pitch our
+camp. There was not much shelter, but it was the only
+possible place. We had only brought small Alpine Meade
+and Mummery tents with us. Two of us occupied each
+tent. They were very small and uncomfortable, and in
+order to enter them we had to crawl through a narrow funnel
+almost as though we were entering a dog kennel. The
+effort of crawling in was very exhausting and caused us to
+remain out of breath for a considerable time afterwards.
+Even these small tents were with difficulty pitched owing
+to the strong winds: cooking was quite out of the question
+until dark when the wind temporarily lulled. We had
+brought up with us some Primus stoves and spirit lamps.
+No one, except perhaps Wheeler, was very expert with the
+Primus stove, and though no doubt under favourable conditions
+they would be easy to work, even at these heights,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span>
+we were never very successful with them and were forced
+to rely upon the spirit stoves. After sunset we had a scratch
+meal of consommé, which we managed to warm up, followed
+by some cold ham and biscuits, after which we retired to
+bed. The moment the sun went down there were 25° of
+frost. Up till now I had felt no ill-effects from the rarefied
+air; I had not even had a headache and my appetite was
+good, though I owned to feeling rather lazy and it always
+needed an effort to concentrate one's thoughts. The coolies
+who had accompanied us up to this camp all seemed to be
+well and were very cheerful. The eiderdown sleeping-bags
+were a great comfort; they were our only means of keeping
+thoroughly warm with 34° of frost outside. But I cannot
+say that I felt comfortable or, in fact, that I slept at all,
+as the snow which at most times had been much too soft,
+seemed here to freeze into uncomfortable lumps and bumps
+underneath one's back, so that I could never get comfortable
+all night. The wind howled round our flimsy tents, and I
+do not think anyone, except perhaps Mallory, got any sleep
+that night. In the morning we were all suffering from bad
+headaches, due to the airlessness of these little tents, and
+I am sure that anyone camping at high altitudes ought to
+have a much larger type of tent in which to sleep if he is to
+avoid headaches. We blessed the early morning sun when
+it appeared and began to unfreeze us. I noticed then that
+our faces and hands were all a curious blue colour in the
+morning, due to what is called, I believe, cyanosis of the
+blood. With much difficulty Wheeler made us a little tea,
+which if not drunk at once, froze; Mallory thawed out some
+sardines which had all been frozen solid. There was luckily
+less wind than during the night, and as the sun rose higher,
+we all became more alive. The coolies, too, were at first
+all torpid and complained of bad headaches, but on getting
+into the fresh air, out of their small and stuffy tents, the
+headaches rapidly passed away. After consultation, we
+decided that there was no object&mdash;in fact, that it would
+be dangerous&mdash;for the whole party to go on, so we decided<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span>
+that it would be best for the expert Alpine climbers only,
+together with a few picked coolies, to attempt the Chang La.
+If weather conditions were favourable, they might, we
+thought, see how high they could get on Mount Everest
+itself. We therefore quickly sorted out and divided up the
+stores, and after seeing Mallory, Bullock and Wheeler off,
+unpitched our own tents, being satisfied that we could be
+of no use by remaining where we were, and that it would
+be best that we should return to our 20,000-foot camp and
+carry down with us as many stores as we could. We
+accomplished this without any difficulty, and arrived back
+during the course of the afternoon. The contrast here
+was extraordinary. We seemed to be in a totally different
+climate, and our larger tents and camp beds appeared to
+us to be the height of luxury. We spent a very comfortable
+night in spite of 22° of frost, and all slept soundly after our
+exertions, though once or twice during the night I was
+awakened by rats gnawing at the food which had been left
+out on the boxes in my tent. One of the coolies also started
+to say his prayers in a loud tone of voice at 1 a.m., but after
+a few winged words he relapsed into silence.</p>
+
+<p>The next day was delightfully warm and sunny, though
+there had been during the night a good deal of lightning
+towards the South. The snow could be seen whirling off
+the crest of Mount Everest during the morning, and in the
+course of the afternoon the wind grew much stronger, and
+blew huge clouds of snow off the slopes of the mountain,
+and from all the surrounding ridges. We could see great
+wisps of snow being blown off the pass that we had just
+left, so that the climbing party must have been having a
+very cold time in their new camp. In the evening there
+was a curious false sunset in the East with fine purple and
+orange rays, while as usual the Kama and the Kharta Valleys
+were filled with a sea of cloud. Here, however, we seemed
+to be above and beyond the reach of the clouds. Next
+night there was again constant lightning to the South and
+23° of frost, but the weather kept fine and sunny. On<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span>
+climbing a snow-covered hill to the West of the camp, about
+21,000 feet, I had some superb views of Everest and Makalu
+with their appalling cliffs and beautifully-fluted snow slopes.
+A strong North-westerly gale still continued in the upper
+regions of the air above 22,000 feet, and every ridge of Everest
+was smothered with clouds of blown snow. I had a pleasant
+glissade down steep snow slopes back to the camp, where
+the climate was delicious and where I could bask in the
+sun at the entrance of my tent with a sun temperature of
+173° Fahr. Earlier in the season we had often recorded
+temperatures of 195° and 197° Fahr. in the sun with the
+black bulb thermometer. During the afternoon we were
+able with our glasses to see black specks appearing on the
+top of the Lhakpa La. These were the Alpine climbers
+and their coolies returning after their strenuous efforts on
+Mount Everest. We watched them with the greatest interest
+descending the glacier and wondered how far they had been
+successful. They all arrived back safely in the course of
+the evening, having been extraordinarily lucky in not having
+had any casualties or frost-bites in spite of the Arctic gales.
+Mallory will, however, tell of their adventures in another
+chapter.</p>
+
+<hr class="hr65" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER IX</h2>
+
+<p class="title"><span style="font-size: 150%">THE RETURN TO KHARTA BY THE KAMA VALLEY</span></p>
+
+<p>Winter was now rapidly approaching. Every night
+was growing steadily colder, and we were all anxious to
+get down to lower altitudes. Every one had been feeling
+the strain of life at these high altitudes. It had been,
+however, a great relief to us that all the party had got back
+to the 20,000-foot camp in safety, and that we had had no
+cases of sickness or frost-bite. The coolies had throughout
+worked most willingly and to the best of their ability. They
+had been well supplied with boots and socks, warm clothing
+of all kinds, cap comforters and fur gloves, as well as
+blankets, and for those who had slept at the higher camps,
+eiderdown sleeping-bags had been provided capable of holding
+four or five. Here at the 20,000-foot camp we did not have
+to depend on Primus stoves or spirit lamps, as while we
+were waiting at the advanced base camp we had daily sent
+up coolies with loads of wood for our future use, and even
+during our stay here the coolies who had been left behind
+under Gyalzen Kazi had been sending up further loads.
+We now divided our party into two: Mallory, Bullock,
+Raeburn and Morshead were to be responsible for taking
+all the stores back to Kharta, and for this purpose we had
+arranged with Chheten Wangdi and the Kharta Jongpen
+for a number of Tibetan coolies to help in the work of removal.
+The remainder of us, that is to say, Wollaston, Wheeler
+and myself, were to cross over a snow pass and return to
+Kharta <ins title="viâ">via</ins> the Kama Valley. Wheeler was anxious to do
+this in order to complete his survey work, for up till now
+he had been unable to visit the Kama Valley. Wollaston
+had already seen the lower parts of the Kama Valley, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span>
+was very anxious to see the upper end, particularly after
+my descriptions of the scenery and the Alpine flowers that
+were to be met with there.</p>
+
+<p>On September 26 the two parties started off in different
+directions. Taking with us fifteen coolies, all pretty heavily
+laden, we descended to the great Kharta Glacier, which
+it was necessary for us to cross. We were not at all certain
+as to the conditions we were likely to meet with on the
+other side of the pass. The climb from the Kharta Glacier
+to the Karpo La, 20,300 feet, was quite gentle, though the
+snow was very soft and powdery. On the North side of
+the pass we found the slopes to be a snow-covered glacier,
+but on the South side there was a very steep rocky descent
+which had to be faced. From the top of the pass we had a
+remarkably fine view into the Kama Valley which lay below
+us. Makalu, Pethangtse and Everest stood up clear above
+the clouds which floated along the bottom of the Kama
+Valley. Across the gaps between these peaks we could see
+other snow ranges in Nepal. Here at the top of the pass
+we were luckily just sheltered from the North-west and
+the gale, but on either side of us snow was being blown off
+the mountains in long white streamers. Our descent was
+down a very steep rocky rib. We began by roping ourselves
+together, but the coolies were all of them heavily laden
+and were, moreover, very clumsy on the rope, sending down
+so many loose stones that I found my position as foremost
+man quite untenable owing to the amount of débris and
+rocks which were dislodged above me. We therefore unroped,
+and Wollaston lowered the coolies one by one over the
+steepest part&mdash;a somewhat long proceeding&mdash;after which
+they were able independently to make their way down to
+the glacier below without mishap. We now put on the rope
+again, and so crossed the easy glacier which led down to
+the moraine on which I had been two months before.
+Wheeler branched off here and took up a position on one
+of the ridges. Here he found the gale very troublesome,
+his theodolite being nearly blown over several times. He<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span>
+managed, however, to take a number of readings and to
+get a good many photographs&mdash;sufficient to map the whole
+of the upper part of the Kama Valley. All that day the
+gale continued above 20,000 feet. Below this the valley
+was filled with clouds, over which at first we had magnificent
+views. As soon as we descended into the valley, we
+gradually became enveloped in the autumn mists, which
+lasted all the remainder of the way to Pethang Ringmo.
+This was the place where I had met the yak herds two
+months before when they were pasturing their yaks on the
+grassy uplands. They had left the place, and we were
+therefore no longer able to draw on them for butter and
+milk. I had, however, arranged for Wheeler's fat cook
+to be sent up from Kharta to this place to meet us and to
+bring with him some fresh meat and vegetables. These
+we found on arrival, the fat cook having only arrived an
+hour before. We all of us slept that night much better than
+we had been doing at the higher camps, and though even
+down here we had 14° of frost, I was delighted to find that
+my boots were not frozen as hard as nails, as they had been
+all the last week.</p>
+
+<p>From this camp I determined to attempt an expedition
+which I had long desired to make. My ambition was to
+reach the ridge between Makalu and Everest, and from
+it to have a look right down into Nepal. Mallory and
+Bullock did not much encourage me in my project, and
+doubted whether it could be accomplished within the short
+time which was now available. I decided, nevertheless,
+to make the attempt. On the night of the 26th all our
+servants overslept themselves, and I had some difficulty
+in waking them next morning. We succeeded, however,
+after a hurried breakfast in making a start at 5.45 a.m.,
+just as the first sunlight was touching the highest peak
+of Mount Everest. It was a most perfect autumn morning,
+without a cloud in the sky and with the ground underfoot
+white with hoar-frost. After going a mile up the valley,
+we had to cross the Kangshung Glacier&mdash;here about a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span>
+mile wide and consisting of a great mass of ice hummocks,
+often 100 feet or more in height, mostly covered with
+boulders, with the ice showing every now and then below
+us in curious caverns and lakes. It took us an hour to cross
+this glacier, as the walking was very tiring up and down
+hill over loose stones all the time; luckily, however, many
+of the stones were frozen to the ice, which made the crossing
+easier than it might have been later in the day. We then
+climbed on to a spur, over 19,000 feet, which jutted out
+into the valley. From this we had marvellous views right
+away to Kanchenjunga in the East. On the opposite side
+Mount Everest stood out with every detail showing clearly
+in the autumn sunshine. Above us towered the perpendicular
+cliffs of <ins title="Chomolonzo">Chomolönzo</ins>, opening out into a most astonishing
+series of peaks, the existence of which we had never suspected
+when looking at the mountain from the valley below. For
+once in a way the air was drier and the valleys below were
+not filled with cloud, so there was a prospect of our having
+clear views all day. Wheeler had come a short way along
+the ridge until he got a good view-point, when he stopped
+to set up his theodolite and camera for a station, after which
+he came along no further. I followed the crest of the ridge
+as far as I could, finding it at times very difficult and rocky
+and having to make many detours to get along. A descent
+of about 500 feet was followed by a climb of another 1,000 feet,
+at the end of which we found ourselves exactly opposite
+to the great amphitheatre of granite formed by <ins title="Chomolonzo">Chomolönzo</ins>
+and Makalu and facing Westwards. So steep were these
+great white granite cliffs that no snow lodged on them.
+Above them were other cliffs of ice with rather gentler slopes;
+at their feet was a great glacier that filled up the whole of
+this basin and then swept down till it almost joined the
+Kangshung Glacier. I had taken with me as usual Ang Tenze
+and Nyima Tendu, the two coolies who always accompanied
+me, each of them carrying a camera. We now came to a
+glacier which it was necessary to cross, and therefore roped
+up once more. The snow by this time had become rather<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span>
+soft, and we were constantly breaking through the crust.
+The glare and heat of the sun on this glacier were very
+intense, and both Nyima and I were feeling very limp from
+the heat. Ang Tenze was extraordinarily active and did
+not seem to mind heat or height&mdash;a quite exceptionally
+gifted mountaineer. Having successfully crossed the glacier,
+we left the soft snow and found our way over some easy
+rocks and eventually reached the top of the ridge for which
+we were making, at a height of about 21,500 feet, and some
+500 feet above the snow-covered pass to the East of us.
+From the top of the ridge we had a most glorious view
+looking across range upon range of snowy mountains in
+Nepal. Immediately below us was a large snow &ldquo;névé,&rdquo;
+towards which glaciers descended from a number of snow-covered
+peaks. From this névé a great glacier swept round
+towards the Southern side of Makalu, apparently descending
+into a valley that ran parallel to the Kama Valley and on
+the South side of Makalu. Chamlang and other snow peaks
+to the South showed up very clearly, covered with snow and
+ice to very much lower elevations than any mountain on
+the North side of the Himalayas. On either side of us towered
+up Makalu and Everest, but seen from this point the huge
+cliffs of Chomolönzo presented by far the most astounding
+sight. From here I could see a few thousand feet of the
+Southern slopes of Mount Everest which we had been unable
+to see from any other point before. From the angle at which
+I saw them these appeared very steep, and even if it were
+possible and permissible to go into Nepal, it seems improbable
+that a practicable route lies up that face of the mountain.
+I spent a couple of hours up here taking photographs, enjoying
+the views, and eating my lunch in comfort, for the sun was
+hot and for once in a way there was no wind. To the South-west
+of us, across the névé, there appeared to be another
+easy pass which seemed to lead round to the South of Mount
+Everest, and Ang Tenze, who came from the Khombu Valley,
+said that he thought that he recognised some of the mountain
+tops that he saw over this, and that if we crossed this pass,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span>
+we should eventually descend into the Khombu Valley.
+He also told me that there were stories that once upon a
+time there was a pass from the Khombu Valley into the
+Kama Valley, and that this was probably the pass in question,
+but that it had been disused for a great number of years.
+To support his theory we found on the way down a kind of
+shelter built of stones and some pieces of juniper hidden
+under a big rock. This would have been too high up for
+any yak herds to camp, as it was above the grazing pastures,
+and seemed to prove that the spot might have been used as
+a halting-place for smugglers or people fleeing from the law
+before they crossed these passes. It had taken us six and a
+half hours from camp to get up to the top of this pass; and
+we had had no halts on the way beyond what were necessary
+to take photographs. The downward journey took us four
+hours. We tried another way by the side of the Makalu
+Glacier, desiring thereby to avoid the tiresome and rather
+difficult bit along the top of the ridge. This short cut proved,
+however, to be still more trying and wearisome. From the
+cliffs above there had been great rock falls down to the edge
+of the glacier, and for a couple of miles we had to jump from
+boulder to boulder and to clamber either up or down the
+whole time. There was still the Kangshung Glacier to cross,
+with more up and down hill work, the stones being much
+looser and more inclined to slip under foot than they were
+in the morning. Eventually we reached camp, just before
+dark, and feeling very tired. A cup of tea, however, with
+a little brandy in it, completely removed all fatigue.
+Wollaston had been able during the day to get some beautiful
+photographs of the snow-powdered cliffs of Chomolönzo,
+and also some interesting ones of the Kangshung Glacier.
+Besides these he had been able to collect a number of seeds.
+It is astonishing how quickly at these heights seeds ripen,
+and how short a time it is after flowering that they are fit
+for picking.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/img_150.jpg" width="323" height="500"
+        alt="see caption"
+        title="see caption" />
+        <a id="img_150"></a>
+<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Chomolönzo.</span><br />
+from the alp below the Langma La, Kama Valley.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>We had been very lucky in getting such a perfect day
+in the Kama Valley, for fine days there were very few.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span>
+After our one perfect day the weather changed again, and
+for the next three days we descended the Kama Valley
+in sleet and snow. The first morning our march was only
+to our old camp at Tangsham on a glacial terrace 1,000
+feet above the valley. At first Everest was clear and all
+the mountains to the West, but heavy clouds came rolling
+up from the South-east and soon enveloped everything.
+On the way I managed to collect for Wollaston a number of
+the seeds of that lovely blue primula which I had found in
+flower here in August. I shot, too, a common snipe, which
+I was very surprised to meet at these altitudes. I flushed
+him beside a small spring close to the camp. During the
+afternoon it snowed and sleeted, and Wheeler came in very
+tired in the evening after having spent the whole of the day
+on a prominent peak, from which he had been unable to get
+a single photograph or to take any bearings. In spite of the
+snow that evening we had a cheery bonfire of juniper, willow
+and rhododendron. The next morning, though we were
+down at 15,000 feet, there were a couple of inches of fresh
+snow on the ground. The weather at first was very misty,
+and we had no views at all. We soon, however, descended
+below the snow, and the autumnal colours in the valley
+began to show. On the opposite side of it below the great
+black cliffs, the bushes were all shades of brown and gold.
+In the forests the rose bushes had turned a brilliant red,
+and the mountain ash showed every shade of scarlet and
+crimson, contrasting well with the shiny dark green leaves
+of the rhododendron. The golden colours of the birch and
+the dark junipers also made a beautiful combination of colour.
+Rain set in again steadily, and as snow was falling on
+the &ldquo;field of marigolds&rdquo; where we had intended to camp,
+we pitched our tents in the midst of a huge rock-fall&mdash;1,000
+feet lower down. Our coolies did not pitch any tents for
+themselves, but preferred to scatter in twos and threes
+and to camp under the overhanging rocks which they found
+apparently warmer and more comfortable than the tents.
+There had been a wonderful growth of vegetation among<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span>
+these huge boulders, many of them 40 feet to 50 feet in
+height, which had come down from the cliffs above. Wollaston
+and I spent most of the afternoon pottering round and
+collecting seeds of plants of different kinds. The next
+morning we had trouble in getting hold of the coolies; they
+were scattered among the rocks, and in spite of shouts,
+refused to budge until I went round with a big stick and
+poked them out of their holes. I crossed the Shao La in
+thick mist, though Wollaston and Wheeler, who came along
+an hour behind, had some beautiful glimpses of Makalu
+in the clouds and were able to get some photographs. After
+crossing the pass, we descended past several beautiful lakes
+and arrived in fine weather at Kharta in the afternoon.
+The autumn tints on the way down were again very beautiful,
+and most of the crops had already been gathered in. Mallory
+and Bullock had, we found, left Kharta, being in a great
+hurry to get back to civilisation again.</p>
+
+<p>It was September 30 when we reached Kharta. We had
+now finished our reconnaissance. We had investigated
+all the valleys to the West, North-west, North, North-east
+and East of the mountain, and had eventually found that
+there was only one possible route of approach to the summit.
+The bad weather and the furious North-westerly gales had
+prevented our attaining any great height this year. The
+rainy season had begun some three weeks later than usual.
+The rains, they told us, had been much heavier than in
+most years in Tibet, and the wet season had lasted until
+very nearly the end of September, after which time a period
+of gales set in which made climbing at heights above 23,000
+feet a physical impossibility. Undoubtedly the best time
+to try and climb the mountain would be before the monsoon
+breaks in May or early June. It might be possible, if the
+monsoon happened to end by the beginning of September,
+to tackle the mountain early in September, but after the
+middle of that month the chances of doing any good grow
+steadily weaker and the cold increases with great rapidity.
+Whether it will be possible in any conditions to reach the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span>
+summit I am very doubtful. We, however, had never
+intended to make a sustained effort to reach the top in
+1921. The reconnaissance of the mountain and its approaches
+afforded us indeed no time to make such an effort, and we
+felt bound to investigate every valley that led up to it.
+The Everest Committee had already before we left for India
+in 1921 decided to send out a second Expedition in the
+following year, for the express purpose of climbing Mount
+Everest, and for this purpose had already then promised
+the leadership to Brig.-General C. G. Bruce, whose unrivalled
+knowledge of climbing and climatic conditions in the
+Himalayas specially fitted him for the work. Whether
+the task is capable of accomplishment I will not attempt
+to say, though I should think the chances are on the whole
+against success. If Mount Everest were 6,000, or even
+5,000 feet lower, I think there can be no doubt that it could
+be climbed. There are no physical difficulties in the shape
+of the mountain which prevent it being climbed&mdash;the
+difficulties are all connected with its altitude. If the snow
+is soft and powdery, and the conditions are such as we met
+with so often; or if, again, there is difficult rock climbing
+in the last 2,000 or 3,000 feet of the climb, I do not think
+the summit will be reached. I cannot say what the effect
+will be if oxygen is taken to aid the human effort. I only
+know that cylinders of oxygen are very uncomfortable and
+heavy to carry, and that to wear a mask over the mouth
+and to climb so equipped would not seem to be very feasible
+or pleasant. Living at great heights, and trying to sleep
+at great heights, lowers the vitality enormously. Larger
+tents than those with which we were supplied might well
+be taken in order to prevent the depressing headaches that
+follow from sleeping in a confined and airless space. Among
+minor discomforts which count for much may be mentioned
+the difficulty of preparing good warm food, and for this
+purpose a coolie should be trained in cooking and in the use
+of the &ldquo;Primus&rdquo; and spirit stoves. This coolie should be
+a man accustomed to great heights, and he should accompany<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span>
+the party up to the highest camps in order to avoid the
+difficulties we had in connection with the preparation of
+our food and then having to live on such makeshifts as
+sardines and biscuits. I never lost my appetite at heights
+over 20,000 feet&mdash;I was always able to eat well, though not
+everything appealed to the palate. Sweet things were
+especially wanted. That it is possible to acclimatise the
+system to live at heights is true, but only to a certain extent&mdash;up
+to about 18,000 feet we could acclimatise ourselves very
+comfortably, and I know in my own case that after six months'
+living in Tibet, I was able to do far more than when I first
+came into the country, but at greater heights I think a
+prolonged stay permanently lowers the vitality. Sleeplessness
+is another great enemy at heights, and most of the party
+I found slept very poorly at the highest camp. Mallory,
+I think, was the only exception. It ought to be possible to
+pick out a few coolies capable of carrying loads able to go
+as far as any European can get. Some of them seem to
+feel the height much less than others, and I believe that an
+unladen native would be able to go much higher if he had
+the knowledge of ice and snow that Alpine climbers have,
+and would not improbably reach a greater height than
+any European. Twenty-nine thousand feet is, however, a
+tremendous height for anyone to attain, and I own that I
+am not at all sanguine that the summit will be reached,
+though I have no doubt that this year will see the Duke of
+the Abruzzi's record of 24,600 broken, and I shall not
+be at all surprised to see a height of 25,000 or 26,000 feet
+arrived at.</p>
+
+<hr class="hr65" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER X</h2>
+
+<p class="title"><span style="font-size: 150%">THE RETURN JOURNEY TO PHARI</span></p>
+
+<p>Autumn had already come to Kharta. The willows
+and the poplars under which we were camped were fast
+shedding their leaves, which rustled on the ground, or blew
+into our tents, a warning that winter was not far off. Even
+here there were one or two degrees of frost every night. The
+days, however, were still warm and sunny. The next five
+days were fully occupied with strenuous work. Wheeler
+and I took alternate mornings and afternoons in the dark
+room. We had each taken a large number of photographs
+during the past month. These had to be developed before
+we started on our return journey to Darjeeling, and this
+would be our last opportunity. An account of our last
+month's doings and our final reconnaissance had to be written
+out for <i>The Times</i>, and this, together with many other letters,
+had to be sent off to Phari as soon as possible. Our stores,
+tents, Alpine equipment, had all to be collected and sorted
+out. Lists had to be made of all of them, and most of them
+had to be re-packed. The coolies were perpetually worrying
+us for money and advances of pay in order that they might
+be able to buy Tibetan clothing, or have money which they
+could spend on drink at Kharta, where it was apparently
+very cheap. Our cook and most of the coolies used constantly
+to return to camp in the evening blind drunk, and I had to
+see that the cook was never allowed near the kitchen under
+these conditions. On such an occasion my servant, Poo,
+would have to do the cooking in his place. The chang, or
+barley beer, that they got must have been a much stronger
+brew than what was given to us, as what we had did not
+appear intoxicating at all, but the interpreters told us that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span>
+coolie beer was double strength.</p>
+
+<p>The Jongpen was rather sad as the moment of our
+departure drew near. We invited him to lunch one day,
+and he seemed to appreciate the beauties of Scotch whisky,
+which he said was very much better than his own chang.
+We had to pay him a return visit the following day, when
+he gave us a great spread. Knowing that we were anxious
+to collect such curios as were available, he produced all
+kinds of things for our inspection. I bought from him a
+curious old Tibetan musket, elaborately decorated with
+silver, and fitted with a pair of antelope horns on which to
+rest it when firing. Some interesting copper and silver
+teapots we were also able to get from him, and I remember
+his showing Wollaston many pieces of finely embroidered
+Chinese silk. Both Hopaphema and the Jongpen had a
+very good idea of the value of money, and were not at all
+afraid of asking a stiff price for any of the curios which
+they produced. We managed, however, to pick up some
+interesting Chinese snuff bottles of carved agate, some with
+pictures painted inside. China cups of the Chienlung and
+Kanghe periods we were also able to get; there were, however,
+many things in the monasteries which we rather coveted,
+but which the Lamas would not sell. Their tables were very
+ornamentally carved with dragons and weird designs, all
+painted over in brilliant colours. The Jongpen had one
+such table, but unfortunately I found out that he had only
+borrowed it from the nearest monastery for the purpose of
+entertaining us, and therefore he could not sell it. We left
+behind us a good many stores which it was not worth while
+to bring along. Among them was a lot of acid hypo-sulphite
+of soda, which the Jongpen at once seized upon, and which
+he said he intended to make use of in washing his clothes,
+knowing that soda was used occasionally for this purpose. The
+Jongpen, of whom we had taken many photographs, and
+who had seen the results, was anxious to buy one of our
+cameras, and to develop and print everything himself. He
+imagined the whole process was very easy, and was extremely<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span>
+anxious to get hold of one of the Expedition's cameras, but
+we had to disappoint him in this. Nothing small would
+content him&mdash;he wanted the biggest of the lot, and was quite
+willing to exchange a sword or any other weapon for a camera.
+We, however, left behind with him three pairs of skis, which
+we had brought out with us, but which had never been
+unpacked. These skis had throughout our journeys been
+looked upon by the Tibetans with the greatest interest.
+They had heard about flying machines, and they thought
+that these were the framework of a flying machine which
+we had brought with us, and on which we intended to
+fly to the top of the mountains. Wherever we arrived
+there was always a great crowd assembled round these skis,
+discussing the various methods by which they could be put
+together and describing how the white man would then fly.
+I left them with the Jongpen and told him that they were
+very good exercise for him in the winter time, when the snow
+was deep, and that if he wanted to reduce his weight, which
+was already considerable, there could be no better method
+than by making use of them in the snow.</p>
+
+<p>At last, on October 5, we managed to leave Kharta.
+There were no pack animals available; we had therefore
+to make use of coolies for our transport for the first march;
+it took 140 of them to carry all our loads. For some time
+the scene of confusion was very amusing. The Jongpen
+himself came down, and it was only owing to his help that
+by mid-day we got all the loads sorted out and put on the
+backs of the coolies. Before he was able to do this he had
+to have recourse to the system of drawing lots by putting
+garters on each load, a system which I have already described
+in a previous chapter. Before we left, the Jongpen and
+Hopaphema brought us presents of sheep and vegetables,
+and they and all the people of the valley seemed genuinely
+sorry that we were departing. Throughout our long stay
+at Kharta they had been most helpful and had done everything
+they could for our comfort. They were both of them
+very human, with a delightful sense of humour, and we<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span>
+quickly became great friends. It was with much regret that
+we turned our backs on Kharta.</p>
+
+<p>We started off without a cloud in the sky, but with a
+strong South wind blowing. High up on the mountains we
+could see the snow still being blown off in white clouds. Our
+route lay up the valley of the Bhong-chu for about 10 miles
+until the river suddenly turned to the East to go through a
+deep and impassable gorge. We had then to follow the
+valley of the Zachar-chu for 4 miles to Lumeh, where we
+camped beside the great poplar trees. The bridge by which
+we had crossed the Zachar-chu in July no longer existed.
+It had been washed away in August, but now that the snows
+were no longer melting higher up, and the rainy season was
+over, the river was very much lower, and it was possible to
+ford it. The people at Lumeh were very pleased to see us
+again; we found tents pitched and food prepared for our
+reception. From here there were two routes open to us.
+We could either, by crossing two passes, drop down to Tsogo
+in the valley of the Bhong-chu, and after fording the river
+there, follow our previous route (of the outward journey) to
+Tingri, or we could cross a small pass just above Lumeh,
+meeting the Bhong-chu again immediately above the gorge,
+where there was a bridge across it. We chose the latter
+route, as it was probably a couple of days shorter and would
+take us through new country. On leaving Lumeh, for the
+first time for several days we had a cloudy morning, which
+was unfortunate, as from the top of the Quiok (Cuckoo Pass)
+we had hoped for a fine view. Our transport to-day consisted
+of yaks and donkeys, which came along very well. There
+was a steep climb of 2,000 feet to the top of the pass, 15,000
+feet, where we just managed to get a glimpse of Makalu in
+the clouds, but Everest was hidden. We thought that this
+would be our last chance of a view of the Everest and Makalu
+group, but it turned out not to be so. By going over this pass
+we had avoided the curious and impassable gorge by which
+the Bhong-chu cuts through a high range of mountains.
+It was only a little over 6 miles to the famous rope bridge<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span>
+at Gadompa. I could not help laughing when I first saw
+the bridge. It was such a comical, ramshackle-looking
+affair, and everything about it seemed torn and ragged and
+uneven. Two crooked wooden posts set up in piles of stones
+supported the ropes of raw hide which spanned the river.
+During the rainy season one of these posts and all the ropes
+had been buried deep under the water, but now that the
+river had dropped over 10 feet, the posts were out of the
+water. Between these two wooden posts were three raw
+hide ropes, very frail and much frayed, and looking as though
+they might break at any moment. On these ropes was laid
+a semi-circular piece of wood, like the framework of a saddle,
+to which were attached two leather thongs. The person
+or bale of goods that had to be pulled across was tied by
+these two thongs to the framework, and this was allowed to
+slide rapidly with its load down to the point at which the
+&ldquo;bridge&rdquo; sagged most&mdash;somewhere about the middle of
+the river&mdash;which here rushed along in a formidable rapid.
+If the Tibetans on the far side failed to pull up the passenger
+or load and he or it was left for a minute, either would certainly
+get the full benefit of one of the ice-cold waves of the
+rapids and get thoroughly soaked before reaching the far
+side. The Tibetans had great fun with our coolies in transit,
+and very few of them were allowed to get over dry. The
+villages on either side are exempt from the duty of producing
+transport, and have instead to make themselves responsible
+for working the bridge. On one side the operators were
+all women and on the other all men. It took an average of
+five minutes to get each load or person across, and we spent
+twelve hours before we got all our loads over. For part of
+the time I superintended while Wheeler went to get some
+dinner, and after dinner, owing to there being a certain
+amount of moonlight, Wheeler carried on until the last
+load was brought over at midnight. It was a very chilly
+proceeding, as the wind blew very cold, with a suspicion
+of snow every now and then. It was a weird experience to
+see the loads of baggage suddenly appearing out of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span>
+darkness and then being unloaded and transferred to the
+yaks, who apparently were able to find their way about in
+the dark. We got everything over in safety without losing
+anything except a few eggs, which I saw drop out during
+the passage across, and I felt very much relieved that we
+had had no accident.</p>
+
+<p>That night we camped in a pleasant willow grove at the
+village of Kharkhung. In the morning we awoke to find
+fresh snow on the ground, but this speedily disappeared
+when the sun came out. Our new transport consisted of
+donkeys and some very wild yaks, which rapidly got rid
+of their loads. The march was only a short one of about
+12 miles up the valley of the Bhong-chu. The valley was
+uninteresting and stony, with practically no undergrowth,
+and we eventually camped in a windy spot near the village
+of Lashar, nearly opposite to the sandy camp at Shiling
+where we had halted on our outward journey after crossing
+the quicksands. The night proved much colder here, with
+18° of frost, but the wind luckily died down and the next
+morning was beautiful. We continued up the sandy valley
+of the Bhong-chu, which is here several miles wide, until
+we came to its junction with the Yaru, where we regained
+the route which we had followed on the outward journey.
+Just before leaving the main valley we found, on looking
+behind us, that we were in full sight of Mount Everest and
+its great South-eastern ridge, and also of the Lhakpa La
+where we had camped. This was our final view of Mount
+Everest, and knowing the geography of these peaks as we
+now did, this view gave us an added interest in them. We
+had climbed slowly and had not realised the great height
+which we had reached or the conspicuous position of our
+camp on the Lhakpa La which we now saw sharply defined
+against the horizon from a distance of 50 miles.</p>
+
+<p>We rode up the gorge of the Yaru, and at the village of
+Rongme we met the Phari Jongpen's brother. He was
+busy collecting the harvest rents, which are a fixed percentage
+of the crops. I gave him some of the photographs that I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span>
+had taken of him and his house on the way up and very soon
+after a big crowd collected around. The Tibetans are very
+quick at recognising persons in a photograph, and they at
+once picked out all the people by name in a group. I then rode
+on past his house to the village of Shatog, where we camped.
+On the way I shot a couple of snipe and also saw a number
+of teal, wild geese and kulan (grey crane), but they were
+very wild and I could not get near enough for a shot. Heron
+joined us here. He had been exploring some of the valleys
+to the North, but had found nothing interesting or remarkable,
+geologically, and he accompanied us back as far as
+Khamba Dzong. We were anxious to push on as fast as
+possible, and determined to do a double march from here
+to Tinki Dzong, which our transport drivers said they could
+do quite easily. We started on a beautiful day after a sharp
+frost at night, causing many of the ponds to be frozen over.
+We crossed the broad swampy plain to Chushar. Wheeler,
+going on ahead at first, had a shot at some geese, but did not
+succeed in getting anything. We crossed the Yaru River
+by a very deep ford, and then kept along the North side of
+it, past numerous ponds on which were swimming many
+bar-headed geese; these were, however, very wily and would
+not allow us to approach within shot. We now had a steep
+3,000-foot climb to the Tinki Pass. On the way up I came
+across some partridges; they were terrible runners, but
+after a good chase I managed to collect two. They turned
+out to be the ordinary Tibetan partridge (<i>Perdrix hodgsoniæ</i>).
+I then rode on down to Tinki, to which place I had sent on
+Chheten Wangdi in order to make arrangements for our
+reception and to have transport ready for us on the following
+day. The two Jongpens rode out to meet us; the elder
+of the two had been at Tinki when we passed through on
+the way out, but the other one I had not seen before as he
+had been away. I had very pleasant recollections of our
+reception there before, and was delighted to see the elder
+Jongpen, who was a most pleasant and agreeable gentleman.
+They presented us with a couple of hundred eggs, rice and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span>
+some grain for the ponies, and had tents already pitched for
+us under the walls of the fort. Here the Jongpens came
+and sat talking with us for a long time. Our transport
+showed no signs of turning up, so we were very glad to make
+our dinner off the rice and eggs that had been given us.
+The bulk of the transport did not arrive till midnight. They
+had made every effort to stop at Chushar, and it was with
+great difficulty that Gyalzen Kazi had induced them to go
+on. The animal which was carrying Wheeler's kit died on
+the way, and his bedding did not arrive till noon the following
+day, another animal having been sent to bring it in. I had
+had my maximum and minimum thermometers exposed as
+usual under the fly of my tent, but during the night some
+wretch came and stole them. What good they could have
+been to him I cannot imagine, but it was very annoying
+and I hope he will drink the mercury. The weather had
+now changed again for the worse: all day there were heavy
+snow showers with snow falling on the mountains around
+and preventing any views. The march was only a short
+one to Lingga. The wild birds in the lake beside the
+fort were as tame as ever, the Brahminy ducks (ruddy
+sheldrake) almost waddling into our tents and not paying
+the slightest attention to us. On the water were swimming
+about thousands of duck, bar-headed geese and teal which
+the Jongpen's little dog used to have great fun in chasing.
+We were not able to follow our former route from Tinki to
+Lingga as the country had altered considerably. Most of
+the plain was now a broad lake several miles long, and we
+had to follow the North side of the water along the foot of
+the hills. On these big lakes were many duck, but they
+were very wild. I managed on the way, however, to shoot
+two bar-headed geese, a couple of <ins title="Gargany">Garganey</ins> teal and a pochard,
+which proved a very welcome addition to our bill of fare.
+One shot was a most extraordinary one. I was stalking some
+geese which were getting very restless and starting to fly
+away, when just in front of me got up two teal close together.
+I fired at the teal and both fell to my shot, and at the same<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span>
+time, to my great surprise, a goose, which was in the direct
+line of fire, and about 40 yards away, also fell.</p>
+
+<p>We found the people at Lingga busy thrashing. The
+thrashing time in Tibet is a favourite one for drinking, and
+often the whole village after a day's harvest will be completely
+incapacitated as the result of too great an indulgence
+in chang. Their thrashing floors consist of an area of about
+half an acre of hard beaten earth on which the barley is
+spread to a depth of 6 to 8 inches. Fifty or sixty yaks are
+then driven into this enclosure, followed by thirty people
+or more, beating drums, rattling kerosene oil tins, ringing
+bells and shouting and yelling in order to frighten the yaks,
+who, tail in air, are driven backwards and forwards over
+the barley. This they continue doing until every one is
+tired and hoarse, when the whole of the workers, both male
+and female, adjourn for a long drink of beer, after which
+the same process is repeated.</p>
+
+<p>On October 11 we arrived at Khamba Dzong. We were
+having sharp frosts now every night, and the mountains,
+both to the North and South of us, were covered low down
+with a thick white coating of snow. It was not, however,
+unpleasantly cold, and the cloud effects were very beautiful.
+On the way I shot two goa&mdash;Tibetan gazelle&mdash;with good
+heads, and horns over 14 inches long. We had to halt here
+in order to rest our coolies. All day to the South there was
+a furious storm raging along the Himalayas, and when it
+cleared up in the evening there had evidently been a heavy
+snowfall. In the course of the afternoon we put up over
+Dr.&nbsp;Kellas's grave the stone which the Jongpen had had
+engraved for us during our absence. On it were inscribed
+in English and Tibetan characters his initials and the date
+of his death, and this marks his last resting-place.</p>
+
+<p>Raeburn, Wheeler and Heron now left us, as they wanted
+to return to Darjeeling by the short way over the Serpo La
+and down the Teesta Valley. This route is only possible
+for small parties; with all our transport we were unable
+to return that way as the villages on the way and in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span>
+the Teesta Valley are small and can supply but very few
+animals or coolies. Wollaston and I had therefore to return
+to Phari and then to follow the main trade route, along
+which it is always possible to pick up any amount of hired
+transport. We left Khamba Dzong on October 13 in 20° of
+frost. Kanchenjunga and the Everest group were just
+visible, but ominous clouds were rapidly coming up. Our march
+was the same as on the outward journey to Tatsang (Falcon's
+Nest)&mdash;a distance of about 21 miles. We rode through the
+fine limestone gorge behind the fort, shooting on the way
+several Tibetan partridge (<i>Perdrix hodgsoniæ</i>). On reaching
+the top of the pass, I climbed another thousand feet on to
+the ridge to the South of the pass, where I had a wonderful
+panorama of snowy peaks, both to the South and to the
+North. Snow storms appeared to be raging on either side
+and the wind was extremely cold. I came across a fine flock
+of burhel (<i>Ovis nahura</i>), and had an easy shot at a fine ram,
+but missed him hopelessly, and they never gave me another
+chance. A little further on I missed a gazelle. On the
+plain below were grazing numerous kiang (<i>Equus hemionus</i>),
+their reddish-chestnut coats being well shown off by their
+white bellies and legs. Their mane appears to be of a
+darker colour, which is continued as a narrow stripe down
+the back. On the same plain I could see also a large flock
+of nyan (<i>Ovis hodgsoni</i>), all fair-sized rams. I had a long
+chase after the latter, but they never allowed me to approach
+close to them. Snow began to fall now and a regular
+blizzard set in, the fine powdery snow being blown along
+the ground into our faces. While riding along in this storm, I
+saw two fine nyan which I stalked. My 2·75 rifle was rather
+small for such a large animal, and though the larger of the
+two was badly hit by the first shot, he went off as though
+he were untouched and gave me a long chase after him.
+It was only possible to get a glimpse of him every now and
+then in the blizzard, and whenever I lay down to try and
+get a shot, the fine powdery snow blown along the surface
+of the ground nearly blinded me, so that it took five more<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span>
+bullets before he finally expired. He was a magnificent
+old beast with a grand head and horns, well over 40 inches
+in length and of great thickness. The weight of the body
+was enormous. I had only Ang Tenze with me. With much
+difficulty we cut off the nyan's head and then tried to lift
+the carcass, which must have weighed well over 200 lb.,
+on to one of the ponies. With the greatest trouble we
+eventually managed to get the carcass on to the pony's back,
+but the pony seemed gradually to subside on to the ground
+under the weight and was quite unable to move. While
+we were doing this, my pony took it into his head to run
+away, and though we made every attempt to catch him,
+he completely defeated us, and was last seen galloping away
+towards his home. I had therefore an 8 mile trudge through
+the snow to get back to camp, not arriving there till well
+after dark. Five of the coolies went back after dark to get
+the meat. They cut off as much as they could carry, and
+the remainder had to be left for the nuns, who sent out their
+servants to bring it in. I was cheered up, however, by
+getting an English mail and many letters. Among these
+was one from Sir Charles Bell from Lhasa, who wrote to
+ask the Expedition not to do any more shooting in Tibet,
+as the Tibetans did not approve of it; for the remainder of
+the time, therefore, the guns had to be put away.</p>
+
+<p>During the night there were 32° of frost, and everything
+inside our tents was frozen solid in the morning; but the
+wind luckily died down, and the next day was a most beautiful
+one. We knew that there was a long march before us, so
+our transport was off by eight o'clock. At Tatsang we
+were already 16,000 feet, and we gradually climbed higher,
+spending most of the day between 17,000 and 18,000 feet.
+For several miles we rode across a snow-covered plain over
+which the tops of Pawhunri, Chomiomo, and Kanchenjhow
+appeared to the South. As we rose higher, the snow gradually
+deepened to 6 inches and made the going very heavy. We
+had to cross three spurs of Pawhunri by passes of over
+17,500 feet. Here the snow had been blown by the wind into<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span>
+drifts over 2 feet deep. We had arranged to camp at a place
+called Lunghi, but on our arrival there found that the
+nomads, who ordinarily spent the summer there, had already
+left and were encamped some 4 miles further down the valley.
+In a side valley I found some of their tents where I was able
+to warm myself and get some hot milk before moving on
+down the valley, where we were told that preparations had
+been made to receive us. There was luckily a bright moon
+and we rode on down to the spot, where we found some
+Tibetan tents which had been pitched for us; their owners
+had, moreover, had the forethought to have great braziers
+of cow dung burning in these tents. The smell was not
+agreeable, but we sat and warmed ourselves, waiting for
+our transport, which did not arrive until eleven o'clock that
+night. It was a bitterly cold wait, as the wind got up and
+blew down the valley with 25° of frost behind it. We were
+very glad to see our transport and coolies when they arrived;
+they had really come along very well, as a march of 23 miles
+in soft snow and at a great height all the time is no light
+feat.</p>
+
+<p>Breakfast the next morning was very comfortless, as
+the wind was still blowing with 28° of frost, and everything&mdash;boots
+and foodstuffs of all kinds&mdash;was frozen inside our
+tents. We looked forward with no little pleasure to finding
+ourselves inside once more and sitting in front of a fire out
+of the everlasting wind which makes Tibet so trying. The
+march was a fairly easy one of about 20 miles over gentle
+undulating country until we reached the West side of the
+Tang La; there was, however, a bitterly cold strong South
+wind which blew with great violence all day and penetrated
+through everything. Many of our coolies had much difficulty
+in coming along, as they were suffering from snow blindness
+and their feet were also very tender from the cold and the
+deep snow of the last few days. Chomolhari was a glorious
+sight all the way. We were gradually approaching it, and
+it seemed to rise directly from the plain in front of us. From
+its summit and from its ridges great streamers of snow were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span>
+being blown off and the gale&mdash;apparently from the Northwest&mdash;still
+continued. Nearly every day since we left Kharta
+we saw along the higher peaks of the Himalayas the snow
+being blown off in great wisps, showing that a strong Northwesterly
+current of air sets in at great heights after the
+monsoon is over. After reaching Darjeeling we noticed the
+same thing; every day, from Kanchenjunga and Kabru,
+could be seen the same great wisps of wind-blown snow.
+That night at Phari we were once more in a bungalow and
+out of the wind, and able to spend a very comfortable and
+pleasant evening reading our letters and papers in front of
+a fire which, though still mostly yak dung, was in a fireplace.
+October 16 we spent resting at Phari. Our coolies were
+much exhausted by the three days' march from Khamba
+Dzong, in which we had covered 65 miles, most of the time
+at considerable heights and in deep snow. We had returned
+by the short way, which the people of Phari had told us in
+the spring was impassable, and over which they would not
+go, sending us instead around by the long way to Dochen,
+which took us six days instead of three.</p>
+
+<p>Phari is a place unfortunately too near civilisation. The
+Tibetans there have lost their good manners, such as we
+had been accustomed to meet in the more distant and out-of-the-way
+parts of the country. Much trade passes through
+the town, and the people there are too well off. They had
+an idea that the Expedition was a kind of milch cow out of
+which money could be extracted to their hearts' content.
+Of this view we had to disabuse them, and in consequence
+found them all very tiresome. The transport turned up
+the following morning, but they refused to load up unless they
+were paid in full beforehand and at a most exorbitant rate.
+This I refused to do, telephoning at the same time to
+the trade agent at Yatung. I sent for the Jongpen, and
+both Jongpens turned up. I rather imagine that they were
+at the bottom of this trouble, for one of them owed the
+Expedition some money; he had also, when forwarding on
+stores to us, seized the opportunity to charge five times the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span>
+ordinary rate, on the pretext that he had supplied some of
+his own mules. After long arguments I eventually induced
+them to accept part of the payment, the remainder to be
+paid at Yatung, whereupon the Jongpens gave orders for
+the animals to be loaded. It was not, however, until the
+afternoon that we were able to leave Phari and to start on
+our downward march to Yatung.</p>
+
+<hr class="hr65" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER XI</h2>
+
+<p class="title"><span style="font-size: 150%">BACK TO CIVILISATION</span></p>
+
+<p>When we turned our backs on Phari and started to
+march down the Chumbi Valley, we had left the real Tibet
+behind us. I could not somehow look upon the Chumbi
+Valley as being a part of Tibet. Its characteristics, its
+houses, its people, its vegetation, are all so different from
+the greater part of Tibet. There are not the same cold
+winds that freeze the very marrow, nor are there the
+wide plains and the undulating hills with their extensive
+views.</p>
+
+<p>In spite of all discomforts, there is a very great charm
+and fascination about travelling in Tibet. Is it partly
+because it is an unknown country, and the unknown is always
+fascinating, or is it rather because of the innate beauty of
+the country itself, with its landscapes so free from all restraint
+and a horizon often 150 to 200 miles distant? Never
+anywhere have I seen a country so full of colour as is Tibet.
+There is not enough vegetation to hide the rocks and the
+stones. The foreground as well as the distant view is
+wonderfully full of colour and variety. Contrasts are one
+of the charms of life, and probably in this lies the secret
+of the charm and attractiveness of Tibet. It is essentially
+a country of contrasts. The climate, above all, has contrasts
+of its own. The sun is burningly hot, but in the shade the
+cold may be intense. To such a pitch can the extremes
+of heat and cold arrive, that a man may suffer from sunstroke
+and frost-bite at one and the same time.</p>
+
+<p>The Tibetans themselves are a strong, well-built and
+hardy race&mdash;Mongolian in type. The women usually put
+a mixture of grease and soot on their faces to protect them
+against the glare of the fresh snow or the biting winds, for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span>
+even they, with their thick skins, do not seem to get used
+to the severity of the changes. How much more does the
+European suffer when he travels in Tibet and seems to need
+a fresh skin almost every day. The soot mixture does not
+add to the beauty of the women, though I came across some
+who were not bad looking. Many of the people are nomads,
+living in tents all the year round and moving about from
+camp to camp pasturing their herds of yaks and their flocks
+of sheep. It is curious that even in the winter-time they
+can find grazing places, but the secret lies in the fact that
+the slopes face the South in the regions where the wind
+blows strongest, so that the surface is usually bare. The
+snowfall in winter in most parts of Tibet is not heavy, and
+the climate being so dry, the snow is powdery, and the wind
+blows it along and forms great drifts in the hollows, leaving
+the exposed slopes usually clear. On these the herds, or
+flocks of sheep, obtain sufficient nourishment from such
+scattered patches of frozen grass or lichens as they are able
+to find. Of all the animals that the Tibetans have, the
+yak is the most useful. His long black hair, which reaches
+to the ground under his belly, is woven into tents or ropes.
+The milk, after they have drunk what they want, is turned
+into butter and cheese, of which they produce great
+quantities. When old, he is killed and his flesh is dried,
+providing meat for a long time. His hide supplies leather
+of every kind. It is always used untanned, for no tanning
+is ever done in Tibet and any tanned skins always come
+up from India. The yak dung is in many places the only
+fuel to be got and is most carefully picked up. To the present
+generation of young children the yak is probably familiar
+from that delightful rhyme in &ldquo;The Bad Child's Book of
+Beasts&rdquo;:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <span class="i0">As a friend to the children, commend me the Yak&mdash;</span><br />
+    <span class="i2">You will find it exactly the thing;</span><br />
+    <span class="i0">It will carry and fetch, you can ride on its back</span><br />
+    <span class="i2">Or lead it about with a string.</span><br />
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <span class="i0">The Tartar who dwells on the plains of Tibet,</span><br /><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span>
+    <span class="i2">A desolate region of snow,</span><br />
+    <span class="i0">Has for centuries made it a nursery pet,</span><br />
+    <span class="i2">And surely the Tartar should know.</span><br />
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <span class="i0">Then tell your papa where the Yak can be got,</span><br />
+    <span class="i2">And if he is awfully rich,</span><br />
+    <span class="i0">He will buy you the creature&mdash;or else he will not;</span><br />
+    <span class="i2">I cannot be positive which.</span><br />
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p>The traveller in Tibet can easily live on such supplies
+as can be drawn from the country. The Tibetan is always
+hospitable and will provide sheep, milk, cheese and butter
+almost everywhere. Vegetables, however, of any kind are
+very scarce, though in the summer a species of spinach can
+be got in some places. Living, as the Tibetans do, far away
+from all outside influences, their customs and manners have
+not changed, and are the same as they were several hundred
+years ago. I can fully sympathise with their present desire
+for seclusion and their eagerness not to be exploited by
+foreigners. They sent a few years ago some young Tibetan
+boys to Rugby to be educated in different professions. These
+boys have now returned again to Lhasa, and with their aid,
+and with the aid of others who are being sent out into the
+world to learn, they hope to be able to develop the resources
+of their own country at leisure, in their own way, and
+by themselves, without being exploited commercially by
+foreigners.</p>
+
+<p>The staple food of the Tibetans is tsampa (parched
+barley). This is ground up and either milk or tea is added,
+forming it into a kind of dough. This is put in a little bag,
+which they carry about with them when travelling, and
+is often their only food for several days. Tsampa can be
+obtained everywhere in Tibet, though it is easier to get it
+in the villages than from the tents of the nomads. Tea
+can, of course, be obtained everywhere, and, as I have
+described before, is mixed with salt and butter, churned
+up with great violence, and then poured into teapots. At
+every camp, and at every house, will be met fierce dogs.
+These dogs guard the flocks, or the nomad camps, and rather<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span>
+resemble large collies; as a rule, they are black and very
+fierce. The Tibetans were, however, always very good
+in tying them up before we approached their camps. In
+many of the houses we found tied up just outside the door
+another kind of dog, a huge brute of the mastiff type, always
+extremely savage and ready, if he had not been tied up,
+to tear the intruder to pieces. The peasants are still treated
+as serfs, though only in a mild form. For all Government
+officials, when on tour, they have to supply free transport
+and supplies of all kinds, so that official visits are not popular.
+At first the villagers were afraid that we might follow the
+example of the Tibetan officials and were much relieved
+to find that we did not do so.</p>
+
+<p>I cannot leave the subject of Tibet without a few words
+about the monasteries. These are divided into two great
+schools, the Red Cap School and the Yellow Cap School.
+The former was founded by the Buddhist Saint, Padma
+Sambhava or Guru Rimpoche, in A.D. 749. They are the
+older of the two monastic sects, but their morals are much
+looser than those of the Yellow Sect, and the Lamas or monks
+of this sect are often married. In one monastery belonging
+to the Red Sect near Kharta, the Lamas and their wives
+were all living together. The Yellow Cap, or Gelukpa Sect,
+was founded in the fifteenth century by Tsong Kapa, who
+instituted a very much stricter moral code, and this sect
+looks down very much upon the Red Caps. The State
+religion of the country is Buddhism. By the middle of
+the seventeenth century, after a series of reincarnations,
+Nawang Lobsang had made himself master of Tibet and
+transferred his capital to Lhasa. He accepted the title of
+Dalai Lama (Ocean of Learning) from the Chinese, hence
+the Dalai Lama at Lhasa, by this doctrine of political
+reincarnation, has absorbed all the political power in the
+country into his own hands, although the Tashi Lama at
+Tashilumpo is in theory his senior and superior in spiritual
+matters. The old simple creed of the Buddhists can scarcely
+be recognised nowadays and is overlaid with devil worship<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span>
+in all its forms, supernatural agencies abounding everywhere.
+The top of a pass, a mountain, a river, a bridge, a storm;
+each will have its own particular god who is to be worshipped
+and propitiated. In many of the larger monasteries, too,
+they have oracles who are consulted far and wide and supposed
+to be able to foretell the future. These often acquire
+considerable power and influence by methods not unlike
+those resorted to in ancient Greece. It has been estimated
+that a fifth of the whole population of Tibet has entered
+monastic life. The conditions probably much resemble
+those which prevailed in mediæval Europe. The monasteries
+contain nearly all the riches of the country. They own
+large estates; they are the source of all learning, and all
+the arts and crafts seem to take their inspiration from
+articles for use in the monasteries. The ordinary Tibetan,
+surrounded as he is by the various spirits which occupy
+every valley and mountain top, is very superstitious. He
+therefore has inside his house his prayer wheel and his little
+shrine, before which he offers up incense daily. His Mani walls
+or mendongs, covered with inscribed stones or carved figures
+of Buddha, are alongside the paths he daily uses; on the
+top of the mountains or passes, in addition to these prayer-covered
+stones, flutter rags printed over with prayers. All
+these are intended to propitiate the evil spirits. In places
+where there are particularly malignant devils, it may be
+necessary to build several Chortens in order to keep them
+in subjection, and these Chortens are filled with several
+thousands of prayers and sacred figures stamped in the clay.</p>
+
+<p>The country is divided up into districts, each under its
+own Jongpen, who is responsible direct to Lhasa or Shigatse
+and has yearly to send the revenue collected to headquarters.
+A certain percentage of the crops is collected every year,
+and in a year of good harvest the Jongpen is able to make
+a certain amount of money for himself in addition to what
+he has to send to Lhasa. Our visit to the Kharta Valley
+was an unexpected windfall for the Kharta Jongpen, as I
+fancy that much of the money that we paid out to the different<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span>
+villages for supplies or coolie hire eventually found its way
+into his pocket and was not likely to find its way to Lhasa.
+This may possibly have accounted for his pleasure in
+entertaining us and his desire to keep us there as long as
+possible. The Tibetans, however, everywhere have good
+manners and are invariably most polite&mdash;a pleasant
+characteristic. Although they are all Buddhists, and
+accordingly object to the taking of life, they do not in the
+least mind killing their sheep or their yaks for food, but
+they objected to our shooting wild sheep or gazelles or wild
+birds for food. I could have understood this objection
+better had they been vegetarians and not killed their sheep
+for eating purposes, but a real vegetarian, except in the
+strictest monasteries, is very rare in Tibet.</p>
+
+<p>There was a great fascination in roaming through the
+country as we did. It was the fascination of the unknown,
+this travelling in regions where Europeans had never travelled
+before, and where they had never even been seen. The
+people had exaggerated notions of our ferocity, and were
+full of fears as to what we might be like and as to what we
+might do. In these out-of-the-way parts they had heard
+vaguely of the fighting in 1904, and they imagined that our
+visit might be on the same lines. They imagined, too,
+that all Europeans were cruel and seized what they wanted
+without payment. They were therefore much surprised
+when they found that we treated them fairly and paid for
+everything that we wanted at very good rates. The
+Expedition may, I venture to think, take credit to itself for
+having certainly done a great deal of good in promoting
+more friendly relations between the Tibetans and ourselves,
+and in giving them a better understanding of what an
+Englishman is. Their ignorance of the outside world was
+at times astounding. Tibetan officials and traders were
+an exception, but it was seldom that the ordinary Tibetan
+ever left the valley in which he was born and bred, with the
+result that except for the wildest rumours, they knew nothing
+of the outside world. For long-distance journeys, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span>
+Tibetans used ambling mules or ponies, which were capable
+of going long distances and keeping up a speed of about
+5 miles an hour. To our idea, the Tibetan saddle with its
+high wooden framework is very uncomfortable, but on the
+top of their saddles they would put their bedding, spreading
+over it a brilliant and often beautifully coloured carpet as a
+saddle cloth. On the top of this the rider would sit perched,
+and, with a good ambling pony, could get along very
+comfortably.</p>
+
+<p>I always enjoyed travelling and moving about in Tibet.
+It hardly has the climate of Tennyson's Island Valley of
+Avilion&mdash;&ldquo;Where falls not hail or rain or snow, nor ever
+wind blows loudly&rdquo;&mdash;for we used to get samples of nearly
+all of these almost every day. But no matter how barren
+nor how bare the immediate surroundings were there was a
+sense of exhilaration and freedom in the air. There was
+never a sense of being confined in a narrow space. There
+was always some distant view where the colours would be
+continually changing. In the summer-time the climate
+was not unpleasant, and there was always the pleasure of
+finding some new and beautiful flower, oftentimes springing
+up out of the driest sand. Wherever there was water, there
+was sure to be vegetation and many bright-coloured flowers
+with every kind of wild-bird life. The shrill whistle of the
+marmot would often alone break the silence of the scene.
+Animal life in some form was almost always visible, whether
+it was the wild kiang roaming on the plains, or the gazelle,
+or the wild sheep, there was always something of interest
+to watch. The little mouse hares which lived in great colonies
+would constantly dodge in and out of their holes and the
+song of the larks could always be heard.</p>
+
+<p>By the end of October the climate was beginning to get
+very cold, the thermometer descending at times to Zero
+Fahrenheit, so that we were quite ready to leave the country,
+being anxious to get warm again, if only for a short time.
+There was sorrow in our hearts, however, at parting with
+the friendly and hospitable folk whom we had encountered,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span>
+and at leaving behind us the familiar landscapes with the
+transparent pale blue atmosphere that is so hard to describe,
+and the distant views of range upon range of snowy mountains
+often reflected in the calm waters of some blue coloured
+lake. The attractions of Tibet may yet be strong enough
+to draw us back again once more. Many years ago
+the same attraction impelled me to cross the Himalayan
+mountains and to visit another part of Tibet, but my
+excursion was, I am afraid, not favourably regarded by the
+Indian Government and my leave was stopped for six months.
+The same attraction, however, still exists for this land of
+many colours with its lonely sunsets full of beauty, with its
+nights where the eager stars gleam bright as diamonds, and
+where the full moon shines upon the nameless mountains
+covered with snow and still as death.</p>
+
+<p>As we turned our backs upon the country we left winter
+behind us, and descending the Chumbi Valley once more
+found ourselves in autumnal surroundings. The Himalayan
+larch were all of a beautiful golden colour; the birch were
+all turning brown, and the berberis were a brilliant scarlet.
+Red currants and the scarlet haws of the rose were still on
+the bushes. The currants were no longer sour to eat raw,
+and we picked many of them on the way down. Our pockets,
+too, were filled with seeds of rhododendrons and other flowers.
+On the way I was met by the native officer commanding the
+garrison at Yatung, which was now found by the 90th
+Punjabis. As I passed their quarters, the guard turned
+out, presenting arms very smartly, and all the detachment
+came out and saluted. They were certainly a very well-trained
+detachment. Once more the Macdonald family most
+kindly sent over a generous meal, besides presents of every
+sort and kind of European vegetable. From Yatung we
+obtained forty-five mules for our transport. These came
+along very much faster than the yaks and the donkeys that
+we had been using. Here Gyalzen Kazi, one of our
+interpreters, left us to return to his home at Gangtok. I
+was very sorry to lose him. He had been a pleasant<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span>
+companion and had been of great assistance to the
+Expedition. He was always most willing to undertake
+any difficult or unpleasant job there might be, and I never
+heard a murmur or grumble from him of any kind during
+the whole time that he was with us. Our march was only
+a short one of 11 miles to Langra, where there was a Tibetan
+rest-house built in the Chinese style and rather reminding
+me of our rest-house at Tingri. It was a most perfect
+autumnal day, with scarcely a cloud in the sky. The woods
+everywhere were very beautiful, the dark silver fir trees
+showing up the scarlet and yellow of the bushes and the
+gold of the larch. Our cook, Acchu, was drunk again, but
+Poo prepared us a good meal instead. The next morning,
+to our surprise, on looking out we found a couple of inches
+of fresh snow on the ground and the snow was still falling
+steadily. The mules, nevertheless, were all loaded up in
+good time, and I followed on foot to the top of the Jelep
+Pass, snow falling steadily all the way&mdash;a fine granular
+snow. At the top of the pass the wind was blowing keenly,
+driving the snow into our faces. Besides the 6 inches of
+fresh snow here, there was a good deal of the old snow that
+had fallen a week or more ago, and in some places formed
+drifts several feet deep. It is seldom that a clear view is
+ever obtained on the Jelep Pass. It rained when we came
+over in May and it snowed now, and twice before, when I
+have crossed it, it rained all the time. Snow fell all the
+way down to Gnatong, where there were already a couple of
+inches of slush. The next morning was luckily fine, as we
+were to do a long march to Rongli&mdash;a distance of only 18
+miles, but with a descent of 9,500 feet. The first few miles
+we walked through the fresh snow, but in the afternoon
+we were wandering among the sweet scents of a tropical
+jungle with orchids still flowering on the trees and ripe
+oranges in the garden of our bungalow. We had jumped
+from winter to summer in a few hours. The Tibetan mules
+came along excellently, doing the march in just over eight
+hours, a very different proceeding to our Government mules<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span>
+on the way up, which we were compelled to discard at
+Sedongchen. We reached Darjeeling on October 25. Lord
+Ronaldshay was unfortunately away on tour on his way to
+Bhutan, and as he had travelled via Gangtok, we had missed
+seeing him on the way. The next few days we spent in
+getting rid of the remainder of our stores, selling anything
+perishable that we could, getting tents dried and mended,
+and storing everything else in view of a second Expedition.
+We here said good-bye to our other interpreter, Chheten
+Wangdi, who had served us most faithfully throughout
+the Expedition, and it was with the greatest regret that we
+took leave of him on the railway station at Darjeeling.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/img_178.jpg" width="500" height="322"
+        alt="see caption"
+        title="see caption" />
+        <a id="img_178"></a>
+<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Members of the Expedition.</span><br />
+<i>Standing</i>: WOLLASTON. HOWARD-BURY. HERON. RAEBURN.<br />
+<i>Sitting</i>: MALLORY. WHEELER. BULLOCK. MORSHEAD.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Our Expedition had accomplished all that it had set
+out to do. All the approaches to Mount Everest from the
+North-west, North, North-east and East had been carefully
+reconnoitred and a possible route to the top had been found
+up the North-east ridge. Climatic conditions alone had
+prevented a much greater height being attained. Friendly
+relations had been established with the Tibetan officials
+and people wherever we went. Our travels had taken us
+through much unexplored and new country wherein we had
+discovered some magnificent and undreamt-of valleys where
+primeval forests existed such as we had never imagined to
+find in Tibet and where deep filled glens with the richest
+semi-tropical vegetation descended as low as 7,000 feet.
+Many beautiful flowers were discovered in these Alpine
+valleys, and we were able to collect a quantity of seeds from
+these which I hope may help to enrich and to beautify our
+gardens at home. A new part of the country has been
+opened up to human knowledge. It has been photographed
+and described. The surveyors have made an original survey
+at a scale of 4 miles to the inch of an area of some 12,000
+square miles; a detailed photographic survey of 600 square
+miles of the environs of Mount Everest has been worked out,
+and, besides this, the maps of another 4,000 square miles of
+country have been revised. Dr.&nbsp;Heron, our indefatigable
+geologist, himself travelled over the greater part of this area,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span>
+and has carefully investigated the geology of the whole
+region. That the Expedition was able to accomplish so much
+in such a short time was due to the hearty co-operation and
+keenness of all the members of the party. We were a happy
+family and, to use a rowing expression, we all &ldquo;pulled together.&rdquo;
+Such success as we attained is entirely due to their
+strenuous and ceaseless efforts, and I can only express my
+gratitude to them for the unselfish way in which they helped
+and assisted me on every occasion.</p>
+
+<p>The Expedition of 1921 is over; many problems have
+been solved, much new country has been brought within
+our ken, and many new beauties have been revealed, but
+the soul of man is never content with what has been attained.
+The solution of one problem only brings forward fresh
+problems to be solved, so this Expedition into unknown
+country brings within the realms of possibility further travels
+and further problems to be solved. There is much that yet
+remains to be done, much that remains to be discovered;
+and though we may not be privileged to discover a new
+race of hairy snow men, yet there is a wild and uncharted
+country full of beauty and interest that awaits those who
+dare face the discomfort and hardships of travelling in Tibet&mdash;discomforts
+which are soon forgotten and leave behind
+them only the memories of very wonderful scenes and places
+which the passing of time can never efface.</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <span class="i0">Let us probe the silent places, let us seek what luck betide us,</span><br />
+    <span class="i2">Let us journey to a lonely land I know;</span><br />
+    <span class="i0">There's a whisper in the night wind, there's a star, a gleam to guide us,</span><br />
+    <span class="i2">And the wild is calling, calling, let us go.</span><br />
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p style="margin-left: 40%">R. W. S.</p>
+
+<hr class="hr65" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181"></a></span></p>
+
+<p class="title"><span style="font-size: 200%">THE RECONNAISSANCE OF THE MOUNTAIN</span><br /><br />
+
+<span style="font-size: 125%">By</span><br /><br />
+
+<span style="font-size: 125%">GEORGE H. LEIGH-MALLORY</span></p>
+
+<hr class="hr65" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER XII</h2>
+
+<p class="title"><span style="font-size: 150%">THE NORTHERN APPROACH</span></p>
+
+<p>As a matter of history it has been stated already in an
+earlier chapter of this book that the highest mountain in
+the world attracted attention so early as 1850. When we
+started our travels in 1921, something was already known
+about it from a surveyor's point of view; it was a triangulated
+peak with a position on the map; but from the mountaineer's
+point of view almost nothing was known. Mount Everest
+had been seen and photographed from various points on
+the Singalila ridge as well as from Kampa Dzong; from
+these photographs it may dimly be made out that snow lies
+on the upper part of the Eastern face at no very steep angle,
+while the arête bounding this face on the North comes down
+gently for a considerable distance. But the whole angle
+subtended at the great summit by the distance between
+the two of these view-points which are farthest apart is
+only 54°. The North-west sides of the mountain had never
+been photographed and nothing was known of its lower
+parts anywhere. Perhaps the distant view most valuable
+to a mountaineer is that from Sandakphu, because it suggests
+gigantic precipices on the South side of the mountain so that
+he need have no regrets that access is barred in that direction
+for political reasons.</p>
+
+<p>The present reconnaissance began at Kampa Dzong, no
+less than 100 miles away, and in consequence of misfortunes
+which the reader will not have forgotten was necessarily
+entrusted to Mr.&nbsp;G. H. Bullock and myself, the only
+representatives of the Alpine Club now remaining in the
+Expedition. It may seem an irony of fate that actually
+on the day after the distressing event of Dr.&nbsp;Kellas' death
+we experienced the strange elation of seeing Everest for the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span>
+first time. It was a perfect early morning as we plodded
+up the barren slopes above our camp and rising behind the
+old rugged fort which is itself a singularly impressive and
+dramatic spectacle; we had mounted perhaps a thousand
+feet when we stayed and turned, and saw what we came to
+see. There was no mistaking the two great peaks in the
+West: that to the left must be Makalu, grey, severe and yet
+distinctly graceful, and the other away to the right&mdash;who
+could doubt its identity? It was a prodigious white fang
+excrescent from the jaw of the world. We saw Mount
+Everest not quite sharply defined on account of a slight
+haze in that direction; this circumstance added a touch of
+mystery and grandeur; we were satisfied that the highest
+of mountains would not disappoint us. And we learned one
+fact of great importance: the lower parts of the mountain
+were hidden by the range of nearer mountains clearly shown
+in the map running North from the Nila La and now called
+the Gyanka Range, but it was possible to distinguish all
+that showed near Everest beyond them by a difference in
+tone, and we were certain that one great rocky peak appearing
+a little way to the left of Everest must belong to its near
+vicinity.</p>
+
+<p>It was inevitable, as we proceeded to the West from
+Kampa Dzong, that we should lose sight of Mount Everest;
+after a few miles even its tip was obscured by the Gyanka
+Range, and we naturally began to wonder whether it would
+not be possible to ascend one of these nearer peaks which
+must surely give us a wonderful view. I had hopes that
+we should be crossing the range by a high pass, in which
+case it would be a simple matter to ascend some eminence
+near it. But at Tinki we learned that our route would
+lie in the gorge to the North of the mountains where the
+river Yaru cuts its way through from the East to join the
+Arun.</p>
+
+<p>From Gyanka Nangpa, which lies under a rocky summit
+over 20,000 feet high, Bullock and I, on June 11, made an
+early start and proceeded down the gorge. It was a perfect<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span>
+morning and for once we had tolerably swift animals to
+ride; we were fortunate in choosing the right place to ford
+the river and our spirits were high. How could they be
+otherwise? Ever since we had lost sight of Everest the
+Gyanka Mountains had been our ultimate horizon to the
+West. Day by day as we had approached them our thoughts
+had concentrated more and more upon what lay beyond.
+On the far side was a new country. Now the great Arun
+River was to divulge its secrets and we should see Everest
+again after nearly halving the distance. The nature of the
+gorge was such that our curiosity could not be satisfied
+until the last moment. After crossing the stream we followed
+the flat margin of its right bank until the cliffs converging
+to the exit were towering above us. Then in a minute we
+were out on the edge of a wide sandy basin stretching away
+with complex undulations to further hills. Sand and barren
+hills as before&mdash;but with a difference; for we saw the long
+Arun Valley proceeding Southwards to cut through the
+Himalayas and its western arm which we should have to
+follow to Tingri; and there were marks of more ancient
+river beds and strange inland lakes. It was a desolate scene,
+I suppose; no flowers were to be seen nor any sign of life
+beyond some stunted gorse bushes on a near hillside and
+a few patches of coarse brown grass, and the only habitations
+were dry inhuman ruins; but whatever else was dead, our
+interest was alive.</p>
+
+<p>After a brief halt a little way out in the plain, to take
+our bearings and speculate where the great mountains should
+appear, we made our way up a steep hill to a rocky crest
+overlooking the gorge. The only visible snow mountains
+were in Sikkim. Kanchenjunga was clear and eminent;
+we had never seen it so fine before; it now seemed singularly
+strong and monumental, like the leonine face of some splendid
+musician with a glory of white hair. In the direction of
+Everest no snow mountain appeared. We saw the long
+base tongues descending into the Arun Valley from the
+Gyanka Range, above them in the middle distance an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span>
+amazingly sharp rock summit and below a blue depth most
+unlike Tibet as we had known it hitherto. A conical hill
+stood sentinel at the far end of the valley, and in the distance
+was a bank of clouds.</p>
+
+<p>Our attention was engaged by the remarkable spike of
+rock, a proper aiguille. As we were observing it a rift opened
+in the clouds behind; at first we had merely a fleeting
+glimpse of some mountain evidently much more distant,
+then a larger and clearer view revealed a recognizable form;
+it was Makalu appearing just where it should be according
+to our calculations with map and compass.</p>
+
+<p>We were now able to make out almost exactly where
+Everest should be; but the clouds were dark in that direction.
+We gazed at them intently through field glasses as though
+by some miracle we might pierce the veil. Presently the
+miracle happened. We caught the gleam of snow behind
+the grey mists. A whole group of mountains began to
+appear in gigantic fragments. Mountain shapes are often
+fantastic seen through a mist; these were like the wildest
+creation of a dream. A preposterous triangular lump rose
+out of the depths; its edge came leaping up at an angle of
+about 70° and ended nowhere. To the left a black serrated
+crest was hanging in the sky incredibly. Gradually, very
+gradually, we saw the great mountain sides and glaciers
+and arêtes, now one fragment and now another through
+the floating rifts, until far higher in the sky than imagination
+had dared to suggest the white summit of Everest appeared.
+And in this series of partial glimpses we had seen a whole;
+we were able to piece together the fragments, to interpret
+the dream. However much might remain to be understood,
+the centre had a clear meaning as one mountain shape, the
+shape of Everest.</p>
+
+<p>It is hardly possible of course from a distance of 57 miles
+to formulate an accurate idea of a mountain's shape. But
+some of its most remarkable features may be distinguished
+for what they are. We were looking at Everest from about
+North-east and evidently a long arête was thrust out towards<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span>
+us. Some little distance below the summit the arête came
+down to a black shoulder, which we conjectured would be
+an insuperable obstacle. To the right of this we saw the
+sky line in profile and judged it not impossibly steep. The
+edge was probably a true arête because it appeared to be
+joined by a col to a sharp peak to the North. From the
+direction of this col a valley came down to the East and
+evidently drained into the Arun. This was one fact of
+supreme importance which was now established and we
+noticed that it agreed with what was shown on the map;
+the map in fact went up in our esteem and we were inclined
+hereafter to believe in its veracity until we established the
+contrary. Another fact was even more remarkable. We
+knew something more about the great peak near Everest
+which we had seen from Kampa Dzong; we knew now that
+it was not a separate mountain; in a sense it was part of
+Everest, or rather Everest was not one mountain but two;
+this great black mountain to the South was connected with
+Everest by a continuous arête and divided from it only by
+a snow col which must itself be at least 27,000 feet high.
+The black cliffs of this mountain, which faced us, were
+continuous with the icy East face of Everest itself.</p>
+
+<p>A bank of cloud still lay across the face of the mountain
+when Bullock and I left the crest where we were established.
+It was late in the afternoon. We had looked down into the
+gorge and watched our little donkeys crossing the stream.
+Now we proceeded to follow their tracks across the plain.
+The wind was fiercely blowing up the sand and swept it
+away to leeward, transforming the dead flat surface into a
+wriggling sea of watered silk. The party were all sheltering
+in their tents when we rejoined them. Our camp was
+situated on a grassy bank below which by some miracle a
+spring wells out from the sand. We also sought shelter.
+But a short while after sunset the wind subsided. We all
+came forth and proceeded to a little eminence near at hand;
+and as we looked down the valley there was Everest
+calm in the stillness of evening and clear in the last<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span>
+light.</p>
+
+<p>I have dwelt upon this episode at some length partly
+because in all our travels before we reached the mountain
+it is for me beyond other adventures unforgettable; and
+not less because the vision of Everest inhabiting our minds
+after this day had no small influence upon our deductions
+when we came to close quarters with the mountain. We
+made other opportunities before reaching Tingri to ascend
+likely hills for what we could see; notably from Shekar
+Dzong we made a divergence from the line of march and
+from a hill above Ponglet, on a morning of cloudless sunrise,
+saw the whole group of mountains of which Everest is the
+centre. But no view was so instructive as that above
+Shiling and we added little to the knowledge gained that
+day.</p>
+
+<p>On June 23, after a day's interval to arrange stores, the
+climbing party set forth from Tingri Dzong. We were two
+Sahibs, sixteen coolies, a Sirdar, Gyalzen and a cook Dukpa.
+The process of selecting the coolies had been begun some
+time before this; the long task of nailing their boots had
+been nearly completed on the march and we were now
+confident that sixteen of the best Sherpas with their climbing
+boots, ice axes and each a suit of underwear would serve us
+well. The Sirdar through whom coolies had been engaged
+in the first instance seemed to understand what was wanted
+and to have sufficient authority, and Dukpa, though we could
+not expect from him any culinary refinements, had shown
+himself a person of some energy and competence who should
+do much to reduce the discomforts of life in camp. Our
+equipment was seriously deficient in one respect: we were
+short of words. A few hours spent in Darjeeling with a
+Grammar of Tibetan had easily convinced me that I should
+profit little in the short time available by the study of that
+language. It had been assumed by both Bullock and myself
+that our experienced leaders would give the necessary orders
+for organisation in any dialect that might be <ins title="required we">required. We</ins>
+had found little opportunity since losing them to learn a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span>
+language, and our one hope of conversing with the Sirdar
+was a vocabulary of about 150 words which I had written
+down in a notebook to be committed to memory on the
+march and consulted when occasion should arise.</p>
+
+<p>The task before us was not likely to prove a simple and
+straightforward matter, and we had no expectation that
+it would be quickly concluded. It would be necessary
+in the first place to find the mountain; as we looked across
+the wide plains from Tingri and saw the dark monsoon
+clouds gathered in all directions we were not reassured.
+And there would be more than one approach to be found.
+We should have to explore a number of valleys radiating
+from Everest and separated by high ridges which would
+make lateral communication extremely difficult; we must
+learn from which direction various parts of the mountain
+could most conveniently be reached. And beyond all
+investigation of the approaches we should have to scrutinise
+Mount Everest itself. Our reconnaissance must aim at a
+complete knowledge of the various faces and arêtes, a correct
+understanding of the whole form and structure of the mountain
+and the distribution of its various parts; we must distinguish
+the vulnerable places in its armour and finally pit our skill
+against the obstacles wherever an opportunity of ascent
+should appear until all such opportunities were exhausted.
+The whole magnitude of the enterprise was very present in
+our minds as we left Tingri. We decided that a preliminary
+reconnaissance should include the first two aims of finding
+the approaches to Mount Everest and determining its shape,
+while anything in the nature of an assault should be left
+to the last as a separate stage of organisation and effort.
+In the result we may claim to have kept these ends in view
+without allowing the less important to prey upon the
+greater. So long as a doubt remained as to the way we
+should choose we made no attempt to climb the peak; we
+required ourselves first to find out as much as possible by
+more distant observations.</p>
+
+<p>Mount Everest, as it turned out, did not prove difficult<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span>
+to find. Almost in the direct line from Tingri are two great
+peaks respectively 26,870 and 25,990 feet high&mdash;known
+to the Survey of India as M<sub>1</sub> and M<sub>2</sub> and to Tibetans as
+Cho-Uyo and Gyachung Kang. They lie about W.N.W. of
+Everest. We had to decide whether we should pass to the
+South of them, leaving them on our left, or to the North.
+In the first case we surmised that we might find ourselves
+to the South of a western arête of Everest, and possibly in
+Nepal, which was out of bounds. The arête, if it existed,
+might perhaps be reached from the North and give us the
+view we should require of the South-western side, in which
+case one base would serve us for a large area of investigation
+and we should economise time that would otherwise be
+spent in moving our camp round from one side to another.
+Consequently we chose the Northern approach. We learned
+from local knowledge that in two days we might reach a
+village and monastery called Chöbuk, and from there
+could follow a long valley to Everest. And so it proved.
+Chöbuk was not reached without some difficulty, but this
+was occasioned not by obstacles in the country but by the
+manners of Tibetans. At Tingri we had hired four pack
+animals. We had proceeded 2 or 3 miles across the plain
+when we perceived they were heading in the wrong direction.
+We were trusting to the guidance of their local drivers and
+felt very uncertain as to where exactly we should be aiming;
+but their line was about 60° to the South of our objective
+according to a guesswork compass bearing. An almost
+interminable three-cornered argument followed. It appeared
+that our guides intended to take five days to Chöbuk.
+They knew all about &ldquo;ca' canny.&rdquo; In the end we decided
+to take the risk of a separation; Gyalzen went with the
+bullocks and our tents to change transport at the village
+where we were intended to stay the night, while the rest of
+us made a bee line for a bridge where we should have to
+cross the Rongbuk stream. At the foot of a vast moraine
+we waited on the edge of the &ldquo;maidan,&rdquo; anxiously hoping
+that we should see some sign of fresh animals approaching;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span>
+and at length we saw them. It was a late camp that evening
+on a strip of meadow beside the stream, but we had the
+comfort of reflecting that we had foiled the natives, whose
+aim was to retard our progress; and in the sequel we reached
+our destination with no further trouble.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/img_190.jpg" width="500" height="315"
+        alt="see caption"
+        title="see caption" />
+        <a id="img_190"></a>
+<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Cho-Uyo.</span></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>On June 25 we crossed the stream at Chöbuk. Tibetan
+bridges are so constructed as to offer the passenger ample
+opportunities of experiencing the sensation of insecurity
+and contemplating the possibilities of disaster. This one
+was no exception. We had no wish to risk our stores, and
+it was planned that the beasts should swim. They were
+accordingly unladen and driven with yell and blow by a
+willing crowd, until one more frightened than the rest plunged
+into the torrent and the others followed. We now found
+ourselves on the right bank of the Rongbuk stream, and
+knew we had but to follow it up to reach the glacier at the
+head of the valley. An hour or so above Chöbuk we entered
+a gorge with high red cliffs above us on the left. Below
+them was a little space of fertile ground where the moisture
+draining down from the limestone above was caught before
+it reached the stream&mdash;a green ribbon stretched along the
+margin with grass and low bushes, yellow-flowering asters,
+rhododendrons and juniper. I think we had never seen
+anything so green since we came up on to the tableland
+of Tibet. It was a day of brilliant sunshine, as yet warm
+and windless. The memory of Alpine meadows came into
+my mind. I remembered their manifold allurements; I
+could almost smell the scent of pines. Now I was filled
+with the desire to lie here in this &ldquo;oasis&rdquo; and live at ease
+and sniff the clean fragrance of mountain plants. But we
+went on, on and up the long valley winding across a broad
+stony bay; and all the stony hillsides under the midday
+sun were alike monotonously dreary. At length we followed
+the path up a steeper rise crowned by two chortens between
+which it passes. We paused here in sheer astonishment.
+Perhaps we had half expected to see Mount Everest at this
+moment. In the back of my mind were a host of questions<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span>
+about it clamouring for answer. But the sight of it now
+banished every thought. We forgot the stony wastes and
+regrets for other beauties. We asked no questions and
+made no comment, but simply looked.</p>
+
+<p>It is perhaps because Everest presented itself so
+dramatically on this occasion that I find the Northern
+aspect more particularly imaged in my mind, when I recall
+the mountain. But in any case this aspect has a special
+significance. The Rongbuk Valley is well constructed to
+show off the peak at its head; for about 20 miles it is
+extraordinarily straight and in that distance rises only
+4,000 feet, the glacier, which is 10 miles long, no more steeply
+than the rest. In consequence of this arrangement one
+has only to be raised very slightly above the bed of the
+valley to see it almost as a flat way up to the very head of
+the glacier from which the cliffs of Everest spring. To
+the place where Everest stands one looks along rather than
+up. The glacier is prostrate; not a part of the mountain;
+not even a pediment; merely a floor footing the high walls.
+At the end of the valley and above the glacier Everest rises
+not so much a peak as a prodigious mountain-mass. There
+is no complication for the eye. The highest of the world's
+great mountains, it seems, has to make but a single gesture
+of magnificence to be lord of all, vast in unchallenged and
+isolated supremacy. To the discerning eye other mountains
+are visible, giants between 23,000 and 26,000 feet high. Not
+one of their slenderer heads even reaches their chief's shoulder;
+beside Everest they escape notice&mdash;such is the pre-eminence
+of the greatest.</p>
+
+<p>Considered as a structure Mount Everest is seen from
+the Rongbuk Valley to achieve height with amazing
+simplicity. The steep wall 10,000 feet high is contained
+between two colossal members&mdash;to the left the North-eastern
+arête, which leaves the summit at a gentle angle and in a
+distance of about half a mile descends only 1,000 feet before
+turning more sharply downwards from a clearly defined
+shoulder; and to the right the North-west arête (its true<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span>
+direction is about W.N.W.), which comes down steeply
+from the summit but makes up for the weaker nature of
+this support by immense length below. Such is the broad
+plan. In one respect it is modified. The wide angle between
+the two main arêtes involves perhaps too long a face; a
+further support is added. The Northern face is brought
+out a little below the North-east shoulder and then turned
+back to meet the crest again, so that from the point of the
+shoulder a broad arête leads down to the North and is
+connected by a snow col at about 23,000 feet with a Northern
+wing of mountains which forms the right bank of the Rongbuk
+Glacier and to some extent masks the view of the lower
+parts of Everest. Nothing could be stronger than this
+arrangement and it is nowhere fantastic. We do not see
+jagged crests and a multitude of pinnacles, and beautiful
+as such ornament may be we do not miss it. The outline
+is comparatively smooth because the stratification is
+horizontal, a circumstance which seems again to give strength,
+emphasising the broad foundations. And yet Everest is a
+rugged giant. It has not the smooth undulations of a snow
+mountain with white snow cap and glaciated flanks. It
+is rather a great rock mass, coated often with a thin layer
+of white powder which is blown about its sides, and bearing
+perennial snow only on the gentler ledges and on several
+wide faces less steep than the rest. One such place is the
+long arm of the North-west arête which with its slightly
+articulated buttresses is like the nave of a vast cathedral
+roofed with snow. I was, in fact, reminded often by this
+Northern view of Winchester Cathedral with its long high
+nave and low square tower; it is only at a considerable
+distance that one appreciates the great height of this building
+and the strength which seems capable of supporting a far
+taller tower. Similarly with Everest; the summit lies
+back so far along the immense arêtes that big as it always
+appears one required a distant view to realise its height;
+and it has no spire though it might easily bear one; I have
+thought sometimes that a Matterhorn might be piled on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span>
+the top of Everest and the gigantic structure would support
+the added weight in stable equanimity.</p>
+
+<p>On June 26 we pitched our tents in full view of Everest
+and a little way beyond the large monastery of Chöyling
+which provides the habitations nearest to the mountain,
+about 16 miles away. After three days' march from the
+Expedition's headquarters at Tingri we had found the
+object of our quest and established a base in the Rongbuk
+Valley, which was to serve us for a month.</p>
+
+<p>The first steps in a prolonged reconnaissance such as
+we were proposing to undertake were easily determined by
+topographical circumstances. Neither Bullock nor I was
+previously acquainted with any big mountains outside the
+Alps; to our experience in the Alps we had continually to
+refer, both for understanding this country and for estimating
+the efforts required to reach a given point in it. The Alps
+provided a standard of comparison which alone could be
+our guide until we had acquired some fresh knowledge
+in the new surroundings. No feature of what we saw so
+immediately challenged this comparison as the glacier
+ahead of us; in so narrow a glacier it was hardly surprising
+that the lower part of it should be covered with stones,
+but higher the whole surface was white ice, and the white
+ice came down in a broad stream tapering gradually to a
+point when it was lost in the waste of the brown grey. What
+was the meaning of this? Even from a distance it was
+possible to make out that the white stream contained
+pinnacles of ice. Was it all composed of pinnacles? Would
+they prove an insuperable obstacle? In the Alps the main
+glaciers are most usually highways, the ways offered to
+the climber for his travelling. Were they not to prove
+highways here?</p>
+
+<p>Our first expedition was designed to satisfy our curiosity
+on this head. Allowing a bountiful margin of time for
+untoward contingencies we set forth on June 27 with five
+coolies at 3.15 a.m., and made our way up the valley with
+a good moon to help us. To be tramping under the stars<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span>
+toward a great mountain is always an adventure; now
+we were adventuring for the first time in a new mountain
+country which still held in store for us all its surprises and
+almost all its beauties. It was not our plan at present
+to make any allowance for the special condition of elevation;
+we expected to learn how that condition would tell and how
+to make allowances for the future. We started from our
+camp at 16,000 feet&mdash;above the summit of Mont Blanc&mdash;just
+as we should have left an Alpine hut 6,000 feet lower,
+and when we took our first serious halt at 7 a.m. had already
+crossed the narrow end of the glacier. That short experience&mdash;an
+hour or so&mdash;was sufficient for the moment. The
+hummocks of ice covered with stones of all sizes&mdash;like the
+huge waves of a brown angry sea&mdash;gave us no chance of
+ascending the glacier; one might hopefully follow a trough
+for a little distance but invariably to be stopped by the
+necessity of mounting once more to a crest and descending
+again on the other side. Nevertheless, we were not dissatisfied
+with our progress. We were now in a stream bed
+between the glacier and its left bank and above the exit of
+the main glacier stream, which comes out on this side well
+above the snout. The watercourse offered an opportunity
+of progress; it was dry almost everywhere and for a bout
+of leaping from boulder to boulder we were usually rewarded
+by a space of milder walking on the flat sandy bed. Our
+pace I considered entirely satisfactory as we went on after
+breakfast; unconsciously I was led into something like
+a race by one of the coolies who was pressing along at my
+side. I noticed that though he was slightly built he seemed
+extremely strong and active, compact of muscle; but he
+had not yet learnt the art of walking rhythmically and
+balancing easily from stone to stone. I wondered how
+long he would keep up. Presently we came to a corner
+where our stream bed ended and a small glacier-snout was
+visible above us apparently descending from the Northwest.
+We gathered on a high bank of stones to look out
+over the glacier. I observed now that the whole aspect<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span>
+of the party had changed. The majority were more than
+momentarily tired, they were visibly suffering from some
+sort of malaise. It was not yet nine o'clock and we had
+risen barely 2,000 feet, but their spirits had gone. There
+were grunts instead of laughter.</p>
+
+<p>The glacier's left bank which we were following was
+now trending to the right. To the South and standing
+in front of the great North-west arm of Everest was a
+comparatively small and very attractive snow peak, perhaps
+a little less than 21,000 feet high. We had harboured a vague
+ambition to reach its shoulder, a likely point for prospecting
+the head of the Rongbuk Glacier. But between us and
+this objective was a wide stretch of hummocky ice which
+had every appearance of being something more than a
+mere bay of the main glacier. We suspected a western
+branch and proceeded to confirm our suspicion. After a
+rough crossing below the glacier above us we were fortunate
+enough to find another trough wider than the first and
+having a flat sandy bottom where we walked easily enough.
+Presently leaving the coolies to rest on the edge of the glacier
+Bullock and I mounted a high stony shoulder, and from
+there, at 18,500 feet, saw the glacier stretching away to
+the West, turning sharply below us to rise more steeply than
+before. Cloud prevented us from distinguishing what
+appeared to be a high mountain ridge at the far end of it.</p>
+
+<p>It was evident that nothing was to be gained at present
+by pushing our investigations further to the West. Our
+curiosity was as yet unsatisfied about those white spires
+of ice to which our eyes had constantly returned. We
+declined the alternative of retracing our steps and without
+further delay set about to cross the glacier. It was now
+eleven o'clock and we were under no delusion that the task
+before us would be other than arduous and long. But
+the reward in interest and valuable information promised
+to be great, for, by exploring the glacier's right bank during
+our descent we should learn all we wanted to know before
+making plans for an advance. And we hoped to be in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span>
+before dark.</p>
+
+<p>The stone-covered ice on which we first embarked
+compared favourably with that of our earlier experience
+before breakfast. The sea, so to speak, was not so choppy;
+the waves were longer. We were able to follow convenient
+troughs for considerable distances. But at the bottom of a
+trough which points whither it will it is impossible to keep
+a definite direction and difficult to know to what extent
+one is erring. An hour's hard work was required to bring
+us to the edge of the white ice. Our first question was
+answered at a glance. It had always seemed improbable
+that these were séracs such as one meets on an Alpine
+icefall, and clearly they were not. We saw no signs of
+lateral crevasses. The shapes were comparatively conical
+and regular, not delicately poised but firmly based, safely
+perpendicular and not dangerously impending. They were
+the result not of movement but of melting, and it was
+remarkable that on either side the black ice looked over the
+white, as though the glacier had sunk in the middle. The
+pinnacles resembled a topsy-turvy system of colossal icicles,
+icicles thrust upwards from a common icy mass, the whole
+resting on a definable floor. The largest were about 50
+feet high.</p>
+
+<p>We were divided from this fairy world of spires by a
+deep boundary moat and entered it on the far side by what
+may be described as a door but that it had no lintel. An
+alley led us over a low wall and we had reached the interior.
+A connected narrative of our wanderings in this amazing
+country could hardly be true to its disconnected character.
+The White Rabbit himself would have been bewildered
+here. No course seemed to lead anywhere. Our idea was
+to keep to the floor so far as we were able; but most usually
+we were scrambling up a chimney or slithering down one,
+cutting round the foot of a tower or actually traversing
+along an icy crest. To be repeatedly crossing little cols
+with the continued expectation of seeing a way beyond
+was a sufficiently exciting labour; it was also sufficiently<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span>
+laborious since the chopping of steps was necessary almost
+everywhere; but fatigue was out of sight in the enchanted
+scene, with the cool delight of little lakes, of the ice reflected
+in their unruffled waters and of blue sky showing between
+the white spires. We had but one misadventure, and
+that of no consequence&mdash;it was my fate when crossing the
+frozen surface of one little lake to suffer a sudden immersion:
+the loss of dignity perhaps was more serious than the chilling
+of ardour, for we soon came upon a broadening alley and
+came out from our labyrinth as suddenly as we entered
+it, to lie and bask in the warm sun.</p>
+
+<p>Our crossing of the white ice after all had taken little
+more than two hours, and we might well consider ourselves
+fortunate. But it must be remembered that we were far
+from fresh at the start and now the reaction set in. The
+stone-covered glacier on this side, besides being a much
+narrower belt was clearly not going to give us trouble, and
+after an ample halt we started across it easily enough.
+On the right bank we had noticed many hours before above
+the glacier a broad flat shelf, presumably an old moraine,
+and a clear mark along the hillside away down to a point
+below the snout. This was now our objective and no doubt
+once we had gained it our troubles would be ended. But
+in the first place it had to be gained. In the Alps it has
+often seemed laborious to go up hill towards the end of a
+day: it was a new sensation to find it an almost impossible
+exertion to drag oneself up a matter of 150 feet. And
+further exertions were to be required of us. A little way
+down the valley a glacier stream came in on our right; we
+had observed this before and hopefully expected to follow
+our terrace round and rejoin it on the far side of the gully.
+But it was late in the afternoon and the stream was at its
+fullest. We followed it down with defeated expectations;
+it always proved just too dangerous to cross. Finally it
+formed a lake at the edge of the glacier before disappearing
+beneath it and obliged us to make a detour on the ice once
+more. I suppose this obstacle was mild enough; but again<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span>
+an ascent was involved, and after it at least one member
+of the party seemed incapable of further effort. Another
+halt was necessary. We were now down to about 17,000
+feet and at the head of a long passage at the side of the
+glacier, similar to that we had ascended in the morning
+on the other bank. Those who suffer from altitude on a
+mountain have a right to expect a recovery on the descent.
+But I saw no signs of one yet. It was a long painful
+hour balancing from boulder to boulder along the passage,
+with the conscious effort of keeping up the feat until we
+came out into the flat basin at the glacier end. Then as
+we left the glacier behind us the day seemed to come right.
+One obstacle remained, a stream which had been crossed
+with difficulty in the morning and was now swollen to a
+formidable torrent. It was carried with a rush&mdash;this was
+no moment for delay. Each man chose his own way for
+a wetting; for my part, after a series of exciting leaps on to
+submerged stones I landed in the deepest part of the stream
+with the pick of my axe dug into the far bank to help me
+scramble out. After this I remember only of the last 4
+miles the keen race against the gathering darkness; fatigue
+was forgotten and we reached camp at 8.15 p.m., tired
+perhaps, but not exhausted.</p>
+
+<p>It has seemed necessary to give an account of this first
+expedition in some detail in order to emphasise certain
+conditions which governed all our movements from the
+Rongbuk Valley. We now knew how to get about. Flat
+though the glacier might be, it was no use for travelling
+in any part we had seen, not a road but an obstacle. The
+obstacle, however, had not proved insurmountable, and
+though the crossing had been laborious and long, we were
+not convinced that it need be so long another time; careful
+reconnaissance might reveal a better way, and we had little
+doubt that both the main glacier and its Western branch
+could be used freely for lateral communication if we chose.
+It would not always be necessary in organising an expedition
+to be encamped on one side of the glacier rather than the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span>
+other. And we had discovered that it was not a difficult
+matter to make our way along the glacier sides; we could
+choose either a trough or a shelf.</p>
+
+<p>We had also been greatly interested by the phenomena
+of fatigue. The most surprising fact when we applied our
+standard of comparison was that coming down had proved
+so laborious; Bullock and I had each discovered independently
+that we got along better when we remembered to
+breathe hard, and we already suspected what we afterwards
+established&mdash;that it was necessary to adopt a conscious
+method of breathing deeply for coming down as for going
+up. Another inference, subsequently confirmed on many
+occasions, accused the glacier. The mid-day sun had been
+hot as we crossed it and I seemed to notice some enervating
+influence which had not affected me elsewhere. It was the
+glacier that had knocked me out, not the hard work alone
+but some malignant quality in the atmosphere, which I
+can neither describe nor explain; and in crossing a glacier
+during the day I always afterwards observed the same
+effect; I might feel as fit and fresh as I could wish on the
+moraine at the side but only once succeeded in crossing a
+glacier without feeling a despairing lassitude.</p>
+
+<p>I shall now proceed to quote from my diary:</p>
+
+<p><i>June</i> 28.&mdash;A slack day in camp. It is difficult to induce
+coolies to take any steps to make themselves more comfortable.
+We're lucky to have this fine weather. The
+mountain appears not to be intended for climbing. I've
+no inclination to think about it in steps to the summit.
+Nevertheless, we gaze much through field-glasses. E. is,
+generally speaking, convex, steep in lower parts and slanting
+back to summit. Last section of East arête<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> should go;
+but rocks up to the shoulder are uninviting. An arête
+must join up here, coming down towards us and connecting
+up with first peak to N.<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> There's no true North arête to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span>
+the summit, as we had supposed at first. It's more like
+this:</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/img_201.jpg" width="350" height="288"
+        alt="Way to summit"
+        title="Way to summit" />
+        <a id="img_201"></a>
+</div>
+
+<p>G. H. B. thinks little of the North-west arm. But I'm not
+so sure; much easy going on that snow if we can get to
+it and rocks above probably easier than they look&mdash;steep
+but broken. Are we seeing the true edge? I wish some
+folk at home could see the precipice on this side&mdash;a grim
+spectacle most unlike the long gentle snow slopes suggested
+by photos. Amusing to think how one's vision of the last
+effort has changed; it looked like crawling half-blind up
+easy snow, an even slope all the way up from a camp on
+a flat snow shoulder; but it won't be that sort of grind;
+we'll want climbers and not half-dazed ones; a tougher
+job than I bargained for, sanguine as usual.</p>
+
+<p>E. is a rock mountain.</p>
+
+<p>Obviously we must get round to the West first. The
+Western glacier looks as flat as this one. Perhaps we shall
+be able to walk round into another cwm<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> on the far side of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span>
+North-west buttress.</p>
+
+<p><i>June</i> 29.&mdash;Established First Advanced Camp.</p>
+
+<p>The start late, about 8 a.m., an hour later than ordered.
+Loads must be arranged better if anything is to be done
+efficiently. Gyalzen's response to being hustled is to tie
+knots or collect tent pegs&mdash;with no idea of superintending
+operations. An exciting day with destination unfixed.
+We speculated that the shelf on the left bank would resemble
+that on right. A passage on stone-covered glacier unavoidable
+and bad for coolies&mdash;perhaps to-day's loads were too
+heavy for this sort of country. From breakfast place of
+27th I went on with Gyalzen, following up a fresh-water
+stream to the shelf; good going on this shelf for forty
+minutes, with no sign of more water, and I decided to come
+back to the stream. Just as we were turning I saw a pond
+of water and a spring, an ideal place, and it's much better
+to be further on. Real good luck. Wind blows down
+the glacier and the camp is well sheltered. Only crab that
+we lose the sun early&mdash;4 p.m. to-day; but on the other
+hand it should hit us very soon after sunrise.</p>
+
+<p>Coolies in between 3.30 and 4.30. Dorji Gompa first,
+stout fellow, with a big load. They seem happy and
+interested.&hellip; It should now be possible to carry reconnaissance
+well up the main glacier and to the basin Westwards
+without moving further&mdash;once we get accustomed to this
+elevation.</p>
+
+<p><i>June</i> 30.&mdash;A short day with second<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> party, following the
+shelf to a corner which marks roughly the junction of the
+main glacier with its Western branch. A clearing day after
+a good night; we found a good way across to the opposite
+corner, about an hour across, and came back in leisurely
+fashion. Neither B. nor I felt fit.</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes">
+
+<p style="text-indent: 0;">Footnotes:</p>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> It had not yet been established that the true direction of this arête
+is North-east.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> i.e. the North Peak (Changtse).</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> Cwm, combe or corry&mdash;the rounded head of a valley.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> The coolies had been divided into three parties which were to spend
+four or five days in the advanced camp by turns to be trained in the practice
+of mountaineering while the rest supplied this camp from our base.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="hr65" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER XIII</h2>
+
+<p class="title"><span style="font-size: 150%">THE NORTHERN APPROACH&mdash;<i>continued</i></span></p>
+
+<p>The reader will gather from these notes some idea of
+the whole nature of our problem and the subjects of our most
+anxious thoughts. The camp established on June 25 lasted
+us until July 8. Meanwhile the idea was growing, the vision
+of Everest as a structural whole, and of the glaciers and
+lower summits to North and West. This idea resembled
+the beginning of an artist's painting, a mere rough design at
+the start, but growing by steps of clearer definition in one
+part and another towards the precise completion of a whole.
+For us the mountain parts defined themselves in the mind
+as the result of various expeditions. We set out to gain a
+point of view with particular questions to be answered;
+partial answers and a new point of view stimulated more
+curiosity, other questions, and again the necessity to reach
+a particular place whence we imagined they might best
+be answered. And at the same time another aim had to
+be kept in mind. The coolies, though mountain-men,
+were not mountaineers. They had to be trained in the
+craft of mountaineering, in treading safely on snow or ice
+in dangerous places, in climbing easy rocks and most
+particularly in the use of rope and ice-axe&mdash;and this not merely
+for our foremost needs, but to ensure that, whenever we
+were able to launch an assault upon Mount Everest, and all
+would be put to the most exhausting test, they should have
+that reserve strength of a practised balance and ordered
+method on which security must ultimately depend.</p>
+
+<p>On July 1 I set out with five coolies to reach the head of
+the great cwm under the North face of Mount Everest.
+The snow on the upper glacier was soft and made very
+heavy going. Bad weather came up and in a race against<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span>
+the clouds we were beaten and failed to find out what
+happened to the glacier at its Western head under the
+North-west arête. My view of the col lying between Everest
+and the North Peak (Changtse)&mdash;the North Col as we now
+began to call it, or in Tibetan Chang La&mdash;was also unsatisfactory;
+but I saw enough to make out a broken glacier
+running up eastwards towards the gap with steep and
+uninviting snow slopes under the pass. I was now sure
+that before attempting to reach this col from the Rongbuk
+Glacier, if ever we determined to reach it, we should have
+to reconnoitre the other side and if possible find a more
+hopeful alternative; moreover, from a nearer inspection
+of the slopes below the North-west arête I was convinced
+that they could be chosen for an attack only as a last resort;
+if anything were to be attempted here, we must find a better
+way up from the East.</p>
+
+<p>I had vaguely hoped to bring the party home sufficiently
+fresh to climb again on the following day. But the fatigue
+of going in deep snow for three hours up the glacier, though
+we had been no higher than 19,100 feet, had been too great,
+and again we had noticed only a slight relief in coming down;
+it was a tired party that dragged back over the glacier
+crossing and into camp at 6.15 p.m., thirteen hours after
+starting.</p>
+
+<p>July 3 was devoted to an expedition designed chiefly
+to take coolies on to steeper ground and at the same time
+to explore the small glacier which we had observed above
+us on the first day to the North-west; by following up the
+terrace from our present camp we could now come to the
+snout of it in half an hour or less. After working up the
+glacier we made for a snow col between two high peaks.
+On reaching a bergschrund we found above its upper lip
+hard ice, which continued no doubt to the ridge. While
+Bullock looked after the party below I cut a staircase
+slanting up to a small island of rock 100 feet away; from
+that security I began to bring the party up. We had now
+the interesting experience of seeing our coolies for the first<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span>
+time on real hard ice; it was not a convincing spectacle,
+as they made their way up with the ungainly movements
+of beginners; and though the last man never left the secure
+anchorage of the bergschrund, the proportion of two Sahibs
+to five coolies seemed lamentably weak, and when one man
+slipped from the steep steps at an awkward corner, though
+Bullock was able to hold him, it was clearly time to retire.
+But the descent was a better performance; the coolies were
+apt pupils, and we felt that with practice on the glacier
+the best of them should become safe mountaineers. And
+on this day we had reached a height of 21,000 feet<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> from
+our camp at 17,500 feet. I had the great satisfaction of
+observing that one could cut steps quite happily at this
+altitude. The peak lying to the North of the col, which had
+been our objective on this day, attracted our attention by
+its position; we thought it should have a commanding view
+over all this complicated country, and after a day in camp
+very pleasantly spent in receiving a visit from Colonel
+Howard-Bury and Dr.&nbsp;Heron, set out on July 5 determined
+to reach its summit. The start was made at 4.15 a.m. in
+the first light, an hour earlier than usual; we proceeded
+up the stone shoots immediately above our camp and after
+a halt for photography at the glorious moment of sunrise
+had made 2,500 feet and reached the high shoulder above
+us at 7 a.m. This place was connected with our peak
+by a snowy col which had now to be reached by a long
+traverse over a South-facing slope. Though the angle
+was not steep very little snow was lying here, and where the
+ice was peeping through it was occasionally necessary to
+cut steps. I felt it was a satisfactory performance to reach
+the col at 9.30 a.m.; the coolies had come well, though one
+of them was burdened with the quarter-plate camera; but
+evidently their efforts had already tired them. Ahead of
+us was a long, curving snow arête, slightly corniced and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span>
+leading ultimately to a rocky shoulder. We thought that
+once this shoulder was gained the summit would be within
+our reach. Shortly after we went on two coolies dropped
+out, and by 11.30 a.m. the rest had given up the struggle.
+It was fortunate that they fell out here and not later, for
+they were able to make their way down in our tracks and
+regain the col below in safety. The angle steepened as we
+went on very slowly now, but still steadily enough, until
+we reached the rocks, a frail slatey structure with short
+perpendicular pitches. From the shoulder onwards my
+memories are dim. I have the impression of a summit
+continually receding from the position imagined by sanguine
+hopes and of a task growing constantly more severe, of
+steeper sides, of steps to be cut, of a dwindling pace, more
+frequent little halts standing where we were, and of
+breathing quicker but no less deep and always conscious;
+the respiratory engine had to be kept running as the
+indispensable source of energy, and ever as we went on more
+work was required of it. At last we found ourselves
+without an alternative under an icy wall; but the ice was
+a delusion; in the soft flaky substance smothering rocks
+behind it we had strength left to cut a way up to the crest
+again, and after a few more steps were on the summit
+itself.</p>
+
+<p>It was now 2.45 p.m. The aneroid used by Bullock,
+which, after comparison with one of Howard-Bury's was
+supposed to read low, registered 23,050 feet,<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a> and we puffed
+out our chests as we examined it, computing that we had
+risen from our camp over 5,500 feet. The views both
+earlier in the day and at this moment were of the highest
+interest. To the East we had confirmed our impression of
+the North Peak as having a high ridge stretching eastwards
+and forming the side of whatever valley connected with
+the Arun River in this direction; the upper parts of Everest's<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span>
+North face had been clearly visible for a long time, and
+we could now be certain that they lay back at no impossibly
+steep angle, more particularly above the North col and up
+to the North-east shoulder. All we had seen immediately
+to the West of the mountain had been of the greatest interest,
+and had suggested the idea that the crinkled summit there
+might be connected not directly with Mount Everest
+itself, but only by way of the South peak. And finally we
+now saw the connections of all that lay around us with
+the two great triangulated peaks away to the West, Gyachung
+Kang, 25,990 and Cho-Uyo, 26,870 feet. While complaining
+of the clouds which had come up as usual during the morning
+to spoil our view we were not dissatisfied with the expansion
+of our knowledge and we were elated besides to be where
+we were. But our situation was far from perfectly secure.
+The ascent had come very near to exhausting our strength;
+for my part I felt distinctly mountain-sick; we might
+reflect that we should not be obliged to cut more steps, but
+we should have to proceed downwards with perfect accuracy
+of balance and a long halt was desirable. However, the
+clouds were now gathering about us, dark thunder-clouds
+come up from the North and threatening; it was clear we
+must not wait; after fifteen minutes on the summit we
+started down at three o'clock. Fortune favoured us. The
+wind was no more than a breeze; a few flakes of snow were
+unnoticed in our flight; the temperature was mild; the
+storm's malice was somehow dissipated with no harm done.
+We rejoined the coolies before five o'clock and were back
+in our camp at 7.15 p.m., happy to have avoided a descent
+in the dark.</p>
+
+<p>Our next plan, based on our experience of this long
+mountain ridge, was to practise the coolies in the use of
+crampons on hard snow and ice. But snow fell heavily
+on the night of the 6th; we deferred our project. It was
+the beginning of worse weather; the monsoon was breaking
+in earnest. And though crampons afterwards came up
+to our camps wherever we went they were not destined to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span>
+help us, and in the event were never used.</p>
+
+<p>On July 8 we moved up with a fresh party of seven coolies,
+taking only our lightest tents and no more than was necessary
+for three nights, in the hope that by two energetic expeditions
+we should reach the Western cwm which, we suspected, must
+exist on the far side of the North-west arête, and learn enough
+to found more elaborate plans for exploring this side of the
+mountain should they turn out to be necessary. Again
+we were fortunate in finding a good camping ground, better
+even than the first, for the floor of this shelf was grassy
+and soft, and as we were looking South across the West
+Rongbuk Glacier we had the sun late as well as early. But
+we were not completely happy. A Mummery tent may
+be well enough in fair weather, though even then its low
+roof suggests a recumbent attitude; it makes a poor dining-room,
+even for two men, and is a cold shelter from snow.
+Moreover, the cold and draught discouraged our Primus
+stove&mdash;but I leave to the imagination of those who have
+learned by experience the nausea that comes from the
+paraffin fumes and one's dirty hands and all the mess that
+may be. It was chiefly a question of incompetence, no
+doubt, but there was no consolation in admitting that. In
+the morning, with the weather still very thick and the snow
+lying about us we saw the error of our ways. Is it not a
+first principle of mountaineering to be as comfortable as
+possible as long as one can? And how long should we
+require for these operations in such weather? It was clear
+that our Second Advanced Camp must be organised on a
+more permanent basis. On the 9th therefore I went down
+to the base and moved it up on the following day so as to
+be within reach of our present position by one long march.
+The new place greatly pleased me; it was much more
+sheltered than the lower site and the tents were pitched on
+flat turf where a clear spring flowed out from the hillside
+and only a quarter of an hour below the end of the glacier.
+Meanwhile Bullock brought up the Whymper tents and
+more stores from the First Advanced Camp, which was now<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span>
+established as a half-way house with our big 80-foot tent
+standing in solemn grandeur to protect all that remained
+there. On July 10 I was back at the Second Advanced
+Camp and felt satisfied that the new arrangements, and
+particularly the presence of our cook, would give us a fair
+measure of comfort.</p>
+
+<p>But we were still unable to move next day. The snowfall
+during the night was the heaviest we had yet seen and
+continued into the next day. Probably the coolies were
+not sorry for a rest after some hard work; and we reckoned
+to make a long expedition so soon as the weather should
+clear. Towards evening on the 10th the clouds broke.
+Away to the South-west of us and up the glacier was the
+barrier range on the frontier of Nepal, terminated by one
+great mountain, Pumori, over 24,000 feet high. To the
+West Rongbuk Glacier they present the steepest slopes
+on which snow can lie; the crest above these slopes is
+surprisingly narrow and the peaks which it joins are
+fantastically shaped. This group of mountains, always
+beautiful and often in the highest degree impressive, was
+now to figure for our eyes as the principal in that oft-repeated
+drama which seems always to be a first night, fresh and full
+of wonder whenever we are present to watch it. The clinging
+curtains were rent and swirled aside and closed again, lifted
+and lowered and flung wide at last; sunlight broke through
+with sharp shadows and clean edges revealed&mdash;and we were
+there to witness the amazing spectacle. Below the terrible
+mountains one white smooth island rose from the quiet
+sea of ice and was bathed in the calm full light of the Western
+sun before the splendour failed.</p>
+
+<p>With hopes inspired by the clearing views of this lovely
+evening, we started at 5.30 a.m. on July 12 to follow the
+glacier round to the South and perhaps enter the Western
+cwm. The glacier was a difficult problem. It looked easy
+enough to follow up the medial moraine to what we called
+the Island, a low mountain pushed out from the frontier
+ridge into the great sea of ice. But the way on Southwards<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span>
+from there would have been a gamble with the chances of
+success against us. We decided to cross the glacier directly
+to the South with a certainty that once we had reached
+the moraine on the other side we should have a clear way
+before us. It was exhilarating to set out again under a
+clear sky, and we were delighted to think that a large part
+of this task was accomplished when the sun rose full of
+warmth and cheerfulness. The far side was cut off by a
+stream of white ice, so narrow here that we expected with
+a little good fortune to get through it in perhaps half an
+hour. We entered it by a frozen stream leading into a
+bay with high white towers and ridges above us. A side
+door led through into a further bay which took us in the
+confidence of success almost through the maze. With
+some vigorous blows we cut our way up the final wall and
+then found ourselves on a crest overlooking the moraine
+with a sheer ice-precipice of about 100 feet below us.</p>
+
+<p>The only hope was to come down again and work round
+to the right. Some exciting climbing and much hard work
+brought us at length to the foot of the cliffs and on the right
+side. The performance had taken us two and a half hours
+and it was now nearly ten o'clock. Clouds had already
+come up to obscure the mountains, and from the point of view
+of a prolonged exploration the day was clearly lost. Our
+course now was to make the best of it and yet get back so
+early to camp that we could set forth again on the following
+day. We had the interest, after following the moraine to
+the corner where the glacier bends Southwards, of making
+our way into the middle of the ice and finding out how
+unpleasant it can be to walk on a glacier melted everywhere
+into little valleys and ridges and covered with fresh snow.
+We got back at 3 p.m.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/img_210.jpg" width="500" height="309"
+        alt="see caption"
+        title="see caption" />
+        <a id="img_210"></a>
+<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Summit of Mount Everest and North Peak</span><br />
+from the Island, West Rongbuk Glacier.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>On July 13, determined to make good, we started at
+4.15 a.m. With the knowledge gained on the previous
+day and the use of 250 feet of spare rope we were able to
+find our way through the ice pinnacles and reached the far
+moraine in less than an hour and a half; and we had the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span>
+further good fortune when we took to the snow to find it
+now in such good condition that we were able to walk on
+the surface without using our snow-shoes. As we proceeded
+up the slopes where the snow steepened the weather began
+to thicken and we halted at 8 a.m. in a thick mist with a
+nasty wind and some snow falling. It was a cold halt.
+We were already somewhat disillusioned about our glacier,
+which seemed to be much more narrow than was to be
+expected if it were really a high-road to the Western cwm,
+and as we went on with the wind blowing the snow into
+our faces so that nothing could be clearly distinguished we
+had the sense of a narrowing place and a perception of the
+even surface being broken up into large crevasses on one
+side and the other. At 9.30 we could go no further. For
+a few hundred yards we had been traversing a slope which
+rose above us on our left, and now coming out on to a little
+spur we stood peering down through the mist and knew
+ourselves to be on the edge of a considerable precipice. Not
+a single feature of the landscape around us was even faintly
+visible in the cloud. For a time we stayed on with the
+dim hope of better things and then reluctantly retired,
+baffled and bewildered.</p>
+
+<p>Where had we been? It was impossible to know; but
+at least it was certain there was no clear way to the West
+side of Everest. We could only suppose that we had reached
+a col on the frontier of Nepal.</p>
+
+<p>A further disappointment awaited us when we reached
+camp at 1 p.m. I had made a simple plan to ensure our
+supply of gobar<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a> and rations from the base camp. The
+supplies had not come up and it was not the sort of weather
+to be without a fire for cooking.</p>
+
+<p>I shall now proceed to quote my diary:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p><i>July</i> 14.&mdash;A day of rest, but with no republican
+demonstrations. Very late breakfast after some snow in
+the night. Piquet after tiffin and again after dinner<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span>
+was very consoling. The little streams we found here on
+our arrival are drying up; it seems that not much snow
+can have fallen higher.</p>
+
+<p><i>July</i> 15.&mdash;Started 6 a.m. to explore the glacier to West
+and North-west. A very interesting view just short of the
+Island; the South peak appearing. Fifty minutes there
+for photos; then hurried on in the hope of seeing more
+higher up and at a greater distance. It is really a dry glacier
+here but with snow frozen over the surface making many
+pitfalls. We had a good many wettings in cold water up
+to the knees. The clouds were just coming up as we halted
+on the medial moraine. I waited there in hope of better
+views, while Bullock took on the coolies. They put on
+snow-shoes for the first time and seemed to go very well
+in them. Ultimately I struggled across the glacier, bearing
+various burdens, to meet them as they came down on a
+parallel moraine. Snow-shoes seemed useful, but very
+awkward to leap in. Bullock went a long way up the glacier,
+rising very slightly towards the peak Cho-Uyo, 26,870 feet.
+Evidently there is a flat pass over into Nepal near this peak,
+but he did not quite reach it.</p>
+
+<p>The topographical mystery centres about the West
+Peak. Is there an arête connecting this with the great
+rock peak South of Everest or is it joined up with the col
+we reached the day before yesterday? The shape of the
+West cwm and the question of its exit will be solved if we
+can answer these questions. Bullock and I are agreed
+that the glacier there has probably an exit on the Nepal
+side. It all remains extremely puzzling. We saw the
+North col quite clearly to-day, and again the way up from
+there does not look difficult.</p>
+
+<p>A finer day and quite useful. Chitayn<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a> started out with
+us and went back. He appears to be seedy, but has been
+quite hopeless as Sirdar down in the base camp and is without
+authority. It is a great handicap having no one to look<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span>
+after things down there. Chitayn is returning to Tingri
+to-morrow. I hope he will cheer up again.</p>
+
+<p><i>July</i> 16.&mdash;I made an early start with two coolies at
+2.45 a.m. and followed the medial moraine to the Island.
+Reached the near summit at sunrise about 5.30. Difficult
+to imagine anything more exciting than the clear view of
+all peaks. Those near me to the South-west quickly bathed
+in sun and those to the South and East showing me their
+dark faces. To the left of our col of July 13 a beautiful
+sharp peak stood in front of the gap between Everest and
+the North Peak, Changtse. Over this col I saw the North-west
+buttress of Everest hiding the lower half of the West
+face which must be a tremendous precipice of rock. The
+last summit of the South Peak, Lhotse, was immediately
+behind the shoulder; to the right (i.e. West) of it I saw a
+terrible arête stretching a long distance before it turned
+upwards in my direction and towards the West Peak. This
+mountain dropped very abruptly to the North, indicating
+a big gap on the far side of our col. There was the mysterious
+cwm lying in cold shadow long after the sun warmed me!
+But I now half understand it. The col under the North-west
+buttress at the head of the Rongbuk Glacier is one entrance,
+and our col of July 13, with how big a drop one knows not,
+another.</p>
+
+<p>I stayed till 7 a.m. taking photos, a dozen plates exposed
+in all. The sky was heavy and a band of cloud had come
+across Everest before I left.</p>
+
+<p>Back to breakfast towards 9 a.m. A pleasant morning
+collecting flowers, not a great variety but some delicious
+honey scents and an occasional cheerful blue poppy.</p>
+
+<p><i>July</i> 17.&mdash;More trouble with our arrangements. The
+Sirdar has muddled the rations and the day is wasted.
+However, the weather is bad, constant snow showers from
+1 to 8 p.m., so that I am somewhat reconciled to this reverse.</p>
+
+<p><i>July</i> 18.&mdash;Yesterday's plan carried out&mdash;to move up a
+camp with light tents and make a big push over into the
+West cwm; eight coolies to carry the loads. But the loads<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span>
+have been too heavy. What can be cut out next time?
+I cannot see many unnecessary articles. Heavy snow
+showers fell as we came up and we had rather a cheerless
+encampment, but with much heaving of stones made good
+places for the tents. A glorious night before we turned in.
+Dark masses of cloud were gathered round the peak above
+us; below, the glacier was clear and many splendid mountains
+were half visible. The whole scene was beautifully lit by
+a bright moon.</p>
+
+<p><i>July</i> 19.&mdash;Started 3 a.m.; still some cloud, particularly
+to the West. The moon just showed over the mountains
+in that direction which cast their strange black shadows on
+the snowfield. One amazing black tooth was standing up
+against the moonlight. No luck on the glacier and we had
+to put on snow-shoes at once. An exciting walk. I so
+much feared the cloud would spoil all. It was just light
+enough to get on without lanterns after the moon went
+down. At dawn almost everything was covered, but not
+by heavy clouds. Like guilty creatures of darkness surprised
+by the light they went scattering away as we came up and
+the whole scene opened out. The North ridge of Everest
+was clear and bright even before sunrise. We reached the
+col at 5 a.m., a fantastically beautiful scene; and we looked
+across into the West cwm at last, terribly cold and forbidding
+under the shadow of Everest. It was nearly an hour after
+sunrise before the sun hit the West Peak.</p>
+
+<p>But another disappointment&mdash;it is a big drop about
+1,500 feet down to the glacier, and a hopeless precipice. I
+was hoping to get away to the left and traverse into the
+cwm; that too quite hopeless. However, we have seen
+this Western glacier and are not sorry we have not to go up
+it. It is terribly steep and broken. In any case work on
+this side could only be carried out from a base in Nepal,
+so we have done with the Western side. It was not a very
+likely chance that the gap between Everest and the South
+Peak could be reached from the West. From what we have
+seen now I do not much fancy it would be possible, even<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span>
+could one get up the glacier.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/img_214.jpg" width="500" height="295"
+        alt="see caption"
+        title="see caption" />
+        <a id="img_214"></a>
+<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Mount Everest from the Rongbuk Glacier</span><br />
+nine miles north-west.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>We saw a lovely group of mountains away to the South
+in Nepal. I wonder what they are and if anything is known
+about them. It is a big world!</p>
+
+<hr class="hr45" />
+
+<p>With this expedition on July 19 our reconnaissance of
+these parts had ended. We proceeded at once to move
+down our belongings; on July 20 all tents and stores were
+brought down to the base camp and we had said good-bye
+to the West Rongbuk Glacier.</p>
+
+<p>So far as we were concerned with finding a way up the
+mountain, little enough had been accomplished; and yet
+our growing view of the mountain had been steadily leading
+to one conviction. If ever the mountain were to be climbed,
+the way would not lie along the whole length of any one
+of its colossal ridges. Progress could only be made along
+comparatively easy ground, and anything like a prolonged
+sharp crest or a series of towers would inevitably bar the
+way simply by the time which would be required to overcome
+such obstacles. But the North arête coming down to the
+gap between Everest and the North Peak, Changtse, is not
+of this character. From the horizontal structure of the
+mountain there is no excrescence of rock pinnacles in this
+part and the steep walls of rock which run across the North
+face are merged with it before they reach this part, which
+is comparatively smooth and continuous, a bluntly rounded
+edge. We had still to see other parts of the mountain,
+but already it seemed unlikely that we would find more
+favourable ground than this. The great question before
+us now was to be one of access. Could the North col be
+reached from the East and how could we attain this point?</p>
+
+<p>At the very moment when we reached the base camp
+I received a note from Colonel Howard-Bury telling us that
+his departure from Tingri was fixed for July 23 and that he
+would be sleeping at Chöbuk in the valley below us two
+days later on his way to Kharta. It was now an obvious<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span>
+plan to synchronise our movements with his.</p>
+
+<p>Besides the branch which we had already explored the
+Rongbuk Glacier has yet another which joins the main
+stream from the East about 10 miles from Everest. It had
+always excited our curiosity, and I now proposed to explore
+it in the initial stages of a journey across the unknown ridges
+and valleys which separated us from Kharta. I calculated
+that we should want eight days' provisions, and that we
+should just have time to organise a camp in advance and
+start on the 25th with a selected party, sending down the
+rest to join Howard-Bury. And it was an integral part
+of the scheme that on one of the intervening days I should
+ascend a spur to the North of the glacier where we proposed
+to march in order to obtain a better idea of this country to
+the East. But we were now in the thickest of the monsoon
+weather; the 21st and 22nd were both wet days and we
+woke on the 23rd to find snow all around us nearly a foot
+deep; it had come down as low as 16,000 feet. It was
+hardly the weather to cut ourselves adrift and wander among
+the uncharted spurs of Everest, and we thought of delaying
+our start. Further it transpired that our organisation was
+not running smoothly&mdash;it never did run smoothly so long
+as we employed, as an indispensable Sirdar, a whey-faced
+treacherous knave whose sly and calculated villainy too
+often, before it was discovered, deprived our coolies of their
+food, and whose acquiescence in his own illimitable
+incompetence was only less disgusting than his infamous
+duplicity. It was the hopeless sense that things were bound
+to go wrong if we trusted to this man's services&mdash;and we had
+no one else at that time through whom it was possible to
+order supplies from the natives&mdash;that turned the scale and
+spoilt the plan. Even so, in the natural course of events,
+I should have obtained my preliminary view. But on the
+night of the 22nd I received from Howard-Bury an extremely
+depressing piece of news, that all my photos taken with the
+quarter-plate camera had failed&mdash;for the good reason that
+the plates had been inserted back to front, a result of ignorance<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</a></span>
+and misunderstanding. It was necessary as far as possible
+to repair this hideous error, and the next two days were
+spent in a photographic expedition. And so it came about
+that we saw no more until a much later date of the East
+Rongbuk Glacier. Had our plan been carried out even in
+the smallest part by
+a cursory survey of
+what lay ahead, I
+should not now have
+to tell a story which
+is lamentably incomplete
+in one respect.
+For the East Rongbuk
+Glacier is one
+way, and the obvious
+way when you see
+it, to the North Col.
+It was discovered by
+Major Wheeler before
+ever we saw it,
+in the course of his
+photographic survey;
+but neither he,
+nor Bullock, nor I
+have ever traversed
+its whole length.</p>
+
+<div class="figright">
+     <img src="images/img_217.jpg" width="341" height="500"
+        alt="Way to summit"
+        title="Way to summit" />
+        <a id="img_217"></a>
+</div>
+
+<p>We should have
+attached more importance,
+no doubt,
+in the early stages of reconnaissance, to the East Rongbuk
+Glacier had we not been deceived in two ways by appearances.
+It had been an early impression left in my mind, at all events,
+by what we saw from Shiling, that a deep valley came down
+to the East as the R.G.S. map suggests, draining into the
+Arun and having the North-east arête of Everest as its
+right bank at the start. Further, the head of this valley
+seemed to be, as one would expect, the gap between Everest<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span>
+and the first peak to the North which itself has also an
+Eastern arm to form the left bank of such a valley. The
+impression was confirmed not only by an excellent view
+from a hill above Ponglet (two days before Tingri and about
+35 miles North of Everest), but by all nearer and more recent
+views of the mountains East of the Rongbuk Glacier. The
+idea that a glacier running parallel to the Rongbuk started
+from the slopes of Everest itself and came so far to turn
+Westward in the end hardly occurred to us at this time.
+From anything we had seen there was no place for such a
+glacier, and it was almost unimaginable that the great
+mountain range running North from the North Col, Chang La,
+was in no part a true watershed. We saw the East Rongbuk
+Glacier stretching away to the East and perceived also a
+bay to the South. But how, if this bay were of any
+importance, could the glacier stream be so small? We
+had found it too large to cross, it is true, late in the afternoon
+of our first expedition, but only just too large; and again it
+seems now an unbelievable fact that so large an area of ice
+should give so small a volume of water. The glacier streams
+are remarkably small in all the country we explored, but
+this one far more surprisingly small than any other we saw.</p>
+
+<p>It was some measure of consolation in these circumstances
+to make use of a gleam of fine weather. When the bad news
+arrived on July 22 about the failure of my photographs
+we had ceased to hear the raindrops pattering on the tent,
+but could feel well enough when we pushed up the roof
+that snow was lying on the outer fly. It was a depressing
+evening. I thought of the many wonderful occasions when
+I had caught the mountain as I thought just at the right
+moment, its moments of most lovely splendour&mdash;of all those
+moments that would never return and of the record of all
+we had seen which neither ourselves nor perhaps anyone
+else would ever see again. I was not a cheerful companion.
+Moreover, from the back of my mind I was warned, even
+in the first despair of disappointment, that I should have
+to set out to repair the damage so far as I was able, and I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[219]</a></span>
+hated the thought of this expedition. These were our
+days of rest after a month's high-living; we were off with
+one adventure and on with another; tents, stores, everything
+had been brought down to our base and we had said good-bye
+to the West Rongbuk Glacier. The clouds were still about
+us next morning and snow lay on the ground 9 inches deep.
+But by midday much of the snow had melted at our level
+and the clouds began to clear. At 2 p.m. we started up
+with the Mummery tents and stores for one night. I made
+my way with one coolie to a spot some little distance above
+our First Advanced Camp. As we pushed up the stormy
+hillside the last clouds gathered about Everest, and lingering
+in the deep North cwm were dispersed and the great white-mantled
+mountains lay all clear in the light of a glorious
+evening. Before we raced down to join Bullock my first
+dozen plates had been duly exposed; whatever the balance
+of hopes and fears for a fine morning to-morrow something
+had been done already to make good.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/img_218.jpg" width="500" height="314"
+        alt="see caption"
+        title="see caption" />
+        <a id="img_218"></a>
+<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Summit of Mount Everest and South Peak</span><br />
+from the Island, West Rongbuk Glacier.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>My ultimate destination was the Island which I had
+found before to command some of the most splendid and
+most instructive views. I was close up under the slopes
+of this little mountain before sunrise next morning. It
+has rarely been my lot to experience in the course of a few
+hours so much variety of expectation, of disappointment
+and of hope deferred, before the issue is decided. A pall
+of cloud lying like a blanket above the glacier was no good
+omen after the clear weather; as the sun got up a faint
+gleam on the ice encouraged me to go on; presently the
+grey clouds began to move and spread in all directions until
+I was enveloped and saw nothing. Suddenly the frontier
+crest came out and its highest peak towering fantastically
+above me; I turned about and saw to the West and North-west
+the wide glacier in the sun&mdash;beyond it Gyachung Kang
+and Cho-Uyo, 26,870 to 25,990 feet: but Everest remained
+hidden, obscured by an impenetrable cloud. I watched
+the changing shadows on the white snow and gazed helplessly
+into the grey mass continually rolled up from Nepal into<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span>
+the deep hollow beyond the glacier head. But a breeze
+came up from the East; the curtain was quietly withdrawn;
+Everest and the South Peak stood up against the clear blue
+sky. The camera was ready and I was satisfied. A few
+minutes later the great cloud rolled back and I saw no more.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile Bullock had not been idle. He paid a visit
+to the North cwm, more successful than mine in July, for
+he reached the pass leading over into Nepal under the North-west
+arête and had perfectly clear views of Chang La, of
+which he brought back some valuable photos. But perhaps
+an even greater satisfaction than reckoning the results of
+what we both felt was a successful day was ours, when we
+listened in our tents that evening at the base camp to the
+growling of thunder and reflected that the fair interval
+already ended had been caught and turned to good account.</p>
+
+<p>In snow and sleet and wind next morning, July 25, our
+tents were struck. We turned our backs on the Rongbuk
+Glacier and hastened along the path to Chöbuk. The valley
+was somehow changed as we came down, and more agreeable
+to the eye. Presently I discovered the reason. The grass
+had grown on the hillside since we went up. We were
+coming down to summer green.</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes">
+
+<p style="text-indent: 0;">Footnotes:</p>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> Calculated from the readings of two aneroids, allowing a correction
+for the height of the camp as established later by Major Wheeler.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> The survey established the height of this peak as 22,520 feet, and
+our subsequent experience suggests that aneroid barometers habitually
+read too high when approaching the upper limit of their record.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> In the Rongbuk Valley there was no wood and our supply of yak dung
+had to come up from Chöbuk.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> A useful coolie with experience in the Indian Army. I had used him
+as second Sirdar.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="hr65" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER XIV</h2>
+
+<p class="title"><span style="font-size: 150%">THE EASTERN APPROACH</span></p>
+
+<p>The new base at Kharta established by Colonel Howard-Bury
+at the end of July was well suited to meet the needs
+of climbers, and no less agreeable, I believe, to all members
+of the Expedition. At the moderate elevation of 12,300 feet
+and in an almost ideal climate, where the air was always
+warm but never hot or stuffy, where the sun shone brightly
+but never fiercely, and clouds floated about the hills and
+brought moisture from the South, but never too much rain,
+here the body could find a delicious change when tired of
+the discipline of high-living, and in a place so accessible
+to traders from Nepal could easily be fed with fresh food.
+But perhaps after life in the Rongbuk Valley, with hardly
+a green thing to look at and too much of the endless unfriendly
+stone-shoots and the ugly waste of glaciers, and even after
+visions of sublime snow-beauty, a change was more needed
+for the mind. It was a delight to be again in a land of
+flowery meadows and trees and crops; to look into the deep
+green gorge only a mile away where the Arun goes down
+into Nepal was to be reminded of a rich vegetation and
+teeming life, a contrast full of pleasure with Nature's
+niggardliness in arid, wind-swept Tibet; and the forgotten
+rustle of wind in the willows came back as a soothing sound
+full of grateful memories, banishing the least thought of
+disagreeable things.</p>
+
+<p>The Kharta base, besides, was convenient for our reconnaissance.
+Below us a broad glacier stream joined the
+Arun above the gorge; it was the first met with since we
+had left the Rongbuk stream; it came down from the West
+and therefore, presumably, from Everest. To follow it
+up was an obvious plan as the next stage in our activities.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span>
+After four clear days for idleness and reorganisation at
+Kharta we set forth again on August 2 with this object.
+The valley of our glacier stream would lead us, we supposed,
+to the mountain; in two days, perhaps, we should see
+Chang La ahead of us. A local headman provided by the
+Jongpen and entrusted with the task of leading us to
+Chomolungma would show us where it might be necessary
+to cross the stream and, in case the valley forked, would
+ensure us against a bad mistake.</p>
+
+<p>The start on this day was not propitious. We had
+enjoyed the sheltered ease at Kharta; the coolies were
+dilatory and unwilling; the distribution of loads was
+muddled; there was much discontent about rations, and
+our Sirdar was no longer trusted by the men. At a village
+where we stopped to buy tsampa some 3 miles up the valley
+I witnessed a curious scene. As the tsampa was sold it
+had to be measured. The Sirdar on his knees before a large
+pile of finely ground flour was ladling it into a bag with a
+disused Quaker Oats tin. Each measure-full was counted
+by all the coolies standing round in a circle; they were
+making sure of having their full ration. Nor was this all;
+they wanted to see as part of their supplies, not only tsampa
+and rice, but tea, sugar, butter, cooking fat and meat on
+the Army scale. This was a new demand altogether beyond
+the bargain made with them. The point, of course, had
+to be clearly made, that for their so-called luxuries I must
+be trusted to do my best with the surplus money (100 tankas
+or thereabouts) remaining over from their allowances after
+buying the flour and rice. These luxury supplies were
+always somewhat of a difficulty; the coolies had been very
+short of such things on the Northern side&mdash;we had no doubt
+that some of the ration money had found its way into the
+Sirdar's pockets. It would be possible, we hoped, to prevent
+this happening again. But even so the matter was not
+simple. What the coolies wanted was not always to be
+bought, or at the local price it was too expensive. On this
+occasion a bountiful supply of chillies solved our difficulty.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span>
+After too many words, and not all in the best temper,
+the sight of so many of the red, bright, attractive chillies
+prevailed; at length my orders were obeyed; the coolies
+took up their loads and we started off again.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/img_222.jpg" width="332" height="500"
+        alt="see caption"
+        title="see caption" />
+        <a id="img_222"></a>
+<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Pethang-tse.</span></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>With so much dissatisfaction in the air it was necessary
+for Bullock and me to drive rather than lead the party.
+In a valley where there are many individual farms and
+little villages, the coolies' path is well beset with pitfalls
+and with gin. Without discipline the Sahib might easily
+find himself at the end of a day's march with perhaps only
+half his loads. It was a slow march this day; we had barely
+accomplished 8 miles, when Bullock and I with the hindmost
+came round a shoulder on the right bank about 4 p.m. and
+found the tents pitched on a grassy shelf and looking up a
+valley where a stream came in from our left. The Tibetan
+headman and his Tibetan coolies who were carrying some of
+our loads had evidently no intention of going further, and
+after some argument I was content to make the stipulation
+that if the coolies (our own as well as the Tibetans) chose
+to encamp after half a day's march, they should do a
+double march next day.</p>
+
+<p>The prospect was far from satisfactory: we were at a
+valley junction of which we had heard tell, and the headman
+pointed the way to the left. Here indeed was a valley,
+but no glacier stream. It was a pleasant green nullah covered
+with rhododendrons and juniper, but presented nothing
+that one may expect of an important valley. Moreover,
+so far as I could learn, there were no villages in this direction:
+I had counted on reaching one that night with the intention
+of buying provisions, more particularly goats and butter.
+Where were we going and what should we find? The headman
+announced that it would take us five more days to reach
+Chomolungma: he was told that he must bring us there
+in two, and so the matter was left.</p>
+
+<p>If the coolies behaved badly on this first day, they
+certainly made up for it on the second. The bed of the
+little valley which we now followed rose steeply ahead of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[224]</a></span>
+us, and the path along the hill slopes on its left bank soon
+took us up beyond the rhododendrons. We came at last
+for a mid-day halt to the shores of a lake. It was the first
+I had seen in the neighbourhood of Everest; a little blue
+lake, perhaps 600 yards long, set on a flat shelf up there
+among the clouds and rocks, a sympathetic place harbouring
+a wealth of little rock plants on its steep banks; and as
+our present height by the aneroid was little less than 17,000
+feet, we were assured that on this Eastern side of Everest
+we should find Nature in a gentler mood. But we were
+not satisfied with our direction; we were going too much
+to the South. Through the mists we had seen nothing to
+help us. For a few moments some crags had appeared to
+the left looming surprisingly big; but that was our only
+peep, and it told us nothing. Perhaps from the pass ahead
+of us we should have better fortune.</p>
+
+<p>At the Langma La when we reached it we found ourselves
+to be well 4,000 feet above our camp of the previous night.
+We had followed a track, but not always a smooth one,
+and as we stayed in hopes of a clearing view, I began to
+wonder whether the Tibetan coolies would manage to arrive
+with their loads; they were notably less strong than our
+Sherpas and yet had been burdened with the wet heavy
+tents. Meanwhile we saw nothing above our own height.
+We had hoped that once our col was crossed we should
+bear more directly Westward again; but the Tibetan headman
+when he came up with good news of his coolies, pointed
+our way across a deep valley below us, and the direction
+of his pointing was nearly due South. Everest, we imagined,
+must be nearly due West of Kharta, and our direction at
+the end of this second day by a rough dead reckoning would
+be something like South-west. We were more than ever
+mystified. Fortunately our difficulties with the coolies
+seemed to be ended. Two of our own men stayed at the
+pass to relieve the Tibetans of the tents and bring them
+quickly on. Grumblings had subsided in friendliness, and
+all marched splendidly on this day. They were undepressed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span>
+with the gloomy circumstance of again encamping in the
+rain.</p>
+
+<p>In the Sahibs' tent that night there took place a long
+and fragmentary conversation with the headman, our Sirdar
+acting as interpreter. We gained one piece of information:
+there were two Chomolungmas. It was not difficult to
+guess that, if Everest were one, the other must be Makalu.
+We asked to be guided to the furthest Chomolungma.</p>
+
+<p>The morning of August 4 was not more favourable to
+our reconnaissance. We went down steeply to the valley
+bed, crossed a stream and a rickety bridge, and wound on
+through lovely meadows and much dwarf rhododendron
+till we came to the end of a glacier and mounted by its left
+bank. Towards mid-day the weather showed signs of clearing;
+suddenly on our left across the glacier we saw gigantic
+precipices looming through the clouds. We guessed they
+must belong in some way to Makalu. We were told that
+this was the first Chomolungma, while the valley we were
+now following would lead us to the other. It was easy to
+conclude that one valley, this one, must come up on the
+North side of Makalu all the way to Everest. But we saw
+no more. In a few moments the grey clouds blowing swiftly
+up from below had enveloped us, rain began to fall heavily,
+and when eventually we came to broad meadows above
+the glaciers, where yaks were grazing and Tibetan tents
+were pitched, we were content to stop. At least we should
+have the advantage here of good butter and cream from
+this dairy farm. There was indeed no point in going farther;
+we had no desire to run our heads against the East face
+of Everest; we must now wait for a view.</p>
+
+<p>The weather signs were decidedly more hopeful as I
+looked out of our tent next morning, and we decided at
+once to spend the day in some sort of reconnaissance up
+the valley. Presently away at the head of it we saw the
+clouds breaking about the mountain-sides. Everest itself
+began to clear; the great North-east arête came out, cutting
+the sky to the right; and little by little the whole Eastern<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[226]</a></span>
+face was revealed to us.</p>
+
+<p>As I recall now our first impression of the amazing scenery
+around us, I seem chiefly to remember the fresh surprise
+and vivid delight which, for all we had seen before, seemed
+a new sensation. Even the map of the Kama Valley, now
+that we have it, may stir the imagination. Besides Everest
+itself the crest of the South Peak, 28,000 feet high, and
+its prodigious South-east shoulder overlook the Western
+end; while Makalu, 12 miles from Everest, thrusts out
+Northwards a great arm and another peak to choke the
+exit; so that whereas the frontier ridge from Everest to
+Makalu goes in a South-easterly direction, the Kangshung
+Glacier in the main valley runs nearly due East. In this
+spacious manner three of the five highest summits in the
+world overlook the Kama Valley.</p>
+
+<p>And we now saw a scene of magnificence and splendour
+even more remarkable than the facts suggest. Among
+all the mountains I have seen, and, if we may judge by
+photographs, all that ever have been seen, Makalu is incomparable
+for its spectacular and rugged grandeur. It was
+significant to us that the astonishing precipices rising above
+us on the far side of the glacier as we looked across from
+our camp, a terrific awe-inspiring sweep of snow-bound
+rocks, were the sides not so much of an individual mountain,
+but rather of a gigantic bastion or outwork defending Makalu.
+At the broad head of the Kama Valley the two summits
+of Everest are enclosed between the North-east arête and
+the South-east arête bending round from the South Peak;
+below them is a basin of tumbled ice well marked by a
+number of moraines and receiving a series of tributaries
+pouring down between the buttresses which support the
+mountain faces in this immense cirque. Perhaps the
+astonishing charm and beauty here lie in the complications
+half hidden behind a mask of apparent simplicity, so that
+one's eye never tires of following up the lines of the great
+arêtes, of following down the arms pushed out from their
+great shoulders, and of following along the broken edge<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span>
+of the hanging glacier covering the upper half of this Eastern
+face of Everest so as to determine at one point after another
+its relation with the buttresses below and with their abutments
+against the rocks which it covers. But for me the
+most magnificent and sublime in mountain scenery can
+be made lovelier by some more tender touch; and that, too,
+is added here. When all is said about Chomolungma, the
+Goddess Mother of the World, and about Chomo Uri, the
+Goddess of the Turquoise Mountain, I come back to the
+valley, the valley bed itself, the broad pastures, where our
+tents lay, where cattle grazed and where butter was made,
+the little stream we followed up to the valley head, wandering
+along its well-turfed banks under the high moraine, the
+few rare plants, saxifrages, gentians and primulas, so well
+watered there, and a soft, familiar blueness in the air which
+even here may charm us. Though I bow to the goddesses
+I cannot forget at their feet a gentler spirit than theirs, a
+little shy perhaps, but constant in the changing winds and
+variable moods of mountains and always friendly.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/img_226.jpg" width="500" height="333"
+        alt="see caption"
+        title="see caption" />
+        <a id="img_226"></a>
+<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Summit of Makalu.</span></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The deviation from our intended line of approach involved
+by entering the Kama Valley was not one which we were
+likely to regret. In so far as our object was to follow up
+a glacier to the North Col we were now on the wrong side
+of a watershed. A spur of mountains continues Eastwards
+from the foot of Everest's North-east arête; these were
+on our right as we looked up the Kama Valley; the glacier
+of our quest must lie on the far side of them. But the pursuit
+of this glacier was not our sole object. We had also to
+examine both the East face and North-east arête of our
+mountain and determine the possibilities of attack on this
+side. A plan was now made to satisfy us in all ways. We
+chose as our objective a conspicuous snowy summit, Carpo-ri,
+on the watershed and apparently the second to the East
+from the foot of the North-east arête. Could we climb it
+we should not only see over into the valley North of us and
+up to Chang La itself, we hoped, but also examine, from
+the point most convenient for judging the steepness of its<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[228]</a></span>
+slopes, the whole of the Eastern side of Mount Everest.</p>
+
+<p>On August 6 the Whymper tents were taken up, and
+a camp was made under a moraine at about 17,500 feet,
+where a stream flows quietly through a flat space before
+plunging steeply down into the valley. In this sheltered
+spot we bid defiance to the usual snowstorm of the afternoon;
+perhaps as night came on and snow was still falling we
+were vaguely disquieted, but we refused to believe in anything
+worse than the heavens' passing spite, and before we put
+out our candles the weather cleared. We went out into
+the keen air; it was a night of early moons. Mounting a
+little rise of stones and faintly crunching under our feet
+the granular atoms of fresh fallen snow we were already
+aware of some unusual loveliness in the moment and the
+scenes. We were not kept waiting for the supreme effects;
+the curtain was withdrawn. Rising from the bright mists
+Mount Everest above us was immanent, vast, incalculable&mdash;no
+fleeting apparition of elusive dream-form: nothing could
+have been more set and permanent, stedfast like Keats's
+star, &ldquo;in lone splendour hung aloft the night,&rdquo; a watcher
+of all the nights, diffusing, it seemed universally, an exalted
+radiance.</p>
+
+<p>It is the property of all that is most sublime in mountain
+scenery to be uniquely splendid, or at least to seem so, and
+it is commonly the fate of the sublime in this sort very soon
+to be mixed with what is trivial. Not infrequently we had
+experience of wonderful moments; it is always exciting
+to spend a night under the stars. And such a situation
+may be arranged quite comfortably; lying with his head
+but just within the tent a man has but to stir in his sleep
+to see, at all events, half the starry sky. Then perhaps
+thoughts come tumbling from the heavens and slip in at
+the tent-door; his dozing is an ecstasy: until, at length,
+the alarm-watch sounds; and after?&hellip; Mean considerations
+din it all away, all that delight. On the morning
+of August 7 the trivial, with us, preponderated. Something
+more than the usual inertia reigned in our frozen camp<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[229]</a></span>
+at 2 a.m. The cook was feeling unwell; the coolies prolonged
+their minutes of grace after the warning shout, dallied
+with the thought of meeting the cold air, procrastinated,
+drew the blankets more closely round them, and&mdash;snored
+once more. An expedition over the snow to the outlying
+tents by a half-clad Sahib, who expects to enjoy at least
+the advantage of withdrawing himself at the last moment
+from the friendly down-bag, is calculated to disturb the
+recumbency of others; and a kick-off in this manner to
+the day's work is at all events exhilarating. The task of
+extricating our frozen belongings, where they lay and ought
+not to have lain, was performed with alacrity if not with
+zeal; feet did not loiter over slippery boulders as we mounted
+the moraine, and in spite of the half-hour lost, or gained,
+we were well up by sunrise. Even before the first glimmer
+of dawn the snow-mantled, slumbering monsters around
+us had been somehow touched to life by a faint blue light
+showing their form and presence&mdash;a light that changed
+as the day grew to a pale yellow on Everest and then to a
+bright blue-grey before it flamed all golden as the sun hit
+the summit and the shadow crept perceptibly down the
+slope until the whole mountain stood bare and splendid
+in the morning glory. With some premonition of what
+was in store for us we had already halted to enjoy the scene,
+and I was able to observe exactly how the various ridges
+and summits caught the sun. It was remarkable that while
+Everest was never, for a moment, pink, Makalu was tinged
+with the redder shades, and the colour of the sky in that
+direction was a livid Chinese blue red-flushed. Its bearing
+from us was about South-east by South, and its distance
+nearly twice that of Everest, which lay chiefly to the South-west.</p>
+
+<p>The first crux of the expedition before us would evidently
+be the ascent of a steep wall up to the conspicuous col lying
+East of our mountain. The least laborious way was offered
+by an outcrop of rocks. The obstacle looked decidedly
+formidable and the coolies had little or no experience of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[230]</a></span>
+rock-climbing. But it proved a pleasure reminiscent of
+many good moments once again to be grasping firm granite
+and to be encouraging novices to tread delicately by throwing
+down an occasional stone to remind them of the perils of
+clumsy movements. The coolies, as usual, were apt pupils,
+and after agreeable exertions and one gymnastic performance
+we all reached the col at 9 a.m. with no bleeding scalps.</p>
+
+<p>We had already by this hour taken time to observe
+the great Eastern face of Mount Everest, and more particularly
+the lower edge of the hanging glacier; it required but little
+further gazing to be convinced&mdash;to know that almost everywhere
+the rocks below must be exposed to ice falling from
+this glacier; that if, elsewhere, it might be possible to climb
+up, the performance would be too arduous, would take
+too much time and would lead to no convenient platform;
+that, in short, other men, less wise, might attempt this
+way if they would, but, emphatically, it was not for us.</p>
+
+<p>Our interest was rather in the other direction. We had
+now gained the watershed. Below us on the far side was
+a glacier flowing East, and beyond it two important rock
+peaks, which we at once suspected must be two triangulated
+points each above 23,000 feet. Was this at last the valley
+observed so long ago from the hill above Shiling, more
+than 50 miles away, to point up towards the gap between
+Changtse and Everest? As yet we could not say. The
+head of the glacier was out of sight behind the Northern
+slopes of our mountain. We must ascend further, probably
+to its summit, to satisfy our curiosity&mdash;to see, we hoped,
+Changtse and its relation to this glacier, and perhaps the
+Chang La of our quest.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/img_230.jpg" width="600" height="353"
+        alt="see caption"
+        title="see caption" />
+        <a id="img_230"></a>
+<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">South-east Ridge of Mount Everest</span><br />
+from above the 20,000 foot camp, Kharta Valley.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The task before us was not one which had suggested
+from a distant view any serious difficulties. The angle of
+sight from our breakfast-place on the col to the next white
+summit West of us was certainly not very steep. But no
+continuous ridge would lead us upwards. The East face
+in front of us and the South face to our left presented two
+bands of fortification, crowned each by a flat emplacement<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[231]</a></span>
+receding a considerable distance, before the final cone. We
+knew already that the snow's surface, despite a thin crust,
+could not hold us, and counted on snow-shoes to save labour
+at the gentler angles. But the escarpments in front of us
+were imposing. The first yielded to a frontal attack pushed
+home with a proper after-breakfast vigour. The second
+when we reached it was a more formidable obstacle. The
+steepness of the Eastern slope was undeniable and forbidding
+and the edge of its junction with the South side was defined
+by a cornice. On that side, however, lay the only hope.</p>
+
+<p>We had first to traverse a broad gully. The powdery
+snow lay deep; we hesitated on the brink. Here, if anywhere,
+the unmelted powdery substance was likely to
+avalanche. Confidence was restored in sufficient measure
+by contemplating an island of rock. Here lay a solution.
+By the aid of its sound anchorage the party was secured
+across the dangerous passage. With his rope adequately
+belayed by a coolie, though the manner was hardly professional,
+the leader hewed at the cornice above his head,
+fixed a fist-and-axe hold in the crest and struggled over.
+Such performances are not accomplished at heights above
+20,000 feet without the feeling that something has been
+done. Appearances suggested the necessity of establishing
+the whole party firmly above the cornice before proceeding
+many steps upward, and the first man had the diversion
+of observing at his leisure the ungraceful attitudes and
+explosive grunts of men strong indeed, but unaccustomed
+to meet this kind of obstacle. But with the usual menace
+of clouds, which even now were filling the head of the Kama
+Valley, it was no season for delay; and it was no place to
+be treated lightly. The angle was quite as steep as we
+liked; on the slopes to our left again we should evidently
+be exposed to the danger of an avalanche. It was necessary
+to avoid treading on our frail cornice and no less important
+to keep near the edge. Here a foot of powdery snow masked
+a disintegrated substance of loose ice. Nothing less than
+a vigorous swinging blow had any other effect than to bury<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[232]</a></span>
+the pick and require a fourfold effort to pull it out again.
+Luckily one or even two such blows usually sufficed to make
+a firm step. But 400 feet of such work seemed an ample
+quantity. If was a relief at length to reach level snow, to
+don our rackets again and to follow a coolie bursting with
+energy now sent first to tread a path. At 12.15 p.m. we
+reached the far edge of this flat shoulder lying under the
+final slopes of our mountain and at the most 500 feet below
+the summit.</p>
+
+<p>No one without experience of the problem could guess
+how difficult it may be to sit down on a perfectly flat place
+with snow-shoes strapped to the feet. To squat is clearly
+impossible; and if the feet are pushed out in front the
+projection behind the heel tends to tilt the body backwards
+so that the back is strained in the mere effort to sit without
+falling. The remedy of course is to take off the snow-shoes;
+but the human mountaineer after exhausting efforts is too
+lazy for that at an elevation of 21,000 feet. He prefers not
+to sit; he chooses to lie&mdash;in the one convenient posture
+under the circumstances&mdash;flat upon his back and with
+his toes and snow-shoes turned vertically upwards. On
+this occasion the majority of the party without more ado
+turned up their toes.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/img_233.jpg" width="400" height="254"
+        alt="see caption"
+        title="see caption" />
+        <a id="img_233"></a>
+<p class="caption">DIAGRAM SHOWING THAT THE KHARTA GLACIER DOES NOT LEAD TO THE NORTH COL.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The situation, however, was one of the greatest interest.
+We were still separated from Mount Everest by a spur
+at our own height turning Northwards from the foot of the
+North-east arête and by the bay enclosed between this and
+its continuation Eastward to which our mountain belonged.
+But the distance from the North-east arête was small enough
+and we were now looking almost directly up its amazing
+crest. If any doubts remained at this time as to that line
+of attack, they now received a <i>coup de grâce</i>. Not only was
+the crest itself seen to be both sharp and steep, suggesting
+an almost infinite labour, but the slopes on either hand
+appeared in most places an impracticable alternative;
+and leading up to the great rock towers of the North-east
+shoulder, the final section, the point of a cruel sickle, appeared<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[233]</a></span>
+effectually to bar further progress should anyone have been
+content to spend a week or so on the lower parts. To discern
+so much required no prolonged study; to the right (North)
+the country was more intricate. The summit of Changtse
+was eventually revealed, as the clouds cleared off, beyond,
+apparently a long way beyond, the crest of the spur in front
+of us. To the extreme right, looking past the final slopes
+of the white cone above us was a more elevated skyline and
+below it the upper part of the glacier, the lower end of which
+we had seen earlier in the day descending Eastward. But
+its extreme limit was not quite visible. We had still to
+ask the question as to where exactly it lay. Could this
+glacier conceivably proceed in an almost level course up
+to Chang La, itself? Or was it cut off much nearer to us
+by the high skyline which we saw beyond it? Was it
+possible, as in the second case must be, that this skyline
+was continuous with the East arête of Changtse, the
+whole forming the left bank of the glacier? If no answer
+was absolutely certain, the probability at least was all on
+one side&mdash;on the wrong side alike for our present and our<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[234]</a></span>
+future plans. We could hardly doubt that the glacier-head
+lay not far away under Chang La, but here near at hand
+under another col; beyond this must be the glacier of our
+quest, turning East, as presumably it must turn beyond
+the skyline we saw now, and beyond the rock peaks which
+we had observed to the North of us when first we reached the
+watershed.</p>
+
+<p>One more effort was now required so that we might see
+a little more. Chang La itself was still invisible. Might we
+not see it from the summit of our mountain? And was
+it not in any case an attractive summit? An examination
+of the various pairs of upturned toes where the prostrate
+forms were still grouped grotesquely in the snow was not
+encouraging. But the most vigorous of the coolies was
+with us, Nyima, a sturdy boy of eighteen, who from the very
+start of the Expedition had consistently displayed a willing
+spirit in every emergency. To my demand for volunteers
+he responded immediately, and soon persuaded a second
+coolie, Dasno, who had been going very strongly on this
+day, to accompany him. As the three of us started off
+the clouds suddenly boiled up from below and enveloped
+us completely. A few minutes brought us to the foot of
+the steepest slopes; we took off our snow-shoes and crossed
+a bergschrund, wading up to our thighs. Dasno had already
+had enough and fell out. But the conical shape of our
+peak was just sufficiently irregular to offer a defined blunt
+edge where two surfaces intersected. Even here the snow
+was deep enough to be a formidable obstacle at that steep
+angle; but the edge was safe from avalanches. As we
+struggled on I glanced repeatedly away to the left. Presently
+through a hole in the clouds all was clear for a moment
+to the West; again I saw Changtse, and now my eyes
+followed the line of its arête descending towards Everest
+until the col itself was visible over the spur in front of us.
+The view was little enough; the mere rim appeared; the
+wall or the slopes below it, all that I most wanted to see,
+remained hidden. We struggled on to the top, in all nearly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[235]</a></span>
+an hour's work of the most exhausting kind. The reward
+was in the beauty of the spot, the faintly-defined edges of
+clean snow and the convex surfaces bent slightly back from
+the steepness on every side to form the most graceful summit
+I have seen. To the North-east we saw clearly for a minute
+down the glacier. The rest was cloud, a thin veil, but all
+too much, inexorably hiding from us Changtse and Chang La.</p>
+
+<p>A disappointment? Perhaps. But that sort of suffering
+cannot be prolonged in a mind sufficiently interested.
+Possibly it is never a genuine emotion; rather an automatic
+reaction after too sanguine hopes. And such hopes had
+no part in our system. We counted on nothing. Days
+as we found them were not seldom of the disappointing
+kind; this one had been of the best, remarkably clear and
+fine. If we were baffled that was no worse than we expected.
+To be bewildered was all in the game. But our sensation
+was something beyond bewilderment. We felt ourselves
+to be foiled. We were unpleasantly stung by this slap in
+the face. We had indeed solved all doubts as to the East
+face and North-east arête, and had solved them quickly.
+But the way to Chang La, which had seemed almost within
+our grasp, had suddenly eluded us, and had escaped, how
+far we could not tell. Though its actual distance from
+our summit might be short, as indeed it must be, the glacier
+of our quest appeared now at the end of a receding vista;
+and this was all our prospect.</p>
+
+<p>Our next plans were made on the descent. With the
+relaxation of physical effort the feeling of dazed fatigue
+wears off and a mind duly strung to activity may work well
+enough. The immediate object was to reach our tents
+not too late to send a coolie down to the base camp the same
+evening; on the following morning a reinforcement of four
+men would enable us to carry down all our loads with
+sufficient ease, and with no delay we should move the whole
+party along the next stage back towards Langma La&mdash;and
+thus save a day. The main idea was simple. It still
+seemed probable that the elusive glacier drained ultimately<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[236]</a></span>
+Eastwards, in which case its waters <i>must</i> flow into the
+Kharta stream; thither we had now to retrace our steps
+and follow up the main valley as we had originally intended;
+it might be necessary to investigate more valleys than one,
+but there sooner or later a way would be found. Only,
+time was short. At the earliest we could be back in the
+Kharta Valley on August 9. By August 20 I reckoned
+the preliminary reconnaissance should come to an end, if
+we were to have sufficient time before the beginning of
+September for rest and reorganisation at Kharta&mdash;and such
+was the core of our plan.</p>
+
+<p>These projects left out of account an entirely new factor.
+In the early stages of the reconnaissance I had taken careful
+note of the party's health. One or two of the coolies had
+quickly fallen victims to the high altitudes; but the rest
+seemed steadily to grow stronger. Nothing had so much
+surprised us as the rapid acclimatisation of the majority,
+and the good effects, so far as they appeared, of living in
+high camps. Both Bullock and myself left the Rongbuk
+Valley feeling as fit as we could wish to feel. All qualms
+about our health had subsided. For my part I was a
+confirmed optimist, and never imagined for myself the
+smallest deviation from my uniform standard of health
+and strength. On August 7, as we toiled over the <ins title="nevé">névé</ins> in
+the afternoon, I felt for the first time a symptom of weariness
+beyond muscular fatigue and beyond the vague lassitude
+of mountain-sickness. By the time we reached the moraine
+I had a bad headache. In the tent at last I was tired and
+shivering and there spent a fevered night. The next morning
+broke with undeniable glory. A photograph of our yesterday's
+conquest must be obtained. I dragged myself and
+the quarter-plate camera a few steps up to the crest of the
+moraine&mdash;only to find that a further peregrination of perhaps
+300 yards would be necessary for my purpose: and 300
+yards was more than I could face. I was perforce content
+with less interesting exposures and returned to breakfast
+with the dismal knowledge that for the moment at all<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[237]</a></span>
+events I was <i>hors de combat</i>. We learned a little later that
+Colonel Howard-Bury had arrived the night before in our
+base camp. It was easily decided to spend the day there
+with him&mdash;the day I had hoped to save; after the long
+dragging march down the green way, which on the ascent
+had been so pleasant with butterflies and flowers, I was
+obliged to spend it in bed.</p>
+
+<p>Three days later, on August 11, our tents were pitched
+in a sheltered place well up the Kharta Valley, at a height
+of about 16,500 feet. Two tributary streams had been
+passed by, the first coming in from the North as being clearly
+too small to be of consequence, and the second from the
+South, because wherever its source might be, it could not
+be far enough to the North. Ahead of us we had seen that
+the valley forked; we must follow the larger stream and
+then no doubt we should come soon enough to the glacier
+of our quest and be able at last to determine whether it
+would serve us to approach Chang La. August 12, a day
+of necessary idleness after three long marches, was spent
+by the coolies in collecting fuel, of which we were delighted
+to observe a great abundance, rhododendron and gobar
+all about us, and, only a short way down the valley, the
+best we could hope for, juniper. The last march had been
+too much for me, and again I was obliged to keep my bed
+with a sore throat and swollen glands.</p>
+
+<p>It seemed certain that the next two days must provide
+the climax or anticlimax of our whole reconnaissance. The
+mystery must surely now be penetrated and the most
+important discovery of all be made. A competition with
+my companion for the honour of being first was, I hope, as
+far from my thoughts as ever it had been. From the start
+Bullock and I had shared the whole campaign and worked
+and made our plans together, and neither for a moment had
+envied the other the monopoly of a particular adventure.
+Nevertheless, after all that had passed, the experience of
+being left out at the finish would not be agreeable to me;
+I confess that not to be in at the death after leading the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[238]</a></span>
+hunt so long was a bitter expectation. But the hunt must
+not be stopped, and on the morning of August 13, from
+the ungrateful comfort of my sleeping-bag, I waved farewell
+to Bullock. How many days would he be absent before he
+came to tell his story, and what sort of story would it be?
+Would he know for certain that the way was found? or how
+much longer would our doubts continue?</p>
+
+<p>It was impossible to stay in bed with such thoughts,
+and by the middle of the morning I was sitting in the sun
+to write home my dismal tale. A hint from one of the
+coolies interrupted my meditations; I looked round and
+now saw, to my great surprise and unfeigned delight, the
+approaching figure of Major Morshead. I had long been
+hoping that he might be free to join us; and he arrived at
+the due moment to cheer my present solitude, to strengthen
+the party, and to help us when help was greatly needed.
+Moreover, he brought from Wollaston for my use a medical
+dope; stimulated by the unusual act of drug-taking, or
+possibly by the drug itself, I began to entertain a hope for
+the morrow, a feeling incommunicably faint but distinguishably
+a hope.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile Bullock, though he had not started early,
+had got off soon enough in the morning to pitch his tents
+if all went well some hours before dark, and in all probability
+at least so far up as to be within view of the glacier snout.
+As the night was closing in a coolie was observed running
+down the last steep sandy slope to our camp. He brought
+a chit from Bullock: &ldquo;I can see up the glacier ahead of
+me and it ends in another high pass. I shall get to the
+pass to-morrow morning if I can, and ought to see our glacier
+over it. But it looks, after all, as though the most unlikely
+solution is the right one and the glacier goes out into the
+Rongbuk Valley.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>Into the Rongbuk Valley! We had discussed the
+possibility. The glacier coming in there from the East
+remained unexplored. But even if we left out of account
+all that was suggested by the East arête of Changtse and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[239]</a></span>
+other features of this country, there remained the unanswerable
+difficulty about the stream, the little stream which we
+had but just failed to cross in the afternoon of our first
+expedition. How could so little water drain so large an
+area of ice as must exist on this supposition?</p>
+
+<p>In any case we were checked again. The mystery
+deepened. And though the interest might increase, the
+prospect of finding a way to Chang La, with the necessary
+margin of time before the end of the month, was still
+receding, and, whether or no the unexpected should turn out
+to be the truth, the present situation suggested the unpleasant
+complication of moving our base once more somewhere
+away to the North.</p>
+
+<p>On the following day with the gathering energy of
+returning health I set forth with Morshead: we walked
+in a leisurely fashion up the valley rejected by Bullock and
+had the surprising good fortune of a clear sky until noon.
+I soon decided that we were looking up the glacier where
+we had looked down on the 7th, as Bullock too had decided
+on the previous day: at the head of it was a high snow col
+and beyond that the tip of Changtse. What lay between
+them? If a combe existed there, as presumably it did, the
+bed of it must be high: there could hardly be room, I
+thought, for a very big drop on the far side of the col.
+Might not this, after all, be a sufficiently good approach,
+a more convenient way perhaps than to mount the glacier
+from its foot, wherever that might be? The near col, so far
+as I could judge, should easily be reached from this side.
+Why not get to the col and find out what lay beyond it?
+The time had come to abandon our object of finding the foot
+of a glacier in order to follow it up; for we could more
+easily come to the head of it and if necessary follow it down.</p>
+
+<p>I was sanguine about this new plan, which seemed to
+have good prospects of success and might obviate the
+difficulties and inconvenience of shifting the base (possibly
+again to the Rongbuk side, which I had no desire to revisit)
+and, as I still felt far from fit, I was in some hopes now<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[240]</a></span>
+that two more days would bring us to the end of our present
+labours. Bullock very readily agreed to the proposal.
+He brought no positive information from the col which he
+had reached, though he inclined to the idea that the water
+crossed at Harlung on our journey to Kharta, a moderate
+stream, but perhaps too clear, might provide the solution
+of our problem. A fresh bone was now thrown into our
+stew. A letter arrived from Howard-Bury with an enclosure
+from Wheeler, a sketch map of what he had seen more
+particularly East of the Rongbuk Glacier, on which the
+Eastern branch, with its Western exit, was clearly marked
+where we now know it to be. It was, unfortunately, a very
+rough map, professedly nothing more, and was notably
+wrong in some respects about which we had accurate knowledge.
+We were not yet convinced that the head of the
+East Rongbuk Glacier was really situated under the slopes
+of Everest, and not perhaps under the Eastern arm of
+Changtse. Still, we had some more pickings to digest.
+Our business was to reach the nearer pass, and I felt sure
+that once we had looked over it to the other side whatever
+doubts remained could be cleared up in subsequent discussion
+with Wheeler. Meanwhile, I hoped, we should
+have discovered one way to Chang La, and a sufficiently
+good one.</p>
+
+<p>It took us in the sequel not two but four days to reach
+the pass which was ultimately known as Lhakpa La
+(Windy Gap). The story may serve as a fair illustration
+of the sort of difficulty with which we had to contend. It
+was arranged on the 15th that we should meet Bullock's
+coolies at the divide in the valley; they were bringing down
+his camp and we could all go on together: but our messenger
+succeeded in collecting only half their number and much
+delay was caused in waiting for the others. From here
+we followed the Western stream, a stony and rather fatiguing
+walk of two hours or so (unladen) up to the end of the
+glacier, and then followed a moraine shelf on its left bank,
+I hoped we should find an easy way round to the obvious<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[241]</a></span>
+camping place we had previously observed from the Carpo-ri.
+But the shelf ended abruptly on steep stony slopes, clouds
+obscured our view, and after our misfortunes in the morning
+we were now short of time, so that it was necessary to stay
+where we were for the night. A thick layer of mist was
+still lying along the valley when we woke, and we could see
+nothing, but were resolved, nevertheless, to reach the col
+if possible. We went up, for the best chance of a view,
+to the crest of the hill above us, and followed it to the summit
+(6.30 a.m.). The view was splendid, and I took some good
+photographs; but the drop on the far side was more serious
+than our hopes had suggested. We tried to make the best
+of things by contouring and eventually halted for breakfast
+on the edge of the glacier a long way North of the direct
+line at 8.45 a.m. Before we went on we were again enveloped
+in mist, and after stumbling across the glacier in snow-shoes
+to the foot of an icefall, we turned back at 11 a.m. By that
+time we were a tired party and could not have reached
+the col; and even had we reached it, we should have seen
+nothing. Still we felt when we found our tents again that
+with all we had seen the day had not been lost, and we
+determined, before renewing our attempt on Lhakpa La,
+to push on the camp. There was still time to send a message
+down to the Sirdar so as to get up more coolies and supplies
+and move forward next day. From this higher camp we
+hoped that the col might be reached at an early hour, and
+in that case it would be possible for a party to cross it and
+descend the glacier on the other side.</p>
+
+<p>The first coolies who came up in the morning brought
+a message from the Sirdar to the effect that supplies were
+short and he could send none up. The rations were
+calculated to last for another three days, but their distribution
+had been muddled. However, enough was subsequently
+sent up to carry us over into the next day, though it was
+necessary of course to abandon our project of a more distant
+reconnaissance. Our camp was happily established in the
+usual snowstorm. The weather, in fact, was not treating<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[242]</a></span>
+us kindly. Snow was falling in these days for about eight
+to ten hours on the average and we were relieved at last to
+see a fine morning.</p>
+
+<p>On August 18, with the low moon near setting, the three
+of us with one coolie set forth on the most critical expedition
+of our whole reconnaissance. Failure on this day must
+involve us in a lamentable delay before the party could
+again be brought up for the attack; at the earliest we
+should be able to renew the attempt four days later, and if
+in the end the way were not established here the whole
+prospect of the assault in September would be in jeopardy.
+We scaled the little cliff on to the glacier that morning
+with the full consciousness that one way or another it was
+an imperative necessity to reach the col. The first few
+steps on the glacier showed us what to expect; we sank
+in to our knees. The remedy was, of course, to put on
+rackets&mdash;which indeed are no great encumbrance, but a
+growing burden on a long march and on steep slopes most
+difficult to manage. We wore them for the rest of the day
+whenever we were walking on snow. About dawn the light
+became difficult; a thin floating mist confused the snow
+surfaces; ascents and descents were equally indistinguishable,
+so that the errant foot might unexpectedly hit the slope
+too soon or equally plunge down with sudden violence to
+unexpected depths. Crevasses forced, or seemed to force,
+us away to the right and over to the rocks of the left bank.
+We were faced with one of those critical decisions which
+determine success or failure. It seemed best to climb the
+rocks and avoid complications in the icefall. There was
+an easy way through on our left which we afterwards used;
+but perhaps we did well; ours was a certain way though
+long, and we had enough trudging that day; the rocks,
+though covered with snow to a depth of several inches, were
+not difficult, and a long traverse brought us back to the
+glacier at about 8.30 a.m.</p>
+
+<p>Our greatest enemy as we went on was not, after all, the
+deep powdery snow. The racket sank slightly below the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[243]</a></span>
+surface and carried a little snow each step as one lifted
+it; the work was arduous for the first man. But at a slow
+pace it was possible to plod on without undue exhaustion.
+The heat was a different matter. In the glacier-furnace
+the thin mist became steam, it enveloped us with a clinging
+garment from which no escape was possible, and far from
+being protected by it from the sun's fierce heat, we seemed
+to be scorched all the more because of it. The atmosphere
+was enervating to the last degree; to halt even for a few
+minutes was to be almost overwhelmed by inertia, so difficult
+it seemed, once the machinery had stopped and lost
+momentum, to heave it into motion again. And yet we
+must go on in one direction or the other or else succumb
+to sheer lassitude and overpowering drowsiness. The final
+slopes, about 700 feet at a fairly steep angle, undoubtedly
+called for greater efforts than any hitherto required
+of us.</p>
+
+<p>The importance of breathing hard and deeply had
+impressed itself upon us again and again. I had come to
+think of my own practice as a very definite and conscious
+performance adopted to suit the occasion. The principles
+were always the same&mdash;to time the breathing regularly
+to fit the step, and to use not merely the upper part of the
+lungs, but the full capacity of the breathing apparatus,
+expanding and contracting not the chest only, but also the
+diaphragm, and this not occasionally but with every breath
+whenever the body was required to work at high pressure.
+Probably no one who has not tried it would guess how difficult
+it is to acquire an unconscious habit of deep breathing.
+It was easy enough to set the machine going in the right
+fashion; it was another task to keep it running. The
+moment attention to their performance was relaxed, the lungs
+too would begin to relax their efforts, and often I woke
+from some day-dream with a feeling of undue fatigue, to
+find the cause of my lassitude only in the lungs' laziness. The
+best chance of keeping them up to their work, I found, was
+to impose a rhythm primarily upon the lungs and swing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[244]</a></span>
+the legs in time with it.</p>
+
+<p>The practice employed for walking uphill under normal
+conditions is exactly contrary, in that case the rhythm is
+consciously imposed on the legs and the rest of the body
+takes care of itself.</p>
+
+<p>During the various expeditions of our reconnaissance
+I came to employ two distinct methods of working the legs
+with the lungs. As soon as conscious breathing was necessary
+it was my custom deliberately to inhale on one step and
+exhale on the next. Later, at a higher elevation, or when
+the expenditure of muscular energy became more exhausting,
+I would both inhale and exhale for each step, in either case
+timing the first movement of lifting the leg to synchronise
+with the beginning, so to speak, of the breathing-stroke.
+On this occasion as we pushed our way up towards Lhakpa
+La I adopted a variation of this second method, a third
+stage, pausing a minute or so for the most furious sort of
+breathing after a series of steps, forty or thirty or twenty,
+as the strength ebbed, in order to gain potential energy for
+the next spasm of lifting efforts. Never before had our lungs
+been tested quite so severely. It was well for us that these
+final slopes were no steeper. It was difficult and tiring enough
+as it was to prevent the rackets sliding, though without them
+we could not possibly have advanced in such snow. But
+happily the consequences of a slip were not likely to be
+serious. We were able to struggle on without regarding
+dangers, half-dazed with the heat and the glare and with
+mere fatigue, occasionally encouraged by a glimpse of the
+skyline above us, a clean edge of snow where the angle set
+back to the pass, more often enveloped in the scorching
+mist which made with the snow a continuous whiteness,
+so that the smooth slope, even so near as where the foot
+must be placed next, was usually indistinguishable. We
+had proceeded a considerable distance and I was satisfied
+with our progress, when the leader broke the monotony;
+he was seen to hesitate in the act of stepping up, to topple
+over and fall headlong downwards. This time he had guessed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[245]</a></span>
+wrong; his foot had hit unexpectedly against the steepening
+slope. Somehow he had passed in extreme fatigue from the
+physical state of stable equilibrium; he had become such a
+man as you may &ldquo;knock down with a feather,&rdquo; and this
+little misadventure had upset his balance. Mere surprise
+gave him strength to stop his slide. He raised himself,
+disgusted, to his feet again and after sundry gruntings the
+party went on.</p>
+
+<p>Some little way further up Major Morshead, who was
+walking last in the party, with one brief exclamation to tell
+us what he intended, quietly untied the rope and remained
+where he was in his steps, unable to go further.</p>
+
+<p>At length we found ourselves on flatter ground; the
+pass was still invisible, how far ahead of us we could not
+guess. Unexpectedly we came upon the brink of a crevasse.
+We worked round it, vaguely wondering whether after all
+our pains we were to meet with many troubles of this sort.
+And then after a few more steps we were visibly on some
+edge of things; we had reached the col itself.</p>
+
+<p>Some twenty minutes later, as we sat on the snow gazing
+most intently at all that lay about us, Bullock and I were
+surprised by a shout. A moment later Major Morshead
+rejoined us, to the great rejoicing of all three.</p>
+
+<p>It was about 1.15 p.m. when the first two of us had
+reached Lhakpa La; the clouds, which had been earlier
+only a thin veil, rent occasionally to give us clear glimpses,
+had thickened perceptibly during the last hour, so that we
+had now no hope of a clear view. In a sense, despite our
+early start from a high camp, we were too late. Little was
+to be seen above our level. The slopes of Everest away on
+our left were visible only where they impinged upon the
+glacier. But we were not actually in cloud on the col. The
+South-facing rocks of Changtse presented their profile, steep
+and jagged, an imposing spectacle so far up as we could
+see; between them and Everest we looked down on a broad
+bay, the smooth surface of which was only occasionally
+broken by large crevasses. The descent to it from where<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[246]</a></span>
+we were could also be seen well enough, and we judged it
+perfectly simple and not much more than 800 feet.<a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a> The
+East ridge of Changtse had no existence for us; we looked
+across at what presumably were the splayed-out slopes
+supporting it. Below them was a narrow glacier (it grew
+when we crossed it to broader dimensions), shaping its
+course somewhat to the West of North, joined after losing
+its white snow-covering by another and cleaner glacier
+coming steeply down from the left, then apparently bending
+with this confluent to the right, and finally lost to view.
+We could see no more; the mountain sides, which must
+hem it in on the North, remained completely hidden, and
+for all we had seen the exit of this glacier was still a
+mystery.</p>
+
+<p>Another great question remained unsolved. We had
+been able to make out the way across the head of the glacier
+towards the wall under Chang La; and the way was easy
+enough. But the wall itself, in spite of some fleeting glimpses
+and partial revelations, we had never really seen. We
+conjectured its height should be 500 feet or little more;
+and it was probably steep. It had been impossible to found
+an opinion as to whether the col were accessible. Nevertheless,
+I held an opinion, however flimsy the foundations.
+I had seen the rim of the col from both sides, and knew that
+above it on either hand were unserrated edges. When we
+added to whatever chances might be offered by the whole
+extent of the wall, which was considerable, the possibilities
+of finding a way to the col by the slopes of Everest to the
+South or by those of Changtse to the North, I felt we had
+enough in our favour. I was prepared, so to speak, to bet
+my bottom dollar that a way could be found, and was resolved
+that before we turned homewards this year we must get
+up from the East. When I thought of the 4,000 feet on
+the other side, the length combined with the difficulties,
+the distance that would necessarily separate us there from
+any convenient base and all the limitations in our strength,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[247]</a></span>
+I could have no reasonable doubt that here to the East lay
+the best chance of success.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/img_246.jpg" width="600" height="385"
+        alt="see caption"
+        title="see caption" />
+        <a id="img_246"></a>
+<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">North-east of Mount Everest and Chang La</span><br />
+from Lhakpa La.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>It remained to determine by which of two possible routes
+we should reach the glacier-head between Lhakpa La and
+Chang La. Presuming that Wheeler was right we could
+use the old base at the foot of the Rongbuk Glacier which
+was only one stage, though a very long one, from Chöbuk,
+and proceed simply enough by two rough marches and one
+which should be easier to a camp at the foot of the wall or
+possibly to the col itself. On the East we could use as an
+advanced base a place two easy marches from Kharta;
+from there I reckoned one long day and two easy ones,
+provided the snow were hard, to Chang La. Against this
+route was the loss of height in crossing Lhakpa La; and
+for it the convenience of a good encampment on stones at
+20,000 feet, better than anything we might expect to find
+at a similar elevation on the other side. So far the pros
+and cons were evenly balanced. But there was one great
+and perhaps insuperable obstacle in working from the
+Rongbuk Valley. We had always found difficulties there
+in obtaining an adequate supply of fuel. There is no wood
+at Chöbuk or for some distance below it. A few small
+bushes grow in a little patch of vegetation by the riverside
+an hour higher up. But it is a very niggardly supply, and
+when I thought of the larger scale of the preparations we
+should now have to make, it became clear that we should
+have to rely on gobar, which, besides being a more extravagant
+fuel in the sense that it gives less fire for a given weight
+than wood, is also difficult to get in the Rongbuk Valley,
+for little enough is to be found there, and the monastery
+at Chöyling is a large consumer. On the other hand, in
+the Kharta Valley we were in a land of plenty. Gobar and
+rhododendron were to be had within a stone's throw of our
+present advanced base camp, and a little lower was an
+abundance of juniper. Food supplies also were better
+here; fresh vegetables and eggs, luxuries never seen on
+the other side, could easily be obtained from Kharta, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[248]</a></span>
+even the sheep in this region could be praised at the expense
+of the Rongbuk breed, which was incomparably skinny;
+lurking in the thigh of one recently killed we had actually
+discovered a nugget of fat.</p>
+
+<p>And presuming Wheeler were wrong? In any case we
+knew enough of the country to be sure that a valley further
+to the North would offer us little better than the Rongbuk
+Valley, for it must be situated in the drier area unvisited
+by the monsoon currents from the Arun. The conclusion
+was drawn as we came down from Lhakpa La more swiftly
+than the reader of these arguments might suppose. We
+had now found a way to approach Chang La&mdash;not an ideal
+way, because it would involve a descent, and not one that
+could be used immediately; but good enough for our purpose.
+If laden coolies could not be brought to the Lhakpa at
+present over so much soft snow they might find the march
+to their liking later; for good snow at angles not too steep
+involves far less labour than rougher ground; and might
+we not expect the snow to harden before long? The whole
+plan of campaign had been founded upon the belief that
+September would be the best month for climbing, and our
+greatest efforts, some sort of an assault upon the mountain,
+were timed to take place then. We must now proceed
+upon the assumption that what the wise men prophesied
+about the matter would come true; and they promised a
+fine September. About the beginning of the month the
+monsoon would come to an end; then we should have a
+succession of bright, clear days to melt the snow and cold,
+starry nights to freeze it hard. At worst the calm spell
+would only be broken by a short anger. In September,
+perhaps a fortnight hence, on these same slopes where now
+we toiled we should find a solid substance beneath our feet
+and an easy way.</p>
+
+<p>The abiding thought, therefore, after the first rush
+downwards on the steep slopes below the col contained a
+measure of solid satisfaction. We had now brought to an
+end our preliminary reconnaissance. Ahead of us was a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[249]</a></span>
+new phase in our operations, and one which should hold in
+store for us the finest adventure of all, the climax of all
+reconnoitring expeditions, that advance which was to bring
+us as near to the summit as our strength would take us. As
+we plodded on, retracing our steps, some little satisfaction
+was highly acceptable. To the tired party even descent
+seemed laborious. We reached the edge of the glacier
+where we had come on to it at 5.30 p.m. But the march
+from there to our lower camp was both long and rough.
+Major Morshead, who had not been trained with Bullock
+and me to the pace of such expeditions, had kept up so far
+in the gamest fashion; but he was now much exhausted.
+The day ended with a series of little spurts, balancing over
+the snow-sprinkled boulders along and along the valley,
+in the dim misty moonlit scene, until at 2 o'clock in the
+morning we reached our lower camp, twenty-three hours
+after the early start.</p>
+
+<p>On August 20 we went down to Kharta for ten days'
+rest and reorganisation. The party was gathering there
+for the assault, in which all were to help to the best of their
+powers. Col. Howard-Bury and Mr.&nbsp;Wollaston were there;
+Dr.&nbsp;Heron came in on the following day, and a little later
+Major Wheeler. A conversation with this officer, who had
+been working in the Rongbuk Valley since Bullock and I
+had left it, was naturally of the highest interest, and he
+now confirmed what his sketch-map had suggested: that
+the glacier on to which we had looked down from Lhakpa
+La drained into the Rongbuk Valley. But this certain
+knowledge could have no bearing on our plans; we remained
+content with the way we had found and troubled our heads
+no more for the present about the East Rongbuk Glacier.</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes">
+
+<p style="text-indent: 0;">Footnote:</p>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> It turned out to be a full 1,200 feet.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="hr65" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[250]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER XV</h2>
+
+<p class="title"><span style="font-size: 150%">THE ASSAULT</span></p>
+
+<p>In the agreeable climate of Kharta we were sufficiently
+occupied with the results of photography and preparations
+for the future; and there was time besides for unmixed
+idleness, which we knew how to appreciate. Our thoughts
+turned often to the weather. Local lore confirmed our
+expectations for September, and we looked each day for
+signs of a change. It was arranged, in hope if not in
+confidence, to move up on the first signs of improvement.
+Already before we came down to Kharta our Advanced
+Base Camp had been moved up; it was now situated at
+about 17,300 feet on a convenient grassy plateau and only
+a reasonable stage below our 20,000-foot camp, where some
+light tents and stores had also been left. At these two camps
+we had, in fact, left everything which we should not absolutely
+require at Kharta, so that few mountaineering stores would
+have to be carried forward from the Base when we came
+up again. Our first task would be to supply the Advanced
+Base with food and fuel, and a start had already been made
+by collecting here a pile of wood, nominally thirty loads.
+Transport in any case was not likely to be a difficulty in
+the early stages. Local coolies could easily be hired, and
+Howard-Bury was to follow us up after a short interval
+with all available strength to help in every possible way.</p>
+
+<p>The first object which our plans must include was, of
+course, to reach Chang La; by finding the way to this point
+we should establish a line of attack and complete a stage
+of our reconnaissance. Secondly we must aim at reaching
+the North-east Shoulder. In so far as it was an object of
+reconnaissance to determine whether it was possible to climb
+Mount Everest, our task could never be complete until we<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[251]</a></span>
+had actually climbed it; but short of that it was important
+to have a view of the final stage, and could we reach the
+great shoulder of the arête we should at least be in a better
+position to estimate what lay between there and the summit.
+Finally we saw no reason to exclude the supreme object
+itself. It would involve no sacrifice of meaner ends; the
+best would not interfere with the good. For if it should
+turn out that the additional supplies required for a longer
+campaign were more than our coolies could carry, we would
+simply drop them and aim less high.</p>
+
+<p>In organising the assault we had first to consider how
+our camps could be established, at Lhakpa La or perhaps
+better beyond it at a lower elevation, at Chang La, and
+finally as high as possible, somewhere under the shoulder,
+we thought, at about 26,500 feet. From the camp on
+Chang La we should have to carry up ten loads, each of
+15 lb., which would provide tents enough, and sleeping-sacks
+and food for a maximum of four Sahibs and four
+coolies; sixteen coolies were allowed for this task; twelve
+therefore would have to return on the day of their ascent
+and sleep at Chang La, and on the assumption that they
+would require an escort of Sahibs who must also sleep at
+this camp, four small tents must remain there, making six
+in all to be carried up to this point. The lower end of the
+ladder must be so constructed as to support this weight at
+the top. It was comparatively a simple matter to provide
+the earlier camps. The first above the advanced base&mdash;that
+at 20,000 feet&mdash;could be filled before we moved up to
+sleep there, the coolies returning on the same day whenever
+they carried up loads. And the same plan could be adopted
+for the second at Lhakpa La; only one journey there, I
+calculated, would be required before we started in force
+from the 20,000-foot camp to go straight ahead without delay.
+The crux would lie in the stage from Lhakpa La to Chang
+La. At the most we should have twenty-three coolies,
+sixteen who had been all along with the climbing party,
+three whom Wheeler had partially trained, and four more<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[252]</a></span>
+Sherpas, the maximum number being determined by the
+supply of boots. But it would not be necessary to carry
+on all the loads from Lhakpa La; and return journeys could
+be made from Chang La both by those who were not to stay
+there and by the twelve already mentioned who might
+fetch supplies if necessary on the final day of the assault.
+This plan was never executed in its later stages, and we
+cannot know for certain whether it would have held good.
+But it may be conjectured, in view of our experience, that
+the weakest link would have broken; either an extra day
+would have been spent between Lhakpa La and Chang La,
+or, if we had reached Chang La according to programme
+with the minimum of supplies, the coolies would not have
+been brought to this point a second time and the climbing
+party would have been cut off from its reserves. And,
+granted the most favourable conditions for the attempt,
+in asking the coolies to carry loads of 30 lb. on two consecutive
+days at these high altitudes, we were probably expecting
+too much of them. It must be concluded, if this opinion
+is correct, that we had not enough coolies for what we
+intended.</p>
+
+<p>On the last day of August, Bullock and I were established
+once again at our Advanced Base. The weather had not
+yet cleared, though it was showing some signs of change.
+But it had been necessary to move up for the coolies' sake.
+At Kharta, where they found little to amuse them and no
+work to employ their time, they had sought diversion with
+the aid of liquor and become discontented and ill-affected.
+They were badly in need of a routine, which at the Advanced
+Base was easily enough provided. Besides, I wanted to
+be ready, and it seemed not too soon to begin carrying loads
+up to the next camp. There was no occasion for hurry
+in the event. We were obliged to wait nearly three weeks,
+until September 19, before moving forward. The delay
+served no useful purpose, the work of supplying our present
+needs and providing for the future was sufficiently spread
+over the long tale of days, but interspersed with more rest<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[253]</a></span>
+and leisure than anyone required.</p>
+
+<p>In some respects life at the Advanced Base compared
+favourably with our experience at other camps. The place
+had a charm of its own. The short turf about us, the
+boulders and little streams reminded me of Welsh hillsides;
+and these high pastures were often decorated by the brilliant
+blues of <i>Gentiana ornata</i> and by the most exquisite of
+saxifrages, which, with the yellow and ochre markings on the
+cream glaze of its tiny bowl, recalls the marginal ornament
+on some Persian page. Whenever the weather cleared
+for a few hours we saw down the valley a splendid peak in
+a scene of romantic beauty, and by walking up to a stony
+shoulder only 2,000 feet above us, we had amazing views of
+Everest and Makalu. And it was an advantage during
+these days of waiting to be a larger party, as we soon became.</p>
+
+<p>Bury and Wollaston, and also Raeburn whom we rejoiced
+to see again, had come up on the 6th, Morshead and Wheeler
+on the 11th, and for two nights Heron was of our company.
+We made little excursions to keep ourselves fit, and on one
+occasion enjoyed some rock-climbing. But it amused nobody
+to watch the procession of clouds which precipitated sleet
+by day and snow by night, and our appetite for adventure
+could not be stimulated by making time pass in some
+endurable fashion and counting the unhopeful signs.</p>
+
+<p>Under these circumstances I became more than ever
+observant of the party's physical condition. I find a passage
+in one of my letters written during this period of waiting
+in which I boast of finding myself &ldquo;still able to go up about
+1,500 feet in an hour&mdash;not bad going at these altitudes&rdquo;&mdash;a
+reassuring statement enough but for the one word &ldquo;still,&rdquo;
+which betrays all my anxiety. In fact there was too much
+cause to be anxious. Three of our strongest coolies were
+ill at this camp; others seemed to be tired more easily than
+they should be. And what of the Sahibs? At least it
+must be said that several of them were not looking their
+best. Bullock, though he never complained, seemed no
+longer to be the fit man he was at the end of July. And for my<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[254]</a></span>
+part I began to experience a certain lack of exuberance when
+going up hill. I came to realise that all such efforts were unduly
+exhausting; my reserve of strength had somehow diminished.
+The whole machine, in fact, was running down; the days
+continued to pass with their cloud and rain and snow, always
+postponing our final effort to a later date and a colder season;
+and with them our chances of success were slowly vanishing.</p>
+
+<p>When at last the weather cleared, it was evident that
+the fate of our enterprise would be decided by the sun's
+power to melt the snow. In a subsequent chapter I shall
+have more to say about the snow's melting; it may suffice
+to remark here that, before we left the Advanced Base, I
+had good reason to expect that we should meet adverse
+conditions, and was resolved at the same time that nothing
+was to be gained by waiting. The coolies were lightly laden
+up to the First Advanced Camp and sufficiently unfatigued
+to proceed next day. On the 20th, therefore, leaving Bullock
+to accompany Wheeler, Morshead and I set forth to get
+fourteen loads up to Lhakpa La. We had one spare coolie
+who carried no load, and Sanglu, who was now our acting
+Sirdar, four of us in all, to break the trail for the loaded
+men. Snow-shoes were not carried because there were
+not enough to go round. Though our prospects of
+reaching a high point on Everest were already sufficiently
+dim, I intended to carry out the original plan until obliged
+by circumstances to modify it; it might prove necessary
+to spend an extra day in reaching Chang La, and in that
+case we could perhaps afford to stop short of Lhakpa La
+and establish our camp below its final slopes. But if the
+strain on this first day was likely to be severe, I argued that
+the coolies could rest to-morrow, and that the second journey
+in frozen tracks would be easy enough. That we should
+be passing the night a few hundred feet higher (at 22,500
+feet) was a relatively unimportant consideration. The
+great matter was to put heart into the coolies; it would
+be infinitely more encouraging to reach the crest with a
+sense of complete achievement, to see the clear prospect<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[255]</a></span>
+ahead and to proceed downwards on the other side.</p>
+
+<p>Our start at an early hour on the 20th was propitious
+enough. It was the same moonlit glacier of our expedition
+a month before as we made good our approach to its surface.
+But the conditions were altered. For the first time since
+we had come to these mountains we experienced the wonderful
+delight of treading snow that is both crisp and solid. We
+walked briskly over it, directly towards Mount Everest,
+with all the hope such a performance might inspire. The
+night was exceedingly cold and there was no untoward
+delay. In less than an hour we were at the foot of the icefall.
+We were determined on this occasion not to avoid it by the
+rocks of the left bank, but to find a quicker way through
+the tumbled ice. At first all went well. A smooth-floored
+corridor took us helpfully upwards. And then, in the dim
+light, we were among the crevasses. To be seriously held
+up here might well be fatal to our object, and in the most
+exciting kind of mountaineering adventures we had the
+stimulus of this thought. We plunged into the maze and
+struggled for a little time, crossing frail bridges over fantastic
+depths and making steps up steep little walls, until it seemed
+we were in serious trouble. One leap proposed by the leader
+proved too much for some of the laden coolies and a good
+deal of pushing and pulling was required to bring them over
+the formidable gap. We had begun to waste time. Halted
+on a sharp little crest between two monstrous chasms Morshead
+and I discussed the situation, and thereafter gravely proceeded
+to reconnoitre the ground to our left. In ten minutes we
+came to another corridor like the first, which brought us
+out above the icefall.</p>
+
+<p>We were well satisfied with our progress as we halted
+at sunrise, and it was a pleasant change to get our feet out
+of the snow and knock a little warmth into chilled toes.
+But our confidence had ebbed. Even as we entered the
+icefall our feet had occasionally broken the crust; as we
+came out of it we were stamping a trail.</p>
+
+<p>Dorji Gompa, our unladen coolie, and perhaps the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[256]</a></span>
+strongest man of all, took the lead when we went on, and
+plugged manfully upwards. But already the party was
+showing signs of fatigue. One coolie, and then two others,
+fell out and could not be induced to come further. I sent
+Dorji Gompa back to bring on one of their loads. Morshead,
+Sanglu and I took turns ahead and soon came to the worst
+snow we had encountered anywhere. In it no firm steps
+could be stamped by the leaders to save the coolies behind,
+and each man in turn had to contend with the shifting
+substance of fine powder. The party straggled badly. It
+was necessary for some of us to press on and prove that
+the goal could be reached. Many of the men were obliged
+to halt at frequent intervals. But time was on our side.
+Gradually the party fought its way up the final slopes. As
+we approached the pass I looked back with Morshead over
+the little groups along our track and saw some distance
+below the last moving figure another lying huddled up on
+the snow. I soon learnt the meaning of this: it was Dorji
+Gompa who lay there. He had carried on not one load as
+I had asked him, but two, until he had fallen there dazed
+and exhausted.</p>
+
+<p>At length eleven loads reached the pass and two more
+were only 800 feet lower. If we had not done all we set
+out to do I was satisfied we had done enough. We had
+established tracks to Lhakpa La which should serve us well
+when they had frozen hard, and not too many loads remained
+below to be brought up two days later.</p>
+
+<p>We now obtained a clear view of Chang La; it was
+possible to make more exact calculations, and it was evident
+we must modify our plans. We saw a wall of formidable
+dimensions, perhaps 1,000 feet high; the surface was
+unpleasantly broken by insuperable bergschrunds and the
+general angle was undoubtedly steep. The slopes of Everest
+to the South were out of the question, and if it were possible
+to avoid a direct assault by the North side the way here
+would be long, difficult and exceedingly laborious. The
+wall itself offered the best chance, and I was in good hopes<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[257]</a></span>
+we could get up. But it would not be work for untrained
+men, and to have on the rope a number of laden coolies,
+more or less mountain sick, conducted by so small a nucleus
+as three Sahibs, who would also presumably be feeling the
+effects of altitude, was a proposition not to be contemplated
+for a moment. We must have as strong a party as possible
+in the first place, simply to reach the col, and afterwards to
+bring up a camp, if we were able, as a separate operation.
+With this idea I selected the party. Wollaston felt that
+his place of duty was not with the van; only Wheeler besides
+had sufficient mountaineering experience, and it was decided
+that he alone should accompany Bullock and myself on
+our first attempt to reach the col. Nevertheless, it seemed
+undesirable to abandon so early the hope that Bury and
+Morshead would be of use to us later on; and Wollaston
+clearly must start with us from the 20,000-foot camp where
+all had gathered on the 20th.</p>
+
+<p>I had hoped we should have a full complement of coolies
+on the 22nd, but when morning came it was found that
+three, including two of the best men, were too ill to start.
+Consequently some of the loads were rather heavier than I
+intended. But all arrived safely at Lhakpa La before midday.
+Visited by malicious gusts from the North-west, the pass
+was cheerless and chilly; however, the rim afforded us
+some protection, and we decided to pitch our tents there
+rather than descend on the other side with the whole party,
+a move which I felt might complicate the return. I was
+not very happy about the prospects for the morrow. For
+my own part I had been excessively and unaccountably
+tired in coming up to the col; I observed no great sparkle
+of energy or enthusiasm among my companions; Sanglu
+was practically <i>hors de combat</i>; some of the coolies had with
+difficulty been brought to the col and were more or less
+exhausted; and many complaints of headache, even from
+the best of them, were a bad sign.</p>
+
+<p>There was no question of bustling off before dawn on
+the 23rd, but we rose early enough, as I supposed, to push<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[258]</a></span>
+on to Chang La if we were sufficiently strong. Morshead
+and I in a Mummery tent had slept well and I congratulated
+myself on an act of mutilation in cutting two large slits
+in its roof. The rest had not fared so well, but seemed fit
+enough, and the wonderful prospect from our camp at sunrise
+was a cheering sight. With the coolies, however, the case
+was different. Those who had been unwell overnight had
+not recovered, and it was evident that only a comparatively
+small number would be able to come on; eventually I
+gathered ten, two men who both protested they were ill
+casting lots for the last place; and of these ten it was evident
+that none were unaffected by the height and several were
+more seriously mountain-sick.<a name="FNanchor_13_13" id="FNanchor_13_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a> Under these circumstances
+it was necessary to consider which loads should be carried
+on. Bury, Wollaston and Morshead suggested that they
+should go back at once so as not to burden the party with
+the extra weight of their belongings, and it seemed the wisest
+plan that they should return. Certain stores were left behind
+at Lhakpa La as reserve supplies for the climbing party.
+I decided at an early hour that our best chance was to take
+an easy day; after a late start and a very slow march we
+pitched our tents on the open snow up towards the col.</p>
+
+<p>It might have been supposed that in so deep a cwm
+and sheltered on three sides by steep mountain slopes, we
+should find a tranquil air and the soothing, though chilly
+calm of undisturbed frost. Night came clearly indeed,
+but with no gentle intentions. Fierce squalls of wind visited
+our tents and shook and worried them with the disagreeable
+threat of tearing them away from their moorings, and then
+scurried off, leaving us in wonder at the change and asking
+what next to expect. It was a cold wind at an altitude of
+22,000 feet, and however little one may have suffered, the
+atmosphere discouraged sleep. Again I believe I was more
+fortunate than my companions, but Bullock and Wheeler<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[259]</a></span>
+fared badly. Lack of sleep, since it makes one sleepy, always
+discourages an early start, and hot drinks take time to
+brew; in any case, it was wise to start rather late so as
+to have the benefit of warm sun whenever our feet should
+be obliged to linger in cold snow or ice steps. It was an
+hour or so after sunrise when we left the camp and half an
+hour later we were breaking the crust on the first slopes
+under the wall. We had taken three coolies who were
+sufficiently fit and competent, and now proceeded to use
+them for the hardest work. Apart from one brief spell of
+cutting when we passed the corner of a bergschrund it was
+a matter of straightforward plugging, firstly slanting up
+to the right on partially frozen avalanche snow and then
+left in one long upward traverse to the summit. Only one
+passage shortly below the col caused either anxiety or trouble;
+here the snow was lying at a very steep angle and was deep
+enough to be disagreeable. About 500 steps of very hard
+work covered all the worst of the traverse and we were
+on the col shortly before 11.30 a.m. By this time two coolies
+were distinctly tired, though by no means incapable of
+coming on; the third, who had been in front, was comparatively
+fresh. Wheeler thought he might be good for
+some further effort, but had lost all feeling in his feet. Bullock
+was tired, but by sheer will power would evidently come
+on&mdash;how far, one couldn't say. For my part I had had the
+wonderful good fortune of sleeping tolerably well at both
+high camps and now finding my best form; I supposed I
+might be capable of another 2,000 feet, and there would
+be no time for more. But what lay ahead of us? My eyes
+had often strayed, as we came up, to the rounded edge above
+the col and the final rocks below the North-east arête. If
+ever we had doubted whether the arête were accessible,
+it was impossible to doubt any longer. For a long way up
+those easy rock and snow slopes was neither danger nor
+difficulty. But at present there was wind. Even where
+we stood under the lee of a little ice cliff it came in fierce
+gusts at frequent intervals, blowing up the powdery snow<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[260]</a></span>
+in a suffocating tourbillon. On the col beyond it was blowing
+a gale. And higher was a more fearful sight. The powdery
+fresh snow on the great face of Everest was being swept
+along in unbroken spindrift and the very ridge where our
+route lay was marked out to receive its unmitigated fury.
+We could see the blown snow deflected upwards for a moment
+where the wind met the ridge, only to rush violently down
+in a frightful blizzard on the leeward side. To see, in fact,
+was enough; the wind had settled the question; it would
+have been folly to go on. Nevertheless, some little discussion
+took place as to what might be possible, and we struggled
+a few steps further to put the matter to the test. For a
+few moments we exposed ourselves on the col to feel the
+full strength of the blast, then struggled back to shelter.
+Nothing more was said about pushing our assault any
+further.</p>
+
+<p>It remained to take a final decision on the morning of
+the 25th. We were evidently too weak a party to play a
+waiting game at this altitude. We must either take our
+camp to the col or go back. A serious objection to going
+forward lay in the shortage of coolies' rations. Had the
+men been fit it would not have been too much for them to
+return, as I had planned, unladen to Lhakpa La and reach
+Chang La again the same day. I doubted whether any two
+could be found to do that now; and to subtract two was
+to leave only eight, of whom two were unfit to go on, so
+that six would remain to carry seven loads. However,
+the distance to the col was so short that I was confident
+such difficulties could be overcome one way or another.</p>
+
+<p>A more unpleasant consideration was the thought of
+requiring a party which already felt the height too much
+to sleep at least a 1,000 feet higher. We might well
+find it more than we could do to get back over Lhakpa La,
+and be forced to make a hungry descent down the Rongbuk
+Valley. There would be no disaster in that event. The
+crucial matter was the condition of the climbers. Were
+we fit to push the adventure further? The situation, if<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[261]</a></span>
+any one of the whole party collapsed, would be extremely
+disagreeable, and all the worse if he should be one of the
+Sahibs, who were none too many to look after the coolies
+in case of mountaineering difficulties. Such a collapse I
+judged might well be the fate of one or other of us if we
+were to push our assault above Chang La to the limit of
+our strength. And what more were we likely to accomplish
+from a camp on Chang La? The second night had been
+no less windy than the first. Soon after the weather cleared
+the wind had been strong from North-west, and seemed
+each day to become more violent. The only signs of a change
+now pointed to no improvement, but rather to a heavy
+fall of snow&mdash;by no means an improbable event according
+to local lore. The arguments, in fact, were all on one side;
+it would be bad heroics to take wrong risks; and fairly
+facing the situation one could only admit the necessity of
+retreat.</p>
+
+<p>It may be added that the real weakness of the party
+became only too apparent in the course of our return journey
+over Lhakpa La on this final day; and it must be safe to
+say that none of the three climbers has ever felt a spasm of
+regret about the decision to go back or a moment's doubt as
+to its rightness. It was imposed upon us by circumstances
+without a reasonable alternative.</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes">
+
+<p style="text-indent: 0;">Footnote:</p>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_13_13" id="Footnote_13_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> I use this expression to denote not a state of intermittent vomiting,
+but simply one in which physical exertion exhausts the body abnormally
+and causes a remarkable disinclination to further exertion.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="hr65" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[262]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER XVI</h2>
+
+<p class="title"><span style="font-size: 150%">WEATHER AND CONDITION OF SNOW</span></p>
+
+<p>Without consulting the meteorologist at Simla it is
+difficult to accept assertions about the monsoon as ultimate
+truth. Beyond a general, rather vague, agreement as to
+what should normally be expected, opinions differ not a
+little as to the measure and frequency of divergences from
+the norm. And individuals who observe in one locality
+more or less than they hope or expect are apt to forget
+that their dearth or plenty may be elsewhere compensated
+by capricious incidence. Nevertheless it seems certain
+that this year's rainfall in North-east India was above the
+normal both in amount and duration. &ldquo;We had good rain,&rdquo;
+people said, and I was tempted to reply, &ldquo;We had bad
+snow.&rdquo; Travelling through India I frequently asked questions
+on this point, and almost invariably heard of an unusually
+bountiful rainfall, seldom of one which was merely sufficient.
+Inhabitants of Darjeeling, who have observed the hills in
+the changing seasons for many years, told me that it was
+almost unheard of that so much snow should fall in September
+and lie so low. The general tenor of such remarks may
+probably be applied to an area including not only Mount
+Everest itself and the great peaks in its neighbourhood,
+but also a considerable tract of country to the North. The
+monsoon, according to Tibetan information, started perhaps
+a little later than usual, but was still more late in coming
+to an end; the Tibetans ordinarily lie with an object,
+and there could be no object in deceiving us about the
+weather. It may be concluded the year was abnormally
+wet, though to what extent on Everest itself can hardly be
+divined.</p>
+
+<p>During our outward journey through Sikkim we saw<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[263]</a></span>
+nothing of the high peaks. It was not until the day of our
+march to Phari Dzong (May 28) that we had a clear view
+of the snows, and we had then the good fortune to see
+Chomolhari late in the morning. But Chomolhari and the
+range to the North of it were less visited by clouds than the
+peaks further South. Pawhunri, Kanchenjunga, Chomiomo
+were less often visible, and even at this early season we
+began to observe the usual habit of clouds to rise from the
+valleys or to form about the summits at an early hour, to
+be dissipated not before evening. The weather was not
+necessarily bad because the peaks were veiled. When we
+first saw Everest from Kampa Dzong on June 6, it was
+obscured some three hours after sunrise, but the weather
+seemed fine: and on two subsequent days we made the
+same observation. On June 13, from the hills above Shiling,
+Bullock and I were trying to make out the Everest group
+through glasses for about three hours. When first we looked
+in that direction, it appeared that a storm was in progress,
+with dark clouds drifting up from the West; but Kanchenjunga
+at the same time was a glorious sight, and all the
+mountains were clear before sunset. The most splendid of
+the distant views was from Ponglet on June 19: we were
+up our hill half an hour after sunrise and half an hour later
+there was nothing to be seen. There may have been malice
+in the clouds that day. It was radiantly fine where we were;
+but in the afternoon we came under the edge of a thunderstorm
+which drenched the main body of the Expedition as they
+were approaching Tingri; and there was a definite break
+in the weather at this time.</p>
+
+<p>I suppose this break may be taken as the forerunner
+of the monsoon on Mount Everest. Storms there may
+have been before; but, generally speaking, it had been
+fine over the mountains since the beginning of June, and
+though the evidence is slight enough it seems probable
+that Everest received little or no snow before June 20.
+When first we saw it, a few days later, from the Rongbuk
+Glacier, it was still comparatively black. It appeared a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[264]</a></span>
+rocky mass with a white arm to the right, some permanent
+snow on the ledges and in the gullies of the face turned
+Northwards in our direction and some snow again on the
+high North-east arête; but with no pretensions to be a
+snow-mountain, a real sugar-cake as it seemed afterwards
+to become. We were lucky in having a few fine days at
+the outset of our reconnaissance. The conditions then
+were very different from those which obtained later. The
+recent snow must have melted quickly; we found clean
+ice on an East-facing slope at 21,000 feet and also at a gentler
+angle on one facing West. On Ri-ring the slopes were
+generally covered with snow near the crest, thinly but
+sufficiently, or we should never have got up; near the
+summit we found ice on both sides, North and South. It
+is impossible to say up to what height one might have found
+ice in June. Appearances suggested that on all but the
+steepest slopes above 23,000 feet the surface was hard snow
+rather than ice.</p>
+
+<p>It was on the day following our ascent of Ri-ring, July 6,
+that we first experienced a real snowfall; and we woke
+next morning to find 3 or 4 inches covering the ground. In
+so far as an exact date can be ascribed to what is hardly a
+single event, July 6&ndash;7 may be taken as the beginning of
+the monsoon. We imagined at first that this snowfall was
+an important matter, sufficient to prevent climbing at any
+considerable height for several days. But from subsequent
+observations we came to treat such snowfalls with a certain
+degree of contempt. It was more often than not the case
+during the whole of July until the date of our departure
+that snow fell during the day&mdash;sometimes perhaps for a
+comparatively short period between noon and sunset, not
+seldom for many hours, intermittently during the day from
+the middle of the morning, and continuing into the night.
+But it was often so far as we were concerned a harmless
+phenomenon. Snow was precipitated from clouds so thin
+that they were easily penetrated by the sun's heat; it
+melted where it lay, and the moisture so readily evaporated<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[265]</a></span>
+that the snow had hardly stopped falling before the ground
+was dry. One might suppose that a few hundred feet higher,
+where the snow could be seen to lie where it fell, the effects
+would be more severe; but it was remarkable after half a
+day's unceasing precipitation of this fine granular snow
+that one might go up early next morning, perhaps to
+20,000 feet, and find no more than a thin covering of 2 or
+3 inches on the stones.</p>
+
+<p>In saying that this sort of weather was harmless, I am
+not denying that it hindered our operations; but from
+the point of view merely of the climber it was remarkably
+innocuous. A case in point is our ascent of Ri-ring. As
+we were nearing the summit a thunderstorm gathered to
+the North and dark clouds came up on every hand, threatening
+a violent disturbance. I have related in an earlier chapter
+how we hurried down, expecting at the least a cold unpleasant
+wind and some nasty snow showers; but the air remained
+calm and the temperature warm and such grains of snow
+as fell were hardly remarked in our flight. A more disagreeable
+experience was our first journey to the col from which
+we afterwards looked into the West Cwm of Everest; we
+reached the pass in the teeth of a wind which drove the
+snow into our faces; but the weather had no real sting,
+and the wind, though cold, seemed to touch us lightly.
+Wind, in fact, was never an enemy to be feared during the
+whole period of the monsoon, and snowstorms, though they
+prevented more than one expedition, never turned us back.
+The delays in our reconnaissance caused by bad weather
+were of course considerable; we were forced to push our
+camps higher than would have otherwise been necessary,
+and often found ourselves hurrying after a start before dawn
+in a desperate race with the clouds to reach a view-point
+before the view had disappeared. And the precipitation of
+snow on the glaciers forced us invariably to wear snow-shoes
+on <ins title="nevé">névé</ins>, and consequently limited the numbers in our
+parties.</p>
+
+<p>I have already alluded to a more serious snowfall which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[266]</a></span>
+took place from July 20 to 25. Another occurred during
+the first days of August and another again on August 20
+and 21, when snow came down below 16,000 feet. In
+September, towards the end of the monsoon, the weather
+was more monotonously malicious and the snowfall tended
+to be heavier; I find two heavy falls noted particularly
+in my diary. But on the whole it was the habit of snow
+to fall lightly. It is remarkable, when one calls to mind
+such a big snowfall as may occur during the climbing season
+in the Alps before the weather is resolved to be fine, how
+little snow by comparison fell on any one day in the region
+of Mount Everest. And perhaps in the end the slopes were
+more laden by the smaller precipitations which deposited
+a daily accretion.</p>
+
+<p>We naturally sought an answer to the interminable
+query as to how much melting took place at the highest
+altitudes. Melting of course was always quicker on rocks.
+But even on the glaciers it was remarkably rapid whenever
+the sun shone brightly, and we were more than once surprised
+after a period of cloudy weather with constant snow showers
+to find how much the snow had consolidated. It seemed
+to us on more than one occasion that while snow had been
+falling at our camps and on the lower peaks, Everest itself
+must have escaped. But, generally speaking, after July 6
+the mountain was remarkably white and became increasingly
+whiter, and only at the least two perfectly fine days, which
+rarely came together, made any perceptible difference.
+It was remarkable how little ice was ever observable on
+the steep Eastern face, where one would expect to see icicles
+hanging about the rocks. It is my own impression for what
+it is worth, and its value I fear is small, that though snow
+will melt readily enough low down, at least up to 23,000 feet
+during the warmer weather even on cloudy days, at greater
+altitudes, perhaps above 25,000 feet, it rarely melts even
+in bright sunshine. In September this year I doubt if it
+melted at all above 23,000 feet after the weather cleared.
+At lower elevations the direction and angle of the slope<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[267]</a></span>
+made all the difference. After one fine day the snow on a
+steep East slope had solidified to a remarkable degree at
+about 20,000 feet; on a North-facing slope at a similar
+elevation it had been quite unaffected; on flat surfaces
+1,000 feet higher a perceptible crust had formed, but
+the snow remained powdery below it as on the day when
+it fell. After three and four fine days the snowy surface
+of a glacier was absolutely hard at about 20,000 feet and
+remained solid in the afternoon. Fifteen hundred feet
+higher we were breaking a hard crust and sinking in a foot
+or more. This condition may have been partly due to the
+local behaviour of clouds, which were apt to cling about a
+ridge overlooking the glacier and cast a shadow on this
+part of it. But higher, on more open ground, we met the
+same condition; and again the slopes facing North preserved
+a powdery snow which never changed before it was blown
+down in avalanches. Perhaps the most convincing phenomena
+were the powdery snow high up on the Eastern slopes under
+the North col and the snow on the Western slopes at a
+similar elevation under Lhakpa La, which was hardly more
+solid, while 1,000 feet lower we found excellent snow.
+It is difficult to resist the conclusion that altitude is a
+determining factor in the sun's power of melting. It is
+possible that a line might always be drawn on any given
+day above which the temperature of the air is too cold for
+snow to melt where it has fallen on snow, and another to
+meet the case where it covers rocks. From our all too
+limited observations in June I should judge that in the
+middle of summer such imaginary lines would be above the
+height of Everest, but in other and cooler seasons we should
+quickly find them lower and a long way below the summit.</p>
+
+<p>In close connection with the snow's melting we had to
+consider the possibility of avalanches. Our observations
+on this head were so meagre that I can only make with
+the greatest diffidence a few statements about them. It is
+astonishing to reflect how seldom we either saw or heard
+an avalanche, or even noticed the débris of one under steep<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[268]</a></span>
+slopes which had been laden with snow. Only on two
+occasions, I believe, were we confronted in practice with
+the question as to whether a slope could safely be crossed.
+The first was on August 7 in ascending the peak Carpo-ri,
+of which I have previously made mention. The heavy
+snowfall at the beginning of the month had ceased during
+the night August 4&ndash;5; the following days had been warm
+but cloudy, and on both there had been prolonged snow
+showers of the lighter sort in the afternoon and evening.
+On the night of August 6 we had hard frost at 17,500 feet,
+and there was a considerable sprinkling of fresh snow on
+the stones of the moraine. Between the col and the summit
+we met some very steep snow slopes on the South side:
+we carried no clinometer and I shall not venture to estimate
+their angles of inclination. It was on this occasion, as I
+have narrated, that in crossing a shallow scoop I was very
+much afraid of an avalanche, but was able to choose a safe
+line where we were protected and helped by an island of
+rocks. The snow here was inclined to be powdery; but it
+had solidified in some degree and, where we had to tread
+it, adhered sufficiently to the slope so as to give one a distinct
+confidence that it would not slide off wherever it might be
+crossed. Above this place we were able to avoid danger
+by following an edge where the snow was not so deep; but
+here again I noticed with surprise the adhesion between
+new snow and old. The ice below was not solid and smooth,
+but frothy and rough, and easily penetrated by a strong
+blow of the axe; it seemed to have been formed very quickly.
+The snow showed no inclination to slide off, though it was
+not of the substance in which a secure step could be made:
+and I concluded that the process of assimilation between
+the old surface and the new snow must proceed very rapidly
+whenever the temperature was warm enough. On the final
+slope, which was even steeper, more snow was lying&mdash;it
+was a more powdery substance: I was able again to escape
+danger on an edge dividing two faces; but it was surprising
+that no avalanche had already taken place and that the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[269]</a></span>
+snow contrived to stay where it was.</p>
+
+<p>The other occasion when we had to face and determine
+the possibility of an avalanche was in traversing the slopes
+to the North Col. Here our feet undoubtedly found a solid
+bed to tread upon, but the substance above it was dubiously
+loose. It was my conviction at the time that with axes
+well driven in above us we were perfectly safe here. But
+on the way down we observed a space of 5 yards or so where
+the surface snow had slid away below our tracks. The
+disquieting thoughts that necessarily followed this discovery
+left and still leave me in some doubt as to how great a risk,
+if any, we were actually taking. But it is natural to suppose
+that at a higher elevation or in a cooler season, because
+the snow adheres less rapidly to the slopes on which it lies,
+an avalanche of new snow is more likely to occur.</p>
+
+<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="smcap">Temperature</span></p>
+
+<p>Before attempting to draw conclusions as to the relative
+chances of finding favourable conditions between one month
+and another, a few words must be said about temperature.</p>
+
+<p>So far as the temperature of the air was concerned, we
+experienced no severe cold and suffered no hardships from
+first to last. I do not mean to affirm that it was always
+warm. We welcomed frost at nights as one does in the
+Alps. One night so early as July 18, in a camp above
+19,000 feet, was exceptionally cold. At our two last camps
+in September the thermometer went down to two or three
+degrees below zero (Fahr.) and the wind at the final camp
+made it more difficult to keep warm; with as little protection
+as the coolies had, I should no doubt have shivered in my
+tent. The air also seemed very cold before sunrise on
+September 20, though we were walking fast; but it did not
+bite the tip of my nose or ears or cause any disagreeable result.
+In general it may be said that there could be no difficulty
+in providing equipment against any cold we encountered.
+Heat was a much more dangerous enemy, as I indicated
+in describing our first ascent to Lhakpa La. Personally<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[270]</a></span>
+I never felt the sun's power on my head, but I felt it on
+my back so early as 8 a.m. as a definite attack on my energy
+and vital power, and more than once, though the sun was
+not shining, in crossing a glacier late in the day I was reduced
+from a state of alert activity to one of heavy lassitude.</p>
+
+<p>The temperature of the snow is another consideration
+of very great importance. Even in July I felt the snow
+to be cold in the middle of the day towards the summit
+of Ri-ring, and when wearing snow-shoes in fresh snow
+under 20,000 feet coolies and all felt the cold in their feet.
+Later I apprehended a real danger from this source. The
+coolies were encouraged to anoint their feet with whale
+oil, and we avoided accident and even complaint: but I
+always admired their resistance to cold. Personally, though
+I am not particularly a cold-footed person, I took the
+precaution of wearing two pairs of long socks which were
+both new and thick, and a third from which, unfortunately,
+the toes had to be amputated owing to the timid miscalculation
+of my bootmaker: this equipment sufficed and I found
+my feet perfectly warm, while one of my companions was
+obliged to pull off a boot in order to restore circulation,
+and the other went on with numb feet and barely escaped
+frost-bite. And I must again emphasise the fact that this
+was on an Eastern slope well warmed by the sun in the
+middle of the morning and at an altitude no higher than
+about 22,500 feet. It may readily be concluded that
+forethought and care are in no respect more necessary than in
+guarding against frozen feet among a large party at the highest
+altitudes. And the difficulty of guarding against this danger
+might well determine the limits at either end of the warmest
+weather within which an assault should be launched on Everest
+itself or any one of the half-dozen or so highest peaks.</p>
+
+<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="smcap">The Best Season for Climbing</span></p>
+
+<p>It will hardly be doubtful from the whole tendency of
+my preceding remarks about weather and conditions that
+my opinion inclines decisively to the earlier rather than<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[271]</a></span>
+the later season as offering the best chances of climbing
+Mount Everest. We cannot of course assume that because
+September was a bad month this year it will always be a
+bad month. But supposing the monsoon were to end
+punctually and a fair spell to have set in by the first day of
+September&mdash;even then it appears to me improbable that
+the fresh snow fallen during the monsoon would sufficiently
+melt near the top of the mountain two and a half months
+after midsummer. As to the prospects of wind, we can
+only be content with the statement that in this particular
+year the wind after the end of the monsoon would alone
+have defeated even the most determined attempt to reach
+the summit. A wind strong enough to blow up the snow
+must always, I believe, prevent an ascent. A superman
+might perhaps be found, but never a party of men whose
+endurance at high altitudes would warrant the risk of
+exhaustion in struggling for long hours against such adverse
+circumstances. For the earlier season it may be said again,
+as a simple observation upon which little enough can be
+built, that the appearance of the clouds before the monsoon
+did not suggest wind, but rather a calm air on the summit.
+What precisely the conditions may be, for instance, in May
+and June, 1922, or what we ought normally to expect, cannot
+be determined with certainty. Will the whole of the snow
+fallen during the monsoon of 1921 have melted before the
+next <ins title="moonsoon">monsoon</ins>, and if so by what date? Will the amount of
+snow on the mountain be the same in June, 1922, as twelve
+months before? Or will black and white appear in altered
+proportions? And if the snow has melted, where will ice
+be found? It might well be that under the North Col all
+the steeper slopes will have lost their snow. And what of
+the final arête? One conjecture seems as good as another,
+and the experience of more travelled mountaineers will
+suggest the most probable answer to these questions with
+an instinct less fallible than mine. Nevertheless, I think it
+may be said that the chances are all in favour of the earlier
+season. We know, for instance, about this year that snow<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[272]</a></span>
+must have melted since the last monsoon and actually was
+melting fast in June, but the summer's snow does not always
+melt before the winter&mdash;not this year, for instance: the
+chances, therefore, of finding it melted in June are better
+than those of finding it melted in September. It may be
+contended that it might then have melted too much so that
+a party would find ice where they would wish to find snow.
+But one must prefer the lesser of two evils. Ice is far from
+an insuperable obstacle on Mount Everest; almost anywhere
+above Chang La crampons would overcome it: but powdery
+snow, in case the snow has melted too little, is a deadly
+handicap. Finally, the earlier is the warmer season with
+less danger to vulnerable feet and requiring a lighter equipment.</p>
+
+<hr class="hr65" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[273]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER XVII</h2>
+
+<p class="title"><span style="font-size: 150%">THE ROUTE TO THE SUMMIT</span></p>
+
+<p>The reader who has carefully followed the preceding
+story will hardly have failed to notice that the route which
+has been chosen as the only one offering reasonable chances
+of success remains still very largely a matter of speculation.
+But the reconnaissance, unless it were actually to reach
+the summit, was obliged to leave much unproved, and its
+value must depend upon observations in various sorts and
+not merely upon the practice of treading the snow and rocks.
+Speculation in this case is founded upon experience of certain
+phenomena and a study of the mountain's features; and
+it is by relating what has been only seen with known facts
+that inferences have been drawn.</p>
+
+<p>It may perhaps be accounted a misfortune that the
+party of 1921 did not approach Chang La by the East Rongbuk
+Glacier. The Lhakpa La proved a bigger obstacle than
+was expected. But in conditions such as we hope to find
+before the monsoon, this way would have much to recommend
+it. It avoids all laborious walking on a dry glacier, and
+with hard snow the walk up to the pass from the camp on
+stones at 20,000 feet should not be unduly fatiguing. Still
+the fact remains that the descent from the Lhakpa La on
+to the East Rongbuk Glacier is not less than 1,200 feet.
+Would it not be better to follow up this glacier from the
+Rongbuk Valley? The absence of wood on this side need
+not deter the party of 1922. For them plenty of time will
+be available sufficiently to provide their base with fuel,
+and the sole consideration should be the easiest line of
+approach; and though no one has traversed the whole
+length of the East Rongbuk Glacier, enough is known to
+choose this way with confidence. Here, as on other glaciers<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[274]</a></span>
+which we saw, the difficulties clearly lie below the limit of
+perpetual snow, and the greater part of them were avoided
+or solved by Major Wheeler, who found a practicable way
+on to the middle of the glacier at about 19,000 feet, and
+felt certain that the medial moraine ahead of him would
+serve for an ascent and be no more arduous than the moraines
+of the West Rongbuk Glacier had proved to be. The view
+of this way from the Lhakpa La confirmed his opinion, and
+though it may be called a speculation to choose it, whereas
+the way from the East has been established by experiment,
+it is a fair inference from experience to conclude that the
+untraversed section of the East Rongbuk Glacier, a distance
+which could be accomplished very easily in one march if all
+went well, will afford a simple approach to Chang La.</p>
+
+<p>The Eastern wall, about 1,000 feet high, by which the
+gap itself must be reached, can never be lightly esteemed.
+Here reconnaissance has forged a link. But those who
+reached the col were not laden with tents and stores; and
+on another occasion the conditions may be different. There
+may be the danger of an avalanche or the difficulty of ice.
+From what we saw this year before the monsoon had brought
+a heavy snowfall it is by no means improbable that ice will
+be found at the end of May on the steepest slope below
+Chang La. In that case much labour will be required to
+hew and keep in repair a staircase, and perhaps fix a banister,
+so that the laden coolies, not all of whom will be competent
+ice-men, may be brought up in safety.</p>
+
+<p>The summit of Mount Everest is about 6,000 feet above
+Chang La; the distance is something like 2½ miles and
+the whole of it is unexplored. What grounds have we for
+thinking that the mountaineering difficulties will not prove
+insuperable, that in so far as mere climbing is concerned
+the route is practicable? Two factors, generally speaking,
+have to be considered: the nature of the ground and the
+general angle of inclination. Where the climber is confined
+to a narrow crest and can find no way to circumvent an
+obstacle, a very small tower or wall, a matter of 20 feet,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[275]</a></span>
+may bar his progress. There the general angle may be
+what it likes: the important matter for him is that the
+angle is too steep in a particular place. But on a mountain's
+face where his choice is not limited to a strict and narrow
+way, the general angle is of primary importance: if it is
+sufficiently gentle, the climber will find that he may wander
+almost where he will to avoid the steeper places. Long
+before we reached Chang La Mr.&nbsp;Bullock and I were fairly
+well convinced that the slope from here to the North-east
+Shoulder was sufficiently gentle and that the nature of the
+ill-defined ridge connecting these two points was not such
+as to limit the choice of route to a narrow line. Looking up
+from the North Col, we learnt nothing more about the angles.
+The view, however, was not without value; it amply
+confirmed our opinion as to the character of what lay ahead
+of us. The ridge is not a crest; its section is a wide and
+rounded angle. It is not decorated by pinnacles, it does
+not rise in steps. It presents a smooth continuous way,
+and whether the rocks are still covered with powdery snow,
+or only slightly sprinkled and for the most part bare, the
+party of 1922 should be able to go up a long way at all events
+without meeting any serious obstacle. It may not prove a
+perfectly simple matter actually to reach the North-east
+arête above the shoulder at about 28,000 feet. The angle
+becomes steeper towards this arête. But even in the last
+section below it, the choice of a way should not be
+inconveniently restricted. On the right of the ascending
+party will be permanent snow on various sloping ledges,
+an easy alternative to rocks if the snow is found in good
+condition, and always offering a <ins title="détour">detour</ins> by which to avoid
+an obstacle.</p>
+
+<p>From the North-east Shoulder to the summit of
+the mountain the way is not so smooth. The rise is
+only 1,000 feet in a distance of half a mile, but the first part
+of the crest is distinctly jagged by several towers and the
+last part is steep. Much will depend upon the possibility
+of escaping from the crest to avoid the obstacles and of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[276]</a></span>
+regaining it easily. The South-east side (left going up) is
+terribly steep, and it will almost certainly be out of the
+question to traverse there. But the sloping snow-covered
+ledges on the North-west may serve very well; the difficulty
+about them is their tendency to be horizontal in direction
+and to diverge from the arête where it slopes upwards, so
+that a party which had followed one in preference to the
+crest might find themselves cut off by a cliff running across
+the face above them. But one way or another I think it
+should be possible with the help of such ledges to reach the
+final obstacle. The summit itself is like the thin end of a
+wedge thrust up from the mass in which it is embedded.
+The edge of it, with the highest point at the far end, can
+only be reached from the North-east by climbing a steep
+blunt edge of snow. The height of this final obstacle must
+be fully 200 feet. Mr.&nbsp;Bullock and I examined it often
+through our field-glasses, and though it did not appear
+insuperable, whatever our point of view, it never looked
+anything but steep.</p>
+
+<hr class="hr45" />
+
+<p>To determine whether it is humanly possible to climb
+to the summit of Mount Everest or what may be the chances
+of success in such an undertaking, other factors besides
+the mere mountaineering difficulties have to be considered.
+It is at least probable that the obstacles presented by this
+mountain could be overcome by any competent party if
+they met them in the Alps. But it is a very different matter
+to be confronted with such obstacles at elevations between
+23,000 and 29,000 feet. We do not know that it is
+physiologically possible at such high altitudes for the human
+body to make the efforts required to lift itself up even on
+the simplest ground. The condition of the party of 1921
+in September during the days of the Assault cannot be taken
+as evidence that the feat is impossible. The long periods
+spent in high camps and the tax of many exhausting
+expeditions had undoubtedly reduced the physical efficiency<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[277]</a></span>
+of Sahibs and coolies alike. The party of 1922, on the other
+hand, will presumably choose for their attempt a time when
+the climbers are at the top of their form and their powers
+will depend on the extent of their adaptability to the condition
+of high altitude. Nothing perhaps was so astonishing in
+the party of reconnaissance as the rapidity with which they
+became acclimatised and capable of great exertions between
+18,000 and 21,000 feet. Where is the limit of this process?
+Will the multiplication of red corpuscles continue so that
+men may become acclimatised much higher? There is
+evidence enough to show that they may exist comfortably
+enough, eating and digesting hearty meals and retaining a
+feeling of vitality and energy up to 23,000 feet. It may be
+that, after two or three days quietly spent at this height,
+the body would sufficiently adjust itself to endure the still
+greater difference from normal atmospheric pressure 6,000 feet
+higher. At all events, a practical test can alone provide the
+proof in such a case. Experiments carried out in a laboratory
+by putting a man into a sealed chamber and reducing the
+pressure say to half an atmosphere, valuable as they may
+be when related to the experiences of airmen, can establish
+nothing for mountaineers; for they leave out of account
+the all-important physiological factor of acclimatisation.
+But in any case it is to be expected that efforts above
+23,000 feet will be more exhausting than those at lower
+elevations; and it may well be that the nature of the ground
+will turn the scale against the climber. For him it is all
+important that he should be able to breathe regularly, the
+demand upon his lungs along the final arête cannot fail to
+be a terrible strain, and anything like a tussle up some steep
+obstacle which would interfere with the regularity of his
+breathing might prove to be an ordeal beyond his strength.</p>
+
+<p>As a way out of these difficulties of breathing, the use
+of oxygen has often been recommended and experiments
+were made by Dr.&nbsp;Kellas,<a name="FNanchor_14_14" id="FNanchor_14_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a> which will be continued in 1922.</p>
+
+<p>Even so there will remain the difficulty of establishing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[278]</a></span>
+one or perhaps two camps above Chang La (23,000 feet).
+It is by no means certain that any place exists above this
+point on which tents could be pitched. Perhaps the party
+will manage without tents, but no great economy of weight
+will be effected that way; those who sleep out at an elevation
+of 25,000 or 26,000 feet will have to be bountifully provided
+with warm things. Probably about fifteen, or at least
+twelve loads will have to be carried up from Chang La.
+It is not expected that oxygen will be available for this
+purpose, and the task, whatever organisation is provided,
+will be severe, possibly beyond the limits of human strength.</p>
+
+<p>Further, another sort of difficulty will jeopardise the
+chances of success. It might be possible for two men to
+struggle somehow to the summit, disregarding every other
+consideration. It is a different matter to climb the mountain
+as mountaineers would have it climbed. Principles, time-honoured
+in the Alpine Club, must of course be respected
+in the ascent of Mount Everest. The party must keep a
+margin of safety. It is not to be a mad enterprise rashly
+pushed on regardless of danger. The ill-considered acceptance
+of any and every risk has no part in the essence of persevering
+courage. A mountaineering enterprise may keep sanity and
+sound judgment and remain an adventure. And of all
+principles by which we hold the first is that of mutual help.
+What is to be done for a man who is sick or abnormally
+exhausted at these high altitudes? His companions must
+see to it that he is taken down at the first opportunity and
+with an adequate escort; and the obligation is the same
+whether he be Sahib or coolie; if we ask a man to carry
+our loads up the mountain we must care for his welfare at
+need. It may be taken for granted that such need will
+arise and will interfere very seriously with any organisation
+however ingeniously and carefully it may be arranged.</p>
+
+<hr class="hr45" />
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/img_278.jpg" width="600" height="375"
+        alt="see caption"
+        title="see caption" />
+        <a id="img_278"></a>
+<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Mount Everest</span><br />
+from the 20,000 foot camp&mdash;wind blowing snow off the mountain.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>In all it may be said that one factor beyond all others
+is required for success. Too many chances are against the
+climbers; too many contingencies may turn against them.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[279]</a></span>
+Anything like a breakdown of the transport will be fatal;
+soft snow on the mountain will be an impregnable defence;
+a big wind will send back the strongest; even so small a
+matter as a boot fitting a shade too tight may endanger
+one man's foot and involve the whole party in retreat. The
+climbers must have above all things, if they are to win through,
+good fortune, and the greatest good fortune of all for
+mountaineers, some constant spirit of kindness in Mount
+Everest itself, the forgetfulness for long enough of its more
+cruel moods; for we must remember that the highest of
+mountains is capable of severity, a severity so awful and so
+fatal that the wiser sort of men do well to think and tremble
+even on the threshold of their high endeavour.</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes">
+
+<p style="text-indent: 0;">Footnote:</p>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_14_14" id="Footnote_14_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_14"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> See <i>Geographical Journal.</i></p></div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="hr65" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[281]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="title"><span style="font-size: 200%">NATURAL HISTORY</span><br /><br />
+
+<span style="font-size: 125%"><span class="smcap">By</span> A. F. R. WOLLASTON</span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER XVIII</h2>
+
+<p class="title"><span style="font-size: 150%">AN EXCURSION TO NYENYAM AND LAPCHE KANG</span></p>
+
+<p>By a liberal interpretation of the expression &ldquo;Mount
+Everest&rdquo; we considered it necessary to explore the
+surrounding country as far as a hundred miles or more from
+the mountain, East, North and South; in all directions,
+that is, excepting toward the forbidden territory of Nepal.
+So it happened one day in July that Major Morshead and I,
+already nearly fifty miles from Everest, set out in a
+South-westerly direction, he anxious to add a few hundred
+square miles of new country to his map, and I intent on
+animals and plants. Our way lay across the Tingri Plain
+to Langkor, both names famous in the annals of Tibetan
+Buddhism. The following story was told us by an old monk
+in the monastery at Langkor:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>Many generations ago there was born in the Indian village
+of Pulahari a child named Tamba Sangay. When he grew
+into a youth he became restless and dissatisfied with his
+native place, so he went to visit the Lord Buddha and asked
+him what he should do. The Lord Buddha told him that
+he must take a stone and throw it far, and where the stone
+fell there he should spend his life. So Tamba Sangay took
+a rounded stone and threw it far, so that no one saw where
+it fell. Many months he sought in vain until he passed
+over the Hills into Tibet, and there he came to a place where,
+although it was winter, was a large black space bare of snow.
+The people told him that the cattle walked round and round<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[282]</a></span>
+in that space to keep it clear from snow, and in the middle
+of it was a rounded stone. So Tamba Sangay knew that
+the stone was his, and there he made a cell and dwelt until
+he was taken on wings to Heaven. And the place is called
+Langkor, which means &ldquo;the cattle go round,&rdquo; to this day.
+The people for many miles about had heard the stone as it
+came flying over the Hills from India; it made a whistling
+sound like <i>Ting</i>, so the country came to be called Tingri, the
+Hill of the Ting.</p>
+
+<p>We visited the Langkor monastery and saw the casket
+in which the stone of Tamba Sangay is kept, only to be opened
+once a year by a high dignitary from Lhasa. Close by
+was a fair-sized river, the bridge over which had been
+carried away by a recent flood. The greater part of the
+population was busily engaged in repairing the bridge, to the
+accompaniment at frequent intervals of hideous blasts on a
+large conch-shell: this, we were told, was to keep the rain
+away and stop the floods. Rain fell heavily in spite of the
+noise, but the bridge was finished before nightfall.</p>
+
+<p>On the following day we had a long pull of many miles
+up to the Thung La, a pass of 18,000 feet, from which we
+had hoped for fine views over the surrounding country. A
+driving storm of snow blotted out the views and covered
+the ground, so that nothing was to be seen but little clumps,
+a few inches high, of poppies of the most heavenly blue.
+Going down the steep track beyond the pass I was stopped
+by hearing the unfamiliar note of a bird, so it seemed: the
+cry was almost exactly that of a female peregrine when its
+eyrie has been disturbed, but coming from a labyrinth of
+fallen rocks it could not be. Tracking the note from one
+rock to another, I came suddenly within a few yards of a
+large marmot, which sat up and waved her tail at me; she
+called again and two half-grown young ones appeared close
+by; then all dived into a burrow. These marmots are
+larger and far less timid of mankind than the marmots of
+the Alps.</p>
+
+<p>A few miles below the pass the valley widened into an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[283]</a></span>
+almost level bottom of half a mile or more, with steep bare
+limestone hills on either side. Here and there were small
+hamlets, where the inhabitants used the water of the river
+to irrigate their fields of barley and of blazing golden mustard,
+whose sweetness scented the valley in the sunshine. Like
+most of the butter, which is made in vast quantities in
+Southern Tibet, the mustard seed produces oil for monastery
+lamps. At one place we came across a spring, almost a
+fountain, bubbling out of the foothill, of clearest sparkling
+mineral water that would be the envy of Bath or of
+Marienbad; in a few yards it had become a racing stream a
+dozen feet in width.</p>
+
+<p>Four days of leisurely walking down the valley brought
+us to the village of Nyenyam, where the whole population,
+a most unpleasant-looking crowd of four or five hundred
+people, came out to stare at us. A few only were Tibetans;
+the majority were obviously of Indian origin, calling
+themselves Nepalese, but without any of the distinctive
+features of that race. We had received some weeks earlier
+a cordial invitation from the Jongpens of Nyenyam to visit
+the place, and we were accordingly much disappointed to
+find that no person of authority came out to welcome us.
+A Jongpen, it should be said, is an official appointed by
+the Lhasa authorities to administer a district and collect
+revenues: in a place of any importance, as at Nyenyam,
+there are often two, the idea being that one will keep an eye
+on the other and prevent him from over-enriching himself.
+We visited these worthies, whom we found dressed in priceless
+Chinese silk gowns and cultivating the extreme fashion of
+long nails on all their fingers, in strange contrast to the squalor
+and dilapidation of their dwelling, and were annoyed to find
+that they denied all knowledge of the invitation. The
+bearer of the message was produced and lied manfully in
+their cause; the name of Nyenyam was not, as it happened,
+mentioned in our passport, and we were made to look
+somewhat foolish. Finally the Jongpens said (with their
+tongues in their cheeks and reminding us of a vulgar song)<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[284]</a></span>
+that they were very glad to see us, but they hoped that we
+would go. They then went out of their way to give us false
+information about the local passes and made our prolonged
+stay in the place impossible by discouraging the traders from
+dealing with us.<a name="FNanchor_15_15" id="FNanchor_15_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a></p>
+
+<p>Nyenyam, though more squalid and evil-smelling than
+any place in my experience, is of some importance as being
+the last Tibetan town before the frontier of Nepal is reached.
+It is well placed on a level terrace above the junction of the
+Pö Chu with an almost equally big river flowing from the
+glaciers of the great mountain mass of Gosainthan.
+Immediately below the town the river enters the stupendous
+gorge that cuts through the heart of the Himalaya to the
+more open country of Nepal, 8,000 feet below. To the West
+of Nyenyam rises a great range of mountains culminating
+in the beautiful peaks of Gosainthan, which we had hoped
+to visit, and somewhere to the East lay the mysterious
+sacred mountain of Lapche Kang. Our friends the Jongpens
+assured us that there was no direct route to Lapche, that we
+must go back the way by which we had come, and so on;
+but we were weary of their obstructions and made up our
+minds to find a way to the holy places.</p>
+
+<p>So far our transport animals had been the yak, or the
+cross-bred ox-yak, a stronger beast; we were now going
+through country where only coolies could carry loads. We
+retraced our steps a few miles up the valley to a village ruled
+over by a friendly woman, the widow of the late headman.
+True, she demanded for the coolies an exorbitant wage, which
+we cut down by about a half, but she pressed into our service
+every able-bodied person in the neighbourhood, young and
+old, men and women. They have a fair and simple way
+of apportioning the loads. All Tibetans, men and women
+alike, wear long rope-soled boots with woollen cloth tops
+extending toward the knee, where they are secured by garters,
+long strips of narrow woven cloth. When all the loads are<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[285]</a></span>
+ready, each person takes off one garter and gives it to the
+headman, who shuffles them well and in his turn hands them
+over to some neutral person who knows not the ownership
+of the garters. He lays one on the top of each load, and
+whose garter it is must carry the load without any further
+talk. It is amusing to watch the excitement in their faces
+as the garters are dealt out, and to hear the shrieks of delight
+of the lucky ones and the groans of the less fortunate. It
+makes one feel weak and ashamed to see a small girl of
+apparently no more than fourteen years shouldering a huge
+tent or an unwieldy box, until one remembers that they
+begin to carry almost as soon as they can walk and are
+accustomed to far heavier loads than ever they carry for us.</p>
+
+<p>Our path led us up a steep side-valley from the Pö Chu,
+ascending over a vast moraine to the foot of a small glacier
+about two miles in length. Here I saw a rare sight: a
+Lämmergeier (bearded vulture) came sailing down in wide
+circles and settled on the ice barely a hundred paces from
+us, where he began to peck at something&mdash;a dead hare
+perhaps, but it was impossible to see or to approach nearer
+over the crevasses. The Lämmergeier, vulture though it is,
+is one of the noblest birds in flight that may be seen: hardly
+a day passes in the high mountains without one or more
+swooping down to look at you, sometimes so near that you
+can see his beard and gleaming eye; but to see one on the
+ground is rare indeed. The long-tailed aeroplane at a very
+great height resembles the Lämmergeier more than any other
+bird.</p>
+
+<p>We struggled up the glacier, inches deep in soft new
+snow, crossed crevasses by means of rotten planks which
+gravely offended our mountaineering sense, and came through
+dense fog to our pass at its head. Here began the sacred
+mountain of Lapche Kang, and on the rocks beside the pass,
+and on many of the pinnacles high up above the pass as well,
+were cairns of stones supporting little reed-stemmed flags
+of prayers. Some of our party had brought up from below
+such little flags, which they planted where their fancy<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[286]</a></span>
+prompted. As we went down on the other side we came to
+countless little &ldquo;chortens,&rdquo; miniature temples, and, where
+the ground was level for a space, to long walls of stones,
+each one inscribed with the universal Buddhist prayer <span class="smcap">om
+mani padme hum.</span></p>
+
+<p>Yaks are most satisfactory beasts of burden; if their pace
+is slow&mdash;it is seldom more than two miles an hour&mdash;they go
+with hardly a halt, cropping a tuft of grass here and there,
+until daylight fails. But the Tibetan coolie is of quite
+another nature; he (or she) starts off gaily enough in the
+morning, but very soon he is glad to stop for a gossip or to
+alter the trim of his load, and then it is time to drink tea, and
+again at every convenient halting-place more tea, not the
+liquid that we are accustomed to drink, but a curious mixture
+of powdered brick-tea, salt, soda and butter, of a better taste
+than one would suppose. So on this occasion it was long
+after noon when we had crossed the pass, and when the day
+began to fade in a drenching cloud of rain, the Tibetans
+found shelter in some caves, and persuaded us to camp. An
+uneven space among rocks just held our tents; we dined
+off the fragrant smoke of green rhododendron and soaking
+juniper, and we slept (if at all) to the roar of boulders rolling
+in the torrent-bed a few feet from where we lay.</p>
+
+<p>But it was well that we had not stumbled on in the dark.
+In the morning light we walked over grassy &ldquo;alps&rdquo; still
+yellow with sweet-scented primulas, and the steep sides of
+the narrowing valley below were bright with roses, pink and
+white spiræas, yellow berberis and many other flowers.
+Soon it became evident that we were approaching a place of
+more than ordinary holiness; every stone had its prayer-flag,
+and the tops of trees, which began to appear here, were also
+decorated. Great boulders were defaced with the familiar
+words engraven on them in letters many feet in height. In
+a little while we came to a small wooden hut filled from
+floor to roof with thousands of little flags brought there by
+pilgrims; the posts and lintel of the door were smeared with
+dabs of butter, and the crevices of the walls were filled with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[287]</a></span>
+little bunches of fresh-cut flowers. Outside was a rude altar
+made of stones from the river-bed, where a Lama was burning
+incense and chanting prayers.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/img_286.jpg" width="600" height="354"
+        alt="see caption"
+        title="see caption" />
+        <a id="img_286"></a>
+<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Temple at Lapche Kang.</span></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>We passed through the village, a tiny hamlet of a dozen
+houses, and came to the celebrated temple of Lapche. A
+square stone wall, about 60 yards each way, on the inner
+side of which are sheds to shelter pilgrims, encloses a roughly
+paved courtyard where stands the temple, a plain square
+building of stone with a pagoda-like roof surmounted by a
+burnished copper ornament. There is nothing remarkable
+about the temple excepting the hundred and more prayer
+wheels set in the wall at a convenient height for the pilgrims
+to turn as they walk round the building. Inside are countless
+Buddhas, the usual smell of smoky butter-lamps, and an
+effigy of the saint. The whole place is dirty and dishevelled,
+in the supposed care of one old woman and a monk, and
+nobody would believe that this is one of the most famous
+places in the country and that every year hundreds of
+Buddhists from India and from all parts of Tibet make
+pilgrimage to it.</p>
+
+<p>Mila Respa, poet and saint and (it is said) a Tibetan
+incarnation of Buddha, spent his earthly life in this mountain
+valley, living under rocks and in caves, where the faithful
+may see his footprints even now. He seems to have been
+not lacking in a sense of humour. He was walking with a
+disciple on the mountain one day, when they found an old
+yak's horn lying in the path. Mila Respa told the disciple
+to pick it up and take it with him. The disciple refused,
+saying that it was useless, and passed on without noticing
+that the saint himself had picked up the horn and put it
+under his cloak. Soon afterwards a mighty storm descended
+on them&mdash;whether or not it was caused by the saint is not
+known. He took the horn from under his cloak and crept
+inside it. &ldquo;Now,&rdquo; said he, when he was safely sheltered
+from the rain, &ldquo;you see that nothing in the world is useless.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>We stayed for two days at Lapche Kang, picking flowers
+and enjoying the beauty of the place, in spite of the clouds<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[288]</a></span>
+which swept up from the South and filled the valley from
+early morning onwards. To a naturalist it was a tantalizing
+place; there were many unfamiliar birds that we had not
+seen in Tibet, but in such a sacred place I dared not offend
+the people by taking life, and I even had some qualms in
+catching butterflies. One of the prettiest sights I saw was
+a wall-creeper, like a big crimson-winged moth, fluttering
+over the temple buildings in search for insects.</p>
+
+<p>Having found Lapche Kang, where no European had
+before penetrated, and having placed it on the map, our next
+object was to go over the ranges Eastward to the Rongshar
+Valley, the head of which had been visited by members of
+the Expedition a few weeks earlier. This was accomplished
+in two long days of rather confused climbing over two passes
+of about 17,000 feet, crossing sundry glaciers and stumbling
+over moraines, and nearly always in an impenetrable fog.
+Our views of mountains were none at all, but the beauty
+of the flowers at our feet was almost compensation for that.
+Among many stand out two in particular, both of them
+primulas. One was ivory-white, about the bigness of a
+cowslip, with wide open bells and the most delicate primrose
+scent: the other carried from four to six bells, each as big
+as a lady's thimble, of deep azure blue and lined inside with
+frosted silver.<a name="FNanchor_16_16" id="FNanchor_16_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a></p>
+
+<p>As we went down the last steep slope into the Rongshar
+Valley, the clouds parted for a few moments, and across the
+valley and incredibly high above our heads appeared the
+summit of Gauri-Sankar,<a name="FNanchor_17_17" id="FNanchor_17_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_17_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a> one of the most beautiful of
+Himalayan peaks, blazing in the afternoon sun. It was a
+glorious vision, but it rather added to our regret for the views
+of peaks that we might have seen. The next morning at
+daybreak the whole mountain was clear from its foot in the
+Rongshar River (10,000 feet) up through woods of pine<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[289]</a></span>
+and birch, to rhododendrons and rocks, and so by a knife-edged
+ridge of ice to its glistening summit. It recalled to
+me the Bietsch-horn more than any other Alpine peak, a
+Bietsch-horn on the giant scale and seemingly impassable
+to man.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/img_288.jpg" width="406" height="600"
+        alt="see caption"
+        title="see caption" />
+        <a id="img_288"></a>
+<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Gauri-Sankar.</span></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The valley of the Rongshar, like the Nyenyam and other
+valleys we had visited, though within the Tibetan border,
+is really more Nepalese in character. The climate is much
+damper than in Tibet, as one can see by the wisps of lichen
+on the trees and the greenness of the vegetation far up the
+mountain sides, especially at this season of monsoon, when
+the South wind blows dense clouds of drenching moisture
+through the gorges. Like those valleys the Rongshar is
+sacred, which is inconvenient when the question of food
+supply is pressing. The people had cattle and flocks of
+goats; they would sell us an ox or a goat, but we must not
+kill it within the valley, or ill-luck would come to them.
+They were a friendly and good-tempered people, much given
+to religion. In many places we had seen prayer wheels
+worked by water, but here for the first time we saw one
+driven by the wind. Though it does not do much work at
+night, it probably steals a march on the water wheels in
+winter, when the streams are frozen.</p>
+
+<p>We walked up the valley of Rongshar, which in July
+should be called the Valley of Roses; on all sides were bushes,
+trees almost, of the deep red single rose in bloom, and the
+air was filled with the scent of them. After a journey of
+about 150 miles through unknown country we came to the
+village of Tazang, which had been visited by some of us
+before. Thence over the Phüse La (the Pass of Small Rats)
+we came into real Tibet again, and so in a few days to the
+Eastern side of Mount Everest.</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes">
+
+<p style="text-indent: 0;">Footnotes:</p>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_15_15" id="Footnote_15_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_15"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> In fairness it must be said that this was the only occasion on which
+we met with anything but help and civility from Tibetan officials.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_16_16" id="Footnote_16_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_16"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> Both of these are new species; the former has been described as
+<i>Primula Buryana</i>, the latter as <i>P. Wollastonii</i>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_17_17" id="Footnote_17_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17_17"><span class="label">[17]</span></a> Gauri-Sankar (23,440 ft.) was for many years confused with Mount
+Everest, which is still misnamed Gauri-Sankar in German maps.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="hr65" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[290]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER XIX</h2>
+
+<p class="title"><span style="font-size: 150%">NATURAL HISTORY NOTES</span></p>
+
+<p>To a naturalist Tibet offers considerable difficulties: it
+is true that in some places animals are so tame that they
+will almost eat out of your hand; for instance, in the
+Rongbuk Valley the <ins title="burrhel">burhel</ins> (wild sheep) come to the cells
+of the hermits for food, and in every village the ravens and
+rock-doves are as fearless as the sparrows in London. But
+against this tameness must be set the Buddhist religion,
+which forbids the people from taking life, so that, whereas
+in most countries the native children are the best friends
+of the naturalist, in Tibet we got no help from them whatever.
+Also, in order to avoid giving possible offence, we
+were careful to refrain from shooting in the neighbourhood
+of monasteries and villages, and that was a very severe
+drawback, as birds congregated principally about the cultivated
+lands near villages. Another difficulty we found was
+in catching small mammals, which showed the greatest
+reluctance to enter our traps, whatever the bait might be.
+One species only, a vole (<i>Phaiomys leucurus</i>), was trapped;
+all the others were shot, and that involved a considerable
+expenditure of time in waiting motionless beside burrows.
+In spite of these disadvantages we made considerable
+collections of mammals and birds, and we brought back a
+large number of dried plants and seeds, many of which it
+is hoped will live in the gardens of this country.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/img_290.jpg" width="324" height="500"
+        alt="see caption"
+        title="see caption" />
+        <a id="img_290"></a>
+<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Lower Kama-chu.</span></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Crossing over the Jelep La from Sikkim into Tibet in
+the latter part of May we found the country at 12,000 feet
+and upwards at the height of spring. The open level spaces
+were carpeted with a dark purple and yellow primula (<i>P.
+gammieana</i>), a delicate little yellow flower (<i>Lloydia tibetica</i>)
+and many saxifrages. The steep hillsides were ablaze<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[291]</a></span>
+with the flowers of the large rhododendrons (<i>R. thomsoni</i>,
+<i>R. falconeri</i>, <i>R. aucklandi</i>) and the smaller <i>Rhododendron
+campylocarpum</i>, an almost infinite variety of colours.<a name="FNanchor_18_18" id="FNanchor_18_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_18_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a> A
+descent through woods of pines, oaks and walnuts brought
+us to the picturesque village of Richengong, in the Chumbi
+Valley, where we found house-martins nesting under the
+eaves of the houses. Following up the Ammo Chu, in its
+lower course between 9,000 and 12,000 feet, we found the
+valley gay with pink and white spiræas and cotoneasters,
+red and white roses, yellow berberis, a fragrant white-flowered
+bog-myrtle, anemones and white clematis. Dippers, <ins title="wag-tails">wagtails</ins>
+and the white-capped redstart were the commonest
+birds along the river-banks. From Yatung we made an
+excursion of a few miles up the Kambu Valley, and there
+found a very beautiful Enkianthus (<i>Enkianthus himalaicus</i>),
+a small tree about 15 feet high, with clusters of pink and
+white flowers; in the autumn the leaves turn to a deep
+copper red.</p>
+
+<p>At about 11,000 feet is a level terrace, the plain of
+Lingmatang, where the stream meanders for two or three
+miles through a lovely meadow covered in the spring with
+a tiny pink primula (<i>P. minutissima</i>): it looks a perfect
+trout stream, but what fish there are (<i>Schizopygopsis stoliczae</i>)
+are small and few in number.</p>
+
+<p>Between 11,000 and 13,000 feet you ascend through
+mixed woods of pine, larch, birch and juniper with an
+undergrowth of rhododendrons and mountain ash. The
+larches here have a much less formal habit of growth than
+those of this country, and in the autumn they turn to a
+brilliant golden colour. The berries of the mountain ash,
+when ripe, are white and very conspicuous. At this altitude
+<i>Rhododendron cinnabarinum</i> reaches its best growth, in
+bushes of from 8 to 10 feet in height, and the flowers have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[292]</a></span>
+a very wide range of colour. In the woods hereabouts
+may often be heard and sometimes seen the blood pheasant,
+and here lives also&mdash;but we did not see it&mdash;the Tibetan
+stag.</p>
+
+<p>At about 13,000 feet at the end of May you find a yellow
+primula covering the ground more thickly than cowslips in
+this country; the air is laden with the scent of it, and
+growing with it is a pretty little heath-like flower (<i>Cassiope
+fastigiata</i>) with snow-white bells. Here and there is seen
+the large blue poppy (<i>Meconopsis</i> sp.) and a white anemone
+with five or six flowers on one stem. Soon the trees get
+scantier and scantier, pines disappear altogether and then
+birches and willows and junipers, until only dwarf rhododendrons
+(<i>R. setosum</i>) are left, covering the hillsides like purple
+heather.</p>
+
+<p>In a few miles the country changes in character
+completely, and you come out on to the open plain of Phari.
+Here at 14,000 feet we saw the common cuckoo sitting on
+a telegraph wire and calling vigorously. This is Tibet
+proper, and henceforward you may travel for scores of miles
+and hardly see any plant more than a few inches high. In
+some places a little trumpet-shaped purple flower (<i>Incarvillea
+younghusbandii</i>) is fairly common, it lies prone on the sand
+with its leaves usually buried out of sight; and as we went
+Westward we found a dwarf blue iris (<i>I. tenuifolia</i>). Animals
+are few and far between: the Kiang, the wild ass of Tibet,
+is occasionally seen in small parties; they are very
+conspicuous on the open plains in full daylight, but almost
+invisible at dusk. The Tibetan gazelle is fairly numerous,
+and it is not uncommon to see one or two in company with
+a flock of native sheep and taking no notice of the shepherd,
+but when a stranger tries to approach they are off like a
+flash. Another animal of the plains is the Tibetan antelope
+(<i>Pantholops</i>), which is found in large numbers a little to the
+North of the region we visited, but the only signs of it we
+saw were the horns used as supporting prongs for the long
+muzzle-loading guns of the Tibetans. The Tibetan antelope<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[293]</a></span>
+was probably the Unicorn described by the French priest
+Huc in 1845.</p>
+
+<p>The only mammals that are commonly seen on the plains
+are the small mouse-hares or pikas (<i>Ochotona</i>), which live
+in colonies on the less stony parts of the plain, where their
+burrows often caused our ponies to stumble; they scurry
+off to their holes at your approach, but if you wait a few
+moments you will see heads peeping out at you from all
+sides. These engaging little creatures have been called
+&ldquo;Whistling Hares,&rdquo; but of the three species which we found
+none was ever heard to utter a sound of any kind. The
+Tibetan name for them is Phüse. It is interesting to record
+that from one specimen I took three fleas of two species,
+both of them new to science.</p>
+
+<p>Birds are few on these stony wastes, larks, wheatears
+and snow-finches being the commonest. Elwes' shore-lark
+was found feeding young birds at the beginning of June,
+when the ground was not yet free from snow, and the song
+of the Tibetan skylark, remarkably like that of our own
+skylark, was heard over every patch of native cultivation.</p>
+
+<p>A small spiny lizard (<i>Phrynocephalus theobaldi</i>) is common
+on the plains and on the lower hills up to 17,000 feet; it
+lives in shallow burrows on the sand and under stones.</p>
+
+<p>Rising out of the plain North of the Himalayas are
+ranges of rounded limestone hills, 18,000 to 19,000 feet high,
+running roughly East and West. The hills between Phari
+and Khamba Dzong are the home of the big sheep (<i>Ovis
+hodgsoni</i>), which are occasionally seen in small companies.
+There are many ranges to the West of Khamba Dzong,
+apparently well suited to this animal, but it was never seen.
+On the slopes of these hills are found partridges (<i>Perdix
+hodgsoniæ</i>), and in the ravines are seen Alpine choughs,
+rock-doves (<i>Columba rupestris</i>) and crag-martins. Once or
+twice at night we heard the shriek of the great eagle-owl,
+but the bird was not seen.</p>
+
+<p>At rare intervals on these plains one meets with small
+rivers, tributaries of the Arun River; along their banks is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[294]</a></span>
+usually more grass than elsewhere, and here the wandering
+Tibetan herdsmen bring their yaks to graze. The wild yak
+is not found anywhere in this region. It might be supposed
+that so hairy an animal as the yak would become dirty
+and unkempt. Actually they are among the cleanest of
+creatures, and they may often be seen scraping holes in soft
+banks where they roll and kick and comb themselves into
+silky condition. The usual colour of the domesticated yak
+is black, more rarely a yellowish brown. A common variety
+has a white face and white tail. The calves are born in
+the spring, late April or early May.</p>
+
+<p>Here and there the rivers overflow their banks and form
+lakes or meres, which in the summer are the haunt of
+innumerable wild-fowl: bar-headed geese and redshanks
+nest here, families of ruddy shelducks (the Brahminy duck
+of India) and garganey teal are seen swimming on the pools.
+Overhead fly sand-martins, brown-headed gulls, common
+terns and white-tailed eagles. Near one of these lakes one
+day I watched at close distance a red fox stalking a pair
+of bar-headed geese, a most interesting sight, and had the
+satisfaction of saving the birds by firing a shot in the air
+with my small collecting gun just as the fox was about to
+pounce on his intended victim.</p>
+
+<p>Tinki Dzong is a veritable bird sanctuary. The Dzong
+itself is a rambling fort covering a dozen or so of acres, and
+about its walls nest hundreds of birds&mdash;ravens, magpies,
+red-billed choughs, tree-sparrows, hoopoes, Indian redstarts,
+Hodgson's pied wagtails and rock-doves. In the shallow
+pool outside the Dzong were swimming bar-headed geese
+and ruddy shelducks, with families of young birds, all as
+tame as domestic poultry. A pair of white storks was seen
+here in June, but they did not appear to be breeding. In
+the autumn the lakes in this neighbourhood are the resort of
+large packs of <ins title="widgeon">wigeon</ins>, gadwall and pochard. The Jongpen
+explained to us that it was the particular wish of the Dalai
+Lama that no birds should be molested here, and for several
+years two lamas lived at Tinki, whose special business it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[295]</a></span>
+was to protect the birds.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/img_294.jpg" width="342" height="500"
+        alt="see caption"
+        title="see caption" />
+        <a id="img_294"></a>
+<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Junipers in the Kama Valley.</span></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Crossing over a pass of about 17,000 feet (Tinki La),
+the slopes gay with a little purple and white daphne (<i>Stellera</i>),
+said by the natives to be poisonous to animals, we came to
+a plain of a different character, miles of blown sand heaped
+here and there into enormous dunes, on which grows a yellow-flowering
+gorse. Here, near Chushar, we first met with
+rose-finches (Severtzoff's and Przjewalsk's) and the brown
+ground-chough (<i>Podoces humilis</i>): the last-named is a
+remarkable-looking bird, which progresses by a series of
+apparently top-heavy bounds, at the end of which it turns
+round to steady itself; in the middle of June it was feeding
+its young in nests at the bottom of deep holes in sand or old
+mud walls.</p>
+
+<p>Following up the valley of the Bhong-chu we crossed
+the river by a stone bridge near Shekar Dzong. Here we
+found a colony of white-rumped swifts nesting high up in
+cliffs and ruddy shelducks nesting in holes among the loose
+boulders below. Occasionally we saw a pair of black-necked
+cranes, which are said by the natives to breed near lakes
+a little to the North, but we had no opportunity of visiting
+them. The slopes of the hills facing South were covered
+with a very pretty shrub (<i>Sophora</i>) with blue and white
+flowers and delicate silvery grey leaves, and among the loose
+stones a small clematis (<i>C. orientalis</i>) was just beginning to
+appear. Groups of small trees, like a sea buckthorn, growing
+15 to 20 feet high, indicate a gradual change in the climate
+as you go Westwards. Here also for the first time we began
+to find a few butterflies, of the genera <i>Lycæna</i> and <i>Colias</i>.</p>
+
+<p>At Tingri we found ourselves in a large plain about 20 miles
+long by 12 wide; a large part of the plain is saturated with
+soda and is almost uninhabited by bird or beast. In our three
+weeks' stay at Tingri we collected several mammals, including
+a new subspecies of hamster (<i>Cricetulus alticola tibetanus</i>)
+and a number of birds. This was the only place where we
+ever received any natural history specimen from a Tibetan.
+A woman came into our camp one day and, after making<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[296]</a></span>
+certain that she was not observed by any of the villagers,
+produced from a sack a well-worn domestic cat's skin stuffed
+with grass and a freshly killed stoat (<i>Mustela longstaffi</i>).
+The skin of the stoat is highly prized by the Tibetans, who
+say that it has the property of restoring faded turquoises
+to their former beauty. About the houses of the village
+were nesting tree-sparrows, hoopoes, rock-doves and ravens,
+the latter so tame that they hardly troubled to get out of
+the way of passers-by. In a tower of the old fort lived a
+pair of the Eastern little owl (<i>Athene bactriana</i>), which appeared
+to live principally on voles. On the plain the commonest
+birds were the long-billed calandra lark, Brook's short-toed
+lark, the Tibetan skylark, and Elwes' shore-lark, all of which
+were found with eggs, probably the second brood of the
+season, at the beginning of July. The nest of the yellow-headed
+wagtail, rare at Tingri, was found with eggs, and
+Blanford's snow-finch was found feeding its young more
+than 2 feet down the burrow of a pika (<i>Ochotona curzoniæ</i>).
+The common tern and the greater sand-plover nested on the
+shingly islands in the river.</p>
+
+<p>Plants at Tingri were few and inconspicuous: a small
+yellow cistus, the dwarf blue iris, a small aster and a curious
+hairy, claret-coloured flower (<i>Thermopsis</i>) were the most noticeable.
+Along the rivers which traverse the plain is very good
+grazing for the large flocks of sheep and goats of the
+Tibetans; the sheep are small and are grown entirely for wool.
+By a simple system of irrigation a large area of land near
+Tingri has been brought into cultivation. The principal
+crop here is barley, which constitutes the chief food of the
+people; they also grow a large radish or small turnip, the
+young leaves of which are excellent food. The animals
+usually used for ploughing are a cross between the yak and
+ordinary domestic cattle, called by the Tibetans &ldquo;zoh&rdquo;;
+they are more powerful than the yak and are excellent
+transport animals. We found barley grown in many districts
+up to 15,000 feet&mdash;it does not always ripen&mdash;and in the
+valley of the Dzakar Chu near its junction with the Arun<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[297]</a></span>
+River is a small area where wheat is grown at an altitude of
+about 12,800 feet. Peas are grown in the Arun Valley near
+Kharta, where they ripen in September and are pounded
+into meal for winter food of cattle as well as of the Tibetans
+themselves. Mustard is grown in the lower valleys below
+14,000 feet. It is to be regretted that we did not bring
+back specimens of these hardy cereals.</p>
+
+<p>During the course of an excursion of about three weeks
+in July to the West and South of Tingri we covered a large
+tract of unexplored country, much of which is more Nepalese
+than Tibetan in character. Going over the Thung La we
+found numerous butterflies of the genus <i>Parnassus</i>, and
+near the top of the pass (18,000 feet) we found for the first
+time the beautiful little blue <i>Gentiana am&oelig;na</i>; it is not
+easy to see until you are right over it, when it looks like a
+little square blue china cup; some of the flowers are as
+much as an inch in diameter. Here also was just beginning
+to flower the dwarf blue poppy (<i>Meconopsis horridula</i>),
+which grows in a small compact clump, 6 to 8 inches high,
+with as many as sixteen flowers and buds on one plant;
+the flowers are nearly 2 inches across and of a heavenly blue.
+In this region, too, we met for the first time marmots, which
+live in large colonies at about 16,000 feet; the Himalayan
+is larger than the Alpine marmot, and it has a longish tail
+which it whisks sharply from side to side when it is alarmed;
+it has a twittering cry, curiously like that of a bird of prey.</p>
+
+<p>Continuing down the valley of the Pö Chu to Nyenyam,
+we found several birds that we had not met hitherto, notably
+the brown accentor, Himalayan tree-pipit, Adams's snowfinch,
+the Himalayan greenfinch and Tickell's willow-warbler.
+At about 12,500 feet we first found the white-backed dove
+(<i>Columba leuconota</i>), which inhabits the deep gorges of the
+Himalayas but does not extend out on to the Tibetan plain.
+Beside the big torrent that flows South from Gosainthan
+we saw a pair of that curious curlew-like bird, the ibis-bill
+(<i>Ibidorhynchus struthersi</i>); it was evident that they had
+eggs or young on an island in the torrent, at about 13,800<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[298]</a></span>
+feet, but unfortunately it was impossible to reach it.</p>
+
+<p>The most conspicuous flowers in this region were a little
+bushy cistus with golden flowers the size of a half-crown,
+a dwarf rhododendron (<i>R. lanatum</i>) with hairy leaves, a
+white potentilla with red centre, which carpeted the drier
+hillsides, a white gentian (<i>G. robusta</i>), and a very remarkable
+louse-wort (<i>Pedicularis megalantha</i>) with two quite distinct
+forms&mdash;one purple, the other yellow.</p>
+
+<p>Crossing a pass to the East of Nyenyam, we camped on
+a level spot covered densely with white primulas (<i>P. Buryana</i>)
+six to eight inches high; an inch or two of snow fell during
+the night, and so white are these flowers that it was difficult
+to see them against the snow. Near the top of another
+pass we found at about the same altitude, 15,000 feet,
+another primula (<i>P. Wollastonii</i>) with three to six bells
+on each stem, the size of a small thimble, of a deep
+blue colour, and lined inside with frosted silver. In the
+moister valleys hereabouts a pretty pink-flowered polygonum
+(<i>P. vacciniifolium</i>) rambled everywhere over the rocks and
+boulders. The Rongshar Valley in July was chiefly notable
+for the large gooseberry bushes, 10 to 12 feet high, and for
+the profusion of red and white roses. A wall-creeper, the
+only one we saw in Tibet, was seen creeping about the temple
+at Lapche, a few miles to the West of Rongshar.</p>
+
+<p>From the beginning of August our headquarters were
+at Kharta in the Arun Valley, about 20 miles East of Mount
+Everest, and from there we made excursions South to the
+Kama Valley, and West up the Kharta Valley in the direction
+of Everest. Kharta itself is curiously situated as regards
+climate: the wide dry valley of the Arun narrows abruptly
+and the river passes into a deep gorge, where it falls rapidly
+at a rate of about 200 feet to the mile on its way to Nepal.
+The heavy monsoon clouds roll up the gorge to its mouth,
+where they are cut off sharply, so that within a mile you
+may pass from the dry climate of Tibet to the moist, steamy
+air of a Nepalese character, with its luxuriant vegetation.</p>
+
+<p>In the immediate neighbourhood of Kharta were several<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[299]</a></span>
+birds we had not met elsewhere, notably Prince Henry's
+laughing thrush (<i>Trochalopterum henrici</i>), which is very much
+venerated as a sacred bird by the Tibetans, the Central
+Asian blackbird, almost indistinguishable from our blackbird
+except by its voice, the solitary thrush, Indian brown turtledove,
+and a meadow-bunting (<i>Emberiza godlewskii</i>), probably
+a migrant from the North.</p>
+
+<p>Several species of small gentians and two very fragrant
+onosmas were flowering in August, and in this place <i>Clematis
+orientalis</i> attains its best growth, clambering over the trees
+and the houses of the natives; the flower of this clematis
+has a very wide range of colour from an apricot yellow to
+almost black. About the houses are often planted junipers
+and poplars, and it was about 10 miles from Kharta that
+we saw a poplar nearly 40 feet in girth, which we were informed
+was five hundred years old.</p>
+
+<p>A few miles to the south of Kharta is a valley filled with
+a dozen or so of small lakes or tarns, inhabited apparently
+only by tadpoles (<i>Rana pleskei</i>); no fish could be seen.
+Not far from here was discovered an interesting toad of a
+new species (<i>Cophophryne alticola</i>). Growing about the
+lakes were large beds of purple and yellow iris (<i>I. sibirica</i>,
+near); the steeper banks were blue with a very striking
+campanula (<i>Cyananthus pedunculatus</i>); growing out from
+among the dwarf rhododendrons in dry places were tall
+spikes of a claret-coloured meconopsis, now going to seed&mdash;some
+spikes had as many as twenty seed-pods; and
+in the moist places beside the lakes and streams was the
+tall yellow primula (<i>P. elongata</i>), growing to a height of over
+30 inches.</p>
+
+<p>Ascending from the lakes to the Chog La we saw a small
+black rat amongst the huge boulders of a moraine; it appeared
+to be a very active little animal, and though four or five
+were seen at different times in similar situations we failed
+to secure a specimen. Near the Chog La we found the snow-partridge
+(<i>Lerwa lerwa</i>), and one was shot out of a flock of
+very beautiful blue birds&mdash;Hodgson's grandala. Another<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[300]</a></span>
+very handsome bird in this region is the red-breasted rose-finch,
+which is found up to 18,000 feet. Descending from
+the Chog La towards the Kama Valley we found at 16,000
+feet the giant rhubarb (<i>Rheum nobile</i>), and at 14,000 feet
+we picked quantities of the wild edible rhubarb. A little
+lower down we came to large blue scabius, 3 to 4 feet high,
+a dark blue monkshood and quantities of the tall yellow
+poppy. Rhododendrons, birches and junipers begin at
+about 13,500 feet, and at 12,000 feet the junipers are the
+predominating tree; they are of immense size, upwards of
+20 feet in girth and from 120 to 150 feet in height and of
+a very even and perfect growth. Here we met with the
+Sikkim black tit (<i>Parus beavani</i>), and a little lower down
+among the firs (<i>Abies webbiana</i>) we came upon bullfinches
+(<i>Pyrrhula erythrocephala</i>). At 11,000 feet I saw a langur
+monkey (<i>Semnopithecus entellus</i>), the only monkey I saw
+in Tibet. Excepting one solitary bat, the only other mammal
+we saw in this valley was another species of pika (<i>Ochotona
+roylei nepalensis</i>), which appears here to be confined to a
+zone between the altitudes of 12,000 and 14,000 feet; it
+is not found in dry valleys.</p>
+
+<p>Among the trees in the lower Kama Valley grow many
+parnassias, a tall green fritillaria, a handsome red swertia
+and a very sweet-scented pink orchis. We found the tubers
+(but not the flowers) of an arum, which the Tibetans collect
+and make of it a very unpalatable bread. We went down
+through large rhododendrons, magnolias, bamboos, alders,
+sycamores, all draped in long wisps of lichen (<i>Usnea</i>), to the
+junction of the Kama with the Arun River, where we found
+ourselves in the region of the blue pine. The lower part
+of the Kama Valley is unpleasantly full of leeches, and in
+the course of an excursion to the Popti La (14,000 feet),
+one of the principal passes from Tibet to Sikkim, we were
+astonished to find them very numerous and active at an
+altitude of 12,000 feet. At our low-altitude camps in this
+valley hundreds of moths were attracted by the light of our
+camp fire, and a few came to the dim candle lamps in our<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[301]</a></span>
+tents. A collector who came here with a proper equipment
+could not fail to make a large collection of moths.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/img_300.jpg" width="386" height="600"
+        alt="see caption"
+        title="see caption" />
+        <a id="img_300"></a>
+<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Forest in the Kama Valley.</span></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Proceeding up the Kharta Valley in the beginning of
+September we found that most of the roses and rhododendrons
+had gone to seed, but some of the gentians, particularly
+<i>Gentiana ornata</i>, were at their best. Near our camp at
+17,000 feet, along the edges of streams, a very handsome
+gentian (<i>G. nubigena</i>) with half a dozen flowers growing on
+a single stem was very conspicuous, and growing with it
+was an aromatic little purple and yellow aster (<i>A. heterochæta</i>);
+in the same place was a bright yellow senecio (<i>S.
+arnicoides</i>) with shining, glossy leaves. A curious dark blue
+dead-nettle (<i>Dracocephalum speciosum</i>) was found on dry
+ground at the same altitude. In the stony places grew up
+to 19,000 feet the dwarf blue meconopsis mentioned above,
+and many saxifrages, notably a very small white one (<i>S.
+umbellulata</i>). On the steeper rocks from 16,000 feet to the
+snow-line (roughly 20,000 feet) were found edelweiss (<i>Leontopodium</i>)
+of three species. Very noticeable at these altitudes
+are the curious saussureas, large composites packed with
+cotton wool; if you open one of them on the coldest day,
+even when it is covered with snow, you find it quite warm
+inside, and often a bumble bee will come buzzing out.</p>
+
+<p>Another very interesting plant at 17,000 to 18,000 feet
+is a dwarf blue hairy delphinium (<i>D. brunnoneanum</i>) with
+a strong smell. The Tibetans dry the flowers of this plant
+and use them as a preventive against lice. This has its
+disadvantages, for when a Tibetan dies his body is undertaken
+by the professional butcher, who cuts it up and exposes it
+on the hills to be disposed of by the vultures and wolves.
+A body tainted with the delphinium flowers is unpalatable
+to the scavengers, and it is known that a man must have
+been wicked in life whose body is rejected by the vultures
+and wolves.</p>
+
+<p>The smallest rhododendrons (<i>R. setosum</i> and <i>R. lepidotum</i>)
+disappear before 19,000 feet, after which vegetation is almost
+non-existent. A few grasses and mosses are still found to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[302]</a></span>
+20,000 feet, and the highest plant we found was a small
+arenaria (<i>A. musciformis</i>), which grows in flat cushions a
+few inches wide up to 20,100 feet.</p>
+
+<p>Mammals in the upper Kharta Valley are not numerous.
+A pika of a new species (<i>Ochotona wollastoni</i>) is found from
+15,000 to 20,000 feet, and a new vole (<i>Phaiomys everesti</i>)
+was found at 17,000 feet. The small black rat previously
+seen was here too, and an unseen mouse entered our tents
+and ate our food at 20,000 feet. Fox and hare were both
+seen above 18,000 feet, and undoubted tracks of them on
+the Kharta Glacier at 21,000 feet. Wolves were seen about
+19,000 feet, and those tracks seen in snow at 21,500 feet,
+which gave rise to so much discussion, were almost certainly
+those of a wolf. <ins title="Burrhel">Burhel</ins> were fairly common between 17,000
+and 19,000 feet, and we found their droppings on stones
+at 20,000 feet.</p>
+
+<p>Birds of several species were found from 17,000 feet
+upwards. The Tibetan snow-partridge (<i>Tetraogallus tibetanus</i>)
+is common in large parties up to the snow-line. Dippers
+(<ins title="Cinclus cashmiriensis"><i>Cinclus cashmirensis</i></ins>) are found in the streams up to
+17,000 feet, and at about the same altitude lives in the
+big boulders of moraines a small and very dark wren, which
+is almost certainly new, but only one immature bird was
+brought home. Snow-finches and the Eastern alpine accentor
+appeared to be resident up to the snow-line. Several
+migrating birds were seen in September at 17,000 feet and
+above, among them Temminck's stint, painted snipe, pin-tailed
+snipe, house-martin and several pipits. More than once
+at night the cry of migrating waders was heard, curlew
+being unmistakable, and (I think) bar-tailed godwit.</p>
+
+<p>Our camps at 17,000 feet and at 20,000 feet were visited
+daily by <ins title="lammergeier">Lämmergeier</ins>, raven, red-billed chough, alpine
+chough and black-eared kite, and I saw twice a hoopoe fly
+over the Kharta Glacier at about 21,000 feet; a small pale
+hawk flew overhead at the same time. The highest bird
+seen was a <ins title="lammergeier">Lämmergeier</ins> (bearded vulture); when I was
+taking photographs from our camp on the Lhakpa La (22,350<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[303]</a></span>
+feet) I saw one of these birds come sailing over the top of
+the North peak of Everest and apparently high above the
+peak, probably at an altitude of not less than 25,000 feet.<a name="FNanchor_19_19" id="FNanchor_19_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_19_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a></p>
+
+<div class="footnotes">
+
+<p style="text-indent: 0;">Footnotes:</p>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_18_18" id="Footnote_18_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18_18"><span class="label">[18]</span></a> We marked many of the best-flowering specimens with the intention
+of collecting their seeds on our return in the autumn. Unfortunately when
+we came over the Jelep La in October it was in a heavy snowstorm which
+made collecting impossible.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_19_19" id="Footnote_19_19"></a><a href="#FNanchor_19_19"><span class="label">[19]</span></a> Detailed accounts of the collections made will be found: Mammals,
+<i>Annals and Magazine of Nat. Hist.</i>, Feb. 1922. Birds, <ins title="Ibis."><i>Ibid.</i></ins>, July, 1922.
+Insects, <i>Annals and Magazine of Nat. Hist.</i>, May and June, 1922.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="hr65" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[304]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER XX</h2>
+
+<p class="title"><span style="font-size: 150%">AN APPRECIATION OF THE RECONNAISSANCE</span></p>
+
+<p class="title"><span class="smcap">By Professor</span> NORMAN COLLIE, F.R.S.<br />
+
+President of the Alpine Club</p>
+
+<p>The chance of wandering into the wild places of the
+earth is given to few. But those who have once visited
+the Himalaya will never forget either the magnificence or
+the beauty of that immense mountain land, whether it
+be the valley country that lies between the great snow-covered
+ranges and the plains, where wonderful forests,
+flowers, clear streams and lesser peaks form a fitting guard
+to the mighty snow-peaks that lie beyond, or the great peaks
+themselves, that can be seen far away to the North, as one
+approaches through the foot-hills that lead up to them.
+The huge snow-covered giants may be a week's journey
+away, they may be far more, yet when seen through the
+clear air of the hills, perhaps 100 miles distant, they look
+immense, inaccessible, remote and lonely. But as one
+approaches nearer and nearer to them, they ever grow more
+splendid, glistening white in the mid-day sun, rose-red at
+dawn, or a golden orange at sunset, with faint opalescent
+green shadows that deepen as the daylight fails, till when
+night comes they stand far up in the sky, pale and ghostly
+against the glittering stars. Those who have been fortunate
+enough to see these things, know the fascination they
+exert. It is the call of the great spaces and of the
+great mountains. It is a call that mocks at the song of
+the Lotus-eaters of old, it is more insidious than the Siren's
+call, and it is a call that, once heard, is never forgotten.</p>
+
+<p>One may be contented and busy with the multitudinous
+little events of ordinary civilised life, but a chance phrase<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[305]</a></span>
+or some allusion wakes the memory of the wild mountain
+lands, and one feels sick with desire for the open spaces
+and the old trails. The dreams of the wanderer are far
+more real than most of the happenings that make up the
+average man's life. It may be the memory of some desolate
+peaks set against an angry sky, or of islands set in summer
+seas, or some grim fight with deserts of endless sands, or
+with tropical forests that have held their growth for a thousand
+years; it may be the memory of rushing rivers, or lakes
+set in wild woods where the beavers build their houses, or
+sunsets over great oceans&mdash;the spell binds one, the present
+does not exist, one is back again on the old trail&mdash;&ldquo;The Red
+Gods have called us out, and we must go.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>There is no part of the world where lofty mountains
+exist at all comparable with the Himalaya. Elsewhere
+the highest is Aconcagua, 23,060 feet. But in the Himalaya
+there are over eighty peaks that tower above 24,000 feet,
+probably twenty above 26,000 feet, six above 27,000 feet,
+and the highest of all, Mount Everest, is 29,141 feet.</p>
+
+<p>The huge range of mountains, of which the Himalaya
+forms the chief part, is by far the greatest mountain range
+in the world. Starting to the North of Afghanistan, it
+sweeps Eastwards, without a break, to the confines of China,
+over 2,000 miles away. Yet in this vast world of mountains,
+very few have been climbed. For many years to come the
+Himalaya will provide sport for the mountaineer when most
+of the other mountain ranges of the world will have been
+exhausted, as far as exploration and new ascents are
+concerned.</p>
+
+<p>Mountaineering is a sport of which Englishmen should
+be proud; for they were the first really to pursue it as a
+pastime. The Alpine Club was the first mountaineering
+club, and if one inquires into the records of climbing and
+discovery amongst the mountains of the world, one usually
+finds that it was an Englishman who led the way. It is
+the Englishman's love of sport for its own sake that has
+enticed him on to battle with the dangers and difficulties<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[306]</a></span>
+that are offered with such a lavish hand by the great
+mountains.</p>
+
+<p>As a sport, mountaineering is second to none. It is
+the finest mental and physical tonic that a man can take.
+Whether it be the grim determination of desperate struggles
+with difficult rocks, or with ice, or whether it be the sight
+of range after range of splendid peaks basking in the sunshine,
+or of mists half hiding the black precipices, or the changing
+fairy colours of a sunrise, or the subtle curves of the wind-blown
+snow, all these are good for one. They produce a
+sane mind in a sane body. The joy of living becomes a
+real and a great joy, all is right with the world, and life
+flies on golden wings. It is, of course, true that there are
+many other beautiful and health-giving places besides the
+mountains. The great expanses of the prairie lands, the
+forests, the seas set with lonely islands, and in England the
+downs and the homely lanes and villages nestling amongst
+woods, with clear streams wandering through the pastures
+where the cattle feed&mdash;all these are good; but the mountains
+give something more. There things are larger, man is more
+alone, one feels that one is much nearer to Nature, one is
+not held down by an artificial civilisation. And although
+the life may be more strenuous (for Nature can be savage
+at times, as well as beautiful), and the struggle may be hard,
+yet the battle is the more worth winning.</p>
+
+<p>Nowhere in any mountain land does Nature offer the
+good things of the wilds with more prodigal hand than in
+the Himalaya. On the Southern slopes, coming down from
+the great snow-peaks, are the finest river gorges in the world,
+wonderful forests of mighty trees, open alps nestling high up
+at the head of the valleys, that look out over great expanses
+of the lesser ranges; and as one ascends higher and higher,
+the views of the great peaks draped in everlasting snow,
+changing perpetually as the clouds and mists form and
+re-form over them, astonish one by their magnificence.</p>
+
+<p>All things that the Himalaya gives are big things, and
+now that the mountaineer has conquered the lesser ranges,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[307]</a></span>
+he turns to the Himalaya, where the peaks stand head and
+shoulders above all others. Up to the present, however,
+owing to the difficulties of distance and size, none of the
+greater peaks have been climbed.</p>
+
+<p>In climbing the great peaks of the Himalaya, the
+difficulties are far greater than those of less lofty ranges.
+On most of the highest the mere climbing presents such
+difficulties that it would be foolish to attempt their ascent.
+Thousands of feet of steep rock or ice guard their summits.
+Unless climbing above 24,000 feet is moderately easy, and
+no strenuous work is required, it could not be accomplished.
+For in the rarefied air at high altitudes there is insufficient
+oxygen to promote the normal oxidation of bodily tissue.
+Above 20,000 feet a cubic foot of air contains less than half
+the amount of oxygen that it does at sea-level. As the
+whole metabolism of the body is kept in working order by
+the oxygen supplied through the lungs, the obvious result
+of high altitudes is to interfere with the various processes
+occurring in the system. The combustion of bodily material
+is less, the amount of energy produced is therefore less also,
+and so capacity for work is diminished progressively as one
+ascends.</p>
+
+<p>But that one is able still to work, and work hard, at
+these altitudes is evident by the experiences of Dr.&nbsp;Longstaff
+and Mr.&nbsp;Meade. On Trisul, 23,360 feet, Dr.&nbsp;Longstaff in
+ten and a half hours ascended from 17,450 feet to the summit.
+Whilst on Kamet, Mr.&nbsp;Meade's coolies carried a camp up
+to 23,600 feet. Dr.&nbsp;Kellas also in 1920 found his ascent
+on moderately easy snow above 21,000 feet approximated
+to 600 feet per hour. All these climbers were, however,
+acclimatised to high altitudes. The effect on anyone making
+a balloon or aeroplane ascent from sea-level would be different.
+Tissaudier in a balloon ascent fainted at 26,500 feet and
+on regaining consciousness found both his companions dead.
+Even on Pike's Peak, 14,109 feet, in the United States,
+many of those who go up in the railway suffer from faintness,
+sickness, breathlessness and general lassitude. Yet there<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[308]</a></span>
+are places on the earth,&mdash;the Pamirs,&mdash;where people live
+their lives at higher altitudes than Pike's Peak, without
+any effects of the diminished pressure being felt. They
+are acclimatised; their bodies, being accustomed to their
+surroundings, are good working machines.</p>
+
+<p>Although it is true that at high altitudes there is less
+oxygen to breathe, the body rapidly protects itself by increasing
+the number of red blood corpuscles. These red corpuscles
+are the carriers of oxygen from the air to the various parts
+of the body. An increased number of carriers means an
+increase of oxygen to the body. It is just possible, therefore,
+that anyone properly acclimatised to, say, 23,000 feet would
+be able to ascend the remaining 6,000 feet, to the summit
+of Mount Everest. Moreover, if oxygen could be continuously
+supplied to the climbers by adventitious aid there is little
+doubt that 29,000 feet could be reached.</p>
+
+<p>The physiological difficulties met with in ascending to
+high altitudes are doubtless of a very high order, but can
+to a certain extent be eliminated by ascending gradually,
+day after day, so as to allow the body to accommodate
+itself by degrees to the new surroundings.</p>
+
+<p>There are, however, other difficulties that must be reckoned
+with, such as intense cold and frequent high winds. In
+any engine where loss of heat occurs, there is a corresponding
+loss of available energy. A bitterly cold wind not only
+robs one of much heat, but lowers the vitality as well. At
+altitudes above 24,000 feet, the temperature is often arctic,
+and the thermometer may fall far below zero. On the other
+hand, the rays of the sun are intense. The ultra-violet
+rays, that are mostly cut off by the air at sea-level, are a
+real source of danger where there is only one-third of an
+atmosphere pressure, as in the case at the summit of Mount
+Everest.</p>
+
+<p>The mountaineer also encounters dangers in the Himalaya,
+on the same scale as the difficulties. A snow-slide on a
+British mountain or in the Alps is an avalanche; often in
+the Himalaya it becomes almost a convulsion of nature.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[309]</a></span>
+The huge ice-fields and glaciers that hang on the upper slopes
+of the mountains, when let loose, have not hundreds of feet
+to fall, but thousands, and the wind that is thereby produced
+spreads with hurricane force over the glaciers below, on to
+which the main body of the avalanche has fallen. Sometimes
+even the broken <ins title="debris">débris</ins> will rush across a wide glacier.</p>
+
+<p>Rock falls also assume gigantic proportions in the
+Himalaya. But all these dangers can be largely avoided
+by the skilled mountaineer, and he can choose routes up a
+mountain where they are not likely to occur. Some risks,
+however, must be always run, but they can be reduced to a
+minimum.</p>
+
+<p>On Mount Everest, as we now know, most of these dangers
+will be less than on any of the other very high mountains
+in the Himalaya. Also there are no difficulties in the approach
+to Mount Everest from India. In this respect it differs
+from such peaks as K<sup>2</sup> and others. As a rule the highest
+mountains in the Himalaya always lie far back from the
+plains in the main chain, beyond the foot-hills and the
+intervening ranges. To approach them from the South in
+India, weeks of travel are often necessary, up deep gorges,
+and over rivers, where it is next to impossible to take baggage
+animals. Fortunately the approach to Mount Everest by
+the route from Darjeeling to Phari Dzong and thence over
+an easy pass into Tibet avoids all these difficulties. In
+Tibet a high tableland, averaging 13,000 feet, is reached.</p>
+
+<p>Travelling in Tibet, North of the main range of the
+Himalaya, is entirely different from that on the South of
+the range. Instead of deep-cut gorges, a rolling, bare, stone-covered
+country exists, over which it is easy to take baggage
+animals, the only obstacle being the rivers that sometimes
+are not bridged, and are often swollen by the melting snow.
+From Kampa Dzong to Tingri Dzong, the base of operations
+for the Expedition, is an open country. Mount Everest lies
+40 to 50 miles South of Tingri Dzong; the approach also is
+without difficulty.</p>
+
+<p>The ascent of Mount Everest was not the primary object<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[310]</a></span>
+of the Expedition of 1921. A mountain the size of Mount
+Everest cannot be climbed by simply getting to it and starting
+the ascent immediately.</p>
+
+<p>A reasonable route has to be discovered to the summit;
+which usually can only be done by a complete reconnaissance
+of the mountain. This has been admirably done, and a
+most magnificent series of photographs has been brought
+back by the members of the Expedition.</p>
+
+<p>Mount Everest consists of a huge pyramid, having three
+main arêtes, the West, the South-east, and the North-east.
+It is the last, the North-east arête, that is obviously the
+easiest, being snow-covered along most of its length. Nowhere
+is it excessively steep, and nowhere are there precipices of
+rock to stop the climber. We now know that it can be
+reached, by means of a subsidiary ridge, from a col 23,000
+feet, the Chang La, that lies to the north of the North-east
+arête. This col was the highest point on Mount Everest
+reached by the Expedition, and had it not been for savage
+weather a considerably higher altitude would have been
+attained; for above the col for several thousand feet lay an
+unbroken snow-slope.</p>
+
+<p>It was only after much hard work, and over two months'
+exploration, that a route to this col was discovered. As
+is usually the case even with mountains far smaller than
+Mount Everest, it can be seen that if a point, often a long
+way below the summit, can be reached, not much farther
+difficulty will be encountered. But the puzzle is, how can
+that point be arrived at from below?</p>
+
+<p>Quite early in the exploration of Mount Everest it was
+obvious that if the 23,000-foot col could be reached, most
+of the physical difficulties of the approach to the mountain
+would have been surmounted. But it was not so obvious
+how to win to the col. It lies on the South-east at the head
+of the main Rongbuk Glacier; it was therefore to this glacier
+that the mountaineers, Messrs. Mallory and Bullock, went
+from Tingri Dzong on June 23. They spent a month exploring
+the country to the North and the West of Mount Everest<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[311]</a></span>
+from the Rongbuk Glacier. Much valuable information
+was accumulated. A peak, Ri-Ring, 22,520 feet, was
+climbed and a pass on the West ridge of Mount Everest was
+visited, from which were seen views of the South-west face
+of the great mountain and also many high peaks in Nepal.
+Unfortunately, however, no feasible route from the main
+Rongbuk Glacier to the 23,000-foot col could be found.
+The next attempt was made by leaving the Rongbuk Glacier
+and exploring the Kama Valley that flows South-east from
+Mount Everest. Here a most magnificent ice-world was
+discovered. For a chain of giant peaks running South-east
+from Mount Everest to Makalu, 27,790 feet, guards the
+whole of the South-west side of the valley. But as an
+approach to the North-east arête of Mount Everest this
+valley was found to be useless. From the point of view,
+however, of exploration it was most fortunate that this
+valley was visited. The photographs of Makalu and its
+satellite <ins title="Chomo-Lönzo">Chomolönzo</ins>, N.<sup>53</sup>, 25,413 feet, are superb;
+moreover the lower reaches of the Kama Valley, as it dips
+down to the deep Arun Valley, was full of luxuriant vegetation,
+totally different from the wind-swept wilderness of Tibet.</p>
+
+<p>The Kharta Valley, that runs North-east from Mount
+Everest, was the next exploited, to see whether from it an
+easy approach to the North-east arête existed. But by
+this time the monsoon weather was at its worst. Days of
+rain and mist, with snow higher up, succeeded one another,
+making climbing impossible. However, towards the end of
+September a high camp at 22,500 feet was made at the head
+of the Kharta Valley. From this camp the 23,000-foot
+col, Chang La, was finally reached, by crossing the head
+of a glacier that ran to the North. Higher climbing was
+out of the question; a furious North-west gale lasting for
+four days drove the party off the mountain.</p>
+
+<p>The glacier mentioned above, running to the North, was
+found to be a tributary of the main Rongbuk Glacier, and
+has been named the East Rongbuk Glacier. There is no
+doubt that the easiest route to Chang La, the North Col, will<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[312]</a></span>
+not be all the way round by the Kharta Valley, but up this
+East Rongbuk Glacier.</p>
+
+<p>Several other interesting expeditions were carried out
+by other members of the party. Colonel Howard Bury
+visited the group of five great peaks (25,202 to 26,867 feet),
+that lie about 15 miles North-west of Mount Everest. He
+explored the Kyetrak Glacier to its summit the Khombu La,
+also crossed the Phüse La with the Rongshar Valley that
+drains down into Nepal. Later he visited another pass on
+the ridge that connects Mount Everest with Makalu. From
+this pass most interesting views of the country South of
+Mount Everest were obtained.</p>
+
+<p>Major Wheeler's and Major Morshead's map of the
+country that lies between the Himalaya and the Bramapootra
+River will be of the highest value, and the results of Dr.
+Heron's geological survey and Mr.&nbsp;Wollaston's collections of
+birds, beasts, insects and flowers, when they have been
+thoroughly examined, will certainly yield much new scientific
+information. The Expedition therefore has accomplished all
+that was expected of it, and has brought back material of
+the greatest interest, from a part of the world about which
+almost nothing was known, and into which Europeans had
+never been.</p>
+
+<p>The attempt to ascend Mount Everest itself necessarily
+had to be postponed, but this year the Expedition that is
+being sent out will have for its primary object the ascent of
+the mountain. There will be easy access to the base of the
+peak from Chöbuk, where a base camp will be established,
+and from thence a feasible route on to the summit of the
+great North-east arête has been discovered.</p>
+
+<p>Most fortunately this year General Bruce was able to
+undertake the leadership of the Expedition. His unrivalled
+experience of climbing in the Himalaya and particularly
+his special capacity for handling Himalayan people will be
+invaluable to the Expedition. Not only will he be able to
+organise and instil the right spirit into the coolie corps upon
+whom so much will depend for ultimate success, but he will<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[313]</a></span>
+also be able to give much wise advice to the actual climbers
+who are to take part in the ascent of the mountain.</p>
+
+<p>Moreover, with his long experience of dealing with Asiatics
+he can be trusted to deal with the Tibetan people and officials
+in such a way as to retain their present good-will.</p>
+
+<p>As the main object of the Expedition this year is to make
+a definite attempt to reach the summit of Mount Everest,
+it has been decided that the actual climbing party should be
+as strong as possible. But a limit to the size of the Expedition
+was imposed by the necessity of respect for the feelings of
+the Tibetans, and a warning had been received from Lhasa
+to keep the numbers as small as possible. For, although
+the authorities at Lhasa might be friendly enough, and
+although there might be no difficulty in obtaining transport
+from the district round Tingri Dzong, where animals were
+plentiful, yet a large party might press hardly on the
+inhabitants in the matter of food, such as wheat and barley.
+This consideration had therefore to be regarded. Still it
+was thought that the district would not be unduly pressed
+by a party of twelve Europeans. This number will include
+a climbing party of six chosen mountaineers, with two in
+reserve, making eight in all. With General Bruce, a doctor
+(who would also be a naturalist), a photographer and a
+painter, the expeditionary force of Europeans will be complete.</p>
+
+<p>Colonel E. L. Strutt, C.M.G., has been chosen as second
+in command. He possesses first-rate mountaineering experience,
+and has been Vice-President of the Alpine Club.</p>
+
+<p>Mr.&nbsp;Mallory fortunately has been able to accept the
+invitation of the Committee to return to Mount Everest
+again this year. The remainder of the climbing party are:
+Captain George Finch, who was unable to join the Expedition
+last year on account of his health; Mr.&nbsp;T. H. Somervell, a
+surgeon, a member of the Alpine Club and an extremely
+energetic climber; Major E. F. Norton (Royal Artillery); and
+Dr.&nbsp;A. W. Wakefield, renowned for his strenuous climbing in
+the Lake District and work in Labrador. Besides these six
+mountaineers, Captain Geoffrey Bruce and Captain C. J. Morris,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[314]</a></span>
+both of Gurkha Regiments, and able to speak the language
+of the Himalayan coolies, will assist General Bruce both in
+looking after and encouraging the coolies, and also help in
+the general arrangement and organisation of the Expedition
+as a whole. They also are accustomed to mountaineering
+and will act as a reserve to the six climbers.</p>
+
+<p>As doctor and naturalist Dr.&nbsp;T. G. Longstaff has been
+invited to join the Expedition. He has made many climbs
+in the Himalaya and other mountain regions, including the
+ascent of Trisul, 23,360 feet. He is not expected to join
+the climbing party, but his experience will be of great benefit
+to the Expedition generally.</p>
+
+<p>As photographer, Captain J. B. L. Noel has been selected.
+He had reconnoitred in the direction of Mount Everest in
+1913. For several years he has made a special study of
+photography in all its various branches.</p>
+
+<p>But besides photographs of the mountains, the Expedition
+is anxious to bring back pictures which would alone be able
+not only to serve as a record of the infinitely delicate
+colouring of that lofty region, but at the same time would
+show how probably some of the grandest scenery of mighty
+mountains should be represented from the point of view of
+an artist.</p>
+
+<p>Difficulty was experienced in finding a suitable painter,
+for painters capable of doing justice to mountain scenery,
+and who are also physically fit to travel amongst them at
+such altitudes as those round Mount Everest, are few. We
+have, therefore, to depend on Mr.&nbsp;Somervell to paint us
+pictures.</p>
+
+<p>In the meantime communications were also passing
+between Colonel Bailey, the Political Agent in Sikkim, and
+the Mount Everest Committee regarding the enlistment of
+coolies for the special corps, and the engagement of the very
+best headman obtainable to look after them. Many of the
+coolies who were with the Expedition in 1921 had volunteered
+to rejoin this year. But a stronger corps and more carefully
+selected men were needed. The Maharaja of Nepal has<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[315]</a></span>
+been asked to allow some of the most famous Gurkha
+mountain climbers to join the Expedition, and the
+Government of India has been asked to put two or three
+non-commissioned Gurkha officers at the service of General
+Bruce, to assist him generally in looking after the coolies,
+and seeing that they were properly fed and paid, and that
+they behaved themselves properly.</p>
+
+<p>The members of last year's Expedition on their return
+were freely and fully consulted as to equipment and
+provisioning of this year's party; the experience gained
+last year has been therefore made use of in every way possible.
+Suggestions for the improvement of the Mummery-Meade
+tents have been adopted. Better clothing has been provided
+for the coolies. General Bruce has purchased leather coats,
+waistcoats, socks, jerseys and boots from the equipment
+provided for our troops in North Russia during the war,
+which will be admirably suited for the majority of the coolies,
+whilst for the few chosen for high climbing on Mount Everest
+itself, clothing precisely similar to that worn by the British
+climbers has been provided.</p>
+
+<p>Captain Farrar and the equipment committee have
+provided a most varied and ample supply of provisions which
+was despatched to India in January. The Primus-stoves
+have been overhauled and retested by Captain Finch.</p>
+
+<p>Colonel Jack and Mr.&nbsp;Hinks have carefully examined all
+the instruments brought back. The aneroids have been
+retested, and all broken instruments replaced.</p>
+
+<p>The photographic outfit has been considerably enlarged,
+including a cinematograph instrument. The question of
+supplying oxygen has been most thoroughly gone into. All
+flyers in aeroplanes at high altitudes find oxygen absolutely
+necessary. In mountain climbing, however, the almost
+insuperable difficulty is the weight of the apparatus supplying
+the oxygen. As far as possible, this weight has been reduced
+to a minimum. A large number of cylinders, the lightest
+and smallest obtainable, have been sent out full of compressed
+oxygen, and it is hoped that they will be capable of being<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[316]</a></span>
+used by the party that will attempt to climb to the summit
+of Mount Everest. If the climbers are capable of carrying
+them, and so getting a continuous supply of oxygen during
+the whole of the climb, there is little doubt that climbing
+up to 29,000 feet is possible. In aeroplanes considerably
+higher altitudes have been reached with the help of oxygen.
+Moreover, there is this fact in favour of the climbers on Mount
+Everest, they will be acclimatised to altitudes of 20,000 feet,
+whilst anyone in an aeroplane is not so acclimatised, having
+risen from sea-level. The climbers will have to accommodate
+themselves only to an increased height of 9,000 feet, whilst
+those in an aeroplane have to suffer a diminution in pressure
+equivalent to 29,000 feet.</p>
+
+<p>Finally, arrangements have been made with the Press
+for the publication of telegrams and photographs from
+the Expedition. Full information of the progress of the
+Expedition will therefore be available for the public, and it
+will be possible to follow the climbing party, after they leave
+the base camp, which will be somewhere near Chöbuk, as they
+ascend the East Rongbuk Glacier to the advanced base under
+the North col. Afterwards all the preliminary arrangements
+will be reported, and finally there will be an account of the
+great attempt to reach the summit.</p>
+
+<p>The Expedition will be starting nearly two months earlier
+than in 1921. The weather in May and June, before the
+monsoon breaks in July, apparently is more or less settled,
+and so the most must be made of it. In 1921 from the end
+of July till September high climbing was impossible. It is
+therefore obvious that a determined attempt to climb Mount
+Everest should be made before the monsoon sets in.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/img_316.jpg" width="600" height="357"
+        alt="see caption"
+        title="see caption" />
+        <a id="img_316"></a>
+<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Mount Everest at Sunset</span><br />
+from the 20,000 foot camp, Kharta Valley.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The ascent from the North col, Changa La, 23,000 feet,
+to the summit of Mount Everest, 29,000 feet, is only 6,000
+feet, and the distance to traverse is about 2 miles. As far
+as can be judged from the numerous photographs of Mount
+Everest, the climbing is straightforward with no insurmountable
+difficulties in the form of steep rock precipices. There
+will be no glaciers overhanging the route which might send<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[317]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>But the final ascent will test the endurance of the climbers
+to the utmost. Many people have found the last 1,000 feet
+of Mont Blanc more than they could accomplish. The last
+1,000 feet of Mount Everest will only be conquered by men
+whose physique is perfect, and who are trained and
+acclimatised to the last possible limit, and who have the
+determination to struggle on when every fibre of their body
+is calling out&mdash;Hold! enough!</p>
+
+<p>The struggle will be a great one, but it will be worth the
+while. To do some new thing beyond anything that has
+been previously accomplished, and not to be dominated by
+his environment, has made man what he is, and has raised
+him above the beasts. He always has been seeking new
+worlds to conquer. He has penetrated into the forbidding
+ice-worlds at the two poles, and many are the secrets he has
+wrested from Nature. There remains yet the highest spot
+on the world's surface. No doubt he will win there also,
+and in the winning will add one more victory over the guarded
+secrets of things as they are.</p>
+
+<hr class="hr65" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[319]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>APPENDIX I</h2>
+
+<p style="text-align: center; font-size: 125%;">THE SURVEY</p>
+
+<p style="text-align: center; font-size: 125%;"><span class="smcap">By Major</span> H. T. MORSHEAD, D.S.O.</p>
+
+<p>The personnel selected to form the Survey Detachment under my
+charge were as follows: Brevet-Major E. O. Wheeler, M.C., R.E.,
+Mr.&nbsp;Lalbir Singh Thapa, Surveyors Gujjar Singh and Turubaz Khan,
+Photographer Abdul Jalil Khan, sixteen khalasis, etc.</p>
+
+<p>The tasks allotted to the detachment were:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>(1) A general survey of the whole unmapped area covered by the
+Expedition, on a scale of 1 inch to 4 miles.</p>
+
+<p>(2) A detailed survey of the immediate environs of Mount Everest
+on the scale of 1 inch to 1 mile.</p>
+
+<p>(3) A complete revision of the existing ¼-inch map of Sikkim.</p>
+
+<p>With the exception of a few rough notes and sketches by early
+travellers and missionaries in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries,
+our first knowledge of the Southern portion of the Tibetan province
+of Tsang dated from the epoch of the Survey of India by trained native
+explorers in the middle of the nineteenth century. Thus, much of
+the area visited by the Expedition in 1921 was traversed by the
+explorer Hari Ram during the course of his two journeys in 1871&ndash;2
+and 1885 respectively. At that time, however, foreign surveyors
+were not regarded with favour in Tibet; work could only be carried
+on surreptitiously, and the resulting map merely consisted of a small-scale
+route traverse which gave no indication of the surface features
+beyond the explorer's actual route.</p>
+
+<p>The first rigorous survey undertaken in the neighbourhood was
+that carried out by Captain C. H. D. Ryder, R.E. (now Colonel Ryder,
+C.I.E., D.S.O., Surveyor-General of India), during the Tibet Mission
+of 1903&ndash;1904. During the stay of the Mission at Kampa, the ¼-inch
+survey was carried as far West as longitude 88°; while, on the
+subsequent return march up the Tsangpo Valley, surveys were
+extended as far as the Southern watershed of the great river&mdash;the
+so-called Ladak Range&mdash;in latitude 29° approximately.</p>
+
+<p>West of longitude 88° there thus remained a stretch of unsurveyed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[320]</a></span>
+country some 14,000 square miles in area, between the Ladak Range
+on the North and the Great Himalaya Range on the South&mdash;the
+latter forming the Northern frontier of Nepal. The Mount Everest
+Expedition provided an opportunity of making good the whole of this
+area, with the exception of some 2,000 square miles at the extreme
+Western end, into which, in view of the restrictions of the Indian
+Foreign Department, I did not feel justified in penetrating.</p>
+
+<p>Fortunately, Colonel Bury's plans contemplated an outward
+Northerly journey via Shekar and Tingri to the Western flanks of
+Mount Everest, whence the reconnaissance of the mountain was to
+be carried out from West to East, parallel to the Northern frontier
+of Nepal. This rendered feasible the mapping of the whole unsurveyed
+area between the Southern watershed of the Tsangpo and the Great
+Himalaya Range, as far West as longitude 85° 30', without in any
+way infringing the Foreign Department's orders and restrictions.</p>
+
+<p>For the purpose of the detailed survey of the Mount Everest regions,
+it was arranged for my Assistant, Major Wheeler, to make a thorough
+test of the Canadian pattern of photo-survey apparatus, of which he
+had had previous experience in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. This
+method of survey, which had not hitherto been employed in India,
+is particularly adapted for use in high mountain regions. Fortunately,
+the experimental outfit, which had recently been ordered from England,
+was delivered just in time to accompany the Expedition. Wheeler's
+account of his season's work will be found in Appendix II.</p>
+
+<p>With a view to carrying out the revision survey of Sikkim while
+awaiting the arrival of the members of the Expedition from England,
+the Survey Detachment was authorised to assemble at Darjeeling
+early in April, six weeks before the date fixed for the start of the
+Expedition. In spite of an unusually wet and cloudy spring, the three
+surveyors made such good use of their time that 2,500 square miles
+of country were completed before the advance of the Expedition
+necessitated the temporary abandonment of this work.</p>
+
+<p>After completing the necessary preliminaries with Colonel Bury,
+I myself left Darjeeling on May 13, intending to rejoin the remainder
+of the Expedition in Sikkim. Continuous rain, however, rendered
+the latter task impossible; the Sikkim roads were, moreover, blocked
+in several places by severe landslips, so that I was only with difficulty
+able to reach Kampa by the 28th. It transpired, however, that there
+was no cause for hurry, since the main body of the Expedition,
+travelling via the Chumbi Valley, had encountered greater difficulties
+than mine, and did not arrive at Kampa until June 5. While awaiting<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[321]</a></span>
+their arrival, I filled in the time by occupying and re-observing from
+Colonel Ryder's old triangulation stations of 1903, overlooking the
+Kampa Plain.</p>
+
+<p>I had received no news whatever of the Expedition or of the outside
+world since leaving Darjeeling three-and-a-half weeks previously.
+Consequently the death of my old friend Dr.&nbsp;Kellas on the very
+day of their arrival at Kampa came to me as a very severe
+shock.</p>
+
+<p>The Sikkim revision-survey having been so much hampered by
+bad weather, I decided to take only two of the three surveyors with
+the Expedition into Tibet, leaving Surveyor Turabaz Khan to complete
+the comparatively dry areas of Northern Sikkim before the arrival
+of the monsoon. This he succeeded in doing at the cost of considerable
+personal discomfort, returning to Darjeeling in July.</p>
+
+<p>It was not until we reached the summit of the Tinki Pass on
+June 11 that we found ourselves for the first time looking into
+unsurveyed country. From here onwards as far as Tingri the survey
+was kept up by Lalbir Singh, whose unflagging energy alone enabled
+him to keep pace with the long marches of the Expedition. Each
+morning he was away with his plane-table and squad of coolies long
+before our breakfast was served, seldom reaching camp before nightfall.
+The gathering clouds and other ominous signs of a rapidly approaching
+monsoon, however, forbade any respite.</p>
+
+<p>On arrival at Tingri, after spending a week in fruitless efforts to
+observe the triangulated peaks of the main Himalayan Range through
+the dense monsoon clouds which were daily piling up more and more
+thickly from the South, I departed on June 26 with Surveyor Gujjar
+Singh on a short trip to explore and map the upper valley of the
+Bhong Chu.</p>
+
+<p>Our first march led across the wide Tingri Plain, past the hot
+spring village of Tsamda, to the hamlet of Dokcho, at the Southern
+extremity of the Sutso Plain. This plain is covered with the ruins
+of numerous villages and watch-towers, the haunt of countless rock-pigeons.
+They are all of loftier and more substantial construction
+than the miserable hovels which form the scattered hamlets of to-day&mdash;indicating,
+apparently, the former presence of a large and warlike
+population. It is impossible even to hazard a guess at the age of
+these ruins, which may have preserved their present state for generations
+in the comparatively arid climate of Tibet. Many of the towers are
+60 feet or more in height; roofs and floors have all disappeared, but
+the massive mud walls in many instances still bear the marks of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[322]</a></span>
+wooden shuttering used in their erection. This method of construction
+is unknown, I believe, in Tibet at the present day.</p>
+
+<p>The next day's march, skirting the Western edge of the plain,
+brought us to the village of Phuri, where the river flows in a
+flat-bottomed,
+cultivated valley, between bare brown hills. On the 28th
+we camped at Menkhap-to, the highest village in the valley. The
+headman, a sort of local &ldquo;warden of the marches,&rdquo; refused to see
+me and shut himself up in his house, guarding his door with three
+huge mastiffs who effectively frustrated the efforts of my messengers
+to establish communications. Evidently he feared the subsequent
+results to himself of harbouring strangers. The remaining villagers
+were quite friendly, however, and supplied all my requirements. One
+man, the owner of a gun, surprised me by a request for 12-bore cartridges
+just after I had greatly shocked his neighbour's Buddhist susceptibilities
+by killing a butterfly for my collection! Much snow is reported to
+fall at Menkhap-to, which is deserted during the winter months, when
+the inhabitants descend to Menkhap-me (&ldquo;lower Menkhap&rdquo;) and
+the Sutso Plain.</p>
+
+<p>Above Menkhap-to the road leaves the main valley and proceeds
+Westwards over a spur known as the Lungchen La (17,700 feet).
+This spur commands an extensive view across the wide, uninhabited
+Pekhu Plain, with its three lakes, as far as the snowy range running
+North-west from the summit of Gosainthan. On a fine day, the
+whole panorama can be sketched in from a couple of fixings on either
+side of the pass; unfortunately, at the time of our arrival bad weather
+had set in, and the whole snow-range was hidden in cloud. I had
+therefore to leave Gujjar Singh camped near the summit of the pass
+to await a fine day for the completion of his surveys, and myself returned
+at the end of the month to Tingri, where I rejoined Mr.&nbsp;Wollaston,
+who had been detained at headquarters by an outbreak of enteric
+fever amongst the Expedition servants.</p>
+
+<p>Wild game is plentiful in the Upper Bhong Valley. I shot numerous
+hares, some <ins title="ram-chakor">ramchakor</ins> and a bar-headed goose during the trip;
+while Gujjar Singh caught a young, week-old <ins title="barhal">burhel</ins> lamb on the
+summit of the Lungchen Pass, which, however, died after three weeks
+in captivity. Gazelle are common on the Sutso Plain.</p>
+
+<p>By the end of June, Lalbir Singh had finished the inking of his
+previous surveys, and was ready for fresh work. Accordingly, after
+spending a couple of days in examining his board, and checking the
+spelling of his village names with the aid of the local Tibetan officials,
+I despatched him on a lengthy programme of work in Pharuk and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[323]</a></span>
+Kharta. It was three months before I saw him again.</p>
+
+<p>About this time a messenger arrived from the Dzongpen of Nyenyam,
+inviting us to visit his district, which lay four marches to the Southwest,
+in the valley of the Po Chu or Bhotia Kosi R. Although Nyenyam
+was not one of the districts specifically mentioned in our passport,
+Wollaston and I decided, with the concurrence of Colonel Bury, to
+avail ourselves of the opportunity of visiting this little-known area.</p>
+
+<p>Leaving Tingri on July 13, with the interpreter <ins title="Gyaldzan">Gyalzen</ins> Kazi
+and Surveyor Gujjar Singh, who had now returned after completing
+his work on the Lungchen Pass, we camped that evening at Langkor,
+a small village at the Western edge of the Tingri Plain. A cantilever
+bridge which spans the Gya Chu opposite the village had been carried
+away by floods shortly before our arrival, and the whole population
+of the hamlet, male and female, were busily engaged in its reconstruction,
+working in relays to the accompaniment of prolonged
+and vigorous blasts on a &ldquo;conch&rdquo; which a monk was diligently
+blowing in order&mdash;as it was explained to us&mdash;to avert further rainfall
+until the bridge should be completed. His efforts were rewarded
+with tolerable success, as the rain held off all day in spite of the
+threatening storm-clouds which loomed up from the South-west.</p>
+
+<p>The most interesting feature of Langkor is an ancient temple,
+an appanage of the great Drophung monastery of Lhasa. This
+building, which is said to be over 1,000 years old, contains a sacred
+stone alleged to have been hurled across the Himalayan Range from
+India, and to have pitched in the Tingri Plains. The name Tingri
+is said to be derived from the noise (&ldquo;ting&rdquo;) made by the falling
+stone. The stone is carefully preserved inside a wooden box, which
+is opened with much ceremony on the first day of the Tibetan new
+year. The temple, which is managed by a committee of fifteen civilian
+monks (nyakchang), also contains a library of 4,400 books, and an
+image of the Indian saint Tamba Sanye which is popularly believed
+to have grown by itself from the ground <i>in situ</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Crossing the Tang La (17,980 feet) in a driving snowstorm, a long
+march of 22 miles brought us next day to the bleak village of Tulung,
+in the upper valley of the Po Chu. As we descended the Western
+side of the pass the snow-clouds gradually dispersed, disclosing glimpses
+of the magnificent twin summits of Gosainthan (26,290 feet), 30 miles
+to the West. Several of our coolies succumbed to mountain sickness
+on the pass, with the result that my bedding and the kitchen box
+only reached camp at 9 p.m.</p>
+
+<p>On July 15 our road lay for 8 miles along the flat valley of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[324]</a></span>
+Po Chu; the river then turns sharply Southwards, passing for 3
+miles through a gorge of granite and schist. Bushes of wild currant,
+gooseberry, berberis and dog-rose here begin to appear, and around
+the village of Targyeling, where we camped, were smiling fields of
+mustard and buckwheat, in addition to the usual Tibetan crops of
+barley and dwarf pea. After a month spent in the bleak Tibetan
+uplands, it was a relief to pitch our tents in a homely green field,
+alongside a rippling brook lined with familiar ranunculus, cow parsley,
+forget-me-not, and a singularly beautiful pale mauve cranesbill,
+and to feast our eyes on the glorious purple of the wild thyme which
+clothed the hillsides in great patches of colour.</p>
+
+<p>The next day, still following the course of the Po Chu, we reached
+Nyenyam, a large and very insanitary village which is known under
+the name of Kuti by the Nepalis who constitute the majority of its
+inhabitants. These Nepali traders (Newars) have their own Hindu
+temple in the village. There is also a Nepalese chauki (court-house)
+with a haqim (magistrate) invested with summary powers of jurisdiction
+over Nepali subjects; he is specially charged with the
+settlement of trade disputes, and with the encouragement of
+Tibeto-Nepalese
+trade and commerce.</p>
+
+<p>As is customary in all important districts of Tibet, there are here
+two Dzongpens, who by a polite fiction are known as &ldquo;Eastern&rdquo;
+and &ldquo;Western&rdquo; (Dzongshar and Dzongnup) respectively. Actually,
+the functions of the two Dzongpens are identical; the <i>raison d'être</i>
+of the double regime being an attempt to protect the peasants from
+extortion by the device of providing two administrators, who, in
+theory at least, act as a check upon each other's peculations. At
+the time of our arrival, those two worthies were so busy preparing
+a joint picnic that we had considerable difficulty in getting their
+attention.</p>
+
+<p>I spent three days in exploring the neighbourhood of Nyenyam,
+while Wollaston was engaged in his botanical and zoological pursuits.
+Gujjar Singh, with the plane-table, was detained by bad weather
+higher up the valley. Below Nyenyam the river enters a very deep,
+narrow gorge; pines and other forest trees begin to appear. The
+road, which here becomes impassable for animals, crosses the river
+four times in 6 miles by cantilever bridges before reaching the village
+of Choksum, but I could find no trace of the portion described by
+explorer Hari Ram in 1871 as consisting of slabs of stone 9 to 18 inches
+wide supported on iron pegs let into the vertical face of the rock at
+a height of 1,500 feet above the river. At Choksum (10,500 feet)<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[325]</a></span>
+the river falls at an average rate of 500 feet per mile. The Nepal
+frontier is crossed near Dram village, some 10 miles further down
+stream, but owing to the vile state of the weather, which rendered
+even the roughest attempts at surveying impossible, I abandoned
+all idea of reaching the spot.</p>
+
+<p>On July 20 we retraced our steps 9 miles up the valley to Tashishong,
+where we found Dr.&nbsp;Heron encamped, together with Gujjar Singh,
+whose work had been hung up for a week by continued cloud and
+rainfall. Heron returned Northwards next day, while we followed
+a rough easterly track leading over the Lapche Range to the village
+of the same name in the valley of the Kang Chu. The weather on
+this day was atrocious, and our last pretence of accurate surveying
+broke down. We were unable to reach Lapche village by dusk,
+and spent a somewhat cheerless night on boulders in drenching
+rain at 14,600 feet, with no fuel except a few green twigs of dwarf
+rhododendron.</p>
+
+<p>Lapche (La-Rimpoche, &ldquo;precious hill&rdquo;) is sacred as the home
+and birthplace of Jetsun Mila Repa, a wandering lama and saint who
+lived in Southern Tibet in the eleventh century, and who taught by
+parables and songs, some of which have considerable literary merit.
+The two principal works ascribed to him are an autobiography, or
+namtar, and a collection of tracts called Labum, or the &ldquo;myriad
+songs.&rdquo; They are still among the most popular books in Tibet.<a name="FNanchor_20_20" id="FNanchor_20_20"></a><a href="#Footnote_20_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a>
+His hermit-cell still remains under a rock on the hillside, and his
+memory is preserved by an ancient temple and monastery, the resort
+of numerous pilgrims, alongside which we pitched our tents.</p>
+
+<p>Lapche village is situated on a spur overlooking the junction of
+two branches of the Kang stream&mdash;the latter being a tributary of
+the Rongshar River, which, in turn, joins the Bhotia Kosi River in
+Nepal. The extreme dampness of the local climate is indicated by
+the trailing streamers of lichen which festoon the trees, and by the
+pent roofs of the buildings. The village contains some ten or twelve
+houses, of which half are occupied by Tibetans and half by Nepalese
+subjects (<ins title="Sharpas">Sherpas</ins>)&mdash;each community having its own headman. The
+inhabitants were very friendly and pleasant, and gave us a good deal
+of information. The village is deserted during the winter months,
+when the whole population migrates across the border into Nepal.
+The Tibetans pay no taxes to Nepal during their half-yearly sojourn
+in the lower valley; conversely, the Nepalis during their summer<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[326]</a></span>
+residence in Lapche are not subject to Tibetan taxation or to the
+imposition of ulag (forced labour). The Tibetans of Lapche pay
+their taxes in the form of butter direct to the Lapche monastery,
+the head lama, or abbot, of which resides at Phuto Gompa near
+Nyenyam. The Nepal frontier is some 10 miles below Lapche, opposite
+the snow-peak of Karro Pumri. Katmandu can be reached in eight
+days, but the track is bad and very little trade passes this way.</p>
+
+<p>Transport arrangements necessitated a day's halt at Lapche,
+which was fortunately enlivened by the timely arrival of a large
+parcel of letters and newspapers, which Colonel Bury had thoughtfully
+sent after us from Tingri&mdash;almost the last news of the outside
+world which we were to receive for over two months.</p>
+
+<p>From Lapche we proceeded to the Rongshar Valley, crossing
+the Kangchen and Kangchung (&ldquo;big snow&rdquo; and &ldquo;little snow&rdquo;)
+passes. Descending the hill to Trintang village, where we camped
+on July 25, the clouds lifted momentarily, disclosing an amazing
+view of the superb snow summit of <ins title="Gaurisankar">Gauri-Sankar</ins> towering magnificently
+above us just across the valley. This mountain, which is called by
+the Tibetans Chomo Tsering, or Trashi Tsering, is the westernmost
+of a group of five very sacred peaks known collectively as Tsering
+Tse-nga (&ldquo;Tsering five peaks&rdquo;). Unfortunately, owing to constant
+clouds, I was unable to identify with certainty the remaining four
+peaks of Tingki Shalzang, Miyo Lobzang, Chopen Drinzang and
+Tekar Drozang. Owing to the sacred nature of the Rongshar Valley,
+the slaughtering of animals is strictly forbidden; the large flocks
+and herds of the villagers are only sold for slaughter in the adjoining
+districts of Tingri and Nepal, and we were only able to buy a sheep
+on promising not to kill it until after quitting the valley.</p>
+
+<p>Trintang village occupies a plateau 1,750 feet above the level
+of the river; 1,400 feet below is the village of Tropde, to which the
+Trintang residents all descend in winter. Rongshar Dzong, which
+is situated in the lower village, has no importance; at the time of
+our visit the Dzongpen had gone to his home on leave of absence,
+leaving his affairs in the hands of a steward.</p>
+
+<p>A day's halt being necessary in order to collect transport, I took
+the opportunity of descending the Rongshar Valley as far as the Nepal
+frontier, while Gujjar Singh endeavoured, without much success,
+to pick up the threads of his survey by identifying the snowy peaks
+which occasionally afforded brief glimpses through rifts in the clouds.
+The Rongshar River drops 1,400 feet in 7 miles between Tropde and
+the Nepal frontier, which is crossed at an altitude of roughly 9,000<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[327]</a></span>
+feet.</p>
+
+<p>On July 27 we marched 20 miles up the Rongshar Valley to the
+village of Tazang (Takpa-Santsam, &ldquo;limit of birch trees&rdquo;), which,
+as its name implies, is situated at the extreme upper limit of the forest
+zone. On the way we passed the village and monastery of Chuphar,
+whence a track leads South-east over the difficult snow-pass of
+Menlung (&ldquo;vale of medicinal herbs&rdquo;) to the villages of Rowaling
+and Tangpa in the Kangphu Valley of Nepal.</p>
+
+<p>Tazang had already been visited by Colonel Bury, a month
+previously. The local headman was too drunk, on the evening of
+our arrival, to send out the necessary messages summoning the village
+transport-yaks from their grazing grounds. In consequence, our
+baggage was only got under weigh at 11 a.m. next morning, and we
+were compelled to pitch our tents at a grazing camp (16,500 feet)
+after only covering 9 miles. The weather showed signs of improvement
+in proportion as we receded from the Himalayan gorges, but
+dense banks of cloud still obscured all the hill-tops. An easy march
+over the Phuse La (17,850 feet) brought us on the 29th to the bleak
+village of Kyetrak, situated at the foot of the great Kyetrak Glacier,
+on the extreme Southern edge of the Tingri plain&mdash;an area which we
+had already surveyed six weeks previously.</p>
+
+<p>From Kyetrak we proceeded via the Lamna La to Chöbuk, thence
+following the tracks of the Expedition headquarters which Colonel
+Bury had just transferred from Tingri to Kharta in the lower Bhong
+Chu Valley. On reaching headquarters on August 2, we found
+Colonel Bury in sole occupation&mdash;Mallory and Bullock having left
+that very morning on a reconnaissance of the Eastern approaches
+to Mount Everest.</p>
+
+<p>The weather during the whole of August was such as to render
+out-of-door survey operations impossible. Gujjar Singh was occupied
+during the month in adjusting and inking his surveys, while I filled
+in several days in making tracings of all work so far completed, after
+which, for the remainder of the season, I joined the mountaineers,
+whose doings are recorded elsewhere in this book.</p>
+
+<p>On the return journey in October I despatched Gujjar Singh from
+Gyangkar Nangpa to complete the remaining portions of the Sikkim
+revision-survey; at the same spot I picked up Lalbir Singh, who,
+after completing his survey of the Pharuk and Kharta areas, had
+crossed the Bhong Chu below <ins title="Lungdo">Lungdö</ins> and worked his way back via
+Tashirakar and Sar. Travelling via Kampa and Lachen Valley,
+we reached Darjeeling on October 16. Tracings of the new survey<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[328]</a></span>
+were hastily finished and sent to press, with the result that a complete
+preliminary ¼-inch map in six colours was published before the last
+members of the Expedition had sailed for England. A ½-inch
+preliminary sketch-map of the environs of Mount Everest was also
+prepared by Major Wheeler at the same time for the use of the mountaineers
+in discussing the details of their next year's climb.</p>
+
+<p>The out-turn of work during the Expedition was as follows:&mdash;</p>
+
+<table summary="map">
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">¼-inch revision survey</td>
+    <td align="right">4,000 square miles</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">¼-inch original survey</td>
+    <td align="right">12,000 square miles</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td align="left">Detail photo-survey (environs of Mount Everest)</td>
+    <td align="right">600 square miles</td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>The surveyors all worked splendidly under difficult and trying
+conditions. Major Wheeler had probably the hardest time of any
+member of the Expedition, and his success in achieving single-handed
+the mapping of 600 square miles of some of the most mountainous
+country in the world is sufficient proof of his determination and grit.
+It is difficult for those who have not actually had the experience to
+conceive the degree of mental and physical discomfort which results
+to the surveyor from prolonged camping at high altitudes during
+the monsoon, waiting for the fine day which never comes. Such
+was our fate for four months during the Expedition of 1921, yet on
+looking back one feels that the results were well worth while. The
+discomforts soon fade from recollection; the pleasures alone remain
+in one's memory, and there is not one of us but would gladly repeat
+our season's experiences, if so required.</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes">
+
+<p style="text-indent: 0;">Footnote:</p>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_20_20" id="Footnote_20_20"></a><a href="#FNanchor_20_20"><span class="label">[20]</span></a> <i>Journey to Lhasa and Central Tibet</i>, by S. C. Dass, C.I.E., page 205,
+footnote by Hon. W. W. Rockhill.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="hr65" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[329]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>APPENDIX II</h2>
+
+<p style="text-align: center; font-size: 125%;">THE PHOTOGRAPHIC SURVEY</p>
+
+<p style="text-align: center; font-size: 125%;"><span class="smcap">By Major</span> E. O. WHEELER, M.C.</p>
+
+<p>I had purchased a set of photo-topographical surveying instruments
+of the Canadian pattern, on behalf of the Survey of India, while on
+leave in 1920. A trial of this method of surveying mountainous
+country was to be carried out in Garhwal in 1921; but when Survey
+of India officers were asked for to accompany the Mount Everest
+Expedition, I was detailed to carry out the trial there. Possibly a
+word of explanation of the method used may not be amiss.</p>
+
+<p>The &ldquo;Canadian&rdquo; method&mdash;if I may call it so; for although it
+was invented and has been used elsewhere, it has been far more
+extensively applied in Canada than in any other part of the world&mdash;may
+be briefly described as &ldquo;plane-tabling by photography.&rdquo; It
+requires, equally with the plane-table, an accurate framework, on
+which to base the detailed survey; and simply substitutes a small
+(3-inch vernier) theodolite and camera for the sight-rule and
+plane-table. Stations are fixed and photographs oriented by means
+of the theodolite; the photographs, which are taken so as to be as
+nearly as possible true perspectives, represent the country as it would
+be seen by the plane-tabler, and detail on them may be fixed by
+intersections or sketched in by eye in exactly the same way as on the
+plane-table.</p>
+
+<p>Angles are read and photographs taken in the field; and, if
+considered necessary to test exposures or protect photographic plates
+from deterioration due to climatic conditions, development of plates
+is also carried out there. Otherwise, the map is made wholly in the
+office, using either contact prints or enlargements, from the negatives
+taken in the field. The latter are usually preferable. The main
+advantages at high altitudes over the plane-table are, that a much
+larger area can be covered in a given time in the field, that the
+instruments are more portable for difficult climbing, that there is
+no necessity to do accurate drawing with numbed fingers, and that
+the draughtsman may see the country from several points of view<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">[330]</a></span>
+at one time. On the other hand, more equipment is necessary, and&mdash;a
+great disadvantage sometimes, as in this case&mdash;the map does not
+come into being as one goes along.</p>
+
+<p>After carrying out various preliminary adjustments and tests
+at the office of the Trigonometrical Survey at Dehra Dun, I reached
+Darjeeling on April 30, and Tingri on June 19, travelling with
+Expedition Headquarters via Ph&#257;ri Dzong.</p>
+
+<p><i>En route</i> Tingri, we had caught glimpses of Everest and the
+neighbouring peaks; so that by the time we arrived there, I was
+able, with the help of the existing maps and what local information
+we had obtained, to decide on the area I would attempt to survey.
+I say &ldquo;attempt,&rdquo; for little was really known then about the geography,
+and still less about the weather conditions throughout the summer.
+As it turned out in the end, the area had to be much curtailed, and
+certain parts surveyed in considerably less detail than I should have
+liked: almost wholly on account of the weather. Although it was
+often fairly clear at 6 a.m. or so, photographs taken before 8,
+particularly at the latter end of the season, were of little use for
+surveying purposes.</p>
+
+<p>However, at the outset, I had hoped to map, on the scale of 1 inch
+= 1 mile, the whole area between the Arun Gorge on the East and
+the R&#257; Chu on the West: and from the Nep&#257;l-Tibet boundary
+Northwards for some 20 miles; i.e. to the point where the various
+streams, flowing in a Northerly direction from the high boundary
+ridge, issue from the mountains proper into the more rolling foot-hills
+on the Southern outskirts of the Tibetan Plateau. This area includes
+Mount Everest itself near the centre of its Southern side, Mak&#257;lu and
+Pk. 25,413 to the South-east, Pks. 23,800 (Kh&#257;rtaphu), 23,420, and
+23,080 to the North-east and North, and Pks. 25,990 (Gy&#257;chung
+Kang), 25,202, 25,909 and 26,867 (Cho Oyu) to the North-west; and
+comprises some 1,000 square miles of country: a suitable season's work,
+given reasonably fine weather. This unfortunately we did not get.</p>
+
+<p>On June 24, the day after Messrs. Mallory and Bullock had started
+for the Rongbuk Valley, Dr.&nbsp;Heron and I marched South across the
+plain to the village of <ins title="Shärto">Sharto</ins>, <i>en route</i> Kyetr&#257;k, in the R&#257; Chu Valley,
+where I intended to establish my base camp while surveying the
+Kyetr&#257;k Glacier and West face of the Cho Oyu&mdash;Gyachung K&#257;ng
+group. The next day we moved on to Kyetr&#257;k, 1 mile below the
+snout of the glacier, and made camp there. This bleak village and
+the route to it and over the Phüse La have already been described.</p>
+
+<p>June 26 was fine, so after crossing the R&#257; Chu on local ponies,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">[331]</a></span>
+ourselves and our ice-axes and rucksacks perched on Tibetan saddles&mdash;a
+cold and uncomfortable proceeding in the early morning&mdash;we
+ascended the 18,000-foot hill immediately West of the village. Up
+to 1 p.m. we had excellent views across and up the Kyetr&#257;k Valley;
+but only a glimpse of Gauri Sankar (Chomo Tsering) to the South-west,
+where heavy clouds soon began to roll up. Cho Oyu and Pk. 25,909
+and their spurs unfortunately cut out all distant views to the South-east,
+as they did everywhere in the upper part of this valley; so that
+my first view of Everest was from Tingri a month later. Next day,
+we started shortly after daylight for a spur on the East side of the
+valley; unfortunately&mdash;and this happened in the case of almost
+every peak I started for until mid-September&mdash;clouds began to roll
+up, and we were forced to stop to take the photographs before we
+had reached a really good view-point.</p>
+
+<p>Colonel Bury arrived at Kyetr&#257;k shortly after we got back to
+camp. On the 28th he and Heron started off early for a flying visit
+to the Kyetr&#257;k Glacier and Nangba La; I started later, after getting
+kit together, for a camp half-way up the glacier, and about 6 miles
+from Kyetr&#257;k. About 2 p.m. I found a comparatively dry spot on
+shale at 18,000 feet, and pitched my tents there, the last of the coolies
+arriving only at 6 p.m. The place was bleak enough, but was as far
+as I could get that day, and seemed suitable for two climbs&mdash;one on
+either side of the glacier.</p>
+
+<p>My equipment consisted of the camera, theodolite, and a small
+plane-table&mdash;to help in identifying triangulated points&mdash;by way of
+instruments, which were carried by three coolies who remained with
+me. Ten other coolies slept at the base camp at Kyetr&#257;k, and carried
+stores up to me or moved the camp, as required; the camp consisted
+of a Whymper tent for the three coolies and a Meade for myself;
+bedding, food, a Primus stove and tin of kerosene for my own cooking,
+and yak dung fuel for the coolies. My servant remained at the base
+camp and sent up cooked meat and vegetables; otherwise I cooked
+for myself.</p>
+
+<p>June 29 and 30 were useless days; but on July 1 the weather
+cleared a bit, and after crossing the glacier, I went up a sharp rock
+shoulder of Cho Rapzang. The peak was mainly loose granite blocks
+at a steep angle, so that progress was slow: it was noon when I reached
+the top (about 19,500 feet), and as I did so the clouds settled down,
+and it began to snow. However, at 4 p.m. it cleared sufficiently for
+some work to be done; after that we came down as quickly as possible
+in another blinding snowstorm, and reached camp just after dark;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[332]</a></span>
+I for one very tired. I found the coolies exceedingly slow in coming
+down the loose blocks, I think because their balance was bad&mdash;they
+had to use their hands far more than I did.</p>
+
+<p>I had a good view of the glacier from here: the East side is very
+steep and broken, with several tributary glaciers flowing down from
+Cho Oyu and Pk. 25,909, and from a 23,000-foot Peak (not triangulated)
+to the North of the latter. The West side, except for Cho Rapzang,
+round which the glacier flows, is a snowfield falling more or less gently
+from a low ridge running from the pass to the West of Cho Rapzang.
+The glacier itself is like many others in this region, moraine covered
+for 3 or 4 miles above its snout, &ldquo;pinnacled&rdquo; for another mile, and
+finally practically flat. But this flat portion gives by no means good
+going; when frozen it is very irregular and trying to walk over; and
+when thawed, is slushy and water soaked. There are two large water
+channels in the ice which are unpleasant to cross; these are from
+10 to 15 feet wide and 20 feet deep, and carry a large volume of water
+in the afternoon. Crossing without a rope is distinctly dangerous,
+for although one can find places easy enough to jump, a slip would
+be certain death, for once in the channel it would be quite impossible
+to get out, or even to stop oneself on its smooth ice floor and sides.</p>
+
+<p>Cloudy weather then set in; but on the 3rd I got a few
+photographs from a shoulder near by, and moved camp 2 or 3 miles
+farther up the glacier (at about 18,500 feet). I was in this camp for
+nine days and only succeeded in taking two low stations, one on either
+side of the glacier and each about 1½ miles from the pass (Nangba
+La) to Nep&#257;l; but the valley on the South side, leading down to
+Khungphu, turns sharply to the East just below the pass, and little
+could be seen of the Nepalese side. Each of these stations I went up
+twice&mdash;to wait all day long the first time, in each case, for weather
+which never came. To reach the station on the East side of the
+glacier I had the only comparatively difficult rock climbing which I
+met with during the course of the Expedition; and on the way down
+watched my theodolite coolie, whom I had left behind exhausted in
+the morning, tumble off a steep rock arête, theodolite and all;
+fortunately he jammed in a crack a few feet below, and was unhurt.
+During the day he had started up after us on his own, and had lost
+his way in the clouds.</p>
+
+<p>On July 12&mdash;another wet day&mdash;I moved camp some distance
+down the main glacier and up a tributary flowing from Pk. 25,909 and
+Cho Oyu, and next day ascended a shoulder whence a good view into
+the cirque below these two peaks was obtained&mdash;or should have been<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_333" id="Page_333">[333]</a></span>
+obtained! But again I sat till dusk and saw little or nothing. Early
+the following day, however, it was fairly clear, so I got my photographs
+and then moved camp back to the base at Kyetr&#257;k.</p>
+
+<p>The next three days were spent in moving my base camp to the
+bridge across the R&#257; Chu, 6 miles below Kyetr&#257;k; taking a light
+camp up to about 18,000 feet on the prominent hill immediately
+East of the bridge, climbing the latter, sitting through the usual
+storms without doing any work, and returning to the bridge. Time
+was getting on, and the weather was still bad, so I then decided to
+leave my camp at the bridge and move into Headquarters myself
+to get developing, etc., up to date, and have a short rest. I walked
+into Tingri, with two coolies, on July 18, and found Colonel Bury
+there alone: and the Headquarters house felt very comfortable
+indeed after a Meade tent, in spite of nightly pilgrimages from one
+dry spot to another, as the roof leaked!</p>
+
+<p>Five busy days were spent at Tingri developing and printing;
+and as the weather showed little sign of improvement, I decided to
+go on with Headquarters to Chöbuk, in the Rongbuk Valley and work
+on that side, so as to make sure of completing the most important
+part, in the vicinity of Everest, and return to the Kyetr&#257;k Valley if
+there should be time. So on the 24th Colonel Bury and I left Tingri
+and reached Chöbuk on the 25th, where we met Mallory and Bullock,
+just in from their reconnaissance of the North and North-west sides
+of Everest. A talk with them gave me some idea of the country,
+and the view from an 18,000-foot hill above Chöbuk enabled me to
+make a plan of campaign: far more extensive, as always, than the
+weather eventually allowed.</p>
+
+<p>Colonel Bury, Mallory and Bullock had gone on to Kh&#257;rta on July
+26; on the 27th I moved up the right bank of the Rongbuk Valley
+some 10 miles, to the monastery, above which I took a 20,000-foot
+<ins title="tation">station</ins> the next day. The weather was dreadful, but at 6 p.m. I
+got a round of photographs, which really turned out very well
+considering the time of day at which they were taken: it took me
+four and a half hours to get up this peak&mdash;fresh snow and scree&mdash;and
+although I had no glissades, only half an hour to come down.</p>
+
+<p>On the 27th I moved camp to a grassy hollow near the snout of
+the glacier&mdash;Mallory and Bullock's base&mdash;and next day occupied
+another hill overlooking the main glacier and valley, and looking up
+the side valley on the East, which joins the Dz&#257;kar Chu just below
+the glacier snout. The next three days were spent in establishing
+a light camp on the left bank of the East branch of the Rongbuk<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_334" id="Page_334">[334]</a></span>
+Glacier, about 3 miles from its snout, and taking a station on its left
+bank to overlook both the East and main glaciers.</p>
+
+<p>The Rongbuk Glacier is made up of two large branches, one flowing
+from the snow basin immediately below the great North wall of
+Everest, and the other, the &ldquo;West Rongbuk&rdquo; which joins the main
+stream about 4 miles above the snout of the glacier, flowing East
+in the basin between the high North-west ridge of Everest and the
+South-east slopes of Pk. 25,990 (Gy&#257;chung Kang). At one time there
+was a third branch, the &ldquo;East Rongbuk,&rdquo; which must have also
+joined the main stream, but this has receded until its snout is now
+a mile or more East of the main glacier, and only its torrent pours
+into a large cave in the latter. The East Rongbuk itself consists of
+two branches: one, the more southerly, flows from the great snow
+basin (which we eventually crossed to reach the North Col) between
+Everest, its North Peak and Col, and Pk. 23,800 (Kh&#257;rtaphu); and
+the other, which joins the South branch about 2 miles from its snout,
+from between Pks. 23,800 and 23,420. The former gives a 20,000-foot
+pass, very steep on the South side, to the K&#257;ma Valley; and the
+latter, an easy pass of about the same height to the head of one branch
+of the Kh&#257;rta Valley.</p>
+
+<p>I camped, at about 19,500 feet, on the moraine-covered glacier
+opposite the junction of the northerly branch from Pks. 23,800 and
+23,420. On the way up I followed the watercourse between the ice
+of the Main Rongbuk Glacier and the scree and conglomerate slopes
+to the East of it, as far as the mouth of the East Rongbuk stream
+(3 miles), which gave good though boulder-strewn going. Thence a
+short scramble up &ldquo;cut-bank&rdquo; on the right bank of the East Rongbuk
+stream to the shelf of an old lateral moraine of that glacier, and along
+the latter&mdash;excellent going&mdash;to near its snout. The stream is pretty
+big in the evening; but quite easy to cross&mdash;except for iced rocks&mdash;in
+the early morning: and from there I followed up a series of lateral
+moraines on the left bank, to my camp. It was not till I was coming
+down that I discovered that the moraine-covered glacier itself&mdash;here
+covered with shale instead of boulders and scree as in the case of the
+main glacier&mdash;gave comfortable walking.</p>
+
+<p>A little distance below my camp site, the moraine-covered snout
+gives place to pinnacled ice, divided into three sections by two broad,
+shaly medial moraines. Either of the latter would be very suitable
+for a camp, and would give an excellent route to our 21,500-foot camp
+below the Chang La. The latter might, I think, be reached
+by this route in three days from the base camp at the snout of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_335" id="Page_335">[335]</a></span>
+main glacier, camping the first night at 19,000 feet at the start of
+the medial moraine, the second at 20,000 feet on the medial moraine
+some 2 miles above the junction of the Northern and Southern
+branches of the East Rongbuk, and the third night on snow at 21,500
+feet below the North Col. The better moraine to ascend would require
+reconnaissance; for the pinnacles between them are difficult and slow
+to cross. The valley sides are steep in the lower reaches of the glacier,
+but more shaly and gentle on both branches, above their junction.</p>
+
+<p>August 3 broke clear; and I started up a likely looking peak
+behind (South of) camp, which appeared to be on the ridge between
+the East and main glaciers. I afterwards found that this was not
+the case; at the time I had to stop on a lower point as the clouds
+settled down. From here I had a glimpse of a big peak&mdash;Mak&#257;lu,
+I thought&mdash;over the pass at the head of the southerly branch of the
+glacier: and this gave me the idea that there must be a comparatively
+low pass from here to the K&#257;ma Valley. But clouds prevented me
+seeing more and studying the topography more carefully. There
+were heavy snowstorms on August 4 and 5, but the 6th looked better,
+and after four hours' most strenuous step-cutting up and slithering
+down pinnacles, I crossed the glacier and ascended a 21,000-foot
+station on the other side, from which I obtained good, if cloudy,
+views of the East Rongbuk Glacier. Snow in the night and a dull
+morning made me decide to abandon this area&mdash;I could get my camp
+no farther up owing to having insufficient warm clothes to camp all
+my coolies at this height&mdash;and I returned to the base camp, preparatory
+to tackling the West side of the Rongbuk Valley. Six hours' easy
+going took me to my base camp.</p>
+
+<p>After two days' rest and office work, I crossed the glacier and put
+a light camp at about 19,000 feet in a small hanging valley below
+the &ldquo;Finger,&rdquo; a black rock gendarme which is a very prominent
+landmark on the left bank of the Rongbuk Valley. On August 11
+it snowed heavily, and I found my bed, in which I spent the day,
+very hard indeed&mdash;the camp being pitched on large boulders on
+top of the moraine. On the 12th, 13th, and 14th, I started for the
+&ldquo;Finger,&rdquo; the first time by the ridge immediately above camp, which
+gave some nice climbing with the rocks partly snow covered as they
+were, and the other two days, by a much quicker but less interesting
+route up soft snow and scree. Each day the clouds came down, and
+although I waited till nearly dark at about 20,500 feet on the ridge, it was
+not till the third day that I got a round of indifferent photographs.</p>
+
+<p>Time was getting on, so on the 15th I called my &ldquo;Finger&rdquo; station<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_336" id="Page_336">[336]</a></span>
+&ldquo;good enough&rdquo; and moved camp up the left bank of the main glacier
+to a point on the old lateral moraine, opposite the entrance of the
+stream from the East Rongbuk; and the next day round the corner
+to the West, some distance up the West Rongbuk Glacier, and about
+1,000 feet above it. <i>En route</i>, I tried to get some photographs from
+the high moraine at the junction of the West with the main glacier;
+but again the weather defeated me, and I got into camp&mdash;another
+uncomfortable one&mdash;soaked to the skin.</p>
+
+<p>I was in this camp for five days; most of them spent huddled
+under rocks waiting for the clouds to lift. I had one beautiful
+day, my only one in six weeks, and got some very nice photographs
+of Mount Everest and its West ridge. It is surprising how a little
+good weather and the feeling of having really done some work affects
+one's spirits!</p>
+
+<p>On August 21 I moved back to my base camp at the glacier snout,
+again trying for a station at the corner&mdash;and failing. I had not
+done nearly as much as I wanted to do; but there seemed to be no
+end to the bad weather, and only a month or a bit more remained in
+which to map the whole of the East side of the mountain: and I
+had heard from Colonel Bury that there would be a considerable
+amount of work on that side. Originally, I had hoped not only to
+return to the bridge over the R&#257; Chu to complete the work in the
+Kyetr&#257;k Valley, but also to take several stations in the valleys running
+North from the 23,000-foot group North of Everest. But again apart
+from shortage of time, the weather made it out of the question, and I
+went through to Kh&#257;rta, via the Doya La, arriving there on August 27.</p>
+
+<p>The change in scenery immediately one crosses the Doya La is
+most marked, both as regards rock and vegetation. The former&mdash;mostly
+gneiss&mdash;is far more rugged and interesting, and there is infinitely
+more of the latter. The Headquarters camp at Kh&#257;rta, in a little
+poplar grove, was pleasant indeed after the bleak, uninteresting
+Rongbuk Valley; and I thoroughly enjoyed my five days there,
+developing and printing; busy days, but very different from lying
+on one's back on the sharp boulders of the Rongbuk moraines.
+Mallory, Bullock and Morshead were in Kh&#257;rta when I arrived;
+Colonel Bury and Wollaston returned from their excursion to the
+Popti La soon after, and Raeburn arrived on September 1. It was
+a great treat to me to be able to &ldquo;swap lies&rdquo; with so many people,
+after two months almost wholly alone!</p>
+
+<p>On September 3 Morshead and I started up the Kh&#257;rta Chu in
+the wake of Mallory and Bullock, who had gone up to get the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_337" id="Page_337">[337]</a></span>
+&ldquo;bundobust&rdquo; for the final fling going. As usual, bad weather dogged
+my footsteps, and although the weather while I was in Kh&#257;rta had
+been glorious, Morshead and I spent seven days in taking two very
+indifferent stations in the lower part of the Kh&#257;rta Valley, before
+joining the remainder of the expedition at the &ldquo;Advanced Base&rdquo;
+on September 11. A further eight days were spent there, waiting
+for the weather; but in that time I was able to get two very useful
+stations, one on either side of the valley.</p>
+
+<p>On September 19 I moved up to &ldquo;No. 1 Camp&rdquo; with Mallory,
+Bullock and Morshead; and shared the fortunes of the rest of the
+Expedition as far as Kampa Dzong on the way back to Darjeeling,
+where Raeburn, Heron and I left Headquarters to return to Darjeeling
+via <ins title="Lachen">L&#257;chen</ins> and the Teesta Valley. I was delighted to get
+into the &ldquo;final push,&rdquo; and enjoyed the few days' change from surveying
+to climbing, enormously; except that I felt the cold very much in
+my feet, and had it not been for Mallory's good offices&mdash;he rubbed
+my feet for a solid hour after we came down from Chang La&mdash;I
+feel sure that the result might have been much more serious than
+the slight discomfort I afterwards experienced.</p>
+
+<p>I took three stations in the neighbourhood of No. 1 Camp&mdash;one
+on either side of the <ins title="Kharta">Kh&#257;rta</ins> Glacier, and one at 22,300 feet on the
+&ldquo;Lhakpa La.&rdquo; This was on snow, with my instrument resting on,
+and steadied by, bags of &ldquo;tsampa&rdquo;; which proved to be a most
+excellent substitute for rock!</p>
+
+<p>On September 26 I crossed with Colonel Bury and Wollaston to
+the K&#257;ma Valley; unfortunately, we only had two clear days there,
+and I had to leave it without covering as much ground as I should
+have liked, though&mdash;as usual&mdash;I spent my days in snowstorms,
+hoping for breaks in the clouds.</p>
+
+<p>The return to Darjeeling via the Serpo La, L&#257;chen, and the Teesta
+Valley, made a pleasant change from the Ph&#257;ri route; but again
+bad weather spoiled our views, and we saw nothing at all of
+<ins title="Kangchenjunga">Kanchenjunga</ins> and its neighbours. Raeburn went in by the usual
+road via Gangtok; Heron and I followed the river&mdash;an excellent
+route in spite of the prevalence of leeches&mdash;and reached Pashok on
+October 19. Heron went on to Darjeeling, a further 18 miles, the
+same day. I followed on the 20th.</p>
+
+<p>I enjoyed the Expedition and my work with it, thoroughly; but
+in my opinion, Tibet, at any rate that portion of it in which we were,
+is a place to have <i>been</i>, rather than one to go to!</p>
+
+<hr class="hr65" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_338" id="Page_338">[338]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>APPENDIX III</h2>
+
+<p style="text-align: center; font-size: 125%;">A NOTE ON THE GEOLOGICAL RESULTS OF THE EXPEDITION</p>
+
+<p style="text-align: center; font-size: 125%;"><span class="smcap">By</span> A. M. HERON, D.Sc., F.G.S., Geological Survey of India.</p>
+
+<p>The area geologically examined is somewhat over 8,000 square
+miles, comprising the Tibetan portion of the Arun drainage area,
+with, in the West, the headwaters of the Bhotia Kosi and its tributaries.</p>
+
+<p>The circumstances of the Expedition were not favourable for
+work in any detail, but an endeavour was made to traverse and map
+as large an area as possible on a scale of ¼-inch to the mile, on skeleton
+maps very kindly furnished by Major Morshead and his surveyors as
+their plane-tabling proceeded; my work must therefore be considered
+as a geological reconnaissance pure and simple.</p>
+
+<p>If I am accorded the privilege of accompanying the second
+Expedition, by which time Major Wheeler's map on a scale of 1-inch
+to the mile will be available, I hope to be able to make a detailed
+survey of the vicinity of Mount Everest and investigate the complicated
+inter-relationships of the metamorphosed sedimentaries and the
+associated gneisses and granites.</p>
+
+<p>My survey continues to the Westward Sir Henry Hayden's work
+during the Tibet Expedition in 1903&ndash;4.</p>
+
+<p>Geologically this area is divided into two broad divisions: (<i>a</i>)
+Tibetan and sedimentary, (<i>b</i>) Himalayan and crystalline, a distinction
+which is clearly displayed in the topography resulting from the
+underlying geological structure, for to the North we have the somewhat
+tame and lumpy mountains of Tibet contrasting with the higher,
+steeper and more rugged Himalayas on the South.</p>
+
+<p>The Tibetan zone consists of an intensely folded succession of
+shales and limestones, with subordinate sandstone quartzites, the
+folds striking East-West and mainly lying over towards the South,
+showing that the movements which produced them came from the
+North.</p>
+
+<p>The uppermost rocks consist of the Kampa system of Hayden,
+a great thickness of limestones, which, where the rocks have escaped
+alteration, yield an assemblage of fossils which determine their age<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_339" id="Page_339">[339]</a></span>
+as Cretaceous and Eocene.</p>
+
+<p>Below these is a monotonous succession of shales, practically
+unfossiliferous, with occasional quartzites and limestones representing
+the Upper and Middle Jurassic with at the base beds probably belonging
+to the Lias.</p>
+
+<p>These Jurassic shales are by far the most conspicuous formation
+in this part of Tibet, being repeated many times in complicated folds.</p>
+
+<p>The Cretaceous-Eocene limestones form comparatively narrow
+bands, occurring as compressed synclines caught up in the folded
+complex of Jurassic shales.</p>
+
+<p>Along the Southern border of the Tibetan zone, below the base of
+the Jurassic shales, is a great thickness (2,000 feet&ndash;3,000 feet) of
+thinly bedded limestones in which the fossils have been destroyed
+and the rocks themselves converted over considerable areas into
+crystalline limestones and calc-gneisses containing tremolite, epidote,
+tourmaline, etc., but still retaining their original bedded structure in
+the banding of the altered rock.</p>
+
+<p>The absence of determinable fossils makes it impossible to determine
+the age of these with certainty, but from their lithological character
+and position in the sequence, it is possible that they correspond with
+the Tso Lhamo limestone in <ins title="Sikhim">Sikkim</ins> (Lias) and the Kioto limestone
+of the Zangskar range (Lower Jurassic and Upper Trias).</p>
+
+<p>The Himalayan and crystalline zone is essentially composed of
+foliated and banded biotite-gneiss, usually garnetiferous, on which
+lie, at comparatively low angles and with a general Northerly dip, the
+above-mentioned calc-gneisses.</p>
+
+<p>These occur most abundantly to the North and West of Everest,
+in the Keprak, Rongbu, Hlalung and Rebu Valleys. The group of
+high peaks to the North-west of Everest (overlooking the <ins title="Khumbu">Khombu</ins>
+Pass) is made up of these and intrusive schorl granite, and it would
+seem that the precipitous North-western face and spurs of Everest
+are the same.</p>
+
+<p>The Eastern and North-eastern valleys, Chongphu, Kharta and
+Kama, which are in general at a lower level than the North-western
+valleys, are excavated in the biotite-gneiss. On the North-eastern
+face of Everest fresh snow was too abundant at the time of my visit
+to make out what the rocks were.</p>
+
+<p>Associated with the limestones and calc-gneisses are quartzites
+and tourmaline-biotite schists which probably represent the lowest
+portions of the shales immediately overlying the limestones.</p>
+
+<p>It is probable that the biotite-gneiss is an igneous rock intrusive<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_340" id="Page_340">[340]</a></span>
+in the calc-gneisses and schists, but this and many other puzzling
+features of the crystallines require more detailed study than I was able
+to give this year.</p>
+
+<p>Both biotite-gneiss and metamorphosed sedimentaries are crowded
+with dykes and sills, of all dimensions, of schorl granite or pegmatite
+to such an extent that this granite is frequently the predominant
+rock. It is highly resistant to weathering and it is doubtless due to
+its presence in large amount that such comparatively soft rocks as
+the calc-gneisses take part in forming some of the highest summits.</p>
+
+<p>In the same way the scattered peaks of over 20,000 feet on the
+watershed between the Arun and the Tsangpo owe their prominence
+to their being groups of veins of a very similar granite, differing in
+that it contains biotite in place of schorl. Around these separate
+centres of intrusion are areoles of metamorphism in which the Jurassic
+shales have been converted into slates and phyllites.</p>
+
+<p>Economically the area traversed by the Expedition is devoid of
+interest. Barring a little copper staining on a few boulders on moraines
+no traces of ore were seen.</p>
+
+<hr class="hr65" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_341" id="Page_341">[341]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>APPENDIX IV</h2>
+
+<p style="text-align: center; font-size: 125%;">THE SCIENTIFIC EQUIPMENT</p>
+
+<p style="text-align: center; font-size: 125%;"><span class="smcap">By</span> A. R. HINKS, F.R.S., Secretary of the Royal Geographical Society.</p>
+
+<p>The most important scientific work of the first year's expedition
+should have been the study of the physiological effects of high altitude
+that Dr.&nbsp;Kellas had undertaken, with the support of Professor
+Haldane, F.R.S., and of the Oxygen Research Committee of the
+Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. In his work on
+Kamet in 1920, Dr.&nbsp;Kellas had tried, and provisionally decided against,
+the use of oxygen compressed in cylinders: but he laboured under the
+grave disadvantage that the light cylinders he hoped to obtain had
+been, after his departure for India, pronounced unsafe; and the
+cylinders sent out were clearly too heavy for effective use in climbing.
+Dr.&nbsp;Kellas had therefore fallen back on the use of oxygen prepared
+from the reaction between water and oxylith in an apparatus which
+included a kind of gas mask. He was prepared also to make several
+difficult researches into the physiological processes of adaptation to
+low oxygen pressure; and some delicate apparatus was prepared
+and sent out to him by the Oxygen Research Committee. Unhappily
+these interesting and important enquiries came to nought, for there
+was no one competent to carry them on after his lamented death at
+Kampa Dzong; and the Expedition of 1922 was thereby deprived
+of much information that should have been at its disposal in studying
+the use of oxygen for the grand assault.</p>
+
+<p>The scientific equipment for which the Mount Everest Committee
+were directly responsible was not ambitious: the Survey of India
+were responsible for the whole of the survey and brought their own
+equipment, which is described elsewhere in this book. It was necessary
+to provide the climbing party only with aneroids, compasses, reserve
+field-glasses, thermometers and cameras, with subsidiary apparatus
+for checking the aneroids at the base camps, and heavier cameras
+for work at lower levels.</p>
+
+<p>The aneroids by Cary, Porter&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;Co. and by Short&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;Mason were
+constructed in pairs, to operate from 15,000 to 23,000, and 22,000 to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_342" id="Page_342">[342]</a></span>
+30,000 feet respectively. They seem to have performed well on the
+whole, and tests made at the National Physical Laboratory since their
+return show that they have changed very little; but it cannot be
+said that their performances were very effectively controlled in the
+field, for until late in the season there were no trigonometrical heights
+available, and the climbers had little opportunity in their rather
+isolated circumstances of employing their aneroids to the best
+advantage, for purely differential work. Nor is there much to be
+said as yet on the value of the shortened form of George mercurial
+barometer, to come into action only at 15,000 feet (Cary, Porter &amp;
+Co.). These instruments will find effective use only in the second
+season, when the reference points of the trigonometrical survey will
+be available as fundamental data.</p>
+
+<p>The climbers carried &ldquo;Magnapole&rdquo; compasses with luminous
+points, and sometimes a Mark VIII prismatic; these all worked
+well. The simpler compass is the more convenient for use on snow
+when goggles must be worn. A luminous liquid compass (Short &amp;
+Mason) was found very useful on long reconnaissance rides.</p>
+
+<p>For the record of temperatures in camps Messrs. Negretti&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;Zambra
+had made three small pairs of maximum and minimum thermometers
+in leather travelling cases. These suffered some casualties, by theft,
+or being accidentally left out in the sun; and the pattern has been
+repeated for the second year's work.</p>
+
+<p>The heavier photographic equipment included an old and well-seasoned
+7½ × 5 Hare Camera, lent to the Expedition, but newly
+fitted by Messrs. Dallmeyer with a Stigmatic lens of 9 inches focal
+length, a negative telephoto lens of 4 inches focal length giving
+enlargement up to 6 times, and a set of Wratten filters. With this
+camera Mr.&nbsp;Wollaston secured some of the finest pictures taken on the
+Expedition.</p>
+
+<p>There were also two quarter-plate cameras for glass plates: a
+Sinclair Una camera fitted by Messrs. Dallmeyer with a Stigmatic
+lens of 5.3 inches focal length, and Adon telephoto lens; and a second
+Sinclair camera lent by Captain Noel.</p>
+
+<p>One or the other of these two was used by Mr.&nbsp;Mallory at many
+of the high camps, and both the Hare 7½ × 5 and the Sinclair quarter-plate
+went to the 22,500-foot camp at the Lhakpa La: doubtless
+the greatest height yet attained by so large a camera as the former.
+The principal difficulty with these cameras was unsteadiness in a
+heavy wind when the telephoto lens was in use: and the tripods
+have been strengthened and the lens supports stiffened before they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_343" id="Page_343">[343]</a></span>
+go out again.</p>
+
+<p>The plates were of two kinds: Imperial Special Rapid and Fine
+Grain slow. The latter were generally preferred, and could hardly
+have been better. The Imperial Dry Plate Company, who generously
+made and presented these plates to the Expedition, deserve special
+thanks for their skill and for their generosity.</p>
+
+<p>The cameras which used films were a Panoram Kodak of 5 inches
+focal length, with films 12 × 4 inches; a No. 1 Autograph Kodak,
+and two Vest Pocket Kodaks, all three fitted with Cooke lenses by
+Messrs. Taylor, Taylor&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;Hobson. The Panoram Kodak was used
+very successfully by Colonel Howard-Bury, and the splendid series of
+panoramas is the most useful, if not quite the most beautiful, set of
+photographs brought home. The smaller cameras were used by the
+climbing party with many good results.</p>
+
+<p>Finally it must be said that a large part of the best photographs
+were taken by Colonel Howard-Bury with his own 7 × 5 Kodak,
+and the results very generously placed at the disposal of the Committee.</p>
+
+<p>All the instruments were examined and tested at the National
+Physical Laboratory, and the thanks of the Committee are due to
+the Director and his staff, who gave most valuable advice and
+assistance.</p>
+
+<hr class="hr65" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_344" id="Page_344">[344]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>APPENDIX V</h2>
+
+<p style="text-align: center; font-size: 150%;">MAMMALS, BIRDS AND PLANTS COLLECTED BY THE EXPEDITION</p>
+
+<p style="text-align: center; font-size: 125%;"><span class="smcap">By</span> A. F. R. WOLLASTON</p>
+
+<p style="margin-left: 5em;">A.&mdash;LIST OF MAMMALS COLLECTED</p>
+
+<p style="text-indent: 0em;">Stoat. <i>Mustela temon</i><br />
+Stoat. <i>Mustela longstaffi</i><br />
+Marmot. <i>Marmota himalayana</i><br />
+Hamster. <i>Cricetulus alticola tibetanus</i>, subsp. n.<br />
+Vole. <i>Phaiomys leucurus</i><br />
+Vole. <i>Phaiomys everesti</i><br />
+Vole. <i>Microtus</i> (<i>Alticola</i>), sp.<br />
+Pika. <i>Ochotona roylei nepalensis</i><br />
+Pika. <i>Ochotona wollastoni</i>, sp. n.<br />
+Pika. <i>Ochotona curzoniæ</i><br />
+</p>
+
+<p style="margin-left: 5em;">B.&mdash;LIST OF BIRDS COLLECTED</p>
+
+<p style="text-indent: 0em;">Central Asian blackbird. <i>Turdus maxima</i><br />
+Solitary thrush. <i>Monticola solitarius</i><br />
+White-breasted Asiatic dipper. <i>Cinclus cashmirensis</i><br />
+Indian stone-chat. <i>Saxicola torquata indica</i><br />
+Gould's desert chat. <i>Saxicola montana</i><br />
+Bush chat. <i>Pratincola prjevalskii</i><br />
+Indian redstart. <i>Ruticilla rufiventris</i><br />
+Guldenstadt's Afghan redstart. <i>Ruticilla grandis</i><br />
+White-capped redstart. <i>Chimarrhornis leucocephalus</i><br />
+Hodgson's grandala. <i>Grandala c&oelig;licolor</i><br />
+Tickell's willow-warbler. <i>Phylloscopus affinis</i><br />
+Mandelli's willow-warbler. <i>Phylloscopus mandellii</i><br />
+Smoky willow-warbler. <i>Phylloscopus fulviventris</i><br />
+Spotted bush-warbler. <i>Lusciniola thoracica</i><br />
+Prince Henry's laughing thrush. <i>Trochalopterum henrici</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_345" id="Page_345">[345]</a></span><br />
+Eastern alpine accentor. <i>Accentor rufiliatus</i><br />
+Red-breasted accentor. <i>Accentor rubeculoides</i><br />
+Rufous-breasted accentor. <i>Accentor strophiatus</i><br />
+Brown accentor. <i>Accentor fulvescens</i><br />
+Sikkim black tit. <i>Parus beavani</i><br />
+Wren. <i>Troglodytes</i>, sp.<br />
+Hodgson's pied wagtail. <i>Motacilla hodgsoni</i><br />
+White-faced wagtail. <i>Motacilla leucopsis</i><br />
+Yellow-headed wagtail. <i>Motacilla citreola.</i><br />
+Blyth's pipit. <i>Anthus citreola</i><br />
+Indian tree-pipit. <i>Anthus maculatus</i><br />
+Hodgson's pipit. <i>Anthus rosaceus</i><br />
+Grey-backed shrike. <i>Lanius tephronotus</i><br />
+Slaty-blue flycatcher. <i>Cyornis leucomelanurus</i><br />
+Himalayan greenfinch. <i>Hypacanthis spinoides</i><br />
+Tree-sparrow. <i>Passer montanus</i><br />
+Cinnamon tree-sparrow. <i>Passer cinnamomeus</i><br />
+Blanford's snow-finch. <i>Montifringilla blanfordi</i><br />
+Adams' snow-finch. <i>Montifringilla adamsi.</i><br />
+Hodgson's ground-finch. <i>Fringilauda nemoricola</i><br />
+Brandt's ground-linnet. <i>Leucosticte brandti.</i><br />
+Walton's twite. <i>Linota rufostrigata</i><br />
+Red-breasted rose-finch. <i>Pyrrhospiza punicea</i><br />
+Scarlet rose-finch. <i>Carpodacus erythrinus</i><br />
+Hodgson's rose-finch. <i>Carpodacus pulcherrimus</i><br />
+Severtzoff's rose-finch. <i>Carpodacus severtzoi</i><br />
+Prejewalk's rose-finch. <i>Carpodacus rubicilloides</i><br />
+Red-headed bullfinch. <i>Pyrrhula erythrocephala</i><br />
+Godlevski's meadow bunting. <i>Emberiza godlevskii</i><br />
+Elwes' shore-lark. <i>Otocorys elwesi</i><br />
+Long-billed calandra lark. <i>Melanocorpha maxima</i><br />
+Tibetan skylark. <i>Alauda inopinata</i><br />
+Short-toed lark. <i>Calandrella brachydactyla</i><br />
+Brook's short-toed lark. <ins title="Calandrella acutirostris tibitana"><i>Calandrella acutirostris tibetana</i></ins><br />
+Chough. <i>Pyrrhocorax graculus</i><br />
+Brown ground-chough. <i>Podoces humilis</i><br />
+Common hoopoe. <i>Upupa epops</i><br />
+Pied crested cuckoo. <i>Coccystes jacobinus</i><br />
+Eastern little owl. <i>Athene bactriana</i><br />
+White-backed dove. <i>Columba leuconota</i><br />
+Snow partridge. <i>Lerwa lerwa</i><br />
+Temminck's stint. <i>Tringa temmincki</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_346" id="Page_346">[346]</a></span><br />
+Redshank. <i>Totanus calidris</i><br />
+Dusky redshank. <i>Totanus fuscus</i><br />
+Greater sand plover. <ins title="Aægialitis mongola"><i>Aegialitis mongola</i></ins><br />
+Common tern. <i>Sterna fluviatilis</i><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>In addition to the above the following birds were identified, but
+specimens of them were not obtained:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p style="text-indent: 0em;">Wall-creeper<br />
+House martin<br />
+Sand martin<br />
+Rock martin<br />
+Alpine chough<br />
+Magpie<br />
+Black crow<br />
+Raven<br />
+Swift<br />
+Siberian swift<br />
+Cuckoo<br />
+Himalayan vulture<br />
+<ins title="Lammergeier">Lämmergeier</ins><br />
+Sea eagle<br />
+Pallas' sea eagle<br />
+Black-eared kite<br />
+Barheaded goose<br />
+Ruddy sheldrake<br />
+Garganey<br />
+Wigeon<br />
+Pochard<br />
+Gadwall<br />
+Hill rock-dove<br />
+Chinese turtle dove<br />
+Tibetan partridge<br />
+Tibetan snow partridge<br />
+Blood pheasant<br />
+Black-necked crane<br />
+White stork<br />
+Ibis-bill<br />
+Painted snipe<br />
+Pin-tailed snipe<br />
+Brown-headed gull<br />
+</p>
+
+<p>C.&mdash;LIST OF PLANTS COLLECTED BETWEEN JUNE AND
+SEPTEMBER, 1921, 12,000&ndash;20,400 <span class="smcap">ft.</span></p>
+
+<p style="text-indent: 0em;">Clematis orientalis, L.<br />
+Ranunculus pulchellus, C. A. Mey., var. sericeus, Hk. f.&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;T.<br />
+Ranunculus pulchellus, C. A. Mey.<br />
+Anemone obtusiloba, Don<br />
+Anemone polyanthes, Don<br />
+Anemone rivularis, Ham.<br />
+Geranium Grevilleanum, Wall.<br />
+Caltha scaposa, Hk. f.&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;T.<br />
+Delphinium Brunonianum, Royle<br />
+Aconitum gymnandrum, Max.<br />
+Aconitum orochryseum, Stapf, sp. nov.<br />
+Delphinium Pylzowii, Maxim.<br />
+Halenia elliptica, Don<br />
+Delphinium grandiflorum, L.<br />
+Hypecoum leptocarpum, Hk. f.&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;T.<br />
+Meconopsis horridula, Hk. f.&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;T.<br />
+Meconopsis grandis, Prain?<br />
+Meconopsis, sp.<br />
+Corydalis, sp.<br />
+Corydalis juncea, Wall.<br />
+Corydalis Moorcroftiana, Wall.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_347" id="Page_347">[347]</a></span><br />
+Arabis tibetica, Hk. f.&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;T.<br />
+Lepidium ruderale, L.<br />
+Arenaria ciliolata, Edgew.<br />
+Dilophia salsa, Hk. f.&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;T.<br />
+Cardamine macrophylla, Willd.<br />
+Arenaria Stracheyi, Edgew.<br />
+Silene Waltoni, F. N. Williams<br />
+Silene Moorcroftiana, Wall.<br />
+Arenaria musciformis, Wall.<br />
+Arenaria melandrioides, Edgew.<br />
+Polygonum islandicum, Hk. f.<br />
+Geranium collinum, A. DC.<br />
+Impatiens sulcatus, Wall.<br />
+Thermopsis barbata, Royle<br />
+Thermopsis lanceolata, R. Br.<br />
+Sophora Moorcroftiana, Benth.<br />
+Stracheya tibetica, Benth.<br />
+Astragalus strictus, Grah.<br />
+Oxytropis microphylla, DC<br />
+Gueldenstædtia uniflora, Benth.<br />
+Desmodium nutans, Wall.<br />
+Potentilla coriandrifolia, Hk. f.<br />
+Potentilla multifida, L.<br />
+Potentilla sericea, L.<br />
+Potentilla microphylla, Don<br />
+Potentilla peduncularis, Don<br />
+Potentilla Griffithii, Hk. f.<br />
+Spiræa arcuata, Hk. f.<br />
+Saxifraga Lychnitis, Hk. f.&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;T.<br />
+Saxifraga nutans, Hk. f.&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;T.<br />
+Saxifraga aristulata, Hk. f.<br />
+Saxifraga near S. saginoides, Hk. f.&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;T.<br />
+Saxifraga flagellaris, Willd.<br />
+Saxifraga Hirculus, L.<br />
+Saxifraga Lychnitis, Hk. f.&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;T.<br />
+Saxifraga fimbriata, Wall.<br />
+Saxifraga pilifera, Hk. f.&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;T.<br />
+Saxifraga Caveana, W. W. Sm.<br />
+Saxifraga microphylla, Royle<br />
+Saxifraga pallida, Wall.<br />
+Saxifraga umbellulata, Hk. f.&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp; T.<br />
+Parnassia ovata, Ledeb.<br />
+Parnassia pusilla, Wall.<br />
+Eutrema Prewalskii, Hk. f.&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;T.<br />
+Sedum fastigiatum, Hk. f.&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;T.<br />
+Sedum trifidum, Wall.<br />
+Sedum crenulatum, Hk. f.&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;T.<br />
+Sedum himalense, Don<br />
+Epilobium palustre, L.<br />
+Epilobium reticulatum, C. B. Cl.<br />
+Pleurospermum Hookeri, C. B. Cl.<br />
+Scabiosa Hookeri, C. B. Cl.<br />
+Valeriana Hardwickii, Wall.<br />
+Aster, sp.<br />
+Aster heterochætus, C. B. Cl.<br />
+Allardia glabra, Dene.<br />
+Aster tibeticus, Hk. f.<br />
+Cremanthodium Decaisnei, C. B. Cl.<br />
+Aster diplostephioides, C. B. Cl.<br />
+Erigeron, sp.<br />
+Leontopodium fimbrilligerum, J. R. Drum.?<br />
+Leontopodium monocephalum, Edgew.<br />
+Leontopodium Stracheyi, C. B. Cl.<br />
+Anaphalis xylorhiza, Sch. Bip.<br />
+Anaphalis cuneifolia, Hook. f.<br />
+Tanacetum tibeticum, Hk. f.&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;T.<br />
+Senecio arnicoides, Wall. var. frigida, Hk. f.<br />
+Cremanthodium pinnatifidum, Benth.<br />
+Chrysanthemum Atkinsoni, C. B. Cl.?<br />
+Artemisia Moorcroftiana, Wall.<br />
+Sonchus sp.<br />
+Senecio glomerata, Decne.<br />
+Senecio (§ Ligularia) sp.<br />
+Senecio chrysanthemoides, DC.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_348" id="Page_348">[348]</a></span><br />
+Tanacetum khartense, Dunn, sp. nov.<br />
+Aster sp.<br />
+Lactuca macrantha, C. B. Cl.<br />
+Senecio sorocephala, Hemsl.<br />
+Saussurea gossypina, Wall.<br />
+Saussurea tridactyla, Sch. Bip.<br />
+Tanacetum gossypinum, Hk. f.&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;T.<br />
+Saussurea wernerioides, Sch. Bip.<br />
+Crepis glomerata, Hk. f.?<br />
+Saussurea graminifolia, Wall.<br />
+Senecio arnicoides, Wall.<br />
+Saussurea uniflora, Wall.<br />
+Morina polyphylla, Wall.<br />
+Saussurea glandulifera, Sch. Bip.<br />
+Lactuca Dubyæa, C. B. Cl.<br />
+Lactuca Lessertiana, C. B. Cl.<br />
+Cassiope fastigiata, D. Don<br />
+Daphne retusa, Hemsl.<br />
+Rhododendron lepidotum, Wall.<br />
+Rhododendron setosum, Don<br />
+Rhododendron near R. lepidotum, Wall.<br />
+Rhododendron campylocarpum, Hk. f.<br />
+Rhododendron cinnabarinum, Hk. f.<br />
+Rhododendron lanatum, Hk. f.<br />
+Rhododendron arboreum, Sm.<br />
+Rhododendron Thomsoni, Hk. f.<br />
+Cyananthus incanus, Hk. f.&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;T.<br />
+Glossocomia tenera, DC.<br />
+Cyananthus pedunculatus, C. B. Cl.<br />
+Campanula modesta, Hk. f.&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;T.<br />
+Campanula colorata, Wall.<br />
+Campanula aristata, Wall.<br />
+Androsace chamæjasme, Hort., var. coronata, Wall.<br />
+Androsace villosa, L. var.?<br />
+Androsace strigillosa, Franch.<br />
+Primula minutissima, Jacq.<br />
+Primula Buryana, Balf. f. sp. nov.<br />
+Primula Wollastonii, Balf. f. sp. nov.<br />
+Primula pusilla, Wall.<br />
+Primula sikkimensis, Hook, microform<br />
+Primula capitata, Hook.<br />
+Primula capitata, microform.<br />
+Primula uniflora, Klatt<br />
+Primula Dickieana, Watt.<br />
+Primula obliqua, W. W. Sm.<br />
+Primula indobella. Balf. f.<br />
+Primula minutissima, Jacq.<br />
+Primula glabra, Klatt<br />
+Primula Younghusbandii, sp. nov.<br />
+Primula tibetica, Watt.<br />
+Primula denticulata, Sm.<br />
+Primula sikkimensis, Hook.<br />
+Primula nivalis, Pallas, var. macrocarpa, Pax.<br />
+Gentiana am&oelig;na, C. B. Cl.<br />
+Gentiana ornata, Wall.<br />
+Gentiana sp. Probably new but the material is too imperfect to decide this.<br />
+Gentiana Elwesii, C. B. Cl.<br />
+Gentiana robusta, King<br />
+Gentiana micantiformis, Burkill<br />
+Gentiana nubigena, Edgew.<br />
+Gentiana tubiflora, Wall., var. longiflora, Turrill, var. nov.<br />
+Gentiana stellata, Turrill, sp. nov.<br />
+Gentiana tenella, Fries<br />
+Swertia cuneata, Wall.<br />
+Arenaria Stracheyi, Edgew.<br />
+Swertia Kingii, Hk. f.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_349" id="Page_349">[349]</a></span><br />
+Swertia Younghusbandii, Burkill<br />
+Swertia multicaulis, D. Don<br />
+Nardostachys grandiflora, DC.<br />
+Trigonotis rotundifolia, Benth.<br />
+Eritrichium densiflorum, Duthie<br />
+Microula sikkimensis, Hemsl.<br />
+Onosma Waddellii, Duthie<br />
+Onosma Hookeri, C. B. Cl.<br />
+Verbascum Thapsus, L.<br />
+Lancea tibetica, Hk. f.&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;T.<br />
+Lagotis crassifolia, Prain<br />
+Pedicularis trichoglossa, Hk. f.<br />
+Pedicularis Elwesii, Hk. f.<br />
+Pedicularis megalantha, Don, forma<br />
+Pedicularis megalantha, Don, var. pauciflora, Prain<br />
+Pedicularis Roylei, Maxim.<br />
+Pedicularis siphonantha, Don<br />
+Pedicularis cheilanthifolia, Schrank<br />
+Pedicularis tubiflora, Fischer<br />
+Pedicularis integrifolia, Hk. f.<br />
+Pedicularis globifera, Hk. f.<br />
+Incarvillea Younghusbandii, Sprague<br />
+Escholtzia eriostachya, Benth.<br />
+Nardostachys Iatamansi, DC.<br />
+Dracocephalum breviflorum, Turrill, sp. nov.<br />
+Dracocephalum tanguticum, Maxim.<br />
+Dracocephalum heterophyllum, Benth.<br />
+Dracocephalum speciosum, Benth.<br />
+Veronica lanuginosa, Benth.<br />
+Nepeta discolor, Benth.<br />
+Nepeta Thomsoni, Benth.<br />
+Atriplex rosea, L.<br />
+Polygonum vaccinifolium, Wall.<br />
+Polygonum viviparum, L.<br />
+Polygonum tortuosum, Don<br />
+Polygonum affine, Don<br />
+Polygonum amphibium, L.<br />
+Stellera chamæjasme, L.<br />
+Euphorbia Stracheyi, Boiss.<br />
+Orchis cylindrostachys, Kränzl.<br />
+Liparis sp.<br />
+Goodyera fusca, Lindl.<br />
+Dendrobium alpestre, Royle<br />
+Pleione Hookeriana, S. Moore<br />
+Orchis Chusna, Don<br />
+Roscoea purpurea, Sm.<br />
+Iris nepalensis, Don<br />
+Iris goniocarpa, Baker<br />
+Iris tenuifolia, Pallas<br />
+Lloydia tibetica, Baker<br />
+Lloydia sp.<br />
+Fritillaria Hookeri, Baker<br />
+Fritillaria near F. Stracheyi, Hk. f.<br />
+Fritillaria cirrhosa, Don<br />
+Allium, sp.<br />
+Allium Wallichii, Kunth<br />
+Allium Govenianum, Wall.?<br />
+Allium cyaneum, Regel<br />
+Larix Griffithii, Hk. f.<br />
+Dryopteris Linneana, C. Chr.<br />
+Dryopteris Filix-mas, var. serrato-dentata, C. Chr.<br />
+Cryptogramma Brunoniana, Wall.<br />
+Calophaca crassicaulis, Benth.<br />
+Glaux maritima, L.<br />
+Androsace sessiliflora, Turrill, sp. nov.<br />
+Astragalus oreotrophes, W. W. Sm.<br />
+Thamnolia vermicularis, Schær.<br />
+Stereocaulon alpinus, Laur.<br />
+Thelochistes flavicans, Norm.<br />
+</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Note.</span>&mdash;The material of some of the numbers was insufficient for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_350" id="Page_350">[350]</a></span>
+accurate determination; in a few cases the material necessary for
+comparison was on loan, and in the case of one or two genera, such
+as <i>Aster</i>, revision of the North Asian and Indian species will have
+to be undertaken before certain plants can be definitely named. The
+numbers in the list coming under these categories are named &ldquo;&mdash;&mdash; sp.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p style="margin-left: 50%;"><span class="smcap">Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.</span></p>
+
+<p style="margin-left: 70%;"><i>March 7, 1922.</i></p>
+
+<hr class="hr65" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_351" id="Page_351">[351]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>INDEX</h2>
+
+<div class="left">
+<ul>
+<li>Abdul Jalil, photographic assistant, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_319">319</a></li>
+<li>Abruzzi, Duke of the, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_155">155</a></li>
+<li>Acchu, cook, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>, <a href="#Page_178">178</a></li>
+<li>Acclimatisation to high altitudes, <a href="#Page_277">277</a>, <a href="#Page_308">308</a>, <a href="#Page_341">341</a></li>
+<li>Alpine Club, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_14">14&ndash;19</a>, <a href="#Page_305">305</a></li>
+<li><a name="Altitude" id="Altitude">Altitude</a>, effects on human frame, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104&ndash;5</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137&ndash;8</a>, <a href="#Page_154">154&ndash;5</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>, <a href="#Page_206">206&ndash;7</a>, <a href="#Page_253">253&ndash;4</a>, <a href="#Page_276">276</a>, <a href="#Page_307">307&ndash;8</a>, <a href="#Page_315">315</a>, <a href="#Page_341">341</a>;
+on breathing, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>, <a href="#Page_243">243&ndash;4</a>, <a href="#Page_277">277</a>;
+on tinned fish, <a href="#Page_50">50</a></li>
+<li>Ammo-chu, river, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="#Page_291">291</a></li>
+<li>Aneroids, <a href="#Page_341">341</a></li>
+<li>Ang Tenze, coolie, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149&ndash;51</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a></li>
+<li>Ari, bungalow, <a href="#Page_33">33</a></li>
+<li><a name="Arun" id="Arun">Arun, river</a>, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104&ndash;5</a>;
+gorges, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>, <a href="#Page_221">221</a>, <a href="#Page_297">297</a>, <a href="#Page_298">298</a>; <a href="#Bhong"><i>see</i> Bhong-chu</a></li>
+<li>Avalanches, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>, <a href="#Page_267">267&ndash;9</a>, <a href="#Page_308">308&ndash;9</a></li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>Bailey, Major, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_314">314</a></li>
+<li>Bamtso, lake, <a href="#Page_49">49</a></li>
+<li>Bell, Sir Charles, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a></li>
+<li><ins title="Bhompos">Bhompo's</ins>, Buddhist sect, <a href="#Page_39">39</a></li>
+<li><a name="Bhong" id="Bhong">Bhong-chu</a>, river, <a href="#Page_64">64&ndash;5</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69&ndash;71</a>, <a href="#Page_89">89&ndash;90</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_295">295</a>;
+upper valley, <a href="#Page_320">320</a>, <a href="#Page_322">322</a>; <a href="#Arun"><i>see</i> Arun</a></li>
+<li>Bhotias, <a href="#Page_24">24</a></li>
+<li>Bhotia ponies, <a href="#Page_27">27</a></li>
+<li>Bhotia Kosi, river, <a href="#Page_338">338</a></li>
+<li>Birds, <a href="#Page_290">290&ndash;303</a>, <a href="#Page_312">312</a>, <a href="#Page_344">344&ndash;6</a></li>
+<li>Brahma Putra, river, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>; <i>see</i> <a href="#TP"><ins title="Tsan-po">Tsangpo</ins></a></li>
+<li>Bridges, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93&ndash;4</a>, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_159">159&ndash;60</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a></li>
+<li>Bruce, General, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>, <a href="#Page_312">312</a></li>
+<li>Buchan, J., <a href="#Page_19">19</a></li>
+<li>Buddhism and Buddhists, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67&ndash;8</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>;
+books, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>; red cap sect, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>; yellow cap sect, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>;
+regard for animal life, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_290">290</a>;
+<a href="#Monasteries"><i>see</i> Monasteries, prayer-wheels</a></li>
+<li>Bullock, G. H., <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>; <a href="#Mallory"><i>see</i> Mallory</a></li>
+<li>Bullocks, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>, etc; <a href="#Transport"><i>see</i> Transport</a></li>
+<li>Burrard, Sir S., <a href="#Page_10">10&ndash;12</a></li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li><ins title="Carpo-Ri">Carpo-ri</ins>, mountain, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>; ascended, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>, <a href="#Page_229">229&ndash;35</a>, <a href="#Page_268">268</a></li>
+<li>Chamlang, mountain, <a href="#Page_140">140</a></li>
+<li>Chandra Nursery, <a href="#Page_32">32</a></li>
+<li><a name="Chang_La" id="Chang_La">Chang La (North <ins title="Col)">Col),</ins></a> <a href="#Page_142">142</a>; first view of, <a href="#Page_204">204</a><ins title=";">,</ins> <a href="#Page_207">207</a>, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>, <a href="#Page_220">220</a>;
+way to, <a href="#Page_233">233&ndash;40</a>, <a href="#Page_246">246&ndash;8</a>, <a href="#Page_256">256</a>; camp on, <a href="#Page_259">259&ndash;60</a>;
+best route to, <a href="#Page_273">273&ndash;4</a>, <a href="#Page_311">311&ndash;12</a>, <a href="#Page_334">334&ndash;5</a></li>
+<li><a name="Changtse" id="Changtse">Changtse, North peak of Everest</a>, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>, <a href="#Page_233">233&ndash;4</a></li>
+<li>Chelmsford, Lord, <a href="#Page_16">16</a></li>
+<li>Chheten Wangdi, interpreter, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>, <a href="#Page_179">179</a></li>
+<li>Chinese in Tibet, <a href="#Page_38">38&ndash;9</a>, <a href="#Page_71">71&ndash;2</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>; in Nepal, <a href="#Page_173">173</a></li>
+<li>Chitayn, coolie, <a href="#Page_212">212</a></li>
+<li>Chöbuk, monastery and bridge, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href="#Page_312">312</a>, <a href="#Page_327">327</a></li>
+<li><ins title="Chodzong">Chödzong</ins>, village, <a href="#Page_86">86</a></li>
+<li>Chog La, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>, <a href="#Page_299">299&ndash;300</a></li>
+<li>Choksum, village, <a href="#Page_324">324</a></li>
+<li>Chomiomo, mountain, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a></li>
+<li>Chomolhari, mountain, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_263">263</a></li>
+<li>Chomolönzo, mountain, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149&ndash;51</a></li>
+<li>Chomolungma (Mount Everest or Makalu), <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>, <a href="#Page_224">224</a></li>
+<li>Chomo-Uri (Mount Everest), <a href="#Page_64">64</a></li>
+<li>Chorabsang, mountain, <a href="#Page_77">77&ndash;8</a>; (=Cho Rapsang, <a href="#Page_331">331</a>)</li>
+<li>Chortens, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>, <a href="#Page_286">286</a>, etc.</li>
+<li>Cho Uyo, mountain, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_77">76</a>, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>, <a href="#Page_219">219</a>, <a href="#Page_330">330</a></li>
+<li><ins title="Choyling">Chöyling</ins> monastery, <a href="#Page_194">194</a></li>
+<li>Chulungphu, village, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a></li>
+<li>Chumbi valley, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_37">37&ndash;44</a>, <a href="#Page_170">170</a>, <a href="#Page_177">177&ndash;8</a>;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_352" id="Page_352">[352]</a></span>
+village, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>; fauna and flora, <a href="#Page_291">291</a></li>
+<li>Chushar Nango, village, <a href="#Page_60">60&ndash;61</a>, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>, <a href="#Page_295">295</a></li>
+<li>Chuphar, village and monastery, <a href="#Page_327">327</a></li>
+<li>Chu-tronu, <a href="#Page_123">123</a></li>
+<li>Collie, J. N., <a href="#Page_17">17&ndash;18</a></li>
+<li>Compasses, <a href="#Page_342">342</a></li>
+<li>Conway, Sir M., <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_5">5</a></li>
+<li><a name="Coolies" id="Coolies">Coolies</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23&ndash;5</a>; behaviour, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>, <a href="#Page_222">222&ndash;3</a>, etc.;
+as carriers, <a href="#Page_92">92&ndash;4</a>, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href="#Page_284">284&ndash;6</a>; <a href="#Transport"><i>see</i> Transport</a>;
+in mountaineering, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>, <a href="#Page_203">203&ndash;6</a>, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>, <a href="#Page_251">251</a>&nbsp;ff., <a href="#Page_332">332</a></li>
+<li>Crampons, <a href="#Page_207">207&ndash;8</a>, <a href="#Page_272">272</a></li>
+<li>Cups of tea, as measures of distance, <a href="#Page_108">108</a></li>
+<li>Curios, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>, <a href="#Page_157">157</a></li>
+<li>Curzon, Lord, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a></li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>Dak, village, <a href="#Page_93">93</a></li>
+<li>Dalai Lama, the, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a></li>
+<li>Darjeeling, <a href="#Page_23">23&ndash;28</a>, <a href="#Page_179">179</a></li>
+<li>Dasno, coolie, <a href="#Page_234">234</a></li>
+<li>Desiccation, <a href="#Page_51">51</a></li>
+<li>Dochen, bungalow, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a></li>
+<li>Dokcho, village, <a href="#Page_321">321</a></li>
+<li><a name="Donka" id="Donka">Donka monastery</a>, <a href="#Page_40">40&ndash;42</a></li>
+<li>Donkeys, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <ins title="etc.">etc.;</ins> <a href="#Transport"><i>See</i> Transport</a></li>
+<li>Dorje, cook, <a href="#Page_50">50</a></li>
+<li>Dorji Gompa, coolie, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>, <a href="#Page_256">256</a></li>
+<li>Doto nunnery, <a href="#Page_51">51</a></li>
+<li>Doya La, the, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_336">336</a></li>
+<li>Dram, village, <a href="#Page_325">325</a></li>
+<li>Drophung monastery, <a href="#Page_323">323</a></li>
+<li>Dug pass, <a href="#Page_50">50</a></li>
+<li>Dukpa, cook, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a></li>
+<li>Dunge pokri, island, <a href="#Page_127">127</a></li>
+<li><a name="Dzakar" id="Dzakar">Dzakar (or Zakar) Chu, river</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93&ndash;5</a>, <a href="#Page_297">297</a>, <a href="#Page_333">333</a></li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>Eaton, J. E. C., <a href="#Page_17">17</a></li>
+<li>Equipment, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_315">315</a>, <a href="#Page_341">341</a></li>
+<li><a name="Everest" id="Everest">Everest, Mount</a>, <a href="#Page_1">1&ndash;2</a>, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>; position, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>;
+height, <a href="#Page_10">10&ndash;12</a>; names, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>;
+seen from Khamba Dzong, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href="#Page_183">183&ndash;4</a>;
+from Shiling, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186&ndash;88</a>, <a href="#Page_217">217</a>, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>;
+from Rongbuk Valley, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>, <a href="#Page_263">263&ndash;4</a>; from Kama Valley, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>;
+local ignorance of, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>; structure, <a href="#Page_192">192&ndash;4</a>, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>, <a href="#Page_310">310</a>;
+best season for ascent, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>, <a href="#Page_248">248</a>, <a href="#Page_270">270</a>; difficulties of, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>, <a href="#Page_276">276</a>, <a href="#Page_308">308</a>;
+plans for, in 1921, <a href="#Page_250">250&ndash;52</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; &mdash; Committee, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>&nbsp;ff.</li>
+<li>&mdash; &mdash; Expedition, origin of, <a href="#Page_14">14&ndash;16</a>; value of, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>; objects, <a href="#Page_17">17&ndash;18</a>; cost, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>;
+equipment, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_315">315</a>, <a href="#Page_341">341</a>;
+<ins title="results">results,</ins> <a href="#Page_179">179&ndash;80</a>, <a href="#Page_310">310&ndash;12</a>, <a href="#Page_338">338</a>, <a href="#Page_341">341</a>. <a href="#Survey"><i>See</i> Survey</a></li>
+<li>Everest, Sir G., <a href="#Page_13">13</a></li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>Farrar, Captain J. P., <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_315">315</a></li>
+<li>Finch, Captain G., <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_313">313</a>, <a href="#Page_315">315</a></li>
+<li>&ldquo;Finger,&rdquo; the, station, <a href="#Page_335">335&ndash;6</a></li>
+<li>Fourteen lakes, valley of the, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>; fauna and flora, <a href="#Page_299">299</a></li>
+<li>Fowkes, Sergeant, <a href="#Page_28">28</a></li>
+<li>Freshfield, D. W., <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_14">14&ndash;16</a>, <a href="#Page_18">18</a></li>
+<li>Fuel, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>, <a href="#Page_237">237</a>, <a href="#Page_247">247</a>, <a href="#Page_273">273</a>, <a href="#Page_331">331</a></li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>Gadompa, village and bridge, <a href="#Page_160">160&ndash;61</a></li>
+<li><a name="Galinka" id="Galinka">Galinka, village and monastery</a>, <a href="#Page_40">40</a></li>
+<li><a name="Ganden" id="Ganden">Gandenchöfel monastery</a>, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>, <a href="#Page_131">131</a></li>
+<li>Gauri Sankar, mountain, <a href="#Page_288">288</a>, <a href="#Page_326">326</a>, <a href="#Page_331">331</a></li>
+<li>Gautsa, bungalow, <a href="#Page_40">40</a></li>
+<li>Gelupka (= Yellow Cap) sect, <a href="#Page_173">173</a></li>
+<li>Geshe Rimpoche, Lama, <a href="#Page_40">40</a></li>
+<li>Ghoom, <a href="#Page_29">29</a></li>
+<li>Glaciers, ancient extent of, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>; characteristics, <a href="#Page_194">194</a>, <a href="#Page_197">197</a>, <a href="#Page_218">218</a>;
+atmosphere, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>, <a href="#Page_243">243</a>, <a href="#Page_270">270</a></li>
+<li>Gnatong, village, <a href="#Page_35">35&ndash;6</a>, <a href="#Page_178">178</a></li>
+<li>Gosainthan, mountain, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>, <a href="#Page_284">284</a>, <a href="#Page_322">322&ndash;3</a></li>
+<li>Graham, Dr., <a href="#Page_30">30&ndash;31</a></li>
+<li><i>Graphic</i>, the, <a href="#Page_19">19</a></li>
+<li>Gujjar Singh, surveyor, the, <a href="#Page_319">319</a>, <a href="#Page_323">323&ndash;7</a></li>
+<li>Gurkhas in Tibet, the, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>, <a href="#Page_106">106</a></li>
+<li>Guru Rimpoche, saint, <a href="#Page_173">173</a></li>
+<li>Gyachung Kang, mountain, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>, <a href="#Page_219">219</a>, <a href="#Page_330">330</a></li>
+<li>Gyalzen Kazi, interpreter, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>, <a href="#Page_177">177&ndash;8</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>, <a href="#Page_323">323</a></li>
+<li>Gyangka-nangpa, house, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a href="#Page_184">184</a></li>
+<li>Gyanka range of mountains, <a href="#Page_184">184</a></li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>Haldane, J. S., <a href="#Page_341">341</a></li>
+<li>Halung, village, <a href="#Page_86">86&ndash;7</a>, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>, <a href="#Page_240">240</a>; valley, <a href="#Page_339">339</a></li>
+<li>Hari Ram, explorer, <a href="#Page_319">319</a>, <a href="#Page_324">324</a><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_353" id="Page_353">[353]</a></span></li>
+<li>Harvest rents, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a></li>
+<li><i>Hatarana</i>, steamer, <a href="#Page_24">24</a></li>
+<li>Hayden, Sir H., <a href="#Page_338">338</a></li>
+<li>Harvest rents, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_83">83&ndash;4</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a></li>
+<li><a name="Heron" id="Heron">Heron, Dr. A. M.</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>; expeditions from Tingri, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77&ndash;85</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>, <a href="#Page_325">325</a>;
+first expedition to Kharta, <a href="#Page_86">86&ndash;95</a><ins title=";">,</ins> <a href="#Page_162">162</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>, <a href="#Page_179">179&ndash;80</a>; in Upper Kharta Valley, <a href="#Page_253">253</a>;
+returns by Kama Valley, <a href="#Page_146">146&ndash;153</a>, <a href="#Page_337">337</a>, and Teesta Valley, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>, <a href="#Page_337">37</a>;
+note on geological results, <a href="#Page_338">338&ndash;340</a></li>
+<li>Himalaya, <a href="#Page_7">7&ndash;8</a>, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_304">304</a> ff.; H. and the Alps, <a href="#Page_194">194</a></li>
+<li>Hinks, A. R., <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_315">315</a>; notes on scientific equipment, <a href="#Page_341">341&ndash;2</a></li>
+<li>Holdich, Sir T., <a href="#Page_15">15</a></li>
+<li>Hopaphema, landowner, <a href="#Page_91">91&ndash;3</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>, <a href="#Page_111">111&ndash;12</a>, <a href="#Page_157">157&ndash;8</a></li>
+<li>Hot springs. <i>See</i> <a href="#Kambu">Kambu</a>, <a href="#Tsamda">Tsamda</a></li>
+<li>Howard-Bury, Colonel C. K., <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_243">243</a>; author of the general narrative of the expedition, <a href="#Page_23">23&ndash;180;</a>;
+expeditions from Tingri, <a href="#Page_75">75&ndash;85</a>; first expedition to Kharta, <a href="#Page_86">86&ndash;95</a>; expeditions from Kharta, <a href="#Page_106">106&ndash;111</a>;
+visits Kama Valley, <a href="#Page_112">112</a> ff.; ascent of 19,500 ft. ridge, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>; of Kama Changri, <a href="#Page_136">136&ndash;7</a>; of Lhakpa La, <a href="#Page_140">140&ndash;145</a>, <a href="#Page_257">257</a> ff.</li>
+<li>Huc, abbé, <a href="#Page_293">293</a></li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>India Office, <a href="#Page_16">16</a></li>
+<li>India, Government of, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Survey of, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_26">26&ndash;7</a>, <a href="#Page_341">341</a></li>
+<li>Interpreters, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>; discretion of, <a href="#Page_108">108</a></li>
+<li>Isaacs, Mr., <a href="#Page_39">39</a></li>
+<li>&ldquo;Island,&rdquo; the, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>, <a href="#Page_219">219</a></li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>Jack, Colonel E. M., <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_315">315</a></li>
+<li>Jannu, mountain, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>, <a href="#Page_140">140</a></li>
+<li>Jelep La, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>, <a href="#Page_290">290</a>, <a href="#Page_291">291</a> note</li>
+<li>Jetsun-Nga-Wang-<ins title="Chhöfel">Chöfel</ins>, saint, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>, <a href="#Page_325">325</a></li>
+<li>Jongpens, <a href="#Page_174">174&ndash;5</a>, <a href="#Page_283">283</a>, <a href="#Page_324">324</a></li>
+<li>Jonsong, mountain, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_140">140</a></li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>Kabru, mountain, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a></li>
+<li>Kala-tso, lake, <a href="#Page_51">51</a></li>
+<li>Kalimpong, village, <a href="#Page_29">29&ndash;30</a></li>
+<li>Kama Valley, <a href="#Page_112">112&ndash;119</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146&ndash;52</a>, <a href="#Page_225">225&ndash;7</a>, <a href="#Page_311">311</a>, <a href="#Page_339">339</a>; fauna and flora, <a href="#Page_300">300&ndash;01</a></li>
+<li>Kama Changri, mountain, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>, <a href="#Page_136">136&ndash;7</a></li>
+<li>Kama-chu, river, <a href="#Page_122">122&ndash;4</a></li>
+<li><a name="Kambu" id="Kambu">Kambu</a> hot springs, <a href="#Page_40">40&ndash;43</a>; valley, <a href="#Page_291">291</a></li>
+<li>Kanchenjunga, mountain, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>, <a href="#Page_185">185</a></li>
+<li>Kanchenjhow, mountain, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a></li>
+<li>Kang-chu, river, <a href="#Page_325">325</a></li>
+<li>Kangchen and -chung passes, <a href="#Page_326">326</a></li>
+<li>Kangdoshung glacier, <a href="#Page_115">115&ndash;16</a></li>
+<li>Kangshung glacier, <a href="#Page_149">149&ndash;51</a></li>
+<li>Karpo La, <a href="#Page_147">147</a></li>
+<li>Karro Pumri, mountain, <a href="#Page_326">326</a></li>
+<li>Kartse, mountain, <a href="#Page_141">141</a></li>
+<li>Kellas, A. M., <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_118">18</a>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_341">341</a>;
+illness and death, <a href="#Page_46">46&ndash;49</a>, <a href="#Page_52">52&ndash;54</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>, <a href="#Page_321">321</a></li>
+<li>Khamba Dzong,fort and village, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_53">53&ndash;57</a>, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a></li>
+<li>Kharkung, village, <a href="#Page_161">161</a></li>
+<li>Kharta, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>; first visit to, <a href="#Page_88">88&ndash;93</a>; headquarters of the expedition, <a href="#Page_104">104&ndash;5</a>, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>;
+survey of, <a href="#Page_323">323</a>, <a href="#Page_327">327</a>; valley formation, <a href="#Page_339">339</a>; fauna and flora, <a href="#Page_299">299</a>, <a href="#Page_301">301&ndash;03</a></li>
+<li>Khartaphu, mountain, <a href="#Page_330">330</a></li>
+<li>Khe or Khetam, village, <a href="#Page_50">50&ndash;51</a></li>
+<li>Kheru, <a href="#Page_51">51</a></li>
+<li>Khombu pass, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_78">78&ndash;9</a>, <a href="#Page_312">312</a>, <a href="#Page_339">339</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; valley, <a href="#Page_150">150&ndash;51</a></li>
+<li>Kimonanga, village, <a href="#Page_124">124</a></li>
+<li>Korabak, rock, <a href="#Page_124">124</a></li>
+<li>Kuti (= Nyenyam), village, <a href="#Page_324">324</a></li>
+<li>Kyetrak, village and valley, <a href="#Page_74">74&ndash;77</a>, <a href="#Page_327">327</a>, <a href="#Page_331">331</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; glacier, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77&ndash;79</a>, <a href="#Page_312">312</a>; river, <a href="#Page_79">79</a></li>
+<li>Kyishong, village, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_102">102</a></li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>Lachen, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href="#Page_337">337</a></li>
+<li>Lalbir Singh Thapa, surveyor, <a href="#Page_319">319</a>, <a href="#Page_322">322</a>, <a href="#Page_327">327</a></li>
+<li>Lamna La, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_327">327</a></li>
+<li>Langkor, village and temple, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>, <a href="#Page_323">323</a></li>
+<li>Langma La, <a href="#Page_112">112&ndash;13</a>, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>, <a href="#Page_224">224</a></li>
+<li>Langra, rest-house, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_178">178</a></li>
+<li>Lapche, village and monastery, <a href="#Page_287">287</a>, <a href="#Page_325">325&ndash;6</a></li>
+<li>Lapche Kang, mountain, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_284">284&ndash;5</a>, <a href="#Page_325">325</a></li>
+<li>Lashar, village, <a href="#Page_161">161</a><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_354" id="Page_354">[354]</a></span></li>
+<li>Lebong, races at, <a href="#Page_27">27</a></li>
+<li>Leeches, <a href="#Page_34">34&ndash;5</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123&ndash;4</a>, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>, <a href="#Page_300">300</a>, <a href="#Page_337">337</a></li>
+<li>Lhakpa La (Windy Gap), <a href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_273">273&ndash;4</a>; first visits to, <a href="#Page_240">240&ndash;249</a>, <a href="#Page_255">255&ndash;6</a>;
+camp on, <a href="#Page_140">140&ndash;44</a>, <a href="#Page_257">257&ndash;8</a>, <a href="#Page_261">261</a></li>
+<li>Lhasa, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>; road to, <a href="#Page_48">48&ndash;49</a></li>
+<li>Lhonak peaks, <a href="#Page_52">52</a></li>
+<li>Lhotse, mountain (S. peak of Everest), <a href="#Page_116">116</a>, <a href="#Page_213">213</a></li>
+<li>Lingga, village, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_163">163&ndash;4</a></li>
+<li>Lingmatang, plain, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="#Page_291">291</a></li>
+<li>Longstaff, Dr. T. G., <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_314">314</a></li>
+<li>Lumeh, village, <a href="#Page_93">93&ndash;4</a>, <a href="#Page_159">159</a></li>
+<li>Lungchen La, <a href="#Page_322">322</a></li>
+<li><ins title="Lungdo">Lungdö</ins>, village, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>, <a href="#Page_125">125</a></li>
+<li>Lunghi, <a href="#Page_167">167</a></li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>Macdonald, David and family, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_177">177</a></li>
+<li>LMakalu, mountain, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>, <a href="#Page_118">118&ndash;19</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>, <a href="#Page_225">225&ndash;6</a>&nbsp;etc.; glacier, <a href="#Page_151">151</a></li>
+<li><a name="Mallory" id="Mallory">Mallory, G. H. L.</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_313">313</a>; reconnoitres N. approach to Everest, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>, <a href="#Page_181">181&ndash;220</a>;
+ascends Ri-Ring (23,050 ft.), <a href="#Page_205">205&ndash;7</a>, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>; moves to Kharta, <a href="#Page_102">102&ndash;106</a>; reconnoitres E. approach to Everest, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>, <a href="#Page_221">221&ndash;249</a>;
+back to Kharta, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>; ascends Kama Changri, <a href="#Page_136">136&ndash;7</a>; final assault and ascent of North Col, <a href="#Page_131">131&ndash;145</a>, <a href="#Page_250">250&ndash;261</a>;
+leaves Kharta, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>; views on weather conditions, <a href="#Page_262">262&ndash;72</a>; on the route up Everest, <a href="#Page_273">273&ndash;79</a></li>
+<li>Mammals, <a href="#Page_290">290&ndash;303</a>, <a href="#Page_312">312</a>, <a href="#Page_344">344</a>, etc.</li>
+<li>Mani Walls, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>, etc.</li>
+<li>Maps of Tibet, <a href="#Page_62">62</a></li>
+<li>&ldquo;Marigolds, Field of,&rdquo; <a href="#Page_119">119</a>, <a href="#Page_152">152</a></li>
+<li>Matsang, village, <a href="#Page_125">125</a></li>
+<li>Meade, C. F., <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a></li>
+<li>Mendalongkyo, <a href="#Page_129">129</a></li>
+<li>Mende, village, <a href="#Page_57">57</a></li>
+<li>Menkhap-to and -me, villages, <a href="#Page_322">322</a></li>
+<li>Menlung pass, <a href="#Page_327">327</a></li>
+<li>&ldquo;Metohkangmi,&rdquo; <a href="#Page_141">141</a></li>
+<li>Mila Respa, saint, <a href="#Page_287">287</a></li>
+<li><a name="Monasteries" id="Monasteries">Monasteries</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <ins title="173"><a href="#Page_173">173</a>.</ins> <i>See</i>
+<a href="#Donka">Donka</a>, <a href="#Galinka">Galinka</a>, <ins title="Ganden Chhofel"><a href="#Ganden">Ganden Chöfel</a></ins>, <a href="#Rongbuk">Rongbuk</a>, <a href="#Shekar">Shekar Chöte</a>, etc.</li>
+<li><a name="Monsoon" id="Monsoon">Monsoon</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>, <a href="#Page_248">248</a>, <a href="#Page_262">262</a>&nbsp;ff.
+<i>See</i> <ins title="rainfall"><a href="#Rainfall">Rainfall</a></ins></li>
+<li><a name="Morshead" id="Morshead">Morshead, Major H. T.</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_25">25&ndash;27</a>, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>;
+trip to Nyenyam, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>, <a href="#Page_281">281&ndash;9</a>, <a href="#Page_323">323&ndash;5</a>;
+at Kharta, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>; survey of Kharta Valley, <a href="#Page_131">131&ndash;2</a>, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>; first ascent of Lhakpa La, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>, <a href="#Page_230">230&ndash;49</a>;
+ascends Kama Changri, <a href="#Page_136">136&ndash;7</a>; second ascent of Lhakpa La, <a href="#Page_140">140&ndash;144</a>, <a href="#Page_253">253&ndash;8</a>;
+map by, <a href="#Page_312">312</a>, <a href="#Page_338">338</a>; account of survey by, <a href="#Page_319">319&ndash;28</a></li>
+<li>Mountain sickness, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>, <a href="#Page_258">258</a>, <a href="#Page_323">323</a>. <i>See</i> <ins title="altitude"><a href="#Altitude">Altitude</a></ins></li>
+<li>Mountaineering, <a href="#Page_2">2&ndash;4</a>, <a href="#Page_6">6&ndash;8</a>, <a href="#Page_305">305&ndash;6</a></li>
+<li><a name="Mules" id="Mules">Mules</a>, lent by Government, <a href="#Page_27">27&ndash;8</a>; breakdown of, <a href="#Page_33">33&ndash;4</a>; Tibetan, <a href="#Page_32">32&ndash;33</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>, etc. <i>See</i> <a href="#Transport">Transport</a></li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>Nangba (= Khombu), pass, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_331">331</a></li>
+<li>Narsing, mountain, <a href="#Page_26">26</a></li>
+<li>Nathu La, <a href="#Page_37">37</a></li>
+<li>Nawang Lobsang, first Dalai Lama, <a href="#Page_173">173</a></li>
+<li>Nepal, <a href="#Page_13">13</a></li>
+<li>Nepalese coolies, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>; invasion of Tibet, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>;
+traders, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>, <a href="#Page_324">324</a>; herdsmen, <a href="#Page_126">126</a></li>
+<li>Nezogu bridge, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_102">102</a></li>
+<li>Ngawangyonten, official, <a href="#Page_94">94</a></li>
+<li>Nieves penitentes, <a href="#Page_78">78</a></li>
+<li>Nila pass, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a href="#Page_184">184</a></li>
+<li>Noel, Major J. B. L., <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_314">314</a></li>
+<li>Nomads, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a></li>
+<li>North Col of Everest, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>. <i>See</i> <a href="#Chang_La">Chang La</a></li>
+<li>North cwm of Everest, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>, <a href="#Page_203">203&ndash;4</a></li>
+<li>North peak. <i>See</i> <a href="#Changtse">Chang-tse</a></li>
+<li>North-East Arête, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>, <a href="#Page_235">235</a>, <a href="#Page_250">250&ndash;51</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>, <a href="#Page_274">274&ndash;6</a>, <a href="#Page_310">310</a></li>
+<li>Norton, Major E. F., <a href="#Page_313">313</a></li>
+<li>Nuns and nunneries, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a></li>
+<li>Nyenyam, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>, <a href="#Page_283">283&ndash;4</a>, <a href="#Page_297">297</a>, <a href="#Page_324">324</a></li>
+<li>Nyima Tendu, coolie, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149&ndash;51</a>, <a href="#Page_234">234</a></li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>Oxygen for climbers, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>, <a href="#Page_277">277</a>, <a href="#Page_307">307&ndash;8</a>, <a href="#Page_315">315&ndash;16</a>, <a href="#Page_341">341</a></li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>Padamchen (= Sedongchen), <a href="#Page_33">33</a></li>
+<li>Padma Sambhava, saint, <a href="#Page_337">337</a></li>
+<li>Pashok, <a href="#Page_173">173</a></li>
+<li>Pawhunri mountains, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a></li>
+<li>Pedong, <a href="#Page_31">31&ndash;2</a></li>
+<li>Pekhu plain, <a href="#Page_322">322</a></li>
+<li>Peshoke, bungalow, <a href="#Page_29">29</a></li>
+<li>Pethang Ringmo, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a></li>
+<li>Pethangtse, mountain, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_355" id="Page_355">[355]</a></span></li>
+<li>Phari, fort and village, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_45">45&ndash;8</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>; plain, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a href="#Page_292">292</a></li>
+<li>Pharuk, district, <a href="#Page_323">323</a>, <a href="#Page_327">327</a></li>
+<li>Phema, village, <a href="#Page_38">38</a></li>
+<li><i>Philadelphia Ledger</i>, the, <a href="#Page_19">19</a></li>
+<li>Photography, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_72">72&ndash;3</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_216">216&ndash;17</a>, <a href="#Page_314">314</a>, <a href="#Page_315">315</a>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_342">342&ndash;3</a>, etc.;
+perils of, <a href="#Page_74">74&ndash;5</a>; surveying by, <a href="#Page_320">320</a>, <a href="#Page_329">329&ndash;30</a></li>
+<li>Phuri, village, <a href="#Page_322">322</a></li>
+<li>Phuse La. <i>See</i> <a href="#Pusi">Pusi pass</a></li>
+<li>Pilgrims, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_121">121</a></li>
+<li>Plants, <a href="#Page_290">290&ndash;302</a>, <a href="#Page_312">312</a>, <a href="#Page_346">346&ndash;50</a>, etc.</li>
+<li>Pö-chu, river, <a href="#Page_284">284&ndash;5</a>, <a href="#Page_297">297&ndash;8</a>, <a href="#Page_323">323&ndash;4</a></li>
+<li>Ponglet, view from, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>, <a href="#Page_218">218</a>, <a href="#Page_263">263</a></li>
+<li>Pilgrims, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>, etc; <i>See</i> <a href="#Transport">Transport</a></li>
+<li>Poo, coolie, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_178">178</a></li>
+<li>Popti La, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_126">126&ndash;7</a>, <a href="#Page_300">300</a></li>
+<li>Postal arrangements, <a href="#Page_96">96&ndash;7</a>, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>, <a href="#Page_135">135</a></li>
+<li>Prayer wheels, <a href="#Page_39">39&ndash;40</a>, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>, <a href="#Page_289">289</a></li>
+<li>Primus stoves, <a href="#Page_142">142&ndash;3</a>, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>, <a href="#Page_331">331</a>, <a href="#Page_121">121</a></li>
+<li>Pulahari, village, <a href="#Page_281">281</a></li>
+<li>Pulme, <a href="#Page_94">94</a></li>
+<li>Pumori, mountain, <a href="#Page_209">209</a></li>
+<li>Punagang monastery, <a href="#Page_39">39</a></li>
+<li><a name="Pusi" id="Pusi">Pusi pass</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_289">289</a> (= Phuse La, <a href="#Page_327">327</a>, <a href="#Page_330">330</a>)</li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>Quiok, pass, <a href="#Page_159">159</a></li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>Rabkar-chu, river and glacier, <a href="#Page_115">115</a></li>
+<li>Ra-chu, river, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>, <a href="#Page_330">330</a></li>
+<li><a name="Rainfall" id="Rainfall">Rainfall</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>, <a href="#Page_262">262</a> ff.</li>
+<li>Rawling, Major, <a href="#Page_13">13&ndash;14</a></li>
+<li>Reading, Lord, <a href="#Page_23">23</a></li>
+<li>Rebu, village, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>; valley, <a href="#Page_339">339</a></li>
+<li>Rhenock, <a href="#Page_32">32</a></li>
+<li>Ri-Ring, mountain, ascended, <a href="#Page_205">205&ndash;6</a>, <a href="#Page_270">270</a>, <a href="#Page_311">311</a></li>
+<li>Richengong, village, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_291">291</a></li>
+<li>Ronaldshay, Lord, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_179">179</a></li>
+<li><a name="Rongbuk" id="Rongbuk">Rongbuk</a>, glacier, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>; central and W. branches explored, <a href="#Page_194">194&ndash;220</a>; E. branch,
+<a href="#Page_179">179</a>, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>, <a href="#Page_216">216&ndash;18</a>, <a href="#Page_247">247&ndash;9</a>, <a href="#Page_273">273&ndash;4</a>, <a href="#Page_334">334&ndash;6</a>; stream from, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_218">218</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; monastery, <a href="#Page_83">83</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; valley, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href="#Page_339">339</a></li>
+<li>Rongkong, village, <a href="#Page_63">63</a></li>
+<li>Rongli, bungalow, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_178">178</a></li>
+<li>Rongme, village, <a href="#Page_63">63</a></li>
+<li>Rongshar, valley, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_288">288&ndash;9</a>, <a href="#Page_298">298</a>, <a href="#Page_325">325&ndash;6</a></li>
+<li>Ruddamlamtso, lake, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>, <a href="#Page_128">128</a></li>
+<li>Rugby, Tibetan boys at, <a href="#Page_172">172</a></li>
+<li>Ryder, Colonel C. H. D., <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_319">319</a></li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>Sakeding, village, <a href="#Page_121">121&ndash;22</a>, <a href="#Page_127">127&ndash;8</a></li>
+<li><ins title="Samchang">Samchung</ins>, pass, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>, <a href="#Page_129">129</a></li>
+<li>Sand dunes, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_63">63&ndash;4</a>, <a href="#Page_295">295</a></li>
+<li>Sandakphu, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a></li>
+<li>Sanglu, coolie, <a href="#Page_254">254</a>, <a href="#Page_256">256&ndash;7</a></li>
+<li>Sedongchen, village, <a href="#Page_33">33&ndash;4</a></li>
+<li>Senchal, <a href="#Page_29">29</a></li>
+<li>Serpo-La, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>, <a href="#Page_337">337</a></li>
+<li>Shao La, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="#Page_153">153</a></li>
+<li>Sharto, village, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>, <a href="#Page_330">330</a></li>
+<li>Shassi (= New Yatung), <a href="#Page_38">38</a></li>
+<li>Shatog, village, <a href="#Page_162">162</a></li>
+<li><a name="Shekar" id="Shekar">Shekar-Chöte, monastery</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67&ndash;8</a>, <a href="#Page_94">94</a></li>
+<li>Shekar Dzong, fort and village, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66&ndash;7</a>, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_295">295</a></li>
+<li>Sherpa Bhotias, coolies, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>, <a href="#Page_252">252</a></li>
+<li>Shidag, nunnery, <a href="#Page_51">51</a></li>
+<li>Shigatse, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a></li>
+<li>Shiling, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>. <i>See</i> <a href="#Everest">Everest, Mount</a></li>
+<li>Shung-chu, river, <a href="#Page_79">79</a></li>
+<li>Shurim Tso, lake, <a href="#Page_114">114</a></li>
+<li>Sikkim, survey of, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_320">320&ndash;21</a>, <a href="#Page_327">327</a>; journey through, <a href="#Page_29">29&ndash;36</a>; flora of, <ins title="ibid"><i>ibid.</i></ins></li>
+<li>Siniolchum, mountain, <a href="#Page_46">46</a></li>
+<li>Sipri mountains, <a href="#Page_99">99</a></li>
+<li>Skis, <a href="#Page_158">158</a></li>
+<li><a name="Snow" id="Snow">Snow</a>, <a href="#Page_248">248</a>, <a href="#Page_254">254</a>, <a href="#Page_264">264&ndash;8</a>; temperature of, <a href="#Page_270">270</a>;
+powdery, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>, <a href="#Page_243">243</a>, <a href="#Page_256">256</a>; powdery snow and wind, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>, <a href="#Page_164">167&ndash;8</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259&ndash;60</a>, <a href="#Page_271">271</a>, etc.</li>
+<li>Snow-blindness, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a></li>
+<li>Snowfall, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a></li>
+<li>Snow line, <a href="#Page_56">56</a></li>
+<li>Snow men, the abominable, <a href="#Page_141">141</a></li>
+<li>Shigatse, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a href="#Page_211">211&ndash;14</a>, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>, <a href="#Page_243">243</a>, <a href="#Page_254">254</a>, <a href="#Page_265">265</a>, <a href="#Page_270">270</a></li>
+<li>Somers Cocks, E. L., <a href="#Page_16">16</a></li>
+<li>Somervell, H. T., <a href="#Page_312">312</a>, <a href="#Page_313">313</a></li>
+<li>Strutt, Colonel E. L., <a href="#Page_313">313</a></li>
+<li>Sun's rays, <a href="#Page_270">270</a>, <a href="#Page_308">308</a><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_356" id="Page_356">[356]</a></span></li>
+<li><a name="Survey" id="Survey">Survey work of expedition</a>, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>, <a href="#Page_312">312</a>. <i>See</i> <a href="#Heron">Heron</a>, <a href="#Morshead">Morshead</a>, <a href="#Wheeler">Wheeler</a></li>
+<li>Sutso plain, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_321">321&ndash;22</a></li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>Takda, cantonment, <a href="#Page_29">29</a></li>
+<li>Tamba Sanye, saint, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>, <a href="#Page_323">323</a></li>
+<li>Tameness of animals, <a href="#Page_59">59&ndash;60</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76&ndash;77</a>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="#Page_131">131</a></li>
+<li>Tang La, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_323">323</a></li>
+<li>Tang-pün-sum, plain, <a href="#Page_48">48</a></li>
+<li>Tangsham, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>, <a href="#Page_152">152</a></li>
+<li>Targyeling, village, plain, <a href="#Page_324">324</a></li>
+<li>Tasang, village, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_289">289</a>, <a href="#Page_327">327</a></li>
+<li>Tashi Dzom, <a href="#Page_95">95</a></li>
+<li>Tashilumpo monastery, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a></li>
+<li>Tashishong, <a href="#Page_325">325</a></li>
+<li>Tatsang, nunnery, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165&ndash;6</a></li>
+<li>Teesta Valley, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29&ndash;30</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>, <a href="#Page_337">337</a></li>
+<li>Temperature, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_308">308</a>, <a href="#Page_342">342</a></li>
+<li>Tents, airlessness of, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>, <a href="#Page_258">258</a></li>
+<li>Thermometers, <a href="#Page_342">342</a></li>
+<li>Thrashing, <a href="#Page_164">164</a></li>
+<li>Thung-La, <a href="#Page_282">282</a>; fauna and flora, <a href="#Page_297">297</a></li>
+<li>Tibet, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <a href="#Page_170">170</a> ff.; geology of, <a href="#Page_338">338</a>; Government, <a href="#Page_173">173&ndash;4;</a>;
+helps the expedition, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>, etc.</li>
+<li>Tibetans, <a href="#Page_170">170</a> ff.</li>
+<li>Tibetan beer, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>; bread, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>; burial, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>; climate, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>;
+coinage and currency, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>; coolies, <a href="#Page_223">223&ndash;4</a>; houses, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>; bread, <a href="#Page_321">321</a>;
+marriage, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>; meals, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>, etc.; mules, <a href="#Page_177">177&ndash;9</a>;
+ornaments, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>; ponies, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>;
+superstitions, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>, <a href="#Page_282">282</a>; tea, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, etc.</li>
+<li><i>Times</i>, newspaper, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a></li>
+<li><i>Tingri</i>, newspaper, <a href="#Page_70">70&ndash;75</a>, <a href="#Page_101">95&ndash;101</a>; plain of, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>; its fauna and flora, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_295">295&ndash;7</a>;
+origin of name, <a href="#Page_282">282</a>, <a href="#Page_323">323</a></li>
+<li>Tinki, fort and village, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>; birds of, <a href="#Page_294">294</a>; pass, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>, <a href="#Page_321">321</a>; flowers of, <a href="#Page_295">295</a></li>
+<li>Trangso Chumbab, rest-house, <a href="#Page_65">65</a></li>
+<li><a name="Transport" id="Transport">Transport</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27&ndash;8</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34&ndash;5</a>, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>, <a href="#Page_158">158&ndash;9</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_284">284</a>.
+<i>See</i>&nbsp;<a href="#Coolies">Coolies</a>, <a href="#Mules">Mules</a>,<a href="#Yaks">Yaks</a></li>
+<li>Trintang, village, <a href="#Page_326">326</a></li>
+<li>Tropde, village, <a href="#Page_326">326</a></li>
+<li>Tsakor, village, <a href="#Page_70">70</a></li>
+<li><a name="Tsamda" id="Tsamda">Tsamda</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_321">321</a></li>
+<li>Tsampa, <a href="#Page_172">172&ndash;3</a>, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>, <a href="#Page_337">337</a></li>
+<li>Tsang, province, <a href="#Page_70">70</a></li>
+<li><a name="TP" id="TP"><ins title="Tsang-po">Tsangpo</ins>, river</a>, <a href="#Page_319">319&ndash;20</a></li>
+<li>Tsering, five peaks, <a href="#Page_326">326</a></li>
+<li>Tsogo, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_159">159</a></li>
+<li>Tsomotretung, lake, <a href="#Page_61">61</a></li>
+<li>Tsong Kapa, monk, <a href="#Page_173">173</a></li>
+<li>Tulsi Dass, gardener, <a href="#Page_32">32</a></li>
+<li>Tulung, village, <a href="#Page_323">323</a></li>
+<li>Tuna, rest-house, <a href="#Page_48">48</a></li>
+<li>Turubaz Khan, surveyor, <a href="#Page_319">319</a>, <a href="#Page_321">321</a></li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>Wakefield, Dr. A. W., <a href="#Page_313">313</a></li>
+<li>Waugh, Sir A., <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a></li>
+<li>Weather. <i>See</i>&nbsp;<a href="#Monsoon">Monsoon</a>, <a href="#Rainfall">Rainfall</a>,<a href="#Wind">Wind</a></li>
+<li>West cwm of Everest, <a href="#Page_208">208&ndash;9</a>, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>, <a href="#Page_214">214</a></li>
+<li><a name="Wheeler" id="Wheeler">Wheeler, Major, E. O.</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>, <a href="#Page_252">252</a>, <a href="#Page_320">320</a>;
+expedition to Kyetrak, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77&ndash;81</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_330">330&ndash;33</a>; to Rongbuk Valley, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_333">333&ndash;36</a>;
+discovers E. Rongbuk glacier, <a href="#Page_217">217</a>, <a href="#Page_240">240</a>, <a href="#Page_247">247&ndash;8</a>, <a href="#Page_334">334</a>; arrives at Kharta, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>;
+to Lhakpa La, <a href="#Page_140">140&ndash;44</a>, <a href="#Page_257">257</a>; to Chang La, <a href="#Page_144">144&ndash;5</a>, <a href="#Page_258">258&ndash;61</a>;
+returns by Kama Valley, <a href="#Page_146">146&ndash;153</a>, <a href="#Page_337">337</a>, and Teesta Valley, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>, <a href="#Page_337">337</a>;
+map by, <a href="#Page_312">312</a>, <a href="#Page_328">328</a>, <a href="#Page_338">338</a>; account of photographic survey by, <a href="#Page_329">329&ndash;337</a></li>
+<li><a name="Wind" id="Wind">Wind</a>, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147&ndash;8</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>, <a href="#Page_265">265</a>, <a href="#Page_308">308</a>, <a href="#Page_342">342</a>.
+<i>See</i> <a href="#Snow">Snow</a></li>
+<li>Wollaston, A. F. R., <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>; returns with Raeburn to Sikkim, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>; rejoins at Tingri, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>;
+trip to Nyenyam, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>, <a href="#Page_323">323&ndash;25</a>; described by him, <a href="#Page_281">281&ndash;89</a>; at Kharta, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>; to Lhakpa La, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>&nbsp;ff., <a href="#Page_257">257&ndash;8</a>;
+returns by Kama Valley, <a href="#Page_146">146&ndash;153</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>, <a href="#Page_342">342</a>; natural history notes by, <a href="#Page_290">290&ndash;303</a>, <a href="#Page_344">344&ndash;350</a>; collections, <a href="#Page_312">312</a></li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li><a name="Yaks" id="Yaks">Yaks</a>, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>, <a href="#Page_286">286</a>, <a href="#Page_294">294</a>,&nbsp;etc.</li>
+<li>Yaru, river, <a href="#Page_56">56&ndash;7</a>, <a href="#Page_61">61&ndash;3</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101&ndash;2</a></li>
+<li>Yatung, <a href="#Page_38">38&ndash;9</a>, <a href="#Page_177">177</a></li>
+<li>Younghusband, Sir F., <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_15">15&ndash;17</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a></li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>Zachar-chu. <i>See</i> <a href="#Dzakar">Dzakar-chu</a></li>
+<li>Zambu, village, <a href="#Page_81">81</a></li>
+</ul>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="hr65" />
+
+<p style="text-align: center;"><i>Printed in Great Britain by</i> Butler&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;Tanner, <i>Frome and London</i></p>
+
+<hr class="hr65" />
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a name="img_357" id="img_357"></a>
+   <a href="images/img_357_h.jpg">
+     <img src="images/img_357.jpg" width="200" height="122"
+        alt="see caption"
+        title="see caption" />
+   </a>
+<p class="caption">MAP I.<br /><br />
+PRELIMINARY MAP<br />to illustrate the route of the<br />MOUNT EVEREST EXPEDITION<br />1921.<br /><br />
+Reduced from the map on the scale 1/253440<br />
+by Major Morshead and assistants of the Survey of India,
+accompanying the expedition: the neighbourhood of the Mountain from Map II.<br />
+Scale 1/750,000 or 1 Inch = 11·84 Stat. Miles.</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="hr65" />
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a name="img_358" id="img_358"></a>
+   <a href="images/img_358_h.jpg">
+     <img src="images/img_358.jpg" width="200" height="156"
+        alt="see caption"
+        title="see caption" />
+   </a>
+<p class="caption">MAP II.<br /><br />
+Preliminary Map<br />of<br />MOUNT EVEREST<br /><br />
+constructed at the R. G. S.<br />
+from photographs and sketches<br />
+made by the<br />
+EXPEDITION of 1921<br /><br />
+Scale 1/100,000 or 1 Inch = 1·58 Stat. Miles.</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="hr65" />
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a name="img_359" id="img_359"></a>
+   <a href="images/img_359_h.jpg">
+     <img src="images/img_359.jpg" width="200" height="123"
+        alt="see caption"
+        title="see caption" />
+   </a>
+<p class="caption">MAP III.<br /><br />
+THE GEOLOGY<br />of the<br />MOUNT EVEREST REGION<br />from the surveys of<br />Dr. A. M. HERON<br /><br />
+Geological Survey of India<br />
+1921.<br /><br />
+The topography from Map I.<br /><br />
+Scale 1/750,000 or 1 Inch = 11·84 Stat. Miles.</p>
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Mount Everest the Reconnaissance, 1921, by 
+Charles Kenneth Howard-Bury and George H. Leigh-Mallory and A. F. R. Wollaston
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+</body>
+</html>
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Mount Everest the Reconnaissance, 1921, by
+Charles Kenneth Howard-Bury and George H. Leigh-Mallory and A. F. R. Wollaston
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license
+
+
+Title: Mount Everest the Reconnaissance, 1921
+
+Author: Charles Kenneth Howard-Bury
+        George H. Leigh-Mallory
+        A. F. R. Wollaston
+
+Release Date: April 10, 2012 [EBook #39421]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MOUNT EVEREST ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Jens Nordmann, Greg Bergquist and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Notes:
+
+The original spelling and minor inconsistencies in the spelling and
+formatting have been maintained.
+
+Corrections applied to the original text have been listed at the end of
+the text.
+
+The ligature oe has been marked as [oe].
+
+The macron above a letter has been marked as [=letter].
+
+Text in italics has been marked with underscores (_text_).
+
+                     *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: _The Summit._]
+
+
+
+
+                               MOUNT EVEREST
+                         THE RECONNAISSANCE, 1921
+
+                                    By
+
+                   Lieut.-Col. C. K. HOWARD-BURY, D.S.O.
+
+             AND OTHER MEMBERS OF THE MOUNT EVEREST EXPEDITION
+
+
+                       _WITH ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS_
+
+
+
+                          LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO.
+                         55 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK
+                        LONDON: EDWARD ARNOLD & CO.
+                                   1922
+
+
+
+
+                                  PREFACE
+
+
+The Mount Everest Committee of the Royal Geographical Society and the
+Alpine Club desire to express their thanks to Colonel Howard-Bury,
+Mr. Wollaston, Mr. Mallory, Major Morshead, Major Wheeler and Dr. Heron
+for the trouble they have taken to write so soon after their return an
+account of their several parts in the joint work of the Expedition. They
+have thereby enabled the present Expedition to start with full knowledge
+of the results of the reconnaissance, and the public to follow the
+progress of the attempt to reach the summit with full information at
+hand.
+
+The Committee also wish to take this opportunity of thanking the
+Imperial Dry Plate Company for having generously presented photographic
+plates to the Expedition and so contributed to the production of the
+excellent photographs that have been brought back.
+
+They also desire to thank the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation
+Company for their liberality in allowing the members to travel at
+reduced fares; and the Government of India for allowing the stores and
+equipment of the Expedition to enter India free of duty.
+
+                                    J. E. C. EATON }
+                                    A. R. HINKS    } _Hon. Secretaries._
+
+
+
+
+                                 CONTENTS
+
+
+                                                                      PAGE
+
+  INTRODUCTION. By SIR FRANCIS YOUNGHUSBAND, K.C.S.I., K.C.I.E.,
+         President of the Royal Geographical Society                     1
+
+
+                      THE NARRATIVE OF THE EXPEDITION
+                 By LIEUT.-COL. C. K. HOWARD-BURY, D.S.O.
+
+   CHAP.
+
+      I  FROM DARJEELING THROUGH SIKKIM                                 23
+     II  THE CHUMBI VALLEY AND THE TIBETAN PLATEAU                      37
+    III  FROM KHAMBA DZONG THROUGH UNKNOWN COUNTRY TO TINGRI            55
+     IV  TINGRI AND THE COUNTRY TO THE SOUTH                            71
+      V  THE SEARCH FOR KHARTA                                          86
+     VI  THE MOVE TO KHARTA                                             98
+    VII  THE KAMA VALLEY                                               112
+   VIII  THE UPPER KHARTA VALLEY AND THE 20,000-FOOT CAMP              130
+     IX  THE RETURN TO KHARTA BY THE KAMA VALLEY                       146
+      X  THE RETURN JOURNEY TO PHARI                                   156
+     XI  BACK TO CIVILISATION                                          170
+
+
+                    THE RECONNAISSANCE OF THE MOUNTAIN
+                        By GEORGE H. LEIGH-MALLORY
+
+    XII  THE NORTHERN APPROACH                                         183
+   XIII  THE NORTHERN APPROACH (_continued_)                           203
+    XIV  THE EASTERN APPROACH                                          221
+     XV  THE ASSAULT                                                   250
+    XVI  WEATHER AND CONDITION OF SNOW                                 262
+   XVII  THE ROUTE TO THE SUMMIT                                       273
+
+
+                              NATURAL HISTORY
+                           By A. F. R. WOLLASTON
+
+  XVIII  AN EXCURSION TO NYENYAM AND LAPCHE KANG                       281
+    XIX  NATURAL HISTORY NOTES                                         290
+
+                     *       *       *       *       *
+
+     XX  AN APPRECIATION OF THE RECONNAISSANCE. By $1, F.R.S.,
+         President of the Alpine Club                                  304
+
+
+                                APPENDICES
+
+      I  THE SURVEY. By Major H. T. MORSHEAD, D.S.O.                   319
+     II  THE PHOTOGRAPHIC SURVEY. By Major E. O. WHEELER, M.C.         329
+    III  A NOTE ON THE GEOLOGICAL RESULTS OF THE EXPEDITION.
+         By A. M. HERON, D.Sc., F.G.S., Geological Survey of India     338
+     IV  THE SCIENTIFIC EQUIPMENT. By A. R. HINKS, F.R.S.,
+         Secretary of the Royal Geographical Society                   341
+      V  MAMMALS, BIRDS AND PLANTS COLLECTED BY THE EXPEDITION.
+         By A. F. R. WOLLASTON                                         344
+         INDEX                                                         351
+
+
+
+
+                           LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+                                                                    FACING
+                                                                      PAGE
+
+  The Summit                                        _Frontispiece_
+  Chomolhari from the South                                             46
+  Loading up at Dochen                                                  50
+  Kampa Dzong                                                           54
+  Tinki Dzong                                                           58
+  Gyangka Range from near Chushar                                       62
+  Shekar Dzong                                                          66
+  The Abbot of Shekar Choete                                             68
+  Military Governor, his Wife and Mother                               100
+  The Dzongpen of Kharta and his Wife                                  106
+  Lamas of Kharta Monastery                                            110
+  Makalu from 21,500-foot peak on ridge south of Kama-chu              112
+  Makalu and Chomoloenzo                                                114
+  Cliffs of Chomoloenzo from camp at Pethang Ringmo                     116
+  The Kama Valley                                                      118
+  Sea of cloud from peak north of Kama Valley. Kanchenjunga in
+    distance                                                           138
+  Chomoloenzo from the alp below the Langma La, Kama Valley             150
+  Members of the Expedition                                            178
+  Cho-Uyo                                                              190
+  Summit of Mount Everest and North Peak from the Island, West Rongbuk
+    Glacier                                                            210
+  Mount Everest from the Rongbuk Glacier, nine miles north-west        214
+  Summit of Mount Everest and South Peak from the Island, West Rongbuk
+    Glacier                                                            218
+  Pethang-tse                                                          222
+  Summit of Makalu                                                     226
+  South-east Ridge of Mount Everest from above the 20,000-foot camp,
+    Kharta Valley                                                      230
+  North-east of Mount Everest and Chang La from Lhakpa La              246
+  Mount Everest from the 20,000-foot camp--wind blowing snow off the
+    mountain                                                           278
+  Temple at Lapche Kang                                                286
+  Gauri-Sankar                                                         288
+  Lower Kama-chu                                                       290
+  Junipers in the Kama Valley                                          294
+  Forest in the Kama Valley                                            300
+  Mount Everest at sunset from the 20,000-foot camp, Kharta Valley     316
+
+
+
+
+                               LIST OF MAPS
+
+
+    I  Map to illustrate the route of the Mount Everest
+       Expedition. Scale 1/750,000                                _At end_
+   II  Map of Mount Everest. Scale 1/100,000                          "
+  III  Geological Map of the Mount Everest Region                     "
+
+
+
+
+                               INTRODUCTION
+
+              BY SIR FRANCIS YOUNGHUSBAND, K.C.S.I., K.C.I.E.
+
+
+The idea of climbing Mount Everest has been vaguely in men's mind for
+thirty or forty years past. Certainly that veteran mountain-climber and
+mountain-lover, Douglas Freshfield, had it persistently rising within
+him as he broke away from the Swiss Alps and subdued the giants of the
+Caucasus and then sought still higher peaks to conquer. Lord Curzon also
+had had it in his mind, and when Viceroy of India had written suggesting
+that the Royal Geographical Society and the Alpine Club should make a
+joint exploration of the mountain. Bruce, Longstaff and Mumm would have
+made this exploration in 1905 if the permission of the Nepalese and
+Tibetan Governments had been available. So also would Rawling a few
+years later. All these, and doubtless others, had contemplated at least
+a preliminary reconnaissance of Mount Everest.
+
+But, so far as I know, the first man to propose a definite expedition to
+Mount Everest was the then Captain Bruce, who, when he and I were
+together in Chitral in 1893, proposed to me that we should make a
+glorious termination to a journey from Chinese Turkestan across Tibet by
+ascending Mount Everest. And it is Bruce who has held to the idea ever
+since and sought any opportunity that offered of getting at the
+mountain.
+
+It stands to reason that men with any zest for mountaineering could not
+possibly allow Mount Everest to remain untouched. The time, the
+opportunity, the money, the ability to make the necessary preliminary
+preparation might be lacking, but the wish and the will to stand on the
+summit of the world's highest mountain must have been in the heart of
+many a mountaineer since the Alps have been so firmly trampled under
+foot. The higher climbers climb, the higher they want to climb. It is
+certain that they will never rest content till the proudest peaks of the
+Himalaya are as subdued and tamed as the once dreaded summits of the
+Alps now are.
+
+Men simply cannot resist exercising and stretching to their fullest
+tether the faculties and aptitudes with which they each happen to be
+specially endowed. One born with an aptitude for painting is dull and
+morose and fidgety until he can get colours and a brush into his hand
+and commence painting. Another is itching to make things--to use his
+hands and fashion wood or stone or metal into forms which he is
+continually creating in his mind. Another is restless until he can sing.
+Another is ever pining to be on a public platform swaying the audience
+with his oratory and playing on their feelings as on a musical
+instrument. Each has his own inner aptitude which he aches to give vent
+to and bring into play. And more than this, he secretly owns within
+himself an exceedingly high standard--the highest standard--of what he
+wants to attain to along his own particular line, and he is never really
+content in his mind and at peace with himself when he is not stretching
+himself out to the full towards this high pinnacle which he has set
+before him.
+
+Now fortunately all men are not born with the same aptitudes. We do not
+all want to sing or all want to orate or all want to paint. Some few
+want to climb mountains. These men love to pit themselves against what
+most others would consider an insuperable obstacle. They enjoy measuring
+themselves against it and being forced to exercise all their energies
+and faculties to overcome it. The Duke of the Abruzzi is as good an
+example of this type as I know. He was never happy until he had
+discovered some inaccessible and impracticable mountain and then thrown
+himself against it and come to grips with it in dead earnest and either
+conquered it or been thrown back from it utterly and completely
+exhausted, but with the satisfaction that anyhow he had exercised every
+nerve and muscle and faculty to the full. His native mountains he had
+early conquered over and over again, so he had to look further afield to
+Mount Elias in Alaska and Ruwenzori in East Africa; and having
+vanquished these he would doubtless have turned his eyes to Mount
+Everest if for political reasons the way to that mountain had not been
+barred, and he was compelled therefore to look to the next highest
+mountain, namely, the peak K2 in the Karakoram Himalaya in the
+neighbourhood of which he attained to a greater height, 24,600 feet,
+than has yet been attained by any man on foot.
+
+The Duke no doubt is human and would like his name to go down to
+posterity as having conquered some conspicuously lofty and difficult
+peak. But undoubtedly the ruling passion with him would be this love of
+pitting himself against a great mountain and feeling that he was being
+forced to exert himself to the full. To such men a tussle with a
+mountain is a real tonic--something bracing and refreshing. And even if
+they are laid out flat by the mountain instead of standing triumphant on
+its summit they have enjoyed the struggle and would go back for another
+if they ever had the chance.
+
+Others--like Bruce--climb from sheer exuberance of spirits. Blessed with
+boundless energy they revel in its exercise. It is only on the mountain
+side, breathing its pure air, buffeting against its storms, testing
+their nerve, running hair-breadth risks, exercising their intelligence
+and judgment, feeling their manhood and looking on Nature face to face
+and with open heart and mind that they are truly happy. For these men
+days on the mountain are days when they really live. And as the cobwebs
+in their brains get blown away, as the blood begins to course
+refreshingly through their veins, as all their faculties become tuned up
+and their whole being becomes more sensitive, they detect appeals from
+Nature they had never heard before and see beauties which are revealed
+only to those who win them. They may not at the moment be aware of the
+deepest impressions they are receiving. But to those who have struggled
+with them the mountains reveal beauties they will not disclose to those
+who make no effort. That is the reward the mountains give to effort. And
+it is because they have much to give and give it so lavishly to those
+who will wrestle with them that men love the mountains and go back to
+them again and again.
+
+And naturally the mountains reserve their choicest gifts for those who
+stand upon their summits. The climber's vision is then no longer
+confined and enclosed. He can see now all round. His width of outlook is
+enlarged to its full extremity. He sees in every direction. He has a
+sense of being raised above the world and being proudly conscious that
+he has raised himself there by his own exertions, he has a peculiar
+satisfaction and for the time forgets all frets and worries in the
+serener atmosphere in which he now for a moment dwells.
+
+And it is only for a moment that he can dwell there. For men cannot
+always live on the heights. They must come down to the plains again and
+engage in the practical life of the world. But the vision from the
+heights never leaves them. They want to return there. They want to reach
+a higher height. Their standard of achievement rises. And so it has come
+about that mountaineers when they had climbed the highest heights in
+Europe went off to the Caucasus, to the Andes, and eventually to the
+Himalaya to climb something higher still. Freshfield conquered the
+Caucasus, Whymper and Conway the Andes, and the assault upon the
+Himalaya is now in full swing.
+
+It is therefore only in the natural course of things that men should
+want to climb the highest summit of the Himalaya. And though those who
+set out to climb Mount Everest will probably think little of the
+eventual results, being perfectly satisfied in their own minds, without
+any elaborate reasoning, that what they are attempting is something
+supremely worth while, yet it is easy for lookers on to see that much
+unexpected good will result from their activities. The climbers will be
+actuated by sheer love of mountaineering, and that is enough for them.
+But climbing Mount Everest is no futile and useless performance of no
+satisfaction to anyone but the climbers. Results will follow from it of
+the highest value to mankind at large.
+
+For the climbers are unwittingly carrying out an experiment of momentous
+consequence to mankind. They are testing the capacity of the human race
+to stand the highest altitudes on this earth which is its home. No
+scientific man, no physiologist or physician, can now say for certain
+whether or not a human body can reach a height of 29,000 feet above the
+sea. We know that in an aeroplane he can be carried up to a much greater
+height. But we do not know whether he can climb on his own feet such an
+altitude. That knowledge of men's capacity can only be acquired by
+practical experiment in the field.
+
+And in the process of acquiring the knowledge a valuable result will
+ensue. By testing their capacities men actually increase them. By
+exercising their capacities to the full mountaineers seem to enlarge
+them. A century ago the ascent of Mount Blanc seemed the limit of human
+capacity. Nowadays hundreds ascend the mountain every year. And going
+further afield men ascended the highest peaks in the Caucasus and then
+in the Andes and have been reaching higher and higher altitudes in the
+Himalaya. Conway reached 23,000 feet, Kellas 23,186 feet, Longstaff
+23,360 feet, Dr. Workman 23,000 feet, Kellas and Meade 23,600 feet and
+the Duke of the Abruzzi 24,600 feet. It looks therefore as if man by
+attempting more was actually making himself capable of achieving more.
+By straining after the highest he is increasing his capacity to attain
+it.
+
+In this measuring of themselves against the mountains men are indeed
+very like puppies crawling about and testing their capacities on their
+surroundings--crawling up on to some obstacle, tumbling back discomfited
+but returning gallantly to the attack and at last triumphantly
+surmounting it. Thus do they find out what they can do and how they
+stand in relation to their surroundings. Also by exercising and
+stretching their muscles and faculties to the full they actually
+increase their capacity.
+
+Men are still only in the puppy stage of existence. We are prone to
+think ourselves very "grown up" but really we are only in our childhood.
+In the latest discussions as to the period of time which must have
+elapsed since life first appeared upon this earth a period of the order
+of a thousand million years was named. But of that immense period man
+has been in existence for only a quarter or half a million years. So the
+probability is that he has still long years before him and must be now
+only in his childhood--in his puppyhood. We certainly find that as he
+inquisitively looks about his surroundings and measures himself against
+them he is steadily increasing his mastery over them. In the last five
+hundred years record after record has been beaten. Men have ventured
+more and shown more adaptability and a sterner hardihood and endurance
+than ever before. They have ventured across the oceans, circumnavigated
+the globe, reached the poles, risen into the air, and it can be only a
+question of time--a few months or a few years--before they reach the
+highest summit of the earth.
+
+"What then?" some will ask. "Suppose men do reach the top of Mount
+Everest, what then?" "Suppose we do establish the fact that man has the
+capacity to surmount the highest summit of his surroundings, of what
+good is that knowledge?" This is the kind of question promoters of the
+enterprise continually have to answer. One reply is obvious. The sight
+of climbers struggling upwards to the supreme pinnacle will have taught
+men to lift their eyes unto the hills--to raise them off the ground and
+direct them, if only for a moment, to something pure and lofty and
+satisfying to that inner craving for the worthiest which all men have
+hidden in their souls. And when they see men thrown back at first but
+venturing again and again to the assault till with faltering footsteps
+and gasping breaths they at last reach the summit they will thrill with
+pride. They will no longer be obsessed with the thought of what mites
+they are in comparison with the mountains--how insignificant they are
+beside their material surroundings. They will have a proper pride in
+themselves and a well-grounded faith in the capacity of spirit to
+dominate material.
+
+And direct practical results flow from this increasing confidence which
+man is acquiring in face of the mountains. A century ago Napoleon's
+crossing of the Alps was thought an astounding feat. During the last
+thirty years troops--and Indian troops--have been moved about the
+Himalaya in all seasons and crossed passes over 15,000 feet above sea
+level in the depth of winter. On the Gilgit frontier, in Chitral, and in
+Tibet, neither cold nor snow nor wind stopped them. In winter or in
+summer, in spring or in autumn, they have faced the Himalayan passes.
+And they have been able to negotiate them successfully because of their
+increased knowledge of men's capacities and of the way to overcome
+difficulties that constant wrestling with mountains in all parts of the
+world during the last half-century has given. The activities of the
+Alpine Club have produced direct practical results in the movement of
+troops in the Himalaya.
+
+More still will follow. When men have proved that they can surmount the
+highest peak in the Himalaya they will take heart to climb other peaks
+and become more and more at home in that wonderful region, extending for
+nigh two thousand miles from the Roof of the World in the North and West
+to the borders of Burma and China in the South and East and containing
+more than seventy peaks over 24,000 feet in height--that is higher than
+any in the Andes, the second highest range of mountains in the
+world--and more than eleven hundred peaks over 20,000 feet in height.
+This great mountain region which in Europe would stretch from Calais to
+the Caspian is one vast mine of beauty of every varied description. And
+a mine of beauty has this advantage over a mine of material wealth--that
+we can never exhaust it. And not only can we never exhaust it, but the
+more we take out the more we find, and the more we give away the richer
+we are. We may go on digging into a gold mine, but eventually we shall
+find there is no gold left. We shall have exhausted our mine. But we may
+dig into that mine of beauty in the Himalaya and never exhaust it. The
+more we dig the more we shall find--richer beauty, subtler beauty, more
+varied beauty--beauty of mountain form and beauty of pure and delicate
+colour, beauty of forest, beauty of river and beauty of lake and
+combined beauty of rushing torrent, precipitous cliff, richest
+vegetation and overtopping snowy summit. And when we have discovered
+these treasures and made them our own we can actually increase their
+value to ourselves by giving them away to others. By imparting to others
+the enjoyment which we have felt we shall have increased our own
+enjoyment.
+
+We cannot expect those who are first engaged in climbing Mount Everest
+to have the time or inclination to observe and describe the full beauty
+there is. They will be set on overcoming the physical difficulties and
+they will be so exhausted for the moment by the effort they will have
+made that they will not have the repose of mind which is so necessary
+for seeing and depicting beauty. But when they have pioneered the way
+and beaten down a path, others will more leisurely follow after. Many
+even of these may not be able to express in words or in picture the
+enjoyment they have felt and be able to communicate it to others. They
+may not be given to public speech or writing and may have no capacity
+for painting. The flame of their enjoyment may be kept sacred and hidden
+within them, and it may be only in the privacy of colloquy with some
+kindred soul that the white glow of their enjoyment may ever be shown.
+But, others there may be who have the capacity for making the world at
+large share with them some little of the joy they have felt--who can
+make our nerves tingle and our blood course quicker, our eyes uplift
+themselves and our outlook widen as we go out with them to face and
+overcome the mountains. Such men as these from their very intimacy with
+the mountains are able to point out beauties which distant beholders
+would never suspect. And as Leslie Stephen through his love of mountains
+has been able to attract thousands to the Alps and given them enjoyment,
+clean and fresh, which but for him they might never have known, so we
+hope that in the fulness of time a greater Stephen will tell of the
+unsurpassable beauty of the Himalaya and by so doing add appreciably to
+the enjoyment of human life.
+
+                     *       *       *       *       *
+
+Such are some of the advantages which men in general will obtain from
+the attempt to climb Mount Everest. But it is time now to say something
+of the mountain itself.
+
+Mount Everest for its size is a singularly shy and retiring mountain. It
+hides itself away behind other mountains. On the north side, in Tibet,
+it does indeed stand up proudly and alone, a true monarch among
+mountains. But it stands in a very sparsely inhabited part of Tibet, and
+very few people ever go to Tibet. From the Indian side only its tip
+appears among a mighty array of peaks which being nearer look higher.
+Consequently for a long time no one suspected Mount Everest of being the
+supreme mountain not only of the Himalaya but of the world. At the time
+when Hooker was making his Himalayan journeys--that was in
+1849--Kanchenjunga was believed to be the highest.
+
+How it was eventually discovered to be the highest is a story worth
+recording. In the very year that Hooker was botanising in the Sikkim
+Himalaya the officers of the Great Trigonometrical Survey were making
+observations from the plains of India to the peaks in Nepal which could
+be seen from there. When they could find a native name for a peak they
+called it by that name. But in most cases no native name was
+forthcoming, and in those cases a Roman number was affixed to the peak.
+Among these unnamed peaks to which observations to determine the
+altitude and position were taken from stations in the plains was Peak
+XV. The observations were recorded, but the resulting height was not
+computed till three years later, and then one day the Bengali Chief
+Computer rushed into the room of the Surveyor-General, Sir Andrew Waugh,
+breathlessly exclaiming, "Sir! I have discovered the highest mountain in
+the world." The mean result of all the observations taken from the six
+stations from which Peak XV had been observed came to 29,002 feet, and
+this Peak XV is what is now known as Mount Everest.
+
+The question is often asked, "Why twenty-nine thousand and two?" "Why be
+so particular about the two?" The answer is that that particular figure
+is the mean of many observations. But it is not infallible. It is indeed
+in all probability below rather than above the mark, and a later
+computation of the observed results puts the height at 29,141 feet. In
+any case, however, there are, as Sir Sidney Burrard has pointed out in
+his discussion of this point in Burrard and Hayden's _Himalaya and
+Tibet_, many causes of slight error in observing and computing the
+altitude of a distant and very lofty peak. The observations are made
+with a theodolite. The telescope of the theodolite may not be absolutely
+perfect. The theodolite may not be levelled with perfect accuracy. The
+graduations on the circle of the theodolite may not be quite accurate.
+The observer himself may not have observed with sufficient perfection.
+An error of ten feet may have resulted from these causes. Then there are
+other and greater sources of possible error. There may be error in the
+assumed height of the observing station; and the altitudes of peaks are
+always varying in nature with the increase and decrease of snow in
+summer and winter and in a season of heavy snowfall or a season of light
+snowfall. Another source of error arises from the varying effects of
+gravitational attraction. "The attraction of the great mass of the
+Himalaya and Tibet," says Burrard, "pulls all liquids towards itself, as
+the moon attracts the ocean and the surface of the water assumes an
+irregular form at the foot of the Himalaya. If the ocean were to
+overflow Northern India its surface would be deformed by Himalayan
+attraction. The liquid in levels is similarly affected and theodolites
+cannot consequently be adjusted; their plates when levelled are still
+tilted upward towards the mountains, and angles of observation are too
+small by the amount the horizon is inclined to the tangential plane. At
+Darjeeling the surface of water in repose is inclined about 35'' to
+this plane, at Kurseong about 51'', at Siliguri about 23'', at Dehra
+Dun and Mussooree about 37''. For this reason all angles of elevation
+to Himalayan peaks measured from the plains, as Mount Everest was
+measured, are too small and consequently all our values of Himalayan
+heights are too small. Errors of this nature range from 40 to 100 feet."
+
+This then is a considerable source of error, but the most serious source
+of uncertainty affecting the value of heights is the refraction of the
+atmosphere. A ray of light from a peak to an observer's eye does not
+travel along a straight line but assumes a curved path concave to the
+earth. The ray enters the observer's eye in a direction tangential to
+the curve at that point, and this is the direction in which the observer
+sees the peak. It makes the peak appear too high. Corrections have
+therefore to be applied. But there is no certainty as to what should be
+the amount of the correction; and it is now believed that the computers
+of the height of Mount Everest applied too great a correction for
+refraction and consequently reduced its height too much.
+
+Burrard brings together in the following table the different errors to
+which the carefully determined height of Mount Everest is liable:--
+
+  ---------------------------------------------------+--------------------
+                 Source of error.                    |   Magnitude of
+                                                     |  possible error.
+  ---------------------------------------------------+--------------------
+  Variation of snow level from the mean              |  Unknown
+  Errors of observation                              |  10 feet
+  Adoption of erroneous height for observing station |  10 feet
+  Deviation of gravity                               |  60 feet, too small
+  Atmospheric refraction                             | 150 feet, too small
+  ---------------------------------------------------+--------------------
+
+The following table shows how the different values of the height of
+Mount Everest have been deduced:--
+
+                       HEIGHT OF MOUNT EVEREST
+
+  ----------------------------------------------------------------------
+              |              |           |             |  Determination
+              |              |           | Height as   |    of height
+   Observing  |   Year of    | Distance  | determined  |  with revised
+   station.   | observation. | in miles. | by Waugh.   | correction for
+              |              |           |             |  refraction.
+  ------------+--------------+-----------+-------------+----------------
+              |              |           |    Feet     |      Feet
+   Jirol      |     1849     |    118    |   28,991    |     29,141
+   Mirzapur   |     1849     |    108    |   29,005    |     29,135
+   Joafpati   |     1849     |    108    |   29,001    |     29,117
+   Ladnia     |     1849     |    108    |   28,998    |     29,144
+   Harpur     |     1849     |    111    |   29,026    |     29,146
+   Minai      |     1850     |    113    |   28,990    |     29,160
+   Suberkum   |     1881     |     87    |     --      |     29,141
+   Suberkum   |     1883     |     87    |     --      |     29,127
+   Tiger Hill |     1880     |    107    |     --      |     29,140
+   Sandakphu  |     1883     |     89    |     --      |     29,142
+   Phallut    |     1902     |     85    |     --      |     29,151
+   Senchal    |     1902     |    108    |     --      |     29,134
+  ------------+--------------+-----------+-------------+----------------
+   Mean       |      --      |     --    |   29,002    |     29,141
+  ----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+The height 29,141 is still, Burrard thinks, too small, as it has yet to
+be corrected for the deviations of gravity. But though it is a more
+reliable result than 29,002, the latter is still to be retained in maps
+and publications of the Survey of India.
+
+As to the name, it was called Everest after the distinguished
+Surveyor-General of India under whose direction the triangulation had
+been carried out, one result of which was the discovery of the mountain.
+From the Indian side and Nepal it is not a conspicuous peak on account
+of its lying so far back. No native name for it could be discovered and
+Sir Andrew Waugh, the successor of Sir George Everest, called it after
+his predecessor. From the Tibetan side it is much more conspicuous and,
+as General Bruce stated in his lecture to the Royal Geographical Society
+in November 1920, and as Colonel Howard-Bury found in 1921, the Tibetans
+call it Chomolungma, which Colonel Howard-Bury translated, the "Goddess
+Mother of the Mountains"--a most appropriate name. But the name Mount
+Everest is now so firmly established throughout the world that it would
+be impossible to change it. It is therefore now definitely adopted.
+
+Now, this mountain so coveted by mountaineers is unfortunately situated
+exactly on the border between two of the most secluded countries in the
+world--Nepal and Tibet. To reach it the climbers must pass through one
+or other of these countries and the difficulty of getting the necessary
+permission is what has so far prevented any attempt being made to attack
+Mount Everest. But recently access through Tibet has become more
+possible, and it so happens that it is on the Tibetan side that the
+summit seems most accessible. From the distant views that could be
+obtained of it from Sandakphu beyond Darjeeling and from Kampa Dzong in
+Tibet, a ridge running from the summit in a northerly direction seemed
+to give good promise of access. Major Ryder and Captain Rawling in 1904,
+viewing the mountain from a distance of sixty miles almost due north,
+thought the mountain might be approached from that direction. At the
+same time the Tibetans were distinctly more favourable to travellers
+than they had ever been before. The chances therefore of at least
+exploring Mount Everest were much more promising, and Major Rawling was
+planning an expedition of exploration when the war broke out and he was
+killed.
+
+Mr. Douglas Freshfield would certainly have taken the matter up during
+his Presidency of the Royal Geographical Society, but he had the
+misfortune to hold that post during the years of the war and no action
+was possible. But as soon as the war was over interest in Mount Everest
+revived. In March 1919 Captain J. B. L. Noel read a paper to the Royal
+Geographical Society describing a reconnaissance he had made in the
+direction of the mountain in the year 1913. He showed how attention
+during the last few years had been focused more and more upon the
+Himalaya and said, "Now that the Poles have been reached, it is
+generally felt that the next and equally important task is the
+exploration and mapping of Mount Everest." So he urged that the
+exploration which had been the ambition of the late General Rawling with
+whom he was to have joined should be accomplished in his memory. "It
+cannot be long," he continued, "before the culminating summit of the
+world is visited and its ridges, valleys and glaciers are mapped and
+photographed." And at the conclusion of his lecture he said that "some
+day the political difficulties will be overcome and a fully equipped
+expedition must explore and map Mount Everest."
+
+It was not clear whether Captain Noel was advocating a definite attempt
+to climb the mountain and reach the actual summit, and Mr. Douglas
+Freshfield and Dr. Kellas who followed after him referred only to the
+approaches to Mount Everest. But Captain J. P. Farrar, the then
+President of the Alpine Club, seems to have considered it "a proposal to
+attempt the ascent of Mount Everest," and said that the Alpine Club took
+the keenest interest in the proposal and was prepared not only to lend
+such financial aid as was in its power, but also to recommend two or
+three young mountaineers quite capable of dealing with any purely
+mountaineering difficulties which were likely to be met with on Mount
+Everest.
+
+The hour was late, but I was so struck by the ring of assurance and
+determination in the words of the President of the Alpine Club that I
+could not help asking the President, Sir Thomas Holdich, to let me say a
+few words. I then told how General Bruce had made to me, twenty-six
+years ago, the proposal to climb Mount Everest. I said the Royal
+Geographical Society was interested in the project and now we had heard
+the President of the Alpine Club say that he had young mountaineers
+ready to undertake the work. I added, "It must be done." There might be
+one or two attempts before we were successful, but the first thing to do
+was to get over the trouble with our own Government. If they were
+approached properly by Societies like the Royal Geographical Society and
+the Alpine Club, and a reasonable scheme were put before them and it
+were proved to them that we meant business, then, I said, they would be
+reasonable and do what we wanted. This was a big business and must be
+done in a big way and I hoped that something really serious would come
+of that meeting.[1]
+
+  [1] In the enthusiasm of the moment I seem to have displayed a
+      regrettable excess of "nationalism"! According to the record,
+      I expressed the hope that it would be an Englishman who first
+      stood on the summit of Mount Everest. I trust my foreign friends
+      will excuse me! I have this at least to plead in extenuation,
+      that if I have always striven for my own countrymen when they
+      led the way, I have never been backward in helping explorers of
+      other nationalities whom I have met in the Himalaya; and I have
+      received the thanks of both the French and Italian Governments
+      for the help I have given to French and Italian explorers.
+
+Sir Thomas Holdich in closing the meeting advocated approaching Mount
+Everest through Nepal, and hoped that at some time not very remote we
+should hear more about the proposed expedition to Mount Everest.
+
+Only a few days after the meeting I met Colonel Howard-Bury at lunch
+with a Fellow of our Society, Mr. C. P. McCarthy. He was not a
+mountaineer in the Alpine Club sense of the word, but he had spent much
+of his time shooting in the Alps and in the Himalaya, and becoming
+deeply interested in the Mount Everest project, had a talk with
+Mr. Freshfield about it and made a formal application to the Society for
+their support in undertaking an expedition. Things now began to move,
+and the Society applied to the India Office for permission to send an
+expedition into Tibet for the purpose of exploring Mount Everest. The
+Government of India in reply said that they were not prepared at the
+moment to approach the Tibetan Government; but they did not return any
+absolute refusal.
+
+During my Presidency the Society, in conjunction with the Alpine Club,
+still further pressed the matter. We asked the Secretary of State for
+India to receive a deputation from the two bodies, and the request being
+granted and the deputation being assured of his sympathy we invited
+Colonel Howard-Bury to proceed to India in June 1920 to explain our
+wishes personally to the Government of India, and ask them to obtain for
+us from the Dalai Lama the necessary permission to enter Tibet for the
+purpose of exploring and climbing Mount Everest. Lord Chelmsford, the
+Viceroy, received Colonel Howard-Bury most sympathetically and after
+some preliminary difficulties had been overcome, Mr. Bell, the Political
+Agent in Sikkim, who happened to be in Lhasa, was instructed to ask the
+Dalai Lama for permission, and Mr. Bell being on most friendly terms
+with His Holiness, permission was at once granted.
+
+The one great obstacle in the way of approaching Mount Everest had now
+at last been removed. What so many keen mountaineers had for years
+dreamed of was within sight. And as soon as the welcome news
+arrived--early in January 1921--preparations were commenced to organise
+an expedition. A joint Committee of three representatives each from the
+Royal Geographical Society and the Alpine Club was formed under the
+Chairmanship of the President of the former Society and was named the
+Mount Everest Committee. The three members of the Society were Sir
+Francis Younghusband, Mr. E. L. Somers-Cocks (Honorary Treasurer) and
+Colonel Jack. The three members of the Alpine Club were Professor Norman
+Collie, Captain J. P. Farrar and Mr. C. F. Meade. Mr. Eaton and
+Mr. Hinks were Honorary Secretaries.
+
+Our first business was to select a leader for the Expedition. General
+Bruce, who had had the idea in his mind for so many years, who knew the
+Himalaya as no one else did, and who had a special aptitude for handling
+Himalayan people, was now in England, and it was to him our thoughts
+first turned. But he had just taken up an appointment with the
+Glamorganshire Territorial Association and was not then available. In
+these circumstances we were fortunate in having ready to hand a man with
+such high qualifications as Colonel Howard-Bury. He had much to do on
+his property in Ireland, but he willingly accepted our invitation to
+lead the Expedition, and we could then proceed to the choice of the
+mountaineers.
+
+From the very first we decided that the main object of the Expedition
+was to be the ascent of the mountain and that all other activities were
+to be made subordinate to the supreme object of reaching the summit. It
+was to be no mere surveying or geologising or botanising expedition
+which would as a secondary object try to climb the mountain if it saw a
+chance. To climb the mountain was to be the first object and the mapping
+and everything else was to come afterwards. The reason for this is
+obvious. What men really want to know is whether man can ascend the
+highest mountain.
+
+Knowledge of the topography, fauna and flora of that particular area is
+of very small consequence in comparison with the knowledge of human
+capacity to surmount the highest point in men's physical surroundings on
+this earth. By some perversity of human nature there are men who shy at
+putting the ascent of Mount Everest in the forefront, because it is
+adventurous and must therefore, they seem to think, cease to be a
+scientific object. They profess to be unconcerned with the climbing of
+the mountain so long as a map is made or plants collected. But the
+plain man instinctively sees the value of the adventure and knows that
+the successful ascent of Mount Everest will show what man is capable of
+and put new hope and heart into the human race.
+
+But while it was decided to make the ascent of Mount Everest the main
+object of the Expedition, Professor Norman Collie and Mr. Douglas
+Freshfield from the first insisted that a whole season must be devoted
+to a thorough reconnaissance of the mountain with a view to finding not
+only a feasible route to the summit but what was without any doubt the
+most feasible route. We knew nothing of the immediate approaches to the
+mountain. But we knew that the only chance of reaching the summit was by
+finding some way up which would entail little rock-climbing or ice
+step-cutting. The mountain had therefore to be prospected from every
+side to find a comparatively easy route and to make sure that no other
+easier route than the one selected existed. This was considered ample
+work for the Expedition for one season, while the following season would
+be devoted to an all-out effort to reach the summit along the route
+selected in the first year.
+
+On this basis the first year's Expedition had accordingly to be
+organised. The mountain party was to consist of four members, two of
+whom were to be men of considerable experience and two younger men who
+it was hoped would form the nucleus of the climbing party the next year.
+Mr. Harold Raeburn, a member of the Alpine Club who had had great
+experience of snow and rock work in the Alps, and who had in 1920 been
+climbing on the spurs of Kanchenjunga, was invited to lead the mountain
+party. Dr. Kellas, who had made several climbing expeditions in the
+Himalaya and had in 1920 ascended to a height of 23,400 feet on Mount
+Kamet, was also invited to join the climbing party. He had been making
+experiments in the use of oxygen at high altitudes and was still out in
+India preparing to continue these experiments on Mount Kamet in 1921.
+It was suggested to him that he should make the experiments on Mount
+Everest instead, and the party would thereby have the benefit of his
+wide Himalayan experience. This invitation he accepted.
+
+The two younger members selected for the climbing party were Mr. George
+Leigh Mallory and Captain George Finch, both with a very high reputation
+for climbing in the Alps. Unfortunately Captain Finch was for the time
+indisposed and his place at the last moment had to be taken by
+Mr. Bullock of the Consular Service, who had been at Winchester with
+Mr. Mallory and who happened to be at home on leave. Through the
+courtesy of Lord Curzon he was able to get special leave of absence from
+the Foreign Office.
+
+While we were finding the men we had also to be finding the money. As a
+quite rough guess we estimated the Expedition for the two years would
+cost about L10,000, and at least a substantial portion of this had to be
+raised by private subscription. Appeals were made by their Presidents to
+the Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society and to members of the
+Alpine Club, and Captain Farrar was especially energetic in urging the
+claims of the enterprise. As a result the members of the Alpine Club
+subscribed over L3,000 and the Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society
+nearly that amount. Later on with the advice and help of Mr. John Buchan
+arrangements were made with _The Times_ and the _Philadelphia Ledger_
+for the purchase of the rights of publication of telegrams from the
+Expedition, and with the _Graphic_ for the purchase of photographs. So
+eventually the financial position of the Expedition was assured.
+
+The equipment and provisioning of the Expedition was undertaken by the
+Equipment Committee--Captain Farrar and Mr. Meade--and the greatest
+trouble was taken to ensure that the most suitable and best tents,
+sleeping bags, clothing, boots, ice-axes, ropes, cooking apparatus,
+provisions, etc., were purchased and that they were properly packed and
+listed.
+
+In the same way the scientific equipment was undertaken by Colonel Jack
+and Mr. Hinks.
+
+Finally the services of Mr. Wollaston, well known for his journeys in
+New Guinea and East Africa, were secured as Medical Officer and
+Naturalist to the Expedition.
+
+Throughout these preparations the advice and help of the best men in
+every line were freely and willingly forthcoming. For such an enterprise
+all were ready to give a helping hand. Whether they were scientific men,
+or business men or journalists, they were ready to throw aside their own
+work and devote hours to ensuring that the Expedition should be a
+success along the lines on which they severally had most experience.
+
+And most valuable was the encouragement given to the Expedition by the
+interest which His Majesty showed in conversation with the President,
+and His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales in receiving Colonel
+Howard-Bury--an interest which was shown in practical form by generous
+subscriptions to the funds of the Expedition.
+
+The Expedition was able, therefore, to set out from England under the
+most favourable auspices, and it was to be joined in India by two
+officers of the Indian Survey Department, Major Morshead and Major
+Wheeler, and by an officer of the Indian Geological Survey, Dr. Heron.
+It was thus admirably equipped for the acquirement of knowledge. But
+acquirement of knowledge was not the only object which the Expedition
+had in view. It could not be doubted that the region would possess
+beauty of exceptional grandeur. So it was hoped that the Expedition
+would discover, describe and reveal to us, by camera and by pen, beauty
+no less valuable than the knowledge.
+
+
+
+
+                      THE NARRATIVE OF THE EXPEDITION
+
+                                    By
+
+                   LIEUT.-COL. C. K. HOWARD-BURY, D.S.O.
+
+
+
+
+                                 CHAPTER I
+
+                      FROM DARJEELING THROUGH SIKKIM
+
+
+Early in May most of the members of the Expedition had assembled at
+Darjeeling. Mr. Raeburn had been the first to arrive there in order to
+collect as many coolies of the right type as he could. I had come out a
+few weeks earlier in order to visit the Indian Authorities at Simla and
+to make sure that there were no political difficulties in the way. There
+I found every one very kind and helpful and all were anxious to do their
+best to assist the Expedition. Owing to the heavy deficit in the Indian
+Budget, the expenses of every Department had been rigorously cut down,
+and the Government of India were unable to give us financial assistance.
+They agreed, however, to take upon themselves the whole of the expenses
+of the survey, and to lend the Expedition the services of an officer of
+the Geological Department. The Viceroy, Lord Reading, who, together with
+Lady Reading, took the greatest interest in the Expedition, kindly gave
+us a subscription of 750 rupees, and at Darjeeling the Governor of
+Bengal, Lord Ronaldshay, had not only put up several members of the
+Expedition at his most comfortable house, but had also given the
+Expedition several rooms in which to collect their stores for separation
+and division into loads. Local stores, such as tea, sugar, flour and
+potatoes had to be bought on the spot. Coolies had to be collected and
+arrangements made for fitting them out with boots and warm clothing. The
+coolies were to receive pay at the rate of 12 annas per day while in
+Sikkim, and when in Tibet were to receive another 6 annas per day,
+either in cash or the equivalent in rations. The former proved the most
+acceptable eventually, except during the period when the coolies were
+up on the glaciers, where there were no villages and consequently
+nothing could be bought.
+
+A passport had been sent to us by the Government at Lhasa under the seal
+of the Prime Minister of Tibet, of which the following is a
+translation:--
+
+  _To_
+    _The Jongpens and Headmen of Pharijong, Ting-ke, Khamba and Kharta._
+
+  You are to bear in mind that a party of Sahibs are coming to see the
+  Chha-mo-lung-ma mountain and they will evince great friendship towards
+  the Tibetans. On the request of the Great Minister Bell a passport
+  has been issued requiring you and all officials and subjects of the
+  Tibetan Government to supply transport, e.g. riding ponies, pack
+  animals and coolies as required by the Sahibs, the rates for which
+  should be fixed to mutual satisfaction. Any other assistance that
+  the Sahibs may require either by day or by night, on the march or
+  during halts, should be faithfully given, and their requirements
+  about transport or anything else should be promptly attended to. All
+  the people of the country, wherever the Sahibs may happen to come,
+  should render all necessary assistance in the best possible way, in
+  order to maintain friendly relations between the British and Tibetan
+  Governments.
+
+  Dispatched during the Iron-Bird Year.
+  Seal of the Prime Minister.
+
+Our start had been originally arranged for the middle of May, but the
+"Hatarana," in which were most of our stores, was unable to obtain a
+berth, as accommodation in the Docks at Calcutta was very insufficient
+for the large number of steamers that call there; she had therefore to
+lie out in the Hoogly for a fortnight before she could get room in the
+Docks. However, by May 11 everything was unloaded at Calcutta. The
+Darjeeling-Himalayan Railway had generously given the Expedition a free
+pass over their line for all stores and goods, and as the Customs had
+granted a free entry into the country, everything was up in Darjeeling
+by May 14. The time of waiting at Darjeeling had, however, not been
+wasted. Four cooks had been engaged for the Expedition and some forty
+coolies. These were Sherpa Bhotias, whose homes were in the North-east
+corner of Nepal, some of them coming from villages only a few miles to
+the South of Mount Everest. They were an especially hardy type of
+coolie, accustomed to living in a cold climate and at great heights.
+They were Buddhists by religion and therefore had no caste prejudices
+about food, and could eat anything. They proved at times quarrelsome and
+rather fond of strong drink; they turned out, however, to be a useful
+and capable type of man, easily trained in snow and ice work and not
+afraid of the snow. We later on picked up a few Tibetan coolies in the
+Chumbi Valley and these proved to be as good as the best of the Sherpas.
+They were very hardy and got on well with the Tibetans, who were always
+rather suspicious of our Nepalese coolies. They were also less
+troublesome to manage and could carry heavy loads at great heights.
+These coolies had all to be fitted with boots and very difficult this
+sometimes proved to be, as often their feet were almost as broad as they
+were long. Blankets, cap comforters, fur gloves and warm clothing were
+issued to all of them, and for those who had to sleep at the highest
+camps, eiderdown sleeping-bags were also taken. Arrangements had also to
+be made for interpreters to accompany the Expedition, as with the
+exception of Major Morshead, who knew a little Tibetan, no one was able
+to speak the language. It was a matter of great importance to get hold
+of the right type of man as interpreter. It was essential to find men of
+some position and standing who knew not only the Tibetan language, but
+also all their ways and customs. After many names had been suggested, we
+were very lucky in getting hold of two men who possessed these
+qualifications to a great extent. Gyalzen Kazi, who came from Gangtok in
+Sikkim, where he was a Kazi and landowner, was a young and ambitious man
+who knew the Tibetan language well and was well read in their sacred
+writings and scriptures. The other one, Chheten Wangdi, was a Tibetan
+who had been for a time a captain in the Tibetan army, and who had left
+them and been attached to the Indian army in Egypt during the war. He
+was a most energetic, hard-working man, knew all the Tibetan manners and
+customs, and was up to all their tricks of procrastination and attempts
+at overcharging. By his knowledge and persuasive powers the Expedition
+was saved many thousand rupees.
+
+The Expedition when it left Darjeeling included nine Europeans. The
+Alpine climbers were Mr. Harold Raeburn, Dr. A. M. Kellas, Mr. G. L.
+Mallory and Mr. C. H. Bullock. Dr. Kellas had unfortunately in the early
+spring of this year tried his constitution very severely by climbing
+Narsing,[2] and he had also spent several nights at very low
+temperatures in camps over 20,000 feet, on the slopes of Kabru,[2] so
+that when he arrived at Darjeeling a few days before the Expedition was
+due to start, he was not in as fit a condition as he should have been.
+The two Surveyors were Major H. T. Morshead, D.S.O., and Major O. E.
+Wheeler, M.C. These officers had been lent by the Survey of India. Major
+Morshead had already a considerable experience of travelling in the
+Eastern borders of Tibet and in the Kham country, where he had carried
+out some useful survey work, and under him were three native surveyors,
+one of whom was left in Sikkim to revise the existing maps, which were
+very inaccurate, while the other two, Gujjar Singh and Lalbir Singh,
+accompanied the Expedition and filled in all the details of the country
+traversed on their plane tables at a scale of 4 miles to the inch. Major
+O. E. Wheeler, the other Surveyor, was a member of the Canadian Alpine
+Club and a very keen climber himself. He was an expert in the Canadian
+system of Photo Survey--a method especially useful and applicable to a
+difficult and mountainous country. The Indian Government had also lent
+the Expedition the services of Dr. A. M. Heron, of the Geological Survey
+of India, in order to study the geology of the country through which it
+was about to go, and about which nothing was known, and to investigate
+the problems which surround the age and the structure of the Himalayan
+range. Besides these, there was Mr. A. F. Wollaston, a member of the
+Alpine Club and a very distinguished traveller as well, who had made
+some most interesting journeys around Ruwenzori in Africa and in the
+interior of New Guinea. He accompanied the Expedition in the capacity of
+Doctor, Naturalist and Botanist, and was equipped with a complete
+collector's outfit.
+
+  [2] Narsing and Kabru are two high mountains in the North of Sikkim.
+
+During our time of enforced waiting at Darjeeling, we came in for the
+Lebong races--a unique and very amusing entertainment. The course is a
+small circular one, where the top of the Lebong spur has been levelled,
+and only genuine Tibetan and Bhotia ponies are allowed to race there.
+There were always large entries for these races, as they were very
+popular among the hill-folk, who flocked into Darjeeling from great
+distances, dressed in their finest clothes and with their women covered
+with jewellery and wearing clothing of brilliant shades of green and
+red. There was very heavy betting on each race, and the amount of money
+that the coolies, sirdars or servants were able to put up was
+astonishing. In most of the races there was at least a field of ten,
+which made the start a very amusing affair. The jockeys were all
+hill-boys, and as they and the ponies were up to every dodge and trick,
+and were equally anxious to get off first, and as most of the ponies had
+mouths of iron, it was always a long time before a start could be made,
+and in nearly every race one or more of the ponies would run out of the
+course at the point nearest its own home.
+
+On May 13 Major Morshead with his assistant surveyors and fifty coolies
+left Darjeeling for Khamba Dzong. They went the direct road up the
+Teesta Valley correcting the Sikkim map as they went along. Their object
+in going this way was to connect the Indian Survey with the new survey
+that it was proposed to carry out in Tibet. This would occupy all Major
+Morshead's time until we should be able to join him at Khamba Dzong in
+June.
+
+The chief transport of the Expedition consisted of 100 mules belonging
+to the Supply and Transport Corps and lent to us by the
+Commander-in-Chief. These arrived at Darjeeling a few days before we
+were due to start and were camped in the open on the old parade ground
+at the top of Katapahar. Sub-Conductor Taylor, who had already had
+experience of mule transport in Tibet in 1904-5, and was to have come in
+charge of them, was unfortunately laid up at the last moment with a bad
+attack of influenza. The next man chosen was passed medically unfit, and
+the third man in temporary charge of the mules was, when he arrived at
+Darjeeling, already suffering from ague. It was not till May 15 that
+Sergeant Fowkes arrived, who was to take charge of the mules. He was a
+very capable and energetic N.C.O., and their subsequent failure was in
+no way due to him, but solely to the fact that the mules were in no kind
+of condition to do hard work in the hills, being sleek and fat from the
+plains where they had had very little work to do. The muleteers, or
+drabies, were all hill-men and had been picked out specially for us and
+fitted out with every kind of warm clothing. Though there were a hundred
+mules, this did not mean that there were a hundred mules to carry our
+loads--so much extra warm clothing and blankets had been given to the
+drabies that together with all their line gear it needed twenty-seven
+mules to carry their kit, which left only seventy-three mules for the
+Expedition loads, each mule carrying 160 lb., and this was not nearly
+sufficient for our requirements. A certain amount of our stores had
+therefore to be left behind at Government House, Darjeeling, for a
+second journey, and we only took with us sufficient food and supplies
+for three and a half months, relying on the mules going back and
+returning with the remainder of the stores in July or August. Owing to
+the camping grounds being small, and bungalow accommodation limited on
+the journey across Sikkim, we divided ourselves into two parties with
+fifty mules and twenty coolies in each party; Wollaston, Wheeler,
+Mallory and myself being with the first party and Raeburn, Kellas,
+Bullock and Heron with the second.
+
+The first party left Darjeeling on May 18, and the second party the
+following day. I remained behind to see the second party off, and then
+by doing a double march I caught the first party up that evening at
+Kalimpong, not, however, without noticing on the way that several of our
+mules were already knocked up. The night before we started rain came
+down in torrents, and it was still pouring when the mules came round in
+the morning, and though the rain stopped soon afterwards yet the
+hillsides were all wreathed in soft grey mists and every moss-hung
+branch and tree dripped steadily with moisture all day long. The first
+day's march from Darjeeling was to Peshoke--a seventeen-mile march and
+down hill all the way after Ghoom. From Darjeeling we gradually ascended
+some 500 feet to Ghoom and then for 6 miles followed the well-engineered
+cart road which leads below Senchal to the new military cantonment of
+Takda which is, I believe, about to be abandoned, as the Gurkhas, for
+whom it was built, are not at all happy there. During the war it was
+used as a German internment camp. Along this ridge there are magnificent
+forests of evergreen oaks, all of which were covered with ferns and
+orchids and long trailing mosses. This first ridge rising straight out
+of the plains condenses all the moisture-laden winds that blow up from
+the Bay of Bengal and causes it almost always to be enveloped in clouds
+and mists. The path now rapidly descended 4,000 feet, through tea
+plantations. The whole hillside was covered with tea bushes, neatly
+planted in lines, and showing a very vivid green at this time of the
+year. Here and there grew tall tree ferns, 20 feet to 30 feet in height,
+their stems covered with ferns and Coelogene orchids. The air was now
+growing hotter and hotter as we descended, but the wonderful and varied
+vegetation, the beautiful and brilliantly coloured butterflies--for
+which the Teesta Valley is famous--that flitted across the path in front
+of us, proved an irresistible attraction, and made us forget the fact
+that we were dripping with perspiration from every pore. We had already
+descended nearly 5,000 feet by the time that we reached the P.W.D.
+bungalow at Peshoke, which was situated in a clearing in the forest. We
+were, however, still 2,000 feet above the muddy Teesta River which ran
+down below us in its steamy gorge, and the next morning saw us
+descending 2,000 feet through a Sal forest by a slippery path of clay
+leading to the suspension bridge which crosses the mighty river that
+with its affluents drains the whole of Sikkim. It rushes along with
+irresistible force in mighty waves and rapids, and though attempts have
+been made to float timber down it for commercial purposes, yet the
+current is too swift and the logs were all smashed to pieces. Here at
+the bridge we were only 700 feet above the sea and the heat was intense.
+Several mules had been left exhausted at Peshoke and had been unable to
+proceed the following day and several more only just reached Kalimpong,
+the second day's march, only 12 miles from Peshoke, but the climb of
+3,300 feet up from the bridge over the Teesta in the steamy and
+enervating heat proved too much for them. The forests here were very
+beautiful--huge sal trees and giant terminalia abounded with weird and
+wonderful creepers embracing their stems, or hanging down from their
+branches. The handsome pothos--the finest of the creepers--grew
+everywhere. The curious pandanus or screw pine displayed its long and
+picturesque fronds, while here and there among the dark green of the
+tropical forest showed up as a brilliant patch of colour the scarlet
+blooms of the clerodendrons. Above the forests the hillsides had been
+terraced with immense labour into rice fields, which at this time of
+year were not yet planted out, but the fields of maize were already
+ripening. At Kalimpong there was a large and comfortable Dak bungalow,
+surrounded by a well-kept garden full of roses and scarlet hibiscus with
+a beautiful and large-flowered mauve solanum growing up the pillars on
+the verandah. At Kalimpong we were entertained by Dr. Graham and his
+charming daughters, who showed us true hospitality and kindness. They
+live in a very pretty house embowered in roses on the crest of the hill
+and commanding lovely views over the Teesta Valley and up to the snowy
+peaks of Kanchenjunga. Higher up on the spur are the homes and the
+industrial schools that many years of hard work have brought into
+being, thanks to the indefatigable labours of Dr. Graham and the late
+Mrs. Graham; these now hold between 600 and 700 pupils, both boys and
+girls, who, when they leave these schools, have all been taught some
+useful trade and are sent out as useful members of society. They are
+given as practical an education as could be wished for anywhere. At the
+Grahams' house I met David Macdonald, the British Trade Agent at Yatung,
+who was acting temporarily as political agent in Sikkim until Major
+Bailey arrived from England. He was an old friend of mine, as I had met
+him before in Tibet. He promised us every assistance in his power and
+had telegraphed to Yatung and to the Jongpen at Phari to have supplies
+and anything we wanted in readiness at those places. He told me that an
+old Tibetan Lama, who knew Mount Everest well, had described it as "Miti
+guti cha-phu long-nga," "the mountain visible from all directions, and
+where a bird becomes blind if it flies so high." Throughout our journey
+across Sikkim the weather was very bad, with heavy falls of rain every
+day and night. We had had the bad luck to strike the Chota Bursat, or
+little monsoon, which usually heralds the coming of the proper monsoon a
+fortnight or three weeks later.
+
+The march to Pedong was an easy one of 14 miles with a gentle climb of
+3,000 feet followed by a descent of 2,000 feet past gardens beautiful
+with their great trees of scarlet hibiscus, daturas and bougainvilleas,
+which grew with wonderful luxuriance in this climate where frost is
+almost unknown in winter and where in summer the temperature scarcely
+ever exceeds 85 deg. Fahrenheit. We passed some of the most wonderful datura
+hedges that I have ever seen with trees 15 feet to 20 feet in height and
+laden with hundreds of enormous white trumpet-shaped blooms 8 inches in
+diameter and fully a foot long. I could only stand and admire. At night
+these great white flowers glowed as though with phosphorescence in the
+dark and had a strangely sweet smell. I got thoroughly soaked on the
+march, for a couple of minutes of these deluges are sufficient to go
+through any waterproof.
+
+Our mules were now beginning to give us great trouble. Several had to be
+left behind after each march and fresh animals had to be hired locally
+to replace those left behind. At Pedong there were more wonderful
+daturas, and all along the next march we kept passing grand bushes of
+these flowers. It rained all that night and most of the following day,
+so that we had a very wet and trying march to Rongli--the distance was
+only 12 miles, but this included a very steep descent of over 3,000 feet
+to the bottom of a steamy valley, followed by a climb of 3,000 feet
+across an intervening ridge and then down another 2,000 feet to the
+Rongli bungalow. The poor mules were very tired by the end of the march
+and one had died of colic on the way. Most of the others too were
+getting very sore backs from the constant rain. On the way Wollaston and
+I stopped at Rhenock to have a look at the Chandra Nursery kept by Tulsi
+Dass, where there were many interesting plants, chiefly collected in the
+Sikkim forests. There was a tree growing everywhere in the forests with
+a white flower which Sikkim people called Chilauni, and all along the
+paths the Sikkim durbar had been busy planting mulberry, walnut and toon
+trees. There was a curious pink ground plant that grew in the forests
+which I was told belonged to the Amomum species. There were also
+beautiful orchids in the trees, mauve, white and yellow, belonging to
+the Dendrobium, Coelogene and Cymbidium families--some with fine sprays
+of flowers 18 inches long. Here at Rongli the mules were so tired that
+we had to give them a day's rest before they could go on any further. It
+was a hot and feverish spot to stop in, and only necessity compelled us
+to do so, as we were unable to get any extra transport the following
+morning to supplement the mules that were sick.
+
+All that day we had passed numbers of mules coming down from Tibet laden
+with bales of wool, and others were returning to Tibet with sheets of
+copper, manufactured goods, grain and rice which had been bought in
+exchange. The dark faces of the muleteers with their turquoise earrings
+formed a pretty picture and they were full of friendly smiles and
+greetings for us. The mules travelled on their own--if any mule stopped
+on the path, a stone always aimed with the greatest accuracy reminded
+him that it was time to go on. Owing to our having to halt a day at
+Rongli, we had to stop the second party, and were able to do this at
+Ari, a bungalow 3 miles short of Rongli. I rode up to see how they were
+getting on, and found they were having the same trouble with their mules
+that we had been having. On May 23 we left for Sedongchen, or Padamchen
+as the Tibetans called it. Sedongchen is the old local name, so-called
+because there once grew there a very large "Sedong" tree. This is a tree
+that has a white sap which irritates the skin intensely and sets up a
+rash. Sedongchen was only 9 miles from Rongli, but there was a very
+steep climb, from 2,700 feet up to 7,000 feet, and our mules only just
+managed to arrive there. The first part of the way is alongside the
+rushing stream of the Rongli, through lovely woods and dense tropical
+vegetation. Caladiums, kolocasias and begonias were growing on every
+rock, and the giant pothos with its large shining leaves grew up the
+stems of many of the trees. Climbers of all kinds, such as vines and
+peppers, hung down from the branches. Here, too, were magnificent forest
+trees, fully 150 feet high, with clean straight trunks and without a
+branch for a hundred feet; others nearly equally tall, which the Sikkim
+people call "Panisage," had huge buttresses and trunks nearly 40 feet in
+circumference. Every branch here was covered by thick matted growth of
+orchids. For the first time since leaving Darjeeling the sun shone, and
+after we left the forests we found the uphill climb very hot. On
+to-day's march, out of the fifty mules with which we started there were
+only fourteen carrying our own kit, and of those fourteen we found on
+arrival at Sedongchen that none would be fit to proceed on the following
+day. It was therefore with great reluctance that I felt compelled to
+send back the Government mules, as they could not only not carry their
+own line gear, but had become an extra and very large source of expense
+and worry to us. That the mules should have completely broken down like
+this after a five days' march showed that they must have been in no kind
+of training and condition and were completely unfitted for heavy work in
+the mountains. The hill ponies and mules that we had hired to supplement
+them, although they had been given the heaviest loads, always arrived
+first, and made nothing of each march. By this failure of the Government
+transport we were now thrown back on our own resources, and obliged to
+depend everywhere on what local transport we could obtain, and this
+often took some time to collect.
+
+At Sedongchen there was a pleasant bungalow, rather Swiss in appearance,
+with fine views down the Rongli Valley and across all the forest ridges
+over which we had come, right back to Darjeeling. Opposite us, to the
+South-east, were densely wooded hills with clouds and mists drifting
+along the tops, while here and there a waterfall showed up white amidst
+the dark green vegetation.
+
+Rain came down steadily all night, but the morning proved somewhat
+finer. Being on the main trade route, we were luckily able to get other
+transport to replace the Government mules and to arrange for hired mules
+as far as Yatung. The local animal is a wonderful beast, extremely sure
+footed, and not minding in the least a climb of 6,000 feet. The path
+from Sedongchen is really only a stone causeway, very slippery and
+unpleasant either to walk or ride upon, but probably anything else would
+be worn away by the torrential rains that fall here. At one place we had
+to make a wide detour, as the rain of the night before had washed away
+some hundred yards of the pathway, but luckily this was not in a very
+steep part, as otherwise we might have been delayed for several days.
+The constant rain had already brought out the leeches, and on most of
+the stones or blades of grass beside the path they sat waiting for
+their meal of blood and clung on to any mule or human being that passed
+by. The mules suffered severely, and drops of blood on the stones became
+frequent from the bleeding wounds.
+
+The climb from Sedongchen to Gnatong was very steep with a rise of over
+5,000 feet in the first 5 miles, and we soon got out of the zone of the
+leeches and on to the most wonderful zone of flowering rhododendrons.
+The rhododendrons in the lower forest chiefly consisted of _R.
+Argenteum_ and _R. Falconeri_. These grew in a great forest of oaks and
+magnolias, all covered with beautiful ferns among which showed up
+delightful mauve or white orchids. The lower rhododendrons had already
+flowered, but as we got higher we found masses of _R. Cinnabarinum_,
+with flowers showing every shade of orange and red. Then came
+rhododendrons of every colour--pink, deep crimson, yellow, mauve, white
+or cream coloured. It was impossible to imagine anything more beautiful,
+and every yard of the path was a pure delight. Among the smaller flowers
+were the large pink saxifrage, while the deep reddish-purple primula
+covered every open space. There was also a very tiny pink primula--the
+smallest I have ever seen--and another one like a pink primrose, that
+grew on the banks above the path. We went along quite slowly all the
+way, botanising and admiring the scenery. The path mostly led along the
+top of a ridge, and the views and colours of the many-hued rhododendrons
+in the gullies on either side were very delightful. Gnatong, where we
+were to spend the night, was a very small and rather dirty village lying
+in a hollow and surrounded by grassy hills. The fir trees (_Abies
+Webbiana_) no longer surrounded it, as those anywhere near had been cut
+down for firewood, or for building houses. From here I was able to
+telephone to Mr. Isaacs, Mr. Macdonald's head clerk at Yatung, to ask
+him to make arrangements for ponies and mules for us both at Yatung and
+at Phari now that our transport had broken down. Wonderful rumours
+seemed to have preceded our advent. Stories that we were coming with
+1,000 mules and 500 men seemed to have been spread about in Tibet.
+
+Gnatong is a most depressing place, and only owes its existence to the
+fact that it is the first stopping place for the caravans that cross
+over the Jelep Pass on the British side of the frontier. Rain always
+falls there, the rainfall in the year being nearly 200 inches, and when
+rain does not fall the place is enveloped in mist, with the result that
+the mud was horrible. It poured with rain all the time that we were
+there and we left again in heavy rain for the Jelep Pass 8 miles
+distant. We were already over 12,000 feet when we started, and the top
+of the pass was 14,390 feet, so that it was not a very serious climb.
+There was no view of any kind to be had as the rain fell steadily all
+the way and the hillsides were all veiled in mist. We had occasional
+glimpses of a hillside pink, white or yellow with rhododendrons, which
+now grew only about 5 feet high. I counted six or seven different
+varieties of primulas on the way, but near the top there was still
+plenty of the old winter snow lying about and the Alpine flowers were
+scarcely out. A big heap of stones marked the summit of the pass and the
+frontier between Sikkim and Tibet, and a few sticks, to which were
+attached strings covered with small pieces of rag on which were
+inscribed prayers, fluttered out in the strong wind that always blows up
+there. In the cold rain this was not a cheerful spot to linger in, so we
+hurried on down a steep and stony path and after descending a few
+hundred feet emerged out of the mist and rain and obtained glimpses of a
+really blue sky such as we had not seen for weeks. We had arrived at
+last in Tibet.
+
+
+
+
+                                CHAPTER II
+
+                 THE CHUMBI VALLEY AND THE TIBETAN PLATEAU
+
+
+The range of mountains which here forms the boundary between Sikkim and
+Tibet runs nearly North and South, and the two main passes across it are
+the Jelep La and the Nathu La, the latter being a few miles to the North
+of the Jelep La and about the same height. The Jelep La being the main
+trade route across which the telegraph line runs, and over which the
+postal runners travel, is kept open all the year round, though often
+after a heavy blizzard it is closed for ten days or a fortnight. On the
+Sikkim side the snow-fall is always the heaviest; this range of
+mountains stops most of the moist currents that drive up from the Bay of
+Bengal, with the result that the rainfall in the Chumbi Valley on the
+Tibetan side is only about a quarter of what it is at Gnatong on the
+Sikkim side.
+
+The descent into the Chumbi Valley was very steep and stony, as there
+was a drop of over 5,000 feet from the top of the pass. The beauty of
+the valley and its wild flowers made up, however, for the badness of the
+path. The rhododendrons on the descent were extremely fine, and the
+whole character of the vegetation was altered and became more European.
+The great pink rhododendron _Aucklandi_ showed up splendidly in the dark
+forests of silver fir (_A. Webbiana_) which here grows into a fine tree.
+There was also the yellow rhododendron Campylocarpum and a white
+rhododendron, probably Decorum; the beautiful _R. Cinnabarinum_ with its
+orange bells of waxy flowers relieved the darkness of the firs. There
+was a small Tibetan rest-house called Langra where our coolies wanted to
+stop, but we pushed on past this and descended steeply through more
+wonderful forests. As we got lower we found birch, sycamore, willow and
+elder still clothed in the light green of early spring. A fine white
+clematis, a pink and white spiraea, a yellow berberis, white roses and
+the dark purple iris grew in profusion on either side of the path.
+Underneath these were the small flowers of the wild strawberry, which
+the Macdonald family collected later on in the year and made into jam in
+great quantities.
+
+Near the entrance to this side valley we came to Old Yatung with its
+Chinese custom-house and wall built right across the valley to keep the
+British from going any further. All this was now deserted and in ruins.
+Soon afterwards we arrived in the main Chumbi Valley where were broad
+fields filled with potatoes and ripening barley. The houses here were
+mostly built of stone and wood and in two stories. In character they
+much resembled Tirolese houses except for the elaborate carving over the
+doors and windows and the many colours in which they were painted. We
+passed through the prosperous villages of Richengong, Phema and Chumbi
+before arriving at New Yatung, or Shassi as the Tibetans still prefer to
+call it. Here was a comfortable bungalow overlooking the bazaar on the
+other side of the river. Knowing that we had had a long and tiring march
+and that our coolies would only arrive late that night, Mrs. Macdonald
+had with much thoughtfulness sent over her servants who had tea and
+dinner prepared for us on a generous scale. No attention could have been
+more acceptable. It rained steadily all that night--a somewhat unusual
+occurrence in this valley--but the next morning it cleared up and the
+day was delightful.
+
+The Chumbi Valley is one of the richest valleys in Tibet. Yatung lies at
+a height of 9,400 feet. Apples and pears do well here, and barley, wheat
+and potatoes are grown in great quantities. At this time of the year the
+air is scented by the wild roses which grow in large bushes covered with
+hundreds of cream-coloured and sweetly scented flowers. The villages
+all look extremely prosperous and an air of peace and contentment seems
+to pervade the valley. We had to hire a new lot of animals to take us on
+to Phari--28 miles further up the Chumbi Valley. These all arrived in
+good time, and by eight o'clock on May 27 our loads were all on their
+way. Before leaving, I sent off a telegram to Sir Francis Younghusband
+to announce the arrival of the Expedition in Tibet, a telegram which
+arrived opportunely at the Anniversary Dinner of the Royal Geographical
+Society, just at the commencement of dinner.
+
+There is a small garrison at Yatung, consisting of twenty-five men of
+the 73rd Carnatics. There was also a hospital and a supply depot from
+which we were able to purchase sugar, flour, ata (coarse native flour)
+and potatoes, while later on we were able to send back to it for further
+supplies. We formed quite an imposing procession as we started off:
+Wollaston and myself on our ponies, Gyalzen Kazi and Chheten Wangdi, our
+interpreters, on their ponies which they had brought along with them.
+There was Mr. Isaacs, the head clerk, with a red-coated chaprassi and a
+syce also mounted, who accompanied us on a visit to two monasteries
+further up the valley. The path followed close to the banks of the
+Ammo-chu, which was now a clear stream and contained many a likely pool
+for fish. The valley was full of delightful flowers; curious ground
+orchids, with several beautiful varieties of the ladies' slipper grew
+there; the wild roses, especially the large red one, were very
+sweet-scented and filled the air with fragrance. Berberis, clematis and
+some charming dwarf rhododendrons abounded. After going about 3 miles
+the valley narrowed, and we passed the spot where the Chinese had built
+another wall across the valley to keep us out. Just above this wall
+there was a deserted Chinese village, for now all the Chinese have been
+driven out of the country and are not allowed to go back and live there.
+High above us on the hillside was the Punagang Monastery belonging to
+the old sect of the Bhompo's, who turn their prayer wheels the opposite
+to every one else and always keep to the right of Chortens and Mani
+walls. This monastery was too far off the path for us to visit it. We
+soon afterwards passed the large and flourishing village of Galinka
+surrounded by fields of barley. Here we turned aside to visit the
+Galinka Monastery, which stood in the midst of the village. This was
+quite a new building, with a great gilt image of Buddha inside it. The
+monks were still busy painting pictures of scenes from the life of
+Buddha on the walls. They apparently did quite a good trade in selling
+clay images of Buddha in his different forms and postures. These were
+stamped by a very well cut brass die, which the monks told me had been
+made at Shigatse. In a side room was a huge prayer wheel some 12 feet
+high and 5 feet to 6 feet in diameter. It was covered over with painted
+leather inscribed with the usual Om Mani Padme Hum (Hail, jewel of the
+lotus flower). They told us the inside was also filled with prayers, and
+that it contained one and a half million of these, so that each time the
+wheel was turned a million and a half prayers were said for the person
+who turned it. After each complete revolution it rings a bell. We were
+allowed to turn it several times, so that I hope the many million
+prayers sent up may benefit us. After leaving the monastery, the path
+rose steeply and the river came down in a series of waterfalls. Above us
+were masses of pink and mauve rhododendrons, flowering cherries,
+viburnum, berberis, roses and other delightful shrubs. Soon afterwards,
+at the entrance to the Lingmatang plain, we crossed the river and rode
+up a rocky spur formed of great boulders that had some time or another
+fallen down and blocked up the valley, forming a lake some 2 miles long,
+but this lake no longer existed, and there was only a flat grassy plain
+grazed over by yaks and ponies. On the top of the spur was the Donka
+Monastery in a grand situation, commanding beautiful views up and down
+the valley. I had hoped to see my friend the Geshe Lama or Geshe
+Rimpoche, as he is sometimes known, with whom I had lunched last year at
+the hot springs at Kambu, but unfortunately he was away at Lhasa. He is
+a man of very great learning and held in high veneration throughout
+these valleys.
+
+On entering the big stone courtyard of the monastery a crowd of children
+and Lamas at once flocked round us. We were shown over the main temple,
+but it was badly lit with a few butter lamps and we could see little of
+its contents; amongst these were several statues of Buddha under his
+different forms. There were also kept there 108 volumes of the Tangyur,
+one of the Buddhist sacred writings. These books were very curious. Each
+volume consisted of a number of loose oblong parchment sheets 2 to 3
+feet long and from 8 inches to a foot wide. These were kept together by
+two elaborately carved boards between which they were pressed. The
+writing was all done by hand by the Lamas, who copied out and
+illuminated books with the greatest care and skill in the same manner
+that the monks in the Middle Ages illuminated their missals. The
+book-shelves of the library consisted of a number of pigeon-holes in the
+walls in which these volumes were kept. Here, too, they were busy making
+clay images to bury under the Chorten that they were building above the
+monastery. Next door was another and newer temple, built to house the
+Oracle, and called the Sanctuary of the Oracle. He, too, was
+unfortunately away, as he was taking the hot waters at Kambu, but we
+were shown his throne and the robes that he puts on when he prophesies.
+There was a curiously shaped head-dress of silver, adorned all round
+with silver skulls, and a very quaintly shaped bow and arrow which the
+Oracle held in one hand while a huge trident was grasped in the other. I
+am told that he is consulted far and wide and has a great reputation for
+truth. We were then taken upstairs to a sunny verandah, just outside the
+Geshe Rimpoche's private room and commanding fine views up and down the
+valley. Here we were given Tibetan tea, made with salt and butter, and
+served up in agate cups with beautifully chased silver covers. After
+drinking this tea we were shown over the Geshe's private apartments and
+chapel, the prevailing colour scheme of the room being yellow. The
+little shrines with their silver bowls in front--the incense burner and
+the flame that is never allowed to go out--were all very interesting to
+us. We then took a photograph of the Lamas in front of their temple,
+after which the head Lama accompanied us some way down the path to say
+good-bye, hoping we would come and see them again on our return.
+
+I have alluded several times to the hot springs at Kambu. These springs
+are two days' journey from Yatung up the Kambu Valley, but can also be
+reached quite easily from Phari. There is a curious account of these
+springs written by an old Lama and translated by Major Campbell. The
+writer describes the Upper Kambu Valley as quite a pleasant spot where
+cooling streams and medicinal plants are found in abundance. Medicinal
+waters of five kinds flow from the rocks, forming twelve pools, the
+waters of which are efficacious in curing the 440 diseases to which the
+human race is subject. The springs are then made to describe their own
+qualities in the first person:--
+
+  1. THE LHAMO SPRING (The Spring of the Goddess): My virtue is derived
+  from the essence of stone--I am guarded by the Goddess Tsering, and my
+  virtue therefore consists in purging the sins and obscurities of the
+  human body. Those who bathe first in my waters will be purged of all
+  sin and the power of all diseases will be abated.
+
+  2. THE CHAGU SPRING (The Spring of the Vulture): My virtue is derived
+  from black sulphur. As regards my properties, a vulture with a broken
+  wing once fell into my waters and was healed. I benefit diseases of
+  women, also sores, gout and fractures. I possess particular virtue for
+  all diseases below the waist. I do not benefit neuralgia, nervous
+  diseases, or loss of appetite.
+
+  3 and 4. THE PON SPRINGS (The Springs of the Official): We two
+  brothers derive our properties from both yellow and black sulphur.
+  One of us provokes catarrh, while the other allays it. A learned man,
+  who wished us well, once said that we were beneficial in cases of
+  hemorrhoids, kidney diseases and rheumatism. We are not aware of
+  possessing these qualities, and rather tend to cause harm in such
+  cases.
+
+  5. THE TRAGGYE SPRING (The Spring born of the Rock): My virtue is
+  derived from a combination of sulphur and the essence of stone. I was
+  formerly efficacious in cases of diseases of the arteries and nerve
+  trouble, but later on the Brothers of the Pon Spring rushed down on
+  poor me like tyrants so that no one now regards me. The caretaker of
+  the Springs and visitors treats me like a beggar and pays no attention
+  to me. Even now if some person with the permission of the Brothers of
+  the Pon Spring would carry out some repairs, so as to separate my
+  waters from theirs, I would guarantee to benefit those suffering from
+  arterial diseases, nerve trouble, impurities of the blood and bile.
+
+  6. THE SERKA SPRING (The Spring of the Crevice): My virtues are
+  derived from sulphur and carbon. I am not beneficial to those
+  suffering from ailments arising from nerve trouble, bile and acidity.
+  I am beneficial to those suffering from chapped hands and feet due to
+  hard work among earth and stones and also in cases of diseases of the
+  kidneys and bladder. I am somewhat hurtful to those suffering from
+  headache arising from nervous catarrh, or impurities of the blood.
+
+  7. THE TANG SPRING (The Spring of the Plain): My virtues are derived
+  from carbon and a little sulphur. I am beneficial in cases of
+  hemorrhoids, kidney disease, rheumatism and other diseases below the
+  waist, also in cases of venereal disease. There is a danger of the
+  waist becoming bent like a bow through too much bathing in my waters.
+
+  8. THE TRAGGYAB SPRING (The Spring behind the Rock): I am beneficial
+  in cases of disease of the arteries and anaemia--I am not aware that
+  I am harmful in other cases.
+
+  9. THE TONGBU SPRING (The Spring of the Hole): My virtues are derived
+  from a large proportion of crystalline stone and a little sulphur. I
+  guarantee to be beneficial in cases of white phlegm, brown phlegm and
+  other forms of phlegmatic disease. Also in diseases arising out of
+  these, and in cases of impurities of the blood and colic pains. Please
+  bear this in mind.
+
+  10. THE NUB (The Western Spring): My virtues are derived from a little
+  carbon. I am beneficial in cases of liver disease, impurities of the
+  blood, flatulence, kidney disease, dyspepsia, brown phlegm, tumours,
+  gout, rheumatism, gleet, and complications arising from these. I do not
+  boast in the way that the other Springs do.
+
+  11. THE DZEPO SPRING (The Leper's Spring): I am cousin to the Western
+  Spring. He guarantees to cure diseases arising from two or three causes,
+  also kidney disease, flat foot, rheumatism and gout. I am beneficial in
+  cases of hemorrhoids, gout, rheumatism and diseases of the feet. I
+  possess particular virtue in cases of leprosy, sores and wounds.
+
+  12. THE LAMA SPRING (The Spring of the Lama): My virtues are derived
+  from a large proportion of lime and a little sulphur. I am beneficial
+  in cases of lung disease, tumours, dyspepsia, both chronic and recent,
+  poverty of the blood and venereal diseases.
+
+    WRITTEN BY TSEWANG IN THE HOPE THAT THE PEOPLE OF BHUTAN, SIKKIM AND
+        THE SURROUNDING COUNTRY WILL BEAR THIS IN MIND.
+
+    COPIED BY TENRAB, CLEARLY AND EXACTLY, FROM THE ORIGINAL IN THE MALE
+        IRON DOG YEAR IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE EARTH MONTH.
+
+After leaving the monastery we had a pleasant gallop across the
+Lingmatang Plain, after which the valley narrowed again and the path
+followed close beside the rushing stream. It was a delightful ride
+through forests of birch, larch, juniper, spruce, silver fir and
+mountain ash. Never anywhere have I seen birch trees grow to such a
+size. They were grand rugged old trees that matched the rugged scenery
+of the gorge. Blue poppies, fritillaries, ground orchids and
+sweet-scented primulas grew along the path, and mixed up everywhere in
+the forest were great bushes of _R. Cinnabarinum_, which varied in shade
+from yellow and orange to deep red. Wagtails and white-crested redstarts
+dodged about from rock to rock in the rushing stream, and the clear note
+of the shrike could usually be heard above the noise of the waters. The
+weather had luckily kept fine all day, so that we were able to dawdle
+along and enjoy the scenery and flowers.
+
+After going about 12 miles we came to the bungalow of Gautsa, situated
+at a height of about 12,000 feet, and at the bottom of the gorge; here
+we spent the night. During the night there was heavy rain, and when we
+woke in the morning, fresh snow was low down on all the hills and within
+1,500 feet of the bungalow. However, the day again proved brilliantly
+fine. For breakfast we had been given some large wild-goose eggs
+belonging to the bar-headed goose. Mine I had boiled, and found
+excellent, though one was sufficient for a meal. Two that the others had
+were rather _passe_, and were not equally appreciated. The day's path
+was at first very stony and climbed steadily uphill beside the torrent
+of the Ammo-chu. Pale blue iris, yellow primulas, a pink viburnum and a
+large yellow-belled lonicera grew beside the path, but the rhododendrons
+were still by far the most wonderful of the flowering shrubs. We passed
+many big blue meconopsis, and some of these flowers measured fully 3
+inches across. Dwarf rhododendrons, only a foot high--some pure white
+and others pink, continued up until about 13,500 feet, and then the
+hillsides became purple from another little rhododendron, which looked
+in the distance like heather and gave the rounded hills quite a Scotch
+appearance. As we rose higher the flowers decreased in number. Larks and
+wheatears ran along the ground in front of us, and small tailless marmot
+rats dodged in and out of their holes as we approached. The distance
+from Goutsa to Phari was about 16 miles, of which the last 8 miles were
+over flat country with a springy turf, on which it was a pleasure to be
+able to canter again after having passed over so many miles of stony
+roads. Chomolhari, the Mountain of the Goddess, stood up as a wonderful
+sight with its sharp peak outlined against the clear blue sky. On its
+summit the wind was evidently very strong, as we could see the fresh
+snow being whirled off in clouds.
+
+Phari is an extremely dirty village dominated by a stone fort and lying
+under the shadow of the great mountain Chomolhari, 23,930 feet high. It
+is 14,300 feet above sea level, and the climate there is always cold, as
+it is never without a strong wind. In the afternoon the Jongpen, or
+Governor of the district, came to call on me. He was a young man with an
+intelligent and pleasant face, and came from the country between Khamba
+Dzong and Shekar Dzong, so that he was able to give us much useful
+information about the road; he promised that he would write to his
+brother, who was acting as agent for him at his home, telling him to
+entertain us and give us all facilities in the matters of transport and
+supplies. He told us that he had received written instructions from the
+Lhasa Government to arrange for supplies and transport for us, and he
+promised that he would do his best. I gave him photographs that I had
+taken last year of his fort, and also of Chomolhari; these pleased him
+very much, and in return he presented us with a dried sheep which looked
+mummified and smelt very strongly, but which proved very acceptable to
+our coolies. It was necessary to stop here for several days as the
+second party had to catch up, and they too needed a day's rest. Also the
+transport that was to carry us along to Khamba Dzong would not be ready
+for several days, so the following morning I went to call on the
+Jongpen in his fort, where I found him living in some very dark rooms. I
+presented him with one of the new lever electric torches, which he much
+appreciated, though at first he and his servants were rather frightened
+by it. He gave us tea and sweetmeats, and soon afterwards the head-men
+of all the villages came in, and were given orders about our transport.
+Their quaint attitudes of respect and their darkly bronzed faces, that
+just showed up in the light, reminded me forcibly of an old Dutch
+picture. Some men, too, had been sent from Khamba Dzong for orders and
+to know when we should be likely to arrive there. In the course of the
+afternoon Dr. Heron and I rode over to a monastery about 3 miles away
+where I had been last year, and where I had taken some photographs. Some
+prints of these I brought back to the monastery, and the monks were very
+pleased with them. They were in the middle of a service when we arrived,
+as it was some kind of festival, and the dark temple was illuminated by
+hundreds of little butter lamps. The monks were all chanting their
+scriptures, and this they continued to do all the afternoon.
+
+On returning to Phari, we found that a message had come from the Jongpen
+to ask us to dine with him the following evening. The change in the
+climate and the bad cooking had affected the stomachs of all the members
+of the Expedition, and none of us was feeling very well. Dr. Kellas was
+the worst, and as soon as he arrived at Phari he retired to bed. The
+following morning was misty and the ground was all white with
+hoar-frost, though it was the last day in May; but as I was anxious to
+get some photographs of Chomolhari we rode, with the Chaukidar as a
+guide, through the mist across the plain to some hills just to the South
+of the great mountain; after a few miles we found ourselves above the
+clouds with the sun shining in a brilliant blue sky. The whole of the
+Phari Plain was covered by a sea of clouds. On the far side rose the
+Pawhunri group of mountains, while further to the South, Kanchenjunga
+towered above all the other peaks, such as Siniolchum, Kabru and
+Jonsong, all of which stood out very clearly in this brilliant
+atmosphere. I rode up a delightful little mountain valley full of dwarf
+rhododendrons and Alpine primulas until I reached a height of 16,000
+feet. We then left the ponies and climbed on to the top of the hill,
+which was about 17,500 feet; from this point we had glorious views of
+Chomolhari immediately across the valley, while on the other side we
+looked over to the snowy peaks and ranges in Bhutan far to the South of
+us. We found the wind very keen at this height, and after taking several
+photographs we rode back again to Phari.
+
+[Illustration: CHOMOLHARI FROM THE SOUTH.]
+
+Here I found the place full of troubles. Our Coolie Sirdar was, as we
+were beginning to find out, not only useless, but very mischievous, and
+he was evidently at the bottom of an attempted mutiny among our coolies,
+who refused to go on. The Sirdar strongly objected to our interpreters,
+who were preventing him from fleecing us in the matter of stores and
+supplies. However, after much talking they were all satisfied. Then it
+was the turn of the cooks, all of whom the Sirdar had chosen. I should
+not have minded one or two of these going, as they were very bad cooks
+and usually drunk, and the fact that all of us had been ill was solely
+due to their bad cooking; but I could not let them all go, so it was
+necessary to find out which were the most useless, and this we were able
+to do in the course of the next few days. Dr. Kellas was getting no
+better; he refused to take any food, and was very depressed about
+himself. At Phari I was able to change a certain number of our rupees
+into Tibetan currency. The then rate of exchange was 33 rupees to 1
+sersang--a gold coin--and 41/2 silver trangkas to 1 rupee. The trangkas
+were a thin and very badly stamped coin about the size of a two-shilling
+piece. We found them, however, to be the most useful form of currency as
+the gold coin, though much easier to carry, could only be exchanged at a
+few places, and it was seldom that we met people who were rich enough to
+be able to change them.
+
+That night four of us went over to have dinner with the Jongpen. First
+we were given tea and sweetmeats, followed by strong ginger wine, which
+was most comforting to our stomachs in their delicate condition. Then
+came dishes of mutton in varying forms with vegetables and macaroni.
+They were all served up in Chinese fashion in little dishes and some
+were quite appetising. We were very late in starting the next morning as
+all the loads had to be sorted and laid out for the very miscellaneous
+transport that had been given us. This consisted of ponies, mules,
+donkeys, bullocks and yaks. For riding-animals we were given mules,
+which trotted well and covered the ground quite quickly, though some of
+the Alpine climbers found them hard to manage and were apt to part
+company with their steeds. Our transport was by now becoming rather
+complicated as forty-four animals were going right through to Khamba
+Dzong and forty-four were being changed at every stage. Dr. Kellas was
+not well enough to ride and was carried in an arm-chair all day. Soon
+after starting I passed two of our cooks on the road hopelessly drunk,
+and left them there. Our way led over the Tang La, a very gentle and
+scarcely perceptible pass, 15,200 feet, but important as being the main
+Himalayan watershed. All day there was a very strong South wind blowing,
+but it was luckily at our backs, and we did not feel it too much. We
+then quickly trotted the 10 miles across the absolutely level
+Tang-puen-sum Plain. Here I saw several herds of kiang, the wild ass of
+Tibet, and got within 50 yards of one lot, but unfortunately the coolie
+who was carrying my camera was not up with me at the time. We also
+passed a certain number of Tibetan gazelle, but they were all very wary.
+The Monsoon clouds came up to the South of us in great rolling billows,
+but not a drop of moisture came over the Tang La. Chomolhari was a
+magnificent sight all day with its 7,000 feet of precipices descending
+sheer into the plain. Tuna (14,800 feet), about 20 miles from Phari, was
+our first halt. We were still on the main road to Lhasa and found a
+comfortable rest-house into which the eight of us all managed to stow
+ourselves. Dr. Kellas, though rather better the next day, was still too
+weak to ride, and was carried for the next march on a litter. We were
+now in the true Tibetan climate, with brilliant sunshine, blue skies,
+still mornings and strong winds all the afternoon.
+
+The next march from Tuna to Dochen was still on the Lhasa Road. I did
+not follow the path, but rode with a local man from the village over the
+great Tang-puen-sum Plain in search of goa--Tibetan gazelle. We saw many
+of them on the plains, but they were the wiliest and most difficult
+animals to approach, and in this flat and bare country it was not
+possible ever to get within 300 yards of them. As a rule they ran off
+when we were still half a mile away. They are restless little creatures,
+always on the move, and never at any time an easy mark to hit. I
+thoroughly enjoyed this ride over the plains and our glorious views of
+Chomolhari and the great snow-covered and glaciated chain to the North
+of it along the foot of which we were travelling. A curious pink
+trumpet-shaped flower grew in great quantities on the plain; the leaves
+were buried under the sand and only the flower showed its head above the
+ground. There were also white pincushions of a kind of tiny saxifrage.
+This plain, over which we were riding, was evidently once upon a time a
+lake bed, as the pebbles were rounded and there were distinct evidences
+of former shores along the sides of the hills. Many kiang were grazing
+on it and many thousands of sheep were being pastured there. As we
+approached the lake called Bamtso, the country became very marshy, and
+our ponies got bogged several times. The bungalow at Dochen was situated
+near the shores of the Bamtso. Never have I seen a lake with so many
+colours in it. It was very shallow, and the shades varied from deep blue
+and purple to light green, while in places it was almost red from a weed
+that grew in it. Behind it was a background of snow and glacier-covered
+mountains, which in the still mornings was reflected faithfully in its
+waters and formed a charming picture. Swimming on this lake were many
+bar-headed geese and Brahminy ducks, and along the shores were many
+terns and yellow wagtails.
+
+That evening an amusing thing happened in the kitchen. One of our cooks
+was heating up a tin of tinned fish and had put it in some hot water
+without previously opening it. When he thought it was sufficiently hot,
+he started to open it, with the result that it exploded violently,
+covering him and every one else in the kitchen with small pieces of
+fish. I was able then to explain to the Tibetans who were carrying our
+loads that our stores were very dangerous, and that if any were at any
+time stolen, they would be liable to explode and hurt them. It was, of
+course, the rarefied air that had caused this, for Dochen is at a height
+of 14,700 feet above sea level.
+
+Every day on from now the wind used to blow with great violence all the
+afternoon, but would die down after sunset. It must have been of a local
+nature caused by the rapid changes from high temperature to low, because
+the clouds above at the same time were hardly moving. I sent back Dorje,
+one of our cooks, from this place, as it was the fourth time that he had
+been drunk, and this I hoped would be a lesson to the others. We now
+left the Lhasa Road and turned off Westwards, having henceforward to
+rely on our tents.
+
+[Illustration: LOADING UP AT DOCHEN.]
+
+From Dochen to Khe was a short march of 11 miles over the Dug Pass,
+16,400 feet. I did not follow the road taken by the transport animals,
+but took a local guide and rode over the hill-tops in search of ovis
+ammon. I did not see any, however, though we sighted two or three goa,
+but they were very wild and would not allow me to approach within 500
+yards of them. There were numbers of blue hares, however, and some ram
+chakor, the Himalayan snow cock. But beyond this the hillsides were very
+bare of game. There were pin-cushions of a beautiful little blue sedum
+growing at a height of over 17,000 feet, also there was a big red
+stonecrop. Khe is now only a small and dirty village with practically no
+water except a half-dried muddy pond, but at one time it must have been
+a place of some importance, as ruins and buildings of considerable size
+extend over an area of more than a mile. The Kala-tso evidently at one
+time came right up to this ruined town of Khetam, and the fact that it
+is deserted now is probably due to the shrinkage of the lake. This was
+only one of the many signs of desiccation that we saw in our travels in
+Tibet. There were some curious ruins which looked like old crenellated
+walls, but these walls were only places on which barley dough used to be
+exposed to feed the crows as a sign of prosperity. It was a curious
+custom and could only have prevailed in a very fertile valley, which
+this place is no longer. The age of the city I could not find out, but
+the few survivors told me that the holy shrine at Tashilumpo, which now
+is at Shigatse, ought to have been built here. According to a local
+legend, there was a certain stone in Khetam shaped like a ewe's-womb,
+and one day a donkey driver finding that his loads were unequal in
+weight, picked up this stone and put it on the light load to balance the
+other, quite unaware of the importance of the stone. This stone was then
+carried from Gyantse to Shigatse, where a high and important Lama saw
+it, and recognising that this was a very holy stone, had it kept there.
+The powerful monastery of Tashilumpo was built over this stone. We
+passed two small nunneries called Doto and Shidag in snug little valleys
+to the North of the plain, and on asking why there should be so many
+nunneries in these parts when in the greater part of Tibet men
+predominated, I was told that this was due to the fact that it was close
+to the Nepalese frontier where there had always been much fighting, so
+that most of the men had been killed and only women had survived. After
+a short and easy march we came to a small pocket in the hills called
+Kheru. Here were encamped some people belonging to a nomad tribe who
+always lived in tents. They were very friendly, put tents at our
+disposal, and did their best to make us comfortable. They told us that
+they came here every year in the twelfth month, about January, and left
+again in the fifth month of the Tibetan year (June) for a place near
+Tuna, where they disposed of their wool, butter and cheese at the Phari
+market. There were altogether about twenty families here owning some 200
+yaks and 3,000 sheep. Dr. Kellas was slightly better, but Raeburn was
+not feeling at all well, and Wheeler was suffering from indigestion, so
+that we were rather a sick party. Kheru lies at a height of 15,700 feet,
+but it had been very hot all day in the brilliant sunshine, and on the
+way we had passed lizards and a number of common peacock butterflies.
+Next morning our march was to Tatsang (Falcon's Nest), a distance of 15
+or 16 miles, and over two passes 16,450 and 17,100 feet. The going was
+easy all the way, as the gradients both up and down the passes were very
+gentle. Between the two passes was a broad valley, filled with huge
+flocks of sheep and herds of yaks, and after crossing the second pass,
+we descended into a great barren and stony plain, more than 10 miles
+across which was Tatsang and over which the wind blew very keenly. To
+the South of us appeared the snowy crests of Pawhunri, Kanchenjhow and
+Chomiomo and the Lhonak peaks. Again I did not keep with the transport,
+but followed the crests of the hills, where I had lovely views; on the
+way I saw plenty of gazelle, and was lucky enough to shoot one of them,
+as they are very good eating. Our camp at Tatsang was pitched just below
+the nunnery there, which is on the top of a rock and where there are
+about thirty nuns. Our camp was on a pleasant grassy spot where some
+excellent springs bubble up out of the ground. These within a few yards
+formed quite a big stream full of small snow trout. They do not really
+belong to the trout family, although they have somewhat similar spots,
+and are very good to eat. Bullock, with his butterfly net, and the
+coolies with their hands, managed to catch quite a number of fish, and
+we had them for dinner that night. The ground round our tents was full
+of holes out of which the marmot rats kept appearing. They were very
+tame, and did not seem to be in the least afraid of us. Dr. Kellas had
+had a very trying day. He had been rather better, and had started
+riding a yak, but he found this too exhausting and coolies had to be
+sent back from Tatsang to bring him on in a litter, so that he did not
+arrive at Tatsang till late in the evening. Tatsang is 16,000 feet, so
+the night was cold, the thermometer inside the tent registering 7 deg. of
+frost, though it was June 4; outside there must have been quite 15 deg. as
+the running streams were all frozen over, but once the sun had risen
+everything warmed up and we had a beautiful warm day. Dr. Kellas started
+off in his litter at 7 a.m. in quite good spirits. I did not start till
+an hour later, as I had wanted to see everything off, and then went up
+to visit the nunnery, over which the lady abbess showed me. There were
+thirty nuns living there, all with shorn heads and wearing a curious
+wool head-dress. The place where they worshipped was full of prayer
+wheels, both large and small. They sat down behind these, and each nun
+turned one or two of them if they could manage it. The room was very
+dark, with a low ceiling, and at the end were several statues of Buddha
+covered over with gauze veils. In another room there was a large prayer
+wheel which they said contained half a million prayers.
+
+After leaving the nunnery we jogged along a dry and barren valley which
+gradually rose in about 12 miles to a pass 17,200 feet. On the way we
+passed Dr. Kellas in his litter, who then seemed to me to be still quite
+cheerful. I then rode on and at the top of the pass saw three ovis
+ammon, and after a chase of about a mile I shot one, which afforded
+plenty of food for the coolies for some days. It was a full grown ram
+about five years old and we had great trouble in getting the carcass on
+to a mule, as it was enormous and very heavy. After this I rode on down
+the valley for another 10 miles to Khamba Dzong. There were actually a
+few bushes in this valley, which was carpeted with the pretty pink
+trumpet-shaped flower mentioned above, also with light and dark blue
+iris. Suddenly the valley narrowed into a fine limestone gorge, and all
+at once the fort of Khamba Dzong appeared towering above us on the
+cliffs. It was really a very impressive sight and some of the
+architecture of the round towers was very fine. I found that Morshead
+had been waiting here for about nine days, but had employed his time in
+fixing the old triangulation points. Soon after I arrived the Jongpen
+came down to pay us a visit. He was quite a young fellow, only about
+twenty-four, but very pleasant and polite.
+
+While we were talking, a man came running up to us very excitedly to say
+that Dr. Kellas had suddenly died on the way. We could hardly believe
+this, as he was apparently gradually getting better; but Wollaston at
+once rode off to see if it was true, and unfortunately found that there
+was no doubt about it. It was a case of sudden failure of the heart, due
+to his weak condition, while being carried over the high pass. His death
+meant a very great loss to the Expedition in every way, as he alone was
+qualified to carry out the experiments in oxygen and blood pressure
+which would have been so valuable to the Expedition, and on which
+subject he was so great an expert. His very keenness had been the cause
+of his illness, for he had tried his constitution too severely in the
+early months of that year by expeditions into the heart of the Himalayas
+to see if he could get fresh photographs from other angles of Mount
+Everest. The following day we buried him on the slopes of the hill to
+the South of Khamba Dzong, in a site unsurpassed for beauty that looks
+across the broad plains of Tibet to the mighty chain of the Himalayas
+out of which rise up the three great peaks of Pawhunri, Kanchenjhow and
+Chomiomo, which he alone had climbed. From the same spot, far away to
+the West--more than a hundred miles away--could be seen the snowy crest
+of Mount Everest towering far above all the other mountains. He lies,
+therefore, within sight of his greatest feats in climbing and within
+view of the mountain that he had longed for so many years to approach--a
+fitting resting-place for a great mountaineer.
+
+[Illustration: KHAMBA DZONG.]
+
+
+
+
+                                Chapter III
+
+            FROM KHAMBA DZONG THROUGH UNKNOWN COUNTRY TO TINGRI
+
+
+Our camp at Khamba Dzong[3] was pitched in a walled enclosure at the
+foot of the fort, built on a great crag that rose 500 feet sheer above
+us. They called this enclosure a Bagichah, or garden, because it once
+boasted of three willow trees. Only one of these three is alive to-day,
+the other two being merely dead stumps of wood. The Jongpen here, who
+was under the direct orders of Shigatse, was very friendly, and after
+our arrival presented us with five live sheep, a hundred eggs, and a
+small carpet which he had had made in his own factory in the fort. Next
+afternoon Morshead, Wollaston and myself went up to pay the Jongpen a
+visit in his fort. It was a steep climb from our camp, past long
+Mendongs or Mani walls covered with inscribed prayers. The Jongpen was
+at the entrance waiting to receive us. He then showed us over his
+stables, where he had several nice Tibetan ponies, which strongly
+objected to Europeans and lashed out fiercely as we approached them.
+After looking at them we went up many flights of most dangerously steep
+stairs, almost in pitch darkness the whole time, until we came to a
+small courtyard. Then after climbing up more steps, we were ushered into
+a small latticed room where we were given the usual Tibetan tea and
+sweetmeats. I presented the Jongpen with one of the new lever electric
+torches, with which he was much pleased, saying it would be of much use
+to him in going up and down his dark staircases. After tea he took us up
+on to the roof of the fort, which was quite flat, and from which we had
+a most magnificent view. We stood on the top of a great precipice and
+looked straight down at our camp, which lay many hundred feet below but
+almost within a stone's throw. From here too we could look across the
+wide plains and valleys of the Yaru and its tributaries to the main
+chain of the Himalayas which formed the Southern boundary to the
+picture. From this side they do not appear nearly as imposing as they do
+when seen from the South. Seen as they are from a height of over 15,000
+feet, the distance to the sky line is not nearly so great, and as a rule
+we found the Northern slopes to be much less steep than those on the
+Southern side. The snow line, too, was also several thousand feet
+higher. Every day great masses of moist cumulus clouds came rolling up
+and round the peaks to the South of us, indicating heavy falls of rain
+and snow on the South, but very little of this came over the
+watershed--only an occasional slight hailstorm or a few drops of rain.
+From this point we could see as far West as Mount Everest, still over a
+hundred miles away. After spending some time up there and admiring and
+discussing the view, we descended once more into the fort, where the
+Jongpen showed us some of the carpets that his womenfolk were busy
+making and promised to have some ready for us by the time that we came
+back. We also much admired the curious old locks by which the doors and
+boxes were fastened; before leaving, he made me a present of one of
+these locks.
+
+  [3] Dzong means fort.
+
+June 7 saw us still at Khamba Dzong, as the transport would not be ready
+till the following day. Raeburn, who for some time had been suffering
+from the same complaint as Dr. Kellas, was unfortunately getting no
+better and was getting weaker every day. We were therefore reluctantly
+compelled to send him back again into Sikkim to Lachen, where he could
+be taken charge of by the lady missionaries and properly looked after.
+Wollaston and Gyalzen Kazi were to accompany him down to Lachen, and if
+possible to rejoin us by the time that we got to Tingri. This break-up
+of our climbing party was most annoying and seriously weakened our
+party, obliging us to alter our plans for reconnoitring in a thorough
+manner the various approaches to Mount Everest. The following day, after
+a good deal of delay and argument about the loads, we got everything
+loaded up and started off for Lingga, a march of about 16 miles to the
+West. For the first few miles we rode across a great plain on which were
+several small herds of goa, but these were very wary and kept well out
+of shot. The path then took us alongside a small isolated rocky hill in
+which we kept putting up numerous hares who often got up right under our
+ponies' feet. We crossed the Yaru River, now only a small stream, at the
+picturesque village of Mende with its fine willow trees, and then after
+passing over a spur, formed of slaty rock, we descended into another
+great plain which extended all the way to Tingri. Five miles across this
+plain was the village of Lingga, surrounded by marshes and ponds, with
+barley fields and rich grass growing between the patches of water. There
+were several other villages in sight, so that the plain was evidently
+fertile and could support a considerable population. This was the first
+place where we became bothered by sand flies, which in the morning were
+very troublesome; but when the wind got up, as it always did in the
+afternoons, it blew them away, and for once was welcome. The villagers
+were very hospitable; they produced tea and beer brewed from barley for
+us as soon as we arrived there. The latter is quite a pleasant drink on
+a hot day, but it did not agree with my inside at all. The people here
+had never seen a European before, and though at first inclined to be
+rather shy, they soon became very friendly and curious. Some pieces of
+silver paper from chocolates quite won the hearts of the children who
+flocked around and did not in the least mind being photographed. To the
+South extended the chain of snows of the main range of the Himalayas,
+and on the way we had several clear and distinct views of Mount Everest.
+Morshead, who had left the day before, was camped at a small monastery a
+few miles to the North of us in order to follow the crest of the ridge
+of hills and to survey both sides, but was to join us again at Tinki.
+The weather now was really delightful, though to the South of us we
+still saw heavy clouds which brought showers of snow as far as the
+mountains, but they did not reach us.
+
+From here to Tinki was about 13 miles over a perfectly level plain. The
+midges or sand flies were very troublesome the whole way and came in
+hundreds round one's head, got inside one's topee, and were thoroughly
+objectionable. The plain appeared very fertile, as there seemed to be
+plenty of water and great herds of yaks and flocks of sheep were grazing
+upon it. In the marshes and ponds were many bar-headed geese, Brahminy
+ducks, mallard and teal. After the rains, it is evident that a great
+part of this plain is under water. About a couple of miles from Tinki we
+crossed some curious sand dunes, about 20 feet high, which are evidently
+on the move, and soon afterwards the Jongpen of Tinki came riding out to
+meet us with a few mounted followers, he himself riding a fine white
+pony. He was very Chinese in appearance, wearing finely embroidered
+silks with a Chinese hat and a long pigtail, and his manners were
+excellent. He escorted us to the place where our camp was to be, and had
+had three or four tents already pitched for us. Tea and country beer
+were at once served, and we rested in the shade of his Chinese tents
+until our transport arrived.
+
+[Illustration: TINKI DZONG.]
+
+We were encamped in a very picturesque spot beside a large pond that was
+full of bar-headed geese, Brahminy ducks and terns. On the opposite side
+of this pond rose the walls and towers of the fort of Tinki. As soon as
+we had settled down, the Jongpen came again to pay us a formal visit,
+presented us with four sheep and a couple of hundred eggs and promised
+to do everything he could to help us and to forward us on our way. Half
+a mile above us was a large village and a big monastery belonging to the
+Yellow Sect of Buddhists who also owned a fine grove of willows. The
+bottom of the valley was all covered with barley fields, now a tender
+green and coming up well. As the fresh transport had not arrived, we had
+to spend the following day there. This gave an opportunity for Abdul
+Jalil, our photographic assistant, to rejoin us. We had sent him back to
+Phari in order to change some more rupees into Tibetan currency, as we
+found that Indian notes or rupees were not accepted any further to the
+West. Abdul Jalil had been very nervous about travelling with so much
+money and had borrowed a revolver and a rifle from members of the
+Expedition besides two large Tibetan swords and a dagger which he
+obtained from the Jongpen. In the morning, with Bullock, I went to
+return the call of the Jongpen. His fort at the time was under repair,
+so he was living in a small house outside the main building. He was very
+affable and gave us tea: we were then able to make all the arrangements
+for transport except the actual fixing of the price. For this he said he
+would have to consult his head-men. Just as we were about to leave he
+insisted on our eating the large meal which he had had prepared for us.
+He gave us small dishes of excellent macaroni and mince, seasoned up
+with chillies and very well cooked--much better than anything our cooks
+could produce. This we had to eat with chopsticks--a somewhat difficult
+proceeding, as we were not yet used to them. Later on, however, after
+much practice, we found no difficulty in consuming the numerous bowls of
+this excellent dish that the Tibetans always set before one. The Jongpen
+told us that he had been twenty-nine years in Government service, and he
+was expecting to have a better post than this shortly. His health was
+poor and he said he had been suffering much from indigestion, so I gave
+him some pills and tabloids, for which he was very grateful. On the
+return journey, he told me that he had greatly benefited by my
+treatment. The bar-headed geese and the wild duck here were
+extraordinarily tame, allowing us to approach within five yards of them
+and showing no signs of fear. They would come and waddle round our
+tents, picking up any scraps of food. The Jongpen had begged us not to
+shoot or kill any of them, as he said a Lama had been sent specially
+from Lhasa some years ago in order to tame the creatures, and certainly
+the result was extraordinary; it was most interesting to watch these
+birds, ordinarily so wild, from so close a distance. In the evening the
+Jongpen came over to see us again, and after a good hour's bargaining
+over the price of the transport, we finally reached a reasonable and
+amicable agreement. Every evening, to the South of us, there were
+constant flashes of lightning all along the horizon. In the morning I
+woke up to the unusual sound of drops of rain, but this only lasted for
+five minutes and then cleared up, though the sky remained clouded all
+the morning. There was the usual fighting and confusion about the loads,
+each person trying to get the lightest loads for his own animal. The
+result was that there was much talking and fighting, and nothing was
+actually done until some head-man would come and take control and decide
+the dispute. The method of adjudication was as follows:--From each of
+the families who were regarded as responsible for the supply of a
+transport animal was taken one of the embroidered garters by which the
+man's felt boots are kept in their place. These garters were shuffled,
+as one might shuffle a pack of cards, after which a single garter was
+laid upon each load. The family to which the garter belonged thereupon
+became responsible for that load and had to pack it upon the animal's
+back. Although we had only ninety animals, there were forty-five
+different families supplying them.
+
+The march from Tinki to Chushar Nango was about 14 miles and was up the
+valley behind Tinki to the Tinki Pass. On the way we passed
+well-irrigated fields of barley and then climbed up a spur covered with
+a small yellow cistus. After this a long gentle pull brought us to the
+top of the pass, 17,100 feet. There was a very fine view from here to
+the East looking over Tinki and Khamba Dzong and along the Northern
+slopes of the Himalayas. I climbed up a hill about 600 feet above the
+pass, whence I had a more extensive view still. I could see far away to
+the East to Chomolhari, while in the foreground was the large and
+picturesque lake called Tsomotretung backed by the rugged chain of
+peaks that separated us from the valley of the Brahmaputra. To the West
+we looked down into the valley of the Yaru, which flowed gently through
+a broad and flat valley. To the South-west was a range of sharp granite
+peaks rising up to 22,000 feet, which ran North and South and forced the
+Yaru to flow round them before it could find its way into Nepal. The
+descent from the pass was much steeper. We passed many of our old
+friends the pink trumpet-shaped flowers, also a curious white and pink
+flower, rather like a daphne in shape, and smelling very sweetly, which
+grew in masses along the path. It was evidently poisonous as no animal
+would touch it. I picked some flowers of it and put them in my
+buttonhole, but was warned by the Tibetans not to do so, as they said it
+was poisonous and would give me a headache. Lower down the valley was
+full of small dwarf gorse bushes--1 foot to 18 inches high--which
+carpeted the ground. Everywhere were flocks of sheep and cattle grazing
+in the valley. Our camp was pitched on a grassy flat just below the
+village of Chushar Nango with its fine old ruined tower of stone with
+machicolated galleries all round it. To the South of us was the Nila
+Pass, which afforded an easy way into Nepal. The climate here was fairly
+warm, but the wind blew very strongly all that evening. Next day we saw
+the mountains all covered with fresh snow down to 16,000 feet, but we
+only experienced a slight drizzle as most of the snowflakes evaporated
+before they reached the ground, though clouds remained overhead all the
+morning. Morshead and his surveyors had been kept very busy up till now
+surveying and plotting in the intervening country from the tops of the
+hills, but owing to the clouds they were unable to do anything. We were
+all very late in starting, as our transport animals had been changed and
+the yaks that were supplied to us were very wild. In the first few
+minutes after starting we saw the plain strewn with our kits and stores,
+and yaks careering off in every direction with their tails in the air.
+
+The march to Gyangkar Nangpa to-day was only a short one and led across
+a wide plain through which flowed the muddy and sluggish waters of the
+Yaru. The existing maps of this country were quite misleading and we
+could no longer depend on them. The rivers flowed in opposite directions
+to those shown on the map and mountains were shown where there were
+none. After about 2 or 3 miles, we had to ford the river, which was
+about 80 yards wide and not quite 3 feet deep. We then rode on across
+the plain, which was in some parts sandy and in others muddy or
+gravelly; evidently during the rainy season a shallow lake. In places
+the dwarf gorse grew on it. The sandy tracks were covered with curious
+hillocks 5 to 6 feet in height formed by the drifting sand and the gorse
+bushes. These in order to keep alive were compelled to push their
+branches through the sand which in its turn became piled up around them.
+Towards the West end of the plain were marshes and shallow lakes around
+which we had to make big detours.
+
+Gyangkar Nangpa, which was our destination, was the country residence of
+the Phari Jongpen. His brother, who was acting as agent for him, rode
+out to meet us and escorted us to his house, a fine solid stone building
+dominating all the small houses. The tops of the walls were covered with
+gorse and juniper, rather suggestive of Christmas decorations. Tents
+were pitched for us in a grass paddock close to a grove of willows. We
+were then conducted upstairs into a pleasant room where were some fine
+gilt Chinese cabinets and some good Chinese rugs. Here the Jongpen had a
+meal prepared for us. We were first given tea, milk and beer, after
+which some fifteen dumplings apiece, each as big as a small apple, were
+put down in front of us together with three other bowls. In one of these
+was a black Chinese sauce, in another a chillie paste, and a third
+contained a barley soup. We were then given chopsticks with which we
+were expected to convey the dumplings into the barley soup, break them
+up there, season them with the various sauces, and then convey them to
+our mouths--a not too easy feat. This meal was so satisfying that we
+felt that we did not want to eat anything for a long time afterwards. We
+were told that in the rainy season the river here was unfordable, as it
+rose several feet and flooded over the plains, and it was then necessary
+to keep to the North or to the South of it. In the evening the agent
+came to make an official call and presented us with a sheep and a number
+of eggs. We invited him to dinner and gave him his first taste of such
+European cooking as could be provided by our native cooks.
+
+[Illustration: GYANGKA RANGE FROM NEAR CHUSHAR.]
+
+There was a slight frost during the night, but the day turned out very
+fine. Our host accompanied us to the village of Rongkong, one of the
+villages belonging to his brother, and here he said good-bye to us. The
+day's march was uninteresting. We followed along the left bank of the
+Yaru past well-irrigated barley fields, for there was any amount of
+water here, until the valley narrowed and the sides came down steeper,
+when it became covered with gorse bushes. This valley we descended for
+about 10 miles until it debouched into another, a broader sandy valley
+where the Yaru changed its course to the South. We forded it at a point
+where it was about 90 yards wide and 31/2 feet deep, and we then sat down
+and waited for our transport to come up. Beyond us lay a wide sandy
+valley through which a stream flowed sometimes on the surface, but more
+often underground, when it formed dangerous quicksands. When the
+transport came up, our drivers were very anxious to cross immediately,
+as there was a strong wind blowing and a violent sandstorm. They said
+that it would be much safer to cross now that all the fresh sand had
+blown over the wet sand. In the morning, they said, after a still night,
+it was very dangerous, so following their advice we started off, every
+one dressed up as though for a gas attack, with goggles over the eyes
+and comforters or handkerchiefs tied over the mouth and nose to keep the
+sand out. At first we wound our way through big sand dunes, off which
+the sand was blowing like smoke. Under one of these sand dunes we found
+our coolies halted and lost. Some of the donkeys, too, had been
+unloaded here, as they could not find their way across in the sandstorm.
+After leaving the dunes, there were wide stretches of wet sand to cross,
+over which the dried sand from the dunes was being blown like long wisps
+of smoke so that the whole ground appeared to be moving. In places where
+the wet sand shook and quivered we galloped along. Eventually we and our
+transport arrived on the far side of the plain in safety. It was now too
+late, however, to go on any further, so we camped on the dunes near the
+quicksands in the teeth of the gale. The sand was being whirled up on to
+us and into our tents until everything and every one was full of sand.
+Water was handy, but yak dung, our only fuel, was scarce and scanty.
+
+Just before dark a very beautiful and lofty peak appeared to the
+Southwards. Our drivers called it Chomo Uri (The Goddess of the
+Turquoise Peak) and we had many discussions as to what mountain this
+was. In the morning, after taking its bearings carefully, we decided
+that this could be no other than Mount Everest. We found out afterwards
+that the name, Chomo Uri, was purely a local name for the mountain.
+Throughout Tibet it was known as Chomolungma--Goddess Mother of the
+Country--and this is its proper Tibetan name.
+
+Next morning, after an uncomfortable and windy night, we rode for
+several miles across a plain covered with sand dunes 20 feet or more in
+height. On reaching the entrance to the valley of Bhong-chu, I
+determined to separate myself from the main party in order to explore a
+peak which attracted my attention on the North side of the valley and
+seemed to promise good views of Mount Everest and its surroundings.
+After a climb of some 3,000 feet, I found myself on a spur from which I
+had a very wonderful view. The view extended to the East from beyond
+Chomolhari--over 120 miles away--and embraced practically all the high
+snow peaks from Chomolhari to Gosainthan, a distance of some 250 miles.
+In the centre Mount Everest stood up all by itself, a wonderful peak
+towering above its neighbours and entirely without a rival. I spent
+four or five hours at the top of this hill, basking in the sun, as it
+was delightfully hot. I saw several swallow-tailed butterflies, also a
+number of bees, wasps and horse flies. Major Morshead and his surveyors
+soon afterwards joined us, intending to take advantage of the fine view.
+In the afternoon I left the peak and descended into the valley in search
+of our new camp, for we had now left the Yaru and had turned up into the
+valley of the Bhong-chu, a river that flowed from the West, with a very
+considerable volume of water. As there was rinderpest in the valley, our
+transport consisted now of donkeys only, many of them being very
+diminutive in size, but quite accustomed to carrying heavy loads. Our
+camp was pitched at a place called Trangso Chumbab, where there was an
+old Chinese rest-house. The Bhong-chu here was nearly 200 yards in
+width, but there was quite a good ford across it to Tsogo. Here we found
+many flourishing villages and much cultivation. We seemed to be entering
+a much more populated part of the country; from the top of the hill I
+counted in one valley no less than fifteen villages and quite a number
+of willow groves. From here a longish march of 18 miles up the valley of
+the Bhong-chu brought us to Kyishong--a pretty little village on the
+banks of the river. There were a few willow trees here and a lot of sea
+buckthorn. I did not keep to the road, but started early across a big
+plain on which I was lucky enough to shoot a goa with quite
+good horns. The day was very hot and sultry, and after crossing the
+plain I went up a side valley which turned out to be extremely pretty.
+It was very narrow and a mass of wild rose bushes. These roses were all
+of a creamy yellow, and every bush was covered with hundreds of
+sweet-smelling flowers. There was also a curious black clematis and
+several species of broom and rock cistus. Here and there were grassy
+patches with bubbling springs of crystal clearness. Rock pigeons,
+Brahminy ducks, blackbirds and numerous other varieties of small birds
+came down to drink here and did not mind us at all. About two o'clock
+the weather suddenly changed and violent thunderstorms started all
+round us, first on the opposite side of the valley and then on every
+side. Heavy hail came down at the same time and the ground soon became
+white. On descending into the valley, I put up what was to me a new kind
+of partridge, also numerous mountain hares. On emerging into the main
+valley, I noticed a group of five large Chortens. I was told that the
+centre Chorten had been built over a very bad demon, and that it kept
+him down. The other four Chortens at the corners prevented his ever
+getting away.
+
+The next day's march to Shekar Dzong was a short one of only 12 miles.
+We followed the main valley for about 6 miles through some interesting
+conglomerate gorges alternating with open spaces covered with sea
+buckthorn. We then turned off Northwards up a side valley which led us
+to the town and fort of Shekar. This place was very finely situated on a
+big rocky and sharp-pointed mountain like an enlarged St. Michael's
+Mount. The actual town stands at the foot of the hill, but a large
+monastery, holding over 400 monks and consisting of innumerable
+buildings, is literally perched half-way up the cliff. The buildings are
+connected by walls and towers with the fort, which rises above them all.
+The fort again is connected by turreted walls with a curious Gothic-like
+structure on the summit of the hill where incense is offered up daily.
+On our arrival the whole town turned out and surrounded us with much
+curiosity, for we were the first Europeans that they had ever seen. A
+small tent had been pitched for us, but there was such a crowd round it
+that I retreated to a willow grove close by, which was protected by a
+wall. As the Jongpen had not come to see us, Chheten Wangdi went over to
+find him; presently he came along with a basket of eggs and with many
+apologies for not coming before, but he said that he had had no warning
+of our arrival. This was but partly true, for though our passport did
+not particularly mention this place, it authorised all officials to help
+us to their utmost, and the Jongpen certainly knew and had heard that we
+were coming. I asked him to give orders that no intoxicating spirits
+should be served out to our followers, remembering the trouble we had
+had in one or two places before owing to their all getting drunk. Our
+tents were all pitched inside an enclosure and in the shade of the
+willow grove, and above us towered the picturesque buildings of the fort
+and the monastery. This was by far the largest and most interesting
+place that we had yet come across. For our mess tent we were given a
+fine Chinese tent such as they always seem to keep for the entertainment
+of guests of honour. As in most places, there were two Jongpens residing
+here, one lay and the other ecclesiastical, and finding that Tingri was
+under their jurisdiction, we asked them to issue orders to their
+representatives at Tingri to help us in every way with supplies and
+transport.
+
+[Illustration: SHEKAR DZONG.]
+
+June 17 we spent resting at Shekar. In the morning Morshead and I went
+to call on the Jongpen; he lives in a poor house at the foot of the
+hill, his official residence being three-quarters of the way up, but he
+wisely prefers to live at the bottom, not being very fond of exercise.
+He was busy adding on to his house, and we were shown into the old part
+in which he was living. He gave us the usual Tibetan tea and sweetmeats
+and then insisted on our having macaroni and meat seasoned with
+chillies, which was excellent, followed by junket served in china bowls.
+He had some very fine teacups of agate and hornblende schist with finely
+chased silver covers, which I admired very much. That afternoon several
+of us went up to visit the big monastery of Shekar Choe-te. This
+consisted of a great number of buildings terraced one above the other on
+a very steep rocky slope. A path along the face of the rock brought us
+to several archways under which we passed. We then had to go up and down
+some picturesque but very steep and narrow streets until we came to a
+large courtyard. On one side of this was the main temple. In this temple
+were several gilt statues of Buddha decorated all over with turquoises
+and other precious stones, and behind them a huge figure of Buddha quite
+50 feet high. Every year, they told us, they had to re-gild his face.
+Around were eight curious figures about 10 feet high and dressed in
+quaint flounces which they said were the guardians of the shrine. We
+then went up steep and slippery ladders, in almost pitch darkness, and
+came out on a platform opposite the face of the great Buddha. Here were
+some beautifully chased silver teapots and other interesting pieces of
+silver, richly decorated in relief. Inside the shrine, which was very
+dark, the smell of rancid butter was almost overpowering as all the
+lamps burnt butter. The official head of the monastery showed us round.
+He was apparently appointed from Lhasa and was responsible for all the
+revenues and financial dealings of the monastery. We were given very
+buttery tea in the roof courtyard, which was a pleasant spot, and here I
+photographed a group of several monks. They had never seen a camera or
+photographs before, but they had heard that such a thing was possible
+and were very much interested in it. Before leaving we went in to see
+the Head Lama who had lived over sixty-six years in this monastery. He
+was looked upon as being extremely holy and as the re-incarnation of a
+former abbot, and they therefore practically worshipped him. There was
+only one tooth left in his mouth, but for all that he had a very
+pleasant smile. All around his room were silver-gilt Chortens inlaid
+with turquoises and precious stones and incense was being burnt
+everywhere. After much persuasion the other monks induced him to come
+outside and have his photograph taken, telling him that he was an old
+man, and that his time on earth was now short, and they would like to
+have a picture of him to remember him by. He was accordingly brought
+out, dressed up in robes of beautiful golden brocades, with priceless
+silk Chinese hangings arranged behind him while he sat on a raised dais
+with his dorje and his bell in front of him, placed upon a finely carved
+Chinese table. The fame of this photograph spread throughout the country
+and in places hundreds of miles away I was asked for photographs of the
+Old Abbot of Shekar Choe-te, nor could I give a more welcome present at
+any house than a photograph of the Old Abbot. Being looked upon as a
+saint, he was worshipped, and they would put these little photographs in
+shrines and burn incense in front of them.
+
+[Illustration: THE ABBOT OF SHEKAR CHOeTE.]
+
+About midnight that night I was suddenly awakened by yells and loud
+shouting and hammering close to my tent and next to that in which
+Bullock and Mallory were sleeping. The latter turned out and found that
+a Tibetan had seized an ice axe and a mallet and was busy hammering on
+our store boxes. He gave chase, but failed to catch the intruder. Some
+of our coolies, however, found out where he had gone to, and Chheten
+Wangdi had him handed over to the Jongpen. On investigation in the
+morning the man proved to be a madman whom his parents always kept
+locked up during nights when the moon was full, but he had managed to
+escape, so we handed him back to his family.
+
+Our transport was very slow in arriving, and there were so many delays
+that it was midday before the procession finally moved off. The loads,
+too, were very badly put on and kept falling off, also the transport was
+quite the worst that we had yet had. For about 5 miles the path went up
+and down hill and through much sand until we came to the bridge over the
+Bhong-chu. This bridge consisted of four or five stout pillars of loose
+stones which acted as piers, on which were laid a few pieces of wood, on
+which flat stones were placed. It was a rough form of bridge, but served
+at ordinary times for its purpose. During the course of this summer,
+however, after heavy rain, these piers so dammed up the water as to
+cause it to rise some 4 or 5 feet on the upper side of them with the
+result that the immense weight of water swept the whole bridge away.
+Bullock and Mallory with half a dozen coolies had left early in the
+morning, intending to bivouac out for a couple of nights and climb one
+of the hills to the South of the Bhong-chu in order to get a view of
+Mount Everest. After we had gone about 5 miles we met them close to the
+bridge, as they had lost their way and had been walking for about 15
+miles: not having found the bridge, they had forded the river and had
+got wet up to their necks in crossing it. At dusk we reached the village
+of Tsakor, where we found a tent pitched for us, and here we spent the
+night. Our transport did not turn up till nearly nine o'clock, and so we
+all slept in the mess tent. From here to Tingri was still another 20
+miles--the path following the right bank of the Bhong-chu the whole way.
+In places the river was as much as 200 yards wide and flowed very
+sluggishly. We were told that the waters were very low, but that next
+month, when the rains had broken, the river often filled the whole of
+the bottom of the valley. On the way we passed some very handsome
+black-necked cranes as large as the Saurus crane. These had black heads
+and bills, with red eyes, light grey bodies and black tails with fine
+feathers. On this march the midges were dreadfully annoying the whole
+way, and we were surrounded with clouds of them the whole time. Their
+bite was very tiresome and extremely irritating. On the way we passed a
+Mongolian who had taken eleven months in coming from Lhasa and who was
+on his way to Nepal. His method of progression was by throwing himself
+at full length down on the ground. He then got up and at the spot where
+his hands touched the ground repeated the motion again. As we approached
+Tingri, the valley widened out and bent round to the South. Tingri
+itself was situated on the side of a small hill in the middle of a great
+plain, from which, looking to the South, was visible the wonderful chain
+of snowy peaks, many of them over 25,000 feet in height, which extends
+Westwards from Mount Everest. We crossed the Ra-chu--a tributary of the
+Bhong-chu, partly by bridges and partly by fords; it was split up into a
+number of small and very muddy channels that took their rise from the
+Kyetrak Glacier. Tingri was to be our first base for reconnoitring the
+Northern and North-western approaches to Mount Everest. It was June 19
+when we arrived there, so that it had taken us just a month's travelling
+from Darjeeling to perform this part of our journey.
+
+
+
+
+                                CHAPTER IV
+
+                    TINGRI AND THE COUNTRY TO THE SOUTH
+
+
+Tingri is a place of some importance, with a considerable trade at
+certain seasons of the year. It is the last place of any size on this
+side of the Nepalese frontier and boasts of a military governor. The
+garrison, however, when we visited it, consisted only of a sergeant and
+four or five soldiers. There were about three hundred houses in Tingri,
+all clustered together on the slopes of a small isolated hill standing
+in the middle of the great plain. On the top of the hill was the old
+Chinese fort, now all falling into ruin, but still littered with papers
+and books, written in Chinese characters, left behind by the Chinese on
+their hasty departure. Inside were quaint mural frescoes of curious old
+men riding stags or winged dragons painted in many colours. All the way
+up the valley of the Bhong-chu we had seen ruins of walls and evidences
+of much fighting. These all dated back, we were told, to the time of the
+Nepalese invasions of Tibet in the eighteenth century when the Gurkhas
+penetrated so far into Tibet that they actually got to Shigatse, and the
+Tibetans had to call upon the Chinese Empire for help. The Chinese came
+into the country with a large army, defeated the Gurkhas, drove them out
+of Tibet and crossed the Himalayas with a considerable army into Nepal,
+an extraordinary military feat considering the enormous difficulty of
+moving an army in these unhospitable regions over the high mountain
+passes through which it is approached. The Chinese, after this, never
+left Tibet until they were driven out by the Tibetans only a few years
+ago. In the hills round Tingri we came across many evidences of the
+fighting which then took place. This probably accounted for the large
+number of ruined and deserted villages that we saw in the valleys
+around. At the foot of the hill was a large Chinese rest-house which was
+only used to house Tibetan officials when they came there on duty. The
+Tibetans themselves did not like to live in or use the place, as many
+Chinese had died there and they thought that their ghosts haunted the
+spot. This rest-house was, however, swept out and prepared for our
+reception, as we had told the Tibetans that we should probably stay
+there for some time and should want a house to protect us from the wind
+and to provide a dark room for developing our photographs. The
+rest-house consisted of three courtyards in the outer one we put the
+coolies, in the middle one the surveyors, and the inner one we kept for
+ourselves. In appearance the building was quite picturesque with its
+mural paintings of flying dogs and fierce dragons; but in spite of its
+picturesqueness outside and its handsome appearance, the rooms inside
+were small, and when the rain came it poured through the roof and our
+beds had to be shifted many times during the night to avoid the drips of
+water. It however provided an excellent dark room for us after we had
+well plastered the walls, the floor and the ceiling with mud and got rid
+of the dust of ages. To do any photographic work in Tibet a house is a
+necessity, as with the violent wind that blows every day all one's
+belongings get covered with dust which would ruin any negative. At first
+we found water a great difficulty as the local water was full of mud,
+but we eventually discovered a beautifully clear spring, about half a
+mile away, which bubbled up in a deep bluey green basin, and this water
+we used always, both for drinking and for photographic work. Tingri had
+many advantages as a base. Stores, supplies and transport were always
+available there, as it was the headquarters of the district. It also
+provided an easy means of approach to Mount Everest from the North-west
+and to the high group of mountains that lay to the West of Mount
+Everest. After sorting out all our stores and equipment and seeing in
+what state they were after the journey, our next business was the making
+of a dark room, as we had taken many photographs on the journey that
+required developing. The weather at this time was very fine, but the
+Tibetans kept on telling us that the rainy season ought to be starting,
+so we determined as soon as possible to send out parties in different
+directions to make the most of the favourable opportunity. The first
+morning after our arrival we were up on the top of the hill by six
+o'clock in the hope of getting a good view to the South, but the clouds
+were already over most of the mountains. Everest we could see quite
+clearly, and Cho-Uyo, the great 26,800 feet peak that lies to the West
+of Mount Everest. The Depon here, who was acting as the Governor of the
+place, was a nice young fellow and very cheery, and later on I got to
+know him very well and went over to his house and was entertained by him
+and his wife. He told me that the Tibetans still paid tribute to Nepal
+for all that part of the country, and that the amount they had to pay
+was the equivalent of 5,000 rupees per annum. The Nepalese kept a
+head-man at Tingri and another at Nyenyam to deal with all criminal
+cases and offences committed by Nepalese subjects when in Tibet. I found
+later on that the Tibetans were very frightened of the Nepalese, or of
+having any dealings with a Gurkha. I took photographs of the Depon's
+wife and all their children, and of his mother-in-law, which delighted
+them immensely; the wife at first was very shy of coming forward, but
+after many tears and protestations her husband finally induced her to be
+photographed. The great semi-circular head-dresses that the women wear
+are usually covered with turquoises, and coral, and often with strings
+of seed pearls across them. Round their necks hang long chains of either
+turquoise or coral beads, sometimes mixed with lumps of amber. Suspended
+round the neck by a shorter chain is generally a very elaborately
+decorated charm box, those belonging to the richer or upper classes
+being of gold inlaid with turquoises, the poorer people having them
+made of silver with poorer turquoises. The officials, as a rule, have a
+long ear-ring, 4 or 5 inches long, of turquoises and pearls, suspended
+from the left ear, while in the right ear they wear a single turquoise
+of very good quality. Nearly every one carries a rosary, with which
+their hands are playing about the whole day. We were told that the laws
+governing marriage in those parts were strictly regulated. Owing to the
+excessive number of males, a form of polyandry prevails. If there were
+four brothers in a family, and the eldest one married a wife, his wife
+would also be the property of the three younger brothers; but if the
+second or third brother married, their wives would be common only to
+themselves and their youngest brother. In Tibet, when, owing to the
+severe climate, digging is impossible for about six months in the year,
+if a man dies his body is handed over to professional corpse butchers,
+of whom there are one or two in every village. These butchers cut the
+body up into small pieces, which are taken out on to a hill-top and
+scattered about for the birds of the air or the wolves to devour. If by
+any chance there is a delay in consuming these remains, this is looked
+upon as a sign that the man has led an evil life during his lifetime.
+
+On June 22 Wollaston rejoined us again. He had escorted Raeburn to
+Lachen, and had there arranged for an assistant surgeon to come up and
+take him back as far as Gangtok. Wollaston had then come on as fast as
+possible to rejoin us. His kit did not arrive till the following day, as
+he had ridden in direct from Shekar Dzong. The following day Bullock and
+Mallory left us, making direct for Mount Everest, and intending to
+reconnoitre the North and Northwestern slopes. Looked at from here it is
+certainly a very wonderful mountain, as it seems to stand up all by
+itself, but from this side it looks far too steep to be climbed. On June
+25 Wheeler and Heron went off to Kyetrak, from which point Wheeler was
+to begin his photographic survey. I had intended to start the following
+day and join them, but the acid hypo that I had been using for fixing
+had given off so many sulphur fumes that I had been quite "gassed" for
+several days and had lost my voice in consequence. Unfortunately my
+orderly and Wheeler's bearer, who were both Mahommedans, were taken ill
+with enteric. Wheeler's bearer was in a very bad way, and a few days
+after my departure he died, but my orderly, after a bad attack,
+recovered, and when I returned three weeks later he was able to be up
+and to walk about a little. As Wollaston was likely to be detained here
+for some time owing to these cases of sickness, and as Morshead wanted
+to get in some surveying all round Tingri, I thought it would be a good
+opportunity to visit the different parties that we had sent out, and
+also to get, if possible, some information about Kharta, which I
+intended should be our second base. The coolies that we had still with
+us at Tingri were kept busy by Wollaston, and daily they would bring in
+rats, birds, lizards, beetles, or fish which they had collected for him.
+The local people would not make any attempt to collect these animals, as
+they said it was against their religion. On June 26 I started out to the
+South and camped the first night at Sharto, a small village about 9
+miles across the plain to the South of Tingri. On the way we passed
+numbers of bees that seemed to be coming up out of the ground and
+swarming. These were all of a very light brown colour. Sharto is only a
+small village, but there are no other houses between it and Kyetrak, so
+that it was necessary to stop there. As the wind always blows with great
+strength here, the tents were pitched within some sheltering walls. In
+every place that we went to now we managed to get some kind of green
+food which was turned into spinach; a small kind of weed that grows in
+the barley fields was generally thus used. At other times we tried
+turnip leaves, or again, when we were higher and above the limits of
+cultivation, the young shoots of the nettle which grows up to 17,000
+feet, and is really very good. I had taken with me this time a Tibetan
+whom we had picked up on the way. He was called Poo, and he turned out
+to be an excellent cook who could make any of the Tibetan dishes. As he
+was a sensible fellow, and very seldom drunk, I made a good deal of use
+of him. He accompanied me in all my wanderings, and I could not have
+found a more useful servant when travelling, as he never seemed to mind
+the cold or the height and could always produce a fire of some kind,
+even though he had forgotten to bring any matches. That evening at
+Sharto there was a curious false sunset in the East with rays of light
+in the deep purple of the sky. All the hills stood out with wonderful
+sharpness, and the colours were very beautiful. Towards nightfall we saw
+a number of kiang, which came quite close up to the camp and started
+feeding on the barley fields in spite of the pillars of stones and the
+strings which are put round the fields to keep both them and the hares
+away from the crops. The next morning I started off early as I intended
+to climb a hill 17,700 feet, on the way to Kyetrak. This hill, however,
+proved further off than I anticipated, and we had some difficulty in
+crossing a glacier stream, so that I did not get up to the top till 9
+a.m., by which time the clouds had hidden a great part of the mountains
+to the South of us. The view, nevertheless, was extraordinarily fine.
+The top of Everest just showed above a great icy range to the East of
+us, and South-east was that great group of mountains of which Cho-Uyo,
+26,800 feet, is the highest. Immense granite precipices descended sheer
+for several thousand feet until they reached great winding glaciers,
+while from over the Khombu Pass long wisps of cloud came sailing round
+these peaks and eventually hid them from our view. To the North the view
+extended right up to the watershed of the Brahmaputra, 80 to 100 miles
+distant. The different colours of the hills, the light and shade from
+the clouds, all formed a charming picture. Once over 17,000 feet, I met
+my old friend the dwarf blue poppy (_Meconopsis_) and many pretty white,
+blue and yellow saxifrages that grew on the rocks. Descending from this
+hill into the Kyetrak Valley, we passed a number of goa which were quite
+tame, but unfortunately they were all females. We had two more big
+glacial torrents to cross which later in the afternoon would probably
+have been impassable as by that time they would have risen another 2
+feet, due to the melting of the snow and the ice by the hot sun in the
+morning; indeed, we only just managed to get across when we did. The
+main Kyetrak stream comes from the great glacier that descends from
+Cho-Uyo and the Khombu Pass. Opposite the village of Kyetrak it is
+luckily divided into a number of small streams, so that it is usually
+possible to get across it, though in the afternoons it is always
+somewhat difficult.
+
+This village lies at a height of 16,000 feet, at the foot of the Khombu
+or Nangba Pass and the Pusi Pass. The former is a high glacier-covered
+pass, about 19,000 feet, that leads into the Khombu Valley in Nepal. The
+other, the Pusi Pass, is a much lower and easier pass that leads into
+the Rongshar Valley. Between these two passes lies a very beautiful
+glacier-covered peak called Chorabsang. Here at Kyetrak I met Heron and
+Wheeler encamped in the shelter of some walls close to the village,
+which consisted of a few dirty stone houses and a big Chorten. The
+people told me that they lived here all the year round, and that they
+owned the grazing for many miles to the North and possessed herds of
+yaks several thousand in number. Traffic could be kept up over these
+passes, they said, at all times of the year, though only with great
+difficulty, and with much danger, whole convoys being sometimes wiped
+out by blizzards when trying to cross the Khombu Pass, as the fine
+powdery snow is blown down into their faces from every direction and
+they finally get suffocated by it. That night there was a sharp frost,
+and the following morning Heron and I started to go up towards the
+Khombu Pass, following at first the East side of the Kyetrak Glacier.
+For about 6 or 7 miles we rode beside the great moraine that extended
+along the East side of this glacier; every now and then we climbed up on
+to a mound on the edge of the glacier in order to take photographs of
+it. The ice was all torn and riven into wonderful shapes and opposite
+us was the finely crevassed peak of Chorabsang. I pushed on, leaving
+Heron to come on at a slower pace, as I was anxious to get to the top of
+the pass before the clouds should have come up and hidden all the views.
+Every day it cost us a race to get up to a point of vantage before the
+clouds should have come up and hidden everything. Leaving the pony
+behind, with one coolie, I pressed forward for some 4 miles up a very
+stony and slippery moraine on the glacier. Here were many curious ice
+formations--ice tables with a big flat rock superimposed, curious
+upright pillars of ice, and the main glacier itself was worn by stone
+and water into the weirdest shapes and forms. In places, too, we came
+across that curious formation which in South America is called Nieve
+Penitentes. As we passed onwards, new glaciers opened up in every
+valley. The views up some of these side valleys, which often widened out
+into great amphitheatres, were very grand, especially that of the huge
+glacier that swept down from below the rock walls of Cho-Uyo.
+
+On arriving at the end of the moraine, the boots that my coolie was
+wearing came to pieces and he said he could go no further across the
+snow, so shouldering the big camera, I started off alone. At first the
+ice was firm, but soon I came to soft snow and much water underneath it:
+they made the going very unpleasant and I kept floundering about up to
+my knees in snow and water. At length I came to a large crevasse along
+the edge of which I followed for over half a mile as most of the snow
+bridges across it were unsafe. At last I found my way across and by
+climbing on to some rocks was able to look over the top of the pass and
+down into Nepal. The height of the pass seemed to be about 19,000 feet,
+and as the day was very hot, I lay down and went sound asleep, only
+waking up when it began to snow. I then started, none too soon, on my
+homeward journey: all the way back snow fell heavily. I was very
+thankful to meet my coolie again and to hand over the camera to him:
+carrying a camera for five or six hours in soft snow at a height of
+over 18,000 feet is a heavy tax upon the endurance of anyone
+unaccustomed to carrying weights. Wheeler meanwhile had moved up his
+camp from Kyetrak to a spot on the moraine East of the glacier and
+intended to spend a week or fortnight in that valley.
+
+The next morning Heron and I started to go over the Pusi Pass (Marmot
+Pass), so called because of the number of marmots that frequent the
+Southern slopes. After fording the Kyetrak River, we climbed up the
+moraine to the West of the Kyetrak Glacier and then turned up some easy
+grass hills until we came to the top of the pass, 17,700 feet.
+Here at the very top were growing some delightful little dwarf
+forget-me-nots--not an inch high--also many white and yellow saxifrages.
+Most of the views were unfortunately hidden by clouds, though one fine
+triple-headed peak showed up well to the South. We passed several flocks
+of female burhel (_Ovis nahura_), which were quite tame, and allowed us
+to ride up to within 50 yards of them. The hillsides were bare at first
+and grassy and the air felt distinctly cold and damp. We now commenced
+our long descent, and at 16,000 feet began to meet with juniper bushes
+and many dwarf rhododendrons. As we got lower, many more varieties of
+bushes appeared. There were two or three kinds of berberis, loniceras,
+white and pink spiraeas, and quantities of white roses; besides these
+were masses of primulas and anemones, and pink, white or mauve
+geraniums. We now followed the right bank of the Shung-chu, a great
+glacial torrent, which joined by several others became an unfordable
+stream. The path was well engineered, sometimes close to the river, and
+sometimes built out on rocks high above the stream. All of a sudden the
+valley narrowed into a great gorge. We had left all the granites and
+slates behind and had suddenly come into the zone of the gneiss, which
+extended many miles to the South. A little way further down, at a place
+where two other valleys meet, we caught sight of some green barley
+fields lying round the small village of Tasang where we encamped on a
+terrace for the night. We were now at a height of only 13,300 feet, and
+were able to get fresh eggs and vegetables again. It was a great
+pleasure once more to have wood fires in place of the yak dung with its
+acrid smoke, which caused all one's food to taste unpleasantly. Here we
+used as fuel the aromatic wood of the juniper.
+
+This valley is looked upon as a holy one, owing to the number of juniper
+bushes that grow in it, and several hermits and nuns had taken up their
+abode in it and shut themselves up in caves in order to meditate. The
+nearest village used to supply them with food, and morning and evening
+could be seen ascending the blue smoke of the juniper, which they burnt
+as incense before the entrances of their dwelling places. There was a
+hermit who lived close to the village and whose cave we could see high
+up in the rocks above. The villagers told us that after meditating for a
+period of ten years, he would be able to live on only ten grains of
+barley a day, and they were looking forward to that day. There was
+another anchorite female who was supposed to have lived here for 138
+years and who was greatly revered. She had forbidden any of the animals
+in the valley to be killed, and that was the reason why the flocks of
+burhel we had passed were so extremely tame. The next day, giving our
+transport a rest, Heron and I walked for 7 or 8 miles down the valley.
+On the opposite side of the valley the only trees were birches and
+willow, and it was curious that, at these comparatively low heights,
+there were no large rhododendrons or fir trees. On the other side of the
+valley, the vegetation consisted wholly of juniper, berberis or wild
+roses. We descended to 12,000 feet, most of the time going through
+narrow gorges. At one place we came across a number of gooseberry bushes
+covered with young gooseberries, of which we gathered a sufficient
+supply to last us for several days. The rose bushes were charming all
+the way. At first they were all of the white creamy coloured variety,
+but lower down we came on the big red one with flowers often more than 3
+inches in diameter. Wherever there were springs of water there grew
+masses of anemones and yellow primulas. We now returned to our camp at
+Tasang, and rain then started and continued the remainder of the day.
+The people told us that this valley was passable for animals for three
+days' journey, after which the river entered into some terrible gorges
+down which it was only just possible for a coolie to get along, and
+these latter gorges formed the boundary between Tibet and Nepal. On
+July 1 we started to return to Kyetrak; the morning was misty when we
+started, and though the higher peaks were all hidden in the clouds, the
+sun shone brightly and the day was quite hot. Our kit did not arrive
+till between five and six o'clock, and the yaks had a great deal of
+trouble in getting across the Kyetrak River, as it had risen
+considerably. Wheeler was still at his high camp further up the valley,
+waiting for a really clear day. The clouds, too, were his great enemies,
+as they came up very early every morning from over the Khombu Pass.
+
+From here Heron and I had decided to go on and see how Mallory and
+Bullock had been faring in the next valley, so the next morning, after
+breakfasting at 5 a.m., we started off. It was one of the coldest
+mornings we had had, with a very hard frost, and being on the shady side
+of the valley we did not get the sun till several hours after we had
+started. After going down the valley for about 6 miles, we turned off to
+the East and crossed several easy passes, the higher of them, the Lamna
+La, being 16,900 feet. The country was very barren of flowers and
+vegetation, but there was a certain amount of grazing for yaks and
+sheep. The march to Zambu was a fairly long one of 20 miles, but the
+yaks came along well. This was a more prosperous-looking village than
+most of them, and the houses were all whitewashed. We were still too
+high for barley fields as we were just 16,000 feet, but the wealth of
+the village lay in its herds of yaks and sheep; the villagers told us
+they owned 3,000 yaks. Shepherds in this country are but poorly paid,
+getting only thirty trangkas (10_s._) per annum. But house servants are
+still worse off, getting only eight trangkas (2_s._ 8_d._) per annum.
+However, they seem to thrive under those wages and there is no
+discontent or trades unionism among them. Our camp was pitched in a
+sunny spot not far from the village, looking straight over towards Mount
+Everest, whose top appeared over the opposite hills. From this side its
+precipices looked most formidable and there was also a magnificent ridge
+which we had not seen before. There was a slight frost again that night.
+
+Breakfasting, as usual, at 5 a.m., I started up the hill South of the
+camp and was lucky enough to get a clear view of Everest and the Rongbuk
+Valley that led up to it. This valley ran right up to the foot of Mount
+Everest and seemed an easy enough approach, but the mountain itself
+looked absolutely unscalable from this side, showing nothing but a
+series of very steep precipices. The day turned out to be a very hot
+one. I descended into the valley below, and started to ride up towards
+Mount Everest. Presently I came to an unfordable stream, and after
+making several attempts to get across this, found myself compelled to
+return several miles down the valley to the monastery of Choebu, where
+there was a slender footbridge. The pony that I was riding was swum
+across, a rope being attached to its head. He was then pulled over to
+the far side, a proceeding he did not at all enjoy. The yaks, too, were
+unladen, and the loads carried by hand over the bridge. After this the
+yaks were driven into the river and made to swim across, but they only
+went as far as an island in the middle of the river. From this place
+they would not budge in spite of stones, curses and threats, until at
+length a man with a sling, fetched from the monastery, hurled stones at
+them with great violence: this procedure apparently so stung them up
+that they thought it advisable to cross the remainder of the stream. At
+the entrance to the valley, we passed some very tame burhel within a few
+yards of the path, and then went along at the foot of some fine cliffs
+with limestone on the top and layers of hornblende and granite below.
+At first there was quite a rich vegetation growing here, considering we
+were just on 16,000 feet. There were juniper bushes, clematis, willows,
+a genista, rock roses, and even some yellow primulas, but as we got
+further into the valley it became more stony, and on either side of the
+path were small piles of stones heaped up by pilgrims. The valley was
+considered very sacred and was apparently a great place of pilgrimage.
+We found the base camp of the Alpine climbers pitched close to the
+Rongbuk Monastery, where there lived a very high re-incarnated Lama who
+was in meditation and not allowed to see anyone. This valley was called
+the Rongbuk, or inner valley--a name well suited to it; the legend was
+that from this valley there used to be a pass over into the Khombu
+Valley, but the high Lama who lived here forbade the use of it, as it
+disturbed the meditations of the recluses and hermits, of which there
+were several hundred here. At first these good people did not at all
+approve of our coming into this valley, as they thought we should be
+likely to disturb and distract their meditations.
+
+The Rongbuk Monastery lies at a height of 16,500 feet, and is an
+unpleasantly cold spot. This monastery contains twenty permanent Lamas
+who always live there, together with the re-incarnated Lama. Besides
+these, there are three hundred other associated Lamas who come in
+periodically, remaining there for periods of varying length. These
+Associate Lamas are mostly well-to-do, and having sufficient money to
+support themselves are not a drain upon the villagers. They will often
+invest several thousand trangkas with some village, and in return for
+this money the village will supply them with food, barley, milk, eggs
+and fuel. Higher up the valley there was a smaller monastery, and dotted
+along the hillside were numerous cells and caves where monks or nuns had
+retired to meditate. Every animal that we saw in this valley was
+extraordinarily tame. In the mornings we watched the burhel coming to
+some hermits' cells not a hundred yards away from the camp, to be fed,
+and from there they went on to other cells. They seemed to have no fear
+whatever of human beings. On the way up the valley we passed within 40
+to 50 yards of a fine flock of rams, but they barely moved away, and on
+the way back we passed some females that were so inquisitive that they
+actually came up to within 10 yards of us in order to have a look at us.
+The rock pigeons came and fed out of one's hand, and the ravens and all
+the other birds here were equally tame; it was most interesting to be
+able to watch all their habits and to see them at such close quarters.
+On July 4, Heron and I walked up the valley to see Mallory and Bullock,
+who had got an Alpine camp some 7 miles further up the valley at a
+height of 18,000 feet, where they were training their coolies in snow
+and ice work and trying to find out whether there was any possible way
+of attacking Mount Everest from this side. It was a beautiful morning
+when we started, and on the way we passed one or two small monasteries
+and numerous cells where hermits and recluses were living in retirement
+and meditation. After crossing several small lake beds and old
+moraines--for the big Rongbuk Glacier seemed to have been retiring in
+the last few years--we came to the big moraine-covered Rongbuk Glacier.
+This glacier appeared to be about 8 or 9 miles long, starting
+immediately below an immense circle of cliffs which formed the North
+face of Mount Everest. We found afterwards that there were several other
+side glaciers that joined in it, which were even larger and longer than
+the centre glacier. After some steep scrambles up the moraine-covered
+glacier and on to a high terrace on the West side of it, we found
+Mallory and Bullock with their coolies encamped in a pleasantly
+sheltered spot with plenty of water close at hand and commanding the
+most magnificent views of Mount Everest, which here seemed to be only
+about 6 miles away and towered up above the glacier, showing immense
+cliffs 10,000 feet high. Mallory and Bullock were hard at work training
+the coolies in snow and ice work and exploring all the different
+glaciers from that side. They were, however, much handicapped by there
+only being two of them, which made the work more strenuous. After
+spending the day with them, Heron and I returned to our camp in the
+evening. The evening light on Mount Everest was wonderfully beautiful.
+The weather seems nearly always to clear up about sunset, and its summit
+then usually towers far above the clouds in a clear sky. At dusk several
+of the Lamas came for medicines of different kinds, which we gave them,
+and much to our surprise in the morning they presented us with a number
+of fresh eggs in gratitude. Having seen Mallory and Bullock well
+established in this valley, our next most important duty seemed to be to
+select a site for our next base camp. Some place on the East side of
+Mount Everest would have to be chosen, and it seemed that somewhere in
+the Kharta Valley would be the most likely spot. Heron and I therefore
+determined that we would make a quick reconnaissance of that district
+before returning to Tingri. On the following day we moved down from the
+Rongbuk Monastery.
+
+
+
+
+                                 CHAPTER V
+
+                           THE SEARCH FOR KHARTA
+
+
+After leaving Mallory and Bullock to continue the search for a possible
+route up Mount Everest from the Rongbuk side, Heron and I, on July 5,
+started off down the Rongbuk Valley in order to visit Kharta. We had
+been told that it was only two days' easy march from the monastery to
+get there. It was a cold morning when we started off; there had been a
+sharp frost during the night and the sun did not reach us till late in
+the morning. Mount Everest stood out at the head of the valley
+wonderfully clear and clothed with a fresh mantle of white. Instead of
+crossing over the river by the bridge, at Choebu, we kept straight on
+down the valley till we came to Choedzong, where were the first barley
+fields and cultivation. There was plenty of water here for irrigation
+purposes, and some fine grassy fields on which many ponies were grazing.
+We had to change our transport in this village and get fresh animals, so
+that it was not till three o'clock in the afternoon that we got started
+again. In Tibet they have a system of stages, and animals from one
+village are taken, as a rule, for one stage only. As each stage usually
+ends at the next village, and as villages are frequent, this is a most
+awkward and inconvenient arrangement--as it necessitates three or four
+changes a day. In order to avoid these constant changes, we used to
+persuade the villagers by promises of extra baksheesh, especially where
+we had a large number of animals, to undertake two or three stages.
+After leaving Choedzong we climbed up over a steep pass 1,200 feet above
+the valley and found a still deeper descent to the village of Halung,
+which lay at our feet. Here we waited for our transport, but as this
+did not arrive till dark, we decided to camp there, though we had only
+done 18 miles from Rongbuk; the yak travels very slowly. We were now
+again at 14,800 feet and found a much warmer climate, with green barley
+fields and here and there patches of yellow mustard. A large rhubarb
+with a curious crinkled leaf grew here and there in the fields. We tried
+to eat this rhubarb; it had an unpleasant taste, but this disappeared
+when it was cooked and it proved a welcome addition to our diet. The
+Tibetans do not use it for food, as sugar--without which it would be
+uneatable--is scarce and expensive in the country. The plant serves,
+however, as an acid for dyes.
+
+Halung is a very prosperous-looking village with well-built houses. The
+villagers soon had three tents pitched for us on a grassy field between
+the village and the river; cushions, cooking pots and fuel were also
+brought out for us. Here we camped for the night in reasonable comfort.
+On the following morning the loads were all carried by hand across a
+fragile bridge over the glacier stream, while the yaks and the ponies
+were driven across it. We then rode for a mile down the green and
+well-watered valley, and afterwards turned up into another valley where
+every flat space was green with barley-fields intermixed with brilliant
+patches of yellow from the fields of mustard. A small glacier stream fed
+this valley and supplied plenty of water for irrigation. After passing
+several small villages we rode across a spur also covered with
+barley-fields to Rebu, where we had to change our transport. This was
+quite a picturesque village situated on a rocky knoll, part of the
+village being on one side and part on the other of the river. Along the
+various irrigation canals were wild flowers of all kinds. Monkshood grew
+there, also black and yellow clematis, rhubarb, ranunculus and primulas
+of different kinds. By ten o'clock our transport was changed and we were
+given ponies instead of yaks: they travel much quicker and we had
+apparently a long way to go yet before we could reach the next village.
+We were expecting all the time to get to Kharta that evening, but where
+distances are concerned all Tibetans are liars, and after doing 26 miles
+we stopped, Kharta being apparently as far off as ever. After leaving
+Rebu the path led for some miles up an uninteresting valley, in which
+limestone cliffs on one side and sandstone cliffs on the other came down
+almost to the stream, the waters of which, in contrast to the muddy
+glacier streams that we had been meeting the whole time, were as clear
+as crystal. There were many small birds along the banks, all of them
+wonderfully tame; these, when we were resting for lunch, hopped all
+round us and under our legs, carrying off crumbs or any morsels of food.
+We now climbed up on to a pass called the Doya La, 17,000 feet, from the
+top of which were fine views of great rocky peaks on either side, those
+on the South being covered in parts with hanging glaciers. About a
+quarter of a mile from the top of the pass we struck some granite soil
+on which grew an extraordinary variety of Alpine flowers; the blue poppy
+abounded, pink, yellow and white saxifrages covered all the rocks, and
+besides these were many other plants which I had not seen before and
+which were quite new to me. The range which we now crossed acts as a
+barrier against the approach of the Monsoon clouds and prevents them
+from passing over into Tibet. Over on the North side the country is
+mostly dry and very little grows there, whereas on the South there is a
+rich and varied vegetation and the air feels soft and moist. The road
+from the pass led by an easy descent into a fine valley with a green
+lake lying at its head under the dark cliffs of some bold rocky peaks.
+We followed this valley for many miles, a strong head wind blowing
+against us the whole of the time, and found ourselves before long once
+more among the junipers and willows. We also saw pink and white
+rhododendrons, and in places a small yellow one with waxy blossoms. The
+yellow rock cistus, spiraeas, roses, yellow primulas, blue monkshood,
+campanulas, blue anemones, and hundreds of other wild flowers formed a
+rich flora which showed that a considerable precipitation from the
+Monsoon fell in this valley.
+
+At last we came to a village, but every one fled at our approach, and we
+could get no information about the route. A little further on we came
+across more villages, in one of which, with much difficulty and after a
+long chase, we captured a man and made him guide us to the village of
+Chulungphu, where we decided to stop the night. After a little time we
+induced some of the villagers to come out from their hiding-places, and
+to produce tents and fuel for us. The camp was pitched in a field of
+sweet-scented primulas near the village. The architecture of these
+houses was quite different from what we had met before--they all appear
+to be strongly fortified, as they have practically no windows and there
+are only small loopholes facing outwards. They are all built of a brown
+stone--a kind of gneiss, and have sods on the parapet over which are
+laid branches of juniper. The next morning we woke to the sound of
+pattering rain and found all the hills wreathed in grey mist. This was
+their first rain this year, so the inhabitants told us. It was pleasant
+to one's skin after the dry climate and biting winds that we had been
+experiencing on the other side of the passes to feel oneself wrapped in
+a softer and milder air. We rode down this valley for about 6 miles
+until it debouched into the main Arun Valley. The people, however, do
+not know it by this name here, but call it still the Bhong-chu until it
+reaches Nepal. We passed villages all the way, villages brown in colour
+and built of a brown gneiss, around which grew fields of barley and
+mustard. After the barren valleys which we had left, these appeared very
+fertile; rose and currant bushes surrounded every field, while the
+hillsides were covered with juniper and willows. Along the path grew
+spiraeas and clematis, while beside every watercourse were yellow marsh
+marigolds and primulas. A feature of the Arun Valley, which was fairly
+wide here, was the old terraces on its slopes, now all covered with
+barley, pea and mustard fields, the latter being a blaze of yellow.
+There were many villages here and some pleasant country houses
+surrounded by groves of willows and poplars. Down here the people were
+not quite so frightened of us as they were in the valley from which we
+had just come, where they had run away from us whenever we approached.
+The Bong-chu here is a large river with a very great flow of water, and
+quite unfordable. The nearest place where it could be crossed is at a
+rope bridge some 18 miles higher up, and during the rainy season this
+bridge is impassable, and communication with the other side completely
+cut off. To the South and close by, at a height of 12,000 feet, the
+Bhong-chu enters a terrific gorge on either side of which tower up great
+cliffs with snowy peaks high above them. On some of the slopes which are
+not quite so steep there are thick forests of fir trees and
+rhododendrons where, I was told, the muskdeer lived. After descending
+the valley for 3 miles, we turned up a side valley pointing Westwards.
+Down this flowed a very large and unfordable glacial stream. This
+evidently came down from the neighbourhood of Mount Everest, but local
+information as to its source was very vague, and it was evident that we
+should have to prospect for ourselves. Some 3 miles up this valley we
+came to a place called by the natives Kharta Shika, where the Governor
+of the Kharta District resides. Kharta was not apparently a village at
+all, but a district including a number of small villages. We halted a
+short distance below Kharta Shika and presently the Governor came out to
+meet us with a present of sweetmeats and the usual scarf. He apologised
+for not meeting us before, as he said that he had no information as to
+the date of our arrival. He begged that we would come over to his garden
+where he had ordered a fine Chinese tent to be pitched for us. We
+crossed the river by a wooden bridge, and after going through the
+village came to the Governor's house. Crossing through the courtyard we
+entered his garden, which lay in a nice sheltered spot surrounded by
+willow trees with a stream of clear water running through it. Big wild
+roses grew there and a few European flowers that he had planted, while
+under a very ancient poplar there was a large painted prayer wheel, some
+8 feet high, which was turned by a stream of water. Here in his garden
+he provided us with a meal of excellent macaroni and a very hot chilli
+salad. It was very pleasant to rest the eyes on the luscious green of
+the well irrigated garden, and to be for once sheltered from the wind.
+During the night we were awakened by a regular shower bath. The Chinese
+tent, beautiful as it was in outward appearance, was sadly lacking in
+waterproof qualities. As it rained steadily most of the night, we had to
+take cover under our mackintoshes on which were pools of water in the
+morning. There seemed to be no doubt that the proper Monsoon had at last
+broken, and the Jongpen himself told us that this was the first really
+heavy rain that they had had. All the people considered that we had
+brought this rain with us and were very grateful in consequence; later
+on, when we left, they begged us not to stop the rain, as they wanted it
+badly for their crops.
+
+As it cleared up a little about nine o'clock in the morning, though the
+hills were still all in cloud, we rode out with Chheten Wangdi, the
+Jongpen and Hopaphema, who was the largest landowner about here, to look
+out for a site for our next base camp. We wanted, if possible, to get a
+house that could be used as a store-room and also for photographic
+purposes. We rode down into the main valley, and after looking over
+several houses, we eventually selected one on an old river terrace with
+fine views all around and standing quite by itself well away from any
+village. The water supply was good and handy, and there was a pleasant
+garden of poplars and willows, in which we could pitch our tents. After
+a certain amount of bargaining, the owners were willing to let us have
+the house and the garden for the large rent of one trangka (31/2_d._) a
+day. It was apparently the first time anyone in that valley had ever
+wanted to rent a house, and there were no house agents there to run one
+up into exorbitant prices. We then rode on to Hopaphema's house, which
+was a fine solidly built dwelling surrounded by large juniper trees,
+willows and poplars. Later on we got to know this man very well, and
+used to call him always the "Sergeant," as he was supposed to do any
+recruiting for the Tibetan army that was needed in that valley. He had a
+very kindly disposition, was always very hospitable, and had a great
+sense of humour. He had a tent pitched for our reception under a very
+old poplar with a grass plot in front surrounded by bushes of wild red
+roses. Here we were given tea, milk and beer, and then the usual
+macaroni and mince was produced. On leaving, he insisted on my taking
+away a large quantity of turnip leaves, as he knew I was very fond of
+green food, and they made an excellent "spinach." The Tibetans that we
+met have invariably proved very kindly and hospitable.
+
+On returning to Kharta, where I had left Heron, I found that it had been
+raining all the time, though in the main valley we had had it quite
+fine. In the evening I took a walk up to an old fort not far from our
+camp. This fort in old days had commanded the only path from here that
+led into Nepal, but now it had all fallen into ruin. Close by it,
+however, was a delightful dell full of hoary willow trees, underneath
+which the ground was carpeted with yellow primulas growing among the
+bushes of scarlet roses. Near by were two old poplar trees, whose trunks
+measured between 20 and 30 feet in circumference and were evidently of a
+very great age. The primulas everywhere were really astonishing. They
+outlined every watercourse with yellow and often grew between 2 and 3
+feet high with enormous heads of sweet cowslip-scented yellow flowers.
+It rained again during the whole of the night, and the fine spray that
+came through the Chinese tent made sleep rather difficult. The next
+morning we started to go back to Tingri, and for the first day's march
+were given coolies for our transport. In this district coolies are used
+a great deal as all the trade with Nepal has to be carried on by them,
+the paths over the passes being quite impassable for pack transport;
+the Jongpen told us that we would find them quite as fast as ponies.
+
+To-day's march was to Lumeh--a distance of about 17 miles--and the
+coolies arrived very soon after we did, having come along
+extraordinarily well. Our route for the first 3 miles was down the
+Kharta Valley until it joined the valley of the Bhong-chu; we then
+followed the right bank of this for some 10 miles. On the way we stopped
+at the house of Hopaphema, who insisted on giving us a meal of milk,
+macaroni and mince, although it was only just over an hour since we had
+had breakfast. On our departure he gave us a basket of eggs and some
+more turnip leaves to take along with us, and altogether showed himself
+a most friendly and hospitable host. At first we rode through fields of
+barley, peas and mustard for several miles, the valley then became much
+more barren and the path occasionally was taken high up on the face of a
+cliff, where the river swept round close beneath the mountain side. At
+other times we crossed broad stony terraces. We came eventually to the
+village of Dak, where the monks from the monastery had pitched tents for
+us and had another meal provided for us. Coolies had to be changed here,
+our old coolies arriving while we were having our meal; after the loads
+had been transferred, our new transport proceeded along to Lumeh, where
+we intended to spend the night. The path after Dak was in places
+dangerous owing to falling stones, and our guide every now and then
+urged us to hurry, as owing to the heavy rain of the preceding night
+many stones had been loosened. The main Bhong-chu suddenly turned off to
+the East from here, unexpectedly forcing a passage through a very
+curious and deep gorge, where it burst its way through the highest
+mountains. We did not, however, follow the valley of the Bhong-chu, but
+kept on up what appeared to be the main valley; this was really only the
+valley of the Lower Rongbuk that in its lower portion is called the
+Dzakar-chu. This river we crossed by a wooden bridge, built on the
+cantilever principle, and which a couple of months later was washed
+away. After riding for a couple of miles over a nice grassy turf we came
+to Lumeh. Here was a very fine country house around which were grouped a
+few smaller houses. This was the residence of Ngawangyonten, who was
+managing the district for the big monastery at Shekar Dzong, whose
+property it was. He had tents already pitched for us, and fuel, milk and
+eggs already prepared. Around this house were five of the largest poplar
+trees that I have ever seen. The largest was almost 40 feet in
+circumference at the base, and the others were all between 20 and 25
+feet in circumference. The villagers told us that they thought these
+trees had been planted about 500 years ago. Magpies and hoopoes were
+very common in this valley--the former were quite tame and allowed us to
+approach very close. The barley-fields seemed to hold many hares. Some
+fine crops of wheat as well as barley were grown here, although the
+height was 12,800 feet. Every night now we had heavy rain which brought
+fresh snow down to 16,000 feet. As the clouds remained low all day we
+seldom got any distant views.
+
+The march to Pulme, our next point up the valley of the Dzakar-chu, was
+22 miles, a very dull and uninteresting ride. The going was bad--we
+often had to follow the bed of the river, which was now in flood and
+extended to the cliffs on both sides--at other times we kept high up on
+the steep sides of a gorge, sometimes of gneiss, sometimes of limestone
+rock. In places where the valley widened out, the river bed was full of
+bushes of tamarisk and sea buckthorn, but otherwise the vegetation was
+scanty. After going 15 miles we were to change coolies; but the Lumeh
+coolies, who were extremely poor and very different from those that we
+had taken from Kharta, took eleven hours to cover the 15 miles, and did
+not arrive till six in the evening. Much to Heron's disgust, I proposed
+to push on to Pulme, late as it was; but the road was good, and we
+trotted the 7 miles in an hour and a half, though the coolies and the
+donkeys did not arrive till well after dark. Fortunately we found tents
+as usual pitched for our reception. We had originally intended to ford
+the Dzakar-chu that evening and camp on the far side, but it was too
+dangerous to do it in the dark, though the villagers told us that by
+morning the stream would be a couple of feet higher. The river is a
+great obstacle at this time of the year, as there is no bridge over it
+here, the next bridge being at Choebu, 20 miles higher up the valley.
+
+The following day I started on my return journey to Tingri, leaving at
+5.30 in the morning with Chheten Wangdi. I succeeded in fording the
+Dzakar-chu, which was deep and very swift. My pony was swept off his
+legs once and I got very wet, the icy cold water coming right over the
+saddle.
+
+Heron and the coolies were to follow on slowly and were to take two days
+in reaching Tingri, but I was anxious to get back, having been away
+already longer than I intended. Four miles away, at Tashi Dzom, I
+changed ponies and procured a guide who was to take me on to Tingri,
+leaving Chheten Wangdi behind with Heron. This guide proved quite an
+amusing fellow, and suddenly surprised me by counting in English one,
+two, three, four, and then saying "Right turn" and "Left turn," and
+other military words of command. On inquiring where he had learned this
+English, I found that at one time he had served as a soldier at Lhasa,
+where the military words of command are in English, and these were the
+only English words that he knew. After leaving Tashi Dzom we turned up
+into a broad side valley with villages every half-mile and surrounded by
+barley, mustard and pea fields. What was, however, especially noticeable
+about all these valleys that we had been passing through for the last
+two days, was the extraordinary number of ruined villages that there
+were everywhere. This was not due to lack of water, for there was plenty
+of water in all the streams; these valleys, however, must have at one
+time been very thickly inhabited, and it is probable that the dearth of
+population to-day is due to the wars with the Gurkhas in the eighteenth
+century. We had a very wet ride--one storm after another overtook us,
+and a cold rain fell heavily all the way to Tingri. We gradually
+ascended out of the cultivation and crossing a low pass, about 16,000
+feet, looked down again on the great Tingri Plain. There was still,
+however, a long way to go, and it was not till after five o'clock in the
+evening that I reached Tingri, drenched to the skin. It had been a ride
+of between 36 and 40 miles.
+
+At Tingri I found Wollaston and Morshead. The former had been very busy
+all the time I had been away in collecting insects, butterflies, rats,
+mice, birds and flowers, and had amassed quite a number of specimens.
+Morshead had been out a good deal with his surveyors to the North and to
+the West, but had been driven in by the bad weather of the last few
+days. This had apparently been general and we might say that the rainy
+season this year had begun on July 7, which the Tibetans considered very
+late for those parts. The following afternoon Heron arrived, and my kit
+also, which I was very glad to get, as I had only had a spare tent to
+roll around me the previous night.
+
+The next day or two was spent mostly in reading letters and newspapers.
+Our postal arrangements were at first rather complicated, there being no
+regular postal service to the provinces in Tibet. We had, therefore, to
+make an arrangement with each Jongpen to forward on our mail. Phari was
+the last post office, and the postmaster there had to arrange with the
+Phari Jongpen for a messenger every week to go with our posts to Khamba
+Dzong; we had left money with him for the purpose of paying the postman.
+At Khamba Dzong we had arranged with the Jongpen there that he should
+forward our letters to Tinki, and at Tinki we had made further
+arrangements for them to be sent on to Shekar Dzong and from Shekar
+Dzong they were to be sent to Tingri. We had left money for this purpose
+with the various Jongpens, and each Jongpen as he received the mail bag
+was to affix his seal on it and send it on as quickly as he could to the
+next Jongpen. This system worked very well for the first two months,
+but after we had moved to Kharta, partly owing to floods, and partly
+perhaps to the laziness of the Shekar Jongpen, our mails were all held
+up and we eventually had to send coolies back from our camp to Phari to
+bring them along. The best plan another time would be to take with the
+Expedition a certain number of coolies to be used purely for going
+backwards and forwards with the mails. On July 13 Morshead and Wollaston
+left to go to Nyenyam in response to a cordial invitation from the
+Jongpen, asking that some of the Expedition should visit the place. We
+were glad to accept, and this should be a very interesting part of the
+country botanically.
+
+
+
+
+                                CHAPTER VI
+
+                            THE MOVE TO KHARTA
+
+
+I had arrived back at Tingri on July 11, and remained there in the
+Chinese rest-house until July 24, when I started to move the base camp
+and all the stores round to Kharta. During the time I was not left
+always alone, for Heron came in occasionally for a night between his
+various geological expeditions to the North. Wheeler also came down for
+a change and a rest, and to develop the photographs that he had taken.
+He had been having a very trying and provoking time in the high camps,
+as the weather had been bad, with frequent snowfalls. Nearly every day
+he climbed up to a spur 20,000 feet or more in height, yet in spite of
+waiting all day there in the icy cold winds or driving snow, it was but
+seldom that he was able to get a photograph, and then the clouds would
+only lift for a few minutes.
+
+There was always plenty to do at Tingri, so the time passed quickly.
+Much photographic work had to be done and much developing and printing
+of the many photographs that were being sent in by the various members
+of the party. Supplies had also to be sent out and arrangements made for
+the comforts of the climbing party in the Rongbuk Valley. There were
+also several expeditions to be made round Tingri, and these were full of
+interest. Anemometers were very popular in this district; they were
+fixed by the Tibetans above small prayer wheels, and owing to the
+constant winds, it was seldom that the prayer wheels were not revolving.
+Many yaks' horns, carved all over with prayers, were lying about on the
+different Chortens or Mani walls. The barley, which was only just coming
+up when we arrived, was now 18 inches high and coming into ear, and
+though we were over 14,000 feet, the crops looked very healthy and
+even. Every evening during this period we had heavy storms of rain with
+much lightning and thunder, and fresh snow used to fall during the night
+as low as 15,000 feet, but most of it melted again during the day.
+During this period the plains round Tingri were rapidly becoming marshes
+and the rivers quite unfordable. The storms always gathered to the North
+of us, along the Sipri limestone ridge, and the high mountain chain that
+formed the watershed between the Brahmaputra and the Bhong-chu. These
+storms generally worked down towards the South. Occasionally fine days
+came to us when there was a strong South wind to blow the rain back, and
+it was seldom that the Monsoon clouds brought rain directly to us from
+the South. The Sipri range was a very conspicuous limestone range to the
+North of us, the limestone being worn into the most curious shapes. It
+was looked upon by the Tibetans as being a holy mountain, and on its
+slopes were many small monasteries. Hermits also took up their abode in
+the limestone caves below the summit. Pilgrims used to come from great
+distances to make the circuit of the mountain. This took generally five
+days, and much merit was acquired by doing so.
+
+On July 17 I made an excursion out to the Hot Springs at Tsamda, about 7
+miles away to the North-west across the plain. The valley of the
+Bhong-chu narrows there for a few miles before opening out again into
+the wide Sutso Plain. There were two or three hot springs here, but only
+one large one, and this was enclosed by walls within which were little
+stone huts in which people could change their clothes. The water was
+just the right temperature for a nice hot bath. When I went there, there
+was one man bathing and also washing his clothes in it. The Tibetans
+said, however, that this was not the proper season for bathing. The
+autumn was the correct time for them to have their annual bath before
+the winter sets in. The water was saline and had, I think, a little iron
+in it, but was not very unpleasant to the taste. The rocks from which it
+gushes out are very extraordinary, the strata forming a very steep
+arch, on the top of which there is a crack, from the very end of which,
+and at its lowest point, the springs came bubbling out. Near by in the
+valley there were also a good many saline deposits. In one of the
+smaller springs there were a number of little pink worm-like animals
+that were swimming about and clinging with their mouths to the sides of
+the rock. Riding back to Tingri by a different way across the plain, I
+saw a number of kiang and a few goa, but they were very wild and would
+not allow us to approach to within 500 yards. I also passed three of the
+handsome black-necked cranes. The way across the plain was rather boggy,
+and we had some difficulty in finding it. When I got back I found that
+Heron had come in for a couple of nights, and the following day Wheeler
+too joined us, having walked in from Nezogu, the bridge over the Kyetrak
+River. He was anxious to develop some photographs, and as the weather
+was very bad, he could do no good by remaining in his high camp.
+
+On July 20 we had very brilliant flashes of lightning, followed by a
+heavy storm of rain during the night. This was too much for the flat
+earth roof of the rest-house, and the water poured into all our rooms,
+causing us to move our beds many times during the night in search of a
+dry spot. I started off early in the morning as I had intended to climb
+the hills to the East of Tingri, but the rain that had fallen at Tingri
+had meant a heavy fall of snow on the mountains and the snow had fallen
+as low down as 15,000 feet. We passed several goa on the way, but they
+were too shy to allow us to get a shot, also some kiang, which were very
+tame, and showed up well in the snow. As we got higher, the snow became
+about 4 inches deep, but was melting rapidly. The glare and the heat
+were intense. I saw a good many flocks of burhel, but no very large
+heads. The views as I followed the crests of the hills were extremely
+fine; on the North I looked down into the valley of the Bhong-chu, which
+was in flood and had filled the whole of the bottom of the valley with
+water, and on the other side I looked over the Tingri Plain to the great
+range of snow peaks which finally ended in the mighty mass of
+Gosainthan. The weather had been very hot and oppressive all day, and as
+usual in the evening we had another very severe thunderstorm with heavy
+rain all through the night. The following day was more like an English
+November day--cold and grey with drizzling rain--and with the snow on
+the hills down to 15,000 feet. I bought a Tibetan pony during the
+morning for the large sum of L7. It was a bay, an excellent ambler, and
+very surefooted. The Tibetan name by which he was known was
+Dug-dra-kyang-po, which means "The bay pony like a dragon."
+
+[Illustration: MILITARY GOVERNOR, HIS WIFE AND MOTHER.]
+
+I went over to have lunch with the Depon's representative. His family
+were all dressed up very smartly for the occasion, the women folk
+wearing their best head-dresses of turquoises, coral and pearls. He gave
+us rice and raisins as an _hors d'[oe]uvre_, and an _entree_ of junket,
+followed by some pickled turnips, which I thought very nasty, after
+which we had the usual macaroni and mince. He had been very friendly and
+kindly to us the whole time that we were at Tingri, and had always
+supplied us with everything we asked for. On July 22 we saw a very fine
+solar halo with well-marked rings of yellow, brown, green and white, but
+the rain continued steadily nearly all the time. The day before we were
+to leave Tingri I sent away my orderly, together with two coolies who
+had been sick, and whom the doctor had recommended that we should send
+back to Darjeeling. They were given sufficient food to take them back to
+Darjeeling and an extra fifteen days' pay, the orderly also being given
+a horse to ride. Towards evening the weather improved and we had some
+lovely views of Mount Everest and that great group of snow peaks of
+which Cho-Uyo is the highest. They all looked very white under their new
+coating of snow, which lies thickly down to 16,000 feet.
+
+On July 24 we eventually got off from Tingri; the last few days had been
+spent in packing up and re-arranging all the stores. There was the
+usual talking, shouting and arguing, but all the loads were eventually
+packed on to the animals, or loaded on to the backs of the coolies by
+nine o'clock. We then took a last farewell of the Depon's
+representative, who was very sorry to see us go, and who had done so
+much to make our stay pleasant there.
+
+The first march was to Nezogu, where there was a bridge over the
+Kyetrak; this was about 19 miles, partly across the Tingri Plain and
+then over a tiresome moraine. While crossing the moraine, I shot a goa
+which had quite a good head. Wheeler had accompanied me, as he had left
+his camp at the bridge, and on arrival there we found his tents all
+pitched and his cook waiting ready to receive us. Our own kit did not
+arrive till it was getting dark, when the weather looked very ominous.
+Rain fell steadily most of the night, and just before dawn this turned
+to snow, so that when we woke up there were a couple of inches of fresh
+snow on the ground. As it was still snowing steadily, we were in no
+great hurry to start, and did not get off until nine o'clock. The
+weather than gradually improved and the fresh snow soon melted, though
+the ground was left in a very boggy condition. The march to Choebu was
+about 15 miles over the easy Lamna Pass. Knowing the way, I climbed on
+to a ridge to the South, where I had a fine view again of Mount Everest
+and the Rongbuk Valley. We pitched our camp on the far side of the
+Rongbuk River, our loads being carried across the frail bridge by the
+villagers, and our ponies being swum across. Here Mallory and Bullock
+joined us. They had been experiencing latterly very bad weather in the
+Upper Rongbuk Valley, and constant heavy falls of snow had seriously
+hindered their reconnaissance work. Their coolies, too, were getting
+rather tired and stale from remaining at such heights for a considerable
+time, and were badly in want of a rest. I had therefore arranged for
+them to meet me here and to accompany me round to Kharta, from which
+place they could then explore the Eastern approaches of Mount Everest.
+During the night I suffered much from inflammation of the eyes, due to
+the snow that had fallen the day before. They were so painful as to make
+sleep quite impossible. I was not, however, the only one to suffer, as
+Chheten Wangdi, the interpreter, Acchu, the cook, and several of the
+coolies that were with me were all suffering from the same complaint in
+the morning. Though the sun had not been shining and the day had been
+misty, the glare from the new snow had been very much more powerful than
+anything we had expected and taught us a lesson that whenever there was
+the slightest fall of snow, we should always wear our snow goggles. From
+Choebu we marched to Rebu--a distance of about 15 miles. Knowing the way,
+I took Mallory and Bullock by the upper road over a pass to Halung; from
+the top of this pass we branched off on to a spur where there was a very
+fine view of Mount Everest and the mountains to the North and North-east
+of it. There had been so much fresh snow everywhere that it was often
+very difficult to recognize the peaks, but Mount Everest from this side
+looked as impossible as ever with the great black bands of perpendicular
+cliffs that seemed to encircle it.
+
+The day was actually fine and the march was a pleasant one through a
+fertile valley full of fields of barley, mustard and peas. The wild
+flowers all round Rebu were still very beautiful. Our camp was pitched
+on a grassy spot on the bank of a rushing stream and close to the
+village of Rebu.
+
+The following morning the weather was again fine, and as the yaks were
+all ready for us, we were started by 7.30 a.m. This start was quite
+amusing; we ourselves had first to cross a flooded stream over which
+there was a very wobbly stone bridge. With much excitement and noise the
+yaks were then driven across the stream, but the current was too strong
+for the bullocks, which had to be unloaded and their loads carried over.
+While this was being done, the bridge collapsed, and a good lady and a
+bullock that were trying to get over by the bridge all fell into the
+water together. There was then a terrible excitement and mix-up, every
+one shouting and screaming, but they both scrambled safely to the shore,
+and beyond a wetting, no one was any the worse. We then took the road
+that I had travelled three weeks before over the Doya La. Knowing that
+there was a good view to be got from the top of the pass, I hurried
+ahead and climbed a rocky hill, 17,700 feet, close to the pass, where I
+saw a wonderful scene. Range upon range of snowy mountains extended
+right away to Kanchenjunga, and the course of the Arun could be traced
+wandering down through Nepal, while to the South towered up the great
+walls of Makalu. Mount Everest itself I could not see, as there were a
+good many clouds about, but to the South-west were some fine snow and
+rock peaks of which I took several photographs. I then basked in the sun
+for a couple of hours and enjoyed the view. The wild flowers on the top
+of the pass were delightful; I found three different kinds of gentians
+and the blue poppies were as numerous as ever. The primulas, however,
+had many of them already gone to seed, but the saxifrages still covered
+the rocks, and it was a delight to wander along and note the different
+varieties. Riding on to Chulungphu, we found tents pitched for us and
+fuel and milk all ready. In place of the primulas the ground was now
+carpeted with gentians. From here to Kharta the march was only a short
+one, but we thoroughly enjoyed riding along between the bushes of wild
+rose or juniper. The former were no longer in blossom, but there were
+many other new varieties of flowers appearing. I rode on ahead to the
+spot that I had chosen, three weeks previously, for our new base camp,
+and I found that Hopaphema had already pitched some tents for us. He had
+also prepared a meal for us and made every arrangement for our comfort.
+Our camp was pitched under the willows and poplar trees in the garden,
+and it was pleasant to hear the rustle of the leaves in the wind once
+more. We were now at a height of only 12,300 feet, and the change in
+altitude was a very great relief to the climbing party and the coolies
+who had come down from the high camps. There were also plenty of green
+vegetables to be got here, and the coolies appreciated the change
+enormously. Just below us flowed the Arun, now a majestic river over a
+hundred yards wide. A mile lower down in its course it entered into the
+great gorges in which within a space of 20 miles it dropped from 12,000
+feet to 7,500 feet, a drop of over 200 feet in the mile. From our camp
+we used to watch the Monsoon clouds come up every day through the gorge
+in thin wisps, but every day they melted away always at the same spot;
+and though rain fell heavily a mile below us, yet with us the sun shone
+brightly, and it was rare for any rain to reach us. Twenty miles away to
+the North again were heavy clouds and storms, and rain fell there daily,
+so that we seemed to be living in a dry zone between the two storm
+systems. The forests of fir and birch trees came up to the limit of the
+rainfall and then ceased suddenly where the rain stopped a mile below
+us. At this point the Kharta River formed a sharp dividing line between
+the wet and dry zones.
+
+The next day was spent in settling down, arranging all our stores and
+making a new dark room in the house we had rented. The climate here was
+delicious and a great change from Tingri. The temperature in my tent
+used to go up to 75 deg. Fahr. during the day.
+
+The day after we arrived the Jongpen came down to pay an official call
+and brought a welcome present of a hundred eggs and five animals laden
+with fuel. He apologised for not coming the day before, but said he had
+been very busy trying a murder case where eighteen people had been
+poisoned by a family that had a feud with them, the poison used being
+aconite, with which they were evidently quite familiar. He told us that
+our coolies could collect fuel anywhere on the right bank of the Kharta
+River, but begged that we would not collect it anywhere near where we
+were living, as the villagers would object.
+
+On July 30 I started off to explore a neighbouring pass and valley
+which looked interesting. Mallory and Bullock were having a few days'
+rest before starting off again, and so they remained in camp. Riding a
+few miles up the Kharta Valley, I crossed the river by a bridge at the
+first village, and then had a very steep and stony climb of nearly 3,000
+feet to the Samchung Pass, 15,000 feet. As we approached the pass, and
+entered a moister climate, the vegetation increased rapidly. On these
+slopes there were rhododendrons 5 feet high, mountain ash, birch,
+willows, spiraeas and juniper. At the top of the pass there was not much
+of a view, but prowling round I came across some very fine saussuraeas
+with their great white woolly heads and a wonderful meconopsis of a deep
+claret colour that I had never seen before. There were fifteen to twenty
+flowers on each stem, and it grew from 2 to 3 feet high. Eight varieties
+of gentians also grew in the same valley, and a quantity of other
+attractive Alpine plants. From the pass we descended about 500 feet into
+a delightful high level glen full of small lakes, evidently once upon a
+time formed by glaciers which must have filled the whole of the valley.
+I counted fourteen lakes in this valley, two or three of them being
+nearly half a mile long, and all of them of different colours varying
+from a turquoise blue to green and black. For some miles we rode and
+walked up the valley. The road consisted of big loose stones, often with
+water flowing underneath them, and usually with big holes in between, so
+that our ponies were lucky in not breaking their legs. There was then a
+steep climb which brought us on to a second pass, the Chog La, 16,100
+feet, close to which were three small glaciers. Across the top of the
+pass there was a wall built many years ago as a second line of defence
+against the Gurkhas, the first line being on the top of the Popti Pass.
+Unfortunately the clouds now came up, and it began to rain, so that we
+had no view into the Kama Valley, though later on I was to make the
+acquaintance of this most charming valley. For an hour and a half I
+sheltered behind the wall, but as the clouds did not lift I returned
+towards Kharta. As we descended into the valley again the glimpses of
+the lakes seen between the mists reminded me much of the upper lakes at
+Killarney. There were the same ferns, willows, birch and rhododendrons,
+and much the same moist atmosphere.
+
+[Illustration: THE DZONGPEN OF KHARTA AND HIS WIFE.]
+
+Next day, with Bullock, I went to pay an official visit to the Jongpen
+at Kharta Shiga. He had made great preparations to receive us, and had
+put up a large tent in which Chinese carpets and tables were set out
+with pots of flowers arranged all round. Soon after our arrival we were
+given a most copious meal: bowl after bowl of well cooked macaroni and
+mince with pickled radishes and chillies were set before us. After we
+had finished this meal, I induced the Jongpen and his young wife to be
+photographed. She had a most elaborate head-dress of coral and pearls,
+with masses of false hair on either side of her head. It was not
+becoming. Barely had we finished taking the photograph when another meal
+was put in front of us: this time it consisted of Tibetan dumplings and
+mince patties, of which I gave the Jongpen's little dog the greater part
+surreptitiously; I then hurried off before I should be compelled to eat
+a third meal.
+
+On August 2 Mallory and Bullock started off with thirty-two coolies to
+explore the Eastern approaches to Mount Everest. It had been very hard
+to get any information about Mount Everest. The people knew the mountain
+by name, but told us that the only way to get near it was by crossing
+over the ridge to the South of the Kharta Valley, when we should find a
+big valley that would lead right up to Chomolungma. Where the Kharta
+River came from they could not tell me, and whether it took its source
+from the snows of Mount Everest they did not know. Tibetans' ignorance
+of any valleys outside their own was really extraordinary. I could
+seldom get any definite information about places outside their valley,
+and on asking two or three people, they would invariably give
+contradictory answers. It was the same as regards distance. They would
+tell you a place was one, two or three days' march away, but for
+shorter distances they had no time-table, and the nearest approach to
+this was a measurement by cups of tea. I remember one day asking a
+village yokel how far off the next village was, and he surprised me by
+answering, "Three cups of tea." Several times afterwards I got the
+answer to a question about distance given me in cups of tea, and I
+eventually worked out that three cups of tea was the equivalent of about
+5 miles, and was after that able to use this as a basis for measurements
+of distances.
+
+Two or three hours after Mallory and Bullock had gone, Wollaston and
+Morshead arrived from their trip to Nyenyam. They had had bad weather
+the whole time. Here, too, the weather remained overcast and
+threatening, with a strong South wind, the mountains remaining covered
+in clouds above 16,000 feet. To the South of us rain fell steadily all
+day, but the rain did not come up as far as our camp. One afternoon
+Morshead, Wollaston and I went over to have tea with our hospitable
+Zemindar Hopaphema about a mile away from us. On this occasion he gave
+us pods of fresh peas and the red hips and haws of the wild rose as a
+kind of _hors d'[oe]uvre_, followed by a junket served with pea flour.
+Then came bowls of hot milk with macaroni and minced meat, seasoned with
+chillies, together with potatoes and a kind of fungus that grew in the
+woods. After this meal, from which we suffered no ill effects, for our
+stomachs were getting accustomed to queer foods, he produced an old
+painted musical instrument with two sounding boards, on which he played
+and sang at the same time some old Tibetan love songs. Some of these had
+quite a catching and plaintive melody. He showed us also some Tibetan
+dances. Our interpreter, unfortunately, refused to give us a literal
+translation of some of the love songs, though he seemed very amused at
+them.
+
+Another afternoon I rode with Wollaston some 5 miles up the Kharta
+Valley to the Gandenchoefel Monastery. This was situated in a
+delightfully sheltered spot surrounded by poplars and ancient gnarled
+juniper trees of great size. On arrival we were shown into a
+picturesque courtyard, the walls of which were covered with paintings
+depicting scenes from the life of Buddha. Cushions and tables had been
+arranged for our reception and placed on a verandah where, on arrival,
+we were given cups of tea and hot milk. The Head Lama presently came out
+and after taking some tea with us, proceeded to show us round his
+temple. This was a curious building, square in shape, and surmounted by
+a cupola. It was very solidly built of stone and was, they
+told us, about 500 years old. It was founded by a saint called
+Jetsun-Nga-Wang-Choefel, who after a great flood which swept down the
+valley, destroying all the houses in it, had taken a large frog (which
+animal is believed to represent the Water God) and buried it under the
+centre pillar of the temple. With great reverence they showed us the
+spot under which this unfortunate frog had been immured in the centre of
+the shrine. This immolation of the frog had apparently not been
+completely efficacious in preventing the floods as two other floods had
+subsequently occurred, and two small Chortens had been erected to make
+quite certain that the frog could not get out again and cause more
+floods. The interior of the temple was very dark in spite of numerous
+butter lamps. As our eyes gradually became accustomed to the dim light,
+we made out three figures of Buddha--a large one in the centre and
+smaller ones on either side. On the pillars were figures of the saint
+who had founded the monastery. In this temple were also represented some
+Indian saints, but these were shown as dark figures, very black and very
+ugly. Tibetans always despise the Indian and they therefore represent
+him as quite black and with the ugliest features imaginable. Around the
+shrine were twelve great plaster figures--about 12 feet to 15 feet in
+height--the guardians of the shrine, figures monstrously ugly, and
+evidently made so in order to frighten away the evil-doer. Outside the
+sanctuary there was a curious passage in the thickness of the walls
+leading all round the building, in which were stencilled and painted
+curious representations of Buddha. In one of the side rooms there was a
+huge prayer wheel, which rang a bell every time it was turned; it
+contained, the priests told us, many million prayers. After visiting the
+shrine, I took a photograph of the monks with their long trumpets, their
+bejewelled clarionets and their drums. After our tour of inspection we
+were given further refreshment in the way of macaroni and meat in a
+small secluded garden where the monks used to walk reading the
+Scriptures and meditating.
+
+On another day Wollaston and I made an excursion down to the gorges of
+the Arun. We first rode up the Kharta Valley, crossing the river by the
+first bridge, and then following the right bank of the river as far as
+we could go. After riding only a short way, we entered into a country
+and a scenery where we might have been a hundred miles away from Tibet.
+The change was extraordinarily sudden--a dense forest covered the
+hillsides, mostly of fir (_Abies Webbiana_) and birch, many of them fine
+old trees. The undergrowth consisted of rhododendrons, 8 feet to 10 feet
+in height and extremely difficult to get through. Besides these there
+were many larch and willow trees growing on the hillside, together with
+many new and delightful flowers. We went on until we were brought up by
+a series of perpendicular cliffs that descended 700 feet sheer down to
+the river below us. It was a grand sight from here to see the mighty
+Bhong-chu or Arun River, narrowed now to one-third of its former width,
+forcing its way in a series of rapids through these stupendous gorges
+covered with woods wherever the precipices allowed a tree to grow and
+with trees dipping their branches far below us in the flooded waters of
+the river. On the opposite side of the gorge we saw a small track
+wandering along the cliffs; the inhabitants told us it was impossible to
+get across the river lower down at this time of the year until you reach
+Lungdoe, where there was a bridge some 20 miles lower down. Kharta now
+remained the base headquarters of the Expedition until it was time to
+return to India in October, and all the expeditions that we made up the
+Kharta Valley, or into the Kama Valley, were made from Kharta. The
+Jongpen there and Hopaphema did everything they could to assist us by
+giving us coolies and arranging for supplies to be sent up to the
+various camps.
+
+[Illustration: LAMAS OF KHARTA MONASTERY.]
+
+
+
+
+                                CHAPTER VII
+
+                              THE KAMA VALLEY
+
+
+We had not been able to gather much information locally about Mount
+Everest. A few of the shepherds said that they had heard that there was
+a great mountain in the next valley to the South, but they could not
+tell us whether the Kharta River came from this great mountain. The
+easiest way to get to this valley, they told us, was by crossing the
+Shao La, or the Langma La, both of which passes were to the South of the
+Kharta Valley, and, they said, led into this new valley. They called
+this valley the Kama Valley, and little did we realise at the time that
+in it we were going to find one of the most beautiful valleys in the
+world. Mallory and Bullock had already left Kharta on August 2 to
+explore this route, which we thought would lead us to the Eastern face
+of Mount Everest. As Wollaston and Morshead had now arrived at Kharta,
+there was nothing to prevent my following the others and learning
+something about the geography of the country. Eleven mule-loads of
+rations, consisting of flour, potatoes, sugar and rations for the
+surveyors, had just arrived; there was therefore now no cause for me to
+worry about shortage of supplies. These had been sent off from Yatung on
+June 15, but had only arrived at Kharta on August 2. Learning that I was
+about to start off, Hopaphema, the old Zemindar, hurriedly came round
+with a large basket full of spinach, potatoes, and turnips, which he
+insisted on my taking with me.
+
+[Illustration: MAKALU from 21,500 foot peak on ridge south of Kama-chu.]
+
+On August 5, taking with me Chheten Wangdi and a dozen coolies, I
+started off in the tracks of Mallory and Bullock. For the first few
+miles we travelled up the Kharta Valley, through rich fields of barley,
+by far the best that I had seen so far in Tibet. The crops were very
+even and everywhere quite 3 feet in height. The valley was thickly
+inhabited, containing villages nearly every mile, and many monasteries,
+some of which were surrounded by fine old gnarled juniper trees. Our
+local coolies made very poor progress, taking six hours to cover the
+first 6 miles, as they stopped at every village for a drink. After
+passing the last village, there was a steep climb of 1,000 feet. Here
+our coolies were very anxious to stop and spend the night, but I pushed
+on ahead, and they came on behind very slowly and reluctantly. Seeing
+that it was impossible to get over the Langma La, I stopped at the limit
+of firewood and camped at a height of 16,100 feet. Poo, who was acting
+as my cook, had forgotten to bring any matches with him, and I watched
+him with much interest lighting a fire of damp rhododendron bushes with
+the flint and tinder that he always carried. The day had been clear and
+very warm; and on the way up we had had some fine views of the great
+snowy peaks on the Eastern side of the Arun River. The villagers had
+told us that this pass was impossible for ponies, and I accordingly left
+mine behind at Kharta, though we found out that ponies could quite well
+have crossed the pass. Opposite our camp was a peak of black rock with a
+glacier just below it. During the night there was a little rain and the
+morning was unfortunately cloudy. As our coolies had informed us that
+there were three passes to be crossed in the next march, I had them all
+started off by 5.30 a.m., after which I left with my coolies, Ang Tenze
+and Nyima Tendu, who always accompanied me carrying a rifle, a shot-gun
+and three cameras of different sizes. Above the camp there was a steep
+climb of 1,000 feet on to a broad, rocky shelf in which was a pretty
+turquoise-blue lake. This was followed by another steep climb of 500
+feet on to another great shelf, after which a further climb of 500 feet
+brought us to the top of the Langma La, 18,000 feet. The three steps up
+to this pass were evidently the three passes that the coolies had told
+us about, as from the top we looked down into the next valley. All the
+coolies who were carrying loads complained of headaches, due no doubt
+to the steep climb and the high elevation of the pass. To the East there
+was a curious view looking over the Arun towards some high snow peaks.
+Clouds were lying in patches everywhere on the hillsides, as the air was
+saturated with moisture. To the West our gaze encountered a most
+wonderful amphitheatre of peaks and glaciers. Three great glaciers
+almost met in the deep green valley that lay at our feet. One of these
+glaciers evidently came down from Mount Everest, the second from the
+beautiful cliffs of Chomoloenzo, the Northern peak of Makalu, of which we
+unfortunately could only get occasional and partial glimpses, an ice or
+rock cliff peeping out of the clouds every now and then at incredible
+heights above us. The third glacier came from Kama Changri, a fine peak
+to the North of the Kama Valley which later on we climbed. The clouds
+kept mostly at a height of about 22,000 feet, and prevented us from
+seeing the tops of the mountains. After waiting for an hour at the top
+of the pass in hopes of the clouds lifting, I started the descent,
+catching on the way a very pretty Marmot rat, with huge eyes and ears
+for his size, and a pretty bluish grey fur. Meeting shortly afterwards
+some of Mallory and Bullock's coolies, I gave this animal to them to
+take back to Wollaston. We now descended through grassy uplands for
+nearly 3,000 feet, past another beautiful blue lake called Shurim Tso,
+and came to a curious long and narrow terrace about 1,000 feet above the
+bottom of the valley. Here there was a tent belonging to some yak herds;
+and as wood and water were plentiful I determined to stop and spend the
+night with them. They called the place Tangsham. It was certainly a most
+glorious place for a camp, for it overlooked three great valleys and
+glaciers. Opposite us, on the other side of the valley, were the immense
+cliffs of Chomoloenzo, which towered up to nearly 26,000 feet, while
+Mount Everest and its great ridges filled up the head of the valley. I
+spent the whole afternoon lying among the rhododendrons at 15,000 feet,
+and admiring the beautiful glimpses of these mighty peaks revealed by
+occasional breaks among the fleecy clouds. The shepherds were able to
+give me much information about the district, which proved very useful to
+us afterwards. They come up here every year for a few months in the
+summer and in the winter cross over to the valley of the Bong-chu.
+
+[Illustration: MAKALU AND CHOMOLOeNZO.]
+
+After a slight frost during the night, we had one of the few really
+perfect days that fell to our lot in the Kama Valley. As soon as I had
+finished breakfast I climbed up 1,000 feet behind the camp; opposite me
+were the wonderful white cliffs of Chomoloenzo and Makalu, which dropped
+almost sheer for 11,000 feet into the valley below. Close at hand were
+precipices of black rock on which, in the dark hollows, nestled a few
+dirty glaciers. Mount Everest being some way further off, did not appear
+nearly as imposing. Our object now was to get as close to it as
+possible; we therefore descended into the valley, a steep drop of nearly
+1,000 feet, through luxuriant vegetation. A very beautiful blue primula
+was just beginning to come out. This Wollaston had already discovered a
+fortnight before near Lapchi-Kang. We then crossed the Rabkar Chu, a
+stream which came out of the Rabkar Glacier, by a very rickety bridge
+over which the water was washing. Beyond this was a very fertile plain
+covered with rhododendrons, juniper, willow and mountain ash. On it were
+a couple of small huts which were occupied by some yak herds. From here
+we had to follow along the edge of the Kang-do-shung Glacier which,
+coming down from Chomoloenzo, plunges across the valley until it strikes
+against the rocks of the opposite side. Between the glacier and these
+cliffs was an old water-course up which we travelled, but
+stones kept frequently falling from the cliffs above and the passage was
+somewhat dangerous. This had evidently been the old channel of the
+stream that has its source in the glaciers of Mount Everest, but owing
+to the advance of the Kang-do-shung Glacier, is now compelled to find
+its way through this glacier and hurls itself into a great ice cavern in
+it. Opposite this ice cavern we had a steep climb for 500 feet, and
+found ourselves among pleasant grassy meadows, after a few miles of
+which we came to a place called Pethang Ringmo, where we found some yak
+herds living. We found that Mallory and Bullock had chosen this place to
+be their base camp. It was a most delightfully sunny spot at 16,400
+feet, right under the gigantic and marvellously beautiful cliffs of
+Chomoloenzo, now all powdered over with the fresh snow of the night
+before and only separated from us by the Kangshung Glacier, here about a
+mile wide. Great avalanches thunder down its sides all the day long with
+a terrifying sound. Everest from here is seen to fill up the head of the
+valley with a most formidable circle of cliffs overhung by hanging
+glaciers, but it is not nearly such a beautiful or striking mountain as
+Makalu or Chomoloenzo. The shepherds would insist that Makalu was the
+higher of the two mountains, and would not believe us when we said that
+Mount Everest was the higher. Next morning was foggy, but there was a
+glimpse of blue sky behind the mists, so after breakfast I hurried up
+the valley, intending to climb a ridge exactly opposite to Mount Everest
+which I had marked down the night before. After walking for an hour up
+the valley in a thick fog, by luck I struck the right ridge, which
+proved a very steep climb. Glimpses of blue sky and white peaks,
+however, gave us hopes of better views higher up. It took me two and a
+half hours to climb 3,000 feet, which at last brought me above the
+mists. The top of the ridge was 19,500 feet high, and from it we had
+most superb views. Mount Everest was only 3 or 4 miles away from us.
+From it to the South-east swept a huge amphitheatre of mighty peaks
+culminating in a new and unsurveyed peak, 28,100 feet in height, to
+which we gave the name of Lhotse, which in Tibetan means the South Peak.
+From this side the mountain appeared quite unclimbable, as the cliffs
+were all topped with hanging glaciers, from which great masses of ice
+came thundering down into the valley below all the day long. Between
+Mount Everest and Makalu, on the watershed between Tibet and Nepal,
+there stands up a very curious conical peak, to which we gave the name
+of Pethangtse. On either side of it are two very steep, but not very
+high, passes into Nepal; both of them are, however, probably
+unclimbable. To the South-east towered up the immense cliffs of Makalu,
+far the more beautiful mountain of the two. The whole morning I spent on
+this ridge, taking photographs whenever opportunity offered. The clouds
+kept coming up and melting away again and were most annoying, but they
+occasionally afforded us the most beautiful glimpses and peeps of the
+snow and rock peaks by which we were surrounded. At a height of over
+19,000 feet, I had a great chase after a new kind of rat; but it finally
+eluded me, and I was not able to add it to our already large collection.
+Even at these heights I found both yellow and white saxifrages and a
+blue gentian. From the top of this ridge I had been able to see
+Kanchenjunga and Jannu, though nearly 100 miles away, but their summits
+stood up out of the great sea of clouds which covered Nepal.
+
+[Illustration: CLIFFS OF CHOMOLOeNZO from camp at Pethang Ringmo.]
+
+On returning to camp in the afternoon, I found that Mallory and Bullock
+were there. They had climbed a snow peak on the North side of the Kama
+Valley, about 21,500 feet, and from this view point had been unable to
+discover a possible route up Mount Everest on the Eastern face; they
+thought, however, that there might be an alternative approach from the
+next valley to the North. They therefore intended returning to the
+Kharta Valley to follow that river to its source.
+
+Next morning was cloudy, and neither Everest nor Makalu were to be seen;
+but towards the East the view was clear, though the mountains appeared
+to be much too close. We started all together down the valley. On the
+way I climbed 1,000 feet up among the rocks opposite to the big glacier
+that descends from Chomoloenzo. I failed, however, to get the good view
+of Makalu which I had been hoping for, owing to the clouds, and returned
+to my old camping ground at Tangsham, Mallory and Bullock branching off
+from here towards the Langma La. The shepherds had told us that there
+was another pass into the Kharta Valley called the Shao La, rather more
+to the South. I therefore intended to make use of this pass on the
+return journey to Kharta. As usual, in the evening, the clouds came up
+and enveloped us in a thick mist. Every night this happened in the Kama
+Valley, and was evidently due to the excessive moisture of the air. When
+we started the following morning, there was still a thick Scotch mist
+which made the vegetation very wet. We descended the Kama Valley, most
+of the time keeping high up above the river. On the opposite side of the
+valley were immense black cliffs descending sheer for many thousand
+feet. On the way we passed through acres of blue iris, mostly over now,
+and then through a very luxuriant vegetation which grew more and more
+varied as we descended lower. There was a lovely emerald-green lake
+beside the path, and like white sentinels on the hillsides grew the
+great rhubarb of Sikkim, the _Rheum nobile_. This was a most conspicuous
+plant with columns of the palest green leaves sheathing the flower
+spikes which grew fully 5 feet in height. There were several other
+varieties of rhubarb here, but none were as handsome as this. At one
+place we descended as low as 13,000 feet and came once more amongst
+dense forests of juniper, silver firs (_Abies Webbiana_), mountain ash,
+willow, birch and tall rhododendrons. From every tree hung long grey
+lichens attesting the moisture of the climate. Wherever there was an
+open space in the forest, it was carpeted with flowers. Two delightful
+varieties of primula were new to me, and were just coming out, one of
+them being almost black in colour. The big deep red meconopsis grew
+here, too, in great luxuriance. Gentians of all kinds abounded and many
+other varieties of flowers and ferns, due to the fact that Makalu seems
+to attract all the storms, causing the moist Monsoon currents to be
+drawn into this valley. As the day went on, the weather improved; the
+sun came out, and the clouds melted away, disclosing the magnificent
+peaks of Makalu. A big glacier descended from the East face from a side
+valley into the floor of the valley below us at a height of about 12,000
+feet. It was very curious to see fir trees, birch and juniper, and a
+very luxuriant vegetation growing on either side of the ice and on the
+moraines beside it.
+
+[Illustration: THE KAMA VALLEY.]
+
+Below this glacier the valley became quite flat with grassy meadows and
+patches of forest dotted about the pastures--a very unusual type of
+valley for the Himalayas. Almost opposite to this glacier we turned into
+a side valley; the path and the stream that came down this valley were
+often indistinguishable. All round the valley were great black cliffs;
+in one place where they were less precipitous the path found its way
+upwards. Our camp was pitched that night on a shelf above the cliffs
+where for a short time we had some very wonderful views. This place was
+called in Tibetan "The Field of Marigolds," though at the time we were
+there they were all over. We were at a height of 15,300 feet, and
+Makalu's two peaks were almost exactly opposite to us. The cloud effects
+were very striking; the storms seemed to gather round Makalu, and first
+one peak and then the other would appear out of the great white cumulus
+clouds whose shapes changed every minute. As usual, the mists came up in
+the evening, and we were enveloped in a very wet Scotch mist with a
+temperature of 46 deg. Fahr. Next morning, instead of getting the lovely
+view that we had expected, a thick Scotch mist prevented our seeing more
+than 20 yards away. We crawled up to the top of the Shao La, 16,500
+feet, in driving rain, but after crossing over it we emerged into finer
+weather. On the descent we passed several fine lakes, on the cliffs
+above which were numerous ram chakor (Himalayan snowcock). I pursued a
+covey of these, and after a chase managed to shoot one. They are very
+fine birds, weighing between 5 and 6 lb.; they are extremely noisy and
+fond of their own voices. The parent birds are always very loth to leave
+their young, and early in the summer it is possible to approach very
+close to them; but later on in the year, when the young have become
+nearly full grown, they are very wily, and having excellent eyesight,
+do not allow anyone to approach within a couple of hundred yards. That
+afternoon I arrived back at Kharta, where the weather had been quite
+fine, and where there had been but little rain during my absence.
+
+During that night a thief broke into our store-room, forcing and
+breaking the lock outside. The only thing he took, as far as we could
+find out, was one of Wheeler's yak-dans (a leather mule trunk). The
+thief had probably mistaken this one for one of mine, which contained a
+considerable amount of money, and knowing that I was away, he thought
+that my kit must be packed away in the store-room. We informed the
+Jongpen and the head-men of the villages around of the theft, and had a
+couple of suspicious characters watched; but we never found any trace of
+the stolen articles, which luckily were of very small value. For the
+next fortnight I remained at Kharta.
+
+On August 19 Heron suddenly arrived back after a very interesting trip,
+during which he had explored all the mountains North of Tingri and
+Shekar Dzong up to the Brahmaputra watershed. He had had very bad
+weather all the time. Every night there had been heavy thunderstorms and
+practically all the bad weather had come from the North. The whole
+country was under water, and it was very difficult to get about. Some of
+the rivers that we had crossed earlier in the season were now a mile or
+more wide.
+
+On the following day Bullock and Mallory returned to Kharta after having
+explored the Upper Kharta Valley. They thought that they had found a
+possible way up Mount Everest from this valley, but at present the
+weather was too bad for them to carry on with their reconnaissance, and
+they had come down for a fortnight's rest, hoping that the Monsoon would
+be over by the beginning of September and that they would then be able
+to make a proper attack on the mountain. As Mallory and Bullock were
+likely to be at Kharta for some time, Wollaston and I seized this
+opportunity to visit the lower valley of the Kama-chu.
+
+Therefore, on August 23, with eleven of our own coolies and several
+Tibetan coolies, we climbed the Samchung Pass (15,000 feet), and then
+descended into the valley of the fourteen lakes, and after crossing the
+Chog La camped on the far side of the pass near a dark green and sacred
+lake called Ruddamlamtso. On the way we saw a new species of black rat
+in the moraine of a glacier; but Wollaston's servant, who had the
+collecting gun with him, was unfortunately far behind; he was always
+rather fond of drink and loth to leave the villages. The weather was
+cloudy, and there were no views from the top of either pass. The march
+was a strenuous one, taking the coolies thirteen hours to cover the
+whole distance, and they did not arrive till after dark. The
+Ruddamlamtso, the lake by which we were camped, had wonderfully clear
+water; I could see every stone at a depth of 20 feet, and it was
+evidently very deep. It is looked upon as a sacred lake, and to it
+people make yearly pilgrimages, walking round it burning incense and
+throwing spices into its waters.
+
+The following morning the clouds were low down everywhere on the
+hillsides and we had no views. There was a steep descent for 4 miles to
+Sakeding--12,100 feet, through the most interesting zones of vegetation.
+We followed the edge of the rushing stream, always white from the
+rapidity of its descent. On one side of the valley grew rhododendrons of
+many varieties and mountain ash, and on the other were hoary old
+junipers with twisted stems. Grey lichens hung down from every branch,
+and were often 5 or 6 feet in length. We came across some of the finest
+and largest red currants that we had yet seen. Of these we collected a
+great quantity, and they formed a very excellent stew. Birches, wild
+roses and berberis were the commonest shrubs, while nearly every rock
+was covered with an extremely pretty rose-coloured creeper, which in
+places caused the hillsides to look quite pink. Earlier in the year the
+iris must have been a very beautiful sight, as we passed through acres
+of their leaves. A big yellow rock-rose with flowers 2 inches across
+was also to be met with here, and many of the lower leaves of the
+rhododendrons were turning yellow to scarlet, making a great show of
+colour on the dark green of the hillside. Deep purple-coloured primulas
+and monkshood, as well as a curious hairy mauve-red monkshood with a
+very graceful growth, were also to be seen. The pretty white-crested
+red-start flitted about from rock to rock, and numerous tits of various
+kinds flew about in flocks from tree to tree as we descended.
+
+Sakeding (Pleasant terrace) had been at one time a village of
+considerable size, but a pestilence sent by the local demon had wiped
+out all its inhabitants. This demon was still reputed to be very active,
+and no one had dared to re-build the old houses of which the ruins,
+overgrown with weeds and bushes, could be seen here and there. It was a
+very pleasant site for a village, situated as it was on a terrace that
+projected out into the valley 1,000 feet above the stream below. During
+the summer months there is quite a trade passing through this place, the
+Tibetans bringing salt from the North, and the Nepalese coming up from
+Nepal with rice, dyes and vegetables, which they exchange. The rate of
+barter at this time was two measures of rice or three measures of madder
+dye for one measure of salt, and no money changes hands. Everything that
+was brought here was brought on the backs of coolies, and these Nepalese
+coolies were sturdy, cheery fellows, and thought nothing of carrying 80
+lb. of salt on their backs up and down the execrable paths of the
+district.
+
+From Sakeding we descended steeply through a forest of the finest
+juniper trees that I had yet seen. These grew 80 to 90 feet high, and
+many of their trunks were 18 feet to 20 feet in circumference. As a rule
+they had clean stems, without a branch for 50 feet or 60 feet. The
+branches were all hung with grey lichens. We now descended beside the
+muddy and tempestuous waters of the Kama-chu. The juniper forest
+gradually gave way to silver firs--wonderful trees of enormous size and
+great age. We passed through many open glades, park-like in appearance,
+with grand clumps of fir trees or sycamore dotted here and there. The
+hillsides were absolutely running over with water, and often for several
+hundred yards we walked along logs put down to try and avoid the mud and
+the running water. As many of these rounded logs were very slippery,
+both we and our coolies had to proceed with caution, and even so we
+experienced many a fall. At Chu-tronu--10,200 feet--there was a
+well-made wooden bridge, 60 feet long, which spanned the river where it
+flowed in a narrow channel between two great rocks. We crossed this
+bridge, and finding a broad open space there, I selected a spot suitable
+for our camp and ordered the coolies to cut down some of the grass where
+we intended to pitch the tents. I could not at first make out why they
+kept jumping about when thus engaged, but on going to investigate, I
+found that the place was alive with leeches; however, as there was no
+other better place in which to camp, we had to make the best of it. The
+men collected some dry bamboos out of an old shepherd's hut which was
+close by; these they burnt on the sites where we were to pitch our
+tents, hoping by this means to drive away the leeches. This method,
+however, was not very successful, for all that evening we were busy
+picking leeches off our clothes, legs, hands or heads. They climbed up
+the sides of the tents and dropped down into our food, our cups and on
+to our plates. Wollaston invented the best way of killing them, which
+was by cutting them in two with a pair of scissors. Our interpreter
+remonstrated with him, as he said this method increased the number of
+leeches, thinking that both ends of them would grow. After a somewhat
+restless and disturbed night, due to these leeches, we started off next
+morning to go down to the junction of the Kama River with the Arun. The
+distance as the crow flies was only about 6 miles, but we did not
+realise the kind of path that we should have to traverse. In that short
+distance we must have risen and fallen quite 5,000 feet. The path was
+never level and always very rough and stony. At first it led through
+beautiful glades running with moisture and over logs buried, most of
+them, inches deep in the water; they were, however, better to walk on
+than the soft mud there was on either side. The silver firs were now at
+their best--trees over 100 feet in height, and with stems 20 feet to 25
+feet in circumference. Here grew great hydrangeas 20 feet or more in
+height covered with flowers. Our only halts on the way down, and they
+were pretty frequent, were to pick off the leeches from our clothes. We
+took them off by tens at a time; they were very hungry, and varied in
+size from great striped horse-leeches to tiny ones as thin as a pin and
+able to penetrate anywhere. The track now left the upper terraces and
+descended very steeply towards the river, at times climbing sharply
+upwards again to avoid precipitous rocks and cliffs. During the descent,
+we gradually passed from the zone of the silver firs into that of the
+spruce, meeting the lovely _Picea Brunoniana_, which grew to an even
+greater size than the silver firs. Many of the trees were over 150 feet
+in height and without a branch for 70 feet or 80 feet; their stems too,
+were often 25 feet to 30 feet in circumference. This valley is so
+inaccessible that I am glad to think that these glorious forests can
+never be exploited commercially. After passing a great overhanging rock
+called Korabak, which is evidently much used as a halting-place, we
+descended steeply to the river, which now forms a series of cascades,
+leaping from rock to rock, a very remarkable spectacle. During the last
+6 miles of its course, this river--the product of four large glacier
+streams--descends at the rate of 450 feet every mile. In places there
+were waterfalls of 20 feet and more, where the river hurled itself into
+seething cauldrons; in one place I saw it confined to a breadth of
+barely 5 feet. The junction of this river with the Arun is only 7,500
+feet above the sea; just above the junction is a bridge which leads to
+the village of Kimonanga, a picturesque village situated on a terrace
+some 700 feet above the river and surrounded by some fine trees. In this
+valley we came across a few blue pines (_Pinus excelsa_) and also a
+large-leafed alder; near its junction with the Arun were many trees and
+orchids of a semi-tropical character. On the opposite side of the valley
+is a forest of evergreen oak trees, but as I was unable to cross the
+river I could not say to what species they belonged. On the way we
+passed many yellow raspberries on which we slaked our thirst. Our guide
+also dug up some of the roots of the wild arum to show us; it is a great
+flattish tuberous root, rather oval in shape. This the inhabitants dig
+up and, after allowing it to ferment by burying it in a hole for several
+days, pound it up, and then eat it; it was much esteemed by the
+villagers. It is necessary to ferment it first, as otherwise the root is
+extremely poisonous. We tasted a slice of bread made out of this root,
+and I have seldom tasted anything nastier. It is supposed, if not
+properly fermented, to cause all the hair to fall out of the head; but I
+should be inclined to imagine that it would do this even if it were
+properly fermented. Near the junction of the Kama and Arun Rivers, we
+climbed up on to a terrace 1,200 feet above, on which was situated the
+village of Lungdoe. The great Arun gorges here become a considerable
+valley; for 20 miles above this point up to Kharta the Arun runs through
+a narrow and practically impassable gorge, but here the valley widens
+out for a few miles and contains several villages; a short distance
+below it enters again into another great gorge. The river now was in
+full flood and covered the whole of the bottom of the valley, being in
+places many hundred yards in width. At one spot, where it contracted,
+there was a well-made bridge leading to the village of Matsang. I was
+astonished to meet with maize growing at this height--8,700 feet. The
+villagers also grew cucumbers, pumpkins and several kinds of millet,
+including an extremely pretty red one. The head-man of Lungdoe gave me
+some millet beer, which was very refreshing after the long march.
+Wollaston did not care for it, but between us we managed to eat three
+large and juicy cucumbers. The head-man was very friendly; and a local
+official was staying here who had just come from Kharta, who recognised
+us, and presented us with some excellent honey cakes. We neither of us
+looked forward to the uphill return journey, but after five and a half
+hours' hard walking I reached camp just before dark. Wollaston did not
+arrive till later, and I had to send a coolie with a lamp to bring him
+in. We were both of us much exhausted, as the day had been a long and
+trying one. That night we had a grand camp fire of rhododendron and fir
+logs. Hundreds of moths insisted on flying into the fire instead of
+entering the tent where Wollaston was ready with his cyanide bottle to
+catch them.
+
+The following morning the weather was dull and cloudy, and did not look
+very promising. We determined, however, to visit the Popti La, the pass
+between Tibet and Nepal, over which all the local traffic passes.
+Leaving the camp, we entered a small side valley to the South, the path
+climbing steeply upwards under big rhododendrons (_R. Falconeri_ and _R.
+Argenteum_) with leaves 18 inches long. Noticing many of their leaves
+strewn on the path, I inquired the reason for this. Our guide informed
+us that the carriers fastened these leaves together with thin strips of
+bamboo and thus provided an excellent waterproof cover for themselves
+and for their loads. After climbing about a mile, we saw some bamboo
+huts in the forest and a number of cows were grazing round them. These
+belonged to some Nepalese herds who come over here in the summer,
+bringing their cattle to graze. The path now followed the side of a
+rushing torrent, peaty brown in colour, which came hurrying down under
+the shade of birch, sycamore, silver firs, juniper and rhododendrons. As
+we ascended higher, the open spaces became more frequent, though the
+grass and weeds grew fully 3 feet in height, attesting the constant
+rainfall of this district. On leaving the path to collect a few seeds
+from some plants growing a short distance away from it, I found myself
+in a few moments covered with leeches which apparently thrive here at an
+altitude of over 12,000 feet; this must be almost a record height for
+these pests. The path climbed up steeply, the rhododendrons growing
+gradually smaller in size as we ascended. After going for four hours, we
+reached the top of the pass--14,000 feet. Here on the top was a stone
+half hidden in a pile of rocks with a notice, written in Chinese
+characters, that this was the boundary between Tibet and Nepal. Across
+the top of the pass was a long wall, mostly overgrown with grass,
+evidently at one time considered to be some kind of defence. Owing to
+the clouds being very low, we unfortunately had no view from the top,
+but just below us, on the Nepalese side, was a fine black lake, about
+half a mile long, with an island in the centre, which the Nepalese
+called Dungepokri. On the top were many interesting Alpine flowers,
+amongst them a charming white potentilla with a red centre; and a large
+cream-coloured primula, shading into deep orange. We also came across
+several new varieties of gentians. Here we rested for a couple of hours,
+hoping that the clouds might lift, but a nasty rain began to fall
+heavily. While we were waiting several coolies from Nepal passed by:
+from these we found out that the pass was closed by snow for five months
+in the year and that the trade market at Sakeding was closed by the end
+of October. We now turned our footsteps homeward, urged on by cold
+showers of rain. On the descent we were able to collect a few seeds.
+Autumn was approaching, though the trees had not yet begun to assume
+their autumn colours owing to the warm nights. That evening in the camp
+we had an enormous bonfire of birch, juniper and rhododendrons, which
+made the prettiest blaze imaginable, with flames of green, blue, violet
+and orange. The large fire also helped to keep away the leeches. Heavy
+rain fell again all night, and the thermometer did not descend below 55 deg.
+Fahr. The morning, however, broke fine, and we started back again up the
+valley to Sakeding. The sun shone every now and then, giving us
+occasional glimpses of distant glaciers at the head of the valley. The
+walk through the forest, with the sunlight shining on the dark green
+leaves of the rhododendron and the dripping foliage, was very
+delightful. The undergrowth consisted of wild roses, berberis with its
+necklaces of scarlet berries, wild currants of a great size--sour to the
+taste, but excellent when stewed--wild raspberries, light feathery
+bamboos, birch, willow and a most luxuriant vegetation of flowers and
+grasses. In one or two places the mountain ash were just beginning to
+show traces of colour. We soon left the leeches behind us and followed
+our old track through the forest beside the rushing waters of the
+Kama-chu. Enormous rocks which had fallen from above had in places
+almost blocked up the river. Often on these great boulders in the middle
+of the stream were growing the graceful Himalayan larch. On the steepest
+rock faces grew vegetation of every kind, thanks to the excessive
+moisture of the climate, and from every tree and from every bush hung
+long and picturesque lichens. Crested tits and bullfinches lived in
+great numbers in this forest and gave it quite a homelike appearance.
+The climb from the river had been a steep one, and we pitched our camp
+at Sakeding in a downpour of rain, but towards the evening the weather
+cleared up, allowing us fine views of great snow peaks which showed
+above the mists on the opposite sides of the valley. It was too far to
+go from Sakeding to Kharta in one day; we therefore decided to camp
+before crossing the Chog La. We passed our old camp by the green lake
+Ruddamlamtso, and I had a long chase after some ram chakor, but they
+were too clever for me and ran up the hill faster than I could follow
+them. The large moraines which converged in this valley were specially
+interesting, and threw much light on its past history. Each moraine had
+its own long line of boulders formed of different kinds of rock,
+according to the character of the mountains from which they had been
+carried down by the ice. It was not difficult to imagine the vast
+glaciers by which these lines of boulders had been deposited; glaciers
+which must at one time have completely blocked the valley and the
+disappearance of which has made room for the chain of lakes which now
+occupy the valley. We pitched our camp at a place called
+Mendalongkyo--15,500 feet--in a pleasantly sheltered spot where a
+gurgling stream disappeared under an old moraine. In the afternoon
+Wollaston went out after rats, of which he secured a new variety. Our
+coolies had a great chase after a fat marmot, which they very nearly
+caught, but he got down into his hole just in time. Around the camp were
+quantities of a very beautiful pale blue gentian--a regular Eton blue
+colour. Wandering up the spur North-west of the camp I counted nine
+lakes in the next valley and four lakes in the one that we were in; as
+the rain began to fall again, I returned to camp.
+
+The next morning, August 29, we began our homeward journey to Kharta.
+Getting up early, we climbed on to the high ridge North-west of the
+camp, from which we had a fair view; but unfortunately both Makalu and
+Mount Everest were hidden by clouds. We waited for a long time in hopes
+of a better view, but the clouds only grew thicker. We therefore
+followed the ridge above the Chog La. On the way I shot a Tibetan snow
+partridge (_Lerwa nivicola_), an extremely pretty bird with lovely
+markings. This was the first I had seen.
+
+We now turned our backs upon the Kama Valley with much regret. We had
+explored many of these Himalayan valleys, but none seemed to me to be
+comparable with this, either for the beauty of its Alpine scenery, or
+for its wonderful vegetation. We shall not easily forget the smiling
+pastures carpeted with gentians and every variety of Alpine flower that
+rise to the very verge of icebound and snow-covered tracks, where mighty
+glaciers descend among the forests which clothe the lower slopes.
+
+After crossing the Chog La, we went down once more into the valley of
+the lakes and then, crossing the Samchung La, descended to Kharta which
+we found bathed in sunshine.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER VIII
+
+             THE UPPER KHARTA VALLEY AND THE 20,000 FOOT CAMP
+
+
+During the early part of August Mallory and Bullock, after they had
+found that there was no possible means of attacking Mount Everest from
+the Kama Valley, crossed the Langma La and returned to the Kharta
+Valley. Up this valley they now proceeded until they reached the
+glaciers in which the Kharta River has its source. After exploring a
+number of valleys, they at last found one which led straight to Mount
+Everest. Accompanied by Major Morshead, who had joined them during their
+excursion, they made a long and tiring reconnaissance of this valley,
+and satisfied themselves that it afforded a practicable approach to the
+North-eastern ridge of Mount Everest. The slopes were fairly gentle, but
+were at that time covered with soft fresh snow, knee deep. Over these
+snow-covered glaciers, up which they had proceeded with great
+difficulty, they found a col from which it was possible to attack the
+mountain. Under the existing conditions of soft snow and warm weather it
+would have been quite impossible to take laden coolies along this route,
+and they therefore returned to Kharta to wait until the monsoon
+conditions had abated and the snow should have become hard and frozen.
+
+On our return from the Kama Valley on August 29, we found Mallory and
+Bullock still at Kharta, waiting for the weather to improve. About this
+time it was showing distinct signs of improvement. The clouds were not
+so thick and there were many more bright intervals with blue skies. They
+therefore determined to start off on August 31, to form an advanced base
+camp up the Kharta Valley.
+
+On September 1, much to the surprise of every one, Raeburn arrived back
+from Darjeeling. He reported very wet conditions throughout Tibet, the
+rivers everywhere being unfordable, and most of the bridges washed away.
+He also reported having seen five bags of our mails at Chushar. Our
+posts had latterly been very erratic, and for five weeks no mails had
+arrived. We did not know what had happened to them. We were sending in a
+couple of our own coolies every fortnight to Phari with our outgoing
+mail, and the first lot of these coolies had not yet returned, so that
+we were all without news of the outside world. Although it was the
+beginning of September, the night temperatures at Kharta were still much
+too high, ranging from 52 deg. Fahr. to 47 deg. Fahr. On September 3 Morshead
+and Wheeler left for the Upper Kharta Valley, intending to go slowly and
+to map and fill in the detail of the valley as they went along.
+
+The tameness of the birds gave us many opportunities of studying their
+habits. A large family of redstarts lived in our garden at Kharta, and
+used to amuse me very much. The young birds were now fully fledged and
+spent most of the day in hopping in and out of my tent; they were not in
+the least degree afraid, and the mother would come and feed them
+actually inside my tent. On the terrace near the camp there were a
+number of prettily marked white rock pigeons which formed a welcome
+addition to our diet of Tibetan mutton, of which we were getting very
+tired.
+
+On September 5 Wollaston, Raeburn and I, with twenty-six Tibetan
+coolies, and eleven of our own, started off to join the climbing party
+up the Kharta Valley. The first 7 miles of this valley I knew well,
+having traversed them many times before. The barley fields were now fast
+ripening, and were a beautiful golden colour. Curious to relate, the
+barley that grew at 14,000 feet was riper than that which grew at 12,000
+feet. Two kinds of barley seemed to be grown here--the ordinary variety,
+and another with a red ear such as is, I believe, grown in the
+Shetlands. We rode past the tidy-looking monastery of Gandenchoefel,
+surrounded by its juniper trees, and after a steep climb past the
+entrance of the valley leading to the Langma La, descended on to some
+fine river terraces, on which were many prosperous farms and well-tilled
+fields. These extended for several more miles up the valley. We pitched
+our camp on a grassy flat a couple of miles above the last house, where
+willows, rhododendrons and junipers grew plentifully; the marshy ground
+was carpeted with gentians, one of the commonest being dark blue in
+colour with ten petals, and rather like a star in shape, the other being
+larger and of a pale Eton-blue colour. I managed to collect a certain
+number of seeds of both of these. We had a grand bonfire that evening,
+made of juniper and willow, the last that we were to have for a long
+time. The weather was disappointing and a drizzling rain fell all night
+with a temperature of 42 deg. Fahr.
+
+It was still raining when we started in the morning, so that there were
+no views. A white andromeda was still in flower on the hillsides, but
+the rhododendrons were all over. On the opposite side of the valley
+juniper alone flourished and grew to an altitude of nearly 17,000 feet.
+After going a couple of miles, we passed Morshead and Wheeler's tents
+pitched on an old yak camp. When we arrived, they were still having
+breakfast, as the weather was too bad to do any surveying. On leaving
+them we had a steep climb over grassy slopes, where the drizzling rain
+now changed to snow, and for the rest of the day it fell steadily. There
+appeared to be many branch valleys, and as our views in the mist were
+very curtailed, we were not at all certain as to whether we were going
+up the right valley--I only knew approximately the height of the place
+at which we were to camp. Therefore, on arriving at that height, I sent
+my coolies off in two different directions up two different valleys to
+see where Mallory and Bullock's camp might be. The mist lifted for a
+moment, and one of them luckily saw Mallory, whose camp was only a few
+hundred yards from us. We decided to call this our "Advanced base camp."
+It was pitched in some small grassy hollows at a height of 17,350 feet.
+The site was well sheltered from the winds, and was a regular Alpine
+garden. Gentians of three different kinds were growing there, including
+the lovely light-blue one. There was also a beautiful little white
+saxifrage with yellow and brown spots inside the flower, a delightful
+pink androsace, and dwarf delphiniums with their single deep-blue
+flowers. Here grew also the musk-scented hairy light-blue delphinium
+with its overpowering smell of musk. The latter flower, the Tibetans
+told me, was a great preventative of lice, and I noticed that our cooks
+and most of our servants had picked great bundles of it. They also told
+me that if a man habitually wears this flower about him during his
+lifetime, after his death when cut up and exposed to the birds, no bird
+or wolf will touch his flesh owing to the strong scent apparently left
+by the musk. A pretty pink aster grew here in great clusters, and a few
+blue poppies were still out. Acchu, our cook, and Gyalzen Kazi, who were
+coming along behind us, both missed their way and wandered several miles
+further up the valley before they found out their mistake, and when they
+eventually arrived in camp, were both suffering from severe headaches,
+due to the great height. During our stay at this camp we had plenty of
+time and many opportunities of observing bird and animal life. Some of
+the birds were very brilliantly coloured. There was a snow bunting with
+bright scarlet breast and head, also a beautiful redstart with red body
+and black and white wings. Overhead the great Laemmergeier, or bearded
+vulture, sailed in graceful circles, while the big black raven croaked
+on the rocks by the camp. Morning and evening we could hear the
+ramchakor (_Tetraogallus tibetanus_) calling on the opposite side of the
+valley, and with glasses we could see them chasing one another and
+running round in circles. Red foxes I met with on several occasions over
+18,000 feet.
+
+Mallory and Bullock, who had already been here for a few days, had spent
+their time in carrying wood and stores up to a higher camp further up
+the valley; they had been having a certain amount of trouble with their
+coolies, due to the Sirdar, who was always trying to create
+difficulties. I therefore sent him away on a job to Chushar to collect
+some of our stores which were supposed to have been detained there, and
+which would keep him busy for a number of days and prevent him from
+interfering with our coolies at a critical period. We had brought up
+with us six live sheep, and very lively these proved. Dukpa, Mallory's
+cook, let three of them escape, but luckily some coolies coming up the
+valley saw two of them, and after a great chase brought them back. The
+third they could not catch and eventually drove him under a cliff, where
+they killed him with stones and brought his carcass back to us. The
+weather continued very unsettled. During the night a couple of inches of
+snow fell, but until the temperature became colder and the sky cleared,
+it was no use trying to go up to the upper camp. I shot a ramchakor on
+the opposite side of the valley. They are the most tasty of the Tibetan
+birds, and are quite excellent eating.
+
+On September 8, after a frosty night, Bullock, Mallory and I with three
+coolies, for the purpose of keeping fit, made a little excursion along a
+rocky ridge that lay to the South of us. On the top of the ridge there
+were a number of sharp rock pinnacles that had to be climbed. I found
+these gymnastics at a height of over 19,000 feet to be very exhausting,
+but Mallory did not seem to mind them in the least. There should have
+been a lovely view from here, but all we got was an occasional glimpse
+of glaciers and rocky peaks through the mist. The sun was trying to
+shine through the clouds and at first it was beautifully warm; but after
+a couple of hours snow began to fall, so we hurriedly descended on to
+the glacier below. Snow fell all the way back to camp, and by nightfall
+there were 3 inches of fresh snow round our tents. During the night the
+thermometer dropped to 21 deg. Fahr., and the morning broke clear and
+frosty. I started off early to climb the hill behind the camp, from
+which there was a very extensive view, both Everest and Makalu being for
+the moment quite clear and free from cloud. To the North extended a
+great range of snow peaks between 23,000 feet and 24,000 feet in height,
+rather uninteresting in appearance, and to the East stretched a great
+sea of accumulating cloud, out of which appeared the tops of
+Kanchenjunga and Jannu. The peak on which we stood was just under 20,000
+feet; I spent several hours basking in the hot sunshine, which was
+rapidly melting the fresh snow. I was surprised to find growing at this
+height a tiny yellow saxifrage.
+
+That evening eight coolies arrived with our long-expected mail, and the
+rest of the day was spent in reading letters and sorting out papers, for
+over two hundred letters and papers had arrived for me alone. There was
+again a sharp frost of 10 deg. that night and the early morning was
+beautiful, but clouds came quickly drifting up the valley and obscured
+the fine views we had from the camp of Mount Everest and the rocky peaks
+to the North of the camp. On September 11, in spite of a warm night,
+Mallory and Bullock, being very optimistic, left for the upper camp,
+while Morshead and Wheeler rejoined us from their camp below, not having
+been able to do any work down there owing to bad weather. Snow fell
+steadily all the evening to a depth of about 3 inches. Next day was
+cloudy, but warm, and the snow disappeared again with extraordinary
+rapidity. I went out with a shotgun to try and shoot some ramchakor, and
+while after them saw a very fine grey wolf who was also stalking the
+ramchakor. He came up to within 50 yards of me, so that I was able to
+have a good look at him. He had a beautiful coat, and it was very
+unfortunate that I did not have a rifle with me. I wandered some way up
+a side valley to the foot of a glacier, but saw no signs of birds, as
+the wolf had evidently been there before me. In the afternoon Mallory
+and Bullock returned from the upper camp, having been driven down by the
+bad weather: another 5 inches of snow fell that evening, so that we were
+kept busy beating our tents to keep the ridge poles from breaking. On
+September 13, 14 and 15, snow fell on and off the whole time; but in
+spite of the bad weather I managed to shoot a burhel for food. Their
+meat is very much better than that of the tame sheep. On September 16 we
+had at last a fine day with a sharp frost at night. Wheeler at once
+seized this opportunity and took up a station on a hill-top on the
+opposite side of the valley, from which he was able to get some useful
+views. The next day, after 13 deg. of frost in the night, Mallory, Morshead
+and I started off to climb Kama Changri, a peak to the South of the
+camp, that overhung the Kama Valley. We left the camp at 2 a.m., by the
+light of a full moon, which made the going as light as though it were
+day. We soon reached our view-point of a few days before, where, except
+for the distant roar of the stream far away below in the valley, there
+was no other sound, only an intense stillness. Never anywhere have I
+seen the moon or the stars shine so brightly. To the South, far away
+from us, there were constant flashes of lightning--the valleys in Tibet,
+the great gorges of the Arun, the wooded valleys of Nepal all lay buried
+under a white sea of clouds, out of which emerged the higher mountains
+like islands out of a fairy sea. In this bright moonlight, mountains
+like Kanchenjunga--100 miles away--stood out sharp and distinct. Here on
+this sharp ridge, at a height of 21,000 feet, with no obstruction to
+hide the view, sunrise came to us in all its beauty and grandeur. To the
+West, and close at hand, towered up Mount Everest, still over 8,000 feet
+above us; at first showing up cold, grey and dead against a sky of deep
+purple. All of a sudden a ray of sunshine touched the summit, and soon
+flooded the higher snows and ridges with golden light, while behind, the
+deep purple of the sky changed to orange. Makalu was the next to catch
+the first rays of the sun and glowed as though alive; then the white sea
+of clouds was struck by the gleaming rays of the sun, and all aglow with
+colour rose slowly and seemed to break against the island peaks in great
+billows of fleecy white.
+
+Such a sunrise has seldom been the privilege of man to see, and once
+seen can never be forgotten. After sunrise the climbing became more
+unpleasant. We tried to follow the direct way up the mountain, but the
+snow was in bad condition and the slope very steep. We therefore crossed
+the glacier, putting on our snow-shoes, and followed easier snow slopes
+but bad owing to the soft snow. The going was very tiring; Mallory and
+Morshead appeared to feel the height very much. After six hours we
+reached the top, 21,300 feet, from which we had a most superb view. We
+looked straight down on to the Kama Valley. Makalu was immediately
+opposite us with its colossal precipices. Glaciers, cliffs of ice, rock
+peaks, fluted snow ridges and immense mountains towered all around us
+above a vast sea of clouds which stretched for hundreds of miles away to
+the plains of India. Here I was able to take many photographs, but no
+photograph can adequately portray the grandeur or the impressiveness of
+such a scene. We stopped on the top of Kama Changri for over three
+hours. It was extraordinarily warm; there was not a breath of air, and
+the sun seemed to shine with an intense heat. Clouds then began to roll
+up, and we returned to camp by an easier way down the glacier.
+
+Next day, in spite of 13 deg. of frost at night, snow and sleet fell all day
+again, and made us very depressed. In order to prevent our going to
+sleep too soon after dinner, four of us used to play bridge every night,
+and I do not suppose that bridge has often been played at so great a
+height.
+
+On September 19, after a cold night with 16 deg. of frost, Mallory, Bullock,
+Morshead and Wheeler started off for the 20,000-foot camp. The weather
+was now steadily growing colder every night. On September 20 we had 18 deg.
+of frost, as well as a further fall of snow. During the night a very
+fine lunar halo was seen, but the morning broke clear. Wollaston,
+Raeburn and I started to join the remainder of the party at the
+20,000-foot camp, leaving Gyalzen Kazi, our second interpreter, behind
+in charge of the advance base camp. It was very necessary to have some
+one here to whom we could send back for any extra stores or supplies
+that might be wanted, and who would be able to forward to us anything
+that might be sent up from Kharta. A four hours' walk brought us to the
+camp. I had a thorough feeling of lassitude all the way. It required,
+indeed, some effort to walk at all, and a strong effort, both of mind
+and body, to reach camp. On the way beautiful views of Mount Everest
+gave us encouragement. The foot of the Kharta Glacier descends to 19,000
+feet. From that point on to the camp we travelled beside it. At first
+the glacier is cut up into wonderfully shaped "seracs," but as we got
+higher the surface became smoother. It was an exceptionally white
+glacier; there were no moraines on its surface, and it was covered
+everywhere with a fresh coating of thick snow. We found the camp on a
+terrace between two glaciers. That above the camp resembled the pictures
+of a Greenland ice cap. A thick coating of ice, to a depth of 50 to 60
+feet, covered the gentle slopes above us, and came down to within a
+couple of hundred yards of the camp. The drainage from the melting ice
+percolated through the stony ground, so that on digging to a depth of 6
+inches we came upon water. A couple of hundred feet below the camp was
+the big white glacier which descended from the Lhakpa La. The day was
+gloriously fine, and we obtained magnificent views of Mount Everest and
+the snowy chain to the South of us across the Kharta Glacier. Over the
+top of this snowy chain appeared the great rocky crests of Makalu. At an
+altitude of over 19,800 feet I saw a hare and heard several ramchakor
+calling. There grew close to the camp a few gentians with their curious
+square leaves, also a dwarf blue delphinium and a little white
+saxifrage. It was an extraordinary height at which to find flowers and
+their season of summer cannot last long. On arrival at the camp, we
+found only Wheeler and Bullock there, as Mallory and Morshead with
+fourteen coolies had gone on ahead to carry loads up to the Lhakpa La,
+which was to be our next camp. They returned in a very exhausted
+condition in the course of the afternoon. The snow, they reported, was
+in better condition than last time on the lower slopes; but as they got
+higher, they found it still very soft and powdery. These extra loads
+that they had taken up to this camp would enable the whole party to go
+up to it and to sleep there, if necessary, for several days. As the sun
+was setting behind Mount Everest, we were treated to a glorious view.
+The ring of clouds that surrounded it were all touched by the bright
+evening sunlight, while the mountain itself was in deep shadow except
+for great streamers of powdery fresh snow which were being blown off the
+whole length of its crests. We stood and watched this extraordinary
+sight for some time, devoutly hoping that the wind would soon die down.
+Unfortunately we were soon to experience what a strong wind meant at
+these heights.
+
+[Illustration: SEA OF CLOUD FROM PEAK NORTH OF KAMA VALLEY. Kanchenjunga
+in distance.]
+
+On the following night we had 20 deg. of frost, and the weather appeared to
+be getting rather more settled. We were now sufficiently high up to be
+above the ordinary clouds, and we could look down upon the great sea of
+them which overhung the Arun Valley and the greater part of Nepal. As
+the sun warmed the clouds, they used to rise higher, but they seldom
+arrived as far as our camp owing to a strong North-westerly wind always
+blowing in the upper regions of the air which drove them back again.
+Watching the movements of the clouds day by day gave me the impression
+that the Mount Everest group forms a dividing line between the two
+monsoon systems. The monsoon that causes so much rain in Sikkim comes
+from the Bay of Bengal, and these moist currents sweep up to Mount
+Everest, but it is only when the current is very strong that they pass
+beyond it. At this time of year this monsoon was still active, whereas
+the Arabian Sea monsoon--that is to say, the moist winds from the
+Arabian Sea--which had given us previously much rain and snow on the
+Western sides and slopes of Mount Everest, was now over, with the result
+that on the West side of Everest we had blue skies every day and no rain
+clouds, whereas on the East side the clouds and the moisture brought up
+by the Bengal monsoon still prevailed. During the course of the morning
+I climbed an easy hill to the East side of the camp and some 500 feet
+above it. We walked along at first just below the ice cap, which was
+very pretty with its long icicles gleaming in the sunlight. We then
+crossed on to the ice cap and found the snow in excellent condition,
+firm and crisp to the tread, so that it was a pleasure to walk along it.
+From the top of this hill, 20,500 feet, was a very fine view to the
+East, over the great sea of cloud which filled up all the valleys as far
+as the Massif of Kanchenjunga which towered up in the distance, and the
+more slender peak of Jannu. Amongst the Sikkim peaks I could also
+recognise Chomiomo and the Jonsong peak. To the South Makalu towered up
+above all the other mountains: while between it and Mount Everest,
+beyond the Southern watershed of the Kama Valley, showed up some of the
+great Nepalese peaks, among which we noted Chamlang, 24,000 feet. To the
+West of us Mount Everest showed up sharp and clear and very white after
+all the fresh snow that had fallen in the last month. From this side
+Mount Everest certainly looks its best, standing up as a solitary peak
+instead of being rather dwarfed by the high ridges that radiate from it.
+The weather remained fine all day, and it was a real pleasure to sit
+outside one's tent and bask in the sun. Though we were 20,000 feet, we
+had breakfast, lunch and tea out of doors in front of our tents, and we
+could not have been warmer or enjoyed pleasanter conditions if we had
+been down at 5,000 feet.
+
+On September 22, leaving Raeburn behind, Mallory, Bullock, Morshead,
+Wheeler, Wollaston and myself started off to Lakhpa La camp. We left the
+20,000-foot camp in 22 deg. of frost at four o'clock in the morning,
+accompanied by twenty-six coolies, who were divided up into four
+parties, each of which was properly roped. It was a beautiful moonlight
+night, and the mountains showed up nearly as brightly as in the daytime.
+We rapidly descended the 200 feet from our terrace to the glacier, when
+we all "roped up." The snow on the glacier was in excellent condition,
+and as it was frozen hard we made good progress. Dawn overtook us on
+the broad flat part of the glacier, the first beams of the sun falling
+on the summit of Mount Everest, which lay straight in front of us, and
+changing the colour of the snow gradually from pink to orange, all the
+time with a background of deep purple sky, every detail showing up sharp
+and clear in the frosty air. We mounted gradually past Kartse, the white
+conical-shaped peak climbed by Mallory and Bullock a month ago from the
+Kama Valley. We wended our way without much difficulty through the
+ice-fall of the glacier, below some superbly fluted snow ridges that
+rose straight above us. Then followed a long and at times a somewhat
+steep climb over soft powdery snow to the top of the pass. Even at these
+heights we came across tracks in the snow. We were able to pick out
+tracks of hares and foxes, but one that at first looked like a human
+foot puzzled us considerably. Our coolies at once jumped to the
+conclusion that this must be "The Wild Man of the Snows," to which they
+gave the name of Metohkangmi, "the abominable snow man" who interested
+the newspapers so much. On my return to civilised countries I read with
+interest delightful accounts of the ways and customs of this wild man
+whom we were supposed to have met. These tracks, which caused so much
+comment, were probably caused by a large "loping" grey wolf, which in
+the soft snow formed double tracks rather like those of a barefooted
+man. Tibet, however, is not the only country where there exists a "bogey
+man." In Tibet he takes the form of a hairy man who lives in the snows,
+and little Tibetan children who are naughty and disobedient are
+frightened by wonderful fairy tales that are told about him. To escape
+from him they must run down the hill, as then his long hair falls over
+his eyes and he is unable to see them. Many other such tales have they
+with which to strike terror into the hearts of bad boys and girls.
+
+I reached the top of the pass (22,350 feet) by 10.30 a.m., and was
+rewarded by a wonderful view of Mount Everest, now only a couple of
+miles away. From the pass there was a steep descent of about 1,200 feet
+to a glacier which after many wanderings finds its way into the Rongbuk
+Glacier. This valley had never been thoroughly investigated by Mallory
+and Bullock in their visit to the Rongbuk Valley. It does not, however,
+actually form the main Rongbuk Glacier, but stops several miles short of
+it, the entrance to the valley containing this huge glacier being both
+small and very insignificant. The bad weather that they had experienced
+in the Rongbuk Valley during the latter half of their stay there had
+made it impossible for Mallory and Bullock to explore this valley, or
+see what lay at its head.
+
+We were now opposite the Chang La (North Col) which joins Mount Everest
+to Changtse (the North peak), and from this col was, so far as we were
+able to judge, the only route to the summit. The way from the glacier up
+to the Chang La looked steep and unpromising, and we doubted whether it
+would be possible to take laden coolies up, even to this point. I took
+as many photographs as I could, and as quickly as possible, for there
+was an icy wind blowing which almost froze my hands. This wind blew the
+fine powdery snow off all the crests of the ridges and it penetrated
+everywhere. We found a little hollow in the snow a few feet below the
+crest, and here we set to work to pitch our camp. There was not much
+shelter, but it was the only possible place. We had only brought small
+Alpine Meade and Mummery tents with us. Two of us occupied each tent.
+They were very small and uncomfortable, and in order to enter them we
+had to crawl through a narrow funnel almost as though we were entering a
+dog kennel. The effort of crawling in was very exhausting and caused us
+to remain out of breath for a considerable time afterwards. Even these
+small tents were with difficulty pitched owing to the strong winds:
+cooking was quite out of the question until dark when the wind
+temporarily lulled. We had brought up with us some Primus stoves and
+spirit lamps. No one, except perhaps Wheeler, was very expert with the
+Primus stove, and though no doubt under favourable conditions they
+would be easy to work, even at these heights, we were never very
+successful with them and were forced to rely upon the spirit stoves.
+After sunset we had a scratch meal of consomme, which we managed to warm
+up, followed by some cold ham and biscuits, after which we retired to
+bed. The moment the sun went down there were 25 deg. of frost. Up till now I
+had felt no ill-effects from the rarefied air; I had not even had a
+headache and my appetite was good, though I owned to feeling rather lazy
+and it always needed an effort to concentrate one's thoughts. The
+coolies who had accompanied us up to this camp all seemed to be well and
+were very cheerful. The eiderdown sleeping-bags were a great comfort;
+they were our only means of keeping thoroughly warm with 34 deg. of frost
+outside. But I cannot say that I felt comfortable or, in fact, that I
+slept at all, as the snow which at most times had been much too soft,
+seemed here to freeze into uncomfortable lumps and bumps underneath
+one's back, so that I could never get comfortable all night. The wind
+howled round our flimsy tents, and I do not think anyone, except perhaps
+Mallory, got any sleep that night. In the morning we were all suffering
+from bad headaches, due to the airlessness of these little tents, and I
+am sure that anyone camping at high altitudes ought to have a much
+larger type of tent in which to sleep if he is to avoid headaches. We
+blessed the early morning sun when it appeared and began to unfreeze us.
+I noticed then that our faces and hands were all a curious blue colour
+in the morning, due to what is called, I believe, cyanosis of the blood.
+With much difficulty Wheeler made us a little tea, which if not drunk at
+once, froze; Mallory thawed out some sardines which had all been frozen
+solid. There was luckily less wind than during the night, and as the sun
+rose higher, we all became more alive. The coolies, too, were at first
+all torpid and complained of bad headaches, but on getting into the
+fresh air, out of their small and stuffy tents, the headaches rapidly
+passed away. After consultation, we decided that there was no object--in
+fact, that it would be dangerous--for the whole party to go on, so we
+decided that it would be best for the expert Alpine climbers only,
+together with a few picked coolies, to attempt the Chang La. If weather
+conditions were favourable, they might, we thought, see how high they
+could get on Mount Everest itself. We therefore quickly sorted out and
+divided up the stores, and after seeing Mallory, Bullock and Wheeler
+off, unpitched our own tents, being satisfied that we could be of no use
+by remaining where we were, and that it would be best that we should
+return to our 20,000-foot camp and carry down with us as many stores as
+we could. We accomplished this without any difficulty, and arrived back
+during the course of the afternoon. The contrast here was extraordinary.
+We seemed to be in a totally different climate, and our larger tents and
+camp beds appeared to us to be the height of luxury. We spent a very
+comfortable night in spite of 22 deg. of frost, and all slept soundly after
+our exertions, though once or twice during the night I was awakened by
+rats gnawing at the food which had been left out on the boxes in my
+tent. One of the coolies also started to say his prayers in a loud tone
+of voice at 1 a.m., but after a few winged words he relapsed into
+silence.
+
+The next day was delightfully warm and sunny, though there had been
+during the night a good deal of lightning towards the South. The snow
+could be seen whirling off the crest of Mount Everest during the
+morning, and in the course of the afternoon the wind grew much stronger,
+and blew huge clouds of snow off the slopes of the mountain, and from
+all the surrounding ridges. We could see great wisps of snow being blown
+off the pass that we had just left, so that the climbing party must have
+been having a very cold time in their new camp. In the evening there was
+a curious false sunset in the East with fine purple and orange rays,
+while as usual the Kama and the Kharta Valleys were filled with a sea of
+cloud. Here, however, we seemed to be above and beyond the reach of the
+clouds. Next night there was again constant lightning to the South and
+23 deg. of frost, but the weather kept fine and sunny. On climbing a
+snow-covered hill to the West of the camp, about 21,000 feet, I had some
+superb views of Everest and Makalu with their appalling cliffs and
+beautifully-fluted snow slopes. A strong North-westerly gale still
+continued in the upper regions of the air above 22,000 feet, and every
+ridge of Everest was smothered with clouds of blown snow. I had a
+pleasant glissade down steep snow slopes back to the camp, where the
+climate was delicious and where I could bask in the sun at the entrance
+of my tent with a sun temperature of 173 deg. Fahr. Earlier in the season we
+had often recorded temperatures of 195 deg. and 197 deg. Fahr. in the sun with
+the black bulb thermometer. During the afternoon we were able with our
+glasses to see black specks appearing on the top of the Lhakpa La. These
+were the Alpine climbers and their coolies returning after their
+strenuous efforts on Mount Everest. We watched them with the greatest
+interest descending the glacier and wondered how far they had been
+successful. They all arrived back safely in the course of the evening,
+having been extraordinarily lucky in not having had any casualties or
+frost-bites in spite of the Arctic gales. Mallory will, however, tell of
+their adventures in another chapter.
+
+
+
+
+                                CHAPTER IX
+
+                  THE RETURN TO KHARTA BY THE KAMA VALLEY
+
+
+Winter was now rapidly approaching. Every night was growing steadily
+colder, and we were all anxious to get down to lower altitudes. Every
+one had been feeling the strain of life at these high altitudes. It had
+been, however, a great relief to us that all the party had got back to
+the 20,000-foot camp in safety, and that we had had no cases of sickness
+or frost-bite. The coolies had throughout worked most willingly and to
+the best of their ability. They had been well supplied with boots and
+socks, warm clothing of all kinds, cap comforters and fur gloves, as
+well as blankets, and for those who had slept at the higher camps,
+eiderdown sleeping-bags had been provided capable of holding four or
+five. Here at the 20,000-foot camp we did not have to depend on Primus
+stoves or spirit lamps, as while we were waiting at the advanced base
+camp we had daily sent up coolies with loads of wood for our future use,
+and even during our stay here the coolies who had been left behind under
+Gyalzen Kazi had been sending up further loads. We now divided our party
+into two: Mallory, Bullock, Raeburn and Morshead were to be responsible
+for taking all the stores back to Kharta, and for this purpose we had
+arranged with Chheten Wangdi and the Kharta Jongpen for a number of
+Tibetan coolies to help in the work of removal. The remainder of us,
+that is to say, Wollaston, Wheeler and myself, were to cross over a snow
+pass and return to Kharta via the Kama Valley. Wheeler was anxious to do
+this in order to complete his survey work, for up till now he had been
+unable to visit the Kama Valley. Wollaston had already seen the lower
+parts of the Kama Valley, but was very anxious to see the upper end,
+particularly after my descriptions of the scenery and the Alpine flowers
+that were to be met with there.
+
+On September 26 the two parties started off in different directions.
+Taking with us fifteen coolies, all pretty heavily laden, we descended
+to the great Kharta Glacier, which it was necessary for us to cross. We
+were not at all certain as to the conditions we were likely to meet with
+on the other side of the pass. The climb from the Kharta Glacier to the
+Karpo La, 20,300 feet, was quite gentle, though the snow was very soft
+and powdery. On the North side of the pass we found the slopes to be a
+snow-covered glacier, but on the South side there was a very steep rocky
+descent which had to be faced. From the top of the pass we had a
+remarkably fine view into the Kama Valley which lay below us. Makalu,
+Pethangtse and Everest stood up clear above the clouds which floated
+along the bottom of the Kama Valley. Across the gaps between these peaks
+we could see other snow ranges in Nepal. Here at the top of the pass we
+were luckily just sheltered from the Northwest and the gale, but on
+either side of us snow was being blown off the mountains in long white
+streamers. Our descent was down a very steep rocky rib. We began by
+roping ourselves together, but the coolies were all of them heavily
+laden and were, moreover, very clumsy on the rope, sending down so many
+loose stones that I found my position as foremost man quite untenable
+owing to the amount of debris and rocks which were dislodged above me.
+We therefore unroped, and Wollaston lowered the coolies one by one over
+the steepest part--a somewhat long proceeding--after which they were
+able independently to make their way down to the glacier below without
+mishap. We now put on the rope again, and so crossed the easy glacier
+which led down to the moraine on which I had been two months before.
+Wheeler branched off here and took up a position on one of the ridges.
+Here he found the gale very troublesome, his theodolite being nearly
+blown over several times. He managed, however, to take a number of
+readings and to get a good many photographs--sufficient to map the whole
+of the upper part of the Kama Valley. All that day the gale continued
+above 20,000 feet. Below this the valley was filled with clouds, over
+which at first we had magnificent views. As soon as we descended into
+the valley, we gradually became enveloped in the autumn mists, which
+lasted all the remainder of the way to Pethang Ringmo. This was the
+place where I had met the yak herds two months before when they were
+pasturing their yaks on the grassy uplands. They had left the place, and
+we were therefore no longer able to draw on them for butter and milk. I
+had, however, arranged for Wheeler's fat cook to be sent up from Kharta
+to this place to meet us and to bring with him some fresh meat and
+vegetables. These we found on arrival, the fat cook having only arrived
+an hour before. We all of us slept that night much better than we had
+been doing at the higher camps, and though even down here we had 14 deg. of
+frost, I was delighted to find that my boots were not frozen as hard as
+nails, as they had been all the last week.
+
+From this camp I determined to attempt an expedition which I had long
+desired to make. My ambition was to reach the ridge between Makalu and
+Everest, and from it to have a look right down into Nepal. Mallory and
+Bullock did not much encourage me in my project, and doubted whether it
+could be accomplished within the short time which was now available. I
+decided, nevertheless, to make the attempt. On the night of the 26th all
+our servants overslept themselves, and I had some difficulty in waking
+them next morning. We succeeded, however, after a hurried breakfast in
+making a start at 5.45 a.m., just as the first sunlight was touching the
+highest peak of Mount Everest. It was a most perfect autumn morning,
+without a cloud in the sky and with the ground underfoot white with
+hoar-frost. After going a mile up the valley, we had to cross the
+Kangshung Glacier--here about a mile wide and consisting of a great mass
+of ice hummocks, often 100 feet or more in height, mostly covered with
+boulders, with the ice showing every now and then below us in curious
+caverns and lakes. It took us an hour to cross this glacier, as the
+walking was very tiring up and down hill over loose stones all the time;
+luckily, however, many of the stones were frozen to the ice, which made
+the crossing easier than it might have been later in the day. We then
+climbed on to a spur, over 19,000 feet, which jutted out into the
+valley. From this we had marvellous views right away to Kanchenjunga in
+the East. On the opposite side Mount Everest stood out with every detail
+showing clearly in the autumn sunshine. Above us towered the
+perpendicular cliffs of Chomoloenzo, opening out into a most astonishing
+series of peaks, the existence of which we had never suspected when
+looking at the mountain from the valley below. For once in a way the air
+was drier and the valleys below were not filled with cloud, so there was
+a prospect of our having clear views all day. Wheeler had come a short
+way along the ridge until he got a good view-point, when he stopped to
+set up his theodolite and camera for a station, after which he came
+along no further. I followed the crest of the ridge as far as I could,
+finding it at times very difficult and rocky and having to make many
+detours to get along. A descent of about 500 feet was followed by a
+climb of another 1,000 feet, at the end of which we found ourselves
+exactly opposite to the great amphitheatre of granite formed by
+Chomoloenzo and Makalu and facing Westwards. So steep were these great
+white granite cliffs that no snow lodged on them. Above them were other
+cliffs of ice with rather gentler slopes; at their feet was a great
+glacier that filled up the whole of this basin and then swept down till
+it almost joined the Kangshung Glacier. I had taken with me as usual Ang
+Tenze and Nyima Tendu, the two coolies who always accompanied me, each
+of them carrying a camera. We now came to a glacier which it was
+necessary to cross, and therefore roped up once more. The snow by this
+time had become rather soft, and we were constantly breaking through the
+crust. The glare and heat of the sun on this glacier were very intense,
+and both Nyima and I were feeling very limp from the heat. Ang Tenze was
+extraordinarily active and did not seem to mind heat or height--a quite
+exceptionally gifted mountaineer. Having successfully crossed the
+glacier, we left the soft snow and found our way over some easy rocks
+and eventually reached the top of the ridge for which we were making, at
+a height of about 21,500 feet, and some 500 feet above the snow-covered
+pass to the East of us. From the top of the ridge we had a most glorious
+view looking across range upon range of snowy mountains in Nepal.
+Immediately below us was a large snow "neve," towards which glaciers
+descended from a number of snow-covered peaks. From this neve a great
+glacier swept round towards the Southern side of Makalu, apparently
+descending into a valley that ran parallel to the Kama Valley and on the
+South side of Makalu. Chamlang and other snow peaks to the South showed
+up very clearly, covered with snow and ice to very much lower elevations
+than any mountain on the North side of the Himalayas. On either side of
+us towered up Makalu and Everest, but seen from this point the huge
+cliffs of Chomoloenzo presented by far the most astounding sight. From
+here I could see a few thousand feet of the Southern slopes of Mount
+Everest which we had been unable to see from any other point before.
+From the angle at which I saw them these appeared very steep, and even
+if it were possible and permissible to go into Nepal, it seems
+improbable that a practicable route lies up that face of the mountain. I
+spent a couple of hours up here taking photographs, enjoying the views,
+and eating my lunch in comfort, for the sun was hot and for once in a
+way there was no wind. To the South-west of us, across the neve, there
+appeared to be another easy pass which seemed to lead round to the South
+of Mount Everest, and Ang Tenze, who came from the Khombu Valley, said
+that he thought that he recognised some of the mountain tops that he saw
+over this, and that if we crossed this pass, we should eventually
+descend into the Khombu Valley. He also told me that there were stories
+that once upon a time there was a pass from the Khombu Valley into the
+Kama Valley, and that this was probably the pass in question, but that
+it had been disused for a great number of years. To support his theory
+we found on the way down a kind of shelter built of stones and some
+pieces of juniper hidden under a big rock. This would have been too high
+up for any yak herds to camp, as it was above the grazing pastures, and
+seemed to prove that the spot might have been used as a halting-place
+for smugglers or people fleeing from the law before they crossed these
+passes. It had taken us six and a half hours from camp to get up to the
+top of this pass; and we had had no halts on the way beyond what were
+necessary to take photographs. The downward journey took us four hours.
+We tried another way by the side of the Makalu Glacier, desiring thereby
+to avoid the tiresome and rather difficult bit along the top of the
+ridge. This short cut proved, however, to be still more trying and
+wearisome. From the cliffs above there had been great rock falls down to
+the edge of the glacier, and for a couple of miles we had to jump from
+boulder to boulder and to clamber either up or down the whole time.
+There was still the Kangshung Glacier to cross, with more up and down
+hill work, the stones being much looser and more inclined to slip under
+foot than they were in the morning. Eventually we reached camp, just
+before dark, and feeling very tired. A cup of tea, however, with a
+little brandy in it, completely removed all fatigue. Wollaston had been
+able during the day to get some beautiful photographs of the
+snow-powdered cliffs of Chomoloenzo, and also some interesting ones of
+the Kangshung Glacier. Besides these he had been able to collect a
+number of seeds. It is astonishing how quickly at these heights seeds
+ripen, and how short a time it is after flowering that they are fit for
+picking.
+
+[Illustration: CHOMOLOeNZO. from the alp below the Langma La, Kama
+Valley.]
+
+We had been very lucky in getting such a perfect day in the Kama
+Valley, for fine days there were very few. After our one perfect day the
+weather changed again, and for the next three days we descended the Kama
+Valley in sleet and snow. The first morning our march was only to our
+old camp at Tangsham on a glacial terrace 1,000 feet above the valley.
+At first Everest was clear and all the mountains to the West, but heavy
+clouds came rolling up from the South-east and soon enveloped
+everything. On the way I managed to collect for Wollaston a number of
+the seeds of that lovely blue primula which I had found in flower here
+in August. I shot, too, a common snipe, which I was very surprised to
+meet at these altitudes. I flushed him beside a small spring close to
+the camp. During the afternoon it snowed and sleeted, and Wheeler came
+in very tired in the evening after having spent the whole of the day on
+a prominent peak, from which he had been unable to get a single
+photograph or to take any bearings. In spite of the snow that evening we
+had a cheery bonfire of juniper, willow and rhododendron. The next
+morning, though we were down at 15,000 feet, there were a couple of
+inches of fresh snow on the ground. The weather at first was very misty,
+and we had no views at all. We soon, however, descended below the snow,
+and the autumnal colours in the valley began to show. On the opposite
+side of it below the great black cliffs, the bushes were all shades of
+brown and gold. In the forests the rose bushes had turned a brilliant
+red, and the mountain ash showed every shade of scarlet and crimson,
+contrasting well with the shiny dark green leaves of the rhododendron.
+The golden colours of the birch and the dark junipers also made a
+beautiful combination of colour. Rain set in again steadily, and as snow
+was falling on the "field of marigolds" where we had intended to camp,
+we pitched our tents in the midst of a huge rock-fall--1,000 feet lower
+down. Our coolies did not pitch any tents for themselves, but preferred
+to scatter in twos and threes and to camp under the overhanging rocks
+which they found apparently warmer and more comfortable than the tents.
+There had been a wonderful growth of vegetation among these huge
+boulders, many of them 40 feet to 50 feet in height, which had come down
+from the cliffs above. Wollaston and I spent most of the afternoon
+pottering round and collecting seeds of plants of different kinds. The
+next morning we had trouble in getting hold of the coolies; they were
+scattered among the rocks, and in spite of shouts, refused to budge
+until I went round with a big stick and poked them out of their holes. I
+crossed the Shao La in thick mist, though Wollaston and Wheeler, who
+came along an hour behind, had some beautiful glimpses of Makalu in the
+clouds and were able to get some photographs. After crossing the pass,
+we descended past several beautiful lakes and arrived in fine weather at
+Kharta in the afternoon. The autumn tints on the way down were again
+very beautiful, and most of the crops had already been gathered in.
+Mallory and Bullock had, we found, left Kharta, being in a great hurry
+to get back to civilisation again.
+
+It was September 30 when we reached Kharta. We had now finished our
+reconnaissance. We had investigated all the valleys to the West,
+North-west, North, North-east and East of the mountain, and had
+eventually found that there was only one possible route of approach to
+the summit. The bad weather and the furious North-westerly gales had
+prevented our attaining any great height this year. The rainy season had
+begun some three weeks later than usual. The rains, they told us, had
+been much heavier than in most years in Tibet, and the wet season had
+lasted until very nearly the end of September, after which time a period
+of gales set in which made climbing at heights above 23,000 feet a
+physical impossibility. Undoubtedly the best time to try and climb the
+mountain would be before the monsoon breaks in May or early June. It
+might be possible, if the monsoon happened to end by the beginning of
+September, to tackle the mountain early in September, but after the
+middle of that month the chances of doing any good grow steadily weaker
+and the cold increases with great rapidity. Whether it will be possible
+in any conditions to reach the summit I am very doubtful. We, however,
+had never intended to make a sustained effort to reach the top in 1921.
+The reconnaissance of the mountain and its approaches afforded us indeed
+no time to make such an effort, and we felt bound to investigate every
+valley that led up to it. The Everest Committee had already before we
+left for India in 1921 decided to send out a second Expedition in the
+following year, for the express purpose of climbing Mount Everest, and
+for this purpose had already then promised the leadership to
+Brig.-General C. G. Bruce, whose unrivalled knowledge of climbing and
+climatic conditions in the Himalayas specially fitted him for the work.
+Whether the task is capable of accomplishment I will not attempt to say,
+though I should think the chances are on the whole against success. If
+Mount Everest were 6,000, or even 5,000 feet lower, I think there can be
+no doubt that it could be climbed. There are no physical difficulties in
+the shape of the mountain which prevent it being climbed--the
+difficulties are all connected with its altitude. If the snow is soft
+and powdery, and the conditions are such as we met with so often; or if,
+again, there is difficult rock climbing in the last 2,000 or 3,000 feet
+of the climb, I do not think the summit will be reached. I cannot say
+what the effect will be if oxygen is taken to aid the human effort. I
+only know that cylinders of oxygen are very uncomfortable and heavy to
+carry, and that to wear a mask over the mouth and to climb so equipped
+would not seem to be very feasible or pleasant. Living at great heights,
+and trying to sleep at great heights, lowers the vitality enormously.
+Larger tents than those with which we were supplied might well be taken
+in order to prevent the depressing headaches that follow from sleeping
+in a confined and airless space. Among minor discomforts which count for
+much may be mentioned the difficulty of preparing good warm food, and
+for this purpose a coolie should be trained in cooking and in the use of
+the "Primus" and spirit stoves. This coolie should be a man accustomed
+to great heights, and he should accompany the party up to the highest
+camps in order to avoid the difficulties we had in connection with the
+preparation of our food and then having to live on such makeshifts as
+sardines and biscuits. I never lost my appetite at heights over 20,000
+feet--I was always able to eat well, though not everything appealed to
+the palate. Sweet things were especially wanted. That it is possible to
+acclimatise the system to live at heights is true, but only to a certain
+extent--up to about 18,000 feet we could acclimatise ourselves very
+comfortably, and I know in my own case that after six months' living in
+Tibet, I was able to do far more than when I first came into the
+country, but at greater heights I think a prolonged stay permanently
+lowers the vitality. Sleeplessness is another great enemy at heights,
+and most of the party I found slept very poorly at the highest camp.
+Mallory, I think, was the only exception. It ought to be possible to
+pick out a few coolies capable of carrying loads able to go as far as
+any European can get. Some of them seem to feel the height much less
+than others, and I believe that an unladen native would be able to go
+much higher if he had the knowledge of ice and snow that Alpine climbers
+have, and would not improbably reach a greater height than any European.
+Twenty-nine thousand feet is, however, a tremendous height for anyone to
+attain, and I own that I am not at all sanguine that the summit will be
+reached, though I have no doubt that this year will see the Duke of the
+Abruzzi's record of 24,600 broken, and I shall not be at all surprised
+to see a height of 25,000 or 26,000 feet arrived at.
+
+
+
+
+                                 CHAPTER X
+
+                        THE RETURN JOURNEY TO PHARI
+
+
+Autumn had already come to Kharta. The willows and the poplars under
+which we were camped were fast shedding their leaves, which rustled on
+the ground, or blew into our tents, a warning that winter was not far
+off. Even here there were one or two degrees of frost every night. The
+days, however, were still warm and sunny. The next five days were fully
+occupied with strenuous work. Wheeler and I took alternate mornings and
+afternoons in the dark room. We had each taken a large number of
+photographs during the past month. These had to be developed before we
+started on our return journey to Darjeeling, and this would be our last
+opportunity. An account of our last month's doings and our final
+reconnaissance had to be written out for _The Times_, and this, together
+with many other letters, had to be sent off to Phari as soon as
+possible. Our stores, tents, Alpine equipment, had all to be collected
+and sorted out. Lists had to be made of all of them, and most of them
+had to be re-packed. The coolies were perpetually worrying us for money
+and advances of pay in order that they might be able to buy Tibetan
+clothing, or have money which they could spend on drink at Kharta, where
+it was apparently very cheap. Our cook and most of the coolies used
+constantly to return to camp in the evening blind drunk, and I had to
+see that the cook was never allowed near the kitchen under these
+conditions. On such an occasion my servant, Poo, would have to do the
+cooking in his place. The chang, or barley beer, that they got must have
+been a much stronger brew than what was given to us, as what we had did
+not appear intoxicating at all, but the interpreters told us that
+coolie beer was double strength.
+
+The Jongpen was rather sad as the moment of our departure drew near. We
+invited him to lunch one day, and he seemed to appreciate the beauties
+of Scotch whisky, which he said was very much better than his own chang.
+We had to pay him a return visit the following day, when he gave us a
+great spread. Knowing that we were anxious to collect such curios as
+were available, he produced all kinds of things for our inspection. I
+bought from him a curious old Tibetan musket, elaborately decorated with
+silver, and fitted with a pair of antelope horns on which to rest it
+when firing. Some interesting copper and silver teapots we were also
+able to get from him, and I remember his showing Wollaston many pieces
+of finely embroidered Chinese silk. Both Hopaphema and the Jongpen had a
+very good idea of the value of money, and were not at all afraid of
+asking a stiff price for any of the curios which they produced. We
+managed, however, to pick up some interesting Chinese snuff bottles of
+carved agate, some with pictures painted inside. China cups of the
+Chienlung and Kanghe periods we were also able to get; there were,
+however, many things in the monasteries which we rather coveted, but
+which the Lamas would not sell. Their tables were very ornamentally
+carved with dragons and weird designs, all painted over in brilliant
+colours. The Jongpen had one such table, but unfortunately I found out
+that he had only borrowed it from the nearest monastery for the purpose
+of entertaining us, and therefore he could not sell it. We left behind
+us a good many stores which it was not worth while to bring along. Among
+them was a lot of acid hypo-sulphite of soda, which the Jongpen at once
+seized upon, and which he said he intended to make use of in washing his
+clothes, knowing that soda was used occasionally for this purpose. The
+Jongpen, of whom we had taken many photographs, and who had seen the
+results, was anxious to buy one of our cameras, and to develop and print
+everything himself. He imagined the whole process was very easy, and
+was extremely anxious to get hold of one of the Expedition's cameras,
+but we had to disappoint him in this. Nothing small would content
+him--he wanted the biggest of the lot, and was quite willing to exchange
+a sword or any other weapon for a camera. We, however, left behind with
+him three pairs of skis, which we had brought out with us, but which had
+never been unpacked. These skis had throughout our journeys been looked
+upon by the Tibetans with the greatest interest. They had heard about
+flying machines, and they thought that these were the framework of a
+flying machine which we had brought with us, and on which we intended to
+fly to the top of the mountains. Wherever we arrived there was always a
+great crowd assembled round these skis, discussing the various methods
+by which they could be put together and describing how the white man
+would then fly. I left them with the Jongpen and told him that they were
+very good exercise for him in the winter time, when the snow was deep,
+and that if he wanted to reduce his weight, which was already
+considerable, there could be no better method than by making use of them
+in the snow.
+
+At last, on October 5, we managed to leave Kharta. There were no pack
+animals available; we had therefore to make use of coolies for our
+transport for the first march; it took 140 of them to carry all our
+loads. For some time the scene of confusion was very amusing. The
+Jongpen himself came down, and it was only owing to his help that by
+mid-day we got all the loads sorted out and put on the backs of the
+coolies. Before he was able to do this he had to have recourse to the
+system of drawing lots by putting garters on each load, a system which I
+have already described in a previous chapter. Before we left, the
+Jongpen and Hopaphema brought us presents of sheep and vegetables, and
+they and all the people of the valley seemed genuinely sorry that we
+were departing. Throughout our long stay at Kharta they had been most
+helpful and had done everything they could for our comfort. They were
+both of them very human, with a delightful sense of humour, and we
+quickly became great friends. It was with much regret that we turned our
+backs on Kharta.
+
+We started off without a cloud in the sky, but with a strong South wind
+blowing. High up on the mountains we could see the snow still being
+blown off in white clouds. Our route lay up the valley of the Bhong-chu
+for about 10 miles until the river suddenly turned to the East to go
+through a deep and impassable gorge. We had then to follow the valley of
+the Zachar-chu for 4 miles to Lumeh, where we camped beside the great
+poplar trees. The bridge by which we had crossed the Zachar-chu in July
+no longer existed. It had been washed away in August, but now that the
+snows were no longer melting higher up, and the rainy season was over,
+the river was very much lower, and it was possible to ford it. The
+people at Lumeh were very pleased to see us again; we found tents
+pitched and food prepared for our reception. From here there were two
+routes open to us. We could either, by crossing two passes, drop down to
+Tsogo in the valley of the Bhong-chu, and after fording the river there,
+follow our previous route (of the outward journey) to Tingri, or we
+could cross a small pass just above Lumeh, meeting the Bhong-chu again
+immediately above the gorge, where there was a bridge across it. We
+chose the latter route, as it was probably a couple of days shorter and
+would take us through new country. On leaving Lumeh, for the first time
+for several days we had a cloudy morning, which was unfortunate, as from
+the top of the Quiok (Cuckoo Pass) we had hoped for a fine view. Our
+transport to-day consisted of yaks and donkeys, which came along very
+well. There was a steep climb of 2,000 feet to the top of the pass,
+15,000 feet, where we just managed to get a glimpse of Makalu in the
+clouds, but Everest was hidden. We thought that this would be our last
+chance of a view of the Everest and Makalu group, but it turned out not
+to be so. By going over this pass we had avoided the curious and
+impassable gorge by which the Bhong-chu cuts through a high range of
+mountains. It was only a little over 6 miles to the famous rope bridge
+at Gadompa. I could not help laughing when I first saw the bridge. It
+was such a comical, ramshackle-looking affair, and everything about it
+seemed torn and ragged and uneven. Two crooked wooden posts set up in
+piles of stones supported the ropes of raw hide which spanned the river.
+During the rainy season one of these posts and all the ropes had been
+buried deep under the water, but now that the river had dropped over 10
+feet, the posts were out of the water. Between these two wooden posts
+were three raw hide ropes, very frail and much frayed, and looking as
+though they might break at any moment. On these ropes was laid a
+semi-circular piece of wood, like the framework of a saddle, to which
+were attached two leather thongs. The person or bale of goods that had
+to be pulled across was tied by these two thongs to the framework, and
+this was allowed to slide rapidly with its load down to the point at
+which the "bridge" sagged most--somewhere about the middle of the
+river--which here rushed along in a formidable rapid. If the Tibetans on
+the far side failed to pull up the passenger or load and he or it was
+left for a minute, either would certainly get the full benefit of one of
+the ice-cold waves of the rapids and get thoroughly soaked before
+reaching the far side. The Tibetans had great fun with our coolies in
+transit, and very few of them were allowed to get over dry. The villages
+on either side are exempt from the duty of producing transport, and have
+instead to make themselves responsible for working the bridge. On one
+side the operators were all women and on the other all men. It took an
+average of five minutes to get each load or person across, and we spent
+twelve hours before we got all our loads over. For part of the time I
+superintended while Wheeler went to get some dinner, and after dinner,
+owing to there being a certain amount of moonlight, Wheeler carried on
+until the last load was brought over at midnight. It was a very chilly
+proceeding, as the wind blew very cold, with a suspicion of snow every
+now and then. It was a weird experience to see the loads of baggage
+suddenly appearing out of the darkness and then being unloaded and
+transferred to the yaks, who apparently were able to find their way
+about in the dark. We got everything over in safety without losing
+anything except a few eggs, which I saw drop out during the passage
+across, and I felt very much relieved that we had had no accident.
+
+That night we camped in a pleasant willow grove at the village of
+Kharkhung. In the morning we awoke to find fresh snow on the ground, but
+this speedily disappeared when the sun came out. Our new transport
+consisted of donkeys and some very wild yaks, which rapidly got rid of
+their loads. The march was only a short one of about 12 miles up the
+valley of the Bhong-chu. The valley was uninteresting and stony, with
+practically no undergrowth, and we eventually camped in a windy spot
+near the village of Lashar, nearly opposite to the sandy camp at Shiling
+where we had halted on our outward journey after crossing the
+quicksands. The night proved much colder here, with 18 deg. of frost, but
+the wind luckily died down and the next morning was beautiful. We
+continued up the sandy valley of the Bhong-chu, which is here several
+miles wide, until we came to its junction with the Yaru, where we
+regained the route which we had followed on the outward journey. Just
+before leaving the main valley we found, on looking behind us, that we
+were in full sight of Mount Everest and its great South-eastern ridge,
+and also of the Lhakpa La where we had camped. This was our final view
+of Mount Everest, and knowing the geography of these peaks as we now
+did, this view gave us an added interest in them. We had climbed slowly
+and had not realised the great height which we had reached or the
+conspicuous position of our camp on the Lhakpa La which we now saw
+sharply defined against the horizon from a distance of 50 miles.
+
+We rode up the gorge of the Yaru, and at the village of Rongme we met
+the Phari Jongpen's brother. He was busy collecting the harvest rents,
+which are a fixed percentage of the crops. I gave him some of the
+photographs that I had taken of him and his house on the way up and very
+soon after a big crowd collected around. The Tibetans are very quick at
+recognising persons in a photograph, and they at once picked out all the
+people by name in a group. I then rode on past his house to the village
+of Shatog, where we camped. On the way I shot a couple of snipe and also
+saw a number of teal, wild geese and kulan (grey crane), but they were
+very wild and I could not get near enough for a shot. Heron joined us
+here. He had been exploring some of the valleys to the North, but had
+found nothing interesting or remarkable, geologically, and he
+accompanied us back as far as Khamba Dzong. We were anxious to push on
+as fast as possible, and determined to do a double march from here to
+Tinki Dzong, which our transport drivers said they could do quite
+easily. We started on a beautiful day after a sharp frost at night,
+causing many of the ponds to be frozen over. We crossed the broad swampy
+plain to Chushar. Wheeler, going on ahead at first, had a shot at some
+geese, but did not succeed in getting anything. We crossed the Yaru
+River by a very deep ford, and then kept along the North side of it,
+past numerous ponds on which were swimming many bar-headed geese; these
+were, however, very wily and would not allow us to approach within shot.
+We now had a steep 3,000-foot climb to the Tinki Pass. On the way up I
+came across some partridges; they were terrible runners, but after a
+good chase I managed to collect two. They turned out to be the ordinary
+Tibetan partridge (_Perdrix hodgsoniae_). I then rode on down to Tinki,
+to which place I had sent on Chheten Wangdi in order to make
+arrangements for our reception and to have transport ready for us on the
+following day. The two Jongpens rode out to meet us; the elder of the
+two had been at Tinki when we passed through on the way out, but the
+other one I had not seen before as he had been away. I had very pleasant
+recollections of our reception there before, and was delighted to see
+the elder Jongpen, who was a most pleasant and agreeable gentleman.
+They presented us with a couple of hundred eggs, rice and some grain for
+the ponies, and had tents already pitched for us under the walls of the
+fort. Here the Jongpens came and sat talking with us for a long time.
+Our transport showed no signs of turning up, so we were very glad to
+make our dinner off the rice and eggs that had been given us. The bulk
+of the transport did not arrive till midnight. They had made every
+effort to stop at Chushar, and it was with great difficulty that Gyalzen
+Kazi had induced them to go on. The animal which was carrying Wheeler's
+kit died on the way, and his bedding did not arrive till noon the
+following day, another animal having been sent to bring it in. I had had
+my maximum and minimum thermometers exposed as usual under the fly of my
+tent, but during the night some wretch came and stole them. What good
+they could have been to him I cannot imagine, but it was very annoying
+and I hope he will drink the mercury. The weather had now changed again
+for the worse: all day there were heavy snow showers with snow falling
+on the mountains around and preventing any views. The march was only a
+short one to Lingga. The wild birds in the lake beside the fort were as
+tame as ever, the Brahminy ducks (ruddy sheldrake) almost waddling into
+our tents and not paying the slightest attention to us. On the water
+were swimming about thousands of duck, bar-headed geese and teal which
+the Jongpen's little dog used to have great fun in chasing. We were not
+able to follow our former route from Tinki to Lingga as the country had
+altered considerably. Most of the plain was now a broad lake several
+miles long, and we had to follow the North side of the water along the
+foot of the hills. On these big lakes were many duck, but they were very
+wild. I managed on the way, however, to shoot two bar-headed geese, a
+couple of Garganey teal and a pochard, which proved a very welcome
+addition to our bill of fare. One shot was a most extraordinary one. I
+was stalking some geese which were getting very restless and starting to
+fly away, when just in front of me got up two teal close together. I
+fired at the teal and both fell to my shot, and at the same time, to my
+great surprise, a goose, which was in the direct line of fire, and about
+40 yards away, also fell.
+
+We found the people at Lingga busy thrashing. The thrashing time in
+Tibet is a favourite one for drinking, and often the whole village after
+a day's harvest will be completely incapacitated as the result of too
+great an indulgence in chang. Their thrashing floors consist of an area
+of about half an acre of hard beaten earth on which the barley is spread
+to a depth of 6 to 8 inches. Fifty or sixty yaks are then driven into
+this enclosure, followed by thirty people or more, beating drums,
+rattling kerosene oil tins, ringing bells and shouting and yelling in
+order to frighten the yaks, who, tail in air, are driven backwards and
+forwards over the barley. This they continue doing until every one is
+tired and hoarse, when the whole of the workers, both male and female,
+adjourn for a long drink of beer, after which the same process is
+repeated.
+
+On October 11 we arrived at Khamba Dzong. We were having sharp frosts
+now every night, and the mountains, both to the North and South of us,
+were covered low down with a thick white coating of snow. It was not,
+however, unpleasantly cold, and the cloud effects were very beautiful.
+On the way I shot two goa--Tibetan gazelle--with good heads, and horns
+over 14 inches long. We had to halt here in order to rest our coolies.
+All day to the South there was a furious storm raging along the
+Himalayas, and when it cleared up in the evening there had evidently
+been a heavy snowfall. In the course of the afternoon we put up over
+Dr. Kellas's grave the stone which the Jongpen had had engraved for us
+during our absence. On it were inscribed in English and Tibetan
+characters his initials and the date of his death, and this marks his
+last resting-place.
+
+Raeburn, Wheeler and Heron now left us, as they wanted to return to
+Darjeeling by the short way over the Serpo La and down the Teesta
+Valley. This route is only possible for small parties; with all our
+transport we were unable to return that way as the villages on the way
+and in the Teesta Valley are small and can supply but very few animals
+or coolies. Wollaston and I had therefore to return to Phari and then to
+follow the main trade route, along which it is always possible to pick
+up any amount of hired transport. We left Khamba Dzong on October 13 in
+20 deg. of frost. Kanchenjunga and the Everest group were just visible, but
+ominous clouds were rapidly coming up. Our march was the same as on the
+outward journey to Tatsang (Falcon's Nest)--a distance of about 21
+miles. We rode through the fine limestone gorge behind the fort,
+shooting on the way several Tibetan partridge (_Perdrix hodgsoniae_). On
+reaching the top of the pass, I climbed another thousand feet on to the
+ridge to the South of the pass, where I had a wonderful panorama of
+snowy peaks, both to the South and to the North. Snow storms appeared to
+be raging on either side and the wind was extremely cold. I came across
+a fine flock of burhel (_Ovis nahura_), and had an easy shot at a fine
+ram, but missed him hopelessly, and they never gave me another chance. A
+little further on I missed a gazelle. On the plain below were grazing
+numerous kiang (_Equus hemionus_), their reddish-chestnut coats being
+well shown off by their white bellies and legs. Their mane appears to be
+of a darker colour, which is continued as a narrow stripe down the back.
+On the same plain I could see also a large flock of nyan (_Ovis
+hodgsoni_), all fair-sized rams. I had a long chase after the latter,
+but they never allowed me to approach close to them. Snow began to fall
+now and a regular blizzard set in, the fine powdery snow being blown
+along the ground into our faces. While riding along in this storm, I saw
+two fine nyan which I stalked. My 2.75 rifle was rather small for such a
+large animal, and though the larger of the two was badly hit by the
+first shot, he went off as though he were untouched and gave me a long
+chase after him. It was only possible to get a glimpse of him every now
+and then in the blizzard, and whenever I lay down to try and get a shot,
+the fine powdery snow blown along the surface of the ground nearly
+blinded me, so that it took five more bullets before he finally expired.
+He was a magnificent old beast with a grand head and horns, well over 40
+inches in length and of great thickness. The weight of the body was
+enormous. I had only Ang Tenze with me. With much difficulty we cut off
+the nyan's head and then tried to lift the carcass, which must have
+weighed well over 200 lb., on to one of the ponies. With the greatest
+trouble we eventually managed to get the carcass on to the pony's back,
+but the pony seemed gradually to subside on to the ground under the
+weight and was quite unable to move. While we were doing this, my pony
+took it into his head to run away, and though we made every attempt to
+catch him, he completely defeated us, and was last seen galloping away
+towards his home. I had therefore an 8 mile trudge through the snow to
+get back to camp, not arriving there till well after dark. Five of the
+coolies went back after dark to get the meat. They cut off as much as
+they could carry, and the remainder had to be left for the nuns, who
+sent out their servants to bring it in. I was cheered up, however, by
+getting an English mail and many letters. Among these was one from Sir
+Charles Bell from Lhasa, who wrote to ask the Expedition not to do any
+more shooting in Tibet, as the Tibetans did not approve of it; for the
+remainder of the time, therefore, the guns had to be put away.
+
+During the night there were 32 deg. of frost, and everything inside our
+tents was frozen solid in the morning; but the wind luckily died down,
+and the next day was a most beautiful one. We knew that there was a long
+march before us, so our transport was off by eight o'clock. At Tatsang
+we were already 16,000 feet, and we gradually climbed higher, spending
+most of the day between 17,000 and 18,000 feet. For several miles we
+rode across a snow-covered plain over which the tops of Pawhunri,
+Chomiomo, and Kanchenjhow appeared to the South. As we rose higher, the
+snow gradually deepened to 6 inches and made the going very heavy. We
+had to cross three spurs of Pawhunri by passes of over 17,500 feet.
+Here the snow had been blown by the wind into drifts over 2 feet deep.
+We had arranged to camp at a place called Lunghi, but on our arrival
+there found that the nomads, who ordinarily spent the summer there, had
+already left and were encamped some 4 miles further down the valley. In
+a side valley I found some of their tents where I was able to warm
+myself and get some hot milk before moving on down the valley, where we
+were told that preparations had been made to receive us. There was
+luckily a bright moon and we rode on down to the spot, where we found
+some Tibetan tents which had been pitched for us; their owners had,
+moreover, had the forethought to have great braziers of cow dung burning
+in these tents. The smell was not agreeable, but we sat and warmed
+ourselves, waiting for our transport, which did not arrive until eleven
+o'clock that night. It was a bitterly cold wait, as the wind got up and
+blew down the valley with 25 deg. of frost behind it. We were very glad to
+see our transport and coolies when they arrived; they had really come
+along very well, as a march of 23 miles in soft snow and at a great
+height all the time is no light feat.
+
+Breakfast the next morning was very comfortless, as the wind was still
+blowing with 28 deg. of frost, and everything--boots and foodstuffs of all
+kinds--was frozen inside our tents. We looked forward with no little
+pleasure to finding ourselves inside once more and sitting in front of a
+fire out of the everlasting wind which makes Tibet so trying. The march
+was a fairly easy one of about 20 miles over gentle undulating country
+until we reached the West side of the Tang La; there was, however, a
+bitterly cold strong South wind which blew with great violence all day
+and penetrated through everything. Many of our coolies had much
+difficulty in coming along, as they were suffering from snow blindness
+and their feet were also very tender from the cold and the deep snow of
+the last few days. Chomolhari was a glorious sight all the way. We were
+gradually approaching it, and it seemed to rise directly from the plain
+in front of us. From its summit and from its ridges great streamers of
+snow were being blown off and the gale--apparently from the
+North-west--still continued. Nearly every day since we left Kharta we
+saw along the higher peaks of the Himalayas the snow being blown off in
+great wisps, showing that a strong Northwesterly current of air sets in
+at great heights after the monsoon is over. After reaching Darjeeling we
+noticed the same thing; every day, from Kanchenjunga and Kabru, could be
+seen the same great wisps of wind-blown snow. That night at Phari we
+were once more in a bungalow and out of the wind, and able to spend a
+very comfortable and pleasant evening reading our letters and papers in
+front of a fire which, though still mostly yak dung, was in a fireplace.
+October 16 we spent resting at Phari. Our coolies were much exhausted by
+the three days' march from Khamba Dzong, in which we had covered 65
+miles, most of the time at considerable heights and in deep snow. We had
+returned by the short way, which the people of Phari had told us in the
+spring was impassable, and over which they would not go, sending us
+instead around by the long way to Dochen, which took us six days instead
+of three.
+
+Phari is a place unfortunately too near civilisation. The Tibetans there
+have lost their good manners, such as we had been accustomed to meet in
+the more distant and out-of-the-way parts of the country. Much trade
+passes through the town, and the people there are too well off. They had
+an idea that the Expedition was a kind of milch cow out of which money
+could be extracted to their hearts' content. Of this view we had to
+disabuse them, and in consequence found them all very tiresome. The
+transport turned up the following morning, but they refused to load up
+unless they were paid in full beforehand and at a most exorbitant rate.
+This I refused to do, telephoning at the same time to the trade agent at
+Yatung. I sent for the Jongpen, and both Jongpens turned up. I rather
+imagine that they were at the bottom of this trouble, for one of them
+owed the Expedition some money; he had also, when forwarding on stores
+to us, seized the opportunity to charge five times the ordinary rate, on
+the pretext that he had supplied some of his own mules. After long
+arguments I eventually induced them to accept part of the payment, the
+remainder to be paid at Yatung, whereupon the Jongpens gave orders for
+the animals to be loaded. It was not, however, until the afternoon that
+we were able to leave Phari and to start on our downward march to
+Yatung.
+
+
+
+
+                                CHAPTER XI
+
+                           BACK TO CIVILISATION
+
+
+When we turned our backs on Phari and started to march down the Chumbi
+Valley, we had left the real Tibet behind us. I could not somehow look
+upon the Chumbi Valley as being a part of Tibet. Its characteristics,
+its houses, its people, its vegetation, are all so different from the
+greater part of Tibet. There are not the same cold winds that freeze the
+very marrow, nor are there the wide plains and the undulating hills with
+their extensive views.
+
+In spite of all discomforts, there is a very great charm and fascination
+about travelling in Tibet. Is it partly because it is an unknown
+country, and the unknown is always fascinating, or is it rather because
+of the innate beauty of the country itself, with its landscapes so free
+from all restraint and a horizon often 150 to 200 miles distant? Never
+anywhere have I seen a country so full of colour as is Tibet. There is
+not enough vegetation to hide the rocks and the stones. The foreground
+as well as the distant view is wonderfully full of colour and variety.
+Contrasts are one of the charms of life, and probably in this lies the
+secret of the charm and attractiveness of Tibet. It is essentially a
+country of contrasts. The climate, above all, has contrasts of its own.
+The sun is burningly hot, but in the shade the cold may be intense. To
+such a pitch can the extremes of heat and cold arrive, that a man may
+suffer from sunstroke and frost-bite at one and the same time.
+
+The Tibetans themselves are a strong, well-built and hardy
+race--Mongolian in type. The women usually put a mixture of grease and
+soot on their faces to protect them against the glare of the fresh snow
+or the biting winds, for even they, with their thick skins, do not seem
+to get used to the severity of the changes. How much more does the
+European suffer when he travels in Tibet and seems to need a fresh skin
+almost every day. The soot mixture does not add to the beauty of the
+women, though I came across some who were not bad looking. Many of the
+people are nomads, living in tents all the year round and moving about
+from camp to camp pasturing their herds of yaks and their flocks of
+sheep. It is curious that even in the winter-time they can find grazing
+places, but the secret lies in the fact that the slopes face the South
+in the regions where the wind blows strongest, so that the surface is
+usually bare. The snowfall in winter in most parts of Tibet is not
+heavy, and the climate being so dry, the snow is powdery, and the wind
+blows it along and forms great drifts in the hollows, leaving the
+exposed slopes usually clear. On these the herds, or flocks of sheep,
+obtain sufficient nourishment from such scattered patches of frozen
+grass or lichens as they are able to find. Of all the animals that the
+Tibetans have, the yak is the most useful. His long black hair, which
+reaches to the ground under his belly, is woven into tents or ropes. The
+milk, after they have drunk what they want, is turned into butter and
+cheese, of which they produce great quantities. When old, he is killed
+and his flesh is dried, providing meat for a long time. His hide
+supplies leather of every kind. It is always used untanned, for no
+tanning is ever done in Tibet and any tanned skins always come up from
+India. The yak dung is in many places the only fuel to be got and is
+most carefully picked up. To the present generation of young children
+the yak is probably familiar from that delightful rhyme in "The Bad
+Child's Book of Beasts":--
+
+             As a friend to the children, commend me the Yak--
+               You will find it exactly the thing;
+             It will carry and fetch, you can ride on its back
+               Or lead it about with a string.
+
+             The Tartar who dwells on the plains of Tibet,
+               A desolate region of snow,
+             Has for centuries made it a nursery pet,
+               And surely the Tartar should know.
+
+             Then tell your papa where the Yak can be got,
+               And if he is awfully rich,
+             He will buy you the creature--or else he will not;
+               I cannot be positive which.
+
+The traveller in Tibet can easily live on such supplies as can be drawn
+from the country. The Tibetan is always hospitable and will provide
+sheep, milk, cheese and butter almost everywhere. Vegetables, however,
+of any kind are very scarce, though in the summer a species of spinach
+can be got in some places. Living, as the Tibetans do, far away from all
+outside influences, their customs and manners have not changed, and are
+the same as they were several hundred years ago. I can fully sympathise
+with their present desire for seclusion and their eagerness not to be
+exploited by foreigners. They sent a few years ago some young Tibetan
+boys to Rugby to be educated in different professions. These boys have
+now returned again to Lhasa, and with their aid, and with the aid of
+others who are being sent out into the world to learn, they hope to be
+able to develop the resources of their own country at leisure, in their
+own way, and by themselves, without being exploited commercially by
+foreigners.
+
+The staple food of the Tibetans is tsampa (parched barley). This is
+ground up and either milk or tea is added, forming it into a kind of
+dough. This is put in a little bag, which they carry about with them
+when travelling, and is often their only food for several days. Tsampa
+can be obtained everywhere in Tibet, though it is easier to get it in
+the villages than from the tents of the nomads. Tea can, of course, be
+obtained everywhere, and, as I have described before, is mixed with salt
+and butter, churned up with great violence, and then poured into
+teapots. At every camp, and at every house, will be met fierce dogs.
+These dogs guard the flocks, or the nomad camps, and rather resemble
+large collies; as a rule, they are black and very fierce. The Tibetans
+were, however, always very good in tying them up before we approached
+their camps. In many of the houses we found tied up just outside the
+door another kind of dog, a huge brute of the mastiff type, always
+extremely savage and ready, if he had not been tied up, to tear the
+intruder to pieces. The peasants are still treated as serfs, though only
+in a mild form. For all Government officials, when on tour, they have to
+supply free transport and supplies of all kinds, so that official visits
+are not popular. At first the villagers were afraid that we might follow
+the example of the Tibetan officials and were much relieved to find that
+we did not do so.
+
+I cannot leave the subject of Tibet without a few words about the
+monasteries. These are divided into two great schools, the Red Cap
+School and the Yellow Cap School. The former was founded by the Buddhist
+Saint, Padma Sambhava or Guru Rimpoche, in A.D. 749. They are the older
+of the two monastic sects, but their morals are much looser than those
+of the Yellow Sect, and the Lamas or monks of this sect are often
+married. In one monastery belonging to the Red Sect near Kharta, the
+Lamas and their wives were all living together. The Yellow Cap, or
+Gelukpa Sect, was founded in the fifteenth century by Tsong Kapa, who
+instituted a very much stricter moral code, and this sect looks down
+very much upon the Red Caps. The State religion of the country is
+Buddhism. By the middle of the seventeenth century, after a series of
+reincarnations, Nawang Lobsang had made himself master of Tibet and
+transferred his capital to Lhasa. He accepted the title of Dalai Lama
+(Ocean of Learning) from the Chinese, hence the Dalai Lama at Lhasa, by
+this doctrine of political reincarnation, has absorbed all the political
+power in the country into his own hands, although the Tashi Lama at
+Tashilumpo is in theory his senior and superior in spiritual matters.
+The old simple creed of the Buddhists can scarcely be recognised
+nowadays and is overlaid with devil worship in all its forms,
+supernatural agencies abounding everywhere. The top of a pass, a
+mountain, a river, a bridge, a storm; each will have its own particular
+god who is to be worshipped and propitiated. In many of the larger
+monasteries, too, they have oracles who are consulted far and wide and
+supposed to be able to foretell the future. These often acquire
+considerable power and influence by methods not unlike those resorted to
+in ancient Greece. It has been estimated that a fifth of the whole
+population of Tibet has entered monastic life. The conditions probably
+much resemble those which prevailed in mediaeval Europe. The monasteries
+contain nearly all the riches of the country. They own large estates;
+they are the source of all learning, and all the arts and crafts seem to
+take their inspiration from articles for use in the monasteries. The
+ordinary Tibetan, surrounded as he is by the various spirits which
+occupy every valley and mountain top, is very superstitious. He
+therefore has inside his house his prayer wheel and his little shrine,
+before which he offers up incense daily. His Mani walls or mendongs,
+covered with inscribed stones or carved figures of Buddha, are alongside
+the paths he daily uses; on the top of the mountains or passes, in
+addition to these prayer-covered stones, flutter rags printed over with
+prayers. All these are intended to propitiate the evil spirits. In
+places where there are particularly malignant devils, it may be
+necessary to build several Chortens in order to keep them in subjection,
+and these Chortens are filled with several thousands of prayers and
+sacred figures stamped in the clay.
+
+The country is divided up into districts, each under its own Jongpen,
+who is responsible direct to Lhasa or Shigatse and has yearly to send
+the revenue collected to headquarters. A certain percentage of the crops
+is collected every year, and in a year of good harvest the Jongpen is
+able to make a certain amount of money for himself in addition to what
+he has to send to Lhasa. Our visit to the Kharta Valley was an
+unexpected windfall for the Kharta Jongpen, as I fancy that much of the
+money that we paid out to the different villages for supplies or coolie
+hire eventually found its way into his pocket and was not likely to find
+its way to Lhasa. This may possibly have accounted for his pleasure in
+entertaining us and his desire to keep us there as long as possible. The
+Tibetans, however, everywhere have good manners and are invariably most
+polite--a pleasant characteristic. Although they are all Buddhists, and
+accordingly object to the taking of life, they do not in the least mind
+killing their sheep or their yaks for food, but they objected to our
+shooting wild sheep or gazelles or wild birds for food. I could have
+understood this objection better had they been vegetarians and not
+killed their sheep for eating purposes, but a real vegetarian, except in
+the strictest monasteries, is very rare in Tibet.
+
+There was a great fascination in roaming through the country as we did.
+It was the fascination of the unknown, this travelling in regions where
+Europeans had never travelled before, and where they had never even been
+seen. The people had exaggerated notions of our ferocity, and were full
+of fears as to what we might be like and as to what we might do. In
+these out-of-the-way parts they had heard vaguely of the fighting in
+1904, and they imagined that our visit might be on the same lines. They
+imagined, too, that all Europeans were cruel and seized what they wanted
+without payment. They were therefore much surprised when they found that
+we treated them fairly and paid for everything that we wanted at very
+good rates. The Expedition may, I venture to think, take credit to
+itself for having certainly done a great deal of good in promoting more
+friendly relations between the Tibetans and ourselves, and in giving
+them a better understanding of what an Englishman is. Their ignorance of
+the outside world was at times astounding. Tibetan officials and traders
+were an exception, but it was seldom that the ordinary Tibetan ever left
+the valley in which he was born and bred, with the result that except
+for the wildest rumours, they knew nothing of the outside world. For
+long-distance journeys, the Tibetans used ambling mules or ponies, which
+were capable of going long distances and keeping up a speed of about 5
+miles an hour. To our idea, the Tibetan saddle with its high wooden
+framework is very uncomfortable, but on the top of their saddles they
+would put their bedding, spreading over it a brilliant and often
+beautifully coloured carpet as a saddle cloth. On the top of this the
+rider would sit perched, and, with a good ambling pony, could get along
+very comfortably.
+
+I always enjoyed travelling and moving about in Tibet. It hardly has the
+climate of Tennyson's Island Valley of Avilion--"Where falls not hail or
+rain or snow, nor ever wind blows loudly"--for we used to get samples of
+nearly all of these almost every day. But no matter how barren nor how
+bare the immediate surroundings were there was a sense of exhilaration
+and freedom in the air. There was never a sense of being confined in a
+narrow space. There was always some distant view where the colours would
+be continually changing. In the summer-time the climate was not
+unpleasant, and there was always the pleasure of finding some new and
+beautiful flower, oftentimes springing up out of the driest sand.
+Wherever there was water, there was sure to be vegetation and many
+bright-coloured flowers with every kind of wild-bird life. The shrill
+whistle of the marmot would often alone break the silence of the scene.
+Animal life in some form was almost always visible, whether it was the
+wild kiang roaming on the plains, or the gazelle, or the wild sheep,
+there was always something of interest to watch. The little mouse hares
+which lived in great colonies would constantly dodge in and out of their
+holes and the song of the larks could always be heard.
+
+By the end of October the climate was beginning to get very cold, the
+thermometer descending at times to Zero Fahrenheit, so that we were
+quite ready to leave the country, being anxious to get warm again, if
+only for a short time. There was sorrow in our hearts, however, at
+parting with the friendly and hospitable folk whom we had encountered,
+and at leaving behind us the familiar landscapes with the transparent
+pale blue atmosphere that is so hard to describe, and the distant views
+of range upon range of snowy mountains often reflected in the calm
+waters of some blue coloured lake. The attractions of Tibet may yet be
+strong enough to draw us back again once more. Many years ago the same
+attraction impelled me to cross the Himalayan mountains and to visit
+another part of Tibet, but my excursion was, I am afraid, not favourably
+regarded by the Indian Government and my leave was stopped for six
+months. The same attraction, however, still exists for this land of many
+colours with its lonely sunsets full of beauty, with its nights where
+the eager stars gleam bright as diamonds, and where the full moon shines
+upon the nameless mountains covered with snow and still as death.
+
+As we turned our backs upon the country we left winter behind us, and
+descending the Chumbi Valley once more found ourselves in autumnal
+surroundings. The Himalayan larch were all of a beautiful golden colour;
+the birch were all turning brown, and the berberis were a brilliant
+scarlet. Red currants and the scarlet haws of the rose were still on the
+bushes. The currants were no longer sour to eat raw, and we picked many
+of them on the way down. Our pockets, too, were filled with seeds of
+rhododendrons and other flowers. On the way I was met by the native
+officer commanding the garrison at Yatung, which was now found by the
+90th Punjabis. As I passed their quarters, the guard turned out,
+presenting arms very smartly, and all the detachment came out and
+saluted. They were certainly a very well-trained detachment. Once more
+the Macdonald family most kindly sent over a generous meal, besides
+presents of every sort and kind of European vegetable. From Yatung we
+obtained forty-five mules for our transport. These came along very much
+faster than the yaks and the donkeys that we had been using. Here
+Gyalzen Kazi, one of our interpreters, left us to return to his home at
+Gangtok. I was very sorry to lose him. He had been a pleasant companion
+and had been of great assistance to the Expedition. He was always most
+willing to undertake any difficult or unpleasant job there might be, and
+I never heard a murmur or grumble from him of any kind during the whole
+time that he was with us. Our march was only a short one of 11 miles to
+Langra, where there was a Tibetan rest-house built in the Chinese style
+and rather reminding me of our rest-house at Tingri. It was a most
+perfect autumnal day, with scarcely a cloud in the sky. The woods
+everywhere were very beautiful, the dark silver fir trees showing up the
+scarlet and yellow of the bushes and the gold of the larch. Our cook,
+Acchu, was drunk again, but Poo prepared us a good meal instead. The
+next morning, to our surprise, on looking out we found a couple of
+inches of fresh snow on the ground and the snow was still falling
+steadily. The mules, nevertheless, were all loaded up in good time, and
+I followed on foot to the top of the Jelep Pass, snow falling steadily
+all the way--a fine granular snow. At the top of the pass the wind was
+blowing keenly, driving the snow into our faces. Besides the 6 inches of
+fresh snow here, there was a good deal of the old snow that had fallen a
+week or more ago, and in some places formed drifts several feet deep. It
+is seldom that a clear view is ever obtained on the Jelep Pass. It
+rained when we came over in May and it snowed now, and twice before,
+when I have crossed it, it rained all the time. Snow fell all the way
+down to Gnatong, where there were already a couple of inches of slush.
+The next morning was luckily fine, as we were to do a long march to
+Rongli--a distance of only 18 miles, but with a descent of 9,500 feet.
+The first few miles we walked through the fresh snow, but in the
+afternoon we were wandering among the sweet scents of a tropical jungle
+with orchids still flowering on the trees and ripe oranges in the garden
+of our bungalow. We had jumped from winter to summer in a few hours. The
+Tibetan mules came along excellently, doing the march in just over eight
+hours, a very different proceeding to our Government mules on the way
+up, which we were compelled to discard at Sedongchen. We reached
+Darjeeling on October 25. Lord Ronaldshay was unfortunately away on tour
+on his way to Bhutan, and as he had travelled via Gangtok, we had missed
+seeing him on the way. The next few days we spent in getting rid of the
+remainder of our stores, selling anything perishable that we could,
+getting tents dried and mended, and storing everything else in view of a
+second Expedition. We here said good-bye to our other interpreter,
+Chheten Wangdi, who had served us most faithfully throughout the
+Expedition, and it was with the greatest regret that we took leave of
+him on the railway station at Darjeeling.
+
+[Illustration: MEMBERS OF THE EXPEDITION.
+  _Standing_: WOLLASTON. HOWARD-BURY. HERON. RAEBURN.
+  _Sitting_: MALLORY. WHEELER. BULLOCK. MORSHEAD.]
+
+Our Expedition had accomplished all that it had set out to do. All the
+approaches to Mount Everest from the North-west, North, North-east and
+East had been carefully reconnoitred and a possible route to the top had
+been found up the North-east ridge. Climatic conditions alone had
+prevented a much greater height being attained. Friendly relations had
+been established with the Tibetan officials and people wherever we went.
+Our travels had taken us through much unexplored and new country wherein
+we had discovered some magnificent and undreamt-of valleys where
+primeval forests existed such as we had never imagined to find in Tibet
+and where deep filled glens with the richest semi-tropical vegetation
+descended as low as 7,000 feet. Many beautiful flowers were discovered
+in these Alpine valleys, and we were able to collect a quantity of seeds
+from these which I hope may help to enrich and to beautify our gardens
+at home. A new part of the country has been opened up to human
+knowledge. It has been photographed and described. The surveyors have
+made an original survey at a scale of 4 miles to the inch of an area of
+some 12,000 square miles; a detailed photographic survey of 600 square
+miles of the environs of Mount Everest has been worked out, and, besides
+this, the maps of another 4,000 square miles of country have been
+revised. Dr. Heron, our indefatigable geologist, himself travelled over
+the greater part of this area, and has carefully investigated the
+geology of the whole region. That the Expedition was able to accomplish
+so much in such a short time was due to the hearty co-operation and
+keenness of all the members of the party. We were a happy family and, to
+use a rowing expression, we all "pulled together." Such success as we
+attained is entirely due to their strenuous and ceaseless efforts, and I
+can only express my gratitude to them for the unselfish way in which
+they helped and assisted me on every occasion.
+
+The Expedition of 1921 is over; many problems have been solved, much new
+country has been brought within our ken, and many new beauties have been
+revealed, but the soul of man is never content with what has been
+attained. The solution of one problem only brings forward fresh problems
+to be solved, so this Expedition into unknown country brings within the
+realms of possibility further travels and further problems to be solved.
+There is much that yet remains to be done, much that remains to be
+discovered; and though we may not be privileged to discover a new race
+of hairy snow men, yet there is a wild and uncharted country full of
+beauty and interest that awaits those who dare face the discomfort and
+hardships of travelling in Tibet--discomforts which are soon forgotten
+and leave behind them only the memories of very wonderful scenes and
+places which the passing of time can never efface.
+
+  Let us probe the silent places, let us seek what luck betide us,
+    Let us journey to a lonely land I know;
+  There's a whisper in the night wind, there's a star, a gleam to guide us,
+    And the wild is calling, calling, let us go.
+
+                                                                  R. W. S.
+
+
+
+
+                    THE RECONNAISSANCE OF THE MOUNTAIN
+
+                                    By
+
+                          GEORGE H. LEIGH-MALLORY
+
+
+
+
+                                CHAPTER XII
+
+                           THE NORTHERN APPROACH
+
+
+As a matter of history it has been stated already in an earlier chapter
+of this book that the highest mountain in the world attracted attention
+so early as 1850. When we started our travels in 1921, something was
+already known about it from a surveyor's point of view; it was a
+triangulated peak with a position on the map; but from the mountaineer's
+point of view almost nothing was known. Mount Everest had been seen and
+photographed from various points on the Singalila ridge as well as from
+Kampa Dzong; from these photographs it may dimly be made out that snow
+lies on the upper part of the Eastern face at no very steep angle, while
+the arete bounding this face on the North comes down gently for a
+considerable distance. But the whole angle subtended at the great summit
+by the distance between the two of these view-points which are farthest
+apart is only 54 deg.. The North-west sides of the mountain had never been
+photographed and nothing was known of its lower parts anywhere. Perhaps
+the distant view most valuable to a mountaineer is that from Sandakphu,
+because it suggests gigantic precipices on the South side of the
+mountain so that he need have no regrets that access is barred in that
+direction for political reasons.
+
+The present reconnaissance began at Kampa Dzong, no less than 100 miles
+away, and in consequence of misfortunes which the reader will not have
+forgotten was necessarily entrusted to Mr. G. H. Bullock and myself, the
+only representatives of the Alpine Club now remaining in the Expedition.
+It may seem an irony of fate that actually on the day after the
+distressing event of Dr. Kellas' death we experienced the strange
+elation of seeing Everest for the first time. It was a perfect early
+morning as we plodded up the barren slopes above our camp and rising
+behind the old rugged fort which is itself a singularly impressive and
+dramatic spectacle; we had mounted perhaps a thousand feet when we
+stayed and turned, and saw what we came to see. There was no mistaking
+the two great peaks in the West: that to the left must be Makalu, grey,
+severe and yet distinctly graceful, and the other away to the right--who
+could doubt its identity? It was a prodigious white fang excrescent from
+the jaw of the world. We saw Mount Everest not quite sharply defined on
+account of a slight haze in that direction; this circumstance added a
+touch of mystery and grandeur; we were satisfied that the highest of
+mountains would not disappoint us. And we learned one fact of great
+importance: the lower parts of the mountain were hidden by the range of
+nearer mountains clearly shown in the map running North from the Nila La
+and now called the Gyanka Range, but it was possible to distinguish all
+that showed near Everest beyond them by a difference in tone, and we
+were certain that one great rocky peak appearing a little way to the
+left of Everest must belong to its near vicinity.
+
+It was inevitable, as we proceeded to the West from Kampa Dzong, that we
+should lose sight of Mount Everest; after a few miles even its tip was
+obscured by the Gyanka Range, and we naturally began to wonder whether
+it would not be possible to ascend one of these nearer peaks which must
+surely give us a wonderful view. I had hopes that we should be crossing
+the range by a high pass, in which case it would be a simple matter to
+ascend some eminence near it. But at Tinki we learned that our route
+would lie in the gorge to the North of the mountains where the river
+Yaru cuts its way through from the East to join the Arun.
+
+From Gyanka Nangpa, which lies under a rocky summit over 20,000 feet
+high, Bullock and I, on June 11, made an early start and proceeded down
+the gorge. It was a perfect morning and for once we had tolerably swift
+animals to ride; we were fortunate in choosing the right place to ford
+the river and our spirits were high. How could they be otherwise? Ever
+since we had lost sight of Everest the Gyanka Mountains had been our
+ultimate horizon to the West. Day by day as we had approached them our
+thoughts had concentrated more and more upon what lay beyond. On the far
+side was a new country. Now the great Arun River was to divulge its
+secrets and we should see Everest again after nearly halving the
+distance. The nature of the gorge was such that our curiosity could not
+be satisfied until the last moment. After crossing the stream we
+followed the flat margin of its right bank until the cliffs converging
+to the exit were towering above us. Then in a minute we were out on the
+edge of a wide sandy basin stretching away with complex undulations to
+further hills. Sand and barren hills as before--but with a difference;
+for we saw the long Arun Valley proceeding Southwards to cut through the
+Himalayas and its western arm which we should have to follow to Tingri;
+and there were marks of more ancient river beds and strange inland
+lakes. It was a desolate scene, I suppose; no flowers were to be seen
+nor any sign of life beyond some stunted gorse bushes on a near hillside
+and a few patches of coarse brown grass, and the only habitations were
+dry inhuman ruins; but whatever else was dead, our interest was alive.
+
+After a brief halt a little way out in the plain, to take our bearings
+and speculate where the great mountains should appear, we made our way
+up a steep hill to a rocky crest overlooking the gorge. The only visible
+snow mountains were in Sikkim. Kanchenjunga was clear and eminent; we
+had never seen it so fine before; it now seemed singularly strong and
+monumental, like the leonine face of some splendid musician with a glory
+of white hair. In the direction of Everest no snow mountain appeared. We
+saw the long base tongues descending into the Arun Valley from the
+Gyanka Range, above them in the middle distance an amazingly sharp rock
+summit and below a blue depth most unlike Tibet as we had known it
+hitherto. A conical hill stood sentinel at the far end of the valley,
+and in the distance was a bank of clouds.
+
+Our attention was engaged by the remarkable spike of rock, a proper
+aiguille. As we were observing it a rift opened in the clouds behind; at
+first we had merely a fleeting glimpse of some mountain evidently much
+more distant, then a larger and clearer view revealed a recognizable
+form; it was Makalu appearing just where it should be according to our
+calculations with map and compass.
+
+We were now able to make out almost exactly where Everest should be; but
+the clouds were dark in that direction. We gazed at them intently
+through field glasses as though by some miracle we might pierce the
+veil. Presently the miracle happened. We caught the gleam of snow behind
+the grey mists. A whole group of mountains began to appear in gigantic
+fragments. Mountain shapes are often fantastic seen through a mist;
+these were like the wildest creation of a dream. A preposterous
+triangular lump rose out of the depths; its edge came leaping up at an
+angle of about 70 deg. and ended nowhere. To the left a black serrated crest
+was hanging in the sky incredibly. Gradually, very gradually, we saw the
+great mountain sides and glaciers and aretes, now one fragment and now
+another through the floating rifts, until far higher in the sky than
+imagination had dared to suggest the white summit of Everest appeared.
+And in this series of partial glimpses we had seen a whole; we were able
+to piece together the fragments, to interpret the dream. However much
+might remain to be understood, the centre had a clear meaning as one
+mountain shape, the shape of Everest.
+
+It is hardly possible of course from a distance of 57 miles to formulate
+an accurate idea of a mountain's shape. But some of its most remarkable
+features may be distinguished for what they are. We were looking at
+Everest from about North-east and evidently a long arete was thrust out
+towards us. Some little distance below the summit the arete came down to
+a black shoulder, which we conjectured would be an insuperable obstacle.
+To the right of this we saw the sky line in profile and judged it not
+impossibly steep. The edge was probably a true arete because it appeared
+to be joined by a col to a sharp peak to the North. From the direction
+of this col a valley came down to the East and evidently drained into
+the Arun. This was one fact of supreme importance which was now
+established and we noticed that it agreed with what was shown on the
+map; the map in fact went up in our esteem and we were inclined
+hereafter to believe in its veracity until we established the contrary.
+Another fact was even more remarkable. We knew something more about the
+great peak near Everest which we had seen from Kampa Dzong; we knew now
+that it was not a separate mountain; in a sense it was part of Everest,
+or rather Everest was not one mountain but two; this great black
+mountain to the South was connected with Everest by a continuous arete
+and divided from it only by a snow col which must itself be at least
+27,000 feet high. The black cliffs of this mountain, which faced us,
+were continuous with the icy East face of Everest itself.
+
+A bank of cloud still lay across the face of the mountain when Bullock
+and I left the crest where we were established. It was late in the
+afternoon. We had looked down into the gorge and watched our little
+donkeys crossing the stream. Now we proceeded to follow their tracks
+across the plain. The wind was fiercely blowing up the sand and swept it
+away to leeward, transforming the dead flat surface into a wriggling sea
+of watered silk. The party were all sheltering in their tents when we
+rejoined them. Our camp was situated on a grassy bank below which by
+some miracle a spring wells out from the sand. We also sought shelter.
+But a short while after sunset the wind subsided. We all came forth and
+proceeded to a little eminence near at hand; and as we looked down the
+valley there was Everest calm in the stillness of evening and clear in
+the last light.
+
+I have dwelt upon this episode at some length partly because in all our
+travels before we reached the mountain it is for me beyond other
+adventures unforgettable; and not less because the vision of Everest
+inhabiting our minds after this day had no small influence upon our
+deductions when we came to close quarters with the mountain. We made
+other opportunities before reaching Tingri to ascend likely hills for
+what we could see; notably from Shekar Dzong we made a divergence from
+the line of march and from a hill above Ponglet, on a morning of
+cloudless sunrise, saw the whole group of mountains of which Everest is
+the centre. But no view was so instructive as that above Shiling and we
+added little to the knowledge gained that day.
+
+On June 23, after a day's interval to arrange stores, the climbing party
+set forth from Tingri Dzong. We were two Sahibs, sixteen coolies, a
+Sirdar, Gyalzen and a cook Dukpa. The process of selecting the coolies
+had been begun some time before this; the long task of nailing their
+boots had been nearly completed on the march and we were now confident
+that sixteen of the best Sherpas with their climbing boots, ice axes and
+each a suit of underwear would serve us well. The Sirdar through whom
+coolies had been engaged in the first instance seemed to understand what
+was wanted and to have sufficient authority, and Dukpa, though we could
+not expect from him any culinary refinements, had shown himself a person
+of some energy and competence who should do much to reduce the
+discomforts of life in camp. Our equipment was seriously deficient in
+one respect: we were short of words. A few hours spent in Darjeeling
+with a Grammar of Tibetan had easily convinced me that I should profit
+little in the short time available by the study of that language. It had
+been assumed by both Bullock and myself that our experienced leaders
+would give the necessary orders for organisation in any dialect that
+might be required. We had found little opportunity since losing them to
+learn a language, and our one hope of conversing with the Sirdar was a
+vocabulary of about 150 words which I had written down in a notebook to
+be committed to memory on the march and consulted when occasion should
+arise.
+
+The task before us was not likely to prove a simple and straightforward
+matter, and we had no expectation that it would be quickly concluded. It
+would be necessary in the first place to find the mountain; as we looked
+across the wide plains from Tingri and saw the dark monsoon clouds
+gathered in all directions we were not reassured. And there would be
+more than one approach to be found. We should have to explore a number
+of valleys radiating from Everest and separated by high ridges which
+would make lateral communication extremely difficult; we must learn from
+which direction various parts of the mountain could most conveniently be
+reached. And beyond all investigation of the approaches we should have
+to scrutinise Mount Everest itself. Our reconnaissance must aim at a
+complete knowledge of the various faces and aretes, a correct
+understanding of the whole form and structure of the mountain and the
+distribution of its various parts; we must distinguish the vulnerable
+places in its armour and finally pit our skill against the obstacles
+wherever an opportunity of ascent should appear until all such
+opportunities were exhausted. The whole magnitude of the enterprise was
+very present in our minds as we left Tingri. We decided that a
+preliminary reconnaissance should include the first two aims of finding
+the approaches to Mount Everest and determining its shape, while
+anything in the nature of an assault should be left to the last as a
+separate stage of organisation and effort. In the result we may claim to
+have kept these ends in view without allowing the less important to prey
+upon the greater. So long as a doubt remained as to the way we should
+choose we made no attempt to climb the peak; we required ourselves first
+to find out as much as possible by more distant observations.
+
+Mount Everest, as it turned out, did not prove difficult to find. Almost
+in the direct line from Tingri are two great peaks respectively 26,870
+and 25,990 feet high--known to the Survey of India as M_{1} and M_{2}
+and to Tibetans as Cho-Uyo and Gyachung Kang. They lie about W.N.W. of
+Everest. We had to decide whether we should pass to the South of them,
+leaving them on our left, or to the North. In the first case we surmised
+that we might find ourselves to the South of a western arete of Everest,
+and possibly in Nepal, which was out of bounds. The arete, if it
+existed, might perhaps be reached from the North and give us the view we
+should require of the South-western side, in which case one base would
+serve us for a large area of investigation and we should economise time
+that would otherwise be spent in moving our camp round from one side to
+another. Consequently we chose the Northern approach. We learned from
+local knowledge that in two days we might reach a village and monastery
+called Choebuk, and from there could follow a long valley to Everest. And
+so it proved. Choebuk was not reached without some difficulty, but this
+was occasioned not by obstacles in the country but by the manners of
+Tibetans. At Tingri we had hired four pack animals. We had proceeded 2
+or 3 miles across the plain when we perceived they were heading in the
+wrong direction. We were trusting to the guidance of their local drivers
+and felt very uncertain as to where exactly we should be aiming; but
+their line was about 60 deg. to the South of our objective according to a
+guesswork compass bearing. An almost interminable three-cornered
+argument followed. It appeared that our guides intended to take five
+days to Choebuk. They knew all about "ca' canny." In the end we decided
+to take the risk of a separation; Gyalzen went with the bullocks and our
+tents to change transport at the village where we were intended to stay
+the night, while the rest of us made a bee line for a bridge where we
+should have to cross the Rongbuk stream. At the foot of a vast moraine
+we waited on the edge of the "maidan," anxiously hoping that we should
+see some sign of fresh animals approaching; and at length we saw them.
+It was a late camp that evening on a strip of meadow beside the stream,
+but we had the comfort of reflecting that we had foiled the natives,
+whose aim was to retard our progress; and in the sequel we reached our
+destination with no further trouble.
+
+[Illustration: CHO-UYO.]
+
+On June 25 we crossed the stream at Choebuk. Tibetan bridges are so
+constructed as to offer the passenger ample opportunities of
+experiencing the sensation of insecurity and contemplating the
+possibilities of disaster. This one was no exception. We had no wish to
+risk our stores, and it was planned that the beasts should swim. They
+were accordingly unladen and driven with yell and blow by a willing
+crowd, until one more frightened than the rest plunged into the torrent
+and the others followed. We now found ourselves on the right bank of the
+Rongbuk stream, and knew we had but to follow it up to reach the glacier
+at the head of the valley. An hour or so above Choebuk we entered a gorge
+with high red cliffs above us on the left. Below them was a little space
+of fertile ground where the moisture draining down from the limestone
+above was caught before it reached the stream--a green ribbon stretched
+along the margin with grass and low bushes, yellow-flowering asters,
+rhododendrons and juniper. I think we had never seen anything so green
+since we came up on to the tableland of Tibet. It was a day of brilliant
+sunshine, as yet warm and windless. The memory of Alpine meadows came
+into my mind. I remembered their manifold allurements; I could almost
+smell the scent of pines. Now I was filled with the desire to lie here
+in this "oasis" and live at ease and sniff the clean fragrance of
+mountain plants. But we went on, on and up the long valley winding
+across a broad stony bay; and all the stony hillsides under the midday
+sun were alike monotonously dreary. At length we followed the path up a
+steeper rise crowned by two chortens between which it passes. We paused
+here in sheer astonishment. Perhaps we had half expected to see Mount
+Everest at this moment. In the back of my mind were a host of questions
+about it clamouring for answer. But the sight of it now banished every
+thought. We forgot the stony wastes and regrets for other beauties. We
+asked no questions and made no comment, but simply looked.
+
+It is perhaps because Everest presented itself so dramatically on this
+occasion that I find the Northern aspect more particularly imaged in my
+mind, when I recall the mountain. But in any case this aspect has a
+special significance. The Rongbuk Valley is well constructed to show off
+the peak at its head; for about 20 miles it is extraordinarily straight
+and in that distance rises only 4,000 feet, the glacier, which is 10
+miles long, no more steeply than the rest. In consequence of this
+arrangement one has only to be raised very slightly above the bed of the
+valley to see it almost as a flat way up to the very head of the glacier
+from which the cliffs of Everest spring. To the place where Everest
+stands one looks along rather than up. The glacier is prostrate; not a
+part of the mountain; not even a pediment; merely a floor footing the
+high walls. At the end of the valley and above the glacier Everest rises
+not so much a peak as a prodigious mountain-mass. There is no
+complication for the eye. The highest of the world's great mountains, it
+seems, has to make but a single gesture of magnificence to be lord of
+all, vast in unchallenged and isolated supremacy. To the discerning eye
+other mountains are visible, giants between 23,000 and 26,000 feet high.
+Not one of their slenderer heads even reaches their chief's shoulder;
+beside Everest they escape notice--such is the pre-eminence of the
+greatest.
+
+Considered as a structure Mount Everest is seen from the Rongbuk Valley
+to achieve height with amazing simplicity. The steep wall 10,000 feet
+high is contained between two colossal members--to the left the
+North-eastern arete, which leaves the summit at a gentle angle and in a
+distance of about half a mile descends only 1,000 feet before turning
+more sharply downwards from a clearly defined shoulder; and to the
+right the North-west arete (its true direction is about W.N.W.), which
+comes down steeply from the summit but makes up for the weaker nature of
+this support by immense length below. Such is the broad plan. In one
+respect it is modified. The wide angle between the two main aretes
+involves perhaps too long a face; a further support is added. The
+Northern face is brought out a little below the North-east shoulder and
+then turned back to meet the crest again, so that from the point of the
+shoulder a broad arete leads down to the North and is connected by a
+snow col at about 23,000 feet with a Northern wing of mountains which
+forms the right bank of the Rongbuk Glacier and to some extent masks the
+view of the lower parts of Everest. Nothing could be stronger than this
+arrangement and it is nowhere fantastic. We do not see jagged crests and
+a multitude of pinnacles, and beautiful as such ornament may be we do
+not miss it. The outline is comparatively smooth because the
+stratification is horizontal, a circumstance which seems again to give
+strength, emphasising the broad foundations. And yet Everest is a rugged
+giant. It has not the smooth undulations of a snow mountain with white
+snow cap and glaciated flanks. It is rather a great rock mass, coated
+often with a thin layer of white powder which is blown about its sides,
+and bearing perennial snow only on the gentler ledges and on several
+wide faces less steep than the rest. One such place is the long arm of
+the North-west arete which with its slightly articulated buttresses is
+like the nave of a vast cathedral roofed with snow. I was, in fact,
+reminded often by this Northern view of Winchester Cathedral with its
+long high nave and low square tower; it is only at a considerable
+distance that one appreciates the great height of this building and the
+strength which seems capable of supporting a far taller tower. Similarly
+with Everest; the summit lies back so far along the immense aretes that
+big as it always appears one required a distant view to realise its
+height; and it has no spire though it might easily bear one; I have
+thought sometimes that a Matterhorn might be piled on the top of Everest
+and the gigantic structure would support the added weight in stable
+equanimity.
+
+On June 26 we pitched our tents in full view of Everest and a little way
+beyond the large monastery of Choeyling which provides the habitations
+nearest to the mountain, about 16 miles away. After three days' march
+from the Expedition's headquarters at Tingri we had found the object of
+our quest and established a base in the Rongbuk Valley, which was to
+serve us for a month.
+
+The first steps in a prolonged reconnaissance such as we were proposing
+to undertake were easily determined by topographical circumstances.
+Neither Bullock nor I was previously acquainted with any big mountains
+outside the Alps; to our experience in the Alps we had continually to
+refer, both for understanding this country and for estimating the
+efforts required to reach a given point in it. The Alps provided a
+standard of comparison which alone could be our guide until we had
+acquired some fresh knowledge in the new surroundings. No feature of
+what we saw so immediately challenged this comparison as the glacier
+ahead of us; in so narrow a glacier it was hardly surprising that the
+lower part of it should be covered with stones, but higher the whole
+surface was white ice, and the white ice came down in a broad stream
+tapering gradually to a point when it was lost in the waste of the brown
+grey. What was the meaning of this? Even from a distance it was possible
+to make out that the white stream contained pinnacles of ice. Was it all
+composed of pinnacles? Would they prove an insuperable obstacle? In the
+Alps the main glaciers are most usually highways, the ways offered to
+the climber for his travelling. Were they not to prove highways here?
+
+Our first expedition was designed to satisfy our curiosity on this head.
+Allowing a bountiful margin of time for untoward contingencies we set
+forth on June 27 with five coolies at 3.15 a.m., and made our way up the
+valley with a good moon to help us. To be tramping under the stars
+toward a great mountain is always an adventure; now we were adventuring
+for the first time in a new mountain country which still held in store
+for us all its surprises and almost all its beauties. It was not our
+plan at present to make any allowance for the special condition of
+elevation; we expected to learn how that condition would tell and how to
+make allowances for the future. We started from our camp at 16,000
+feet--above the summit of Mont Blanc--just as we should have left an
+Alpine hut 6,000 feet lower, and when we took our first serious halt at
+7 a.m. had already crossed the narrow end of the glacier. That short
+experience--an hour or so--was sufficient for the moment. The hummocks
+of ice covered with stones of all sizes--like the huge waves of a brown
+angry sea--gave us no chance of ascending the glacier; one might
+hopefully follow a trough for a little distance but invariably to be
+stopped by the necessity of mounting once more to a crest and descending
+again on the other side. Nevertheless, we were not dissatisfied with our
+progress. We were now in a stream bed between the glacier and its left
+bank and above the exit of the main glacier stream, which comes out on
+this side well above the snout. The watercourse offered an opportunity
+of progress; it was dry almost everywhere and for a bout of leaping from
+boulder to boulder we were usually rewarded by a space of milder walking
+on the flat sandy bed. Our pace I considered entirely satisfactory as we
+went on after breakfast; unconsciously I was led into something like a
+race by one of the coolies who was pressing along at my side. I noticed
+that though he was slightly built he seemed extremely strong and active,
+compact of muscle; but he had not yet learnt the art of walking
+rhythmically and balancing easily from stone to stone. I wondered how
+long he would keep up. Presently we came to a corner where our stream
+bed ended and a small glacier-snout was visible above us apparently
+descending from the Northwest. We gathered on a high bank of stones to
+look out over the glacier. I observed now that the whole aspect of the
+party had changed. The majority were more than momentarily tired, they
+were visibly suffering from some sort of malaise. It was not yet nine
+o'clock and we had risen barely 2,000 feet, but their spirits had gone.
+There were grunts instead of laughter.
+
+The glacier's left bank which we were following was now trending to the
+right. To the South and standing in front of the great North-west arm of
+Everest was a comparatively small and very attractive snow peak, perhaps
+a little less than 21,000 feet high. We had harboured a vague ambition
+to reach its shoulder, a likely point for prospecting the head of the
+Rongbuk Glacier. But between us and this objective was a wide stretch of
+hummocky ice which had every appearance of being something more than a
+mere bay of the main glacier. We suspected a western branch and
+proceeded to confirm our suspicion. After a rough crossing below the
+glacier above us we were fortunate enough to find another trough wider
+than the first and having a flat sandy bottom where we walked easily
+enough. Presently leaving the coolies to rest on the edge of the glacier
+Bullock and I mounted a high stony shoulder, and from there, at 18,500
+feet, saw the glacier stretching away to the West, turning sharply below
+us to rise more steeply than before. Cloud prevented us from
+distinguishing what appeared to be a high mountain ridge at the far end
+of it.
+
+It was evident that nothing was to be gained at present by pushing our
+investigations further to the West. Our curiosity was as yet unsatisfied
+about those white spires of ice to which our eyes had constantly
+returned. We declined the alternative of retracing our steps and without
+further delay set about to cross the glacier. It was now eleven o'clock
+and we were under no delusion that the task before us would be other
+than arduous and long. But the reward in interest and valuable
+information promised to be great, for, by exploring the glacier's right
+bank during our descent we should learn all we wanted to know before
+making plans for an advance. And we hoped to be in before dark.
+
+The stone-covered ice on which we first embarked compared favourably
+with that of our earlier experience before breakfast. The sea, so to
+speak, was not so choppy; the waves were longer. We were able to follow
+convenient troughs for considerable distances. But at the bottom of a
+trough which points whither it will it is impossible to keep a definite
+direction and difficult to know to what extent one is erring. An hour's
+hard work was required to bring us to the edge of the white ice. Our
+first question was answered at a glance. It had always seemed improbable
+that these were seracs such as one meets on an Alpine icefall, and
+clearly they were not. We saw no signs of lateral crevasses. The shapes
+were comparatively conical and regular, not delicately poised but firmly
+based, safely perpendicular and not dangerously impending. They were the
+result not of movement but of melting, and it was remarkable that on
+either side the black ice looked over the white, as though the glacier
+had sunk in the middle. The pinnacles resembled a topsy-turvy system of
+colossal icicles, icicles thrust upwards from a common icy mass, the
+whole resting on a definable floor. The largest were about 50 feet high.
+
+We were divided from this fairy world of spires by a deep boundary moat
+and entered it on the far side by what may be described as a door but
+that it had no lintel. An alley led us over a low wall and we had
+reached the interior. A connected narrative of our wanderings in this
+amazing country could hardly be true to its disconnected character. The
+White Rabbit himself would have been bewildered here. No course seemed
+to lead anywhere. Our idea was to keep to the floor so far as we were
+able; but most usually we were scrambling up a chimney or slithering
+down one, cutting round the foot of a tower or actually traversing along
+an icy crest. To be repeatedly crossing little cols with the continued
+expectation of seeing a way beyond was a sufficiently exciting labour;
+it was also sufficiently laborious since the chopping of steps was
+necessary almost everywhere; but fatigue was out of sight in the
+enchanted scene, with the cool delight of little lakes, of the ice
+reflected in their unruffled waters and of blue sky showing between the
+white spires. We had but one misadventure, and that of no
+consequence--it was my fate when crossing the frozen surface of one
+little lake to suffer a sudden immersion: the loss of dignity perhaps
+was more serious than the chilling of ardour, for we soon came upon a
+broadening alley and came out from our labyrinth as suddenly as we
+entered it, to lie and bask in the warm sun.
+
+Our crossing of the white ice after all had taken little more than two
+hours, and we might well consider ourselves fortunate. But it must be
+remembered that we were far from fresh at the start and now the reaction
+set in. The stone-covered glacier on this side, besides being a much
+narrower belt was clearly not going to give us trouble, and after an
+ample halt we started across it easily enough. On the right bank we had
+noticed many hours before above the glacier a broad flat shelf,
+presumably an old moraine, and a clear mark along the hillside away down
+to a point below the snout. This was now our objective and no doubt once
+we had gained it our troubles would be ended. But in the first place it
+had to be gained. In the Alps it has often seemed laborious to go up
+hill towards the end of a day: it was a new sensation to find it an
+almost impossible exertion to drag oneself up a matter of 150 feet. And
+further exertions were to be required of us. A little way down the
+valley a glacier stream came in on our right; we had observed this
+before and hopefully expected to follow our terrace round and rejoin it
+on the far side of the gully. But it was late in the afternoon and the
+stream was at its fullest. We followed it down with defeated
+expectations; it always proved just too dangerous to cross. Finally it
+formed a lake at the edge of the glacier before disappearing beneath it
+and obliged us to make a detour on the ice once more. I suppose this
+obstacle was mild enough; but again an ascent was involved, and after it
+at least one member of the party seemed incapable of further effort.
+Another halt was necessary. We were now down to about 17,000 feet and at
+the head of a long passage at the side of the glacier, similar to that
+we had ascended in the morning on the other bank. Those who suffer from
+altitude on a mountain have a right to expect a recovery on the descent.
+But I saw no signs of one yet. It was a long painful hour balancing from
+boulder to boulder along the passage, with the conscious effort of
+keeping up the feat until we came out into the flat basin at the glacier
+end. Then as we left the glacier behind us the day seemed to come right.
+One obstacle remained, a stream which had been crossed with difficulty
+in the morning and was now swollen to a formidable torrent. It was
+carried with a rush--this was no moment for delay. Each man chose his
+own way for a wetting; for my part, after a series of exciting leaps on
+to submerged stones I landed in the deepest part of the stream with the
+pick of my axe dug into the far bank to help me scramble out. After this
+I remember only of the last 4 miles the keen race against the gathering
+darkness; fatigue was forgotten and we reached camp at 8.15 p.m., tired
+perhaps, but not exhausted.
+
+It has seemed necessary to give an account of this first expedition in
+some detail in order to emphasise certain conditions which governed all
+our movements from the Rongbuk Valley. We now knew how to get about.
+Flat though the glacier might be, it was no use for travelling in any
+part we had seen, not a road but an obstacle. The obstacle, however, had
+not proved insurmountable, and though the crossing had been laborious
+and long, we were not convinced that it need be so long another time;
+careful reconnaissance might reveal a better way, and we had little
+doubt that both the main glacier and its Western branch could be used
+freely for lateral communication if we chose. It would not always be
+necessary in organising an expedition to be encamped on one side of the
+glacier rather than the other. And we had discovered that it was not a
+difficult matter to make our way along the glacier sides; we could
+choose either a trough or a shelf.
+
+We had also been greatly interested by the phenomena of fatigue. The
+most surprising fact when we applied our standard of comparison was that
+coming down had proved so laborious; Bullock and I had each discovered
+independently that we got along better when we remembered to breathe
+hard, and we already suspected what we afterwards established--that it
+was necessary to adopt a conscious method of breathing deeply for coming
+down as for going up. Another inference, subsequently confirmed on many
+occasions, accused the glacier. The mid-day sun had been hot as we
+crossed it and I seemed to notice some enervating influence which had
+not affected me elsewhere. It was the glacier that had knocked me out,
+not the hard work alone but some malignant quality in the atmosphere,
+which I can neither describe nor explain; and in crossing a glacier
+during the day I always afterwards observed the same effect; I might
+feel as fit and fresh as I could wish on the moraine at the side but
+only once succeeded in crossing a glacier without feeling a despairing
+lassitude.
+
+I shall now proceed to quote from my diary:
+
+_June_ 28.--A slack day in camp. It is difficult to induce coolies to
+take any steps to make themselves more comfortable. We're lucky to have
+this fine weather. The mountain appears not to be intended for climbing.
+I've no inclination to think about it in steps to the summit.
+Nevertheless, we gaze much through field-glasses. E. is, generally
+speaking, convex, steep in lower parts and slanting back to summit. Last
+section of East arete[4] should go; but rocks up to the shoulder are
+uninviting. An arete must join up here, coming down towards us and
+connecting up with first peak to N.[5] There's no true North arete to
+the summit, as we had supposed at first. It's more like this:
+
+  [4] It had not yet been established that the true direction of this
+      arete is North-east.
+
+  [5] i.e. the North Peak (Changtse).
+
+[Illustration]
+
+G. H. B. thinks little of the North-west arm. But I'm not so sure; much
+easy going on that snow if we can get to it and rocks above probably
+easier than they look--steep but broken. Are we seeing the true edge? I
+wish some folk at home could see the precipice on this side--a grim
+spectacle most unlike the long gentle snow slopes suggested by photos.
+Amusing to think how one's vision of the last effort has changed; it
+looked like crawling half-blind up easy snow, an even slope all the way
+up from a camp on a flat snow shoulder; but it won't be that sort of
+grind; we'll want climbers and not half-dazed ones; a tougher job than I
+bargained for, sanguine as usual.
+
+E. is a rock mountain.
+
+Obviously we must get round to the West first. The Western glacier looks
+as flat as this one. Perhaps we shall be able to walk round into
+another cwm[6] on the far side of North-west buttress.
+
+  [6] Cwm, combe or corry--the rounded head of a valley.
+
+_June_ 29.--Established First Advanced Camp.
+
+The start late, about 8 a.m., an hour later than ordered. Loads must be
+arranged better if anything is to be done efficiently. Gyalzen's
+response to being hustled is to tie knots or collect tent pegs--with no
+idea of superintending operations. An exciting day with destination
+unfixed. We speculated that the shelf on the left bank would resemble
+that on right. A passage on stone-covered glacier unavoidable and bad
+for coolies--perhaps to-day's loads were too heavy for this sort of
+country. From breakfast place of 27th I went on with Gyalzen, following
+up a fresh-water stream to the shelf; good going on this shelf for forty
+minutes, with no sign of more water, and I decided to come back to the
+stream. Just as we were turning I saw a pond of water and a spring, an
+ideal place, and it's much better to be further on. Real good luck. Wind
+blows down the glacier and the camp is well sheltered. Only crab that we
+lose the sun early--4 p.m. to-day; but on the other hand it should hit
+us very soon after sunrise.
+
+Coolies in between 3.30 and 4.30. Dorji Gompa first, stout fellow, with
+a big load. They seem happy and interested.... It should now be possible
+to carry reconnaissance well up the main glacier and to the basin
+Westwards without moving further--once we get accustomed to this
+elevation.
+
+_June_ 30.--A short day with second[7] party, following the shelf to a
+corner which marks roughly the junction of the main glacier with its
+Western branch. A clearing day after a good night; we found a good way
+across to the opposite corner, about an hour across, and came back in
+leisurely fashion. Neither B. nor I felt fit.
+
+  [7] The coolies had been divided into three parties which were to
+      spend four or five days in the advanced camp by turns to be
+      trained in the practice of mountaineering while the rest supplied
+      this camp from our base.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER XIII
+
+                    THE NORTHERN APPROACH--_continued_
+
+
+The reader will gather from these notes some idea of the whole nature of
+our problem and the subjects of our most anxious thoughts. The camp
+established on June 25 lasted us until July 8. Meanwhile the idea was
+growing, the vision of Everest as a structural whole, and of the
+glaciers and lower summits to North and West. This idea resembled the
+beginning of an artist's painting, a mere rough design at the start, but
+growing by steps of clearer definition in one part and another towards
+the precise completion of a whole. For us the mountain parts defined
+themselves in the mind as the result of various expeditions. We set out
+to gain a point of view with particular questions to be answered;
+partial answers and a new point of view stimulated more curiosity, other
+questions, and again the necessity to reach a particular place whence we
+imagined they might best be answered. And at the same time another aim
+had to be kept in mind. The coolies, though mountain-men, were not
+mountaineers. They had to be trained in the craft of mountaineering, in
+treading safely on snow or ice in dangerous places, in climbing easy
+rocks and most particularly in the use of rope and ice-axe--and this not
+merely for our foremost needs, but to ensure that, whenever we were able
+to launch an assault upon Mount Everest, and all would be put to the
+most exhausting test, they should have that reserve strength of a
+practised balance and ordered method on which security must ultimately
+depend.
+
+On July 1 I set out with five coolies to reach the head of the great cwm
+under the North face of Mount Everest. The snow on the upper glacier was
+soft and made very heavy going. Bad weather came up and in a race
+against the clouds we were beaten and failed to find out what happened
+to the glacier at its Western head under the North-west arete. My view
+of the col lying between Everest and the North Peak (Changtse)--the
+North Col as we now began to call it, or in Tibetan Chang La--was also
+unsatisfactory; but I saw enough to make out a broken glacier running up
+eastwards towards the gap with steep and uninviting snow slopes under
+the pass. I was now sure that before attempting to reach this col from
+the Rongbuk Glacier, if ever we determined to reach it, we should have
+to reconnoitre the other side and if possible find a more hopeful
+alternative; moreover, from a nearer inspection of the slopes below the
+North-west arete I was convinced that they could be chosen for an attack
+only as a last resort; if anything were to be attempted here, we must
+find a better way up from the East.
+
+I had vaguely hoped to bring the party home sufficiently fresh to climb
+again on the following day. But the fatigue of going in deep snow for
+three hours up the glacier, though we had been no higher than 19,100
+feet, had been too great, and again we had noticed only a slight relief
+in coming down; it was a tired party that dragged back over the glacier
+crossing and into camp at 6.15 p.m., thirteen hours after starting.
+
+July 3 was devoted to an expedition designed chiefly to take coolies on
+to steeper ground and at the same time to explore the small glacier
+which we had observed above us on the first day to the North-west; by
+following up the terrace from our present camp we could now come to the
+snout of it in half an hour or less. After working up the glacier we
+made for a snow col between two high peaks. On reaching a bergschrund we
+found above its upper lip hard ice, which continued no doubt to the
+ridge. While Bullock looked after the party below I cut a staircase
+slanting up to a small island of rock 100 feet away; from that security
+I began to bring the party up. We had now the interesting experience of
+seeing our coolies for the first time on real hard ice; it was not a
+convincing spectacle, as they made their way up with the ungainly
+movements of beginners; and though the last man never left the secure
+anchorage of the bergschrund, the proportion of two Sahibs to five
+coolies seemed lamentably weak, and when one man slipped from the steep
+steps at an awkward corner, though Bullock was able to hold him, it was
+clearly time to retire. But the descent was a better performance; the
+coolies were apt pupils, and we felt that with practice on the glacier
+the best of them should become safe mountaineers. And on this day we had
+reached a height of 21,000 feet[8] from our camp at 17,500 feet. I had
+the great satisfaction of observing that one could cut steps quite
+happily at this altitude. The peak lying to the North of the col, which
+had been our objective on this day, attracted our attention by its
+position; we thought it should have a commanding view over all this
+complicated country, and after a day in camp very pleasantly spent in
+receiving a visit from Colonel Howard-Bury and Dr. Heron, set out on
+July 5 determined to reach its summit. The start was made at 4.15 a.m.
+in the first light, an hour earlier than usual; we proceeded up the
+stone shoots immediately above our camp and after a halt for photography
+at the glorious moment of sunrise had made 2,500 feet and reached the
+high shoulder above us at 7 a.m. This place was connected with our peak
+by a snowy col which had now to be reached by a long traverse over a
+South-facing slope. Though the angle was not steep very little snow was
+lying here, and where the ice was peeping through it was occasionally
+necessary to cut steps. I felt it was a satisfactory performance to
+reach the col at 9.30 a.m.; the coolies had come well, though one of
+them was burdened with the quarter-plate camera; but evidently their
+efforts had already tired them. Ahead of us was a long, curving snow
+arete, slightly corniced and leading ultimately to a rocky shoulder. We
+thought that once this shoulder was gained the summit would be within
+our reach. Shortly after we went on two coolies dropped out, and by
+11.30 a.m. the rest had given up the struggle. It was fortunate that
+they fell out here and not later, for they were able to make their way
+down in our tracks and regain the col below in safety. The angle
+steepened as we went on very slowly now, but still steadily enough,
+until we reached the rocks, a frail slatey structure with short
+perpendicular pitches. From the shoulder onwards my memories are dim. I
+have the impression of a summit continually receding from the position
+imagined by sanguine hopes and of a task growing constantly more severe,
+of steeper sides, of steps to be cut, of a dwindling pace, more frequent
+little halts standing where we were, and of breathing quicker but no
+less deep and always conscious; the respiratory engine had to be kept
+running as the indispensable source of energy, and ever as we went on
+more work was required of it. At last we found ourselves without an
+alternative under an icy wall; but the ice was a delusion; in the soft
+flaky substance smothering rocks behind it we had strength left to cut a
+way up to the crest again, and after a few more steps were on the summit
+itself.
+
+  [8] Calculated from the readings of two aneroids, allowing a correction
+      for the height of the camp as established later by Major Wheeler.
+
+It was now 2.45 p.m. The aneroid used by Bullock, which, after
+comparison with one of Howard-Bury's was supposed to read low,
+registered 23,050 feet,[9] and we puffed out our chests as we examined
+it, computing that we had risen from our camp over 5,500 feet. The views
+both earlier in the day and at this moment were of the highest interest.
+To the East we had confirmed our impression of the North Peak as having
+a high ridge stretching eastwards and forming the side of whatever
+valley connected with the Arun River in this direction; the upper parts
+of Everest's North face had been clearly visible for a long time, and we
+could now be certain that they lay back at no impossibly steep angle,
+more particularly above the North col and up to the North-east shoulder.
+All we had seen immediately to the West of the mountain had been of the
+greatest interest, and had suggested the idea that the crinkled summit
+there might be connected not directly with Mount Everest itself, but
+only by way of the South peak. And finally we now saw the connections of
+all that lay around us with the two great triangulated peaks away to the
+West, Gyachung Kang, 25,990 and Cho-Uyo, 26,870 feet. While complaining
+of the clouds which had come up as usual during the morning to spoil our
+view we were not dissatisfied with the expansion of our knowledge and we
+were elated besides to be where we were. But our situation was far from
+perfectly secure. The ascent had come very near to exhausting our
+strength; for my part I felt distinctly mountain-sick; we might reflect
+that we should not be obliged to cut more steps, but we should have to
+proceed downwards with perfect accuracy of balance and a long halt was
+desirable. However, the clouds were now gathering about us, dark
+thunder-clouds come up from the North and threatening; it was clear we
+must not wait; after fifteen minutes on the summit we started down at
+three o'clock. Fortune favoured us. The wind was no more than a breeze;
+a few flakes of snow were unnoticed in our flight; the temperature was
+mild; the storm's malice was somehow dissipated with no harm done. We
+rejoined the coolies before five o'clock and were back in our camp at
+7.15 p.m., happy to have avoided a descent in the dark.
+
+  [9] The survey established the height of this peak as 22,520 feet,
+      and our subsequent experience suggests that aneroid barometers
+      habitually read too high when approaching the upper limit of
+      their record.
+
+Our next plan, based on our experience of this long mountain ridge, was
+to practise the coolies in the use of crampons on hard snow and ice. But
+snow fell heavily on the night of the 6th; we deferred our project. It
+was the beginning of worse weather; the monsoon was breaking in earnest.
+And though crampons afterwards came up to our camps wherever we went
+they were not destined to help us, and in the event were never used.
+
+On July 8 we moved up with a fresh party of seven coolies, taking only
+our lightest tents and no more than was necessary for three nights, in
+the hope that by two energetic expeditions we should reach the Western
+cwm which, we suspected, must exist on the far side of the North-west
+arete, and learn enough to found more elaborate plans for exploring this
+side of the mountain should they turn out to be necessary. Again we were
+fortunate in finding a good camping ground, better even than the first,
+for the floor of this shelf was grassy and soft, and as we were looking
+South across the West Rongbuk Glacier we had the sun late as well as
+early. But we were not completely happy. A Mummery tent may be well
+enough in fair weather, though even then its low roof suggests a
+recumbent attitude; it makes a poor dining-room, even for two men, and
+is a cold shelter from snow. Moreover, the cold and draught discouraged
+our Primus stove--but I leave to the imagination of those who have
+learned by experience the nausea that comes from the paraffin fumes and
+one's dirty hands and all the mess that may be. It was chiefly a
+question of incompetence, no doubt, but there was no consolation in
+admitting that. In the morning, with the weather still very thick and
+the snow lying about us we saw the error of our ways. Is it not a first
+principle of mountaineering to be as comfortable as possible as long as
+one can? And how long should we require for these operations in such
+weather? It was clear that our Second Advanced Camp must be organised on
+a more permanent basis. On the 9th therefore I went down to the base and
+moved it up on the following day so as to be within reach of our present
+position by one long march. The new place greatly pleased me; it was
+much more sheltered than the lower site and the tents were pitched on
+flat turf where a clear spring flowed out from the hillside and only a
+quarter of an hour below the end of the glacier. Meanwhile Bullock
+brought up the Whymper tents and more stores from the First Advanced
+Camp, which was now established as a half-way house with our big 80-foot
+tent standing in solemn grandeur to protect all that remained there. On
+July 10 I was back at the Second Advanced Camp and felt satisfied that
+the new arrangements, and particularly the presence of our cook, would
+give us a fair measure of comfort.
+
+But we were still unable to move next day. The snowfall during the night
+was the heaviest we had yet seen and continued into the next day.
+Probably the coolies were not sorry for a rest after some hard work; and
+we reckoned to make a long expedition so soon as the weather should
+clear. Towards evening on the 10th the clouds broke. Away to the
+South-west of us and up the glacier was the barrier range on the
+frontier of Nepal, terminated by one great mountain, Pumori, over 24,000
+feet high. To the West Rongbuk Glacier they present the steepest slopes
+on which snow can lie; the crest above these slopes is surprisingly
+narrow and the peaks which it joins are fantastically shaped. This group
+of mountains, always beautiful and often in the highest degree
+impressive, was now to figure for our eyes as the principal in that
+oft-repeated drama which seems always to be a first night, fresh and
+full of wonder whenever we are present to watch it. The clinging
+curtains were rent and swirled aside and closed again, lifted and
+lowered and flung wide at last; sunlight broke through with sharp
+shadows and clean edges revealed--and we were there to witness the
+amazing spectacle. Below the terrible mountains one white smooth island
+rose from the quiet sea of ice and was bathed in the calm full light of
+the Western sun before the splendour failed.
+
+With hopes inspired by the clearing views of this lovely evening, we
+started at 5.30 a.m. on July 12 to follow the glacier round to the South
+and perhaps enter the Western cwm. The glacier was a difficult problem.
+It looked easy enough to follow up the medial moraine to what we called
+the Island, a low mountain pushed out from the frontier ridge into the
+great sea of ice. But the way on Southwards from there would have been a
+gamble with the chances of success against us. We decided to cross the
+glacier directly to the South with a certainty that once we had reached
+the moraine on the other side we should have a clear way before us. It
+was exhilarating to set out again under a clear sky, and we were
+delighted to think that a large part of this task was accomplished when
+the sun rose full of warmth and cheerfulness. The far side was cut off
+by a stream of white ice, so narrow here that we expected with a little
+good fortune to get through it in perhaps half an hour. We entered it by
+a frozen stream leading into a bay with high white towers and ridges
+above us. A side door led through into a further bay which took us in
+the confidence of success almost through the maze. With some vigorous
+blows we cut our way up the final wall and then found ourselves on a
+crest overlooking the moraine with a sheer ice-precipice of about 100
+feet below us.
+
+The only hope was to come down again and work round to the right. Some
+exciting climbing and much hard work brought us at length to the foot of
+the cliffs and on the right side. The performance had taken us two and a
+half hours and it was now nearly ten o'clock. Clouds had already come up
+to obscure the mountains, and from the point of view of a prolonged
+exploration the day was clearly lost. Our course now was to make the
+best of it and yet get back so early to camp that we could set forth
+again on the following day. We had the interest, after following the
+moraine to the corner where the glacier bends Southwards, of making our
+way into the middle of the ice and finding out how unpleasant it can be
+to walk on a glacier melted everywhere into little valleys and ridges
+and covered with fresh snow. We got back at 3 p.m.
+
+[Illustration: SUMMIT OF MOUNT EVEREST AND NORTH PEAK from the Island,
+West Rongbuk Glacier.]
+
+On July 13, determined to make good, we started at 4.15 a.m. With the
+knowledge gained on the previous day and the use of 250 feet of spare
+rope we were able to find our way through the ice pinnacles and reached
+the far moraine in less than an hour and a half; and we had the further
+good fortune when we took to the snow to find it now in such good
+condition that we were able to walk on the surface without using our
+snow-shoes. As we proceeded up the slopes where the snow steepened the
+weather began to thicken and we halted at 8 a.m. in a thick mist with a
+nasty wind and some snow falling. It was a cold halt. We were already
+somewhat disillusioned about our glacier, which seemed to be much more
+narrow than was to be expected if it were really a high-road to the
+Western cwm, and as we went on with the wind blowing the snow into our
+faces so that nothing could be clearly distinguished we had the sense of
+a narrowing place and a perception of the even surface being broken up
+into large crevasses on one side and the other. At 9.30 we could go no
+further. For a few hundred yards we had been traversing a slope which
+rose above us on our left, and now coming out on to a little spur we
+stood peering down through the mist and knew ourselves to be on the edge
+of a considerable precipice. Not a single feature of the landscape
+around us was even faintly visible in the cloud. For a time we stayed on
+with the dim hope of better things and then reluctantly retired, baffled
+and bewildered.
+
+Where had we been? It was impossible to know; but at least it was
+certain there was no clear way to the West side of Everest. We could
+only suppose that we had reached a col on the frontier of Nepal.
+
+A further disappointment awaited us when we reached camp at 1 p.m. I had
+made a simple plan to ensure our supply of gobar[10] and rations from
+the base camp. The supplies had not come up and it was not the sort of
+weather to be without a fire for cooking.
+
+  [10] In the Rongbuk Valley there was no wood and our supply of yak dung
+       had to come up from Choebuk.
+
+I shall now proceed to quote my diary:--
+
+_July_ 14.--A day of rest, but with no republican demonstrations. Very
+late breakfast after some snow in the night. Piquet after tiffin and
+again after dinner was very consoling. The little streams we found here
+on our arrival are drying up; it seems that not much snow can have
+fallen higher.
+
+_July_ 15.--Started 6 a.m. to explore the glacier to West and
+North-west. A very interesting view just short of the Island; the South
+peak appearing. Fifty minutes there for photos; then hurried on in the
+hope of seeing more higher up and at a greater distance. It is really a
+dry glacier here but with snow frozen over the surface making many
+pitfalls. We had a good many wettings in cold water up to the knees. The
+clouds were just coming up as we halted on the medial moraine. I waited
+there in hope of better views, while Bullock took on the coolies. They
+put on snow-shoes for the first time and seemed to go very well in them.
+Ultimately I struggled across the glacier, bearing various burdens, to
+meet them as they came down on a parallel moraine. Snow-shoes seemed
+useful, but very awkward to leap in. Bullock went a long way up the
+glacier, rising very slightly towards the peak Cho-Uyo, 26,870 feet.
+Evidently there is a flat pass over into Nepal near this peak, but he
+did not quite reach it.
+
+The topographical mystery centres about the West Peak. Is there an arete
+connecting this with the great rock peak South of Everest or is it
+joined up with the col we reached the day before yesterday? The shape of
+the West cwm and the question of its exit will be solved if we can
+answer these questions. Bullock and I are agreed that the glacier there
+has probably an exit on the Nepal side. It all remains extremely
+puzzling. We saw the North col quite clearly to-day, and again the way
+up from there does not look difficult.
+
+A finer day and quite useful. Chitayn[11] started out with us and went
+back. He appears to be seedy, but has been quite hopeless as Sirdar down
+in the base camp and is without authority. It is a great handicap
+having no one to look after things down there. Chitayn is returning to
+Tingri to-morrow. I hope he will cheer up again.
+
+  [11] A useful coolie with experience in the Indian Army. I had used him
+       as second Sirdar.
+
+_July_ 16.--I made an early start with two coolies at 2.45 a.m. and
+followed the medial moraine to the Island. Reached the near summit at
+sunrise about 5.30. Difficult to imagine anything more exciting than the
+clear view of all peaks. Those near me to the South-west quickly bathed
+in sun and those to the South and East showing me their dark faces. To
+the left of our col of July 13 a beautiful sharp peak stood in front of
+the gap between Everest and the North Peak, Changtse. Over this col I
+saw the North-west buttress of Everest hiding the lower half of the West
+face which must be a tremendous precipice of rock. The last summit of
+the South Peak, Lhotse, was immediately behind the shoulder; to the
+right (i.e. West) of it I saw a terrible arete stretching a long
+distance before it turned upwards in my direction and towards the West
+Peak. This mountain dropped very abruptly to the North, indicating a big
+gap on the far side of our col. There was the mysterious cwm lying in
+cold shadow long after the sun warmed me! But I now half understand it.
+The col under the North-west buttress at the head of the Rongbuk Glacier
+is one entrance, and our col of July 13, with how big a drop one knows
+not, another.
+
+I stayed till 7 a.m. taking photos, a dozen plates exposed in all. The
+sky was heavy and a band of cloud had come across Everest before I left.
+
+Back to breakfast towards 9 a.m. A pleasant morning collecting flowers,
+not a great variety but some delicious honey scents and an occasional
+cheerful blue poppy.
+
+_July_ 17.--More trouble with our arrangements. The Sirdar has muddled
+the rations and the day is wasted. However, the weather is bad, constant
+snow showers from 1 to 8 p.m., so that I am somewhat reconciled to this
+reverse.
+
+_July_ 18.--Yesterday's plan carried out--to move up a camp with light
+tents and make a big push over into the West cwm; eight coolies to
+carry the loads. But the loads have been too heavy. What can be cut out
+next time? I cannot see many unnecessary articles. Heavy snow showers
+fell as we came up and we had rather a cheerless encampment, but with
+much heaving of stones made good places for the tents. A glorious night
+before we turned in. Dark masses of cloud were gathered round the peak
+above us; below, the glacier was clear and many splendid mountains were
+half visible. The whole scene was beautifully lit by a bright moon.
+
+_July_ 19.--Started 3 a.m.; still some cloud, particularly to the West.
+The moon just showed over the mountains in that direction which cast
+their strange black shadows on the snowfield. One amazing black tooth
+was standing up against the moonlight. No luck on the glacier and we had
+to put on snow-shoes at once. An exciting walk. I so much feared the
+cloud would spoil all. It was just light enough to get on without
+lanterns after the moon went down. At dawn almost everything was
+covered, but not by heavy clouds. Like guilty creatures of darkness
+surprised by the light they went scattering away as we came up and the
+whole scene opened out. The North ridge of Everest was clear and bright
+even before sunrise. We reached the col at 5 a.m., a fantastically
+beautiful scene; and we looked across into the West cwm at last,
+terribly cold and forbidding under the shadow of Everest. It was nearly
+an hour after sunrise before the sun hit the West Peak.
+
+But another disappointment--it is a big drop about 1,500 feet down to
+the glacier, and a hopeless precipice. I was hoping to get away to the
+left and traverse into the cwm; that too quite hopeless. However, we
+have seen this Western glacier and are not sorry we have not to go up
+it. It is terribly steep and broken. In any case work on this side could
+only be carried out from a base in Nepal, so we have done with the
+Western side. It was not a very likely chance that the gap between
+Everest and the South Peak could be reached from the West. From what we
+have seen now I do not much fancy it would be possible, even could one
+get up the glacier.
+
+[Illustration: MOUNT EVEREST FROM THE RONGBUK GLACIER nine miles
+north-west.]
+
+We saw a lovely group of mountains away to the South in Nepal. I wonder
+what they are and if anything is known about them. It is a big world!
+
+                     *       *       *       *       *
+
+With this expedition on July 19 our reconnaissance of these parts had
+ended. We proceeded at once to move down our belongings; on July 20 all
+tents and stores were brought down to the base camp and we had said
+good-bye to the West Rongbuk Glacier.
+
+So far as we were concerned with finding a way up the mountain, little
+enough had been accomplished; and yet our growing view of the mountain
+had been steadily leading to one conviction. If ever the mountain were
+to be climbed, the way would not lie along the whole length of any one
+of its colossal ridges. Progress could only be made along comparatively
+easy ground, and anything like a prolonged sharp crest or a series of
+towers would inevitably bar the way simply by the time which would be
+required to overcome such obstacles. But the North arete coming down to
+the gap between Everest and the North Peak, Changtse, is not of this
+character. From the horizontal structure of the mountain there is no
+excrescence of rock pinnacles in this part and the steep walls of rock
+which run across the North face are merged with it before they reach
+this part, which is comparatively smooth and continuous, a bluntly
+rounded edge. We had still to see other parts of the mountain, but
+already it seemed unlikely that we would find more favourable ground
+than this. The great question before us now was to be one of access.
+Could the North col be reached from the East and how could we attain
+this point?
+
+At the very moment when we reached the base camp I received a note from
+Colonel Howard-Bury telling us that his departure from Tingri was fixed
+for July 23 and that he would be sleeping at Choebuk in the valley below
+us two days later on his way to Kharta. It was now an obvious plan to
+synchronise our movements with his.
+
+Besides the branch which we had already explored the Rongbuk Glacier has
+yet another which joins the main stream from the East about 10 miles
+from Everest. It had always excited our curiosity, and I now proposed to
+explore it in the initial stages of a journey across the unknown ridges
+and valleys which separated us from Kharta. I calculated that we should
+want eight days' provisions, and that we should just have time to
+organise a camp in advance and start on the 25th with a selected party,
+sending down the rest to join Howard-Bury. And it was an integral part
+of the scheme that on one of the intervening days I should ascend a spur
+to the North of the glacier where we proposed to march in order to
+obtain a better idea of this country to the East. But we were now in the
+thickest of the monsoon weather; the 21st and 22nd were both wet days
+and we woke on the 23rd to find snow all around us nearly a foot deep;
+it had come down as low as 16,000 feet. It was hardly the weather to cut
+ourselves adrift and wander among the uncharted spurs of Everest, and we
+thought of delaying our start. Further it transpired that our
+organisation was not running smoothly--it never did run smoothly so long
+as we employed, as an indispensable Sirdar, a whey-faced treacherous
+knave whose sly and calculated villainy too often, before it was
+discovered, deprived our coolies of their food, and whose acquiescence
+in his own illimitable incompetence was only less disgusting than his
+infamous duplicity. It was the hopeless sense that things were bound to
+go wrong if we trusted to this man's services--and we had no one else at
+that time through whom it was possible to order supplies from the
+natives--that turned the scale and spoilt the plan. Even so, in the
+natural course of events, I should have obtained my preliminary view.
+But on the night of the 22nd I received from Howard-Bury an extremely
+depressing piece of news, that all my photos taken with the
+quarter-plate camera had failed--for the good reason that the plates
+had been inserted back to front, a result of ignorance and
+misunderstanding. It was necessary as far as possible to repair this
+hideous error, and the next two days were spent in a photographic
+expedition. And so it came about that we saw no more until a much later
+date of the East Rongbuk Glacier. Had our plan been carried out even in
+the smallest part by a cursory survey of what lay ahead, I should not
+now have to tell a story which is lamentably incomplete in one respect.
+For the East Rongbuk Glacier is one way, and the obvious way when you
+see it, to the North Col. It was discovered by Major Wheeler before ever
+we saw it, in the course of his photographic survey; but neither he, nor
+Bullock, nor I have ever traversed its whole length.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+We should have attached more importance, no doubt, in the early stages
+of reconnaissance, to the East Rongbuk Glacier had we not been deceived
+in two ways by appearances. It had been an early impression left in my
+mind, at all events, by what we saw from Shiling, that a deep valley
+came down to the East as the R.G.S. map suggests, draining into the Arun
+and having the North-east arete of Everest as its right bank at the
+start. Further, the head of this valley seemed to be, as one would
+expect, the gap between Everest and the first peak to the North which
+itself has also an Eastern arm to form the left bank of such a valley.
+The impression was confirmed not only by an excellent view from a hill
+above Ponglet (two days before Tingri and about 35 miles North of
+Everest), but by all nearer and more recent views of the mountains East
+of the Rongbuk Glacier. The idea that a glacier running parallel to the
+Rongbuk started from the slopes of Everest itself and came so far to
+turn Westward in the end hardly occurred to us at this time. From
+anything we had seen there was no place for such a glacier, and it was
+almost unimaginable that the great mountain range running North from the
+North Col, Chang La, was in no part a true watershed. We saw the East
+Rongbuk Glacier stretching away to the East and perceived also a bay to
+the South. But how, if this bay were of any importance, could the
+glacier stream be so small? We had found it too large to cross, it is
+true, late in the afternoon of our first expedition, but only just too
+large; and again it seems now an unbelievable fact that so large an area
+of ice should give so small a volume of water. The glacier streams are
+remarkably small in all the country we explored, but this one far more
+surprisingly small than any other we saw.
+
+[Illustration: SUMMIT OF MOUNT EVEREST AND SOUTH PEAK from the Island,
+West Rongbuk Glacier.]
+
+It was some measure of consolation in these circumstances to make use of
+a gleam of fine weather. When the bad news arrived on July 22 about the
+failure of my photographs we had ceased to hear the raindrops pattering
+on the tent, but could feel well enough when we pushed up the roof that
+snow was lying on the outer fly. It was a depressing evening. I thought
+of the many wonderful occasions when I had caught the mountain as I
+thought just at the right moment, its moments of most lovely
+splendour--of all those moments that would never return and of the
+record of all we had seen which neither ourselves nor perhaps anyone
+else would ever see again. I was not a cheerful companion. Moreover,
+from the back of my mind I was warned, even in the first despair of
+disappointment, that I should have to set out to repair the damage so
+far as I was able, and I hated the thought of this expedition. These
+were our days of rest after a month's high-living; we were off with one
+adventure and on with another; tents, stores, everything had been
+brought down to our base and we had said good-bye to the West Rongbuk
+Glacier. The clouds were still about us next morning and snow lay on the
+ground 9 inches deep. But by midday much of the snow had melted at our
+level and the clouds began to clear. At 2 p.m. we started up with the
+Mummery tents and stores for one night. I made my way with one coolie to
+a spot some little distance above our First Advanced Camp. As we pushed
+up the stormy hillside the last clouds gathered about Everest, and
+lingering in the deep North cwm were dispersed and the great
+white-mantled mountains lay all clear in the light of a glorious
+evening. Before we raced down to join Bullock my first dozen plates had
+been duly exposed; whatever the balance of hopes and fears for a fine
+morning to-morrow something had been done already to make good.
+
+My ultimate destination was the Island which I had found before to
+command some of the most splendid and most instructive views. I was
+close up under the slopes of this little mountain before sunrise next
+morning. It has rarely been my lot to experience in the course of a few
+hours so much variety of expectation, of disappointment and of hope
+deferred, before the issue is decided. A pall of cloud lying like a
+blanket above the glacier was no good omen after the clear weather; as
+the sun got up a faint gleam on the ice encouraged me to go on;
+presently the grey clouds began to move and spread in all directions
+until I was enveloped and saw nothing. Suddenly the frontier crest came
+out and its highest peak towering fantastically above me; I turned about
+and saw to the West and North-west the wide glacier in the sun--beyond
+it Gyachung Kang and Cho-Uyo, 26,870 to 25,990 feet: but Everest
+remained hidden, obscured by an impenetrable cloud. I watched the
+changing shadows on the white snow and gazed helplessly into the grey
+mass continually rolled up from Nepal into the deep hollow beyond the
+glacier head. But a breeze came up from the East; the curtain was
+quietly withdrawn; Everest and the South Peak stood up against the clear
+blue sky. The camera was ready and I was satisfied. A few minutes later
+the great cloud rolled back and I saw no more.
+
+Meanwhile Bullock had not been idle. He paid a visit to the North cwm,
+more successful than mine in July, for he reached the pass leading over
+into Nepal under the North-west arete and had perfectly clear views of
+Chang La, of which he brought back some valuable photos. But perhaps an
+even greater satisfaction than reckoning the results of what we both
+felt was a successful day was ours, when we listened in our tents that
+evening at the base camp to the growling of thunder and reflected that
+the fair interval already ended had been caught and turned to good
+account.
+
+In snow and sleet and wind next morning, July 25, our tents were struck.
+We turned our backs on the Rongbuk Glacier and hastened along the path
+to Choebuk. The valley was somehow changed as we came down, and more
+agreeable to the eye. Presently I discovered the reason. The grass had
+grown on the hillside since we went up. We were coming down to summer
+green.
+
+
+
+
+                                CHAPTER XIV
+
+                           THE EASTERN APPROACH
+
+
+The new base at Kharta established by Colonel Howard-Bury at the end of
+July was well suited to meet the needs of climbers, and no less
+agreeable, I believe, to all members of the Expedition. At the moderate
+elevation of 12,300 feet and in an almost ideal climate, where the air
+was always warm but never hot or stuffy, where the sun shone brightly
+but never fiercely, and clouds floated about the hills and brought
+moisture from the South, but never too much rain, here the body could
+find a delicious change when tired of the discipline of high-living, and
+in a place so accessible to traders from Nepal could easily be fed with
+fresh food. But perhaps after life in the Rongbuk Valley, with hardly a
+green thing to look at and too much of the endless unfriendly
+stone-shoots and the ugly waste of glaciers, and even after visions of
+sublime snow-beauty, a change was more needed for the mind. It was a
+delight to be again in a land of flowery meadows and trees and crops; to
+look into the deep green gorge only a mile away where the Arun goes down
+into Nepal was to be reminded of a rich vegetation and teeming life, a
+contrast full of pleasure with Nature's niggardliness in arid,
+wind-swept Tibet; and the forgotten rustle of wind in the willows came
+back as a soothing sound full of grateful memories, banishing the least
+thought of disagreeable things.
+
+The Kharta base, besides, was convenient for our reconnaissance. Below
+us a broad glacier stream joined the Arun above the gorge; it was the
+first met with since we had left the Rongbuk stream; it came down from
+the West and therefore, presumably, from Everest. To follow it up was
+an obvious plan as the next stage in our activities. After four clear
+days for idleness and reorganisation at Kharta we set forth again on
+August 2 with this object. The valley of our glacier stream would lead
+us, we supposed, to the mountain; in two days, perhaps, we should see
+Chang La ahead of us. A local headman provided by the Jongpen and
+entrusted with the task of leading us to Chomolungma would show us where
+it might be necessary to cross the stream and, in case the valley
+forked, would ensure us against a bad mistake.
+
+The start on this day was not propitious. We had enjoyed the sheltered
+ease at Kharta; the coolies were dilatory and unwilling; the
+distribution of loads was muddled; there was much discontent about
+rations, and our Sirdar was no longer trusted by the men. At a village
+where we stopped to buy tsampa some 3 miles up the valley I witnessed a
+curious scene. As the tsampa was sold it had to be measured. The Sirdar
+on his knees before a large pile of finely ground flour was ladling it
+into a bag with a disused Quaker Oats tin. Each measure-full was counted
+by all the coolies standing round in a circle; they were making sure of
+having their full ration. Nor was this all; they wanted to see as part
+of their supplies, not only tsampa and rice, but tea, sugar, butter,
+cooking fat and meat on the Army scale. This was a new demand altogether
+beyond the bargain made with them. The point, of course, had to be
+clearly made, that for their so-called luxuries I must be trusted to do
+my best with the surplus money (100 tankas or thereabouts) remaining
+over from their allowances after buying the flour and rice. These luxury
+supplies were always somewhat of a difficulty; the coolies had been very
+short of such things on the Northern side--we had no doubt that some of
+the ration money had found its way into the Sirdar's pockets. It would
+be possible, we hoped, to prevent this happening again. But even so the
+matter was not simple. What the coolies wanted was not always to be
+bought, or at the local price it was too expensive. On this occasion a
+bountiful supply of chillies solved our difficulty. After too many
+words, and not all in the best temper, the sight of so many of the red,
+bright, attractive chillies prevailed; at length my orders were obeyed;
+the coolies took up their loads and we started off again.
+
+[Illustration: PETHANG-TSE.]
+
+With so much dissatisfaction in the air it was necessary for Bullock and
+me to drive rather than lead the party. In a valley where there are many
+individual farms and little villages, the coolies' path is well beset
+with pitfalls and with gin. Without discipline the Sahib might easily
+find himself at the end of a day's march with perhaps only half his
+loads. It was a slow march this day; we had barely accomplished 8 miles,
+when Bullock and I with the hindmost came round a shoulder on the right
+bank about 4 p.m. and found the tents pitched on a grassy shelf and
+looking up a valley where a stream came in from our left. The Tibetan
+headman and his Tibetan coolies who were carrying some of our loads had
+evidently no intention of going further, and after some argument I was
+content to make the stipulation that if the coolies (our own as well as
+the Tibetans) chose to encamp after half a day's march, they should do a
+double march next day.
+
+The prospect was far from satisfactory: we were at a valley junction of
+which we had heard tell, and the headman pointed the way to the left.
+Here indeed was a valley, but no glacier stream. It was a pleasant green
+nullah covered with rhododendrons and juniper, but presented nothing
+that one may expect of an important valley. Moreover, so far as I could
+learn, there were no villages in this direction: I had counted on
+reaching one that night with the intention of buying provisions, more
+particularly goats and butter. Where were we going and what should we
+find? The headman announced that it would take us five more days to
+reach Chomolungma: he was told that he must bring us there in two, and
+so the matter was left.
+
+If the coolies behaved badly on this first day, they certainly made up
+for it on the second. The bed of the little valley which we now
+followed rose steeply ahead of us, and the path along the hill slopes on
+its left bank soon took us up beyond the rhododendrons. We came at last
+for a mid-day halt to the shores of a lake. It was the first I had seen
+in the neighbourhood of Everest; a little blue lake, perhaps 600 yards
+long, set on a flat shelf up there among the clouds and rocks, a
+sympathetic place harbouring a wealth of little rock plants on its steep
+banks; and as our present height by the aneroid was little less than
+17,000 feet, we were assured that on this Eastern side of Everest we
+should find Nature in a gentler mood. But we were not satisfied with our
+direction; we were going too much to the South. Through the mists we had
+seen nothing to help us. For a few moments some crags had appeared to
+the left looming surprisingly big; but that was our only peep, and it
+told us nothing. Perhaps from the pass ahead of us we should have better
+fortune.
+
+At the Langma La when we reached it we found ourselves to be well 4,000
+feet above our camp of the previous night. We had followed a track, but
+not always a smooth one, and as we stayed in hopes of a clearing view, I
+began to wonder whether the Tibetan coolies would manage to arrive with
+their loads; they were notably less strong than our Sherpas and yet had
+been burdened with the wet heavy tents. Meanwhile we saw nothing above
+our own height. We had hoped that once our col was crossed we should
+bear more directly Westward again; but the Tibetan headman when he came
+up with good news of his coolies, pointed our way across a deep valley
+below us, and the direction of his pointing was nearly due South.
+Everest, we imagined, must be nearly due West of Kharta, and our
+direction at the end of this second day by a rough dead reckoning would
+be something like South-west. We were more than ever mystified.
+Fortunately our difficulties with the coolies seemed to be ended. Two of
+our own men stayed at the pass to relieve the Tibetans of the tents and
+bring them quickly on. Grumblings had subsided in friendliness, and all
+marched splendidly on this day. They were undepressed with the gloomy
+circumstance of again encamping in the rain.
+
+In the Sahibs' tent that night there took place a long and fragmentary
+conversation with the headman, our Sirdar acting as interpreter. We
+gained one piece of information: there were two Chomolungmas. It was not
+difficult to guess that, if Everest were one, the other must be Makalu.
+We asked to be guided to the furthest Chomolungma.
+
+The morning of August 4 was not more favourable to our reconnaissance.
+We went down steeply to the valley bed, crossed a stream and a rickety
+bridge, and wound on through lovely meadows and much dwarf rhododendron
+till we came to the end of a glacier and mounted by its left bank.
+Towards mid-day the weather showed signs of clearing; suddenly on our
+left across the glacier we saw gigantic precipices looming through the
+clouds. We guessed they must belong in some way to Makalu. We were told
+that this was the first Chomolungma, while the valley we were now
+following would lead us to the other. It was easy to conclude that one
+valley, this one, must come up on the North side of Makalu all the way
+to Everest. But we saw no more. In a few moments the grey clouds blowing
+swiftly up from below had enveloped us, rain began to fall heavily, and
+when eventually we came to broad meadows above the glaciers, where yaks
+were grazing and Tibetan tents were pitched, we were content to stop. At
+least we should have the advantage here of good butter and cream from
+this dairy farm. There was indeed no point in going farther; we had no
+desire to run our heads against the East face of Everest; we must now
+wait for a view.
+
+The weather signs were decidedly more hopeful as I looked out of our
+tent next morning, and we decided at once to spend the day in some sort
+of reconnaissance up the valley. Presently away at the head of it we saw
+the clouds breaking about the mountain-sides. Everest itself began to
+clear; the great North-east arete came out, cutting the sky to the
+right; and little by little the whole Eastern face was revealed to us.
+
+As I recall now our first impression of the amazing scenery around us, I
+seem chiefly to remember the fresh surprise and vivid delight which, for
+all we had seen before, seemed a new sensation. Even the map of the Kama
+Valley, now that we have it, may stir the imagination. Besides Everest
+itself the crest of the South Peak, 28,000 feet high, and its prodigious
+South-east shoulder overlook the Western end; while Makalu, 12 miles
+from Everest, thrusts out Northwards a great arm and another peak to
+choke the exit; so that whereas the frontier ridge from Everest to
+Makalu goes in a South-easterly direction, the Kangshung Glacier in the
+main valley runs nearly due East. In this spacious manner three of the
+five highest summits in the world overlook the Kama Valley.
+
+And we now saw a scene of magnificence and splendour even more
+remarkable than the facts suggest. Among all the mountains I have seen,
+and, if we may judge by photographs, all that ever have been seen,
+Makalu is incomparable for its spectacular and rugged grandeur. It was
+significant to us that the astonishing precipices rising above us on the
+far side of the glacier as we looked across from our camp, a terrific
+awe-inspiring sweep of snow-bound rocks, were the sides not so much of
+an individual mountain, but rather of a gigantic bastion or outwork
+defending Makalu. At the broad head of the Kama Valley the two summits
+of Everest are enclosed between the North-east arete and the South-east
+arete bending round from the South Peak; below them is a basin of
+tumbled ice well marked by a number of moraines and receiving a series
+of tributaries pouring down between the buttresses which support the
+mountain faces in this immense cirque. Perhaps the astonishing charm and
+beauty here lie in the complications half hidden behind a mask of
+apparent simplicity, so that one's eye never tires of following up the
+lines of the great aretes, of following down the arms pushed out from
+their great shoulders, and of following along the broken edge of the
+hanging glacier covering the upper half of this Eastern face of Everest
+so as to determine at one point after another its relation with the
+buttresses below and with their abutments against the rocks which it
+covers. But for me the most magnificent and sublime in mountain scenery
+can be made lovelier by some more tender touch; and that, too, is added
+here. When all is said about Chomolungma, the Goddess Mother of the
+World, and about Chomo Uri, the Goddess of the Turquoise Mountain, I
+come back to the valley, the valley bed itself, the broad pastures,
+where our tents lay, where cattle grazed and where butter was made, the
+little stream we followed up to the valley head, wandering along its
+well-turfed banks under the high moraine, the few rare plants,
+saxifrages, gentians and primulas, so well watered there, and a soft,
+familiar blueness in the air which even here may charm us. Though I bow
+to the goddesses I cannot forget at their feet a gentler spirit than
+theirs, a little shy perhaps, but constant in the changing winds and
+variable moods of mountains and always friendly.
+
+[Illustration: SUMMIT OF MAKALU.]
+
+The deviation from our intended line of approach involved by entering
+the Kama Valley was not one which we were likely to regret. In so far as
+our object was to follow up a glacier to the North Col we were now on
+the wrong side of a watershed. A spur of mountains continues Eastwards
+from the foot of Everest's North-east arete; these were on our right as
+we looked up the Kama Valley; the glacier of our quest must lie on the
+far side of them. But the pursuit of this glacier was not our sole
+object. We had also to examine both the East face and North-east arete
+of our mountain and determine the possibilities of attack on this side.
+A plan was now made to satisfy us in all ways. We chose as our objective
+a conspicuous snowy summit, Carpo-ri, on the watershed and apparently
+the second to the East from the foot of the North-east arete. Could we
+climb it we should not only see over into the valley North of us and up
+to Chang La itself, we hoped, but also examine, from the point most
+convenient for judging the steepness of its slopes, the whole of the
+Eastern side of Mount Everest.
+
+On August 6 the Whymper tents were taken up, and a camp was made under a
+moraine at about 17,500 feet, where a stream flows quietly through a
+flat space before plunging steeply down into the valley. In this
+sheltered spot we bid defiance to the usual snowstorm of the afternoon;
+perhaps as night came on and snow was still falling we were vaguely
+disquieted, but we refused to believe in anything worse than the
+heavens' passing spite, and before we put out our candles the weather
+cleared. We went out into the keen air; it was a night of early moons.
+Mounting a little rise of stones and faintly crunching under our feet
+the granular atoms of fresh fallen snow we were already aware of some
+unusual loveliness in the moment and the scenes. We were not kept
+waiting for the supreme effects; the curtain was withdrawn. Rising from
+the bright mists Mount Everest above us was immanent, vast,
+incalculable--no fleeting apparition of elusive dream-form: nothing
+could have been more set and permanent, stedfast like Keats's star, "in
+lone splendour hung aloft the night," a watcher of all the nights,
+diffusing, it seemed universally, an exalted radiance.
+
+It is the property of all that is most sublime in mountain scenery to be
+uniquely splendid, or at least to seem so, and it is commonly the fate
+of the sublime in this sort very soon to be mixed with what is trivial.
+Not infrequently we had experience of wonderful moments; it is always
+exciting to spend a night under the stars. And such a situation may be
+arranged quite comfortably; lying with his head but just within the tent
+a man has but to stir in his sleep to see, at all events, half the
+starry sky. Then perhaps thoughts come tumbling from the heavens and
+slip in at the tent-door; his dozing is an ecstasy: until, at length,
+the alarm-watch sounds; and after?... Mean considerations din it all
+away, all that delight. On the morning of August 7 the trivial, with us,
+preponderated. Something more than the usual inertia reigned in our
+frozen camp at 2 a.m. The cook was feeling unwell; the coolies prolonged
+their minutes of grace after the warning shout, dallied with the thought
+of meeting the cold air, procrastinated, drew the blankets more closely
+round them, and--snored once more. An expedition over the snow to the
+outlying tents by a half-clad Sahib, who expects to enjoy at least the
+advantage of withdrawing himself at the last moment from the friendly
+down-bag, is calculated to disturb the recumbency of others; and a
+kick-off in this manner to the day's work is at all events exhilarating.
+The task of extricating our frozen belongings, where they lay and ought
+not to have lain, was performed with alacrity if not with zeal; feet did
+not loiter over slippery boulders as we mounted the moraine, and in
+spite of the half-hour lost, or gained, we were well up by sunrise. Even
+before the first glimmer of dawn the snow-mantled, slumbering monsters
+around us had been somehow touched to life by a faint blue light showing
+their form and presence--a light that changed as the day grew to a pale
+yellow on Everest and then to a bright blue-grey before it flamed all
+golden as the sun hit the summit and the shadow crept perceptibly down
+the slope until the whole mountain stood bare and splendid in the
+morning glory. With some premonition of what was in store for us we had
+already halted to enjoy the scene, and I was able to observe exactly how
+the various ridges and summits caught the sun. It was remarkable that
+while Everest was never, for a moment, pink, Makalu was tinged with the
+redder shades, and the colour of the sky in that direction was a livid
+Chinese blue red-flushed. Its bearing from us was about South-east by
+South, and its distance nearly twice that of Everest, which lay chiefly
+to the South-west.
+
+The first crux of the expedition before us would evidently be the ascent
+of a steep wall up to the conspicuous col lying East of our mountain.
+The least laborious way was offered by an outcrop of rocks. The obstacle
+looked decidedly formidable and the coolies had little or no experience
+of rock-climbing. But it proved a pleasure reminiscent of many good
+moments once again to be grasping firm granite and to be encouraging
+novices to tread delicately by throwing down an occasional stone to
+remind them of the perils of clumsy movements. The coolies, as usual,
+were apt pupils, and after agreeable exertions and one gymnastic
+performance we all reached the col at 9 a.m. with no bleeding scalps.
+
+We had already by this hour taken time to observe the great Eastern face
+of Mount Everest, and more particularly the lower edge of the hanging
+glacier; it required but little further gazing to be convinced--to know
+that almost everywhere the rocks below must be exposed to ice falling
+from this glacier; that if, elsewhere, it might be possible to climb up,
+the performance would be too arduous, would take too much time and would
+lead to no convenient platform; that, in short, other men, less wise,
+might attempt this way if they would, but, emphatically, it was not for
+us.
+
+Our interest was rather in the other direction. We had now gained the
+watershed. Below us on the far side was a glacier flowing East, and
+beyond it two important rock peaks, which we at once suspected must be
+two triangulated points each above 23,000 feet. Was this at last the
+valley observed so long ago from the hill above Shiling, more than 50
+miles away, to point up towards the gap between Changtse and Everest? As
+yet we could not say. The head of the glacier was out of sight behind
+the Northern slopes of our mountain. We must ascend further, probably to
+its summit, to satisfy our curiosity--to see, we hoped, Changtse and its
+relation to this glacier, and perhaps the Chang La of our quest.
+
+[Illustration: SOUTH-EAST RIDGE OF MOUNT EVEREST
+from above the 20,000 foot camp, Kharta Valley.]
+
+The task before us was not one which had suggested from a distant view
+any serious difficulties. The angle of sight from our breakfast-place on
+the col to the next white summit West of us was certainly not very
+steep. But no continuous ridge would lead us upwards. The East face in
+front of us and the South face to our left presented two bands of
+fortification, crowned each by a flat emplacement receding a
+considerable distance, before the final cone. We knew already that the
+snow's surface, despite a thin crust, could not hold us, and counted on
+snow-shoes to save labour at the gentler angles. But the escarpments in
+front of us were imposing. The first yielded to a frontal attack pushed
+home with a proper after-breakfast vigour. The second when we reached it
+was a more formidable obstacle. The steepness of the Eastern slope was
+undeniable and forbidding and the edge of its junction with the South
+side was defined by a cornice. On that side, however, lay the only hope.
+
+We had first to traverse a broad gully. The powdery snow lay deep; we
+hesitated on the brink. Here, if anywhere, the unmelted powdery
+substance was likely to avalanche. Confidence was restored in sufficient
+measure by contemplating an island of rock. Here lay a solution. By the
+aid of its sound anchorage the party was secured across the dangerous
+passage. With his rope adequately belayed by a coolie, though the manner
+was hardly professional, the leader hewed at the cornice above his head,
+fixed a fist-and-axe hold in the crest and struggled over. Such
+performances are not accomplished at heights above 20,000 feet without
+the feeling that something has been done. Appearances suggested the
+necessity of establishing the whole party firmly above the cornice
+before proceeding many steps upward, and the first man had the diversion
+of observing at his leisure the ungraceful attitudes and explosive
+grunts of men strong indeed, but unaccustomed to meet this kind of
+obstacle. But with the usual menace of clouds, which even now were
+filling the head of the Kama Valley, it was no season for delay; and it
+was no place to be treated lightly. The angle was quite as steep as we
+liked; on the slopes to our left again we should evidently be exposed to
+the danger of an avalanche. It was necessary to avoid treading on our
+frail cornice and no less important to keep near the edge. Here a foot
+of powdery snow masked a disintegrated substance of loose ice. Nothing
+less than a vigorous swinging blow had any other effect than to bury
+the pick and require a fourfold effort to pull it out again. Luckily one
+or even two such blows usually sufficed to make a firm step. But 400
+feet of such work seemed an ample quantity. If was a relief at length to
+reach level snow, to don our rackets again and to follow a coolie
+bursting with energy now sent first to tread a path. At 12.15 p.m. we
+reached the far edge of this flat shoulder lying under the final slopes
+of our mountain and at the most 500 feet below the summit.
+
+No one without experience of the problem could guess how difficult it
+may be to sit down on a perfectly flat place with snow-shoes strapped to
+the feet. To squat is clearly impossible; and if the feet are pushed out
+in front the projection behind the heel tends to tilt the body backwards
+so that the back is strained in the mere effort to sit without falling.
+The remedy of course is to take off the snow-shoes; but the human
+mountaineer after exhausting efforts is too lazy for that at an
+elevation of 21,000 feet. He prefers not to sit; he chooses to lie--in
+the one convenient posture under the circumstances--flat upon his back
+and with his toes and snow-shoes turned vertically upwards. On this
+occasion the majority of the party without more ado turned up their
+toes.
+
+[Illustration: DIAGRAM SHOWING THAT THE KHARTA GLACIER DOES NOT LEAD TO
+THE NORTH COL.]
+
+The situation, however, was one of the greatest interest. We were still
+separated from Mount Everest by a spur at our own height turning
+Northwards from the foot of the North-east arete and by the bay enclosed
+between this and its continuation Eastward to which our mountain
+belonged. But the distance from the North-east arete was small enough
+and we were now looking almost directly up its amazing crest. If any
+doubts remained at this time as to that line of attack, they now
+received a _coup de grace_. Not only was the crest itself seen to be
+both sharp and steep, suggesting an almost infinite labour, but the
+slopes on either hand appeared in most places an impracticable
+alternative; and leading up to the great rock towers of the North-east
+shoulder, the final section, the point of a cruel sickle, appeared
+effectually to bar further progress should anyone have been content to
+spend a week or so on the lower parts. To discern so much required no
+prolonged study; to the right (North) the country was more intricate.
+The summit of Changtse was eventually revealed, as the clouds cleared
+off, beyond, apparently a long way beyond, the crest of the spur in
+front of us. To the extreme right, looking past the final slopes of the
+white cone above us was a more elevated skyline and below it the upper
+part of the glacier, the lower end of which we had seen earlier in the
+day descending Eastward. But its extreme limit was not quite visible. We
+had still to ask the question as to where exactly it lay. Could this
+glacier conceivably proceed in an almost level course up to Chang La,
+itself? Or was it cut off much nearer to us by the high skyline which we
+saw beyond it? Was it possible, as in the second case must be, that this
+skyline was continuous with the East arete of Changtse, the whole
+forming the left bank of the glacier? If no answer was absolutely
+certain, the probability at least was all on one side--on the wrong
+side alike for our present and our future plans. We could hardly doubt
+that the glacier-head lay not far away under Chang La, but here near at
+hand under another col; beyond this must be the glacier of our quest,
+turning East, as presumably it must turn beyond the skyline we saw now,
+and beyond the rock peaks which we had observed to the North of us when
+first we reached the watershed.
+
+One more effort was now required so that we might see a little more.
+Chang La itself was still invisible. Might we not see it from the summit
+of our mountain? And was it not in any case an attractive summit? An
+examination of the various pairs of upturned toes where the prostrate
+forms were still grouped grotesquely in the snow was not encouraging.
+But the most vigorous of the coolies was with us, Nyima, a sturdy boy of
+eighteen, who from the very start of the Expedition had consistently
+displayed a willing spirit in every emergency. To my demand for
+volunteers he responded immediately, and soon persuaded a second coolie,
+Dasno, who had been going very strongly on this day, to accompany him.
+As the three of us started off the clouds suddenly boiled up from below
+and enveloped us completely. A few minutes brought us to the foot of the
+steepest slopes; we took off our snow-shoes and crossed a bergschrund,
+wading up to our thighs. Dasno had already had enough and fell out. But
+the conical shape of our peak was just sufficiently irregular to offer a
+defined blunt edge where two surfaces intersected. Even here the snow
+was deep enough to be a formidable obstacle at that steep angle; but the
+edge was safe from avalanches. As we struggled on I glanced repeatedly
+away to the left. Presently through a hole in the clouds all was clear
+for a moment to the West; again I saw Changtse, and now my eyes followed
+the line of its arete descending towards Everest until the col itself
+was visible over the spur in front of us. The view was little enough;
+the mere rim appeared; the wall or the slopes below it, all that I most
+wanted to see, remained hidden. We struggled on to the top, in all
+nearly an hour's work of the most exhausting kind. The reward was in the
+beauty of the spot, the faintly-defined edges of clean snow and the
+convex surfaces bent slightly back from the steepness on every side to
+form the most graceful summit I have seen. To the North-east we saw
+clearly for a minute down the glacier. The rest was cloud, a thin veil,
+but all too much, inexorably hiding from us Changtse and Chang La.
+
+A disappointment? Perhaps. But that sort of suffering cannot be
+prolonged in a mind sufficiently interested. Possibly it is never a
+genuine emotion; rather an automatic reaction after too sanguine hopes.
+And such hopes had no part in our system. We counted on nothing. Days as
+we found them were not seldom of the disappointing kind; this one had
+been of the best, remarkably clear and fine. If we were baffled that was
+no worse than we expected. To be bewildered was all in the game. But our
+sensation was something beyond bewilderment. We felt ourselves to be
+foiled. We were unpleasantly stung by this slap in the face. We had
+indeed solved all doubts as to the East face and North-east arete, and
+had solved them quickly. But the way to Chang La, which had seemed
+almost within our grasp, had suddenly eluded us, and had escaped, how
+far we could not tell. Though its actual distance from our summit might
+be short, as indeed it must be, the glacier of our quest appeared now at
+the end of a receding vista; and this was all our prospect.
+
+Our next plans were made on the descent. With the relaxation of physical
+effort the feeling of dazed fatigue wears off and a mind duly strung to
+activity may work well enough. The immediate object was to reach our
+tents not too late to send a coolie down to the base camp the same
+evening; on the following morning a reinforcement of four men would
+enable us to carry down all our loads with sufficient ease, and with no
+delay we should move the whole party along the next stage back towards
+Langma La--and thus save a day. The main idea was simple. It still
+seemed probable that the elusive glacier drained ultimately Eastwards,
+in which case its waters _must_ flow into the Kharta stream; thither we
+had now to retrace our steps and follow up the main valley as we had
+originally intended; it might be necessary to investigate more valleys
+than one, but there sooner or later a way would be found. Only, time was
+short. At the earliest we could be back in the Kharta Valley on August
+9. By August 20 I reckoned the preliminary reconnaissance should come to
+an end, if we were to have sufficient time before the beginning of
+September for rest and reorganisation at Kharta--and such was the core
+of our plan.
+
+These projects left out of account an entirely new factor. In the early
+stages of the reconnaissance I had taken careful note of the party's
+health. One or two of the coolies had quickly fallen victims to the high
+altitudes; but the rest seemed steadily to grow stronger. Nothing had so
+much surprised us as the rapid acclimatisation of the majority, and the
+good effects, so far as they appeared, of living in high camps. Both
+Bullock and myself left the Rongbuk Valley feeling as fit as we could
+wish to feel. All qualms about our health had subsided. For my part I
+was a confirmed optimist, and never imagined for myself the smallest
+deviation from my uniform standard of health and strength. On August 7,
+as we toiled over the neve in the afternoon, I felt for the first time a
+symptom of weariness beyond muscular fatigue and beyond the vague
+lassitude of mountain-sickness. By the time we reached the moraine I had
+a bad headache. In the tent at last I was tired and shivering and there
+spent a fevered night. The next morning broke with undeniable glory. A
+photograph of our yesterday's conquest must be obtained. I dragged
+myself and the quarter-plate camera a few steps up to the crest of the
+moraine--only to find that a further peregrination of perhaps 300 yards
+would be necessary for my purpose: and 300 yards was more than I could
+face. I was perforce content with less interesting exposures and
+returned to breakfast with the dismal knowledge that for the moment at
+all events I was _hors de combat_. We learned a little later that
+Colonel Howard-Bury had arrived the night before in our base camp. It
+was easily decided to spend the day there with him--the day I had hoped
+to save; after the long dragging march down the green way, which on the
+ascent had been so pleasant with butterflies and flowers, I was obliged
+to spend it in bed.
+
+Three days later, on August 11, our tents were pitched in a sheltered
+place well up the Kharta Valley, at a height of about 16,500 feet. Two
+tributary streams had been passed by, the first coming in from the North
+as being clearly too small to be of consequence, and the second from the
+South, because wherever its source might be, it could not be far enough
+to the North. Ahead of us we had seen that the valley forked; we must
+follow the larger stream and then no doubt we should come soon enough to
+the glacier of our quest and be able at last to determine whether it
+would serve us to approach Chang La. August 12, a day of necessary
+idleness after three long marches, was spent by the coolies in
+collecting fuel, of which we were delighted to observe a great
+abundance, rhododendron and gobar all about us, and, only a short way
+down the valley, the best we could hope for, juniper. The last march had
+been too much for me, and again I was obliged to keep my bed with a sore
+throat and swollen glands.
+
+It seemed certain that the next two days must provide the climax or
+anticlimax of our whole reconnaissance. The mystery must surely now be
+penetrated and the most important discovery of all be made. A
+competition with my companion for the honour of being first was, I hope,
+as far from my thoughts as ever it had been. From the start Bullock and
+I had shared the whole campaign and worked and made our plans together,
+and neither for a moment had envied the other the monopoly of a
+particular adventure. Nevertheless, after all that had passed, the
+experience of being left out at the finish would not be agreeable to
+me; I confess that not to be in at the death after leading the hunt so
+long was a bitter expectation. But the hunt must not be stopped, and on
+the morning of August 13, from the ungrateful comfort of my
+sleeping-bag, I waved farewell to Bullock. How many days would he be
+absent before he came to tell his story, and what sort of story would it
+be? Would he know for certain that the way was found? or how much longer
+would our doubts continue?
+
+It was impossible to stay in bed with such thoughts, and by the middle
+of the morning I was sitting in the sun to write home my dismal tale. A
+hint from one of the coolies interrupted my meditations; I looked round
+and now saw, to my great surprise and unfeigned delight, the approaching
+figure of Major Morshead. I had long been hoping that he might be free
+to join us; and he arrived at the due moment to cheer my present
+solitude, to strengthen the party, and to help us when help was greatly
+needed. Moreover, he brought from Wollaston for my use a medical dope;
+stimulated by the unusual act of drug-taking, or possibly by the drug
+itself, I began to entertain a hope for the morrow, a feeling
+incommunicably faint but distinguishably a hope.
+
+Meanwhile Bullock, though he had not started early, had got off soon
+enough in the morning to pitch his tents if all went well some hours
+before dark, and in all probability at least so far up as to be within
+view of the glacier snout. As the night was closing in a coolie was
+observed running down the last steep sandy slope to our camp. He brought
+a chit from Bullock: "I can see up the glacier ahead of me and it ends
+in another high pass. I shall get to the pass to-morrow morning if I
+can, and ought to see our glacier over it. But it looks, after all, as
+though the most unlikely solution is the right one and the glacier goes
+out into the Rongbuk Valley."
+
+Into the Rongbuk Valley! We had discussed the possibility. The glacier
+coming in there from the East remained unexplored. But even if we left
+out of account all that was suggested by the East arete of Changtse and
+other features of this country, there remained the unanswerable
+difficulty about the stream, the little stream which we had but just
+failed to cross in the afternoon of our first expedition. How could so
+little water drain so large an area of ice as must exist on this
+supposition?
+
+In any case we were checked again. The mystery deepened. And though the
+interest might increase, the prospect of finding a way to Chang La, with
+the necessary margin of time before the end of the month, was still
+receding, and, whether or no the unexpected should turn out to be the
+truth, the present situation suggested the unpleasant complication of
+moving our base once more somewhere away to the North.
+
+On the following day with the gathering energy of returning health I set
+forth with Morshead: we walked in a leisurely fashion up the valley
+rejected by Bullock and had the surprising good fortune of a clear sky
+until noon. I soon decided that we were looking up the glacier where we
+had looked down on the 7th, as Bullock too had decided on the previous
+day: at the head of it was a high snow col and beyond that the tip of
+Changtse. What lay between them? If a combe existed there, as presumably
+it did, the bed of it must be high: there could hardly be room, I
+thought, for a very big drop on the far side of the col. Might not this,
+after all, be a sufficiently good approach, a more convenient way
+perhaps than to mount the glacier from its foot, wherever that might be?
+The near col, so far as I could judge, should easily be reached from
+this side. Why not get to the col and find out what lay beyond it? The
+time had come to abandon our object of finding the foot of a glacier in
+order to follow it up; for we could more easily come to the head of it
+and if necessary follow it down.
+
+I was sanguine about this new plan, which seemed to have good prospects
+of success and might obviate the difficulties and inconvenience of
+shifting the base (possibly again to the Rongbuk side, which I had no
+desire to revisit) and, as I still felt far from fit, I was in some
+hopes now that two more days would bring us to the end of our present
+labours. Bullock very readily agreed to the proposal. He brought no
+positive information from the col which he had reached, though he
+inclined to the idea that the water crossed at Harlung on our journey to
+Kharta, a moderate stream, but perhaps too clear, might provide the
+solution of our problem. A fresh bone was now thrown into our stew. A
+letter arrived from Howard-Bury with an enclosure from Wheeler, a sketch
+map of what he had seen more particularly East of the Rongbuk Glacier,
+on which the Eastern branch, with its Western exit, was clearly marked
+where we now know it to be. It was, unfortunately, a very rough map,
+professedly nothing more, and was notably wrong in some respects about
+which we had accurate knowledge. We were not yet convinced that the head
+of the East Rongbuk Glacier was really situated under the slopes of
+Everest, and not perhaps under the Eastern arm of Changtse. Still, we
+had some more pickings to digest. Our business was to reach the nearer
+pass, and I felt sure that once we had looked over it to the other side
+whatever doubts remained could be cleared up in subsequent discussion
+with Wheeler. Meanwhile, I hoped, we should have discovered one way to
+Chang La, and a sufficiently good one.
+
+It took us in the sequel not two but four days to reach the pass which
+was ultimately known as Lhakpa La (Windy Gap). The story may serve as a
+fair illustration of the sort of difficulty with which we had to
+contend. It was arranged on the 15th that we should meet Bullock's
+coolies at the divide in the valley; they were bringing down his camp
+and we could all go on together: but our messenger succeeded in
+collecting only half their number and much delay was caused in waiting
+for the others. From here we followed the Western stream, a stony and
+rather fatiguing walk of two hours or so (unladen) up to the end of the
+glacier, and then followed a moraine shelf on its left bank, I hoped we
+should find an easy way round to the obvious camping place we had
+previously observed from the Carpo-ri. But the shelf ended abruptly on
+steep stony slopes, clouds obscured our view, and after our misfortunes
+in the morning we were now short of time, so that it was necessary to
+stay where we were for the night. A thick layer of mist was still lying
+along the valley when we woke, and we could see nothing, but were
+resolved, nevertheless, to reach the col if possible. We went up, for
+the best chance of a view, to the crest of the hill above us, and
+followed it to the summit (6.30 a.m.). The view was splendid, and I took
+some good photographs; but the drop on the far side was more serious
+than our hopes had suggested. We tried to make the best of things by
+contouring and eventually halted for breakfast on the edge of the
+glacier a long way North of the direct line at 8.45 a.m. Before we went
+on we were again enveloped in mist, and after stumbling across the
+glacier in snow-shoes to the foot of an icefall, we turned back at 11
+a.m. By that time we were a tired party and could not have reached the
+col; and even had we reached it, we should have seen nothing. Still we
+felt when we found our tents again that with all we had seen the day had
+not been lost, and we determined, before renewing our attempt on Lhakpa
+La, to push on the camp. There was still time to send a message down to
+the Sirdar so as to get up more coolies and supplies and move forward
+next day. From this higher camp we hoped that the col might be reached
+at an early hour, and in that case it would be possible for a party to
+cross it and descend the glacier on the other side.
+
+The first coolies who came up in the morning brought a message from the
+Sirdar to the effect that supplies were short and he could send none up.
+The rations were calculated to last for another three days, but their
+distribution had been muddled. However, enough was subsequently sent up
+to carry us over into the next day, though it was necessary of course to
+abandon our project of a more distant reconnaissance. Our camp was
+happily established in the usual snowstorm. The weather, in fact, was
+not treating us kindly. Snow was falling in these days for about eight
+to ten hours on the average and we were relieved at last to see a fine
+morning.
+
+On August 18, with the low moon near setting, the three of us with one
+coolie set forth on the most critical expedition of our whole
+reconnaissance. Failure on this day must involve us in a lamentable
+delay before the party could again be brought up for the attack; at the
+earliest we should be able to renew the attempt four days later, and if
+in the end the way were not established here the whole prospect of the
+assault in September would be in jeopardy. We scaled the little cliff on
+to the glacier that morning with the full consciousness that one way or
+another it was an imperative necessity to reach the col. The first few
+steps on the glacier showed us what to expect; we sank in to our knees.
+The remedy was, of course, to put on rackets--which indeed are no great
+encumbrance, but a growing burden on a long march and on steep slopes
+most difficult to manage. We wore them for the rest of the day whenever
+we were walking on snow. About dawn the light became difficult; a thin
+floating mist confused the snow surfaces; ascents and descents were
+equally indistinguishable, so that the errant foot might unexpectedly
+hit the slope too soon or equally plunge down with sudden violence to
+unexpected depths. Crevasses forced, or seemed to force, us away to the
+right and over to the rocks of the left bank. We were faced with one of
+those critical decisions which determine success or failure. It seemed
+best to climb the rocks and avoid complications in the icefall. There
+was an easy way through on our left which we afterwards used; but
+perhaps we did well; ours was a certain way though long, and we had
+enough trudging that day; the rocks, though covered with snow to a depth
+of several inches, were not difficult, and a long traverse brought us
+back to the glacier at about 8.30 a.m.
+
+Our greatest enemy as we went on was not, after all, the deep powdery
+snow. The racket sank slightly below the surface and carried a little
+snow each step as one lifted it; the work was arduous for the first man.
+But at a slow pace it was possible to plod on without undue exhaustion.
+The heat was a different matter. In the glacier-furnace the thin mist
+became steam, it enveloped us with a clinging garment from which no
+escape was possible, and far from being protected by it from the sun's
+fierce heat, we seemed to be scorched all the more because of it. The
+atmosphere was enervating to the last degree; to halt even for a few
+minutes was to be almost overwhelmed by inertia, so difficult it seemed,
+once the machinery had stopped and lost momentum, to heave it into
+motion again. And yet we must go on in one direction or the other or
+else succumb to sheer lassitude and overpowering drowsiness. The final
+slopes, about 700 feet at a fairly steep angle, undoubtedly called for
+greater efforts than any hitherto required of us.
+
+The importance of breathing hard and deeply had impressed itself upon us
+again and again. I had come to think of my own practice as a very
+definite and conscious performance adopted to suit the occasion. The
+principles were always the same--to time the breathing regularly to fit
+the step, and to use not merely the upper part of the lungs, but the
+full capacity of the breathing apparatus, expanding and contracting not
+the chest only, but also the diaphragm, and this not occasionally but
+with every breath whenever the body was required to work at high
+pressure. Probably no one who has not tried it would guess how difficult
+it is to acquire an unconscious habit of deep breathing. It was easy
+enough to set the machine going in the right fashion; it was another
+task to keep it running. The moment attention to their performance was
+relaxed, the lungs too would begin to relax their efforts, and often I
+woke from some day-dream with a feeling of undue fatigue, to find the
+cause of my lassitude only in the lungs' laziness. The best chance of
+keeping them up to their work, I found, was to impose a rhythm
+primarily upon the lungs and swing the legs in time with it.
+
+The practice employed for walking uphill under normal conditions is
+exactly contrary, in that case the rhythm is consciously imposed on the
+legs and the rest of the body takes care of itself.
+
+During the various expeditions of our reconnaissance I came to employ
+two distinct methods of working the legs with the lungs. As soon as
+conscious breathing was necessary it was my custom deliberately to
+inhale on one step and exhale on the next. Later, at a higher elevation,
+or when the expenditure of muscular energy became more exhausting, I
+would both inhale and exhale for each step, in either case timing the
+first movement of lifting the leg to synchronise with the beginning, so
+to speak, of the breathing-stroke. On this occasion as we pushed our way
+up towards Lhakpa La I adopted a variation of this second method, a
+third stage, pausing a minute or so for the most furious sort of
+breathing after a series of steps, forty or thirty or twenty, as the
+strength ebbed, in order to gain potential energy for the next spasm of
+lifting efforts. Never before had our lungs been tested quite so
+severely. It was well for us that these final slopes were no steeper. It
+was difficult and tiring enough as it was to prevent the rackets
+sliding, though without them we could not possibly have advanced in such
+snow. But happily the consequences of a slip were not likely to be
+serious. We were able to struggle on without regarding dangers,
+half-dazed with the heat and the glare and with mere fatigue,
+occasionally encouraged by a glimpse of the skyline above us, a clean
+edge of snow where the angle set back to the pass, more often enveloped
+in the scorching mist which made with the snow a continuous whiteness,
+so that the smooth slope, even so near as where the foot must be placed
+next, was usually indistinguishable. We had proceeded a considerable
+distance and I was satisfied with our progress, when the leader broke
+the monotony; he was seen to hesitate in the act of stepping up, to
+topple over and fall headlong downwards. This time he had guessed
+wrong; his foot had hit unexpectedly against the steepening slope.
+Somehow he had passed in extreme fatigue from the physical state of
+stable equilibrium; he had become such a man as you may "knock down with
+a feather," and this little misadventure had upset his balance. Mere
+surprise gave him strength to stop his slide. He raised himself,
+disgusted, to his feet again and after sundry gruntings the party went
+on.
+
+Some little way further up Major Morshead, who was walking last in the
+party, with one brief exclamation to tell us what he intended, quietly
+untied the rope and remained where he was in his steps, unable to go
+further.
+
+At length we found ourselves on flatter ground; the pass was still
+invisible, how far ahead of us we could not guess. Unexpectedly we came
+upon the brink of a crevasse. We worked round it, vaguely wondering
+whether after all our pains we were to meet with many troubles of this
+sort. And then after a few more steps we were visibly on some edge of
+things; we had reached the col itself.
+
+Some twenty minutes later, as we sat on the snow gazing most intently at
+all that lay about us, Bullock and I were surprised by a shout. A moment
+later Major Morshead rejoined us, to the great rejoicing of all three.
+
+It was about 1.15 p.m. when the first two of us had reached Lhakpa La;
+the clouds, which had been earlier only a thin veil, rent occasionally
+to give us clear glimpses, had thickened perceptibly during the last
+hour, so that we had now no hope of a clear view. In a sense, despite
+our early start from a high camp, we were too late. Little was to be
+seen above our level. The slopes of Everest away on our left were
+visible only where they impinged upon the glacier. But we were not
+actually in cloud on the col. The South-facing rocks of Changtse
+presented their profile, steep and jagged, an imposing spectacle so far
+up as we could see; between them and Everest we looked down on a broad
+bay, the smooth surface of which was only occasionally broken by large
+crevasses. The descent to it from where we were could also be seen well
+enough, and we judged it perfectly simple and not much more than 800
+feet.[12] The East ridge of Changtse had no existence for us; we looked
+across at what presumably were the splayed-out slopes supporting it.
+Below them was a narrow glacier (it grew when we crossed it to broader
+dimensions), shaping its course somewhat to the West of North, joined
+after losing its white snow-covering by another and cleaner glacier
+coming steeply down from the left, then apparently bending with this
+confluent to the right, and finally lost to view. We could see no more;
+the mountain sides, which must hem it in on the North, remained
+completely hidden, and for all we had seen the exit of this glacier was
+still a mystery.
+
+  [12] It turned out to be a full 1,200 feet.
+
+Another great question remained unsolved. We had been able to make out
+the way across the head of the glacier towards the wall under Chang La;
+and the way was easy enough. But the wall itself, in spite of some
+fleeting glimpses and partial revelations, we had never really seen. We
+conjectured its height should be 500 feet or little more; and it was
+probably steep. It had been impossible to found an opinion as to whether
+the col were accessible. Nevertheless, I held an opinion, however flimsy
+the foundations. I had seen the rim of the col from both sides, and knew
+that above it on either hand were unserrated edges. When we added to
+whatever chances might be offered by the whole extent of the wall, which
+was considerable, the possibilities of finding a way to the col by the
+slopes of Everest to the South or by those of Changtse to the North, I
+felt we had enough in our favour. I was prepared, so to speak, to bet my
+bottom dollar that a way could be found, and was resolved that before we
+turned homewards this year we must get up from the East. When I thought
+of the 4,000 feet on the other side, the length combined with the
+difficulties, the distance that would necessarily separate us there from
+any convenient base and all the limitations in our strength, I could
+have no reasonable doubt that here to the East lay the best chance of
+success.
+
+[Illustration: NORTH-EAST OF MOUNT EVEREST AND CHANG LA
+from Lhakpa La.]
+
+It remained to determine by which of two possible routes we should reach
+the glacier-head between Lhakpa La and Chang La. Presuming that Wheeler
+was right we could use the old base at the foot of the Rongbuk Glacier
+which was only one stage, though a very long one, from Choebuk, and
+proceed simply enough by two rough marches and one which should be
+easier to a camp at the foot of the wall or possibly to the col itself.
+On the East we could use as an advanced base a place two easy marches
+from Kharta; from there I reckoned one long day and two easy ones,
+provided the snow were hard, to Chang La. Against this route was the
+loss of height in crossing Lhakpa La; and for it the convenience of a
+good encampment on stones at 20,000 feet, better than anything we might
+expect to find at a similar elevation on the other side. So far the pros
+and cons were evenly balanced. But there was one great and perhaps
+insuperable obstacle in working from the Rongbuk Valley. We had always
+found difficulties there in obtaining an adequate supply of fuel. There
+is no wood at Choebuk or for some distance below it. A few small bushes
+grow in a little patch of vegetation by the riverside an hour higher up.
+But it is a very niggardly supply, and when I thought of the larger
+scale of the preparations we should now have to make, it became clear
+that we should have to rely on gobar, which, besides being a more
+extravagant fuel in the sense that it gives less fire for a given weight
+than wood, is also difficult to get in the Rongbuk Valley, for little
+enough is to be found there, and the monastery at Choeyling is a large
+consumer. On the other hand, in the Kharta Valley we were in a land of
+plenty. Gobar and rhododendron were to be had within a stone's throw of
+our present advanced base camp, and a little lower was an abundance of
+juniper. Food supplies also were better here; fresh vegetables and eggs,
+luxuries never seen on the other side, could easily be obtained from
+Kharta, and even the sheep in this region could be praised at the
+expense of the Rongbuk breed, which was incomparably skinny; lurking in
+the thigh of one recently killed we had actually discovered a nugget of
+fat.
+
+And presuming Wheeler were wrong? In any case we knew enough of the
+country to be sure that a valley further to the North would offer us
+little better than the Rongbuk Valley, for it must be situated in the
+drier area unvisited by the monsoon currents from the Arun. The
+conclusion was drawn as we came down from Lhakpa La more swiftly than
+the reader of these arguments might suppose. We had now found a way to
+approach Chang La--not an ideal way, because it would involve a descent,
+and not one that could be used immediately; but good enough for our
+purpose. If laden coolies could not be brought to the Lhakpa at present
+over so much soft snow they might find the march to their liking later;
+for good snow at angles not too steep involves far less labour than
+rougher ground; and might we not expect the snow to harden before long?
+The whole plan of campaign had been founded upon the belief that
+September would be the best month for climbing, and our greatest
+efforts, some sort of an assault upon the mountain, were timed to take
+place then. We must now proceed upon the assumption that what the wise
+men prophesied about the matter would come true; and they promised a
+fine September. About the beginning of the month the monsoon would come
+to an end; then we should have a succession of bright, clear days to
+melt the snow and cold, starry nights to freeze it hard. At worst the
+calm spell would only be broken by a short anger. In September, perhaps
+a fortnight hence, on these same slopes where now we toiled we should
+find a solid substance beneath our feet and an easy way.
+
+The abiding thought, therefore, after the first rush downwards on the
+steep slopes below the col contained a measure of solid satisfaction. We
+had now brought to an end our preliminary reconnaissance. Ahead of us
+was a new phase in our operations, and one which should hold in store
+for us the finest adventure of all, the climax of all reconnoitring
+expeditions, that advance which was to bring us as near to the summit as
+our strength would take us. As we plodded on, retracing our steps, some
+little satisfaction was highly acceptable. To the tired party even
+descent seemed laborious. We reached the edge of the glacier where we
+had come on to it at 5.30 p.m. But the march from there to our lower
+camp was both long and rough. Major Morshead, who had not been trained
+with Bullock and me to the pace of such expeditions, had kept up so far
+in the gamest fashion; but he was now much exhausted. The day ended with
+a series of little spurts, balancing over the snow-sprinkled boulders
+along and along the valley, in the dim misty moonlit scene, until at 2
+o'clock in the morning we reached our lower camp, twenty-three hours
+after the early start.
+
+On August 20 we went down to Kharta for ten days' rest and
+reorganisation. The party was gathering there for the assault, in which
+all were to help to the best of their powers. Col. Howard-Bury and
+Mr. Wollaston were there; Dr. Heron came in on the following day, and a
+little later Major Wheeler. A conversation with this officer, who had
+been working in the Rongbuk Valley since Bullock and I had left it, was
+naturally of the highest interest, and he now confirmed what his
+sketch-map had suggested: that the glacier on to which we had looked
+down from Lhakpa La drained into the Rongbuk Valley. But this certain
+knowledge could have no bearing on our plans; we remained content with
+the way we had found and troubled our heads no more for the present
+about the East Rongbuk Glacier.
+
+
+
+
+                                CHAPTER XV
+
+                                THE ASSAULT
+
+
+In the agreeable climate of Kharta we were sufficiently occupied with
+the results of photography and preparations for the future; and there
+was time besides for unmixed idleness, which we knew how to appreciate.
+Our thoughts turned often to the weather. Local lore confirmed our
+expectations for September, and we looked each day for signs of a
+change. It was arranged, in hope if not in confidence, to move up on the
+first signs of improvement. Already before we came down to Kharta our
+Advanced Base Camp had been moved up; it was now situated at about
+17,300 feet on a convenient grassy plateau and only a reasonable stage
+below our 20,000-foot camp, where some light tents and stores had also
+been left. At these two camps we had, in fact, left everything which we
+should not absolutely require at Kharta, so that few mountaineering
+stores would have to be carried forward from the Base when we came up
+again. Our first task would be to supply the Advanced Base with food and
+fuel, and a start had already been made by collecting here a pile of
+wood, nominally thirty loads. Transport in any case was not likely to be
+a difficulty in the early stages. Local coolies could easily be hired,
+and Howard-Bury was to follow us up after a short interval with all
+available strength to help in every possible way.
+
+The first object which our plans must include was, of course, to reach
+Chang La; by finding the way to this point we should establish a line of
+attack and complete a stage of our reconnaissance. Secondly we must aim
+at reaching the North-east Shoulder. In so far as it was an object of
+reconnaissance to determine whether it was possible to climb Mount
+Everest, our task could never be complete until we had actually climbed
+it; but short of that it was important to have a view of the final
+stage, and could we reach the great shoulder of the arete we should at
+least be in a better position to estimate what lay between there and the
+summit. Finally we saw no reason to exclude the supreme object itself.
+It would involve no sacrifice of meaner ends; the best would not
+interfere with the good. For if it should turn out that the additional
+supplies required for a longer campaign were more than our coolies could
+carry, we would simply drop them and aim less high.
+
+In organising the assault we had first to consider how our camps could
+be established, at Lhakpa La or perhaps better beyond it at a lower
+elevation, at Chang La, and finally as high as possible, somewhere under
+the shoulder, we thought, at about 26,500 feet. From the camp on Chang
+La we should have to carry up ten loads, each of 15 lb., which would
+provide tents enough, and sleeping-sacks and food for a maximum of four
+Sahibs and four coolies; sixteen coolies were allowed for this task;
+twelve therefore would have to return on the day of their ascent and
+sleep at Chang La, and on the assumption that they would require an
+escort of Sahibs who must also sleep at this camp, four small tents must
+remain there, making six in all to be carried up to this point. The
+lower end of the ladder must be so constructed as to support this weight
+at the top. It was comparatively a simple matter to provide the earlier
+camps. The first above the advanced base--that at 20,000 feet--could be
+filled before we moved up to sleep there, the coolies returning on the
+same day whenever they carried up loads. And the same plan could be
+adopted for the second at Lhakpa La; only one journey there, I
+calculated, would be required before we started in force from the
+20,000-foot camp to go straight ahead without delay. The crux would lie
+in the stage from Lhakpa La to Chang La. At the most we should have
+twenty-three coolies, sixteen who had been all along with the climbing
+party, three whom Wheeler had partially trained, and four more Sherpas,
+the maximum number being determined by the supply of boots. But it would
+not be necessary to carry on all the loads from Lhakpa La; and return
+journeys could be made from Chang La both by those who were not to stay
+there and by the twelve already mentioned who might fetch supplies if
+necessary on the final day of the assault. This plan was never executed
+in its later stages, and we cannot know for certain whether it would
+have held good. But it may be conjectured, in view of our experience,
+that the weakest link would have broken; either an extra day would have
+been spent between Lhakpa La and Chang La, or, if we had reached Chang
+La according to programme with the minimum of supplies, the coolies
+would not have been brought to this point a second time and the climbing
+party would have been cut off from its reserves. And, granted the most
+favourable conditions for the attempt, in asking the coolies to carry
+loads of 30 lb. on two consecutive days at these high altitudes, we were
+probably expecting too much of them. It must be concluded, if this
+opinion is correct, that we had not enough coolies for what we intended.
+
+On the last day of August, Bullock and I were established once again at
+our Advanced Base. The weather had not yet cleared, though it was
+showing some signs of change. But it had been necessary to move up for
+the coolies' sake. At Kharta, where they found little to amuse them and
+no work to employ their time, they had sought diversion with the aid of
+liquor and become discontented and ill-affected. They were badly in need
+of a routine, which at the Advanced Base was easily enough provided.
+Besides, I wanted to be ready, and it seemed not too soon to begin
+carrying loads up to the next camp. There was no occasion for hurry in
+the event. We were obliged to wait nearly three weeks, until September
+19, before moving forward. The delay served no useful purpose, the work
+of supplying our present needs and providing for the future was
+sufficiently spread over the long tale of days, but interspersed with
+more rest and leisure than anyone required.
+
+In some respects life at the Advanced Base compared favourably with our
+experience at other camps. The place had a charm of its own. The short
+turf about us, the boulders and little streams reminded me of Welsh
+hillsides; and these high pastures were often decorated by the brilliant
+blues of _Gentiana ornata_ and by the most exquisite of saxifrages,
+which, with the yellow and ochre markings on the cream glaze of its tiny
+bowl, recalls the marginal ornament on some Persian page. Whenever the
+weather cleared for a few hours we saw down the valley a splendid peak
+in a scene of romantic beauty, and by walking up to a stony shoulder
+only 2,000 feet above us, we had amazing views of Everest and Makalu.
+And it was an advantage during these days of waiting to be a larger
+party, as we soon became.
+
+Bury and Wollaston, and also Raeburn whom we rejoiced to see again, had
+come up on the 6th, Morshead and Wheeler on the 11th, and for two nights
+Heron was of our company. We made little excursions to keep ourselves
+fit, and on one occasion enjoyed some rock-climbing. But it amused
+nobody to watch the procession of clouds which precipitated sleet by day
+and snow by night, and our appetite for adventure could not be
+stimulated by making time pass in some endurable fashion and counting
+the unhopeful signs.
+
+Under these circumstances I became more than ever observant of the
+party's physical condition. I find a passage in one of my letters
+written during this period of waiting in which I boast of finding myself
+"still able to go up about 1,500 feet in an hour--not bad going at these
+altitudes"--a reassuring statement enough but for the one word "still,"
+which betrays all my anxiety. In fact there was too much cause to be
+anxious. Three of our strongest coolies were ill at this camp; others
+seemed to be tired more easily than they should be. And what of the
+Sahibs? At least it must be said that several of them were not looking
+their best. Bullock, though he never complained, seemed no longer to be
+the fit man he was at the end of July. And for my part I began to
+experience a certain lack of exuberance when going up hill. I came to
+realise that all such efforts were unduly exhausting; my reserve of
+strength had somehow diminished. The whole machine, in fact, was running
+down; the days continued to pass with their cloud and rain and snow,
+always postponing our final effort to a later date and a colder season;
+and with them our chances of success were slowly vanishing.
+
+When at last the weather cleared, it was evident that the fate of our
+enterprise would be decided by the sun's power to melt the snow. In a
+subsequent chapter I shall have more to say about the snow's melting; it
+may suffice to remark here that, before we left the Advanced Base, I had
+good reason to expect that we should meet adverse conditions, and was
+resolved at the same time that nothing was to be gained by waiting. The
+coolies were lightly laden up to the First Advanced Camp and
+sufficiently unfatigued to proceed next day. On the 20th, therefore,
+leaving Bullock to accompany Wheeler, Morshead and I set forth to get
+fourteen loads up to Lhakpa La. We had one spare coolie who carried no
+load, and Sanglu, who was now our acting Sirdar, four of us in all, to
+break the trail for the loaded men. Snow-shoes were not carried because
+there were not enough to go round. Though our prospects of reaching a
+high point on Everest were already sufficiently dim, I intended to carry
+out the original plan until obliged by circumstances to modify it; it
+might prove necessary to spend an extra day in reaching Chang La, and in
+that case we could perhaps afford to stop short of Lhakpa La and
+establish our camp below its final slopes. But if the strain on this
+first day was likely to be severe, I argued that the coolies could rest
+to-morrow, and that the second journey in frozen tracks would be easy
+enough. That we should be passing the night a few hundred feet higher
+(at 22,500 feet) was a relatively unimportant consideration. The great
+matter was to put heart into the coolies; it would be infinitely more
+encouraging to reach the crest with a sense of complete achievement, to
+see the clear prospect ahead and to proceed downwards on the other side.
+
+Our start at an early hour on the 20th was propitious enough. It was the
+same moonlit glacier of our expedition a month before as we made good
+our approach to its surface. But the conditions were altered. For the
+first time since we had come to these mountains we experienced the
+wonderful delight of treading snow that is both crisp and solid. We
+walked briskly over it, directly towards Mount Everest, with all the
+hope such a performance might inspire. The night was exceedingly cold
+and there was no untoward delay. In less than an hour we were at the
+foot of the icefall. We were determined on this occasion not to avoid it
+by the rocks of the left bank, but to find a quicker way through the
+tumbled ice. At first all went well. A smooth-floored corridor took us
+helpfully upwards. And then, in the dim light, we were among the
+crevasses. To be seriously held up here might well be fatal to our
+object, and in the most exciting kind of mountaineering adventures we
+had the stimulus of this thought. We plunged into the maze and struggled
+for a little time, crossing frail bridges over fantastic depths and
+making steps up steep little walls, until it seemed we were in serious
+trouble. One leap proposed by the leader proved too much for some of the
+laden coolies and a good deal of pushing and pulling was required to
+bring them over the formidable gap. We had begun to waste time. Halted
+on a sharp little crest between two monstrous chasms Morshead and I
+discussed the situation, and thereafter gravely proceeded to reconnoitre
+the ground to our left. In ten minutes we came to another corridor like
+the first, which brought us out above the icefall.
+
+We were well satisfied with our progress as we halted at sunrise, and it
+was a pleasant change to get our feet out of the snow and knock a little
+warmth into chilled toes. But our confidence had ebbed. Even as we
+entered the icefall our feet had occasionally broken the crust; as we
+came out of it we were stamping a trail.
+
+Dorji Gompa, our unladen coolie, and perhaps the strongest man of all,
+took the lead when we went on, and plugged manfully upwards. But already
+the party was showing signs of fatigue. One coolie, and then two others,
+fell out and could not be induced to come further. I sent Dorji Gompa
+back to bring on one of their loads. Morshead, Sanglu and I took turns
+ahead and soon came to the worst snow we had encountered anywhere. In it
+no firm steps could be stamped by the leaders to save the coolies
+behind, and each man in turn had to contend with the shifting substance
+of fine powder. The party straggled badly. It was necessary for some of
+us to press on and prove that the goal could be reached. Many of the men
+were obliged to halt at frequent intervals. But time was on our side.
+Gradually the party fought its way up the final slopes. As we approached
+the pass I looked back with Morshead over the little groups along our
+track and saw some distance below the last moving figure another lying
+huddled up on the snow. I soon learnt the meaning of this: it was Dorji
+Gompa who lay there. He had carried on not one load as I had asked him,
+but two, until he had fallen there dazed and exhausted.
+
+At length eleven loads reached the pass and two more were only 800 feet
+lower. If we had not done all we set out to do I was satisfied we had
+done enough. We had established tracks to Lhakpa La which should serve
+us well when they had frozen hard, and not too many loads remained below
+to be brought up two days later.
+
+We now obtained a clear view of Chang La; it was possible to make more
+exact calculations, and it was evident we must modify our plans. We saw
+a wall of formidable dimensions, perhaps 1,000 feet high; the surface
+was unpleasantly broken by insuperable bergschrunds and the general
+angle was undoubtedly steep. The slopes of Everest to the South were out
+of the question, and if it were possible to avoid a direct assault by
+the North side the way here would be long, difficult and exceedingly
+laborious. The wall itself offered the best chance, and I was in good
+hopes we could get up. But it would not be work for untrained men, and
+to have on the rope a number of laden coolies, more or less mountain
+sick, conducted by so small a nucleus as three Sahibs, who would also
+presumably be feeling the effects of altitude, was a proposition not to
+be contemplated for a moment. We must have as strong a party as possible
+in the first place, simply to reach the col, and afterwards to bring up
+a camp, if we were able, as a separate operation. With this idea I
+selected the party. Wollaston felt that his place of duty was not with
+the van; only Wheeler besides had sufficient mountaineering experience,
+and it was decided that he alone should accompany Bullock and myself on
+our first attempt to reach the col. Nevertheless, it seemed undesirable
+to abandon so early the hope that Bury and Morshead would be of use to
+us later on; and Wollaston clearly must start with us from the
+20,000-foot camp where all had gathered on the 20th.
+
+I had hoped we should have a full complement of coolies on the 22nd, but
+when morning came it was found that three, including two of the best
+men, were too ill to start. Consequently some of the loads were rather
+heavier than I intended. But all arrived safely at Lhakpa La before
+midday. Visited by malicious gusts from the North-west, the pass was
+cheerless and chilly; however, the rim afforded us some protection, and
+we decided to pitch our tents there rather than descend on the other
+side with the whole party, a move which I felt might complicate the
+return. I was not very happy about the prospects for the morrow. For my
+own part I had been excessively and unaccountably tired in coming up to
+the col; I observed no great sparkle of energy or enthusiasm among my
+companions; Sanglu was practically _hors de combat_; some of the coolies
+had with difficulty been brought to the col and were more or less
+exhausted; and many complaints of headache, even from the best of them,
+were a bad sign.
+
+There was no question of bustling off before dawn on the 23rd, but we
+rose early enough, as I supposed, to push on to Chang La if we were
+sufficiently strong. Morshead and I in a Mummery tent had slept well and
+I congratulated myself on an act of mutilation in cutting two large
+slits in its roof. The rest had not fared so well, but seemed fit
+enough, and the wonderful prospect from our camp at sunrise was a
+cheering sight. With the coolies, however, the case was different. Those
+who had been unwell overnight had not recovered, and it was evident that
+only a comparatively small number would be able to come on; eventually I
+gathered ten, two men who both protested they were ill casting lots for
+the last place; and of these ten it was evident that none were
+unaffected by the height and several were more seriously
+mountain-sick.[13] Under these circumstances it was necessary to
+consider which loads should be carried on. Bury, Wollaston and Morshead
+suggested that they should go back at once so as not to burden the party
+with the extra weight of their belongings, and it seemed the wisest plan
+that they should return. Certain stores were left behind at Lhakpa La as
+reserve supplies for the climbing party. I decided at an early hour that
+our best chance was to take an easy day; after a late start and a very
+slow march we pitched our tents on the open snow up towards the col.
+
+  [13] I use this expression to denote not a state of intermittent
+       vomiting, but simply one in which physical exertion exhausts the
+       body abnormally and causes a remarkable disinclination to further
+       exertion.
+
+It might have been supposed that in so deep a cwm and sheltered on three
+sides by steep mountain slopes, we should find a tranquil air and the
+soothing, though chilly calm of undisturbed frost. Night came clearly
+indeed, but with no gentle intentions. Fierce squalls of wind visited
+our tents and shook and worried them with the disagreeable threat of
+tearing them away from their moorings, and then scurried off, leaving us
+in wonder at the change and asking what next to expect. It was a cold
+wind at an altitude of 22,000 feet, and however little one may have
+suffered, the atmosphere discouraged sleep. Again I believe I was more
+fortunate than my companions, but Bullock and Wheeler fared badly. Lack
+of sleep, since it makes one sleepy, always discourages an early start,
+and hot drinks take time to brew; in any case, it was wise to start
+rather late so as to have the benefit of warm sun whenever our feet
+should be obliged to linger in cold snow or ice steps. It was an hour or
+so after sunrise when we left the camp and half an hour later we were
+breaking the crust on the first slopes under the wall. We had taken
+three coolies who were sufficiently fit and competent, and now proceeded
+to use them for the hardest work. Apart from one brief spell of cutting
+when we passed the corner of a bergschrund it was a matter of
+straightforward plugging, firstly slanting up to the right on partially
+frozen avalanche snow and then left in one long upward traverse to the
+summit. Only one passage shortly below the col caused either anxiety or
+trouble; here the snow was lying at a very steep angle and was deep
+enough to be disagreeable. About 500 steps of very hard work covered
+all the worst of the traverse and we were on the col shortly before
+11.30 a.m. By this time two coolies were distinctly tired, though by no
+means incapable of coming on; the third, who had been in front, was
+comparatively fresh. Wheeler thought he might be good for some further
+effort, but had lost all feeling in his feet. Bullock was tired, but by
+sheer will power would evidently come on--how far, one couldn't say. For
+my part I had had the wonderful good fortune of sleeping tolerably well
+at both high camps and now finding my best form; I supposed I might be
+capable of another 2,000 feet, and there would be no time for more. But
+what lay ahead of us? My eyes had often strayed, as we came up, to the
+rounded edge above the col and the final rocks below the North-east
+arete. If ever we had doubted whether the arete were accessible, it was
+impossible to doubt any longer. For a long way up those easy rock and
+snow slopes was neither danger nor difficulty. But at present there was
+wind. Even where we stood under the lee of a little ice cliff it came in
+fierce gusts at frequent intervals, blowing up the powdery snow in a
+suffocating tourbillon. On the col beyond it was blowing a gale. And
+higher was a more fearful sight. The powdery fresh snow on the great
+face of Everest was being swept along in unbroken spindrift and the very
+ridge where our route lay was marked out to receive its unmitigated
+fury. We could see the blown snow deflected upwards for a moment where
+the wind met the ridge, only to rush violently down in a frightful
+blizzard on the leeward side. To see, in fact, was enough; the wind had
+settled the question; it would have been folly to go on. Nevertheless,
+some little discussion took place as to what might be possible, and we
+struggled a few steps further to put the matter to the test. For a few
+moments we exposed ourselves on the col to feel the full strength of the
+blast, then struggled back to shelter. Nothing more was said about
+pushing our assault any further.
+
+It remained to take a final decision on the morning of the 25th. We were
+evidently too weak a party to play a waiting game at this altitude. We
+must either take our camp to the col or go back. A serious objection to
+going forward lay in the shortage of coolies' rations. Had the men been
+fit it would not have been too much for them to return, as I had
+planned, unladen to Lhakpa La and reach Chang La again the same day. I
+doubted whether any two could be found to do that now; and to subtract
+two was to leave only eight, of whom two were unfit to go on, so that
+six would remain to carry seven loads. However, the distance to the col
+was so short that I was confident such difficulties could be overcome
+one way or another.
+
+A more unpleasant consideration was the thought of requiring a party
+which already felt the height too much to sleep at least a 1,000 feet
+higher. We might well find it more than we could do to get back over
+Lhakpa La, and be forced to make a hungry descent down the Rongbuk
+Valley. There would be no disaster in that event. The crucial matter was
+the condition of the climbers. Were we fit to push the adventure
+further? The situation, if any one of the whole party collapsed, would
+be extremely disagreeable, and all the worse if he should be one of the
+Sahibs, who were none too many to look after the coolies in case of
+mountaineering difficulties. Such a collapse I judged might well be the
+fate of one or other of us if we were to push our assault above Chang La
+to the limit of our strength. And what more were we likely to accomplish
+from a camp on Chang La? The second night had been no less windy than
+the first. Soon after the weather cleared the wind had been strong from
+North-west, and seemed each day to become more violent. The only signs
+of a change now pointed to no improvement, but rather to a heavy fall of
+snow--by no means an improbable event according to local lore. The
+arguments, in fact, were all on one side; it would be bad heroics to
+take wrong risks; and fairly facing the situation one could only admit
+the necessity of retreat.
+
+It may be added that the real weakness of the party became only too
+apparent in the course of our return journey over Lhakpa La on this
+final day; and it must be safe to say that none of the three climbers
+has ever felt a spasm of regret about the decision to go back or a
+moment's doubt as to its rightness. It was imposed upon us by
+circumstances without a reasonable alternative.
+
+
+
+
+                                CHAPTER XVI
+
+                       WEATHER AND CONDITION OF SNOW
+
+
+Without consulting the meteorologist at Simla it is difficult to accept
+assertions about the monsoon as ultimate truth. Beyond a general, rather
+vague, agreement as to what should normally be expected, opinions differ
+not a little as to the measure and frequency of divergences from the
+norm. And individuals who observe in one locality more or less than they
+hope or expect are apt to forget that their dearth or plenty may be
+elsewhere compensated by capricious incidence. Nevertheless it seems
+certain that this year's rainfall in North-east India was above the
+normal both in amount and duration. "We had good rain," people said, and
+I was tempted to reply, "We had bad snow." Travelling through India I
+frequently asked questions on this point, and almost invariably heard of
+an unusually bountiful rainfall, seldom of one which was merely
+sufficient. Inhabitants of Darjeeling, who have observed the hills in
+the changing seasons for many years, told me that it was almost unheard
+of that so much snow should fall in September and lie so low. The
+general tenor of such remarks may probably be applied to an area
+including not only Mount Everest itself and the great peaks in its
+neighbourhood, but also a considerable tract of country to the North.
+The monsoon, according to Tibetan information, started perhaps a little
+later than usual, but was still more late in coming to an end; the
+Tibetans ordinarily lie with an object, and there could be no object in
+deceiving us about the weather. It may be concluded the year was
+abnormally wet, though to what extent on Everest itself can hardly be
+divined.
+
+During our outward journey through Sikkim we saw nothing of the high
+peaks. It was not until the day of our march to Phari Dzong (May 28)
+that we had a clear view of the snows, and we had then the good fortune
+to see Chomolhari late in the morning. But Chomolhari and the range to
+the North of it were less visited by clouds than the peaks further
+South. Pawhunri, Kanchenjunga, Chomiomo were less often visible, and
+even at this early season we began to observe the usual habit of clouds
+to rise from the valleys or to form about the summits at an early hour,
+to be dissipated not before evening. The weather was not necessarily bad
+because the peaks were veiled. When we first saw Everest from Kampa
+Dzong on June 6, it was obscured some three hours after sunrise, but the
+weather seemed fine: and on two subsequent days we made the same
+observation. On June 13, from the hills above Shiling, Bullock and I
+were trying to make out the Everest group through glasses for about
+three hours. When first we looked in that direction, it appeared that a
+storm was in progress, with dark clouds drifting up from the West; but
+Kanchenjunga at the same time was a glorious sight, and all the
+mountains were clear before sunset. The most splendid of the distant
+views was from Ponglet on June 19: we were up our hill half an hour
+after sunrise and half an hour later there was nothing to be seen. There
+may have been malice in the clouds that day. It was radiantly fine where
+we were; but in the afternoon we came under the edge of a thunderstorm
+which drenched the main body of the Expedition as they were approaching
+Tingri; and there was a definite break in the weather at this time.
+
+I suppose this break may be taken as the forerunner of the monsoon on
+Mount Everest. Storms there may have been before; but, generally
+speaking, it had been fine over the mountains since the beginning of
+June, and though the evidence is slight enough it seems probable that
+Everest received little or no snow before June 20. When first we saw it,
+a few days later, from the Rongbuk Glacier, it was still comparatively
+black. It appeared a rocky mass with a white arm to the right, some
+permanent snow on the ledges and in the gullies of the face turned
+Northwards in our direction and some snow again on the high North-east
+arete; but with no pretensions to be a snow-mountain, a real sugar-cake
+as it seemed afterwards to become. We were lucky in having a few fine
+days at the outset of our reconnaissance. The conditions then were very
+different from those which obtained later. The recent snow must have
+melted quickly; we found clean ice on an East-facing slope at 21,000
+feet and also at a gentler angle on one facing West. On Ri-ring the
+slopes were generally covered with snow near the crest, thinly but
+sufficiently, or we should never have got up; near the summit we found
+ice on both sides, North and South. It is impossible to say up to what
+height one might have found ice in June. Appearances suggested that on
+all but the steepest slopes above 23,000 feet the surface was hard snow
+rather than ice.
+
+It was on the day following our ascent of Ri-ring, July 6, that we first
+experienced a real snowfall; and we woke next morning to find 3 or 4
+inches covering the ground. In so far as an exact date can be ascribed
+to what is hardly a single event, July 6-7 may be taken as the beginning
+of the monsoon. We imagined at first that this snowfall was an important
+matter, sufficient to prevent climbing at any considerable height for
+several days. But from subsequent observations we came to treat such
+snowfalls with a certain degree of contempt. It was more often than not
+the case during the whole of July until the date of our departure that
+snow fell during the day--sometimes perhaps for a comparatively short
+period between noon and sunset, not seldom for many hours,
+intermittently during the day from the middle of the morning, and
+continuing into the night. But it was often so far as we were concerned
+a harmless phenomenon. Snow was precipitated from clouds so thin that
+they were easily penetrated by the sun's heat; it melted where it lay,
+and the moisture so readily evaporated that the snow had hardly stopped
+falling before the ground was dry. One might suppose that a few hundred
+feet higher, where the snow could be seen to lie where it fell, the
+effects would be more severe; but it was remarkable after half a day's
+unceasing precipitation of this fine granular snow that one might go up
+early next morning, perhaps to 20,000 feet, and find no more than a thin
+covering of 2 or 3 inches on the stones.
+
+In saying that this sort of weather was harmless, I am not denying that
+it hindered our operations; but from the point of view merely of the
+climber it was remarkably innocuous. A case in point is our ascent of
+Ri-ring. As we were nearing the summit a thunderstorm gathered to the
+North and dark clouds came up on every hand, threatening a violent
+disturbance. I have related in an earlier chapter how we hurried down,
+expecting at the least a cold unpleasant wind and some nasty snow
+showers; but the air remained calm and the temperature warm and such
+grains of snow as fell were hardly remarked in our flight. A more
+disagreeable experience was our first journey to the col from which we
+afterwards looked into the West Cwm of Everest; we reached the pass in
+the teeth of a wind which drove the snow into our faces; but the weather
+had no real sting, and the wind, though cold, seemed to touch us
+lightly. Wind, in fact, was never an enemy to be feared during the whole
+period of the monsoon, and snowstorms, though they prevented more than
+one expedition, never turned us back. The delays in our reconnaissance
+caused by bad weather were of course considerable; we were forced to
+push our camps higher than would have otherwise been necessary, and
+often found ourselves hurrying after a start before dawn in a desperate
+race with the clouds to reach a view-point before the view had
+disappeared. And the precipitation of snow on the glaciers forced us
+invariably to wear snow-shoes on neve, and consequently limited the
+numbers in our parties.
+
+I have already alluded to a more serious snowfall which took place from
+July 20 to 25. Another occurred during the first days of August and
+another again on August 20 and 21, when snow came down below 16,000
+feet. In September, towards the end of the monsoon, the weather was more
+monotonously malicious and the snowfall tended to be heavier; I find two
+heavy falls noted particularly in my diary. But on the whole it was the
+habit of snow to fall lightly. It is remarkable, when one calls to mind
+such a big snowfall as may occur during the climbing season in the Alps
+before the weather is resolved to be fine, how little snow by comparison
+fell on any one day in the region of Mount Everest. And perhaps in the
+end the slopes were more laden by the smaller precipitations which
+deposited a daily accretion.
+
+We naturally sought an answer to the interminable query as to how much
+melting took place at the highest altitudes. Melting of course was
+always quicker on rocks. But even on the glaciers it was remarkably
+rapid whenever the sun shone brightly, and we were more than once
+surprised after a period of cloudy weather with constant snow showers to
+find how much the snow had consolidated. It seemed to us on more than
+one occasion that while snow had been falling at our camps and on the
+lower peaks, Everest itself must have escaped. But, generally speaking,
+after July 6 the mountain was remarkably white and became increasingly
+whiter, and only at the least two perfectly fine days, which rarely came
+together, made any perceptible difference. It was remarkable how little
+ice was ever observable on the steep Eastern face, where one would
+expect to see icicles hanging about the rocks. It is my own impression
+for what it is worth, and its value I fear is small, that though snow
+will melt readily enough low down, at least up to 23,000 feet during the
+warmer weather even on cloudy days, at greater altitudes, perhaps above
+25,000 feet, it rarely melts even in bright sunshine. In September this
+year I doubt if it melted at all above 23,000 feet after the weather
+cleared. At lower elevations the direction and angle of the slope made
+all the difference. After one fine day the snow on a steep East slope
+had solidified to a remarkable degree at about 20,000 feet; on a
+North-facing slope at a similar elevation it had been quite unaffected;
+on flat surfaces 1,000 feet higher a perceptible crust had formed, but
+the snow remained powdery below it as on the day when it fell. After
+three and four fine days the snowy surface of a glacier was absolutely
+hard at about 20,000 feet and remained solid in the afternoon. Fifteen
+hundred feet higher we were breaking a hard crust and sinking in a foot
+or more. This condition may have been partly due to the local behaviour
+of clouds, which were apt to cling about a ridge overlooking the glacier
+and cast a shadow on this part of it. But higher, on more open ground,
+we met the same condition; and again the slopes facing North preserved a
+powdery snow which never changed before it was blown down in avalanches.
+Perhaps the most convincing phenomena were the powdery snow high up on
+the Eastern slopes under the North col and the snow on the Western
+slopes at a similar elevation under Lhakpa La, which was hardly more
+solid, while 1,000 feet lower we found excellent snow. It is difficult
+to resist the conclusion that altitude is a determining factor in the
+sun's power of melting. It is possible that a line might always be drawn
+on any given day above which the temperature of the air is too cold for
+snow to melt where it has fallen on snow, and another to meet the case
+where it covers rocks. From our all too limited observations in June I
+should judge that in the middle of summer such imaginary lines would be
+above the height of Everest, but in other and cooler seasons we should
+quickly find them lower and a long way below the summit.
+
+In close connection with the snow's melting we had to consider the
+possibility of avalanches. Our observations on this head were so meagre
+that I can only make with the greatest diffidence a few statements about
+them. It is astonishing to reflect how seldom we either saw or heard an
+avalanche, or even noticed the debris of one under steep slopes which
+had been laden with snow. Only on two occasions, I believe, were we
+confronted in practice with the question as to whether a slope could
+safely be crossed. The first was on August 7 in ascending the peak
+Carpo-ri, of which I have previously made mention. The heavy snowfall at
+the beginning of the month had ceased during the night August 4-5; the
+following days had been warm but cloudy, and on both there had been
+prolonged snow showers of the lighter sort in the afternoon and evening.
+On the night of August 6 we had hard frost at 17,500 feet, and there was
+a considerable sprinkling of fresh snow on the stones of the moraine.
+Between the col and the summit we met some very steep snow slopes on the
+South side: we carried no clinometer and I shall not venture to estimate
+their angles of inclination. It was on this occasion, as I have
+narrated, that in crossing a shallow scoop I was very much afraid of an
+avalanche, but was able to choose a safe line where we were protected
+and helped by an island of rocks. The snow here was inclined to be
+powdery; but it had solidified in some degree and, where we had to tread
+it, adhered sufficiently to the slope so as to give one a distinct
+confidence that it would not slide off wherever it might be crossed.
+Above this place we were able to avoid danger by following an edge where
+the snow was not so deep; but here again I noticed with surprise the
+adhesion between new snow and old. The ice below was not solid and
+smooth, but frothy and rough, and easily penetrated by a strong blow of
+the axe; it seemed to have been formed very quickly. The snow showed no
+inclination to slide off, though it was not of the substance in which a
+secure step could be made: and I concluded that the process of
+assimilation between the old surface and the new snow must proceed very
+rapidly whenever the temperature was warm enough. On the final slope,
+which was even steeper, more snow was lying--it was a more powdery
+substance: I was able again to escape danger on an edge dividing two
+faces; but it was surprising that no avalanche had already taken place
+and that the snow contrived to stay where it was.
+
+The other occasion when we had to face and determine the possibility of
+an avalanche was in traversing the slopes to the North Col. Here our
+feet undoubtedly found a solid bed to tread upon, but the substance
+above it was dubiously loose. It was my conviction at the time that with
+axes well driven in above us we were perfectly safe here. But on the way
+down we observed a space of 5 yards or so where the surface snow had
+slid away below our tracks. The disquieting thoughts that necessarily
+followed this discovery left and still leave me in some doubt as to how
+great a risk, if any, we were actually taking. But it is natural to
+suppose that at a higher elevation or in a cooler season, because the
+snow adheres less rapidly to the slopes on which it lies, an avalanche
+of new snow is more likely to occur.
+
+
+                                TEMPERATURE
+
+Before attempting to draw conclusions as to the relative chances of
+finding favourable conditions between one month and another, a few words
+must be said about temperature.
+
+So far as the temperature of the air was concerned, we experienced no
+severe cold and suffered no hardships from first to last. I do not mean
+to affirm that it was always warm. We welcomed frost at nights as one
+does in the Alps. One night so early as July 18, in a camp above 19,000
+feet, was exceptionally cold. At our two last camps in September the
+thermometer went down to two or three degrees below zero (Fahr.) and the
+wind at the final camp made it more difficult to keep warm; with as
+little protection as the coolies had, I should no doubt have shivered in
+my tent. The air also seemed very cold before sunrise on September 20,
+though we were walking fast; but it did not bite the tip of my nose or
+ears or cause any disagreeable result. In general it may be said that
+there could be no difficulty in providing equipment against any cold we
+encountered. Heat was a much more dangerous enemy, as I indicated in
+describing our first ascent to Lhakpa La. Personally I never felt the
+sun's power on my head, but I felt it on my back so early as 8 a.m. as a
+definite attack on my energy and vital power, and more than once, though
+the sun was not shining, in crossing a glacier late in the day I was
+reduced from a state of alert activity to one of heavy lassitude.
+
+The temperature of the snow is another consideration of very great
+importance. Even in July I felt the snow to be cold in the middle of the
+day towards the summit of Ri-ring, and when wearing snow-shoes in fresh
+snow under 20,000 feet coolies and all felt the cold in their feet.
+Later I apprehended a real danger from this source. The coolies were
+encouraged to anoint their feet with whale oil, and we avoided accident
+and even complaint: but I always admired their resistance to cold.
+Personally, though I am not particularly a cold-footed person, I took
+the precaution of wearing two pairs of long socks which were both new
+and thick, and a third from which, unfortunately, the toes had to be
+amputated owing to the timid miscalculation of my bootmaker: this
+equipment sufficed and I found my feet perfectly warm, while one of my
+companions was obliged to pull off a boot in order to restore
+circulation, and the other went on with numb feet and barely escaped
+frost-bite. And I must again emphasise the fact that this was on an
+Eastern slope well warmed by the sun in the middle of the morning and at
+an altitude no higher than about 22,500 feet. It may readily be
+concluded that forethought and care are in no respect more necessary
+than in guarding against frozen feet among a large party at the highest
+altitudes. And the difficulty of guarding against this danger might well
+determine the limits at either end of the warmest weather within which
+an assault should be launched on Everest itself or any one of the
+half-dozen or so highest peaks.
+
+
+                       THE BEST SEASON FOR CLIMBING
+
+It will hardly be doubtful from the whole tendency of my preceding
+remarks about weather and conditions that my opinion inclines
+decisively to the earlier rather than the later season as offering the
+best chances of climbing Mount Everest. We cannot of course assume that
+because September was a bad month this year it will always be a bad
+month. But supposing the monsoon were to end punctually and a fair spell
+to have set in by the first day of September--even then it appears to me
+improbable that the fresh snow fallen during the monsoon would
+sufficiently melt near the top of the mountain two and a half months
+after midsummer. As to the prospects of wind, we can only be content
+with the statement that in this particular year the wind after the end
+of the monsoon would alone have defeated even the most determined
+attempt to reach the summit. A wind strong enough to blow up the snow
+must always, I believe, prevent an ascent. A superman might perhaps be
+found, but never a party of men whose endurance at high altitudes would
+warrant the risk of exhaustion in struggling for long hours against such
+adverse circumstances. For the earlier season it may be said again, as a
+simple observation upon which little enough can be built, that the
+appearance of the clouds before the monsoon did not suggest wind, but
+rather a calm air on the summit. What precisely the conditions may be,
+for instance, in May and June, 1922, or what we ought normally to
+expect, cannot be determined with certainty. Will the whole of the snow
+fallen during the monsoon of 1921 have melted before the next monsoon,
+and if so by what date? Will the amount of snow on the mountain be the
+same in June, 1922, as twelve months before? Or will black and white
+appear in altered proportions? And if the snow has melted, where will
+ice be found? It might well be that under the North Col all the steeper
+slopes will have lost their snow. And what of the final arete? One
+conjecture seems as good as another, and the experience of more
+travelled mountaineers will suggest the most probable answer to these
+questions with an instinct less fallible than mine. Nevertheless, I
+think it may be said that the chances are all in favour of the earlier
+season. We know, for instance, about this year that snow must have
+melted since the last monsoon and actually was melting fast in June, but
+the summer's snow does not always melt before the winter--not this year,
+for instance: the chances, therefore, of finding it melted in June are
+better than those of finding it melted in September. It may be contended
+that it might then have melted too much so that a party would find ice
+where they would wish to find snow. But one must prefer the lesser of
+two evils. Ice is far from an insuperable obstacle on Mount Everest;
+almost anywhere above Chang La crampons would overcome it: but powdery
+snow, in case the snow has melted too little, is a deadly handicap.
+Finally, the earlier is the warmer season with less danger to vulnerable
+feet and requiring a lighter equipment.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER XVII
+
+                          THE ROUTE TO THE SUMMIT
+
+
+The reader who has carefully followed the preceding story will hardly
+have failed to notice that the route which has been chosen as the only
+one offering reasonable chances of success remains still very largely a
+matter of speculation. But the reconnaissance, unless it were actually
+to reach the summit, was obliged to leave much unproved, and its value
+must depend upon observations in various sorts and not merely upon the
+practice of treading the snow and rocks. Speculation in this case is
+founded upon experience of certain phenomena and a study of the
+mountain's features; and it is by relating what has been only seen with
+known facts that inferences have been drawn.
+
+It may perhaps be accounted a misfortune that the party of 1921 did not
+approach Chang La by the East Rongbuk Glacier. The Lhakpa La proved a
+bigger obstacle than was expected. But in conditions such as we hope to
+find before the monsoon, this way would have much to recommend it. It
+avoids all laborious walking on a dry glacier, and with hard snow the
+walk up to the pass from the camp on stones at 20,000 feet should not be
+unduly fatiguing. Still the fact remains that the descent from the
+Lhakpa La on to the East Rongbuk Glacier is not less than 1,200 feet.
+Would it not be better to follow up this glacier from the Rongbuk
+Valley? The absence of wood on this side need not deter the party of
+1922. For them plenty of time will be available sufficiently to provide
+their base with fuel, and the sole consideration should be the easiest
+line of approach; and though no one has traversed the whole length of
+the East Rongbuk Glacier, enough is known to choose this way with
+confidence. Here, as on other glaciers which we saw, the difficulties
+clearly lie below the limit of perpetual snow, and the greater part of
+them were avoided or solved by Major Wheeler, who found a practicable
+way on to the middle of the glacier at about 19,000 feet, and felt
+certain that the medial moraine ahead of him would serve for an ascent
+and be no more arduous than the moraines of the West Rongbuk Glacier had
+proved to be. The view of this way from the Lhakpa La confirmed his
+opinion, and though it may be called a speculation to choose it, whereas
+the way from the East has been established by experiment, it is a fair
+inference from experience to conclude that the untraversed section of
+the East Rongbuk Glacier, a distance which could be accomplished very
+easily in one march if all went well, will afford a simple approach to
+Chang La.
+
+The Eastern wall, about 1,000 feet high, by which the gap itself must be
+reached, can never be lightly esteemed. Here reconnaissance has forged a
+link. But those who reached the col were not laden with tents and
+stores; and on another occasion the conditions may be different. There
+may be the danger of an avalanche or the difficulty of ice. From what we
+saw this year before the monsoon had brought a heavy snowfall it is by
+no means improbable that ice will be found at the end of May on the
+steepest slope below Chang La. In that case much labour will be required
+to hew and keep in repair a staircase, and perhaps fix a banister, so
+that the laden coolies, not all of whom will be competent ice-men, may
+be brought up in safety.
+
+The summit of Mount Everest is about 6,000 feet above Chang La; the
+distance is something like 21/2 miles and the whole of it is unexplored.
+What grounds have we for thinking that the mountaineering difficulties
+will not prove insuperable, that in so far as mere climbing is concerned
+the route is practicable? Two factors, generally speaking, have to be
+considered: the nature of the ground and the general angle of
+inclination. Where the climber is confined to a narrow crest and can
+find no way to circumvent an obstacle, a very small tower or wall, a
+matter of 20 feet, may bar his progress. There the general angle may be
+what it likes: the important matter for him is that the angle is too
+steep in a particular place. But on a mountain's face where his choice
+is not limited to a strict and narrow way, the general angle is of
+primary importance: if it is sufficiently gentle, the climber will find
+that he may wander almost where he will to avoid the steeper places.
+Long before we reached Chang La Mr. Bullock and I were fairly well
+convinced that the slope from here to the North-east Shoulder was
+sufficiently gentle and that the nature of the ill-defined ridge
+connecting these two points was not such as to limit the choice of route
+to a narrow line. Looking up from the North Col, we learnt nothing more
+about the angles. The view, however, was not without value; it amply
+confirmed our opinion as to the character of what lay ahead of us. The
+ridge is not a crest; its section is a wide and rounded angle. It is not
+decorated by pinnacles, it does not rise in steps. It presents a smooth
+continuous way, and whether the rocks are still covered with powdery
+snow, or only slightly sprinkled and for the most part bare, the party
+of 1922 should be able to go up a long way at all events without meeting
+any serious obstacle. It may not prove a perfectly simple matter
+actually to reach the North-east arete above the shoulder at about
+28,000 feet. The angle becomes steeper towards this arete. But even in
+the last section below it, the choice of a way should not be
+inconveniently restricted. On the right of the ascending party will be
+permanent snow on various sloping ledges, an easy alternative to rocks
+if the snow is found in good condition, and always offering a detour by
+which to avoid an obstacle.
+
+From the North-east Shoulder to the summit of the mountain the way is
+not so smooth. The rise is only 1,000 feet in a distance of half a mile,
+but the first part of the crest is distinctly jagged by several towers
+and the last part is steep. Much will depend upon the possibility of
+escaping from the crest to avoid the obstacles and of regaining it
+easily. The South-east side (left going up) is terribly steep, and it
+will almost certainly be out of the question to traverse there. But the
+sloping snow-covered ledges on the North-west may serve very well; the
+difficulty about them is their tendency to be horizontal in direction
+and to diverge from the arete where it slopes upwards, so that a party
+which had followed one in preference to the crest might find themselves
+cut off by a cliff running across the face above them. But one way or
+another I think it should be possible with the help of such ledges to
+reach the final obstacle. The summit itself is like the thin end of a
+wedge thrust up from the mass in which it is embedded. The edge of it,
+with the highest point at the far end, can only be reached from the
+North-east by climbing a steep blunt edge of snow. The height of this
+final obstacle must be fully 200 feet. Mr. Bullock and I examined it
+often through our field-glasses, and though it did not appear
+insuperable, whatever our point of view, it never looked anything but
+steep.
+
+                     *       *       *       *       *
+
+To determine whether it is humanly possible to climb to the summit of
+Mount Everest or what may be the chances of success in such an
+undertaking, other factors besides the mere mountaineering difficulties
+have to be considered. It is at least probable that the obstacles
+presented by this mountain could be overcome by any competent party if
+they met them in the Alps. But it is a very different matter to be
+confronted with such obstacles at elevations between 23,000 and 29,000
+feet. We do not know that it is physiologically possible at such high
+altitudes for the human body to make the efforts required to lift itself
+up even on the simplest ground. The condition of the party of 1921 in
+September during the days of the Assault cannot be taken as evidence
+that the feat is impossible. The long periods spent in high camps and
+the tax of many exhausting expeditions had undoubtedly reduced the
+physical efficiency of Sahibs and coolies alike. The party of 1922, on
+the other hand, will presumably choose for their attempt a time when the
+climbers are at the top of their form and their powers will depend on
+the extent of their adaptability to the condition of high altitude.
+Nothing perhaps was so astonishing in the party of reconnaissance as the
+rapidity with which they became acclimatised and capable of great
+exertions between 18,000 and 21,000 feet. Where is the limit of this
+process? Will the multiplication of red corpuscles continue so that men
+may become acclimatised much higher? There is evidence enough to show
+that they may exist comfortably enough, eating and digesting hearty
+meals and retaining a feeling of vitality and energy up to 23,000 feet.
+It may be that, after two or three days quietly spent at this height,
+the body would sufficiently adjust itself to endure the still greater
+difference from normal atmospheric pressure 6,000 feet higher. At all
+events, a practical test can alone provide the proof in such a case.
+Experiments carried out in a laboratory by putting a man into a sealed
+chamber and reducing the pressure say to half an atmosphere, valuable as
+they may be when related to the experiences of airmen, can establish
+nothing for mountaineers; for they leave out of account the
+all-important physiological factor of acclimatisation. But in any case
+it is to be expected that efforts above 23,000 feet will be more
+exhausting than those at lower elevations; and it may well be that the
+nature of the ground will turn the scale against the climber. For him it
+is all important that he should be able to breathe regularly, the demand
+upon his lungs along the final arete cannot fail to be a terrible
+strain, and anything like a tussle up some steep obstacle which would
+interfere with the regularity of his breathing might prove to be an
+ordeal beyond his strength.
+
+As a way out of these difficulties of breathing, the use of oxygen has
+often been recommended and experiments were made by Dr. Kellas,[14]
+which will be continued in 1922.
+
+  [14] See _Geographical Journal._
+
+Even so there will remain the difficulty of establishing one or perhaps
+two camps above Chang La (23,000 feet). It is by no means certain that
+any place exists above this point on which tents could be pitched.
+Perhaps the party will manage without tents, but no great economy of
+weight will be effected that way; those who sleep out at an elevation of
+25,000 or 26,000 feet will have to be bountifully provided with warm
+things. Probably about fifteen, or at least twelve loads will have to be
+carried up from Chang La. It is not expected that oxygen will be
+available for this purpose, and the task, whatever organisation is
+provided, will be severe, possibly beyond the limits of human strength.
+
+Further, another sort of difficulty will jeopardise the chances of
+success. It might be possible for two men to struggle somehow to the
+summit, disregarding every other consideration. It is a different matter
+to climb the mountain as mountaineers would have it climbed. Principles,
+time-honoured in the Alpine Club, must of course be respected in the
+ascent of Mount Everest. The party must keep a margin of safety. It is
+not to be a mad enterprise rashly pushed on regardless of danger. The
+ill-considered acceptance of any and every risk has no part in the
+essence of persevering courage. A mountaineering enterprise may keep
+sanity and sound judgment and remain an adventure. And of all principles
+by which we hold the first is that of mutual help. What is to be done
+for a man who is sick or abnormally exhausted at these high altitudes?
+His companions must see to it that he is taken down at the first
+opportunity and with an adequate escort; and the obligation is the same
+whether he be Sahib or coolie; if we ask a man to carry our loads up the
+mountain we must care for his welfare at need. It may be taken for
+granted that such need will arise and will interfere very seriously with
+any organisation however ingeniously and carefully it may be arranged.
+
+                     *       *       *       *       *
+
+[Illustration: MOUNT EVEREST
+from the 20,000 foot camp--wind blowing snow off the mountain.]
+
+In all it may be said that one factor beyond all others is required for
+success. Too many chances are against the climbers; too many
+contingencies may turn against them. Anything like a breakdown of the
+transport will be fatal; soft snow on the mountain will be an
+impregnable defence; a big wind will send back the strongest; even so
+small a matter as a boot fitting a shade too tight may endanger one
+man's foot and involve the whole party in retreat. The climbers must
+have above all things, if they are to win through, good fortune, and the
+greatest good fortune of all for mountaineers, some constant spirit of
+kindness in Mount Everest itself, the forgetfulness for long enough of
+its more cruel moods; for we must remember that the highest of mountains
+is capable of severity, a severity so awful and so fatal that the wiser
+sort of men do well to think and tremble even on the threshold of their
+high endeavour.
+
+
+
+
+                              NATURAL HISTORY
+
+                           BY A. F. R. WOLLASTON
+
+
+                               CHAPTER XVIII
+
+                  AN EXCURSION TO NYENYAM AND LAPCHE KANG
+
+
+By a liberal interpretation of the expression "Mount Everest" we
+considered it necessary to explore the surrounding country as far as a
+hundred miles or more from the mountain, East, North and South; in all
+directions, that is, excepting toward the forbidden territory of Nepal.
+So it happened one day in July that Major Morshead and I, already nearly
+fifty miles from Everest, set out in a South-westerly direction, he
+anxious to add a few hundred square miles of new country to his map, and
+I intent on animals and plants. Our way lay across the Tingri Plain to
+Langkor, both names famous in the annals of Tibetan Buddhism. The
+following story was told us by an old monk in the monastery at
+Langkor:--
+
+Many generations ago there was born in the Indian village of Pulahari a
+child named Tamba Sangay. When he grew into a youth he became restless
+and dissatisfied with his native place, so he went to visit the Lord
+Buddha and asked him what he should do. The Lord Buddha told him that he
+must take a stone and throw it far, and where the stone fell there he
+should spend his life. So Tamba Sangay took a rounded stone and threw it
+far, so that no one saw where it fell. Many months he sought in vain
+until he passed over the Hills into Tibet, and there he came to a place
+where, although it was winter, was a large black space bare of snow.
+The people told him that the cattle walked round and round in that space
+to keep it clear from snow, and in the middle of it was a rounded stone.
+So Tamba Sangay knew that the stone was his, and there he made a cell
+and dwelt until he was taken on wings to Heaven. And the place is called
+Langkor, which means "the cattle go round," to this day. The people for
+many miles about had heard the stone as it came flying over the Hills
+from India; it made a whistling sound like _Ting_, so the country came
+to be called Tingri, the Hill of the Ting.
+
+We visited the Langkor monastery and saw the casket in which the stone
+of Tamba Sangay is kept, only to be opened once a year by a high
+dignitary from Lhasa. Close by was a fair-sized river, the bridge over
+which had been carried away by a recent flood. The greater part of the
+population was busily engaged in repairing the bridge, to the
+accompaniment at frequent intervals of hideous blasts on a large
+conch-shell: this, we were told, was to keep the rain away and stop the
+floods. Rain fell heavily in spite of the noise, but the bridge was
+finished before nightfall.
+
+On the following day we had a long pull of many miles up to the Thung
+La, a pass of 18,000 feet, from which we had hoped for fine views over
+the surrounding country. A driving storm of snow blotted out the views
+and covered the ground, so that nothing was to be seen but little
+clumps, a few inches high, of poppies of the most heavenly blue. Going
+down the steep track beyond the pass I was stopped by hearing the
+unfamiliar note of a bird, so it seemed: the cry was almost exactly that
+of a female peregrine when its eyrie has been disturbed, but coming from
+a labyrinth of fallen rocks it could not be. Tracking the note from one
+rock to another, I came suddenly within a few yards of a large marmot,
+which sat up and waved her tail at me; she called again and two
+half-grown young ones appeared close by; then all dived into a burrow.
+These marmots are larger and far less timid of mankind than the marmots
+of the Alps.
+
+A few miles below the pass the valley widened into an almost level
+bottom of half a mile or more, with steep bare limestone hills on either
+side. Here and there were small hamlets, where the inhabitants used the
+water of the river to irrigate their fields of barley and of blazing
+golden mustard, whose sweetness scented the valley in the sunshine. Like
+most of the butter, which is made in vast quantities in Southern Tibet,
+the mustard seed produces oil for monastery lamps. At one place we came
+across a spring, almost a fountain, bubbling out of the foothill, of
+clearest sparkling mineral water that would be the envy of Bath or of
+Marienbad; in a few yards it had become a racing stream a dozen feet in
+width.
+
+Four days of leisurely walking down the valley brought us to the village
+of Nyenyam, where the whole population, a most unpleasant-looking crowd
+of four or five hundred people, came out to stare at us. A few only were
+Tibetans; the majority were obviously of Indian origin, calling
+themselves Nepalese, but without any of the distinctive features of that
+race. We had received some weeks earlier a cordial invitation from the
+Jongpens of Nyenyam to visit the place, and we were accordingly much
+disappointed to find that no person of authority came out to welcome us.
+A Jongpen, it should be said, is an official appointed by the Lhasa
+authorities to administer a district and collect revenues: in a place of
+any importance, as at Nyenyam, there are often two, the idea being that
+one will keep an eye on the other and prevent him from over-enriching
+himself. We visited these worthies, whom we found dressed in priceless
+Chinese silk gowns and cultivating the extreme fashion of long nails on
+all their fingers, in strange contrast to the squalor and dilapidation
+of their dwelling, and were annoyed to find that they denied all
+knowledge of the invitation. The bearer of the message was produced and
+lied manfully in their cause; the name of Nyenyam was not, as it
+happened, mentioned in our passport, and we were made to look somewhat
+foolish. Finally the Jongpens said (with their tongues in their cheeks
+and reminding us of a vulgar song) that they were very glad to see us,
+but they hoped that we would go. They then went out of their way to give
+us false information about the local passes and made our prolonged stay
+in the place impossible by discouraging the traders from dealing with
+us.[15]
+
+  [15] In fairness it must be said that this was the only occasion on
+       which we met with anything but help and civility from Tibetan
+       officials.
+
+Nyenyam, though more squalid and evil-smelling than any place in my
+experience, is of some importance as being the last Tibetan town before
+the frontier of Nepal is reached. It is well placed on a level terrace
+above the junction of the Poe Chu with an almost equally big river
+flowing from the glaciers of the great mountain mass of Gosainthan.
+Immediately below the town the river enters the stupendous gorge that
+cuts through the heart of the Himalaya to the more open country of
+Nepal, 8,000 feet below. To the West of Nyenyam rises a great range of
+mountains culminating in the beautiful peaks of Gosainthan, which we had
+hoped to visit, and somewhere to the East lay the mysterious sacred
+mountain of Lapche Kang. Our friends the Jongpens assured us that there
+was no direct route to Lapche, that we must go back the way by which we
+had come, and so on; but we were weary of their obstructions and made up
+our minds to find a way to the holy places.
+
+So far our transport animals had been the yak, or the cross-bred ox-yak,
+a stronger beast; we were now going through country where only coolies
+could carry loads. We retraced our steps a few miles up the valley to a
+village ruled over by a friendly woman, the widow of the late headman.
+True, she demanded for the coolies an exorbitant wage, which we cut down
+by about a half, but she pressed into our service every able-bodied
+person in the neighbourhood, young and old, men and women. They have a
+fair and simple way of apportioning the loads. All Tibetans, men and
+women alike, wear long rope-soled boots with woollen cloth tops
+extending toward the knee, where they are secured by garters, long
+strips of narrow woven cloth. When all the loads are ready, each person
+takes off one garter and gives it to the headman, who shuffles them well
+and in his turn hands them over to some neutral person who knows not the
+ownership of the garters. He lays one on the top of each load, and whose
+garter it is must carry the load without any further talk. It is amusing
+to watch the excitement in their faces as the garters are dealt out, and
+to hear the shrieks of delight of the lucky ones and the groans of the
+less fortunate. It makes one feel weak and ashamed to see a small girl
+of apparently no more than fourteen years shouldering a huge tent or an
+unwieldy box, until one remembers that they begin to carry almost as
+soon as they can walk and are accustomed to far heavier loads than ever
+they carry for us.
+
+Our path led us up a steep side-valley from the Poe Chu, ascending over a
+vast moraine to the foot of a small glacier about two miles in length.
+Here I saw a rare sight: a Laemmergeier (bearded vulture) came sailing
+down in wide circles and settled on the ice barely a hundred paces from
+us, where he began to peck at something--a dead hare perhaps, but it was
+impossible to see or to approach nearer over the crevasses. The
+Laemmergeier, vulture though it is, is one of the noblest birds in flight
+that may be seen: hardly a day passes in the high mountains without one
+or more swooping down to look at you, sometimes so near that you can see
+his beard and gleaming eye; but to see one on the ground is rare indeed.
+The long-tailed aeroplane at a very great height resembles the
+Laemmergeier more than any other bird.
+
+We struggled up the glacier, inches deep in soft new snow, crossed
+crevasses by means of rotten planks which gravely offended our
+mountaineering sense, and came through dense fog to our pass at its
+head. Here began the sacred mountain of Lapche Kang, and on the rocks
+beside the pass, and on many of the pinnacles high up above the pass as
+well, were cairns of stones supporting little reed-stemmed flags of
+prayers. Some of our party had brought up from below such little flags,
+which they planted where their fancy prompted. As we went down on the
+other side we came to countless little "chortens," miniature temples,
+and, where the ground was level for a space, to long walls of stones,
+each one inscribed with the universal Buddhist prayer OM MANI PADME HUM.
+
+Yaks are most satisfactory beasts of burden; if their pace is slow--it
+is seldom more than two miles an hour--they go with hardly a halt,
+cropping a tuft of grass here and there, until daylight fails. But the
+Tibetan coolie is of quite another nature; he (or she) starts off gaily
+enough in the morning, but very soon he is glad to stop for a gossip or
+to alter the trim of his load, and then it is time to drink tea, and
+again at every convenient halting-place more tea, not the liquid that we
+are accustomed to drink, but a curious mixture of powdered brick-tea,
+salt, soda and butter, of a better taste than one would suppose. So on
+this occasion it was long after noon when we had crossed the pass, and
+when the day began to fade in a drenching cloud of rain, the Tibetans
+found shelter in some caves, and persuaded us to camp. An uneven space
+among rocks just held our tents; we dined off the fragrant smoke of
+green rhododendron and soaking juniper, and we slept (if at all) to the
+roar of boulders rolling in the torrent-bed a few feet from where we
+lay.
+
+But it was well that we had not stumbled on in the dark. In the morning
+light we walked over grassy "alps" still yellow with sweet-scented
+primulas, and the steep sides of the narrowing valley below were bright
+with roses, pink and white spiraeas, yellow berberis and many other
+flowers. Soon it became evident that we were approaching a place of more
+than ordinary holiness; every stone had its prayer-flag, and the tops of
+trees, which began to appear here, were also decorated. Great boulders
+were defaced with the familiar words engraven on them in letters many
+feet in height. In a little while we came to a small wooden hut filled
+from floor to roof with thousands of little flags brought there by
+pilgrims; the posts and lintel of the door were smeared with dabs of
+butter, and the crevices of the walls were filled with little bunches of
+fresh-cut flowers. Outside was a rude altar made of stones from the
+river-bed, where a Lama was burning incense and chanting prayers.
+
+[Illustration: TEMPLE AT LAPCHE KANG.]
+
+We passed through the village, a tiny hamlet of a dozen houses, and came
+to the celebrated temple of Lapche. A square stone wall, about 60 yards
+each way, on the inner side of which are sheds to shelter pilgrims,
+encloses a roughly paved courtyard where stands the temple, a plain
+square building of stone with a pagoda-like roof surmounted by a
+burnished copper ornament. There is nothing remarkable about the temple
+excepting the hundred and more prayer wheels set in the wall at a
+convenient height for the pilgrims to turn as they walk round the
+building. Inside are countless Buddhas, the usual smell of smoky
+butter-lamps, and an effigy of the saint. The whole place is dirty and
+dishevelled, in the supposed care of one old woman and a monk, and
+nobody would believe that this is one of the most famous places in the
+country and that every year hundreds of Buddhists from India and from
+all parts of Tibet make pilgrimage to it.
+
+Mila Respa, poet and saint and (it is said) a Tibetan incarnation of
+Buddha, spent his earthly life in this mountain valley, living under
+rocks and in caves, where the faithful may see his footprints even now.
+He seems to have been not lacking in a sense of humour. He was walking
+with a disciple on the mountain one day, when they found an old yak's
+horn lying in the path. Mila Respa told the disciple to pick it up and
+take it with him. The disciple refused, saying that it was useless, and
+passed on without noticing that the saint himself had picked up the horn
+and put it under his cloak. Soon afterwards a mighty storm descended on
+them--whether or not it was caused by the saint is not known. He took
+the horn from under his cloak and crept inside it. "Now," said he, when
+he was safely sheltered from the rain, "you see that nothing in the
+world is useless."
+
+We stayed for two days at Lapche Kang, picking flowers and enjoying the
+beauty of the place, in spite of the clouds which swept up from the
+South and filled the valley from early morning onwards. To a naturalist
+it was a tantalizing place; there were many unfamiliar birds that we had
+not seen in Tibet, but in such a sacred place I dared not offend the
+people by taking life, and I even had some qualms in catching
+butterflies. One of the prettiest sights I saw was a wall-creeper, like
+a big crimson-winged moth, fluttering over the temple buildings in
+search for insects.
+
+Having found Lapche Kang, where no European had before penetrated, and
+having placed it on the map, our next object was to go over the ranges
+Eastward to the Rongshar Valley, the head of which had been visited by
+members of the Expedition a few weeks earlier. This was accomplished in
+two long days of rather confused climbing over two passes of about
+17,000 feet, crossing sundry glaciers and stumbling over moraines, and
+nearly always in an impenetrable fog. Our views of mountains were none
+at all, but the beauty of the flowers at our feet was almost
+compensation for that. Among many stand out two in particular, both of
+them primulas. One was ivory-white, about the bigness of a cowslip, with
+wide open bells and the most delicate primrose scent: the other carried
+from four to six bells, each as big as a lady's thimble, of deep azure
+blue and lined inside with frosted silver.[16]
+
+  [16] Both of these are new species; the former has been described as
+       _Primula Buryana_, the latter as _P. Wollastonii_.
+
+As we went down the last steep slope into the Rongshar Valley, the
+clouds parted for a few moments, and across the valley and incredibly
+high above our heads appeared the summit of Gauri-Sankar,[17] one of the
+most beautiful of Himalayan peaks, blazing in the afternoon sun. It was
+a glorious vision, but it rather added to our regret for the views of
+peaks that we might have seen. The next morning at daybreak the whole
+mountain was clear from its foot in the Rongshar River (10,000 feet) up
+through woods of pine and birch, to rhododendrons and rocks, and so by a
+knife-edged ridge of ice to its glistening summit. It recalled to me the
+Bietsch-horn more than any other Alpine peak, a Bietsch-horn on the
+giant scale and seemingly impassable to man.
+
+  [17] Gauri-Sankar (23,440 ft.) was for many years confused with Mount
+       Everest, which is still misnamed Gauri-Sankar in German maps.
+
+[Illustration: GAURI-SANKAR.]
+
+The valley of the Rongshar, like the Nyenyam and other valleys we had
+visited, though within the Tibetan border, is really more Nepalese in
+character. The climate is much damper than in Tibet, as one can see by
+the wisps of lichen on the trees and the greenness of the vegetation far
+up the mountain sides, especially at this season of monsoon, when the
+South wind blows dense clouds of drenching moisture through the gorges.
+Like those valleys the Rongshar is sacred, which is inconvenient when
+the question of food supply is pressing. The people had cattle and
+flocks of goats; they would sell us an ox or a goat, but we must not
+kill it within the valley, or ill-luck would come to them. They were a
+friendly and good-tempered people, much given to religion. In many
+places we had seen prayer wheels worked by water, but here for the first
+time we saw one driven by the wind. Though it does not do much work at
+night, it probably steals a march on the water wheels in winter, when
+the streams are frozen.
+
+We walked up the valley of Rongshar, which in July should be called the
+Valley of Roses; on all sides were bushes, trees almost, of the deep red
+single rose in bloom, and the air was filled with the scent of them.
+After a journey of about 150 miles through unknown country we came to
+the village of Tazang, which had been visited by some of us before.
+Thence over the Phuese La (the Pass of Small Rats) we came into real
+Tibet again, and so in a few days to the Eastern side of Mount Everest.
+
+
+
+
+                                CHAPTER XIX
+
+                           NATURAL HISTORY NOTES
+
+
+To a naturalist Tibet offers considerable difficulties: it is true that
+in some places animals are so tame that they will almost eat out of your
+hand; for instance, in the Rongbuk Valley the burhel (wild sheep) come
+to the cells of the hermits for food, and in every village the ravens
+and rock-doves are as fearless as the sparrows in London. But against
+this tameness must be set the Buddhist religion, which forbids the
+people from taking life, so that, whereas in most countries the native
+children are the best friends of the naturalist, in Tibet we got no help
+from them whatever. Also, in order to avoid giving possible offence, we
+were careful to refrain from shooting in the neighbourhood of
+monasteries and villages, and that was a very severe drawback, as birds
+congregated principally about the cultivated lands near villages.
+Another difficulty we found was in catching small mammals, which showed
+the greatest reluctance to enter our traps, whatever the bait might be.
+One species only, a vole (_Phaiomys leucurus_), was trapped; all the
+others were shot, and that involved a considerable expenditure of time
+in waiting motionless beside burrows. In spite of these disadvantages we
+made considerable collections of mammals and birds, and we brought back
+a large number of dried plants and seeds, many of which it is hoped will
+live in the gardens of this country.
+
+[Illustration: LOWER KAMA-CHU.]
+
+Crossing over the Jelep La from Sikkim into Tibet in the latter part of
+May we found the country at 12,000 feet and upwards at the height of
+spring. The open level spaces were carpeted with a dark purple and
+yellow primula (_P. gammieana_), a delicate little yellow flower
+(_Lloydia tibetica_) and many saxifrages. The steep hillsides were
+ablaze with the flowers of the large rhododendrons (_R. thomsoni_, _R.
+falconeri_, _R. aucklandi_) and the smaller _Rhododendron
+campylocarpum_, an almost infinite variety of colours.[18] A descent
+through woods of pines, oaks and walnuts brought us to the picturesque
+village of Richengong, in the Chumbi Valley, where we found
+house-martins nesting under the eaves of the houses. Following up the
+Ammo Chu, in its lower course between 9,000 and 12,000 feet, we found
+the valley gay with pink and white spiraeas and cotoneasters, red and
+white roses, yellow berberis, a fragrant white-flowered bog-myrtle,
+anemones and white clematis. Dippers, wagtails and the white-capped
+redstart were the commonest birds along the river-banks. From Yatung we
+made an excursion of a few miles up the Kambu Valley, and there found a
+very beautiful Enkianthus (_Enkianthus himalaicus_), a small tree about
+15 feet high, with clusters of pink and white flowers; in the autumn the
+leaves turn to a deep copper red.
+
+  [18] We marked many of the best-flowering specimens with the
+       intention of collecting their seeds on our return in the autumn.
+       Unfortunately when we came over the Jelep La in October it was
+       in a heavy snowstorm which made collecting impossible.
+
+At about 11,000 feet is a level terrace, the plain of Lingmatang, where
+the stream meanders for two or three miles through a lovely meadow
+covered in the spring with a tiny pink primula (_P. minutissima_): it
+looks a perfect trout stream, but what fish there are (_Schizopygopsis
+stoliczae_) are small and few in number.
+
+Between 11,000 and 13,000 feet you ascend through mixed woods of pine,
+larch, birch and juniper with an undergrowth of rhododendrons and
+mountain ash. The larches here have a much less formal habit of growth
+than those of this country, and in the autumn they turn to a brilliant
+golden colour. The berries of the mountain ash, when ripe, are white and
+very conspicuous. At this altitude _Rhododendron cinnabarinum_ reaches
+its best growth, in bushes of from 8 to 10 feet in height, and the
+flowers have a very wide range of colour. In the woods hereabouts may
+often be heard and sometimes seen the blood pheasant, and here lives
+also--but we did not see it--the Tibetan stag.
+
+At about 13,000 feet at the end of May you find a yellow primula
+covering the ground more thickly than cowslips in this country; the air
+is laden with the scent of it, and growing with it is a pretty little
+heath-like flower (_Cassiope fastigiata_) with snow-white bells. Here
+and there is seen the large blue poppy (_Meconopsis_ sp.) and a white
+anemone with five or six flowers on one stem. Soon the trees get
+scantier and scantier, pines disappear altogether and then birches and
+willows and junipers, until only dwarf rhododendrons (_R. setosum_) are
+left, covering the hillsides like purple heather.
+
+In a few miles the country changes in character completely, and you come
+out on to the open plain of Phari. Here at 14,000 feet we saw the common
+cuckoo sitting on a telegraph wire and calling vigorously. This is Tibet
+proper, and henceforward you may travel for scores of miles and hardly
+see any plant more than a few inches high. In some places a little
+trumpet-shaped purple flower (_Incarvillea younghusbandii_) is fairly
+common, it lies prone on the sand with its leaves usually buried out of
+sight; and as we went Westward we found a dwarf blue iris (_I.
+tenuifolia_). Animals are few and far between: the Kiang, the wild ass
+of Tibet, is occasionally seen in small parties; they are very
+conspicuous on the open plains in full daylight, but almost invisible at
+dusk. The Tibetan gazelle is fairly numerous, and it is not uncommon to
+see one or two in company with a flock of native sheep and taking no
+notice of the shepherd, but when a stranger tries to approach they are
+off like a flash. Another animal of the plains is the Tibetan antelope
+(_Pantholops_), which is found in large numbers a little to the North of
+the region we visited, but the only signs of it we saw were the horns
+used as supporting prongs for the long muzzle-loading guns of the
+Tibetans. The Tibetan antelope was probably the Unicorn described by the
+French priest Huc in 1845.
+
+The only mammals that are commonly seen on the plains are the small
+mouse-hares or pikas (_Ochotona_), which live in colonies on the less
+stony parts of the plain, where their burrows often caused our ponies to
+stumble; they scurry off to their holes at your approach, but if you
+wait a few moments you will see heads peeping out at you from all sides.
+These engaging little creatures have been called "Whistling Hares," but
+of the three species which we found none was ever heard to utter a sound
+of any kind. The Tibetan name for them is Phuese. It is interesting to
+record that from one specimen I took three fleas of two species, both of
+them new to science.
+
+Birds are few on these stony wastes, larks, wheatears and snow-finches
+being the commonest. Elwes' shore-lark was found feeding young birds at
+the beginning of June, when the ground was not yet free from snow, and
+the song of the Tibetan skylark, remarkably like that of our own
+skylark, was heard over every patch of native cultivation.
+
+A small spiny lizard (_Phrynocephalus theobaldi_) is common on the
+plains and on the lower hills up to 17,000 feet; it lives in shallow
+burrows on the sand and under stones.
+
+Rising out of the plain North of the Himalayas are ranges of rounded
+limestone hills, 18,000 to 19,000 feet high, running roughly East and
+West. The hills between Phari and Khamba Dzong are the home of the big
+sheep (_Ovis hodgsoni_), which are occasionally seen in small companies.
+There are many ranges to the West of Khamba Dzong, apparently well
+suited to this animal, but it was never seen. On the slopes of these
+hills are found partridges (_Perdix hodgsoniae_), and in the ravines are
+seen Alpine choughs, rock-doves (_Columba rupestris_) and crag-martins.
+Once or twice at night we heard the shriek of the great eagle-owl, but
+the bird was not seen.
+
+At rare intervals on these plains one meets with small rivers,
+tributaries of the Arun River; along their banks is usually more grass
+than elsewhere, and here the wandering Tibetan herdsmen bring their yaks
+to graze. The wild yak is not found anywhere in this region. It might be
+supposed that so hairy an animal as the yak would become dirty and
+unkempt. Actually they are among the cleanest of creatures, and they may
+often be seen scraping holes in soft banks where they roll and kick and
+comb themselves into silky condition. The usual colour of the
+domesticated yak is black, more rarely a yellowish brown. A common
+variety has a white face and white tail. The calves are born in the
+spring, late April or early May.
+
+Here and there the rivers overflow their banks and form lakes or meres,
+which in the summer are the haunt of innumerable wild-fowl: bar-headed
+geese and redshanks nest here, families of ruddy shelducks (the Brahminy
+duck of India) and garganey teal are seen swimming on the pools.
+Overhead fly sand-martins, brown-headed gulls, common terns and
+white-tailed eagles. Near one of these lakes one day I watched at close
+distance a red fox stalking a pair of bar-headed geese, a most
+interesting sight, and had the satisfaction of saving the birds by
+firing a shot in the air with my small collecting gun just as the fox
+was about to pounce on his intended victim.
+
+Tinki Dzong is a veritable bird sanctuary. The Dzong itself is a
+rambling fort covering a dozen or so of acres, and about its walls nest
+hundreds of birds--ravens, magpies, red-billed choughs, tree-sparrows,
+hoopoes, Indian redstarts, Hodgson's pied wagtails and rock-doves. In
+the shallow pool outside the Dzong were swimming bar-headed geese and
+ruddy shelducks, with families of young birds, all as tame as domestic
+poultry. A pair of white storks was seen here in June, but they did not
+appear to be breeding. In the autumn the lakes in this neighbourhood are
+the resort of large packs of wigeon, gadwall and pochard. The Jongpen
+explained to us that it was the particular wish of the Dalai Lama that
+no birds should be molested here, and for several years two lamas lived
+at Tinki, whose special business it was to protect the birds.
+
+[Illustration: JUNIPERS IN THE KAMA VALLEY.]
+
+Crossing over a pass of about 17,000 feet (Tinki La), the slopes gay
+with a little purple and white daphne (_Stellera_), said by the natives
+to be poisonous to animals, we came to a plain of a different character,
+miles of blown sand heaped here and there into enormous dunes, on which
+grows a yellow-flowering gorse. Here, near Chushar, we first met with
+rose-finches (Severtzoff's and Przjewalsk's) and the brown ground-chough
+(_Podoces humilis_): the last-named is a remarkable-looking bird, which
+progresses by a series of apparently top-heavy bounds, at the end of
+which it turns round to steady itself; in the middle of June it was
+feeding its young in nests at the bottom of deep holes in sand or old
+mud walls.
+
+Following up the valley of the Bhong-chu we crossed the river by a stone
+bridge near Shekar Dzong. Here we found a colony of white-rumped swifts
+nesting high up in cliffs and ruddy shelducks nesting in holes among the
+loose boulders below. Occasionally we saw a pair of black-necked cranes,
+which are said by the natives to breed near lakes a little to the North,
+but we had no opportunity of visiting them. The slopes of the hills
+facing South were covered with a very pretty shrub (_Sophora_) with blue
+and white flowers and delicate silvery grey leaves, and among the loose
+stones a small clematis (_C. orientalis_) was just beginning to appear.
+Groups of small trees, like a sea buckthorn, growing 15 to 20 feet high,
+indicate a gradual change in the climate as you go Westwards. Here also
+for the first time we began to find a few butterflies, of the genera
+_Lycaena_ and _Colias_.
+
+At Tingri we found ourselves in a large plain about 20 miles long by 12
+wide; a large part of the plain is saturated with soda and is almost
+uninhabited by bird or beast. In our three weeks' stay at Tingri we
+collected several mammals, including a new subspecies of hamster
+(_Cricetulus alticola tibetanus_) and a number of birds. This was the
+only place where we ever received any natural history specimen from a
+Tibetan. A woman came into our camp one day and, after making certain
+that she was not observed by any of the villagers, produced from a sack
+a well-worn domestic cat's skin stuffed with grass and a freshly killed
+stoat (_Mustela longstaffi_). The skin of the stoat is highly prized by
+the Tibetans, who say that it has the property of restoring faded
+turquoises to their former beauty. About the houses of the village were
+nesting tree-sparrows, hoopoes, rock-doves and ravens, the latter so
+tame that they hardly troubled to get out of the way of passers-by. In a
+tower of the old fort lived a pair of the Eastern little owl (_Athene
+bactriana_), which appeared to live principally on voles. On the plain
+the commonest birds were the long-billed calandra lark, Brook's
+short-toed lark, the Tibetan skylark, and Elwes' shore-lark, all of
+which were found with eggs, probably the second brood of the season, at
+the beginning of July. The nest of the yellow-headed wagtail, rare at
+Tingri, was found with eggs, and Blanford's snow-finch was found feeding
+its young more than 2 feet down the burrow of a pika (_Ochotona
+curzoniae_). The common tern and the greater sand-plover nested on the
+shingly islands in the river.
+
+Plants at Tingri were few and inconspicuous: a small yellow cistus, the
+dwarf blue iris, a small aster and a curious hairy, claret-coloured
+flower (_Thermopsis_) were the most noticeable. Along the rivers which
+traverse the plain is very good grazing for the large flocks of sheep
+and goats of the Tibetans; the sheep are small and are grown entirely
+for wool. By a simple system of irrigation a large area of land near
+Tingri has been brought into cultivation. The principal crop here is
+barley, which constitutes the chief food of the people; they also grow a
+large radish or small turnip, the young leaves of which are excellent
+food. The animals usually used for ploughing are a cross between the yak
+and ordinary domestic cattle, called by the Tibetans "zoh"; they are
+more powerful than the yak and are excellent transport animals. We found
+barley grown in many districts up to 15,000 feet--it does not always
+ripen--and in the valley of the Dzakar Chu near its junction with the
+Arun River is a small area where wheat is grown at an altitude of about
+12,800 feet. Peas are grown in the Arun Valley near Kharta, where they
+ripen in September and are pounded into meal for winter food of cattle
+as well as of the Tibetans themselves. Mustard is grown in the lower
+valleys below 14,000 feet. It is to be regretted that we did not bring
+back specimens of these hardy cereals.
+
+During the course of an excursion of about three weeks in July to the
+West and South of Tingri we covered a large tract of unexplored country,
+much of which is more Nepalese than Tibetan in character. Going over the
+Thung La we found numerous butterflies of the genus _Parnassus_, and
+near the top of the pass (18,000 feet) we found for the first time the
+beautiful little blue _Gentiana am[oe]na_; it is not easy to see until
+you are right over it, when it looks like a little square blue china
+cup; some of the flowers are as much as an inch in diameter. Here also
+was just beginning to flower the dwarf blue poppy (_Meconopsis
+horridula_), which grows in a small compact clump, 6 to 8 inches high,
+with as many as sixteen flowers and buds on one plant; the flowers are
+nearly 2 inches across and of a heavenly blue. In this region, too, we
+met for the first time marmots, which live in large colonies at about
+16,000 feet; the Himalayan is larger than the Alpine marmot, and it has
+a longish tail which it whisks sharply from side to side when it is
+alarmed; it has a twittering cry, curiously like that of a bird of prey.
+
+Continuing down the valley of the Poe Chu to Nyenyam, we found several
+birds that we had not met hitherto, notably the brown accentor,
+Himalayan tree-pipit, Adams's snowfinch, the Himalayan greenfinch and
+Tickell's willow-warbler. At about 12,500 feet we first found the
+white-backed dove (_Columba leuconota_), which inhabits the deep gorges
+of the Himalayas but does not extend out on to the Tibetan plain. Beside
+the big torrent that flows South from Gosainthan we saw a pair of that
+curious curlew-like bird, the ibis-bill (_Ibidorhynchus struthersi_); it
+was evident that they had eggs or young on an island in the torrent, at
+about 13,800 feet, but unfortunately it was impossible to reach it.
+
+The most conspicuous flowers in this region were a little bushy cistus
+with golden flowers the size of a half-crown, a dwarf rhododendron (_R.
+lanatum_) with hairy leaves, a white potentilla with red centre, which
+carpeted the drier hillsides, a white gentian (_G. robusta_), and a very
+remarkable louse-wort (_Pedicularis megalantha_) with two quite distinct
+forms--one purple, the other yellow.
+
+Crossing a pass to the East of Nyenyam, we camped on a level spot
+covered densely with white primulas (_P. Buryana_) six to eight inches
+high; an inch or two of snow fell during the night, and so white are
+these flowers that it was difficult to see them against the snow. Near
+the top of another pass we found at about the same altitude, 15,000
+feet, another primula (_P. Wollastonii_) with three to six bells on each
+stem, the size of a small thimble, of a deep blue colour, and lined
+inside with frosted silver. In the moister valleys hereabouts a pretty
+pink-flowered polygonum (_P. vacciniifolium_) rambled everywhere over
+the rocks and boulders. The Rongshar Valley in July was chiefly notable
+for the large gooseberry bushes, 10 to 12 feet high, and for the
+profusion of red and white roses. A wall-creeper, the only one we saw in
+Tibet, was seen creeping about the temple at Lapche, a few miles to the
+West of Rongshar.
+
+From the beginning of August our headquarters were at Kharta in the Arun
+Valley, about 20 miles East of Mount Everest, and from there we made
+excursions South to the Kama Valley, and West up the Kharta Valley in
+the direction of Everest. Kharta itself is curiously situated as regards
+climate: the wide dry valley of the Arun narrows abruptly and the river
+passes into a deep gorge, where it falls rapidly at a rate of about 200
+feet to the mile on its way to Nepal. The heavy monsoon clouds roll up
+the gorge to its mouth, where they are cut off sharply, so that within a
+mile you may pass from the dry climate of Tibet to the moist, steamy air
+of a Nepalese character, with its luxuriant vegetation.
+
+In the immediate neighbourhood of Kharta were several birds we had not
+met elsewhere, notably Prince Henry's laughing thrush (_Trochalopterum
+henrici_), which is very much venerated as a sacred bird by the
+Tibetans, the Central Asian blackbird, almost indistinguishable from our
+blackbird except by its voice, the solitary thrush, Indian brown
+turtledove, and a meadow-bunting (_Emberiza godlewskii_), probably a
+migrant from the North.
+
+Several species of small gentians and two very fragrant onosmas were
+flowering in August, and in this place _Clematis orientalis_ attains its
+best growth, clambering over the trees and the houses of the natives;
+the flower of this clematis has a very wide range of colour from an
+apricot yellow to almost black. About the houses are often planted
+junipers and poplars, and it was about 10 miles from Kharta that we saw
+a poplar nearly 40 feet in girth, which we were informed was five
+hundred years old.
+
+A few miles to the south of Kharta is a valley filled with a dozen or so
+of small lakes or tarns, inhabited apparently only by tadpoles (_Rana
+pleskei_); no fish could be seen. Not far from here was discovered
+an interesting toad of a new species (_Cophophryne alticola_).
+Growing about the lakes were large beds of purple and yellow iris
+(_I. sibirica_, near); the steeper banks were blue with a very striking
+campanula (_Cyananthus pedunculatus_); growing out from among the dwarf
+rhododendrons in dry places were tall spikes of a claret-coloured
+meconopsis, now going to seed--some spikes had as many as twenty
+seed-pods; and in the moist places beside the lakes and streams was the
+tall yellow primula (_P. elongata_), growing to a height of over 30
+inches.
+
+Ascending from the lakes to the Chog La we saw a small black rat amongst
+the huge boulders of a moraine; it appeared to be a very active little
+animal, and though four or five were seen at different times in similar
+situations we failed to secure a specimen. Near the Chog La we found the
+snow-partridge (_Lerwa lerwa_), and one was shot out of a flock of very
+beautiful blue birds--Hodgson's grandala. Another very handsome bird in
+this region is the red-breasted rose-finch, which is found up to 18,000
+feet. Descending from the Chog La towards the Kama Valley we found at
+16,000 feet the giant rhubarb (_Rheum nobile_), and at 14,000 feet we
+picked quantities of the wild edible rhubarb. A little lower down we
+came to large blue scabius, 3 to 4 feet high, a dark blue monkshood and
+quantities of the tall yellow poppy. Rhododendrons, birches and junipers
+begin at about 13,500 feet, and at 12,000 feet the junipers are the
+predominating tree; they are of immense size, upwards of 20 feet in
+girth and from 120 to 150 feet in height and of a very even and perfect
+growth. Here we met with the Sikkim black tit (_Parus beavani_), and a
+little lower down among the firs (_Abies webbiana_) we came upon
+bullfinches (_Pyrrhula erythrocephala_). At 11,000 feet I saw a langur
+monkey (_Semnopithecus entellus_), the only monkey I saw in Tibet.
+Excepting one solitary bat, the only other mammal we saw in this valley
+was another species of pika (_Ochotona roylei nepalensis_), which
+appears here to be confined to a zone between the altitudes of 12,000
+and 14,000 feet; it is not found in dry valleys.
+
+Among the trees in the lower Kama Valley grow many parnassias, a tall
+green fritillaria, a handsome red swertia and a very sweet-scented pink
+orchis. We found the tubers (but not the flowers) of an arum, which the
+Tibetans collect and make of it a very unpalatable bread. We went down
+through large rhododendrons, magnolias, bamboos, alders, sycamores, all
+draped in long wisps of lichen (_Usnea_), to the junction of the Kama
+with the Arun River, where we found ourselves in the region of the blue
+pine. The lower part of the Kama Valley is unpleasantly full of leeches,
+and in the course of an excursion to the Popti La (14,000 feet), one of
+the principal passes from Tibet to Sikkim, we were astonished to find
+them very numerous and active at an altitude of 12,000 feet. At our
+low-altitude camps in this valley hundreds of moths were attracted by
+the light of our camp fire, and a few came to the dim candle lamps in
+our tents. A collector who came here with a proper equipment could not
+fail to make a large collection of moths.
+
+[Illustration: FOREST IN THE KAMA VALLEY.]
+
+Proceeding up the Kharta Valley in the beginning of September we found
+that most of the roses and rhododendrons had gone to seed, but some of
+the gentians, particularly _Gentiana ornata_, were at their best. Near
+our camp at 17,000 feet, along the edges of streams, a very handsome
+gentian (_G. nubigena_) with half a dozen flowers growing on a single
+stem was very conspicuous, and growing with it was an aromatic little
+purple and yellow aster (_A. heterochaeta_); in the same place was a
+bright yellow senecio (_S. arnicoides_) with shining, glossy leaves. A
+curious dark blue dead-nettle (_Dracocephalum speciosum_) was found on
+dry ground at the same altitude. In the stony places grew up to 19,000
+feet the dwarf blue meconopsis mentioned above, and many saxifrages,
+notably a very small white one (_S. umbellulata_). On the steeper rocks
+from 16,000 feet to the snow-line (roughly 20,000 feet) were found
+edelweiss (_Leontopodium_) of three species. Very noticeable at these
+altitudes are the curious saussureas, large composites packed with
+cotton wool; if you open one of them on the coldest day, even when it is
+covered with snow, you find it quite warm inside, and often a bumble bee
+will come buzzing out.
+
+Another very interesting plant at 17,000 to 18,000 feet is a dwarf blue
+hairy delphinium (_D. brunnoneanum_) with a strong smell. The Tibetans
+dry the flowers of this plant and use them as a preventive against lice.
+This has its disadvantages, for when a Tibetan dies his body is
+undertaken by the professional butcher, who cuts it up and exposes it on
+the hills to be disposed of by the vultures and wolves. A body tainted
+with the delphinium flowers is unpalatable to the scavengers, and it is
+known that a man must have been wicked in life whose body is rejected by
+the vultures and wolves.
+
+The smallest rhododendrons (_R. setosum_ and _R. lepidotum_) disappear
+before 19,000 feet, after which vegetation is almost non-existent. A
+few grasses and mosses are still found to 20,000 feet, and the highest
+plant we found was a small arenaria (_A. musciformis_), which grows in
+flat cushions a few inches wide up to 20,100 feet.
+
+Mammals in the upper Kharta Valley are not numerous. A pika of a new
+species (_Ochotona wollastoni_) is found from 15,000 to 20,000 feet, and
+a new vole (_Phaiomys everesti_) was found at 17,000 feet. The small
+black rat previously seen was here too, and an unseen mouse entered our
+tents and ate our food at 20,000 feet. Fox and hare were both seen above
+18,000 feet, and undoubted tracks of them on the Kharta Glacier at
+21,000 feet. Wolves were seen about 19,000 feet, and those tracks seen
+in snow at 21,500 feet, which gave rise to so much discussion, were
+almost certainly those of a wolf. Burhel were fairly common between
+17,000 and 19,000 feet, and we found their droppings on stones at 20,000
+feet.
+
+Birds of several species were found from 17,000 feet upwards. The
+Tibetan snow-partridge (_Tetraogallus tibetanus_) is common in large
+parties up to the snow-line. Dippers (_Cinclus cashmirensis_) are found
+in the streams up to 17,000 feet, and at about the same altitude lives
+in the big boulders of moraines a small and very dark wren, which is
+almost certainly new, but only one immature bird was brought home.
+Snow-finches and the Eastern alpine accentor appeared to be resident up
+to the snow-line. Several migrating birds were seen in September at
+17,000 feet and above, among them Temminck's stint, painted snipe,
+pin-tailed snipe, house-martin and several pipits. More than once at
+night the cry of migrating waders was heard, curlew being unmistakable,
+and (I think) bar-tailed godwit.
+
+Our camps at 17,000 feet and at 20,000 feet were visited daily by
+Laemmergeier, raven, red-billed chough, alpine chough and black-eared
+kite, and I saw twice a hoopoe fly over the Kharta Glacier at about
+21,000 feet; a small pale hawk flew overhead at the same time. The
+highest bird seen was a Laemmergeier (bearded vulture); when I was
+taking photographs from our camp on the Lhakpa La (22,350 feet) I saw
+one of these birds come sailing over the top of the North peak of
+Everest and apparently high above the peak, probably at an altitude of
+not less than 25,000 feet.[19]
+
+  [19] Detailed accounts of the collections made will be found: Mammals,
+       _Annals and Magazine of Nat. Hist._, Feb. 1922. Birds, _Ibid._,
+       July, 1922. Insects, _Annals and Magazine of Nat. Hist._, May and
+       June, 1922.
+
+
+
+
+                                CHAPTER XX
+
+                   AN APPRECIATION OF THE RECONNAISSANCE
+
+                    BY PROFESSOR NORMAN COLLIE, F.R.S.
+
+                       President of the Alpine Club
+
+
+The chance of wandering into the wild places of the earth is given to
+few. But those who have once visited the Himalaya will never forget
+either the magnificence or the beauty of that immense mountain land,
+whether it be the valley country that lies between the great
+snow-covered ranges and the plains, where wonderful forests, flowers,
+clear streams and lesser peaks form a fitting guard to the mighty
+snow-peaks that lie beyond, or the great peaks themselves, that can be
+seen far away to the North, as one approaches through the foot-hills
+that lead up to them. The huge snow-covered giants may be a week's
+journey away, they may be far more, yet when seen through the clear air
+of the hills, perhaps 100 miles distant, they look immense,
+inaccessible, remote and lonely. But as one approaches nearer and nearer
+to them, they ever grow more splendid, glistening white in the mid-day
+sun, rose-red at dawn, or a golden orange at sunset, with faint
+opalescent green shadows that deepen as the daylight fails, till when
+night comes they stand far up in the sky, pale and ghostly against the
+glittering stars. Those who have been fortunate enough to see these
+things, know the fascination they exert. It is the call of the great
+spaces and of the great mountains. It is a call that mocks at the song
+of the Lotus-eaters of old, it is more insidious than the Siren's call,
+and it is a call that, once heard, is never forgotten.
+
+One may be contented and busy with the multitudinous little events of
+ordinary civilised life, but a chance phrase or some allusion wakes the
+memory of the wild mountain lands, and one feels sick with desire for
+the open spaces and the old trails. The dreams of the wanderer are far
+more real than most of the happenings that make up the average man's
+life. It may be the memory of some desolate peaks set against an angry
+sky, or of islands set in summer seas, or some grim fight with deserts
+of endless sands, or with tropical forests that have held their growth
+for a thousand years; it may be the memory of rushing rivers, or lakes
+set in wild woods where the beavers build their houses, or sunsets over
+great oceans--the spell binds one, the present does not exist, one is
+back again on the old trail--"The Red Gods have called us out, and we
+must go."
+
+There is no part of the world where lofty mountains exist at all
+comparable with the Himalaya. Elsewhere the highest is Aconcagua, 23,060
+feet. But in the Himalaya there are over eighty peaks that tower above
+24,000 feet, probably twenty above 26,000 feet, six above 27,000 feet,
+and the highest of all, Mount Everest, is 29,141 feet.
+
+The huge range of mountains, of which the Himalaya forms the chief part,
+is by far the greatest mountain range in the world. Starting to the
+North of Afghanistan, it sweeps Eastwards, without a break, to the
+confines of China, over 2,000 miles away. Yet in this vast world of
+mountains, very few have been climbed. For many years to come the
+Himalaya will provide sport for the mountaineer when most of the other
+mountain ranges of the world will have been exhausted, as far as
+exploration and new ascents are concerned.
+
+Mountaineering is a sport of which Englishmen should be proud; for they
+were the first really to pursue it as a pastime. The Alpine Club was the
+first mountaineering club, and if one inquires into the records of
+climbing and discovery amongst the mountains of the world, one usually
+finds that it was an Englishman who led the way. It is the Englishman's
+love of sport for its own sake that has enticed him on to battle with
+the dangers and difficulties that are offered with such a lavish hand by
+the great mountains.
+
+As a sport, mountaineering is second to none. It is the finest mental
+and physical tonic that a man can take. Whether it be the grim
+determination of desperate struggles with difficult rocks, or with ice,
+or whether it be the sight of range after range of splendid peaks
+basking in the sunshine, or of mists half hiding the black precipices,
+or the changing fairy colours of a sunrise, or the subtle curves of the
+wind-blown snow, all these are good for one. They produce a sane mind in
+a sane body. The joy of living becomes a real and a great joy, all is
+right with the world, and life flies on golden wings. It is, of course,
+true that there are many other beautiful and health-giving places
+besides the mountains. The great expanses of the prairie lands, the
+forests, the seas set with lonely islands, and in England the downs and
+the homely lanes and villages nestling amongst woods, with clear streams
+wandering through the pastures where the cattle feed--all these are
+good; but the mountains give something more. There things are larger,
+man is more alone, one feels that one is much nearer to Nature, one is
+not held down by an artificial civilisation. And although the life may
+be more strenuous (for Nature can be savage at times, as well as
+beautiful), and the struggle may be hard, yet the battle is the more
+worth winning.
+
+Nowhere in any mountain land does Nature offer the good things of the
+wilds with more prodigal hand than in the Himalaya. On the Southern
+slopes, coming down from the great snow-peaks, are the finest river
+gorges in the world, wonderful forests of mighty trees, open alps
+nestling high up at the head of the valleys, that look out over great
+expanses of the lesser ranges; and as one ascends higher and higher, the
+views of the great peaks draped in everlasting snow, changing
+perpetually as the clouds and mists form and re-form over them, astonish
+one by their magnificence.
+
+All things that the Himalaya gives are big things, and now that the
+mountaineer has conquered the lesser ranges, he turns to the Himalaya,
+where the peaks stand head and shoulders above all others. Up to the
+present, however, owing to the difficulties of distance and size, none
+of the greater peaks have been climbed.
+
+In climbing the great peaks of the Himalaya, the difficulties are far
+greater than those of less lofty ranges. On most of the highest the mere
+climbing presents such difficulties that it would be foolish to attempt
+their ascent. Thousands of feet of steep rock or ice guard their
+summits. Unless climbing above 24,000 feet is moderately easy, and no
+strenuous work is required, it could not be accomplished. For in the
+rarefied air at high altitudes there is insufficient oxygen to promote
+the normal oxidation of bodily tissue. Above 20,000 feet a cubic foot of
+air contains less than half the amount of oxygen that it does at
+sea-level. As the whole metabolism of the body is kept in working order
+by the oxygen supplied through the lungs, the obvious result of high
+altitudes is to interfere with the various processes occurring in the
+system. The combustion of bodily material is less, the amount of energy
+produced is therefore less also, and so capacity for work is diminished
+progressively as one ascends.
+
+But that one is able still to work, and work hard, at these altitudes is
+evident by the experiences of Dr. Longstaff and Mr. Meade. On Trisul,
+23,360 feet, Dr. Longstaff in ten and a half hours ascended from 17,450
+feet to the summit. Whilst on Kamet, Mr. Meade's coolies carried a camp
+up to 23,600 feet. Dr. Kellas also in 1920 found his ascent on
+moderately easy snow above 21,000 feet approximated to 600 feet per
+hour. All these climbers were, however, acclimatised to high altitudes.
+The effect on anyone making a balloon or aeroplane ascent from sea-level
+would be different. Tissaudier in a balloon ascent fainted at 26,500
+feet and on regaining consciousness found both his companions dead. Even
+on Pike's Peak, 14,109 feet, in the United States, many of those who go
+up in the railway suffer from faintness, sickness, breathlessness and
+general lassitude. Yet there are places on the earth,--the
+Pamirs,--where people live their lives at higher altitudes than Pike's
+Peak, without any effects of the diminished pressure being felt. They
+are acclimatised; their bodies, being accustomed to their surroundings,
+are good working machines.
+
+Although it is true that at high altitudes there is less oxygen to
+breathe, the body rapidly protects itself by increasing the number of
+red blood corpuscles. These red corpuscles are the carriers of oxygen
+from the air to the various parts of the body. An increased number of
+carriers means an increase of oxygen to the body. It is just possible,
+therefore, that anyone properly acclimatised to, say, 23,000 feet would
+be able to ascend the remaining 6,000 feet, to the summit of Mount
+Everest. Moreover, if oxygen could be continuously supplied to the
+climbers by adventitious aid there is little doubt that 29,000 feet
+could be reached.
+
+The physiological difficulties met with in ascending to high altitudes
+are doubtless of a very high order, but can to a certain extent be
+eliminated by ascending gradually, day after day, so as to allow the
+body to accommodate itself by degrees to the new surroundings.
+
+There are, however, other difficulties that must be reckoned with, such
+as intense cold and frequent high winds. In any engine where loss of
+heat occurs, there is a corresponding loss of available energy. A
+bitterly cold wind not only robs one of much heat, but lowers the
+vitality as well. At altitudes above 24,000 feet, the temperature is
+often arctic, and the thermometer may fall far below zero. On the other
+hand, the rays of the sun are intense. The ultra-violet rays, that are
+mostly cut off by the air at sea-level, are a real source of danger
+where there is only one-third of an atmosphere pressure, as in the case
+at the summit of Mount Everest.
+
+The mountaineer also encounters dangers in the Himalaya, on the same
+scale as the difficulties. A snow-slide on a British mountain or in the
+Alps is an avalanche; often in the Himalaya it becomes almost a
+convulsion of nature. The huge ice-fields and glaciers that hang on the
+upper slopes of the mountains, when let loose, have not hundreds of feet
+to fall, but thousands, and the wind that is thereby produced spreads
+with hurricane force over the glaciers below, on to which the main body
+of the avalanche has fallen. Sometimes even the broken debris will rush
+across a wide glacier.
+
+Rock falls also assume gigantic proportions in the Himalaya. But all
+these dangers can be largely avoided by the skilled mountaineer, and he
+can choose routes up a mountain where they are not likely to occur. Some
+risks, however, must be always run, but they can be reduced to a
+minimum.
+
+On Mount Everest, as we now know, most of these dangers will be less
+than on any of the other very high mountains in the Himalaya. Also there
+are no difficulties in the approach to Mount Everest from India. In this
+respect it differs from such peaks as K^2 and others. As a rule the
+highest mountains in the Himalaya always lie far back from the plains in
+the main chain, beyond the foot-hills and the intervening ranges. To
+approach them from the South in India, weeks of travel are often
+necessary, up deep gorges, and over rivers, where it is next to
+impossible to take baggage animals. Fortunately the approach to Mount
+Everest by the route from Darjeeling to Phari Dzong and thence over an
+easy pass into Tibet avoids all these difficulties. In Tibet a high
+tableland, averaging 13,000 feet, is reached.
+
+Travelling in Tibet, North of the main range of the Himalaya, is
+entirely different from that on the South of the range. Instead of
+deep-cut gorges, a rolling, bare, stone-covered country exists, over
+which it is easy to take baggage animals, the only obstacle being the
+rivers that sometimes are not bridged, and are often swollen by the
+melting snow. From Kampa Dzong to Tingri Dzong, the base of operations
+for the Expedition, is an open country. Mount Everest lies 40 to 50
+miles South of Tingri Dzong; the approach also is without difficulty.
+
+The ascent of Mount Everest was not the primary object of the Expedition
+of 1921. A mountain the size of Mount Everest cannot be climbed by
+simply getting to it and starting the ascent immediately.
+
+A reasonable route has to be discovered to the summit; which usually can
+only be done by a complete reconnaissance of the mountain. This has been
+admirably done, and a most magnificent series of photographs has been
+brought back by the members of the Expedition.
+
+Mount Everest consists of a huge pyramid, having three main aretes, the
+West, the South-east, and the North-east. It is the last, the North-east
+arete, that is obviously the easiest, being snow-covered along most of
+its length. Nowhere is it excessively steep, and nowhere are there
+precipices of rock to stop the climber. We now know that it can be
+reached, by means of a subsidiary ridge, from a col 23,000 feet, the
+Chang La, that lies to the north of the North-east arete. This col was
+the highest point on Mount Everest reached by the Expedition, and had it
+not been for savage weather a considerably higher altitude would have
+been attained; for above the col for several thousand feet lay an
+unbroken snow-slope.
+
+It was only after much hard work, and over two months' exploration, that
+a route to this col was discovered. As is usually the case even with
+mountains far smaller than Mount Everest, it can be seen that if a
+point, often a long way below the summit, can be reached, not much
+farther difficulty will be encountered. But the puzzle is, how can that
+point be arrived at from below?
+
+Quite early in the exploration of Mount Everest it was obvious that if
+the 23,000-foot col could be reached, most of the physical difficulties
+of the approach to the mountain would have been surmounted. But it was
+not so obvious how to win to the col. It lies on the South-east at the
+head of the main Rongbuk Glacier; it was therefore to this glacier that
+the mountaineers, Messrs. Mallory and Bullock, went from Tingri Dzong on
+June 23. They spent a month exploring the country to the North and the
+West of Mount Everest from the Rongbuk Glacier. Much valuable
+information was accumulated. A peak, Ri-Ring, 22,520 feet, was climbed
+and a pass on the West ridge of Mount Everest was visited, from which
+were seen views of the South-west face of the great mountain and also
+many high peaks in Nepal. Unfortunately, however, no feasible route from
+the main Rongbuk Glacier to the 23,000-foot col could be found. The next
+attempt was made by leaving the Rongbuk Glacier and exploring the Kama
+Valley that flows South-east from Mount Everest. Here a most magnificent
+ice-world was discovered. For a chain of giant peaks running South-east
+from Mount Everest to Makalu, 27,790 feet, guards the whole of the
+South-west side of the valley. But as an approach to the North-east
+arete of Mount Everest this valley was found to be useless. From the
+point of view, however, of exploration it was most fortunate that this
+valley was visited. The photographs of Makalu and its satellite
+Chomoloenzo, N.^{53}, 25,413 feet, are superb; moreover the lower reaches
+of the Kama Valley, as it dips down to the deep Arun Valley, was full of
+luxuriant vegetation, totally different from the wind-swept wilderness
+of Tibet.
+
+The Kharta Valley, that runs North-east from Mount Everest, was the next
+exploited, to see whether from it an easy approach to the North-east
+arete existed. But by this time the monsoon weather was at its worst.
+Days of rain and mist, with snow higher up, succeeded one another,
+making climbing impossible. However, towards the end of September a high
+camp at 22,500 feet was made at the head of the Kharta Valley. From this
+camp the 23,000-foot col, Chang La, was finally reached, by crossing the
+head of a glacier that ran to the North. Higher climbing was out of the
+question; a furious North-west gale lasting for four days drove the
+party off the mountain.
+
+The glacier mentioned above, running to the North, was found to be a
+tributary of the main Rongbuk Glacier, and has been named the East
+Rongbuk Glacier. There is no doubt that the easiest route to Chang La,
+the North Col, will not be all the way round by the Kharta Valley, but
+up this East Rongbuk Glacier.
+
+Several other interesting expeditions were carried out by other members
+of the party. Colonel Howard Bury visited the group of five great peaks
+(25,202 to 26,867 feet), that lie about 15 miles North-west of Mount
+Everest. He explored the Kyetrak Glacier to its summit the Khombu La,
+also crossed the Phuese La with the Rongshar Valley that drains down into
+Nepal. Later he visited another pass on the ridge that connects Mount
+Everest with Makalu. From this pass most interesting views of the
+country South of Mount Everest were obtained.
+
+Major Wheeler's and Major Morshead's map of the country that lies
+between the Himalaya and the Bramapootra River will be of the highest
+value, and the results of Dr. Heron's geological survey and
+Mr. Wollaston's collections of birds, beasts, insects and flowers, when
+they have been thoroughly examined, will certainly yield much new
+scientific information. The Expedition therefore has accomplished all
+that was expected of it, and has brought back material of the greatest
+interest, from a part of the world about which almost nothing was known,
+and into which Europeans had never been.
+
+The attempt to ascend Mount Everest itself necessarily had to be
+postponed, but this year the Expedition that is being sent out will have
+for its primary object the ascent of the mountain. There will be easy
+access to the base of the peak from Choebuk, where a base camp will be
+established, and from thence a feasible route on to the summit of the
+great North-east arete has been discovered.
+
+Most fortunately this year General Bruce was able to undertake the
+leadership of the Expedition. His unrivalled experience of climbing in
+the Himalaya and particularly his special capacity for handling
+Himalayan people will be invaluable to the Expedition. Not only will he
+be able to organise and instil the right spirit into the coolie corps
+upon whom so much will depend for ultimate success, but he will also be
+able to give much wise advice to the actual climbers who are to take
+part in the ascent of the mountain.
+
+Moreover, with his long experience of dealing with Asiatics he can be
+trusted to deal with the Tibetan people and officials in such a way as
+to retain their present good-will.
+
+As the main object of the Expedition this year is to make a definite
+attempt to reach the summit of Mount Everest, it has been decided that
+the actual climbing party should be as strong as possible. But a limit
+to the size of the Expedition was imposed by the necessity of respect
+for the feelings of the Tibetans, and a warning had been received from
+Lhasa to keep the numbers as small as possible. For, although the
+authorities at Lhasa might be friendly enough, and although there might
+be no difficulty in obtaining transport from the district round Tingri
+Dzong, where animals were plentiful, yet a large party might press
+hardly on the inhabitants in the matter of food, such as wheat and
+barley. This consideration had therefore to be regarded. Still it was
+thought that the district would not be unduly pressed by a party of
+twelve Europeans. This number will include a climbing party of six
+chosen mountaineers, with two in reserve, making eight in all. With
+General Bruce, a doctor (who would also be a naturalist), a photographer
+and a painter, the expeditionary force of Europeans will be complete.
+
+Colonel E. L. Strutt, C.M.G., has been chosen as second in command. He
+possesses first-rate mountaineering experience, and has been
+Vice-President of the Alpine Club.
+
+Mr. Mallory fortunately has been able to accept the invitation of the
+Committee to return to Mount Everest again this year. The remainder of
+the climbing party are: Captain George Finch, who was unable to join the
+Expedition last year on account of his health; Mr. T. H. Somervell, a
+surgeon, a member of the Alpine Club and an extremely energetic climber;
+Major E. F. Norton (Royal Artillery); and Dr. A. W. Wakefield, renowned
+for his strenuous climbing in the Lake District and work in Labrador.
+Besides these six mountaineers, Captain Geoffrey Bruce and Captain C.
+J. Morris, both of Gurkha Regiments, and able to speak the language of
+the Himalayan coolies, will assist General Bruce both in looking after
+and encouraging the coolies, and also help in the general arrangement
+and organisation of the Expedition as a whole. They also are accustomed
+to mountaineering and will act as a reserve to the six climbers.
+
+As doctor and naturalist Dr. T. G. Longstaff has been invited to join
+the Expedition. He has made many climbs in the Himalaya and other
+mountain regions, including the ascent of Trisul, 23,360 feet. He is not
+expected to join the climbing party, but his experience will be of great
+benefit to the Expedition generally.
+
+As photographer, Captain J. B. L. Noel has been selected. He had
+reconnoitred in the direction of Mount Everest in 1913. For several
+years he has made a special study of photography in all its various
+branches.
+
+But besides photographs of the mountains, the Expedition is anxious to
+bring back pictures which would alone be able not only to serve as a
+record of the infinitely delicate colouring of that lofty region, but at
+the same time would show how probably some of the grandest scenery of
+mighty mountains should be represented from the point of view of an
+artist.
+
+Difficulty was experienced in finding a suitable painter, for painters
+capable of doing justice to mountain scenery, and who are also
+physically fit to travel amongst them at such altitudes as those round
+Mount Everest, are few. We have, therefore, to depend on Mr. Somervell
+to paint us pictures.
+
+In the meantime communications were also passing between Colonel Bailey,
+the Political Agent in Sikkim, and the Mount Everest Committee regarding
+the enlistment of coolies for the special corps, and the engagement of
+the very best headman obtainable to look after them. Many of the coolies
+who were with the Expedition in 1921 had volunteered to rejoin this
+year. But a stronger corps and more carefully selected men were needed.
+The Maharaja of Nepal has been asked to allow some of the most famous
+Gurkha mountain climbers to join the Expedition, and the Government of
+India has been asked to put two or three non-commissioned Gurkha
+officers at the service of General Bruce, to assist him generally in
+looking after the coolies, and seeing that they were properly fed and
+paid, and that they behaved themselves properly.
+
+The members of last year's Expedition on their return were freely and
+fully consulted as to equipment and provisioning of this year's party;
+the experience gained last year has been therefore made use of in every
+way possible. Suggestions for the improvement of the Mummery-Meade tents
+have been adopted. Better clothing has been provided for the coolies.
+General Bruce has purchased leather coats, waistcoats, socks, jerseys
+and boots from the equipment provided for our troops in North Russia
+during the war, which will be admirably suited for the majority of the
+coolies, whilst for the few chosen for high climbing on Mount Everest
+itself, clothing precisely similar to that worn by the British climbers
+has been provided.
+
+Captain Farrar and the equipment committee have provided a most varied
+and ample supply of provisions which was despatched to India in January.
+The Primus-stoves have been overhauled and retested by Captain Finch.
+
+Colonel Jack and Mr. Hinks have carefully examined all the instruments
+brought back. The aneroids have been retested, and all broken
+instruments replaced.
+
+The photographic outfit has been considerably enlarged, including a
+cinematograph instrument. The question of supplying oxygen has been most
+thoroughly gone into. All flyers in aeroplanes at high altitudes find
+oxygen absolutely necessary. In mountain climbing, however, the almost
+insuperable difficulty is the weight of the apparatus supplying the
+oxygen. As far as possible, this weight has been reduced to a minimum. A
+large number of cylinders, the lightest and smallest obtainable, have
+been sent out full of compressed oxygen, and it is hoped that they will
+be capable of being used by the party that will attempt to climb to the
+summit of Mount Everest. If the climbers are capable of carrying them,
+and so getting a continuous supply of oxygen during the whole of the
+climb, there is little doubt that climbing up to 29,000 feet is
+possible. In aeroplanes considerably higher altitudes have been reached
+with the help of oxygen. Moreover, there is this fact in favour of the
+climbers on Mount Everest, they will be acclimatised to altitudes of
+20,000 feet, whilst anyone in an aeroplane is not so acclimatised,
+having risen from sea-level. The climbers will have to accommodate
+themselves only to an increased height of 9,000 feet, whilst those in an
+aeroplane have to suffer a diminution in pressure equivalent to 29,000
+feet.
+
+Finally, arrangements have been made with the Press for the publication
+of telegrams and photographs from the Expedition. Full information of
+the progress of the Expedition will therefore be available for the
+public, and it will be possible to follow the climbing party, after they
+leave the base camp, which will be somewhere near Choebuk, as they ascend
+the East Rongbuk Glacier to the advanced base under the North col.
+Afterwards all the preliminary arrangements will be reported, and
+finally there will be an account of the great attempt to reach the
+summit.
+
+The Expedition will be starting nearly two months earlier than in 1921.
+The weather in May and June, before the monsoon breaks in July,
+apparently is more or less settled, and so the most must be made of it.
+In 1921 from the end of July till September high climbing was
+impossible. It is therefore obvious that a determined attempt to climb
+Mount Everest should be made before the monsoon sets in.
+
+The ascent from the North col, Changa La, 23,000 feet, to the summit of
+Mount Everest, 29,000 feet, is only 6,000 feet, and the distance to
+traverse is about 2 miles. As far as can be judged from the numerous
+photographs of Mount Everest, the climbing is straightforward with no
+insurmountable difficulties in the form of steep rock precipices. There
+will be no glaciers overhanging the route which might send down
+avalanches, and no excessively steep ice-slopes.
+
+[Illustration: MOUNT EVEREST AT SUNSET from the 20,000 foot camp, Kharta
+Valley.]
+
+But the final ascent will test the endurance of the climbers to the
+utmost. Many people have found the last 1,000 feet of Mont Blanc more
+than they could accomplish. The last 1,000 feet of Mount Everest will
+only be conquered by men whose physique is perfect, and who are trained
+and acclimatised to the last possible limit, and who have the
+determination to struggle on when every fibre of their body is calling
+out--Hold! enough!
+
+The struggle will be a great one, but it will be worth the while. To do
+some new thing beyond anything that has been previously accomplished,
+and not to be dominated by his environment, has made man what he is, and
+has raised him above the beasts. He always has been seeking new worlds
+to conquer. He has penetrated into the forbidding ice-worlds at the two
+poles, and many are the secrets he has wrested from Nature. There
+remains yet the highest spot on the world's surface. No doubt he will
+win there also, and in the winning will add one more victory over the
+guarded secrets of things as they are.
+
+
+
+
+                                APPENDIX I
+
+                                THE SURVEY
+
+                      BY MAJOR H. T. MORSHEAD, D.S.O.
+
+
+The personnel selected to form the Survey Detachment under my charge
+were as follows: Brevet-Major E. O. Wheeler, M.C., R.E., Mr. Lalbir
+Singh Thapa, Surveyors Gujjar Singh and Turubaz Khan, Photographer Abdul
+Jalil Khan, sixteen khalasis, etc.
+
+The tasks allotted to the detachment were:--
+
+(1) A general survey of the whole unmapped area covered by the
+Expedition, on a scale of 1 inch to 4 miles.
+
+(2) A detailed survey of the immediate environs of Mount Everest on the
+scale of 1 inch to 1 mile.
+
+(3) A complete revision of the existing 1/4-inch map of Sikkim.
+
+With the exception of a few rough notes and sketches by early travellers
+and missionaries in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, our first
+knowledge of the Southern portion of the Tibetan province of Tsang dated
+from the epoch of the Survey of India by trained native explorers in the
+middle of the nineteenth century. Thus, much of the area visited by the
+Expedition in 1921 was traversed by the explorer Hari Ram during the
+course of his two journeys in 1871-2 and 1885 respectively. At that
+time, however, foreign surveyors were not regarded with favour in Tibet;
+work could only be carried on surreptitiously, and the resulting map
+merely consisted of a small-scale route traverse which gave no
+indication of the surface features beyond the explorer's actual route.
+
+The first rigorous survey undertaken in the neighbourhood was that
+carried out by Captain C. H. D. Ryder, R.E. (now Colonel Ryder, C.I.E.,
+D.S.O., Surveyor-General of India), during the Tibet Mission of
+1903-1904. During the stay of the Mission at Kampa, the 1/4-inch survey
+was carried as far West as longitude 88 deg.; while, on the subsequent
+return march up the Tsangpo Valley, surveys were extended as far as the
+Southern watershed of the great river--the so-called Ladak Range--in
+latitude 29 deg. approximately.
+
+West of longitude 88 deg. there thus remained a stretch of unsurveyed
+country some 14,000 square miles in area, between the Ladak Range on the
+North and the Great Himalaya Range on the South--the latter forming the
+Northern frontier of Nepal. The Mount Everest Expedition provided an
+opportunity of making good the whole of this area, with the exception of
+some 2,000 square miles at the extreme Western end, into which, in view
+of the restrictions of the Indian Foreign Department, I did not feel
+justified in penetrating.
+
+Fortunately, Colonel Bury's plans contemplated an outward Northerly
+journey via Shekar and Tingri to the Western flanks of Mount Everest,
+whence the reconnaissance of the mountain was to be carried out from
+West to East, parallel to the Northern frontier of Nepal. This rendered
+feasible the mapping of the whole unsurveyed area between the Southern
+watershed of the Tsangpo and the Great Himalaya Range, as far West as
+longitude 85 deg. 30', without in any way infringing the Foreign
+Department's orders and restrictions.
+
+For the purpose of the detailed survey of the Mount Everest regions, it
+was arranged for my Assistant, Major Wheeler, to make a thorough test of
+the Canadian pattern of photo-survey apparatus, of which he had had
+previous experience in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. This method of
+survey, which had not hitherto been employed in India, is particularly
+adapted for use in high mountain regions. Fortunately, the experimental
+outfit, which had recently been ordered from England, was delivered just
+in time to accompany the Expedition. Wheeler's account of his season's
+work will be found in Appendix II.
+
+With a view to carrying out the revision survey of Sikkim while awaiting
+the arrival of the members of the Expedition from England, the Survey
+Detachment was authorised to assemble at Darjeeling early in April, six
+weeks before the date fixed for the start of the Expedition. In spite of
+an unusually wet and cloudy spring, the three surveyors made such good
+use of their time that 2,500 square miles of country were completed
+before the advance of the Expedition necessitated the temporary
+abandonment of this work.
+
+After completing the necessary preliminaries with Colonel Bury, I myself
+left Darjeeling on May 13, intending to rejoin the remainder of the
+Expedition in Sikkim. Continuous rain, however, rendered the latter task
+impossible; the Sikkim roads were, moreover, blocked in several places
+by severe landslips, so that I was only with difficulty able to reach
+Kampa by the 28th. It transpired, however, that there was no cause for
+hurry, since the main body of the Expedition, travelling via the Chumbi
+Valley, had encountered greater difficulties than mine, and did not
+arrive at Kampa until June 5. While awaiting their arrival, I filled in
+the time by occupying and re-observing from Colonel Ryder's old
+triangulation stations of 1903, overlooking the Kampa Plain.
+
+I had received no news whatever of the Expedition or of the outside
+world since leaving Darjeeling three-and-a-half weeks previously.
+Consequently the death of my old friend Dr. Kellas on the very day of
+their arrival at Kampa came to me as a very severe shock.
+
+The Sikkim revision-survey having been so much hampered by bad weather,
+I decided to take only two of the three surveyors with the Expedition
+into Tibet, leaving Surveyor Turabaz Khan to complete the comparatively
+dry areas of Northern Sikkim before the arrival of the monsoon. This he
+succeeded in doing at the cost of considerable personal discomfort,
+returning to Darjeeling in July.
+
+It was not until we reached the summit of the Tinki Pass on June 11 that
+we found ourselves for the first time looking into unsurveyed country.
+From here onwards as far as Tingri the survey was kept up by Lalbir
+Singh, whose unflagging energy alone enabled him to keep pace with the
+long marches of the Expedition. Each morning he was away with his
+plane-table and squad of coolies long before our breakfast was served,
+seldom reaching camp before nightfall. The gathering clouds and other
+ominous signs of a rapidly approaching monsoon, however, forbade any
+respite.
+
+On arrival at Tingri, after spending a week in fruitless efforts to
+observe the triangulated peaks of the main Himalayan Range through the
+dense monsoon clouds which were daily piling up more and more thickly
+from the South, I departed on June 26 with Surveyor Gujjar Singh on a
+short trip to explore and map the upper valley of the Bhong Chu.
+
+Our first march led across the wide Tingri Plain, past the hot spring
+village of Tsamda, to the hamlet of Dokcho, at the Southern extremity of
+the Sutso Plain. This plain is covered with the ruins of numerous
+villages and watch-towers, the haunt of countless rock-pigeons. They are
+all of loftier and more substantial construction than the miserable
+hovels which form the scattered hamlets of to-day--indicating,
+apparently, the former presence of a large and warlike population. It is
+impossible even to hazard a guess at the age of these ruins, which may
+have preserved their present state for generations in the comparatively
+arid climate of Tibet. Many of the towers are 60 feet or more in height;
+roofs and floors have all disappeared, but the massive mud walls in
+many instances still bear the marks of the wooden shuttering used in
+their erection. This method of construction is unknown, I believe, in
+Tibet at the present day.
+
+The next day's march, skirting the Western edge of the plain, brought us
+to the village of Phuri, where the river flows in a flat-bottomed,
+cultivated valley, between bare brown hills. On the 28th we camped at
+Menkhap-to, the highest village in the valley. The headman, a sort of
+local "warden of the marches," refused to see me and shut himself up in
+his house, guarding his door with three huge mastiffs who effectively
+frustrated the efforts of my messengers to establish communications.
+Evidently he feared the subsequent results to himself of harbouring
+strangers. The remaining villagers were quite friendly, however, and
+supplied all my requirements. One man, the owner of a gun, surprised me
+by a request for 12-bore cartridges just after I had greatly shocked his
+neighbour's Buddhist susceptibilities by killing a butterfly for my
+collection! Much snow is reported to fall at Menkhap-to, which is
+deserted during the winter months, when the inhabitants descend to
+Menkhap-me ("lower Menkhap") and the Sutso Plain.
+
+Above Menkhap-to the road leaves the main valley and proceeds Westwards
+over a spur known as the Lungchen La (17,700 feet). This spur commands
+an extensive view across the wide, uninhabited Pekhu Plain, with its
+three lakes, as far as the snowy range running North-west from the
+summit of Gosainthan. On a fine day, the whole panorama can be sketched
+in from a couple of fixings on either side of the pass; unfortunately,
+at the time of our arrival bad weather had set in, and the whole
+snow-range was hidden in cloud. I had therefore to leave Gujjar Singh
+camped near the summit of the pass to await a fine day for the
+completion of his surveys, and myself returned at the end of the month
+to Tingri, where I rejoined Mr. Wollaston, who had been detained at
+headquarters by an outbreak of enteric fever amongst the Expedition
+servants.
+
+Wild game is plentiful in the Upper Bhong Valley. I shot numerous hares,
+some ramchakor and a bar-headed goose during the trip; while Gujjar
+Singh caught a young, week-old burhel lamb on the summit of the Lungchen
+Pass, which, however, died after three weeks in captivity. Gazelle are
+common on the Sutso Plain.
+
+By the end of June, Lalbir Singh had finished the inking of his previous
+surveys, and was ready for fresh work. Accordingly, after spending a
+couple of days in examining his board, and checking the spelling of his
+village names with the aid of the local Tibetan officials, I despatched
+him on a lengthy programme of work in Pharuk and Kharta. It was three
+months before I saw him again.
+
+About this time a messenger arrived from the Dzongpen of Nyenyam,
+inviting us to visit his district, which lay four marches to the
+Southwest, in the valley of the Po Chu or Bhotia Kosi R. Although
+Nyenyam was not one of the districts specifically mentioned in our
+passport, Wollaston and I decided, with the concurrence of Colonel Bury,
+to avail ourselves of the opportunity of visiting this little-known
+area.
+
+Leaving Tingri on July 13, with the interpreter Gyalzen Kazi and
+Surveyor Gujjar Singh, who had now returned after completing his work on
+the Lungchen Pass, we camped that evening at Langkor, a small village at
+the Western edge of the Tingri Plain. A cantilever bridge which spans
+the Gya Chu opposite the village had been carried away by floods shortly
+before our arrival, and the whole population of the hamlet, male and
+female, were busily engaged in its reconstruction, working in relays to
+the accompaniment of prolonged and vigorous blasts on a "conch" which a
+monk was diligently blowing in order--as it was explained to us--to
+avert further rainfall until the bridge should be completed. His efforts
+were rewarded with tolerable success, as the rain held off all day in
+spite of the threatening storm-clouds which loomed up from the
+South-west.
+
+The most interesting feature of Langkor is an ancient temple, an
+appanage of the great Drophung monastery of Lhasa. This building, which
+is said to be over 1,000 years old, contains a sacred stone alleged to
+have been hurled across the Himalayan Range from India, and to have
+pitched in the Tingri Plains. The name Tingri is said to be derived from
+the noise ("ting") made by the falling stone. The stone is carefully
+preserved inside a wooden box, which is opened with much ceremony on the
+first day of the Tibetan new year. The temple, which is managed by a
+committee of fifteen civilian monks (nyakchang), also contains a library
+of 4,400 books, and an image of the Indian saint Tamba Sanye which is
+popularly believed to have grown by itself from the ground _in situ_.
+
+Crossing the Tang La (17,980 feet) in a driving snowstorm, a long march
+of 22 miles brought us next day to the bleak village of Tulung, in the
+upper valley of the Po Chu. As we descended the Western side of the pass
+the snow-clouds gradually dispersed, disclosing glimpses of the
+magnificent twin summits of Gosainthan (26,290 feet), 30 miles to the
+West. Several of our coolies succumbed to mountain sickness on the pass,
+with the result that my bedding and the kitchen box only reached camp at
+9 p.m.
+
+On July 15 our road lay for 8 miles along the flat valley of the Po Chu;
+the river then turns sharply Southwards, passing for 3 miles through a
+gorge of granite and schist. Bushes of wild currant, gooseberry,
+berberis and dog-rose here begin to appear, and around the village of
+Targyeling, where we camped, were smiling fields of mustard and
+buckwheat, in addition to the usual Tibetan crops of barley and dwarf
+pea. After a month spent in the bleak Tibetan uplands, it was a relief
+to pitch our tents in a homely green field, alongside a rippling brook
+lined with familiar ranunculus, cow parsley, forget-me-not, and a
+singularly beautiful pale mauve cranesbill, and to feast our eyes on the
+glorious purple of the wild thyme which clothed the hillsides in great
+patches of colour.
+
+The next day, still following the course of the Po Chu, we reached
+Nyenyam, a large and very insanitary village which is known under the
+name of Kuti by the Nepalis who constitute the majority of its
+inhabitants. These Nepali traders (Newars) have their own Hindu temple
+in the village. There is also a Nepalese chauki (court-house) with a
+haqim (magistrate) invested with summary powers of jurisdiction over
+Nepali subjects; he is specially charged with the settlement of trade
+disputes, and with the encouragement of Tibeto-Nepalese trade and
+commerce.
+
+As is customary in all important districts of Tibet, there are here two
+Dzongpens, who by a polite fiction are known as "Eastern" and "Western"
+(Dzongshar and Dzongnup) respectively. Actually, the functions of the
+two Dzongpens are identical; the _raison d'etre_ of the double regime
+being an attempt to protect the peasants from extortion by the device of
+providing two administrators, who, in theory at least, act as a check
+upon each other's peculations. At the time of our arrival, those two
+worthies were so busy preparing a joint picnic that we had considerable
+difficulty in getting their attention.
+
+I spent three days in exploring the neighbourhood of Nyenyam, while
+Wollaston was engaged in his botanical and zoological pursuits. Gujjar
+Singh, with the plane-table, was detained by bad weather higher up the
+valley. Below Nyenyam the river enters a very deep, narrow gorge; pines
+and other forest trees begin to appear. The road, which here becomes
+impassable for animals, crosses the river four times in 6 miles by
+cantilever bridges before reaching the village of Choksum, but I could
+find no trace of the portion described by explorer Hari Ram in 1871 as
+consisting of slabs of stone 9 to 18 inches wide supported on iron pegs
+let into the vertical face of the rock at a height of 1,500 feet above
+the river. At Choksum (10,500 feet) the river falls at an average rate
+of 500 feet per mile. The Nepal frontier is crossed near Dram village,
+some 10 miles further down stream, but owing to the vile state of the
+weather, which rendered even the roughest attempts at surveying
+impossible, I abandoned all idea of reaching the spot.
+
+On July 20 we retraced our steps 9 miles up the valley to Tashishong,
+where we found Dr. Heron encamped, together with Gujjar Singh, whose
+work had been hung up for a week by continued cloud and rainfall. Heron
+returned Northwards next day, while we followed a rough easterly track
+leading over the Lapche Range to the village of the same name in the
+valley of the Kang Chu. The weather on this day was atrocious, and our
+last pretence of accurate surveying broke down. We were unable to reach
+Lapche village by dusk, and spent a somewhat cheerless night on boulders
+in drenching rain at 14,600 feet, with no fuel except a few green twigs
+of dwarf rhododendron.
+
+Lapche (La-Rimpoche, "precious hill") is sacred as the home and
+birthplace of Jetsun Mila Repa, a wandering lama and saint who lived in
+Southern Tibet in the eleventh century, and who taught by parables and
+songs, some of which have considerable literary merit. The two principal
+works ascribed to him are an autobiography, or namtar, and a collection
+of tracts called Labum, or the "myriad songs." They are still among the
+most popular books in Tibet.[20] His hermit-cell still remains under a
+rock on the hillside, and his memory is preserved by an ancient temple
+and monastery, the resort of numerous pilgrims, alongside which we
+pitched our tents.
+
+  [20] _Journey to Lhasa and Central Tibet_, by S. C. Dass, C.I.E., page
+       205, footnote by Hon. W. W. Rockhill.
+
+Lapche village is situated on a spur overlooking the junction of two
+branches of the Kang stream--the latter being a tributary of the
+Rongshar River, which, in turn, joins the Bhotia Kosi River in Nepal.
+The extreme dampness of the local climate is indicated by the trailing
+streamers of lichen which festoon the trees, and by the pent roofs of
+the buildings. The village contains some ten or twelve houses, of which
+half are occupied by Tibetans and half by Nepalese subjects
+(Sherpas)--each community having its own headman. The inhabitants were
+very friendly and pleasant, and gave us a good deal of information. The
+village is deserted during the winter months, when the whole population
+migrates across the border into Nepal. The Tibetans pay no taxes to
+Nepal during their half-yearly sojourn in the lower valley; conversely,
+the Nepalis during their summer residence in Lapche are not subject to
+Tibetan taxation or to the imposition of ulag (forced labour). The
+Tibetans of Lapche pay their taxes in the form of butter direct to the
+Lapche monastery, the head lama, or abbot, of which resides at Phuto
+Gompa near Nyenyam. The Nepal frontier is some 10 miles below Lapche,
+opposite the snow-peak of Karro Pumri. Katmandu can be reached in eight
+days, but the track is bad and very little trade passes this way.
+
+Transport arrangements necessitated a day's halt at Lapche, which was
+fortunately enlivened by the timely arrival of a large parcel of letters
+and newspapers, which Colonel Bury had thoughtfully sent after us from
+Tingri--almost the last news of the outside world which we were to
+receive for over two months.
+
+From Lapche we proceeded to the Rongshar Valley, crossing the Kangchen
+and Kangchung ("big snow" and "little snow") passes. Descending the hill
+to Trintang village, where we camped on July 25, the clouds lifted
+momentarily, disclosing an amazing view of the superb snow summit of
+Gauri-Sankar towering magnificently above us just across the valley.
+This mountain, which is called by the Tibetans Chomo Tsering, or Trashi
+Tsering, is the westernmost of a group of five very sacred peaks known
+collectively as Tsering Tse-nga ("Tsering five peaks"). Unfortunately,
+owing to constant clouds, I was unable to identify with certainty the
+remaining four peaks of Tingki Shalzang, Miyo Lobzang, Chopen Drinzang
+and Tekar Drozang. Owing to the sacred nature of the Rongshar Valley,
+the slaughtering of animals is strictly forbidden; the large flocks and
+herds of the villagers are only sold for slaughter in the adjoining
+districts of Tingri and Nepal, and we were only able to buy a sheep on
+promising not to kill it until after quitting the valley.
+
+Trintang village occupies a plateau 1,750 feet above the level of the
+river; 1,400 feet below is the village of Tropde, to which the Trintang
+residents all descend in winter. Rongshar Dzong, which is situated in
+the lower village, has no importance; at the time of our visit the
+Dzongpen had gone to his home on leave of absence, leaving his affairs
+in the hands of a steward.
+
+A day's halt being necessary in order to collect transport, I took the
+opportunity of descending the Rongshar Valley as far as the Nepal
+frontier, while Gujjar Singh endeavoured, without much success, to pick
+up the threads of his survey by identifying the snowy peaks which
+occasionally afforded brief glimpses through rifts in the clouds. The
+Rongshar River drops 1,400 feet in 7 miles between Tropde and the Nepal
+frontier, which is crossed at an altitude of roughly 9,000 feet.
+
+On July 27 we marched 20 miles up the Rongshar Valley to the village of
+Tazang (Takpa-Santsam, "limit of birch trees"), which, as its name
+implies, is situated at the extreme upper limit of the forest zone. On
+the way we passed the village and monastery of Chuphar, whence a track
+leads South-east over the difficult snow-pass of Menlung ("vale of
+medicinal herbs") to the villages of Rowaling and Tangpa in the Kangphu
+Valley of Nepal.
+
+Tazang had already been visited by Colonel Bury, a month previously. The
+local headman was too drunk, on the evening of our arrival, to send out
+the necessary messages summoning the village transport-yaks from their
+grazing grounds. In consequence, our baggage was only got under weigh at
+11 a.m. next morning, and we were compelled to pitch our tents at a
+grazing camp (16,500 feet) after only covering 9 miles. The weather
+showed signs of improvement in proportion as we receded from the
+Himalayan gorges, but dense banks of cloud still obscured all the
+hill-tops. An easy march over the Phuse La (17,850 feet) brought us on
+the 29th to the bleak village of Kyetrak, situated at the foot of the
+great Kyetrak Glacier, on the extreme Southern edge of the Tingri
+plain--an area which we had already surveyed six weeks previously.
+
+From Kyetrak we proceeded via the Lamna La to Choebuk, thence following
+the tracks of the Expedition headquarters which Colonel Bury had just
+transferred from Tingri to Kharta in the lower Bhong Chu Valley. On
+reaching headquarters on August 2, we found Colonel Bury in sole
+occupation--Mallory and Bullock having left that very morning on a
+reconnaissance of the Eastern approaches to Mount Everest.
+
+The weather during the whole of August was such as to render out-of-door
+survey operations impossible. Gujjar Singh was occupied during the month
+in adjusting and inking his surveys, while I filled in several days in
+making tracings of all work so far completed, after which, for the
+remainder of the season, I joined the mountaineers, whose doings are
+recorded elsewhere in this book.
+
+On the return journey in October I despatched Gujjar Singh from Gyangkar
+Nangpa to complete the remaining portions of the Sikkim revision-survey;
+at the same spot I picked up Lalbir Singh, who, after completing his
+survey of the Pharuk and Kharta areas, had crossed the Bhong Chu below
+Lungdoe and worked his way back via Tashirakar and Sar. Travelling via
+Kampa and Lachen Valley, we reached Darjeeling on October 16. Tracings
+of the new survey were hastily finished and sent to press, with the
+result that a complete preliminary 1/4-inch map in six colours was
+published before the last members of the Expedition had sailed for
+England. A 1/2-inch preliminary sketch-map of the environs of Mount
+Everest was also prepared by Major Wheeler at the same time for the use
+of the mountaineers in discussing the details of their next year's
+climb.
+
+The out-turn of work during the Expedition was as follows:--
+
+  1/4-inch revision survey                             4,000 square miles
+  1/4-inch original survey                            12,000 square miles
+  Detail photo-survey (environs of Mount Everest)      600 square miles
+
+The surveyors all worked splendidly under difficult and trying
+conditions. Major Wheeler had probably the hardest time of any member of
+the Expedition, and his success in achieving single-handed the mapping
+of 600 square miles of some of the most mountainous country in the world
+is sufficient proof of his determination and grit. It is difficult for
+those who have not actually had the experience to conceive the degree of
+mental and physical discomfort which results to the surveyor from
+prolonged camping at high altitudes during the monsoon, waiting for the
+fine day which never comes. Such was our fate for four months during the
+Expedition of 1921, yet on looking back one feels that the results were
+well worth while. The discomforts soon fade from recollection; the
+pleasures alone remain in one's memory, and there is not one of us but
+would gladly repeat our season's experiences, if so required.
+
+
+
+
+                                APPENDIX II
+
+                          THE PHOTOGRAPHIC SURVEY
+
+                       BY MAJOR E. O. WHEELER, M.C.
+
+
+I had purchased a set of photo-topographical surveying instruments of
+the Canadian pattern, on behalf of the Survey of India, while on leave
+in 1920. A trial of this method of surveying mountainous country was to
+be carried out in Garhwal in 1921; but when Survey of India officers
+were asked for to accompany the Mount Everest Expedition, I was detailed
+to carry out the trial there. Possibly a word of explanation of the
+method used may not be amiss.
+
+The "Canadian" method--if I may call it so; for although it was invented
+and has been used elsewhere, it has been far more extensively applied in
+Canada than in any other part of the world--may be briefly described as
+"plane-tabling by photography." It requires, equally with the
+plane-table, an accurate framework, on which to base the detailed
+survey; and simply substitutes a small (3-inch vernier) theodolite and
+camera for the sight-rule and plane-table. Stations are fixed and
+photographs oriented by means of the theodolite; the photographs, which
+are taken so as to be as nearly as possible true perspectives, represent
+the country as it would be seen by the plane-tabler, and detail on them
+may be fixed by intersections or sketched in by eye in exactly the same
+way as on the plane-table.
+
+Angles are read and photographs taken in the field; and, if considered
+necessary to test exposures or protect photographic plates from
+deterioration due to climatic conditions, development of plates is also
+carried out there. Otherwise, the map is made wholly in the office,
+using either contact prints or enlargements, from the negatives taken in
+the field. The latter are usually preferable. The main advantages at
+high altitudes over the plane-table are, that a much larger area can be
+covered in a given time in the field, that the instruments are more
+portable for difficult climbing, that there is no necessity to do
+accurate drawing with numbed fingers, and that the draughtsman may see
+the country from several points of view at one time. On the other hand,
+more equipment is necessary, and--a great disadvantage sometimes, as in
+this case--the map does not come into being as one goes along.
+
+After carrying out various preliminary adjustments and tests at the
+office of the Trigonometrical Survey at Dehra Dun, I reached Darjeeling
+on April 30, and Tingri on June 19, travelling with Expedition
+Headquarters via Ph[=a]ri Dzong.
+
+_En route_ Tingri, we had caught glimpses of Everest and the
+neighbouring peaks; so that by the time we arrived there, I was able,
+with the help of the existing maps and what local information we had
+obtained, to decide on the area I would attempt to survey. I say
+"attempt," for little was really known then about the geography, and
+still less about the weather conditions throughout the summer. As it
+turned out in the end, the area had to be much curtailed, and certain
+parts surveyed in considerably less detail than I should have liked:
+almost wholly on account of the weather. Although it was often fairly
+clear at 6 a.m. or so, photographs taken before 8, particularly at the
+latter end of the season, were of little use for surveying purposes.
+
+However, at the outset, I had hoped to map, on the scale of 1 inch = 1
+mile, the whole area between the Arun Gorge on the East and the R[=a]
+Chu on the West: and from the Nep[=a]l-Tibet boundary Northwards for
+some 20 miles; i.e. to the point where the various streams, flowing in a
+Northerly direction from the high boundary ridge, issue from the
+mountains proper into the more rolling foot-hills on the Southern
+outskirts of the Tibetan Plateau. This area includes Mount Everest
+itself near the centre of its Southern side, Mak[=a]lu and Pk. 25,413 to
+the South-east, Pks. 23,800 (Kh[=a]rtaphu), 23,420, and 23,080 to the
+North-east and North, and Pks. 25,990 (Gy[=a]chung Kang), 25,202, 25,909
+and 26,867 (Cho Oyu) to the North-west; and comprises some 1,000 square
+miles of country: a suitable season's work, given reasonably fine
+weather. This unfortunately we did not get.
+
+On June 24, the day after Messrs. Mallory and Bullock had started for
+the Rongbuk Valley, Dr. Heron and I marched South across the plain to
+the village of Sharto, _en route_ Kyetr[=a]k, in the R[=a] Chu Valley,
+where I intended to establish my base camp while surveying the
+Kyetr[=a]k Glacier and West face of the Cho Oyu--Gyachung K[=a]ng group.
+The next day we moved on to Kyetr[=a]k, 1 mile below the snout of the
+glacier, and made camp there. This bleak village and the route to it and
+over the Phuese La have already been described.
+
+June 26 was fine, so after crossing the R[=a] Chu on local ponies,
+ourselves and our ice-axes and rucksacks perched on Tibetan saddles--a
+cold and uncomfortable proceeding in the early morning--we ascended the
+18,000-foot hill immediately West of the village. Up to 1 p.m. we had
+excellent views across and up the Kyetr[=a]k Valley; but only a glimpse
+of Gauri Sankar (Chomo Tsering) to the South-west, where heavy clouds
+soon began to roll up. Cho Oyu and Pk. 25,909 and their spurs
+unfortunately cut out all distant views to the South-east, as they did
+everywhere in the upper part of this valley; so that my first view of
+Everest was from Tingri a month later. Next day, we started shortly
+after daylight for a spur on the East side of the valley;
+unfortunately--and this happened in the case of almost every peak I
+started for until mid-September--clouds began to roll up, and we were
+forced to stop to take the photographs before we had reached a really
+good view-point.
+
+Colonel Bury arrived at Kyetr[=a]k shortly after we got back to camp. On
+the 28th he and Heron started off early for a flying visit to the
+Kyetr[=a]k Glacier and Nangba La; I started later, after getting kit
+together, for a camp half-way up the glacier, and about 6 miles from
+Kyetr[=a]k. About 2 p.m. I found a comparatively dry spot on shale at
+18,000 feet, and pitched my tents there, the last of the coolies
+arriving only at 6 p.m. The place was bleak enough, but was as far as I
+could get that day, and seemed suitable for two climbs--one on either
+side of the glacier.
+
+My equipment consisted of the camera, theodolite, and a small
+plane-table--to help in identifying triangulated points--by way of
+instruments, which were carried by three coolies who remained with me.
+Ten other coolies slept at the base camp at Kyetr[=a]k, and carried
+stores up to me or moved the camp, as required; the camp consisted of a
+Whymper tent for the three coolies and a Meade for myself; bedding,
+food, a Primus stove and tin of kerosene for my own cooking, and yak
+dung fuel for the coolies. My servant remained at the base camp and sent
+up cooked meat and vegetables; otherwise I cooked for myself.
+
+June 29 and 30 were useless days; but on July 1 the weather cleared a
+bit, and after crossing the glacier, I went up a sharp rock shoulder of
+Cho Rapzang. The peak was mainly loose granite blocks at a steep angle,
+so that progress was slow: it was noon when I reached the top (about
+19,500 feet), and as I did so the clouds settled down, and it began to
+snow. However, at 4 p.m. it cleared sufficiently for some work to be
+done; after that we came down as quickly as possible in another
+blinding snowstorm, and reached camp just after dark; I for one very
+tired. I found the coolies exceedingly slow in coming down the loose
+blocks, I think because their balance was bad--they had to use their
+hands far more than I did.
+
+I had a good view of the glacier from here: the East side is very steep
+and broken, with several tributary glaciers flowing down from Cho Oyu
+and Pk. 25,909, and from a 23,000-foot Peak (not triangulated) to the
+North of the latter. The West side, except for Cho Rapzang, round which
+the glacier flows, is a snowfield falling more or less gently from a low
+ridge running from the pass to the West of Cho Rapzang. The glacier
+itself is like many others in this region, moraine covered for 3 or 4
+miles above its snout, "pinnacled" for another mile, and finally
+practically flat. But this flat portion gives by no means good going;
+when frozen it is very irregular and trying to walk over; and when
+thawed, is slushy and water soaked. There are two large water channels
+in the ice which are unpleasant to cross; these are from 10 to 15 feet
+wide and 20 feet deep, and carry a large volume of water in the
+afternoon. Crossing without a rope is distinctly dangerous, for although
+one can find places easy enough to jump, a slip would be certain death,
+for once in the channel it would be quite impossible to get out, or even
+to stop oneself on its smooth ice floor and sides.
+
+Cloudy weather then set in; but on the 3rd I got a few photographs from
+a shoulder near by, and moved camp 2 or 3 miles farther up the glacier
+(at about 18,500 feet). I was in this camp for nine days and only
+succeeded in taking two low stations, one on either side of the glacier
+and each about 11/2 miles from the pass (Nangba La) to Nep[=a]l; but the
+valley on the South side, leading down to Khungphu, turns sharply to the
+East just below the pass, and little could be seen of the Nepalese side.
+Each of these stations I went up twice--to wait all day long the first
+time, in each case, for weather which never came. To reach the station
+on the East side of the glacier I had the only comparatively difficult
+rock climbing which I met with during the course of the Expedition; and
+on the way down watched my theodolite coolie, whom I had left behind
+exhausted in the morning, tumble off a steep rock arete, theodolite and
+all; fortunately he jammed in a crack a few feet below, and was unhurt.
+During the day he had started up after us on his own, and had lost his
+way in the clouds.
+
+On July 12--another wet day--I moved camp some distance down the main
+glacier and up a tributary flowing from Pk. 25,909 and Cho Oyu, and next
+day ascended a shoulder whence a good view into the cirque below these
+two peaks was obtained--or should have been obtained! But again I sat
+till dusk and saw little or nothing. Early the following day, however,
+it was fairly clear, so I got my photographs and then moved camp back to
+the base at Kyetr[=a]k.
+
+The next three days were spent in moving my base camp to the bridge
+across the R[=a] Chu, 6 miles below Kyetr[=a]k; taking a light camp up
+to about 18,000 feet on the prominent hill immediately East of the
+bridge, climbing the latter, sitting through the usual storms without
+doing any work, and returning to the bridge. Time was getting on, and
+the weather was still bad, so I then decided to leave my camp at the
+bridge and move into Headquarters myself to get developing, etc., up to
+date, and have a short rest. I walked into Tingri, with two coolies, on
+July 18, and found Colonel Bury there alone: and the Headquarters house
+felt very comfortable indeed after a Meade tent, in spite of nightly
+pilgrimages from one dry spot to another, as the roof leaked!
+
+Five busy days were spent at Tingri developing and printing; and as the
+weather showed little sign of improvement, I decided to go on with
+Headquarters to Choebuk, in the Rongbuk Valley and work on that side, so
+as to make sure of completing the most important part, in the vicinity
+of Everest, and return to the Kyetr[=a]k Valley if there should be time.
+So on the 24th Colonel Bury and I left Tingri and reached Choebuk on the
+25th, where we met Mallory and Bullock, just in from their
+reconnaissance of the North and North-west sides of Everest. A talk with
+them gave me some idea of the country, and the view from an 18,000-foot
+hill above Choebuk enabled me to make a plan of campaign: far more
+extensive, as always, than the weather eventually allowed.
+
+Colonel Bury, Mallory and Bullock had gone on to Kh[=a]rta on July 26;
+on the 27th I moved up the right bank of the Rongbuk Valley some 10
+miles, to the monastery, above which I took a 20,000-foot station the
+next day. The weather was dreadful, but at 6 p.m. I got a round of
+photographs, which really turned out very well considering the time of
+day at which they were taken: it took me four and a half hours to get up
+this peak--fresh snow and scree--and although I had no glissades, only
+half an hour to come down.
+
+On the 27th I moved camp to a grassy hollow near the snout of the
+glacier--Mallory and Bullock's base--and next day occupied another hill
+overlooking the main glacier and valley, and looking up the side valley
+on the East, which joins the Dz[=a]kar Chu just below the glacier snout.
+The next three days were spent in establishing a light camp on the left
+bank of the East branch of the Rongbuk Glacier, about 3 miles from its
+snout, and taking a station on its left bank to overlook both the East
+and main glaciers.
+
+The Rongbuk Glacier is made up of two large branches, one flowing from
+the snow basin immediately below the great North wall of Everest, and
+the other, the "West Rongbuk" which joins the main stream about 4 miles
+above the snout of the glacier, flowing East in the basin between the
+high North-west ridge of Everest and the South-east slopes of Pk. 25,990
+(Gy[=a]chung Kang). At one time there was a third branch, the "East
+Rongbuk," which must have also joined the main stream, but this has
+receded until its snout is now a mile or more East of the main glacier,
+and only its torrent pours into a large cave in the latter. The East
+Rongbuk itself consists of two branches: one, the more southerly, flows
+from the great snow basin (which we eventually crossed to reach the
+North Col) between Everest, its North Peak and Col, and Pk. 23,800
+(Kh[=a]rtaphu); and the other, which joins the South branch about 2
+miles from its snout, from between Pks. 23,800 and 23,420. The former
+gives a 20,000-foot pass, very steep on the South side, to the K[=a]ma
+Valley; and the latter, an easy pass of about the same height to the
+head of one branch of the Kh[=a]rta Valley.
+
+I camped, at about 19,500 feet, on the moraine-covered glacier opposite
+the junction of the northerly branch from Pks. 23,800 and 23,420. On the
+way up I followed the watercourse between the ice of the Main Rongbuk
+Glacier and the scree and conglomerate slopes to the East of it, as far
+as the mouth of the East Rongbuk stream (3 miles), which gave good
+though boulder-strewn going. Thence a short scramble up "cut-bank" on
+the right bank of the East Rongbuk stream to the shelf of an old lateral
+moraine of that glacier, and along the latter--excellent going--to near
+its snout. The stream is pretty big in the evening; but quite easy to
+cross--except for iced rocks--in the early morning: and from there I
+followed up a series of lateral moraines on the left bank, to my camp.
+It was not till I was coming down that I discovered that the
+moraine-covered glacier itself--here covered with shale instead of
+boulders and scree as in the case of the main glacier--gave comfortable
+walking.
+
+A little distance below my camp site, the moraine-covered snout gives
+place to pinnacled ice, divided into three sections by two broad, shaly
+medial moraines. Either of the latter would be very suitable for a camp,
+and would give an excellent route to our 21,500-foot camp below the
+Chang La. The latter might, I think, be reached by this route in three
+days from the base camp at the snout of the main glacier, camping the
+first night at 19,000 feet at the start of the medial moraine, the
+second at 20,000 feet on the medial moraine some 2 miles above the
+junction of the Northern and Southern branches of the East Rongbuk, and
+the third night on snow at 21,500 feet below the North Col. The better
+moraine to ascend would require reconnaissance; for the pinnacles
+between them are difficult and slow to cross. The valley sides are steep
+in the lower reaches of the glacier, but more shaly and gentle on both
+branches, above their junction.
+
+August 3 broke clear; and I started up a likely looking peak behind
+(South of) camp, which appeared to be on the ridge between the East and
+main glaciers. I afterwards found that this was not the case; at the
+time I had to stop on a lower point as the clouds settled down. From
+here I had a glimpse of a big peak--Mak[=a]lu, I thought--over the pass
+at the head of the southerly branch of the glacier: and this gave me the
+idea that there must be a comparatively low pass from here to the
+K[=a]ma Valley. But clouds prevented me seeing more and studying the
+topography more carefully. There were heavy snowstorms on August 4 and
+5, but the 6th looked better, and after four hours' most strenuous
+step-cutting up and slithering down pinnacles, I crossed the glacier and
+ascended a 21,000-foot station on the other side, from which I obtained
+good, if cloudy, views of the East Rongbuk Glacier. Snow in the night
+and a dull morning made me decide to abandon this area--I could get my
+camp no farther up owing to having insufficient warm clothes to camp all
+my coolies at this height--and I returned to the base camp, preparatory
+to tackling the West side of the Rongbuk Valley. Six hours' easy going
+took me to my base camp.
+
+After two days' rest and office work, I crossed the glacier and put a
+light camp at about 19,000 feet in a small hanging valley below the
+"Finger," a black rock gendarme which is a very prominent landmark on
+the left bank of the Rongbuk Valley. On August 11 it snowed heavily, and
+I found my bed, in which I spent the day, very hard indeed--the camp
+being pitched on large boulders on top of the moraine. On the 12th,
+13th, and 14th, I started for the "Finger," the first time by the ridge
+immediately above camp, which gave some nice climbing with the rocks
+partly snow covered as they were, and the other two days, by a much
+quicker but less interesting route up soft snow and scree. Each day the
+clouds came down, and although I waited till nearly dark at about 20,500
+feet on the ridge, it was not till the third day that I got a round of
+indifferent photographs.
+
+Time was getting on, so on the 15th I called my "Finger" station "good
+enough" and moved camp up the left bank of the main glacier to a point
+on the old lateral moraine, opposite the entrance of the stream from the
+East Rongbuk; and the next day round the corner to the West, some
+distance up the West Rongbuk Glacier, and about 1,000 feet above it. _En
+route_, I tried to get some photographs from the high moraine at the
+junction of the West with the main glacier; but again the weather
+defeated me, and I got into camp--another uncomfortable one--soaked to
+the skin.
+
+I was in this camp for five days; most of them spent huddled under rocks
+waiting for the clouds to lift. I had one beautiful day, my only one in
+six weeks, and got some very nice photographs of Mount Everest and its
+West ridge. It is surprising how a little good weather and the feeling
+of having really done some work affects one's spirits!
+
+On August 21 I moved back to my base camp at the glacier snout, again
+trying for a station at the corner--and failing. I had not done nearly
+as much as I wanted to do; but there seemed to be no end to the bad
+weather, and only a month or a bit more remained in which to map the
+whole of the East side of the mountain: and I had heard from Colonel
+Bury that there would be a considerable amount of work on that side.
+Originally, I had hoped not only to return to the bridge over the R[=a]
+Chu to complete the work in the Kyetr[=a]k Valley, but also to take
+several stations in the valleys running North from the 23,000-foot group
+North of Everest. But again apart from shortage of time, the weather
+made it out of the question, and I went through to Kh[=a]rta, via the
+Doya La, arriving there on August 27.
+
+The change in scenery immediately one crosses the Doya La is most
+marked, both as regards rock and vegetation. The former--mostly
+gneiss--is far more rugged and interesting, and there is infinitely more
+of the latter. The Headquarters camp at Kh[=a]rta, in a little poplar
+grove, was pleasant indeed after the bleak, uninteresting Rongbuk
+Valley; and I thoroughly enjoyed my five days there, developing and
+printing; busy days, but very different from lying on one's back on the
+sharp boulders of the Rongbuk moraines. Mallory, Bullock and Morshead
+were in Kh[=a]rta when I arrived; Colonel Bury and Wollaston returned
+from their excursion to the Popti La soon after, and Raeburn arrived on
+September 1. It was a great treat to me to be able to "swap lies" with
+so many people, after two months almost wholly alone!
+
+On September 3 Morshead and I started up the Kh[=a]rta Chu in the wake
+of Mallory and Bullock, who had gone up to get the "bundobust" for the
+final fling going. As usual, bad weather dogged my footsteps, and
+although the weather while I was in Kh[=a]rta had been glorious,
+Morshead and I spent seven days in taking two very indifferent stations
+in the lower part of the Kh[=a]rta Valley, before joining the remainder
+of the expedition at the "Advanced Base" on September 11. A further
+eight days were spent there, waiting for the weather; but in that time I
+was able to get two very useful stations, one on either side of the
+valley.
+
+On September 19 I moved up to "No. 1 Camp" with Mallory, Bullock and
+Morshead; and shared the fortunes of the rest of the Expedition as far
+as Kampa Dzong on the way back to Darjeeling, where Raeburn, Heron and I
+left Headquarters to return to Darjeeling via L[=a]chen and the Teesta
+Valley. I was delighted to get into the "final push," and enjoyed the
+few days' change from surveying to climbing, enormously; except that I
+felt the cold very much in my feet, and had it not been for Mallory's
+good offices--he rubbed my feet for a solid hour after we came down from
+Chang La--I feel sure that the result might have been much more serious
+than the slight discomfort I afterwards experienced.
+
+I took three stations in the neighbourhood of No. 1 Camp--one on either
+side of the Kh[=a]rta Glacier, and one at 22,300 feet on the "Lhakpa
+La." This was on snow, with my instrument resting on, and steadied by,
+bags of "tsampa"; which proved to be a most excellent substitute for
+rock!
+
+On September 26 I crossed with Colonel Bury and Wollaston to the K[=a]ma
+Valley; unfortunately, we only had two clear days there, and I had to
+leave it without covering as much ground as I should have liked,
+though--as usual--I spent my days in snowstorms, hoping for breaks in
+the clouds.
+
+The return to Darjeeling via the Serpo La, L[=a]chen, and the Teesta
+Valley, made a pleasant change from the Ph[=a]ri route; but again bad
+weather spoiled our views, and we saw nothing at all of Kanchenjunga
+and its neighbours. Raeburn went in by the usual road via Gangtok; Heron
+and I followed the river--an excellent route in spite of the prevalence
+of leeches--and reached Pashok on October 19. Heron went on to
+Darjeeling, a further 18 miles, the same day. I followed on the 20th.
+
+I enjoyed the Expedition and my work with it, thoroughly; but in my
+opinion, Tibet, at any rate that portion of it in which we were, is a
+place to have _been_, rather than one to go to!
+
+
+
+
+                               APPENDIX III
+
+            A NOTE ON THE GEOLOGICAL RESULTS OF THE EXPEDITION
+
+         BY A. M. HERON, D.Sc., F.G.S., Geological Survey of India.
+
+
+The area geologically examined is somewhat over 8,000 square miles,
+comprising the Tibetan portion of the Arun drainage area, with, in the
+West, the headwaters of the Bhotia Kosi and its tributaries.
+
+The circumstances of the Expedition were not favourable for work in any
+detail, but an endeavour was made to traverse and map as large an area
+as possible on a scale of 1/4-inch to the mile, on skeleton maps very
+kindly furnished by Major Morshead and his surveyors as their
+plane-tabling proceeded; my work must therefore be considered as a
+geological reconnaissance pure and simple.
+
+If I am accorded the privilege of accompanying the second Expedition, by
+which time Major Wheeler's map on a scale of 1-inch to the mile will be
+available, I hope to be able to make a detailed survey of the vicinity
+of Mount Everest and investigate the complicated inter-relationships of
+the metamorphosed sedimentaries and the associated gneisses and
+granites.
+
+My survey continues to the Westward Sir Henry Hayden's work during the
+Tibet Expedition in 1903-4.
+
+Geologically this area is divided into two broad divisions: (_a_)
+Tibetan and sedimentary, (_b_) Himalayan and crystalline, a distinction
+which is clearly displayed in the topography resulting from the
+underlying geological structure, for to the North we have the somewhat
+tame and lumpy mountains of Tibet contrasting with the higher, steeper
+and more rugged Himalayas on the South.
+
+The Tibetan zone consists of an intensely folded succession of shales
+and limestones, with subordinate sandstone quartzites, the folds
+striking East-West and mainly lying over towards the South, showing that
+the movements which produced them came from the North.
+
+The uppermost rocks consist of the Kampa system of Hayden, a great
+thickness of limestones, which, where the rocks have escaped
+alteration, yield an assemblage of fossils which determine their age as
+Cretaceous and Eocene.
+
+Below these is a monotonous succession of shales, practically
+unfossiliferous, with occasional quartzites and limestones representing
+the Upper and Middle Jurassic with at the base beds probably belonging
+to the Lias.
+
+These Jurassic shales are by far the most conspicuous formation in this
+part of Tibet, being repeated many times in complicated folds.
+
+The Cretaceous-Eocene limestones form comparatively narrow bands,
+occurring as compressed synclines caught up in the folded complex of
+Jurassic shales.
+
+Along the Southern border of the Tibetan zone, below the base of the
+Jurassic shales, is a great thickness (2,000 feet-3,000 feet) of thinly
+bedded limestones in which the fossils have been destroyed and the rocks
+themselves converted over considerable areas into crystalline limestones
+and calc-gneisses containing tremolite, epidote, tourmaline, etc., but
+still retaining their original bedded structure in the banding of the
+altered rock.
+
+The absence of determinable fossils makes it impossible to determine the
+age of these with certainty, but from their lithological character and
+position in the sequence, it is possible that they correspond with the
+Tso Lhamo limestone in Sikkim (Lias) and the Kioto limestone of the
+Zangskar range (Lower Jurassic and Upper Trias).
+
+The Himalayan and crystalline zone is essentially composed of foliated
+and banded biotite-gneiss, usually garnetiferous, on which lie, at
+comparatively low angles and with a general Northerly dip, the
+above-mentioned calc-gneisses.
+
+These occur most abundantly to the North and West of Everest, in the
+Keprak, Rongbu, Hlalung and Rebu Valleys. The group of high peaks to the
+North-west of Everest (overlooking the Khombu Pass) is made up of these
+and intrusive schorl granite, and it would seem that the precipitous
+North-western face and spurs of Everest are the same.
+
+The Eastern and North-eastern valleys, Chongphu, Kharta and Kama, which
+are in general at a lower level than the North-western valleys, are
+excavated in the biotite-gneiss. On the North-eastern face of Everest
+fresh snow was too abundant at the time of my visit to make out what the
+rocks were.
+
+Associated with the limestones and calc-gneisses are quartzites and
+tourmaline-biotite schists which probably represent the lowest portions
+of the shales immediately overlying the limestones.
+
+It is probable that the biotite-gneiss is an igneous rock intrusive in
+the calc-gneisses and schists, but this and many other puzzling features
+of the crystallines require more detailed study than I was able to give
+this year.
+
+Both biotite-gneiss and metamorphosed sedimentaries are crowded with
+dykes and sills, of all dimensions, of schorl granite or pegmatite to
+such an extent that this granite is frequently the predominant rock. It
+is highly resistant to weathering and it is doubtless due to its
+presence in large amount that such comparatively soft rocks as the
+calc-gneisses take part in forming some of the highest summits.
+
+In the same way the scattered peaks of over 20,000 feet on the watershed
+between the Arun and the Tsangpo owe their prominence to their being
+groups of veins of a very similar granite, differing in that it contains
+biotite in place of schorl. Around these separate centres of intrusion
+are areoles of metamorphism in which the Jurassic shales have been
+converted into slates and phyllites.
+
+Economically the area traversed by the Expedition is devoid of interest.
+Barring a little copper staining on a few boulders on moraines no traces
+of ore were seen.
+
+
+
+
+                                APPENDIX IV
+
+                         THE SCIENTIFIC EQUIPMENT
+
+   BY A. R. HINKS, F.R.S., Secretary of the Royal Geographical Society.
+
+
+The most important scientific work of the first year's expedition should
+have been the study of the physiological effects of high altitude that
+Dr. Kellas had undertaken, with the support of Professor Haldane,
+F.R.S., and of the Oxygen Research Committee of the Department of
+Scientific and Industrial Research. In his work on Kamet in 1920,
+Dr. Kellas had tried, and provisionally decided against, the use of
+oxygen compressed in cylinders: but he laboured under the grave
+disadvantage that the light cylinders he hoped to obtain had been, after
+his departure for India, pronounced unsafe; and the cylinders sent out
+were clearly too heavy for effective use in climbing. Dr. Kellas had
+therefore fallen back on the use of oxygen prepared from the reaction
+between water and oxylith in an apparatus which included a kind of gas
+mask. He was prepared also to make several difficult researches into the
+physiological processes of adaptation to low oxygen pressure; and some
+delicate apparatus was prepared and sent out to him by the Oxygen
+Research Committee. Unhappily these interesting and important enquiries
+came to nought, for there was no one competent to carry them on after
+his lamented death at Kampa Dzong; and the Expedition of 1922 was
+thereby deprived of much information that should have been at its
+disposal in studying the use of oxygen for the grand assault.
+
+The scientific equipment for which the Mount Everest Committee were
+directly responsible was not ambitious: the Survey of India were
+responsible for the whole of the survey and brought their own equipment,
+which is described elsewhere in this book. It was necessary to provide
+the climbing party only with aneroids, compasses, reserve field-glasses,
+thermometers and cameras, with subsidiary apparatus for checking the
+aneroids at the base camps, and heavier cameras for work at lower
+levels.
+
+The aneroids by Cary, Porter & Co. and by Short & Mason were
+constructed in pairs, to operate from 15,000 to 23,000, and 22,000 to
+30,000 feet respectively. They seem to have performed well on the whole,
+and tests made at the National Physical Laboratory since their return
+show that they have changed very little; but it cannot be said that
+their performances were very effectively controlled in the field, for
+until late in the season there were no trigonometrical heights
+available, and the climbers had little opportunity in their rather
+isolated circumstances of employing their aneroids to the best
+advantage, for purely differential work. Nor is there much to be said as
+yet on the value of the shortened form of George mercurial barometer, to
+come into action only at 15,000 feet (Cary, Porter & Co.). These
+instruments will find effective use only in the second season, when the
+reference points of the trigonometrical survey will be available as
+fundamental data.
+
+The climbers carried "Magnapole" compasses with luminous points, and
+sometimes a Mark VIII prismatic; these all worked well. The simpler
+compass is the more convenient for use on snow when goggles must be
+worn. A luminous liquid compass (Short & Mason) was found very useful on
+long reconnaissance rides.
+
+For the record of temperatures in camps Messrs. Negretti & Zambra had
+made three small pairs of maximum and minimum thermometers in leather
+travelling cases. These suffered some casualties, by theft, or being
+accidentally left out in the sun; and the pattern has been repeated for
+the second year's work.
+
+The heavier photographic equipment included an old and well-seasoned
+71/2 x 5 Hare Camera, lent to the Expedition, but newly fitted by Messrs.
+Dallmeyer with a Stigmatic lens of 9 inches focal length, a negative
+telephoto lens of 4 inches focal length giving enlargement up to 6
+times, and a set of Wratten filters. With this camera Mr. Wollaston
+secured some of the finest pictures taken on the Expedition.
+
+There were also two quarter-plate cameras for glass plates: a Sinclair
+Una camera fitted by Messrs. Dallmeyer with a Stigmatic lens of 5.3
+inches focal length, and Adon telephoto lens; and a second Sinclair
+camera lent by Captain Noel.
+
+One or the other of these two was used by Mr. Mallory at many of the
+high camps, and both the Hare 71/2 x 5 and the Sinclair quarter-plate went
+to the 22,500-foot camp at the Lhakpa La: doubtless the greatest height
+yet attained by so large a camera as the former. The principal
+difficulty with these cameras was unsteadiness in a heavy wind when the
+telephoto lens was in use: and the tripods have been strengthened and
+the lens supports stiffened before they go out again.
+
+The plates were of two kinds: Imperial Special Rapid and Fine Grain
+slow. The latter were generally preferred, and could hardly have been
+better. The Imperial Dry Plate Company, who generously made and
+presented these plates to the Expedition, deserve special thanks for
+their skill and for their generosity.
+
+The cameras which used films were a Panoram Kodak of 5 inches focal
+length, with films 12 x 4 inches; a No. 1 Autograph Kodak, and two Vest
+Pocket Kodaks, all three fitted with Cooke lenses by Messrs. Taylor,
+Taylor & Hobson. The Panoram Kodak was used very successfully by Colonel
+Howard-Bury, and the splendid series of panoramas is the most useful, if
+not quite the most beautiful, set of photographs brought home. The
+smaller cameras were used by the climbing party with many good results.
+
+Finally it must be said that a large part of the best photographs were
+taken by Colonel Howard-Bury with his own 7 x 5 Kodak, and the results
+very generously placed at the disposal of the Committee.
+
+All the instruments were examined and tested at the National Physical
+Laboratory, and the thanks of the Committee are due to the Director and
+his staff, who gave most valuable advice and assistance.
+
+
+
+
+                                APPENDIX V
+
+           MAMMALS, BIRDS AND PLANTS COLLECTED BY THE EXPEDITION
+
+                           BY A. F. R. WOLLASTON
+
+
+                       A.--LIST OF MAMMALS COLLECTED
+
+  Stoat. _Mustela temon_
+  Stoat. _Mustela longstaffi_
+  Marmot. _Marmota himalayana_
+  Hamster. _Cricetulus alticola tibetanus_, subsp. n.
+  Vole. _Phaiomys leucurus_
+  Vole. _Phaiomys everesti_
+  Vole. _Microtus_ (_Alticola_), sp.
+  Pika. _Ochotona roylei nepalensis_
+  Pika. _Ochotona wollastoni_, sp. n.
+  Pika. _Ochotona curzoniae_
+
+
+                        B.--LIST OF BIRDS COLLECTED
+
+  Central Asian blackbird. _Turdus maxima_
+  Solitary thrush. _Monticola solitarius_
+  White-breasted Asiatic dipper. _Cinclus cashmirensis_
+  Indian stone-chat. _Saxicola torquata indica_
+  Gould's desert chat. _Saxicola montana_
+  Bush chat. _Pratincola prjevalskii_
+  Indian redstart. _Ruticilla rufiventris_
+  Guldenstadt's Afghan redstart. _Ruticilla grandis_
+  White-capped redstart. _Chimarrhornis leucocephalus_
+  Hodgson's grandala. _Grandala c[oe]licolor_
+  Tickell's willow-warbler. _Phylloscopus affinis_
+  Mandelli's willow-warbler. _Phylloscopus mandellii_
+  Smoky willow-warbler. _Phylloscopus fulviventris_
+  Spotted bush-warbler. _Lusciniola thoracica_
+  Prince Henry's laughing thrush. _Trochalopterum henrici_
+  Eastern alpine accentor. _Accentor rufiliatus_
+  Red-breasted accentor. _Accentor rubeculoides_
+  Rufous-breasted accentor. _Accentor strophiatus_
+  Brown accentor. _Accentor fulvescens_
+  Sikkim black tit. _Parus beavani_
+  Wren. _Troglodytes_, sp.
+  Hodgson's pied wagtail. _Motacilla hodgsoni_
+  White-faced wagtail. _Motacilla leucopsis_
+  Yellow-headed wagtail. _Motacilla citreola._
+  Blyth's pipit. _Anthus citreola_
+  Indian tree-pipit. _Anthus maculatus_
+  Hodgson's pipit. _Anthus rosaceus_
+  Grey-backed shrike. _Lanius tephronotus_
+  Slaty-blue flycatcher. _Cyornis leucomelanurus_
+  Himalayan greenfinch. _Hypacanthis spinoides_
+  Tree-sparrow. _Passer montanus_
+  Cinnamon tree-sparrow. _Passer cinnamomeus_
+  Blanford's snow-finch. _Montifringilla blanfordi_
+  Adams' snow-finch. _Montifringilla adamsi._
+  Hodgson's ground-finch. _Fringilauda nemoricola_
+  Brandt's ground-linnet. _Leucosticte brandti._
+  Walton's twite. _Linota rufostrigata_
+  Red-breasted rose-finch. _Pyrrhospiza punicea_
+  Scarlet rose-finch. _Carpodacus erythrinus_
+  Hodgson's rose-finch. _Carpodacus pulcherrimus_
+  Severtzoff's rose-finch. _Carpodacus severtzoi_
+  Prejewalk's rose-finch. _Carpodacus rubicilloides_
+  Red-headed bullfinch. _Pyrrhula erythrocephala_
+  Godlevski's meadow bunting. _Emberiza godlevskii_
+  Elwes' shore-lark. _Otocorys elwesi_
+  Long-billed calandra lark. _Melanocorpha maxima_
+  Tibetan skylark. _Alauda inopinata_
+  Short-toed lark. _Calandrella brachydactyla_
+  Brook's short-toed lark. _Calandrella acutirostris tibetana_
+  Chough. _Pyrrhocorax graculus_
+  Brown ground-chough. _Podoces humilis_
+  Common hoopoe. _Upupa epops_
+  Pied crested cuckoo. _Coccystes jacobinus_
+  Eastern little owl. _Athene bactriana_
+  White-backed dove. _Columba leuconota_
+  Snow partridge. _Lerwa lerwa_
+  Temminck's stint. _Tringa temmincki_
+  Redshank. _Totanus calidris_
+  Dusky redshank. _Totanus fuscus_
+  Greater sand plover. _Aegialitis mongola_
+  Common tern. _Sterna fluviatilis_
+
+In addition to the above the following birds were identified, but
+specimens of them were not obtained:--
+
+  Wall-creeper
+  House martin
+  Sand martin
+  Rock martin
+  Alpine chough
+  Magpie
+  Black crow
+  Raven
+  Swift
+  Siberian swift
+  Cuckoo
+  Himalayan vulture
+  Laemmergeier
+  Sea eagle
+  Pallas' sea eagle
+  Black-eared kite
+  Barheaded goose
+  Ruddy sheldrake
+  Garganey
+  Wigeon
+  Pochard
+  Gadwall
+  Hill rock-dove
+  Chinese turtle dove
+  Tibetan partridge
+  Tibetan snow partridge
+  Blood pheasant
+  Black-necked crane
+  White stork
+  Ibis-bill
+  Painted snipe
+  Pin-tailed snipe
+  Brown-headed gull
+
+
+C.--LIST OF PLANTS COLLECTED BETWEEN JUNE AND SEPTEMBER, 1921,
+12,000-20,400 FT.
+
+  Clematis orientalis, L.
+  Ranunculus pulchellus, C. A. Mey., var. sericeus, Hk. f. & T.
+  Ranunculus pulchellus, C. A. Mey.
+  Anemone obtusiloba, Don
+  Anemone polyanthes, Don
+  Anemone rivularis, Ham.
+  Geranium Grevilleanum, Wall.
+  Caltha scaposa, Hk. f. & T.
+  Delphinium Brunonianum, Royle
+  Aconitum gymnandrum, Max.
+  Aconitum orochryseum, Stapf, sp. nov.
+  Delphinium Pylzowii, Maxim.
+  Halenia elliptica, Don
+  Delphinium grandiflorum, L.
+  Hypecoum leptocarpum, Hk. f. & T.
+  Meconopsis horridula, Hk. f. & T.
+  Meconopsis grandis, Prain?
+  Meconopsis, sp.
+  Corydalis, sp.
+  Corydalis juncea, Wall.
+  Corydalis Moorcroftiana, Wall.
+  Arabis tibetica, Hk. f. & T.
+  Lepidium ruderale, L.
+  Arenaria ciliolata, Edgew.
+  Dilophia salsa, Hk. f. & T.
+  Cardamine macrophylla, Willd.
+  Arenaria Stracheyi, Edgew.
+  Silene Waltoni, F. N. Williams
+  Silene Moorcroftiana, Wall.
+  Arenaria musciformis, Wall.
+  Arenaria melandrioides, Edgew.
+  Polygonum islandicum, Hk. f.
+  Geranium collinum, A. DC.
+  Impatiens sulcatus, Wall.
+  Thermopsis barbata, Royle
+  Thermopsis lanceolata, R. Br.
+  Sophora Moorcroftiana, Benth.
+  Stracheya tibetica, Benth.
+  Astragalus strictus, Grah.
+  Oxytropis microphylla, DC
+  Gueldenstaedtia uniflora, Benth.
+  Desmodium nutans, Wall.
+  Potentilla coriandrifolia, Hk. f.
+  Potentilla multifida, L.
+  Potentilla sericea, L.
+  Potentilla microphylla, Don
+  Potentilla peduncularis, Don
+  Potentilla Griffithii, Hk. f.
+  Spiraea arcuata, Hk. f.
+  Saxifraga Lychnitis, Hk. f. & T.
+  Saxifraga nutans, Hk. f. & T.
+  Saxifraga aristulata, Hk. f.
+  Saxifraga near S. saginoides, Hk. f. & T.
+  Saxifraga flagellaris, Willd.
+  Saxifraga Hirculus, L.
+  Saxifraga Lychnitis, Hk. f. & T.
+  Saxifraga fimbriata, Wall.
+  Saxifraga pilifera, Hk. f. & T.
+  Saxifraga Caveana, W. W. Sm.
+  Saxifraga microphylla, Royle
+  Saxifraga pallida, Wall.
+  Saxifraga umbellulata, Hk. f. &  T.
+  Parnassia ovata, Ledeb.
+  Parnassia pusilla, Wall.
+  Eutrema Prewalskii, Hk. f. & T.
+  Sedum fastigiatum, Hk. f. & T.
+  Sedum trifidum, Wall.
+  Sedum crenulatum, Hk. f. & T.
+  Sedum himalense, Don
+  Epilobium palustre, L.
+  Epilobium reticulatum, C. B. Cl.
+  Pleurospermum Hookeri, C. B. Cl.
+  Scabiosa Hookeri, C. B. Cl.
+  Valeriana Hardwickii, Wall.
+  Aster, sp.
+  Aster heterochaetus, C. B. Cl.
+  Allardia glabra, Dene.
+  Aster tibeticus, Hk. f.
+  Cremanthodium Decaisnei, C. B. Cl.
+  Aster diplostephioides, C. B. Cl.
+  Erigeron, sp.
+  Leontopodium fimbrilligerum, J. R. Drum.?
+  Leontopodium monocephalum, Edgew.
+  Leontopodium Stracheyi, C. B. Cl.
+  Anaphalis xylorhiza, Sch. Bip.
+  Anaphalis cuneifolia, Hook. f.
+  Tanacetum tibeticum, Hk. f. & T.
+  Senecio arnicoides, Wall. var. frigida, Hk. f.
+  Cremanthodium pinnatifidum, Benth.
+  Chrysanthemum Atkinsoni, C. B. Cl.?
+  Artemisia Moorcroftiana, Wall.
+  Sonchus sp.
+  Senecio glomerata, Decne.
+  Senecio (Sec. Ligularia) sp.
+  Senecio chrysanthemoides, DC.
+  Tanacetum khartense, Dunn, sp. nov.
+  Aster sp.
+  Lactuca macrantha, C. B. Cl.
+  Senecio sorocephala, Hemsl.
+  Saussurea gossypina, Wall.
+  Saussurea tridactyla, Sch. Bip.
+  Tanacetum gossypinum, Hk. f. & T.
+  Saussurea wernerioides, Sch. Bip.
+  Crepis glomerata, Hk. f.?
+  Saussurea graminifolia, Wall.
+  Senecio arnicoides, Wall.
+  Saussurea uniflora, Wall.
+  Morina polyphylla, Wall.
+  Saussurea glandulifera, Sch. Bip.
+  Lactuca Dubyaea, C. B. Cl.
+  Lactuca Lessertiana, C. B. Cl.
+  Cassiope fastigiata, D. Don
+  Daphne retusa, Hemsl.
+  Rhododendron lepidotum, Wall.
+  Rhododendron setosum, Don
+  Rhododendron near R. lepidotum, Wall.
+  Rhododendron campylocarpum, Hk. f.
+  Rhododendron cinnabarinum, Hk. f.
+  Rhododendron lanatum, Hk. f.
+  Rhododendron arboreum, Sm.
+  Rhododendron Thomsoni, Hk. f.
+  Cyananthus incanus, Hk. f. & T.
+  Glossocomia tenera, DC.
+  Cyananthus pedunculatus, C. B. Cl.
+  Campanula modesta, Hk. f. & T.
+  Campanula colorata, Wall.
+  Campanula aristata, Wall.
+  Androsace chamaejasme, Hort., var. coronata, Wall.
+  Androsace villosa, L. var.?
+  Androsace strigillosa, Franch.
+  Primula minutissima, Jacq.
+  Primula Buryana, Balf. f. sp. nov.
+  Primula Wollastonii, Balf. f. sp. nov.
+  Primula pusilla, Wall.
+  Primula sikkimensis, Hook, microform
+  Primula capitata, Hook.
+  Primula capitata, microform.
+  Primula uniflora, Klatt
+  Primula Dickieana, Watt.
+  Primula obliqua, W. W. Sm.
+  Primula indobella. Balf. f.
+  Primula minutissima, Jacq.
+  Primula glabra, Klatt
+  Primula Younghusbandii, sp. nov.
+  Primula tibetica, Watt.
+  Primula denticulata, Sm.
+  Primula sikkimensis, Hook.
+  Primula nivalis, Pallas, var. macrocarpa, Pax.
+  Gentiana am[oe]na, C. B. Cl.
+  Gentiana ornata, Wall.
+  Gentiana sp. Probably new but the material is too imperfect to decide
+      this.
+  Gentiana Elwesii, C. B. Cl.
+  Gentiana robusta, King
+  Gentiana micantiformis, Burkill
+  Gentiana nubigena, Edgew.
+  Gentiana tubiflora, Wall., var. longiflora, Turrill, var. nov.
+  Gentiana stellata, Turrill, sp. nov.
+  Gentiana tenella, Fries
+  Swertia cuneata, Wall.
+  Arenaria Stracheyi, Edgew.
+  Swertia Kingii, Hk. f.
+  Swertia Younghusbandii, Burkill
+  Swertia multicaulis, D. Don
+  Nardostachys grandiflora, DC.
+  Trigonotis rotundifolia, Benth.
+  Eritrichium densiflorum, Duthie
+  Microula sikkimensis, Hemsl.
+  Onosma Waddellii, Duthie
+  Onosma Hookeri, C. B. Cl.
+  Verbascum Thapsus, L.
+  Lancea tibetica, Hk. f. & T.
+  Lagotis crassifolia, Prain
+  Pedicularis trichoglossa, Hk. f.
+  Pedicularis Elwesii, Hk. f.
+  Pedicularis megalantha, Don, forma
+  Pedicularis megalantha, Don, var. pauciflora, Prain
+  Pedicularis Roylei, Maxim.
+  Pedicularis siphonantha, Don
+  Pedicularis cheilanthifolia, Schrank
+  Pedicularis tubiflora, Fischer
+  Pedicularis integrifolia, Hk. f.
+  Pedicularis globifera, Hk. f.
+  Incarvillea Younghusbandii, Sprague
+  Escholtzia eriostachya, Benth.
+  Nardostachys Iatamansi, DC.
+  Dracocephalum breviflorum, Turrill, sp. nov.
+  Dracocephalum tanguticum, Maxim.
+  Dracocephalum heterophyllum, Benth.
+  Dracocephalum speciosum, Benth.
+  Veronica lanuginosa, Benth.
+  Nepeta discolor, Benth.
+  Nepeta Thomsoni, Benth.
+  Atriplex rosea, L.
+  Polygonum vaccinifolium, Wall.
+  Polygonum viviparum, L.
+  Polygonum tortuosum, Don
+  Polygonum affine, Don
+  Polygonum amphibium, L.
+  Stellera chamaejasme, L.
+  Euphorbia Stracheyi, Boiss.
+  Orchis cylindrostachys, Kraenzl.
+  Liparis sp.
+  Goodyera fusca, Lindl.
+  Dendrobium alpestre, Royle
+  Pleione Hookeriana, S. Moore
+  Orchis Chusna, Don
+  Roscoea purpurea, Sm.
+  Iris nepalensis, Don
+  Iris goniocarpa, Baker
+  Iris tenuifolia, Pallas
+  Lloydia tibetica, Baker
+  Lloydia sp.
+  Fritillaria Hookeri, Baker
+  Fritillaria near F. Stracheyi, Hk. f.
+  Fritillaria cirrhosa, Don
+  Allium, sp.
+  Allium Wallichii, Kunth
+  Allium Govenianum, Wall.?
+  Allium cyaneum, Regel
+  Larix Griffithii, Hk. f.
+  Dryopteris Linneana, C. Chr.
+  Dryopteris Filix-mas, var. serrato-dentata, C. Chr.
+  Cryptogramma Brunoniana, Wall.
+  Calophaca crassicaulis, Benth.
+  Glaux maritima, L.
+  Androsace sessiliflora, Turrill, sp. nov.
+  Astragalus oreotrophes, W. W. Sm.
+  Thamnolia vermicularis, Schaer.
+  Stereocaulon alpinus, Laur.
+  Thelochistes flavicans, Norm.
+
+NOTE.--The material of some of the numbers was insufficient for accurate
+determination; in a few cases the material necessary for comparison was
+on loan, and in the case of one or two genera, such as _Aster_, revision
+of the North Asian and Indian species will have to be undertaken before
+certain plants can be definitely named. The numbers in the list coming
+under these categories are named "---- sp."
+
+                                          ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS, KEW.
+
+                                                         _March 7, 1922._
+
+
+
+
+                                   INDEX
+
+  Abdul Jalil, photographic assistant, 59, 319
+  Abruzzi, Duke of the, 2, 3, 5, 155
+  Acchu, cook, 103, 133, 178
+  Acclimatisation to high altitudes, 277, 308, 341
+  Alpine Club, 1, 7, 14-19, 305
+  Altitude, effects on human frame, 5, 102, 104-5, 137-8, 154-5, 199, 204,
+    206-7, 253-4, 276, 307-8, 315, 341; on breathing, 200, 243-4, 277; on
+    tinned fish, 50
+  Ammo-chu, river, 39, 44, 291
+  Aneroids, 341
+  Ang Tenze, coolie, 113, 149-51, 166
+  Ari, bungalow, 33
+  Arun, river, 89, 104-5; gorges, 110, 125, 221, 297, 298; _see_ Bhong-chu
+  Avalanches, 231, 267-9, 308-9
+
+  Bailey, Major, 31, 314
+  Bamtso, lake, 49
+  Bell, Sir Charles, 16, 24, 166
+  Bhompo's, Buddhist sect, 39
+  Bhong-chu, river, 64-5, 69-71, 89-90, 93, 99, 100, 110, 159, 161, 295;
+    upper valley, 320, 322; _see_ Arun
+  Bhotias, 24
+  Bhotia ponies, 27
+  Bhotia Kosi, river, 338
+  Birds, 290-303, 312, 344-6
+  Brahma Putra, river, 61; _see_ Tsangpo
+  Bridges, 69, 93-4, 103, 115, 123, 159-60, 191
+  Bruce, General, 1, 3, 13, 17, 154, 312
+  Buchan, J., 19
+  Buddhism and Buddhists, 25, 67-8, 173; books, 41; red cap sect, 173;
+    yellow cap sect, 58, 173; regard for animal life, 59, 80, 166, 290;
+    _see_ Monasteries, prayer-wheels
+  Bullock, G. H., 19, 26, 52; _see_ Mallory
+  Bullocks, 48, etc.;  _see_ Transport
+  Burrard, Sir S., 10-12
+  Carpo-ri, mountain, 227; ascended, 117, 229-35, 268
+  Chamlang, mountain, 140
+  Chandra Nursery, 32
+  Chang La (North Col), 142; first view of, 204, 207, 212, 220; way to,
+    233-40, 246-8, 256; camp on, 259-60; best route to, 273-4, 311-12,
+    334-5
+  Changtse, North peak of Everest, 142, 213, 215, 233-4
+  Chelmsford, Lord, 16
+  Chheten Wangdi, interpreter, 25, 39, 69, 91, 95, 112, 162, 179
+  Chinese in Tibet, 38-9, 71-2, 173; in Nepal, 71
+  Chitayn, coolie, 212
+  Choebuk, monastery and bridge, 82, 95, 190, 191, 312, 327
+  Choedzong, village, 86
+  Chog La, 106, 121, 129, 299-300
+  Choksum, village, 324
+  Chomiomo, mountain, 52, 54, 140, 166
+  Chomolhari, mountain, 45, 48, 60, 64, 167, 263
+  Chomoloenzo, mountain, 114, 116, 149-51
+  Chomolungma (Mount Everest or Makalu), 13, 24, 107, 224
+  Chomo-Uri (Mount Everest), 64
+  Chorabsang, mountain, 77-8; (= Cho Rapsang, 331)
+  Chortens, 40, 66, 174, 286, etc.
+  Cho Uyo, mountain, 73, 76, 78, 101, 207, 219, 330
+  Choeyling monastery, 194
+  Chulungphu, village, 89, 104
+  Chumbi valley, 25, 37-44, 170, 177-8; village, 38; fauna and flora, 291
+  Chushar Nango, village, 60-61, 131, 134, 295
+  Chuphar, village and monastery, 327
+  Chu-tronu, 123
+  Collie, J. N., 17-18
+  Compasses, 342
+  Conway, Sir M., 4, 5
+  Coolies, 23-5; behaviour, 47, 146, 156, 213, 216, 222-3, etc.; as
+    carriers, 92-4, 113, 122, 158, 284-6; _see_ Transport; in
+    mountaineering, 84, 188, 195, 203-6, 212, 230, 251 ff., 332
+  Crampons, 207-8, 272  Cups of tea, as measures of distance, 108
+  Curios, 67, 157
+  Curzon, Lord, 1, 19
+
+  Dak, village, 93
+  Dalai Lama, the, 16, 173
+  Darjeeling, 23-28, 179
+  Dasno, coolie, 234
+  Desiccation, 51
+  Dochen, bungalow, 49, 168
+  Dokcho, village, 321
+  Donka monastery, 40-42
+  Donkeys, 48, 64, 65, etc.; _See_ Transport
+  Dorje, cook, 50
+  Dorji Gompa, coolie, 202, 256
+  Doto nunnery, 51
+  Doya La, 88, 104, 336
+  Dram, village, 325
+  Drophung monastery, 323
+  Dug pass, 50
+  Dukpa, cook, 134, 188
+  Dunge pokri, island, 127
+  Dzakar (or Zakar) Chu, river, 93-5, 159, 297, 333
+
+  Eaton, J. E. C., 17
+  Equipment, 20, 315, 341
+  Everest, Mount, 1-2, 183; position, 9, 13; height, 10-12; names, 13, 64,
+    225; seen from Khamba Dzong, 54, 56, 183-4; from Shiling, 64, 186-88,
+    217, 230, 263; from Rongbuk Valley, 192, 263-4; from Kama Valley, 116,
+    226; local ignorance of, 107, 112, 116; structure, 192-4, 203, 215,
+    310; best season for ascent, 153, 248, 270; difficulties of, 154, 276,
+    308; plans for, in 1921, 250-52
+  -- -- Committee, 16 ff.
+  -- -- Expedition, origin of, 14-16; value of, 5; objects, 17-18; cost,
+    19; equipment, 20, 315, 341; results, 179-80, 310-12, 338, 341. _See_
+    Survey
+  Everest, Sir G., 13
+
+  Farrar, Captain J. P., 14, 17, 19, 315
+  Finch, Captain G., 19, 313, 315
+  "Finger," the, station, 335-6
+  Fourteen lakes, valley of the, 106, 121; fauna and flora, 299
+  Fowkes, Sergeant, 28
+  Freshfield, D. W., 1, 14-16, 18
+  Fuel, 80, 105, 171, 211, 237, 247, 273, 331
+
+  Gadompa, village and bridge, 160-61
+  Galinka, village and monastery, 40
+  Gandenchoefel monastery, 108, 131
+  Gauri Sankar, mountain, 288, 326, 331
+  Gautsa, bungalow, 44
+  Gelupka (= Yellow Cap) sect, 173
+  Geshe Rimpoche, Lama, 40
+  Ghoom, 29
+  Glaciers, ancient extent of, 128; characteristics, 194, 197, 218;
+    atmosphere, 200, 243, 270
+  Gnatong, village, 35-6, 178
+  Gosainthan, mountain, 64, 101, 284, 322-3
+  Graham, Dr., 30-31
+  _Graphic_, the, 19
+  Gujjar Singh, surveyor, 319, 323-7
+  Gurkhas in Tibet, 71, 95, 106
+  Guru Rimpoche, saint, 173
+  Gyachung Kang, mountain, 207, 219, 330
+  Gyalzen Kazi, interpreter, 25, 56, 133, 137, 163, 177-8, 188, 190, 202,
+    323
+  Gyangka-nangpa, house, 62, 184
+  Gyanka range of mountains, 184
+
+  Haldane, J. S., 341
+  Halung, village, 86-7, 103, 240; valley, 339
+  Hari Ram, explorer, 319, 324
+  Harvest rents, 161, 174
+  _Hatarana_, steamer, 24
+  Hayden, Sir H., 338
+  Hermits, 80, 83-4, 99
+  Heron, Dr. A. M., 20, 26; expeditions from Tingri, 74, 77-85, 98, 120,
+    325; first expedition to Kharta, 86-95, 162, 164, 179-80; in Upper
+    Kharta Valley, 253; returns by Kama Valley, 146-153, 337, and Teesta
+    Valley, 164, 337; note on geological results, 338-340
+  Himalaya, 7-8, 11, 304 ff.; H. and the Alps, 194
+  Hinks, A. R., 17, 20, 315; notes on scientific equipment, 341-2
+  Holdich, Sir T., 15
+  Hopaphema, landowner, 91-3, 104, 108, 111-12, 157-8
+  Hot springs. _See_ Kambu, Tsamda
+  Howard-Bury, Colonel C. K., 13, 15, 17, 20, 343; author of the general
+    narrative of the expedition, 23-180; expeditions from Tingri, 75-85;
+    first expedition to Kharta, 86-95; expeditions from Kharta, 106-111;
+    visits Kama Valley, 112 ff.; ascent of 19,500 ft. ridge, 116;  of Kama
+    Changri, 136-7; of Lhakpa La, 140-145, 257 ff.
+  Huc, abbe, 293
+
+  India Office, 16
+  India, Government of, 16, 23
+  -- Survey of, 20, 26-7, 341
+  Interpreters, 25, 47; discretion of, 108
+  Isaacs, Mr., 39
+  "Island," the, 209, 213, 219
+
+  Jack, Colonel E. M., 17, 20, 315
+  Jannu, mountain, 117, 135, 140
+  Jelep La, 36, 37, 178, 290, 291 note
+  Jetsun-Nga-Wang-Choefel, saint, 109, 325
+  Jongpens, 174-5, 283, 324
+  Jonsong, mountain, 47, 140
+
+  Kabru, mountain, 26, 47, 168
+  Kala-tso, lake, 51
+  Kalimpong, village, 29-30
+  Kama Valley, 112-119, 146-52, 225-7, 311, 339; fauna and flora, 300-01
+  Kama Changri, mountain, 114, 136-7
+  Kama-chu, river, 122-4
+  Kambu hot springs, 40-43; valley, 291
+  Kanchenjunga, mountain, 9, 46, 117, 135, 140, 185
+  Kanchenjhow, mountain, 52, 54, 104, 166
+  Kang-chu, river, 325
+  Kangchen and -chung passes, 326
+  Kangdoshung glacier, 115-16
+  Kangshung glacier, 149-51
+  Karpo La, 147
+  Karro Pumri, mountain, 326
+  Kartse, mountain, 141
+  Kellas, A. M., 14, 18, 26, 341; illness and death, 46-49, 52-54, 164,
+    321
+  Khamba Dzong, fort and village, 13, 24, 53-57, 96, 164
+  Kharkung, village, 161
+  Kharta, 24, 90; first visit to, 88-93; headquarters of the expedition,
+    104-5, 110; survey of, 323, 327; valley formation, 339;  fauna and
+    flora, 299, 301-03
+  Khartaphu, mountain, 330
+  Khe or Khetam, village, 50-51
+  Kheru, 51
+  Khombu pass, 76, 78-9, 312, 339
+  -- valley, 150-51
+  Kimonanga, village, 124
+  Korabak, rock, 124
+  Kuti (= Nyenyam), village, 324
+  Kyetrak, village and valley, 74-77, 327, 331
+  -- glacier, 70, 77-79, 312;
+  river, 79
+  Kyishong, village, 65, 102
+
+  Lachen, 56, 337
+  Lalbir Singh Thapa, surveyor, 319, 322, 327
+  Lamna La, 81, 327
+  Langkor, village and temple, 281, 323
+  Langma La, 112-13, 130, 224
+  Langra, rest-house, 37, 178
+  Lapche, village and monastery, 287, 325-6
+  Lapche Kang, mountain, 115, 284-5, 325
+  Lashar, village, 161
+  Lebong, races at, 27
+  Leeches, 34-5, 123-4, 126, 300, 337
+  Lhakpa La (Windy Gap), 138, 161, 273-4; first visits to, 240-249, 255-6;
+    camp on, 140-44, 257-8, 261
+  Lhasa, 16, 24, 173, 174; road to, 48-49
+  Lhonak peaks, 52
+  Lhotse, mountain (S. peak of Everest), 116, 213
+  Lingga, village, 57, 163-4
+  Lingmatang, plain, 40, 44, 291
+  Longstaff, Dr. T. G., 1, 5, 314
+  Lumeh, village, 93-4, 159
+  Lungchen La, 322
+  Lungdoe, village, 110, 125
+  Lunghi, 167
+
+  Macdonald, David and family, 31, 38, 177
+  Makalu, mountain, 104, 116, 118-19, 137, 186, 225-6, etc.; glacier, 151
+  Mallory, G. H. L., 19, 26, 313; reconnoitres N. approach to Everest, 74,
+    181-220; ascends Ri-Ring (23,050 ft.), 205-7, 264; moves to Kharta,
+    102-106; reconnoitres E. approach to Everest, 117, 221-249; back to
+    Kharta, 130; ascends Kama Changri, 136-7; final assault and ascent of
+    North Col, 131-145, 250-261; leaves Kharta, 153; views on weather
+    conditions, 262-72; on the route up Everest, 273-79
+  Mammals, 290-303, 312, 344, etc.
+  Mani Walls, 40, 174, etc.
+  Maps of Tibet, 62
+  "Marigolds, Field of," 119, 152
+  Matsang, village, 125
+  Meade, C. F., 5, 17, 19
+  Mendalongkyo, 129
+  Mende, village, 57
+  Menkhap-to and -me, villages, 322
+  Menlung pass, 327
+  "Metohkangmi," 141
+  Mila Respa, saint, 287
+  Monasteries, 99, 113, 173. _See_ Donka, Galinka, Ganden Choefel, Rongbuk,
+    Shekar Choete, etc.
+  Monsoon, 31, 48, 88, 91, 139, 216, 248, 262 ff. _See_ Rainfall
+  Morshead, Major H. T., 20, 25-27, 54, 65, 75, 96; trip to Nyenyam, 97,
+    108, 281-9, 323-5; at Kharta, 112; survey of Kharta Valley, 131-2,
+    135; first ascent of Lhakpa La, 130, 230-49; ascends Kama Changri,
+    136-7; second ascent of Lhakpa La, 140-144, 253-8; map by, 312, 338;
+    account of survey by, 319-28
+  Mountain sickness, 207, 258, 323. _See_ Altitude
+  Mountaineering, 2-4, 6-8, 305-6
+  Mules, lent by Government, 27-8; breakdown of, 33-4; Tibetan, 32-33, 48,
+    etc. _See_ Transport
+
+  Nangba (= Khombu), pass, 77, 331
+  Narsing, mountain, 26
+  Nathu La, 37
+  Nawang Lobsang, first Dalai Lama, 173
+  Nepal, 13
+  Nepalese coolies, 25, 122; invasion of Tibet, 71, 73; traders, 122, 127,
+    324; herdsmen, 126
+  Nezogu bridge, 100, 102
+  Ngawangyonten, official, 94
+  Nieves penitentes, 78
+  Nila pass, 61, 184
+  Noel, Major J. B. L., 14, 314
+  Nomads, 51, 171
+  North Col of Everest, 212, 215. _See_ Chang La
+  North cwm of Everest, 200, 203-4
+  North peak. _See_ Chang-tse
+  North-East Arete, 215, 227, 235, 250-51, 259, 274-6, 310
+  Norton, Major E. F., 313
+  Nuns and nunneries, 51, 80, 83, 166
+  Nyenyam, 73, 97, 108, 283-4, 297, 324
+  Nyima Tendu, coolie, 113, 149-51, 234
+
+  Oxygen for climbers, 154, 277, 307-8, 315-16, 341
+
+  Padamchen (= Sedongchen), 33
+  Padma Sambhava, saint, 173
+  Pashok, 337
+  Pawhunri mountains, 46, 52, 54, 166
+  Pedong, 31-2
+  Pekhu plain, 322
+  Peshoke, bungalow, 29
+  Pethang Ringmo, 116, 138
+  Pethangtse, mountain, 117, 147
+  Phari, fort and village, 24, 35, 45-8, 168; plain, 46, 292
+  Pharuk, district, 323, 327
+  Phema, village, 38
+  _Philadelphia Ledger_, the, 19
+  Photography, 68, 72-3, 91, 156, 216-17, 314, 315, 342-3, etc.; perils
+    of, 74-5; surveying by, 320, 329-30
+  Phuri, village, 322
+  Phuse La. _See_ Pusi pass
+  Pilgrims, 70, 99, 121
+  Plants, 290-302, 312, 346-50, etc.
+  Poe-chu, river, 284-5, 297-8, 323-4
+  Ponglet, view from, 188, 218, 263
+  Ponies, 27, 34, 48, 87, 101, etc. _See_ Transport
+  Poo, coolie, 75, 113, 156, 178
+  Popti La, 106, 126-7, 300
+  Postal arrangements, 96-7, 131, 135
+  Prayer wheels, 39-40, 53, 91, 98, 110, 174, 289
+  Primus stoves, 142-3, 154, 208, 315, 331
+  Pulahari, village, 281
+  Pulme, 94
+  Pumori, mountain, 209
+  Punagang monastery, 39
+  Pusi pass, 77, 79, 289 (= Phuse La, 327, 330)
+
+  Quiok, pass, 159
+
+  Rabkar-chu, river and glacier, 115
+  Ra-chu, river, 70, 330
+  Rainfall, 29, 37, 56, 99, 105, 262 ff.
+  Rawling, Major, 13-14
+  Reading, Lord, 23
+  Rebu, village, 87, 103; valley, 339
+  Rhenock, 32
+  Ri-Ring, mountain, ascended, 205-6, 270, 311
+  Richengong, village, 38, 291
+  Ronaldshay, Lord, 23, 179
+  Rongbuk, glacier, 84; central and W. branches explored, 194-220;
+    E. branch, 142, 216-18, 238-40, 247-9, 273-4, 334-6; stream from,
+    199, 218
+  -- monastery, 83
+  -- valley, 82, 191, 339
+  Rongkong, village, 63
+  Rongli, bungalow, 32, 178
+  Rongme, village, 63
+  Rongshar, valley, 77, 288-9, 298, 325-6
+  Ruddamlamtso, lake, 121, 128
+  Rugby, Tibetan boys at, 172
+  Ryder, Colonel C. H. D., 13, 319
+
+  Sakeding, village, 121-22, 127-8
+  Samchung, pass, 106, 121, 129
+  Sand dunes, 58, 63-4, 295
+  Sandakphu, 12, 13
+  Sanglu, coolie, 254, 256-7
+  Sedongchen, village, 33-4
+  Senchal, 29
+  Serpo-La, 164, 337
+  Shao La, 112, 118, 153
+  Sharto, village, 75, 330
+  Shassi (= New Yatung), 38
+  Shatog, village, 162
+  Shekar-Choete, monastery, 67-8, 94
+  Shekar Dzong, fort and village, 45, 66-7, 96, 295
+  Sherpa Bhotias, coolies, 24, 188, 224, 252
+  Shidag, nunnery, 51
+  Shigatse, 51, 55, 174
+  Shiling, 161, 188. _See_ Everest, Mount
+  Shung-chu, river, 79
+  Shurim Tso, lake, 114
+  Sikkim, survey of, 27, 320-21, 327; journey through, 29-36; flora of,
+    _ibid._
+  Siniolchum, mountain, 46
+  Sipri mountains, 99
+  Skis, 158
+  Snow, 248, 254, 264-8;  temperature of, 270; powdery, 171, 231, 243,
+    256; powdery snow and wind, 139, 142, 144, 159, 167-8, 259-60, 271,
+    etc.
+  Snow-blindness, 103, 167, 171
+  Snowfall, 37, 171
+  Snow line, 56
+  Snow men, the abominable, 141
+  Snow shoes, 137, 211-14, 232, 243, 254, 265, 270
+  Somers Cocks, E. L., 16
+  Somervell, H. T., 312, 313
+  Strutt, Colonel E. L., 313
+  Sun's rays, 270, 308
+  Survey work of expedition, 179, 312. _See_ Heron, Morshead, Wheeler
+  Sutso plain, 99, 321-22
+
+  Takda, cantonment, 29
+  Tamba Sanye, saint, 281, 323
+  Tameness of animals, 59-60, 76-77, 80, 83, 88, 94, 131
+  Tang La, 48, 167, 323
+  Tang-puen-sum, plain, 48
+  Tangsham, 114, 117, 152
+  Targyeling, village, 324
+  Tasang, village, 79, 289, 327
+  Tashi Dzom, 95
+  Tashilumpo monastery, 51, 173
+  Tashishong, 325
+  Tatsang, nunnery, 52, 165-6
+  Teesta Valley, 27, 29-30, 164, 337
+  Temperature, 269-70, 308, 342
+  Tents, airlessness of, 143, 154, 258
+  Thermometers, 342
+  Thrashing, 164
+  Thung-La, 282; fauna and flora, 297
+  Tibet, 13, 36, 170 ff.; geology of, 338; Government, 173-4; helps the
+    expedition, 16, 24, 45, etc.
+  Tibetans, 170 ff.
+  Tibetan beer, 57, 125, 156; bread, 125; burial, 74, 133; climate, 49,
+    176; coinage and currency, 47, 59, 123; coolies, 223-4; houses, 38,
+    89, 321; marriage, 74; meals, 48, 59, 62, 67, 101, 108, etc.; mules,
+    177-9; ornaments, 73, 101, 107; ponies, 27, 55, 101, 176;
+    superstitions, 66, 72, 109, 122, 141, 174, 282; tea, 41, etc.
+  _Times_, newspaper, 19, 156
+  Tingri, 70-75, 95-101; plain of, 70; its fauna and flora, 96, 295-7;
+    origin of name, 282, 323
+  Tinki, fort and village, 58, 162; birds of, 294; pass, 60, 162, 321;
+    flowers of, 295
+  Trangso Chumbab, rest-house, 65
+  Transport, 27-8, 34-5, 45, 48, 60, 65, 69, 86, 92, 158-9, 165, 173, 284.
+    _See_  Coolies, Mules, Yaks
+  Trintang, village, 326
+  Tropde, village, 326
+  Tsakor, village, 70
+  Tsamda, hot springs, 99, 321
+  Tsampa, 172-3, 222, 337
+  Tsang, province, 319
+  Tsangpo, river, 319-20
+  Tsering, five peaks, 326
+  Tsogo, 65, 159
+  Tsomotretung, lake, 61
+  Tsong Kapa, monk, 173
+  Tulsi Dass, gardener, 32
+  Tulung, village, 323
+  Tuna, rest-house, 48
+  Turubaz Khan, surveyor, 319, 321
+
+  Wakefield, Dr. A. W., 313
+  Waugh, Sir A., 10, 12, 13
+  Weather. _See_ Monsoon, Rainfall, Wind
+  West cwm of Everest, 208-9, 212, 214
+  Wheeler, Major, E. O., 20, 26, 52, 164, 252, 320; expedition to Kyetrak,
+    74, 77-81, 98, 330-33; to Rongbuk Valley, 102, 333-36; discovers
+    E. Rongbuk glacier, 217, 240, 247-8, 334; arrives at Kharta, 249; to
+    Lhakpa La, 140-44, 257; to Chang La, 144-5, 258-61; returns by Kama
+    Valley, 146-153, 337, and Teesta Valley, 164, 337; map by, 312, 328,
+    338; account of photographic survey by, 329-337
+  Wind, 50, 72, 75, 147-8, 171, 178, 265, 308, 342. _See_ Snow
+  Wollaston, A. F. R., 20, 26; returns with Raeburn to Sikkim, 56; rejoins
+    at Tingri, 74, 75, 96; trip to Nyenyam, 97, 108, 323-25; described by
+    him, 281-89; at Kharta, 249; to Lhakpa La, 140 ff., 257-8; returns by
+    Kama Valley, 146-153, 165, 342; natural history notes by, 290-303,
+    344-350; collections, 312
+
+  Yaks, 61, 81, 161, 171, 286, 294, etc.
+  Yaru, river, 56-7, 61-3, 101-2
+  Yatung, 38-9, 177
+  Younghusband, Sir F., 1, 15-17, 19, 20
+  Zachar-chu. _See_ Dzakar-chu
+
+  Zambu, village, 81
+
+                     *       *       *       *       *
+
+_Printed in Great Britain by_ Butler & Tanner, _Frome and London_
+
+                     *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: MAP I.
+
+PRELIMINARY MAP to illustrate the route of the MOUNT EVEREST EXPEDITION
+1921.
+
+Reduced from the map on the scale 1/253440
+
+by Major Morshead and assistants of the Survey of India, accompanying the
+expedition: the neighbourhood of the Mountain from Map II.
+
+Scale 1/750,000 or 1 Inch = 11.84 Stat. Miles.]
+
+                     *       *       *       *       *
+
+[Illustration: MAP II
+
+Preliminary Map of MOUNT EVEREST
+
+constructed at the R. G. S. from photographs and sketches made by the
+EXPEDITION of 1921]
+
+                     *       *       *       *       *
+
+[Illustration: MAP III
+
+THE GEOLOGY of the MOUNT EVEREST REGION from the surveys of
+Dr. A. M. HERON
+
+Geological Survey of India 1921.
+
+The topography from Map I.
+
+Scale 1/750,000 or 1 Inch = 11.84 Stat. Miles.
+
+                     *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+The table below lists all corrections applied to the original text.
+
+  p ix: Kama Valley. Kangchenjunga -> Kanchenjunga
+  p 12: Ladnia     |     1849     |    108    |   29,998 -> 28,998
+  p 13: call it Chomo-lungmo -> Chomolungma
+  p 24: Despatched -> Dispatched
+  p 26: two, Gujar -> Gujjar
+  p 44: of the Ammochu -> Ammo-chu
+  P 54: KAMPA -> KHAMBA
+  p 64: known as Chomo-lungma-> Chomolungma
+  p 101: and raisins as a -> an
+  p 107: right up to Chomo-lungma -> Chomolungma
+  p 109: saint called Jetsun-Nga-Wang-Chhoefel -> Choefel
+  p 133: the great lammergeier -> Laemmergeier
+  p 138: VALLEY. Kangchenjunga -> Kanchenjunga
+  p 146: to Kharta via-> via
+  p 149: cliffs of Chomolonzo -> Chomoloenzo
+  p 149: formed by Chomolonzo -> Chomoloenzo
+  p 163: a couple of Gargany -> Garganey
+  p 188: might be required we -> required. We
+  p 236: toiled over the neve -> neve
+  p 265: snow-shoes on neve -> neve
+  p 271: before the next moonsoon -> monsoon
+  p 275: offering a detour -> detour
+  p 290: Rongbuk Valley the burrhel -> burhel
+  p 291: Dippers, wag-tails -> wagtails
+  p 294: packs of widgeon -> wigeon
+  p 302: of a wolf. Burrhel -> Burhel
+  p 302: Dippers (_Cinclus cashmiriensis_) -> cashmirensis_)
+  p 302: daily by lammergeier -> Laemmergeier
+  p 302: seen was a lammergeier -> Laemmergeier
+  p 303: Birds, _Ibis._ -> _Ibid._
+  p 309: the broken debris -> debris
+  p 311: its satellite Chomo-Loenzo -> Chomoloenzo
+  p 322: hares, some ram-chakor -> ramchakor
+  p 322: a young, week-old barhal -> burhel
+  p 323: with the interpreter Gyaldzan -> Gyalzen
+  p 325: by Nepalese subjects (Sharpas) -> (Sherpas)
+  p 326: summit of Gaurisankar -> Gauri-Sankar
+  p 327: Bhong Chu below Lungdo -> Lungdoe
+  p 330: plain to the village of Shaerto -> Sharto
+  p 333: I took a 20,000-foot tation -> station
+  p 337: Darjeeling via Lachen -> L[=a]chen
+  p 337: on either side of the Kharta -> Kh[=a]rta
+  p 337: at all of Kangchenjunga -> Kanchenjunga
+  p 339: Lhamo limestone in Sikhim -> Sikkim
+  p 339: overlooking the Khumbu -> Khombu
+  p 345: Calandrella acutirostris tibitana -> tibetana
+  p 346: Greater sand plover. _Aaegialitis -> _Aegialitis
+  p 346: Lammergeier -> Laemmergeier
+  p 351: Bhompos -> Bhompo's
+  p 351: _see_ Tsan-po -> Tsangpo
+  p 351: Carpo-Ri -> Carpo-ri
+  p 351: Chang La (North Col) -> (North Col),
+  p 351: first view of, 204; -> 204,
+  p 351: Chodzong -> Choedzong
+  p 351: Choyling -> Choeyling
+  p 352: 65, etc. -> etc.;
+  p 352: results -> results,
+  p 353: to Kharta, 86-95; -> 86-95,
+  p 353: Jetsun-Nga-Wang-Chhoefel -> Choefel
+  p 354: Lungdo -> Lungdoe
+  p 354: Monasteries, 99, 113, 173 -> 173.
+  p 354: Ganden Chhofel -> Choefel
+  p 354: _See_ rainfall -> Rainfall
+  p 354: _See_ altitude -> Altitude
+  p 355: Samchang -> Samchung
+  p 355: flora of, _ibid_ -> _ibid._
+  p 356: Tsang-po -> Tsangpo
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Mount Everest the Reconnaissance, 1921, by
+Charles Kenneth Howard-Bury and George H. Leigh-Mallory and A. F. R. Wollaston
+
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