John Claude White

“ Next day Iggulden and I started out to climb a snow peak which looked like the watershed at the head of the valley. We rode our mules and got on well till we came to almost the last rise, when it became so steep we had to dismount. The mountain side was not only very steep, but a mass of loose rounded stones, and very difficult for the mules, so Iggulden left his behind. I, however, stuck to mine, and was able to ride up the last 500 or 600 yards, which were comparatively flat. The peak proved to be 21,600 feet high, and I fancy few people have ridden a mule at that elevation. ”

“ What a flock of 1500 to 2000 sheep could find to eat in these parts was a marvel. Casually looking at the ground you would say there was no grass on it, but on close examination a few blades appeared. To watch the flock grazing on these few and scanty blades was a curious sight. The sheep literally run over the ground, those in front eating and those behind running on ahead to find an ungrazed spot. In spite of this, the sheep at this season fatten quickly and are excellent eating, which proves that the sparse pasturage provides a great deal of nourishment. ”

“ To the south, along all the valleys, old lateral moraines extend for many miles and in many places are quite distinct, 1000 feet to 1500 feet above the present river level. It seems almost impossible to take in the fact that these valleys were once filled with ice, or to imagine what these mountains were like in former days, as the moraine débris now showing, would by itself form mountains as high as those we have in England without taking into account the enormous quantites of silt carried down by the rivers during these ages. ”

“ Major Iggulden caught me up just before I reached the Samatek Bungalow, wet through, and we were very glad to get into its shelter and to dry our clothes. I continued to have difficulty with transport until we reached Lamteng in the Lachen Valley, where we could get yaks, and then my troubles ended. Travelling in these very sparsely populated valleys, where only coolie transport is available, has many difficulties when a large party has to be moved. Above Lamteng the road is much easier, the gradients are better and the hot steamy valleys are left behind. ”

“ I left the escort in this camp for a few days and moved with Iggulden, and very light loads, to a higher camp at an elevation of 18,600 feet. We pitched our tents on the lateral moraine above the magnificent glacier from which the river Teesta springs. This is one of the most beautiful glaciers I have ever seen, with its magnificent sweep down from the perpetual snows. It also shows the stratification of the ice most clearly almost the whole way down. ”

“ I have always found from 14,000 feet to 15,000 feet a critical height in climbing, and men often feel the effects more at this elevation than higher up; also if they do not feel the height then, they are unlikely to feel it much, even at very much higher elevations. Many of the escort fell out, suffering from mountain sickness and violent headaches, nothing would induce them to go on, and they were so bad next morning we were obliged to send them back. ”

“ At the best of times the pass is a difhcult one, especially for yak transport, as the descent is over a succession of terraces which were covered with snow and exceedingly dangerous. At this time of year the snow was, of course, melting, and yaks cannot travel over soft snow. ”

“ We often wished to visit it, but of course could not cross the boundary, though I subsequently did visit it when encamped at Khamba-jong with the Tibet Mission in 1903. That was a red-letter day to these poor creatures who live here always with not a single other habitation in sight. They are grossly ignorant, and live in absolute filth, but they are good-natured and the abbess has a good face. ”

“ All the work had to be done by day, and during the day, and all day, the wind blew a small gale, it never stopped for a moment till the sun went down, and then mercifully we nearly always had quiet nights, but only to have the same howling wind next day. ”

“ All these men were Nepalese hill men and ought not to have felt the height at all. After this weeding out, although I took several to an elevation of over 20,000 feet, and two of them to 21,600 feet, not a man fell out. ”