GURLA MANDHATA II9 



was luckily hard, and the ascent became more precipitous. 

 The carriers struggled on manfully under their heavy 

 loads, but walking even without anything to carry was 

 at this high elevation most distressing. Many sat down 

 on the snow and declared their last day was come ; but 

 the Bhotias are fine, plucky mountaineers and fought it 

 out well ; a nip of brandy set the weak ones all right, 

 and they knew that delay would be fatal. The sky was 

 clouded over, but the day held up weU. Sunshine would 

 have been worse, as it would have softened the snow. 

 The danger is of getting into deep and soft snow, and 

 remaining there. If we had been in Switzerland, crossing 

 steep snow slopes and crevasses covered with snow, with 

 all the paraphernalia of ice-axes and ropes, we should have 

 had a long story to tell ; but the instinct of the yaks, 

 which went on steadily up and up, picking their way 

 round the ledges of glaciers and under rock crags, seemed 

 never at fault. Their feet are formed to open wide and 

 not sink in soft snow ; and when a dozen of them have 

 gone safely ahead, the men and, last of aU, ponies followed 

 on the well-pressed snow tracks. We kept on mounting 

 steadily, but it was not till 2 p.m. that we reached the 

 highest point, a ghat or passage between high walls of 

 black basaltic rock, a veritable gate of death. Here we 

 halted till stragglers came up, and boiled some tea on a 

 lamp, and also the thermometer, which gave close on 

 20,000 feet. It was an exciting moment to have gained 

 this great elevation. The scene was most weird, and 

 the view of peaks and glaciers when the cloud occasion- 

 ally lifted was stupendous and bewildering. Goggles, of 

 course, had to be worn, but some of the carriers who had 

 neglected to tie on their crape bandages were howling 

 with pain and half blind. Some, too, were very sick, but 

 a short halt and the commencing to descend put them in 



