THE BAKSAN VALLEY. 345 



a crust of bread before descendinof. A few flowering- 

 jdants were growing on the rocks, at a height of over 

 10,500 feet. On the north side is a small glacier, steep 

 enough in places to admit of glissades, but so thickly 

 covered with snow that few crevasses were visible. The 

 falling sleet soon turned into heavy rain, which followed 

 us for the rest of the day. The stream which flows from 

 this glacier is very soon lost to sight under another and 

 very extraordinary ice-strea,m, which seems to be fed entirely 

 by the avalanches falling from the cliffs of a great moun- 

 tain, now partially hidden by clouds, but afterwards well 

 known to us by the name of Tungzorun. Like Uscliba, 

 unmaiked in the Five Verst Map, it is probably the second 

 in height of the mountains of the main chain west of the 

 Koschtantau group. 



The glen on this side of the pass runs directly north, 

 and the path, marked out at first by occasional stonemen, 

 soon becomes very distinct. We kept along the western 

 slopes at some height above the glacier, which is covered 

 by debris, and has a dirty appearance ; its tongue curls 

 over a steep brow, and at its lower end meets the highest 

 firs. Beneath us, under the clouds, we could see the green 

 Baksan valley ; but opposite, where Elbruz should have 

 displayed his full height, nothing met the view but a sea 

 of mist, from which two glacier-tongues protruded only at 

 intervals. A descent, rapid at the last, brought us to the 

 banks of the Baksan. Its upper valley is a trough, with a 

 level floor about a quarter of a mile in width, through 

 which the three streams flowing respectively from the 

 glaciers of Elbruz and Tangzorun, and from the larger 

 ice- stream which fills the head of the valley, run parallel 

 for some distance before joining. It is covered with a 

 thick forest of firs, which in this district entirely take 

 the place of pines. Our men turned several hundred 



