28 Sport and Life in the Further Himalaya 



gleams of sunshine. The weather still threatened, 

 however, and before we had gone across the valley 

 we had been soaked through by a heavy burst 

 of rain. We pushed on through it all, and by 

 the time we reached the rocks they were again 

 glistening in the sun. We found an almost per- 

 pendicular ridge which had to be surmounted to 

 get a view into the ravine where the ibex had 

 been seen. I found my nailed boots would not 

 bite on the wet rocks, so off they came, and the 

 climb was begun in my stockings. With a shoul- 

 der to stand on there, and a hand-pull here, we 

 got along somehow or other ; but it was desper- 

 ately bad going, and nearly at the end a smooth 

 wall of rock almost stopped us ; but thanks to 

 my shikaris, after half an hour's struggle the top 

 was reached, and I found myself, rather to my 

 surprise, lying, rifle in hand, gazing across a 

 hundred and fifty yards of air at three big ibex 

 lying on a dry ledge of rock opposite me. From 

 the point of view which connects hill shooting 

 with precipices, it was quite the typical ibex 

 ground, and though I have shot much in the 

 Himalaya since my first essay after ibex, I cannot 

 recollect a more awesome but pictorially appro- 

 priate scene. Great naked black cliffs rose up 

 out of the mist on all sides. Our heads projected 

 over a sheer drop, the bottom of which could not 



