CHAPTER X 

 CLIMBING ADVENTURES 



MOUNTAINEERING has been described as the King of 

 Sports, perhaps because this, more than any other sport, 

 is indulged in for pure love of the thing. Certainly the 

 only reward of success is the thrill of satisfaction felt in 

 mastering some difficult piece of climbing, or in con- 

 quering some hitherto unvanquished peak. That the 

 risks are greater than those in other sports may be 

 gathered from the varied adventures of some of the most 

 famous mountaineers. 



Sir W. Martin Conway, the famous climber, in his 

 book on climbing in the Himalayas, 1 tells how the 

 melting of an ice-step nearly caused a catastrophe. 

 He says : "A few minutes before four o'clock we 

 started on our downward way, and in little more than 

 half an hour reached the rocks of the second peak and 

 were able to satisfy our thirst with draughts of fresh 

 water from the generous little pool. Amar Sing was 

 quite well again, and able to make the descent with- 

 out assistance. As we were going down the steep 

 ice-wall, just above the smooth rocks near the col 

 by the first peak, we narrowly escaped an accident. 

 Harkbir was leading, I was second, Zurbriggen was 

 1 See Bibliography, 30. 



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