1'70 Over the Riin-tsi-la ; 
a small lake which partially occupied a deep depression, 
intending to camp here for the night. There was dwarf 
rhododendron for firewood (our altitude was about 16,500 
feet), fresh water in abundance, and a well-sheltered grassy 
hollow in which to erect the tents out of the wind and away 
from the patches of snow which lay here and there. But 
the porters were a long way behind, and when after half- 
an-hour’s waiting I sent my man back to seek them, it 
began to snow heavily; it was already late in the afternoon, 
and the short autumn day was drawing to a close. In front 
rose the rugged snow-clad crest of the watershed, and on 
either hand the bare screes stretched up to the limestone 
towers above. The lake was quite small, but what par- 
ticularly drew my attention to it was the outflow, for a solid 
wall of rock which cut it off from the valley forty or fifty 
feet below had been sawn, as it were, clean through for 
perhaps fifteen feet to the level of the water, which issued 
between two stone portals a few feet apart, and fell over 
boulders in a cascade for the remainder of the distance. 
The water in the basin was a beautiful deep green in colour 
and reflected the snow mountains above in the most glorious 
manner; it was half frozen over however, and the narrow 
exit was choked on either side with icicles. Whether the 
water really had carved out this channel through the solid 
rock which hemmed in the basin, I had no means of 
judging, but I do not think it impossible. However in this 
case there was no room for doubt that the lake occupied a 
rock basin; moreover, coming up the valley we had already 
passed two other pools, finding one at each level as we 
ascended the long steps of the valley. 
After climbing round it, finding numerous rock plants 
and scaring up a giant mouse-hare, | returned to the shelter 
of the hollow, and amused myself by collecting a big pile 
of rhododendron for firewood; but the snow-storm getting 
worse, I could stand the cold no longer, and started down 
in search of the missing men. It was half-an-hour before 
I fell in with them and as it was impossible to reach my 
camping ground before dark, the only thing to do was to 
descend to the first lake and camp by it, which we did, 
pitching the tents above the tree limit at an altitude of 
about 15,000 feet. 
