CLIMBING BELUKHA 197 



noticed the day previously, and said I was quite sure 

 that the spot was much better than " Windy Camp," 

 as we should be protected by the peaks. 



All my arguments were of no avail. My inter- 

 preter was very much against my climbing, and the 

 hunters, seeing this, felt that they were right in 

 refusing to go farther. However, after a lot of talk, 

 it was agreed that we should camp on the side of the 

 lake about one mile nearer Belukha. 



We packed our horses and had very great difficulty 

 in getting them over the deep snow of the ancient 

 lateral moraine, at which the hunters complained very 

 much. We soon reached the lake. The water had 

 evidently flooded the top of the lake and frozen again, 

 because it broke and let the horses through it for 

 about six inches at each step, but no deeper, as the 

 ice underneath was very hard. 



Just as I thought we were getting along splendidly 

 the hunters made for the side of the lake, and, when 

 I informed them that we must at least go to the end 

 of the lake, they threatened to go home and leave 

 me unless I allowed them to have their own way. 

 They both argued that, even if I went to the end 

 of the lake, I should not be able to reach the peak 

 in one day, and they would proceed with my light 

 tent as far as I wanted. This being the best I 

 could do, as soon as we made the second camp I 

 intimated that I wanted to sleep on the top of the 

 glacier at the foot of the Belukha precipices that 

 night. Continuing on our way, we rode the horses 

 to the end of the lake and tied them up to the trees. 



When we started from our camp at about 1 1 a.m. 

 the hunters were quite willing to go to the spot where 

 I wanted to sleep, but as we gained the moraine 

 they got into difficulties on the ice-glazed boulders 

 and constantly slipped off, sinking up to the hips in 

 snow and getting their legs jammed between the 



