CLIMBING BELUKHA 211 



homeward journey up the hill towards the high 

 Kalmuck pass bearing to the left from the Akkeni 

 valley. Several families had collected to give us ^ 

 welcome, but they were only in time to bid us 3i 

 hearty farewell. Half-way up the pass we met two 

 Kalmucks, also on their way to visit us. They were 

 fine specimens of horsemen, and were mounted on 

 small sturdy ponies. They rode on one side of the 

 exceedingly steep ice slope in order to let us pass. 

 In the course of a short conversation they said they 

 had run • short of food because of the very severe 

 and prolonged winter. 



Judging by the experience Professor Sapozhnikofif 

 had in the summer, and my own experience in the 

 winter, the weather must be very changeable. Sudden 

 blizzards and fierce north winds, with blinding snow- 

 storms, occur in the winter, and excessive rains in 

 the summer. The future explorer in the summer 

 must expect very heavy rains about May and early, 

 June, and very fierce wind and heavy snowstorms in 

 the winter. 



After bidding our friends good-bye we were not 

 very long in gaining the summit, where we gave 

 the horses a rest. They were quite exhausted by 

 slipping about on the frozen slopes. While we 

 rested we could take in the view of the mountains. 



We descended through forests, and most of the 

 streams were free of ice . We found it was impossible 

 to cross the stream at the place where we had come 

 over, as it was flowing much too fast for the horses 

 to swim across, so we crossed several small streams. 



We passed a place where a Kalmuck rears marals 

 in order to cut off their horns to sell them to the 

 Chinese. We then came to a bend in the River Katun 

 where the Water was smooth. Hailing a Kalmuck on 

 the other side, he paddled the canoe across. My, 

 interpreter and myself went in the canoe, while the 



