170 
THROUGH ASIA 
We were surrounded on all sides by glacial landscapes ; 
only unfortunately mists and snowstorms prevented me 
from taking photographs of them. Looking towards the 
west, along the longer axis of the ice-lake, it was easy to 
imagine we were gazing down a narrow fjord or sea-gulf ; 
the horizon was wreathed in mist and seemed to lie at an 
immense distance away. To right and left were mountain- 
chains ; but it was only the slopes nearest to us which 
emerged out of the haze. 
On March 15th we rode all day long up the valley of 
A REST ON THE PASS OF AK-BAITAL 
Mus-kol, traversing it right through from one end to the 
other. At its upper extremity, to which the ascent had 
been very gradual, we halted for the night, close to the 
northern entrance of the pass of Ak-baital. The next day 
brought us a hard climb of ten hours’ duration right over 
the pass, which rises to the pretty respectable altitude of 
15)3^0 feet. A sharp snowstorm, waxing for a time into a 
hurricane, gave us a chilling welcome in the pass. The 
ascent was tough work for the horses, chiefly in conse- 
quence of the extreme rarefaction of the air. They had 
