Climbing on the Himalaya and Other Mountain Ranges — John Shaqi
Climbing on the Himalaya and Other Mountain RangesCollie, Norman
History
Climbing on the Himalaya and Other Mountain Ranges
Collie, Norman
Himalaya Mountains; Mountaineering
During the years 1854-58 the two brothers, Adolf and Robert
Schlagintweit wandered through a large portion of the Himalaya. They
were the first explorers who possessed any real knowledge of snow work,
having gained their experience in the Alps. Starting from Nynee Tal
they followed the Pindar river to its source, just under the southern
slopes of Nanda Devi. Then crossing to the north-east by a pass about
17,700 feet high, they reached Milam on the Gori river, whence they
penetrated into Tibet over several passes averaging 18,000 feet. In
this district, never since visited by Europeans, they made more than
one glacier expedition, finally returning over the main chain, close
to Kamet or Ibi Gamin (25,443 feet), on the slopes of which they
remained for a fortnight, their highest camp being at 19,326 feet. An
unsuccessful attempt was made on the peak, for they were forced to
retreat after having reached an altitude of 22,259 feet. Returning
over the Mana pass to the valley of the Sarsuti river, they descended
to Badrinath. The upper valley of the Indus north of Kashmir was next
explored, and Adolf, having crossed the Karakoram pass, was murdered
at Kashgar.[D] In the _Journal_ of the Royal Asiatic Society of
Bengal (vol. xxxv.) will be found a paper by the two brothers on the
'Comparative Hypsometrical and Physical Features of High Asia, the
Andes, and the Alps,' which deals in a most interesting manner with the
respective features of these several mountain ranges.
In the years 1860-1865 Mr. W. H. Johnson, whilst engaged on the Kashmir
Survey, established a large number of trigonometrical stations at a
height of over 20,000 feet. One of his masonry platforms on the top of
a peak 21,500 feet high is said to be visible from Leh in Ladâk. The
highest point he probably reached was during an expedition made from
the district Changchenmo north of the Pangong lake in the year 1864.
Travelling northwards he made his way through the mountains to the
Yarkand road, and at one point, being unable to proceed, he found it
necessary to climb over the mountain range at a height of 22,300 feet,
where the darkness overtook him, and he was forced to spend the night
at 22,000 feet. In the next year, 1865, on his journey to Khutan he was
obliged to wait for permission to enter Turkestan; and being anxious
to obtain as much knowledge of the country to the north as possible,
he climbed three peaks--E^{57}, 21,757 feet; E^{58}, 21,971 feet; and
E^{61}, 23,890 feet (?). The heights of the first two mountains have
been accurately determined by a series of trigonometrical observations,
but there has probably been some error made in the height of the last,
E^{61}.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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