Climbing on the Himalaya and Other Mountain RangesCollie, Norman
History
Climbing on the Himalaya and Other Mountain Ranges
Collie, Norman
Himalaya Mountains; Mountaineering
On the morrow, however, I see three of the party again setting forth
for that precipice. This time, instead of approaching it from the
north-west by the Allt Toll a'Ghiubhais, they hire a machine, and drive
as far as the foot of Sgurr Bàn on the southern side; then mounting to
the peak just to the west of Sgurr Bàn by a well-made deer path, they
soon arrive at the summit of the middle buttress, overlooking Coire
Mhic Fhearchair. They climb out to the very end of the nose and look
down, straight below, and only 300 feet away is the little cairn built
on the preceding afternoon, but, as I have remarked before, that 300
feet is very steep. A photograph taken from the most southerly of the
three buttresses, so as to get the middle buttress in profile, shows
the angle of the last 200 feet to be about 85 degrees, not quite but
very nearly 'A.P.' However, they think that they may as well see how
far they can descend. The rocks on the left-hand (southern) side of
the buttress are obligingly broken up, so that by a series of small
climbs the party are enabled to get from one small platform to the
next, always edging towards the outside of the buttress. At last they
all congregate together. A perpendicular slab, which has partly come
away from the front of the crags, bars their way to the right, and,
below, a quite perpendicular drop of about 200 feet on to the ledge
quietly but firmly impresses on them the fact that that way is not
for them. But always in mountaineering, just as things become quite
hopeless and 'blue,' then it is the duty of the person who describes
the adventure to appeal to the feelings of the public (who, presumably,
are unacquainted with that particular climb). It is his duty to picture
these unfortunate individuals, fearful that their retreat is cut off,
yet unable to proceed; how, having dangled on the ends of ropes,
swinging backwards and forwards in the breeze, they return to the ledge
baffled; or having climbed on each other's shoulders, they find 'the
desired crack two good feet out of reach,' and there is not always one
in the party powerful enough to 'propel' the leader 'from below by a
sudden and powerful jerk, so that he can with outstretched fingers
clutch that desired crack.' But still, with a little imagination, we
can see these things. A good imagination is necessary, I may say very
necessary, to the enthusiastic climber; much pleasure is otherwise lost.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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