Mount Everest, the Reconnaissance, 1921 — John Shaqi
Mount Everest, the Reconnaissance, 1921Howard-Bury, Charles
History
Mount Everest, the Reconnaissance, 1921
Howard-Bury, Charles
Everest, Mount (China and Nepal); Mount Everest Expedition (1921)
On returning to Phari, we found that a message had come from the Jongpen
to ask us to dine with him the following evening. The change in the
climate and the bad cooking had affected the stomachs of all the members
of the Expedition, and none of us was feeling very well. Dr. Kellas was
the worst, and as soon as he arrived at Phari he retired to bed. The
following morning was misty and the ground was all white with
hoar-frost, though it was the last day in May; but as I was anxious to
get some photographs of Chomolhari we rode, with the Chaukidar as a
guide, through the mist across the plain to some hills just to the South
of the great mountain; after a few miles we found ourselves above the
clouds with the sun shining in a brilliant blue sky. The whole of the
Phari Plain was covered by a sea of clouds. On the far side rose the
Pawhunri group of mountains, while further to the South, Kanchenjunga
towered above all the other peaks, such as Siniolchum, Kabru and
Jonsong, all of which stood out very clearly in this brilliant
atmosphere. I rode up a delightful little mountain valley full of dwarf
rhododendrons and Alpine primulas until I reached a height of 16,000
feet. We then left the ponies and climbed on to the top of the hill,
which was about 17,500 feet; from this point we had glorious views of
Chomolhari immediately across the valley, while on the other side we
looked over to the snowy peaks and ranges in Bhutan far to the South of
us. We found the wind very keen at this height, and after taking several
photographs we rode back again to Phari.
[Illustration: CHOMOLHARI FROM THE SOUTH.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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