Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-11-19
A GREAT GLACIER CLINE.


The Longest Glacier In the Temperate Zone
Assembled by Mr.. Conway.
From the n Y. Sun
Mr. W. NJ Conway, who was sent out by the
Royal Geographical Society Of London last
spring to explore the Kara Koran mountains
and their mighty glaciers north Of Cashmere.
has accomplished the most brilliants feats of
mountain and glacier climbing that any ex-
plorer has achieved in years. He has sent to
the society a report Of his ascent Of the Baltoro
glacier, over forty miles In length and the
longest glacier that is known in temperate
regions, and Of his ascent Of an Recovered
mountain over $4,000 feet high at the upper end
Of the glacier.
He began the ascent Of the Baltoro glacier on
August s. He had little idea on starting Of the
discomforts before him. His party included
three Engiishmen besides himself, an Alpine
guide and our Sepoys detailed from an Indian
regiment Fully two-thirds of the entire
length OF the glacier was completely covered
with stone debris that the ice WAS not visible
except where lakes or crevasses occur. He was
unable to ascend along the banks at the sides of
the glacier, for they were not traversable. He
was therefore forced to 60 up the horrible
middle Of the ice. The surface not fat,
but WAS . series of prodigious mounds. He
measured one Of them, which was over two
hundred feet high, and it was usually easier to
climb over these mounds than to circumvent
them. Tho stones that rested upon the ice were
constantly giving way under foot. The conse-
quence was that the progress Of the heavily
laden Sepoys was slow and the marches had to
be short
The party WAS nearly two weeks ascending
the ice river, four days Of which time they re-
manned in camp, on account Of stormy weather.
When they finally turned up q tributary glacier
In order to ascend the mountain they had
reached a height of l6. 900 feet above the sea.
All through the journey the cold very
severe. The party was very heavily laden, be-
cause in addition to their food supplies it was
necessary to carry quantity Of fuel.
1t was not till August Is. twenty days after
they had left the foot Of the glacier, that they
began the assault upon the icy peak which they
intended to surmount. Two or three Of the
party had become disabled by cold and fatigue
and had to return to a camp established on the
glacier. The party complained of some dis
comfort, which travellers among the Himaiayas
have often mentioned. The sun day after day
came out with scorching power. and while their
feet were numbed with cold their bodies were
far too hot to be comfortable. Mr.. Conway
says the great variations between biting cold
and grilling heat are the chief impediments to
mountaineering at high attitudes in those
regions Not only the cold and the heat alike
are hard to endure. but the change from one to
the other seems to weaken the forces and rem
der the whole body feeble.
Ascending the steep slope of the fua, peak,
CilmDIllR HonS were OF the greatest as
sistance. They found. to their disInay, after
climbing few hundred feet, that the upper
part OF the peak was not of snow, but of hard,
blue ice. covered with thin LAYER of snow
Every step they took had to be cut through
the snow into the ice. The ice WAS too hard
for the steel points of the climbing irons to
penetrate until it had been prepared BY a
stroke or two of the ak. The Alpine guide
said the work of step cutting was far more
fatiguing than he had ever experienced in
Switzerland One of the Sepoys was over
taken by mountain sickness and had to be left
behind Now and then puff Of air inspired
the party with little life. Most of the time
they suffered from the rarefcation of the air.
Reaching the top, about $4,000 feet above
the sea, Conway named the mountain Pioneer
Peak He saw the most glorious mountain
views on every side. The whole panorama of
valley, mountain, glacier and snow has an eff
feet, at that elevation, of majestic repose. The
observers were far above the noises of
ayalanches and rivers. and natures forces
were reduced to mere insigniicance as thew
gazed Thousands of feet below them upon the
scenery. Many OF the mountains they saw had
not before been seen by human eye. They re-
manned at the top for an hour and a quarter
for 1t was hard to tear themselves away from a
scene SO magnificent and rare They could
look straight down the Baltoro glacier. The
southwark scenery was wholly new to them az
it burst into view for the first time when they
reached the summit; but it to the west
ward that the greatest area displayed to
their gaze. One Of the mountains to the west,
which Conway says is the finest mountain he
ever saw, is about 25, 900 feet high and Is I'M
marked on any map. Conway named the
mountain the Guardian of the Mustagh
II was comparatively easy to descend the
peak to their camp of the night before. After
they had got below the region of ice only long
snow slope separated them from their tent, and
they seated themselves on the steep snow and
slid down to their camp in less than quarter
of an hour.