The record-union., 1892-11-25
The KARAKORAN MOUNTAINS.
W. NJ. COnway's Account Of His As
cent of the Pioneer Peak.
Thrilling and Interesting Description
of PeriloUs Journey in the Ka-
rakoran Mountains.

The following Is an extract from w. M.
Conway's letter to the London Geograph-
ical Society, describing his ascent Of the
Pioneer Peak in the karakoran Mount
aims of Cashmir:
sat length on the 18th Of August, we
assaulted our peak. Bruce and the Goor-
Xmas called us at l:3O A. NJ, and ali seven
OF us had to crowd into the one tent till it
should be time to start. They were all
fairly numbed when they arrived, and
we now knew by experience that, at this
altitude, none Of us could stand the cold
OF night for more than an hour. Hence
we did not start till a. NJ. \ series of
sleepless nights, eliminating in this last,
rendered Mccormick unable to march,
so we had regretfully to leave him be
hind. We started straight up the snow
slope behind the tent, and in an hour
reached the arete along which the remain
der Of our route was to lie Our bodies
grew warm with exercise, but the cold
ground seemed to suck the warmth
out of our feet. They gradually lost
all sensation, Notwithstanding our
stamping and cruncning Of them.
At last we had to halt and pull
Off our boots, and set to work rub
DIIG 10 save ourselves from lfOSL DiGG.
This we only just succeeded i'll accom-
plishing. The sun now comes upon US,
and though our feet remained numb for
the rest OF the day, and in the case of
some of us for several days, our bodies
were soon far too hot to be comfortable.
The great variations between biting cold
and griliing heat are tue chief impedi-
ments to mountaineering at high alti-
tudes in these parts. Not only are the
cold and the heat alike hard to endure,
but the change from the one to the other
seems to weaken the forces and 20 render
the whole body feeble.
"A quarter Of an hours walk brought
us to the first point on the ridge, about
800 feet above the camp. Here we halted
to set up the barometer and take some
photographs. Beyond the first point
there was small depression, which had
to be reached by a rather difficult rock
scramble. ON either hand steep slopes,
or walls Of ice, descended to the glaciers
below, and we were Obliged to Keep to
the very crest of the narrow ridge. Here
our cllmblng-lrOnS were OF the greatest
assistance, for the rocks were all tissured
over with little cracks, which would have
given no hold for DOOtnallS, but afforded
securest anchorage for the steel points Of
our claws. Beyond the little col which
we reached in about ten minutes, the
slope on our right hand came rounding
face OF mingled ice and rocks. which had
10 be surmounted before we could again
travel along the main arete. We had Il
tough scramble of it for a quarter OF an
hour, and then we expected better things.
But, to our horror, we found that the
ridge leading to the second peak was not
OF snow, but of hard, blue ice covered
with thin layer Of snow. Every step
we took had to be cut through the snow
into the ice. The snow would have
clOgged the climbing irons and prevented
them from taking firm hold Of the ice had
it not been cleared away.
The ice beneath was, in any case too
hard for the steel points to penetrate until
it had been prepared by stroke or two
OF the AK. small steps suiuced for Us.
but II we had been without climbing
irons, large ones would have been neces-
sary for safety; our work would have
been greatly increased and our rate Of
progress much diminished. AS il was
Zurbriggen found the work OF step-cut-
ting-severe at any uime-tar more Ia
tiguing than AT the ordinary Swiss levels.
prom the top OF our rock scramble to
the second peak took us an hour and ten
minutes. " e were rewarded when we
got there by finding under q kindly rock
little pool OF clear water more precious
TO US than all the veins of ore that tray-
erse our mountain in every direction
sickness at this point, and had to be LETT
behind.
The remainder of our ascent was alto
gether mOnOtonous. The white ridge led
straight up before US ana had to De fol-
lowed. 1t was OF ice thinly covered with
SNOW. and every step had to be cut with
the ak. Moreover, the arete was heavily
corniced on our left hand. so that we We're
forced to keep well on TO the right slope.
and remained in ignorance OF the deVel-
opment OF the view III the other direction.
Our advance was necessarily slow, and
the terrible heat which the burning rays
of the sun poured upon our heads did not
add to its rapdity. There was plenty Of
air upon the corniced ridge where we
could not go, and now anu again a pun
would come down upon US and quicken
us into a little life. For the most part we
were in the midst of utter aerial stagna-
ton, which made existence intoIerable.
Such conditions dull the observing lacul-
ties. I heard the click-click Of Xurbrig-
gems ak making the long, striding steps.
and mechanically struggled from one TO
another. | was dimly conscious of the
vast depth below on the right filled with
tortured glacier and gaping schrunds.
But now and again would come a reac-
ton, and the grandeur of the scenery
would make itself felt. We could look