The Columbus journal., 1909-06-23

MaEzAAs m LA0hAx 20
The duke OF the Abruzzi Is either
at or near Bombay. which city Is to
be the starting point Of his expedition
to the Himalayas.
A considerable and unnecessary
amount Of mystery has been thrown
around the plans of the ducal explorer
who has been romantically supposed
to be seeking relief from his love
misadventures by Drawing the dangers
of the Indian glaciers. but the foilow'
ing details can be considered authen'
tic:
The party which accompanies the
duke Of the Abruzzi consists ol
Marchese Negrotto. Cavalier Vittorio
Sella, Cavalier Filippo de Fflippi. Sig
nor Botta, and seven guides from the
Courmayeur. Marchese Negrotto Is
the dukes nag lieutenant in the 1tal-
ian navy. Cavalier Sella accompanied
the duke on his former expeditions at
Mount st. Elias In Alaska Inj to Ruw'
enzori.
His illustrations added not q little
to the interest OF the book published
on the Ruwenzori. and we're one OF
the chief attractions Of the account
given by Douglas Freshdeid OF his ex-
plorations round KunchinjingA- Cava-
lier Filippo de Filippi also was com
panion Of the duke on his Polar ex'
ploration, and though hs could not
accompany him to Ruwenz0ri. wrote
the history Of that expedition whicn
has since been published.
Signor Botta goes a assistant pho
toGrapher to Sella: he. too. was .
member OF the earlier expeditions to
Alaska and Ruwenzori. and has bad
moreover some mountaineering ex-
perience in the Caucasus and the
Himalayas.
Besides Sella and Botta. four OF the
seven guides have had Himalayan ex'
perience. Joseph Petigax. who accom-
panied the duke on his former expedi-
lions, was for some time with DR..
Bullock Workman in his expedition In
1903 In Baltistan. Alexis and Henri
Brocherel were with the expedition OF
Messrs. Longstaff, Mumm and Brace
to the Nanda Devi group in 1907: and
q. Savoie was with the two Swedish
mountaineers who established
Himalayan record by climbing Kabru.
$4,000 feet. in Sikkim.
The fact that the duke has ar
ranged for the collection Of coolies II
Srinasar leaves. OF course. no doubt
N to the Karakram range being the
scene OF his explorations. and the
large proportion Of guides among the
members Of the party would show that
his main object is climbing.
Now. the western part Of the Kara
koran has recently been explored BY
the Workmans. The central part OF
the range, however. contains the high
est peaks OF all. grouped round the
great Baltoro glacier: and. as 1t or
fers the most tempting ground for q
mountaineer Of the dukes ambitions.
one may safely assume that It Is here
that the choice Of mountains to ascend
will be made.
The Baltoro glacier explored BY SiE
w. Martin Conway in 1882. when he
climbed Pioneer Peak. $4,000 feet. to
its south. Il was revisited IL 1909 BY
the Eckenstein- Guillarmod expedition.
of which an account was published
by DR.. Cuillarmod on their unsuccess.
full attempt to reach K2. To Judge
from the photographs which have
been brought back both II K2 and oi
! other giants OF the range. the formid'
able character Of the climbing can
hardly be exag2eflteo.
In spite Of the assurance that the
duke OF the Abruzs: has net yet MED
his hopes upon any particular sam
NIT, one cannot doubt that Mount
Goodwin Austin. or K2 n It 10 more
familiarly called. 10 the peak which
he will first reconnoitre. Should
nearer examination prove that II Is
hopeless. even for IN expedition 80 e1
| perienced and thoroughly organized a
| that OF the dukes. one may still b
sure from bis previope record that ~
viii not return empty-handed.
Even II he does not succeed In seal
ing the $3.50 feet Of K2. there an
plenty OF geographical discoveries t
be made and other virgin heights 4
4 be climbed in. and especially beyon<
the main range.