Evening star., 1932-07-18
EXPED|T|ONNEARS
TOP OF MOUNTAIN
> HimaIayan Range Called Liv-
ing Thing by Woman
Explorer.
BY ELIZABETH KNOWLTON,
Member of Gerrnan-American Himalayan
Expedition.

Expedition.
BASE CAMP MANGA PARBAT,
Kashmir, July 18.-(By runner to Astor,
July 15)-We have reached the de-
cisive moment in our present route up
Manga Parbat. Once our expedition is
beyond Rakiot Peak the way appears
simple and easy, although there Is a
long grind ahead. If we succeed in this
part of our undertaking there is sound
hope We will get to the summit OF
Manga Parbat
Willy Merkl. the leader of the eX-
pedition, and Fritz Bechtold, our photog-
rapher, went on some days ago to look
over two proposed routes by way Of
Rakiot Peak. They rejected as diff
ficult and impracticable one along the
ridge to the left, which involved climb
ing over two sizeabla mountains. The
other route. which rounds Manga Par
bat to the right, will certainly also be
difficult.
This is a very steep and dangerous
road with the threat of falling ice
towers. We cannot tell without further
scouting whether it will be safe from
avalanches.
Camp at 10000 Feet.
Merkl and Bechtold have established
camp No. at a height of almost 10000
feet. Fritz Wiessner and Felix Simon
are setting out now to establish camp
No. s. From there final exploration Of
approaches to Manga Parbat will be
made and decision reached on just how
to make the ascent to the peak.
At bert the route is bound to be long,
and pekllaps 10 more camps will have
to be established The size of the
major HimalRyan peaks is unrealizable
to those who have not attempted them.
Everything about them is on a scale for
giant mountaineers. Where, in the
Alps, a peak may be conquered in a
day or two. here, carrying with us pro-
visions and equipment more than suf-
f1cient for a Polar expedition, we must
crawl for weeks up Manga Parbat's tre-
mendous sides.
Fortunately, however, the god Of
Manga. who, according to the coolies
sent the avalanche which last week
crushed in the tents at camp No. l, has
been comparatively inactive recently,
though nobody has tried sleeping in
that camp since. Perhaps. however.
the deity has been placated by the
coolies.
Mountains Are Alive.
All the rest of the terrifying night
which followed the avalanche, Peter
Aschenbrenner says. the coolies sat
huddled close together with clasped
and upraised hands and droned out
PRAYERS to Manga Parbat
We are never allowed for an instant
to forget that We are dealing with
something alive and menacing. Be-
cause of their enormous size and steep
ness the Himalayas are not "the un-
changing hills" These mountains are
never for many moments silent. There
always comes rattling sound of falling
stone, the crashing and crumbling of
ice towers. or the roar of an avalanche.
New crevasses break open every day
on the glaciers across our route SO that
new ways around them must continually
be found. A long ladder had to be
made to get the coolies over one
crevasse. This was an especially wide
one that opened in the night most
inconveniently just below camp No. 2.
Avalanches Frequent.
Avalanches are a most dangerous
phenomenon. They fall many times a
day, pouring like great cataracts down
the precipices on the north face of the
mountain, and with appalling weight
and power sliding out in fans on the
glacier below, while clouds of snow and
a fierce wind 60 before them.
Our route and camp locations on the
broad plateauS are probably as safe as
any that could be found on the
avalanche-hung sides of Manga Parbat.
BCt in Himalayan mountaineering it
must be recognized that safety is only
comparative.
Twice our climbers have found. in
the morning, avalanche blocks on a
path used the previous day Two days
ago in camp No. 8, Merkl and Bechtold
heard the accustomed roar very near.
They saw boiling clouds of snow dust
coming above them SO thick that 1t
grew pitch dark in late afternoon, and
they felt an icy blast They crawled
hastily into a snow cave and lay wait
ing. After some minutes daylight re-
turned, and they came out to find
everything covered with white, as II
with new fallen snow.
One measure We are taking for both
safety and comfort is the building at
every camp of these snow caves. They
give much better shelter against storms
and the fringes of avalanches than
tents, and they have proved much
cooler in the terrific, burning heat OF
the noon sun and much warmer IN the
Arctic cold of the nights.
The German American Hinalayan
Expedition is striving to set new world
record by ascending to the summit OF
Manga Parbat, peak 26,63O feet nlgn:
There are two American members OF
the expedition. One is Miss Knowlton
Of Boston and Springfield, Mass. the
other is Rand Heron of New York.
The only previous serious attempt to
reach the summit resulted in the death
81 years ago of A. F. Mummery and
two porters.
(Copyright 1882 by North American News
paper Alliance. lncD
WOMAN DRIVER is HELD