National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

THE PASS SHIB-LA.

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Dangsar is an ice-filled valley from the S. 8o° W., in the background of which rather high and partly snow-covered mountains are seen. Above its junction hot springs again crop out of the ground, with a temperature of 48,90° C., and called Mensetsaka; their water is fresh in spite of the name; the surrounding rock is lateritic porphyry. A little above this place the rise becomes steeper. From the left side Selung-ninchen and Senguma enter; from the right Selung-kamba, Kamo-chinchik and Bara-sumna. Hardly any other vegetation than moss is visible amongst the gravel. The last rise to the pass of Shib-la is steep; from its ridge two other valleys, Shib-la-yilung and Chugelung, go down to Porung.

The height of Shib-la is 5 349 m. On the pass are two cairns built; the eastern one points out a road to the east, going to a region called Lanang. The view from the pass is curious; it is impossible to get an idea of the general orography, for no principal features, no ranges or crests of higher order can be seen, it is all one labyrinth of ridges. No peaks or ranges hide the view all round; one gets the impression of being at the highest level as if no crests were higher than the Shib-la. There are no sharp and dominating peaks as in the Himalayas; here

tr denudation and weathering have proceeded further and made this world of mountains more levelled. To the S.E. there are, however, a good many snow-covered mountains, some of which were called Kyara, Nagop and Luba, but they are not high; a black mountain not far away to the S.S.E. is Pelung; to the S.W. are the valleys Yangdar, Harjap, Surjap and Sangar-sangshing. To the west the whole surface of the country, generally speaking, falls towards the valley of Mü-chu-tsangpo and a region called Muva-chechen. N. 6o° E. is a comparatively high snowy peak of

di(pyramidal form, called Shagar, and N. 3o° E. a smaller one called Tsagdo-ayang. Terkungma, at the valley of the same name, appears as a light-coloured group. In general the view can be said to be bewildering and wild, and the orography to be much more complicated than further west. Only by mapping every one of the many valleys going to MU-chu, would one be able to get a clear conception of the orographical forms and lines.

The valley which goes down S.W.-wards from Shib-la is called Tagar-ongma 1 and receives from the left Tagar-kungma, and from the right Kaling-ongma. At Ott Camp 119 the height is 4 999 m; thus on a very short distance the fall from Shibil la is 350 m. From this camp the road again goes upwards to a new pass. This is characteristic for the road south of Sela-la. It goes up and down touching the upper basins of the tributaries to MU-chu. Therefore it crosses a series of flat,

secondary passes between them, either situated on ramifications from a water-parting further east, or belonging to special ranges.

From Camp 119 the Tagar-ongma goes down westwards and its valley, as far as can be seen, becomes more and more narrow, and looks rather difficult of access; at its right, or northern, side the mountains are steep and relatively high, at the left side more rounded. It is for avoiding these deep valleys that the road keeps