| | | | | | | | | | | | | | On the night of the 13th of February, the temperature was at —29.3°. The weather remained fine. The minimum of the night of February 14th was —30.5° and the weather remained good. On this day we made I I km. to the E. S. E. We ascended only 28 m. from Caine CCCXXVIII, as Camp CCCXXIX had an altitude of 5,345 m., which would be a rise of I : 393. This is due to the fact that we had to go down from the first little threshold to the floor of the latitudinal valley. A short distance from Camp CCCXXVIII, we cross a second little threshold, being at 15 or 2 0 m. above the camp, and from there we go rather steeply down to the floor of the main valley. From the threshold it was difficult to say which direction would be the most favourable. To the S. E. another little threshold was seen, and beyond it a larger valley, which no doubt leads eastwards to a pass. To the east, a high pass was seen, to which a rather narrow valley ascends. I decided to make an attempt to cross it. The arena valley was, therefore, traversed in the direction of the mouth of the pass valley. The ground was good with the exception of the rabbits' holes, most of them still filled with snow. Antelopes and kyangs were numerous; of other animals, only a fox was seen. At Camp CCCXXIX, just at the entrance of the valley, there was some very poor grass. A well-marked erosion furrow follows along the left or southern side of the valley. From the right another bed enters, at the side of which a ring wall of stone proved that Tibetans had camped. On the mountains to the north there is much snow. On February 15th, we travelled mostly eastwards, and only the last bit to the S. E., for 17.8 km. in all. From Camp CCCXXIX, at 5,345 m., we have 8.4 km. to the pass, the altitude of which is 5,655 m. or 310 m. above the camp. The rate of ascent is here as I : 2 7. On the eastern side the slope is much less steep. From the pass we had 9.4 km. to Camp CCCXXX, which was at 5,556 m., or 99 m. below the pass; here the rate is only as I : 95. After a night at a temperature of —30.3°, we started up the valley on the top of the right terrace of the bed. This, however, soon becoming pierced by snow-filled ravines, we went down into the erosion bed itself which was full of sharp-edged gravel, and occasionally had a little ice-sheet left by the last water of the little brook in the autumn. Springs were not seen at all. In the valley there was surprisingly little snow, whilst the hills on the sides were nearly white. The rock was dark schist, or fine-grained schistous quartzite. The direction of the valley is nearly due east without sharp windings. From the sides several small tributaries enter. The slope becomes more and more steep. The pass has the form of a very flat, open platform, steep to the west and with a gradual fall to the east. The gravel on its top consisted of grey phyllitic schist, containing quartz. The view to the east is not encouraging. The descending valley is bordered on the left or north, by a range with fine, not very high, peaks. Some kilometers. farther on, the valley turns to the S. E., and just in the corner, a tributary enters, |
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