CHAPTER IV
ON THE TAGHDUMBASH PAMIR
WHEN early on the morning of the 29th of June I struck camp to move over the Kilik or ` Kalik ' Pass, as it is called by Kanjutis, the ground was covered with hoar frost and the little streams which came down from the pass were partly frozen. I tried to start early in order to find the snow still hard ; but the packing of the baggage on yaks proved a lengthy affair, and it was not till 8 a.m. that the caravan moved off. I had the satisfaction of seeing the servants whom the previous marches had tried a great deal, now comfortably mounted on yaks. The ascent lay northwards through a comparatively open though steep nullah for about an hour. Then the ground widened, and the flat watershed still covered with snow came into view. On the east the pass is flanked by spurs of a rugged peak, which rises to a height of nearly 20,000 feet. On the west two small glaciers stretch down
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