60 ON THE TAGHDUMBASH PAMIR [CHAP. Iv.
—an advantage which, in view of the subsequent work, was not to be despised. The way in which the sure-footed animals carried us and our instruments steadily up, first over steep grassy slopes, then over fields of snow, and finally over the shingly beds of rock, was to me a novel and gratifying experience. It was clear that by a judicious use of the yak the difficulties which the high elevations offer to mountaineering in these regions could be reduced for the initial stages. From the top of Khushbel we were able to identify some peaks both towards the Murghab Valley and Hunza which had been triangulated by Captain Deasy. While Ram Singh was busy with his plane-table, I did my first work with the Bridges-Lee photo-theodolite, an excellent instrument, which was now on its first trial in Central Asia. By noon the wind began to blow again, which seems a regular feature of the atmospheric conditions at this season, and I was glad when by 6 p.m. the shelter of the tent was reached.
Köktörök is so near to the Wakhjir Pass, which marks the watershed between the Oxus and the Yarkand River drainage systems, that I could not resist the temptation of visiting it during the two days which were required for the Sub-Surveyor's work round this camp. It would have weighed on my topographical conscience to have passed by without seeing at least the head of the Wakhan Valley and the glacier which Lord Curzon first demonstrated to be the true source of the Oxus. Accordingly, leaving all heavy baggage with the Sub-Surveyor's party at Köktörök, I set out on the morning of the 1st of July towards the Wakhjir Pass. The road led first up the open valley towards the west, and then after some five miles turned into a narrower side valley in a south-westerly direction. Large patches of snow and the gradual disappearance of the thick, coarse grass, which was to be seen round Köktörök Camp, marked the higher elevation. I pitched my tent at the point which offered the last bit of comparatively dry ground, circ. 15,300 feet above the sea. Higher up
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