Tibet & Nepal

“Once you have visited the snows of the Himahlyas,” said a venerable old man of Kumaon to me, “you will have to return to them time after time until you die. When away from them...

From Almora to the Tibetan frontier I followed, to a great extent, a different route from the one I had taken on my first journey, as I wanted to visit en route the interesting...

The trail, which had made a somewhat circuitous deviation southward of Debi Dhura, began to turn to the east, and soon after towards the north-east. After leaving Debi Dhura it...

Some miles farther on another surprise awaited me. A new trail was being cut along the rock to shorten the ups and downs of the old “Nerpani”—the “waterless trail”—or, rather, s...

In the meantime the Tibetans, who had hastily retreated across the boundary into their country, had given the alarm of the approach of my expedition. A spy I had sent over repor...

The religion, customs, manners, and fashions of dress of the various tribes composing the population of Nepal vary to quite a considerable extent, and I have here not the space...

At the village of Chongur in Nepal I was able to purchase some extra blankets and shoes for my men, as from this point we should soon come among the snows, where we should remai...

Having seen that all my instruments were in good condition, I selected about a dozen of my strongest men to accompany me on my ascent on one of the Lumpa peaks. It had been slee...

We must go back a while in the narrative. On having reached the summit and delivered themselves of the instruments, cameras, etc., which they carried, the men immediately threw...

We made a very early start again the following morning, as I had the intention of crossing the range to the north of us and exploring some of the virgin glaciers of the Tinker r...

Tinker is a village of Shokas, at no less an elevation by hypsometrical apparatus than 12,664 feet. Our arrival necessarily caused a great deal of commotion, and everybody was u...

The first two things that strike an observant traveller on entering a Tibetan encampment are that the number of children in the population is so small, and that the majority of...

Another thing that strikes the traveller in Tibet is the sturdiness of Tibetan ponies,—long-haired, short, stumpy little brutes, which possess most marvellous endurance under ci...

were otherwise not troubled in any other way, although, of course, we kept watch until sunrise, when all we found were numerous fresh footmarks a few yards from our tent.

In heart and soul the Tibetan is a sportsman; but if you look for grace in his movements you will be sorely disappointed. Indeed, more fervour and clumsiness combined are hardly...

The Tibetan in his normal life is occasionally an amusing being, full of coarse humour, and with a bounce which carries him through his existence. When alone, he is quiet in his...

As you know, the Tibetans when saluting put out the tongue to its full extent. If they are wearing a cap it is removed and placed upon the ground in sign of respect, especially...

Perhaps some of the experiences we had on our trip across country may interest the reader. Instead of returning by Tinker we proceeded in a north-westerly direction, employing a...

It was my intention to go up the Kuti River in a north-west direction and cross over the Lebung Pass into the Darma district, in the northern part of which I wanted to explore s...

And now for the descent. I was quite numbed with cold—you see, a thin shirt only is not much protection against snow being driven into you with such force, and even when I put o...

We were already getting to lower elevations—the village of Go being only 10,577 feet. We had to the west of us the great Nanda Devi, the highest mountain in the British Empire,...

From Khela on the Nepalese boundary, where I found my men and pony—the latter had been safely taken back across the dangerous Nerpani road—I proceeded in all haste to Almora. I...