EXPLORING THE HIMALAYAS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10011, 6 April 1910, Page 3

EXPLORING THE HIMALAYAS.

24,577 FEET ABOVE SEA LEVEL. The Duke of the Abruzzi delivered alc cturc on hia expedition in the Himalayas at the Teatro Vittotio Eirai.uelo, Turin, recently. Narating the expedition, Hi 3 Koyal Highness paid that, accompanied by the IVarqins Ne2rr»ttf\ his orderly officer, Cavaliere Vittorio Sella, and ! Ovnlierp Dnttor He Filippi, | avrt eight Alpine guides from CourmI ayeur, h° grn.ved on April 17th at ' Sii.;;ear, «where he en joyed the hospitality of the Resident, Sir Francis Younghusband. Starting from the capital of Kashmir, the expedition. afti 3 r a twenty days' march, reached Apkoleb (3,000 metres), the last village of the Braldoh VaJley. Askoleh being left behind, the camp was pitched on May 18ht, at the foot for the Lsakorn Glacier. For a period of 67 days this glacier—one of the lar- ; gest in the world, and about 65 kiloi metres long—was the home of of the j expedition. Ascending the Baltoro with a following of about 360 native porters, he established a base camp Tor povisioning and postal purposes at a locality called Kokassj at a height of 4.023 meters. ||On May 24th he arrived in sight of the Mountain K 2, also called Godwin Austen, 8,610 metres, which is the second highest peak in the world. Mount Everest measuring 8.840 metres. On that wayjjthe'party found itself at'the confidence of the three glaciers 'which meet in the Balioro, viz., the Godwin Austen, the Golden Throne, and the Ch Vigne, forming a"vast glacial basin of incomparable Alpine beauty, surrounded by colossal peaks, several of which are more than 8,000 metres high. On the 25th another base camp was pitched at 5,033 metres, at the sjuthern foot of K2. From this point he tried three tirnes'to mountain by the south-eastern jridge, but hai to desist owirg to the difficulties, especially of transport. f■' Exploring slopes of K2, his Royal Highness, ascending by the western spurs, brought his camp up to an altitude of 5,540 metres, and thence on" June 7th he climbed a hitherto unexplored peak 6,606 metres high, to which he gave the name Savoia. From thio point a'splendid view was obtained far to the north and north-east, towards the Oprang Valley, on the unknown slope towards Tibet. Subsequently the Duke explored the eastern branch of tne Godwin reaching' Windy Gap (6,233 "metres), only touched previously by one expedition, ''the Anglo-Austrian." As the result of these explorations His Royal Highness came to the conclusion that any attempt to climb K2 by the western, southern and eastern slopes was hopelesa. Meanwhile in • teresting topographical observations were made during these attempts respecting the immense unexplored Afcaine region to the east of the arakoram.The weather had become Kuncertain, with frequentrsnow showers. RECORD HEIGHT ATTAINED. On June 26th an attempt was made to climb Staircase Peak, a rapid journey being made to the second terrace of the ridge, a height of 6,600 metres, but a further ascent was prevented by. enormous crevasses. Ihe first partjof July was spent in Paak (7,653 metres). Notwithstanding the continuous bad weather, a point 7,493 metres (24,577 ft) high was attained- an ; altitude never before attained by man in mountain climbing. The summit, however, only 150 metres higher up, could not be reached, owing to the danger from avalanches, the ice cornices of the ridge, and the weather. On July 22nd the party reassembled at the Rhodkass base camp, and was back in Srinagar on August llth, getting their first glimpse of the stupendous Karakoram lange—ready far off, fom Mount Boorgila, 4,829 metres. If the range, said the Duke, did not let us achieve; all the triumphs we dreamt of at the of the journey, it gave us all ttie excitement of struggle and uofjigettable hours of contemplation. At.other expeuitio s, as in those of Mount St. Elias and Ruwenzori, wic work of myj'predccessora allowtd me to achieve victory; this time, however, may my worn: and my extrtions enable' others to gather tne fruit by climbing in my footdups to the magnificent summit of Bride Peak. The Duke then summed up the scientific results of the expedition j After giving the result of technica ; toDOgraphical observations, the most' ' important of wnich -is, perhaps, the i ! measurement of Broad Peak, which

was found to hav.? a height of 8,270 metres, being thus the second highest in the Karakoram ranse, he proceeded to descrioe she climatic conditions of the region. The party, he said, was on the Baltoio Glacier from May 18th t> July 23rd, and found I June more windy than July, a mild j temperature in June, but great heat 1 in July on sunny days. The south- | east monsuon blows very ttrongly in '; May, June, and July, but subsides in August anJ Septemoer I The meteorological conditions are very changeable, being doubtless in- j fiuenced by the hign cold p;.ss s and | the extensive glacits. An absolutj | absence ot thunder and lightning was : observed on'tha Baltor, due. perhaps. | to the lack of moisture, and the j peaks acting as gigantic lightning conductors. The inhabitnts of Baltisan. from j among which His Koyd Highness in- I gaged his porters, are, he says, of good disposition and physically ve<y robust, being able to endure gie.t atitudes better than any Europe ■• ; The Duke founa that ~11 me Kara- | koram peaks arejdifficjlt of J except Golden Throne and Bride j Peak. The abrupt changes of ternperature render the rock very crumbly, the s::ow on the slopeb dangerous, and the glaciers impracticable on sunny days. The snow conditions in , June were, however, very favourable, and His Koyal Highness thinks that month should be chosen for snowy peaks, while the following warmer months are better for rocky climbs. PHYSICAL CONDITIONS. With regard to the rarefaction of the air, none of the party felt any inconvenience up to 5,000 metres, but between 5,000 and 6,000 metres | there were cases of insomnia, want of appetite, and frequently of the pulse above the normal. But these cases did not stop regular marching. Above 6,300 metres the Duke and | three guides went for more than a week without suffering inconvenience beyond a quickened r pulse. On tbe gentler slopes, up to 6.800 meters, marches of more than an hour could be made without stopping, but above 6,800 metes, on the steep ridge of Bride Peak, in bad snow, only very slow progress could be made, with rests every quarter of an hour. It was observed that the physical strength of the climbers, after fifty days orr the Baltoro. had certainly diminished, so that if the ascent of Bride Peak had been undertaken just after the arrival in the region, better work could have been accomplished. This diminution in strength the Duke attributes to the altitude, and not to the use of tinned meat,and he holds that since at 7.500 metres man's organ'sm supports a diminution of pressure of about 450 millimetres, it can stand a further diminution of 50 millimetres on the highest summits of the globe. The difficulties of the Himalayas he regards as of the same kind as those of the Alps, though greater in degree, while the biological and climatic conditisna are worse. The high peaks therefore can, he thinks, only be accomplished by ea?y routes.