Trans-Himalaya; discoveries and adventures in Tibet . troop moved ontowards the lake. All the mens beards and moustacheswere white with rime, and we seemed all to have turnedgrey in a night. Abdul Kerim walked in front withhis staff, but he took a wrong direction, and I choseanother leader. In some places we were nearly suffocatedin the snow, and the crestfallen men stood in the drifts,at a loss what to do. But we plunged and flounderedon a bit, and then stood still; then a little bit pass over which we had made our way the previousday was no doubt blocked by snow. Had we reached i
Trans-Himalaya; discoveries and adventures in Tibet . troop moved ontowards the lake. All the mens beards and moustacheswere white with rime, and we seemed all to have turnedgrey in a night. Abdul Kerim walked in front withhis staff, but he took a wrong direction, and I choseanother leader. In some places we were nearly suffocatedin the snow, and the crestfallen men stood in the drifts,at a loss what to do. But we plunged and flounderedon a bit, and then stood still; then a little bit pass over which we had made our way the previousday was no doubt blocked by snow. Had we reached ittwo days later we should never have forced a way over our retreat was cut off, and we must seek safetysouthwards. It was some consolation to know that wehad burned our ships. Fortunately the ground sloped down, and as we toiledon hour after hour the snow diminished and travellingbecame easier. But the storm, which had now raged fora fortnight, showed no signs of abatement. Down on thewestern flat by the lake the snow mantle was thin, and we. ;i2, Ik continues a kew havs I,o^^;l?:K, wk akk Lix IN THE SNOW 271 encamped in a spot where the grass was not bad. I gavethe men some cigarettes every evening—at other timesthey smoked yak-dung and filled their narghilcjs withtea-leaves. The night was unusually mild, with the minimumtemperature only °, but the clouds were as dense asever and the snow fell unceasingly. It was dark all day,as though a curtain hung over the forbidden land. Westayed at camp 319. The storm blew from the south-westmore wildly than usual. The animals grazed with theirheads to leeward, and had to be driven windwards againevery time they came to the edge of the restricted area ofgrass. On February 3, also, we remained where we night long the hurricane had raged, tearing, raving,ploughing up the ground like a gigantic plough, andendeavouring to pull down our tents. In the evening Isecured everything that could fly away if the tent
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