Page:Sikhim and Bhutan.djvu/91

 one lies an amphitheatre of snow peaks, all over 21,000 feet, save in one gap, which is 19,300 feet. On the right hand Sim-vo-vonchin rises sharply over the 19,000-foot gap, then the splendid shoulder supporting the twin peaks of Kangchenjunga, which towers up to a height of over 28,000 feet, and with something like 11,000 feet of uninterrupted snow and ice falling in a sheer precipice on its south face to the great glacier at its foot, next the ridge connecting Kangchenjunga with Kabru, and on the immediate left a fine unnamed snow peak with hanging glaciers, but Kabru itself is invisible from this pass. On the south side of the Kangchen glacier were some ancient moraines covered with exquisite green turf and masses of Alpine flowers, whose simple beauty and vivid colouring stood out in sharp contrast to the grandeur of the surrounding snows, making a picture long to be remembered. I climbed down and had my tents pitched on this lovely green sward, though it seemed almost desecration to turn such a lovely spot into a noisy camp, with all its ugly and commonplace surroundings. Next morning I walked up the valley as far as I could go without crossing the glacier, and the scene, if possible, became still wilder and more magnificent. On the right was Kangchenjunga and to the left Kabru with its magnificent glacier, while joining the two mountains in front of me was a wall of snow and ice 21,000 feet high. By and by, as the sun shone on the face of Kangchen, I saw some magnificent snow avalanches. They came thundering down on all sides, making a peculiar hissing noise, and on reaching the glacier, burst into clouds of spray of dazzling whiteness, which here and there was transformed into rainbow colours by the rising sun. A little later, as I was photographing Kangchenjunga, a large piece of snow cracked off, crashed down about 8000 feet, and, reaching the bottom with a noise like thunder, which reverberated through the surrounding heights, filled the head of the valley with a mist of snow. Altogether, it was a day of most beautiful sights