The Valley of Flowers: An outstanding Himalayan climbing seasonIn his delightful The Valley of Flowers, mountaineer Frank Smythe takes you on a botanical expedition to the Garhwal Himalaya. Alongside the author, scale the steep craggy mountains and bathe in crystal clear pools; breathe in the scented foothills of the Himalaya and their carpets of peonies, roses, rhododendrons and gentian. Experience 'the keen, biting air of the heights and the soft, scented air of the valleys'. Climber and adventurer Smythe journeys through the Himalaya's Byundar Pass, climbs the Mana Peak, descends into the Byundar Valley, and comes terrifyingly close to an encounter with The Abominable Snowman. The Valley of Flowers is a pleasurable escape for any climber, walker, mountain lover or gardener, or indeed anyone who needs reminding of the beauty and serenity of the natural world. |
From inside the book
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... clouds are so diverse, so beautiful and terrible as the soil under your feet. ... I tell you that to tame a couple of rods of soil is a great victory. Now it lies there, workable, crumbly and humid. ...You are almost jealous of the ...
... clouds are so diverse, so beautiful and terrible as the soil under your feet. ... I tell you that to tame a couple of rods of soil is a great victory. Now it lies there, workable, crumbly and humid. ...You are almost jealous of the ...
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... clouds, formed by the hot, moist air currents from the valleys, have obscured it, and many a time I have risen early to look over the foothills, dim and shadowy in the twilight, to the snows, hung like a glowing curtain across the whole ...
... clouds, formed by the hot, moist air currents from the valleys, have obscured it, and many a time I have risen early to look over the foothills, dim and shadowy in the twilight, to the snows, hung like a glowing curtain across the whole ...
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... clouds were slowly building up in a sky of steely oxidised blue. Not even in the Sikkim forests have I seen finer tree rhododendrons, and there was one moss-clad giant, which cannot have been less than five feet in diameter. For how ...
... clouds were slowly building up in a sky of steely oxidised blue. Not even in the Sikkim forests have I seen finer tree rhododendrons, and there was one moss-clad giant, which cannot have been less than five feet in diameter. For how ...
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... clouds and the earth lay still and silent beneath a weight of lurid haze. The porters were long in arriving, but it was a marvel that they should arrive at all considering the weight of their loads, the distance and the climb. If my ...
... clouds and the earth lay still and silent beneath a weight of lurid haze. The porters were long in arriving, but it was a marvel that they should arrive at all considering the weight of their loads, the distance and the climb. If my ...
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An outstanding Himalayan climbing season Frank Smythe. and the clouds began. A rust-coloured light invested the forest, then faded as the last oases of blue sky were swallowed up by chaotic and enormous thunderclouds, and the far north ...
An outstanding Himalayan climbing season Frank Smythe. and the clouds began. A rust-coloured light invested the forest, then faded as the last oases of blue sky were swallowed up by chaotic and enormous thunderclouds, and the far north ...
Contents
The Snow Col on Rataban | |
On Doing Nothing | |
The Belvedere | |
The Bhyundar Rock Wall | |
A Rock Climb | |
The Lower | |
The Abominable Snowman | |
My Finest Snow and Ice Peak | |
Second Attempt on Rataban | |
The Banke Plateau | |
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Common terms and phrases
afternoon Alaknanda River Alaknanda Valley allardias Androsace ascent attempt avalanche Badrinath Banke Glacier Base Camp beautiful beneath bergschrund Bhotia Bhyundar Pass Bhyundar Valley bloom blue boulder buttress climber climbing clouds cold colour crags crest crevasse crossed descended difficult distance Dunagiri east edge Everest expedition face feet high foot forest Garhwal gorge gully halted height hillside Himalayas hope hour ice axe icefall inches Joshimath Kamet Kangchenjunga ledge light looked Mana Peak mists monsoon moraine morning mountain Nanda Devi night Nilgiri Parbat Nilkanta nomocharis o’clock overhanging Pasang peak Peter pitch plants plateau porters possible potentillas precipices Primula rain Ranikhet Rataban reached rhododendron ridge rock rope route scrambled seemed seen shepherds Sherpa side slabs sleeping slope snow snow-slope snowfield Snowman steep step stream summit tent Tewang Tibetan torrent tracks traverse Trisul upwards Valley of Flowers village wall Wangdi weather whilst wind Zaskar Zaskar Range