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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... hillside. As Holdsworth wrote: 'All of a sudden I realised that I was simply surrounded by primulas. At once the day seemed to brighten perceptibly. Forgotten were all pains and cold and lost porters. And what a primula it was! Its leek ...
... hillside. As Holdsworth wrote: 'All of a sudden I realised that I was simply surrounded by primulas. At once the day seemed to brighten perceptibly. Forgotten were all pains and cold and lost porters. And what a primula it was! Its leek ...
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... hillside. Some 2,500 feet up this, perched on a grassy spur, is a small village, the inhabitants of which greeted me cheerfully. Their lives are spent, like the lives of most people of this country, in agricultural pursuits. A spring ...
... hillside. Some 2,500 feet up this, perched on a grassy spur, is a small village, the inhabitants of which greeted me cheerfully. Their lives are spent, like the lives of most people of this country, in agricultural pursuits. A spring ...
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... hillside, then emerged on to open slopes terraced with fields where the little village of Ramni perches. Our camping place was on turf close-cropped by the village animals but not eaten so short as to destroy the brilliant blue flowers ...
... hillside, then emerged on to open slopes terraced with fields where the little village of Ramni perches. Our camping place was on turf close-cropped by the village animals but not eaten so short as to destroy the brilliant blue flowers ...
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... river the path zigzagged steeply upwards, then traversed the hillside almost levelly, through forests of tree rhododendrons, roses and a white sweet-scented flowering shrub to the camping ground at Kaliaghat, which is in.
... river the path zigzagged steeply upwards, then traversed the hillside almost levelly, through forests of tree rhododendrons, roses and a white sweet-scented flowering shrub to the camping ground at Kaliaghat, which is in.
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... hillside, forcing our way through undergrowth, and at length, to our relief, came to a path leading in the direction of Joshimath. I halted for lunch by a leisurely little stream, fringed with marigolds that wandered into a sun-drenched ...
... hillside, forcing our way through undergrowth, and at length, to our relief, came to a path leading in the direction of Joshimath. I halted for lunch by a leisurely little stream, fringed with marigolds that wandered into a sun-drenched ...
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