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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... step without crushing a flower. Next day we descended to lush meadows. Here our camp was embowered amidst flowers: snow-white drifts of anemones, golden lily-like nomocharis, marigolds, globe flowers, delphiniums, violets, eritrichiums ...
... step without crushing a flower. Next day we descended to lush meadows. Here our camp was embowered amidst flowers: snow-white drifts of anemones, golden lily-like nomocharis, marigolds, globe flowers, delphiniums, violets, eritrichiums ...
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... steps from peak to peak slowly and in splendid strides, that the sage's words ring true: 'In a hundred ages of the Gods I could not tell thee of the glories of Himachal.' At Ranikhet I was joined by the four Tibetans from Darjeeling. I ...
... steps from peak to peak slowly and in splendid strides, that the sage's words ring true: 'In a hundred ages of the Gods I could not tell thee of the glories of Himachal.' At Ranikhet I was joined by the four Tibetans from Darjeeling. I ...
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... steps in snow and ice. Himalayan mountaineering will hear more of him in the future and I venture the prophecy that he puts up a good showing on Everest in 1938. Such were my companions – I cannot think of them as porters – and I could ...
... steps in snow and ice. Himalayan mountaineering will hear more of him in the future and I venture the prophecy that he puts up a good showing on Everest in 1938. Such were my companions – I cannot think of them as porters – and I could ...
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... steps and dip themselves in the ice-cold torrent; they ascend rejuvenated in mind, and it must be in body, ready to tread the stony path that leads through the gorges to Badrinath, along the 'great way' to final liberation of spirit ...
... steps and dip themselves in the ice-cold torrent; they ascend rejuvenated in mind, and it must be in body, ready to tread the stony path that leads through the gorges to Badrinath, along the 'great way' to final liberation of spirit ...
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... steps descends to the Alaknanda River, here known as the Vishnu Ganga, for the benefit of the pilgrims who wish to immerse themselves in the sacred waters. Above Vishnu Prayag, the pilgrim path enters a gorge with sheer precipices on ...
... steps descends to the Alaknanda River, here known as the Vishnu Ganga, for the benefit of the pilgrims who wish to immerse themselves in the sacred waters. Above Vishnu Prayag, the pilgrim path enters a gorge with sheer precipices on ...
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