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Show MighfyMoimfeirss S s - s.'- f(t' r-"-J' ' - - -" ' -" --v -" - x - - ? i-fii y.k.rt.-s!. "ft . - .u.t.v H - - - ......--J.-.v.-. . V,Vxi.0T...-,v.;v.-. .v.,.v. , .-. . .v:; . . .v. ....v. -.w.a...v.v.v W Darjeeling, With Peaks of the Himalaya! In the Background. (Prepared by the Nations. Gaographlo 1 Society, Washington. D. C.) MOUNTS Kamet and Kinchin-junga Kinchin-junga In the Himalayas have taken the place of Mount Everest this summer In the Interest of the world's mountain climbers. climb-ers. Mount Kamet, 25,445 feet high, was successfully scaled by a British party on June 21. Kinehlnjunga, 27,-815 27,-815 feet high, Is now being attacked by a party of Germans. Heretofore, Mount Kamet has seldom sel-dom been heard of when the earth's highest pinnacles are being discussed, but nevertheless It Is one of the select little group of Asiatic peaks that push up farther above sea level than mountains moun-tains in any other part of the earth. Although it ranks thirtieth among the amazing group of mountain giants that extend along the Himalaya chain and Into China, it Is not greatly surpassed In height by any of Its fellows except Everest, 29,002 feet high; Goodwin Austen, 2S.250; Kinehlnjunga, 27.815; Dhaulaglrl, 26,828, and Gosal Than, 26,305. All of these super-giants among mountains are In Nepal except Goodwin Austen, which is In northern Kashmir. The peak of Mount Kamit la situated Just a stone's throw south of the Tibetan border, in the United Provinces of India. Nearby Near-by Is Nanda Devi, which tops It by less than 200 feet. These comparisons boll down to the fact that Kamet Is the third highest mountain In the British Brit-ish empire; and by virtue of this fact It was considered well worth a serious seri-ous attack by mountain climbers. While Mounts Everest and Kinehlnjunga Kinehln-junga are near Darjeeling, hill capital of Bengal, Mount Kamet Is 600 miles to the northwest near Simla, hill capital cap-ital of India. It lies In the Garhwal district of the United Provinces, 130 miles due east of Simla near the eightieth meridian of longitude. This area came Into British possession In 1814 as a result of the Gurka war (with Nepal). This region consists of a maze of high peaks with extremely deep valleys winding among them. The valleys and lower slopes are heavily heav-ily wooded. How Mount Kamet Is Reached. The railhead used In expeditions to Mount Kamet Is at Kathgodam, In the United Provinces, at the southern edge of the Himalayan foothills. From there travel Is overland through valleys val-leys and up steep slopes to Panlkhet, a hill village comparable In location to Simla. From Ranikhet the way leads over rough country and across a. number of deep river gorges, to the village of NItl at 12.000 feet altitude. From this point both yaks and coolie bearers are used. Although numerous attempts to scale Mount Kamet have been made since 1S55, no one succeeded In reaching reach-ing the summit until this summer. The latest expedition prior to the one that has Just scaled the peak was led In 1020 by Dr. A. M. Kellas. He reached an altitude of 23.G00 feet, but had to turn hack because his native assistants were suffering from mountain moun-tain sickness. On the slopes of Mount Kamet Is one of the chief head-water glaciers of the Ganges river. Kinrhinjuiiga Is bigger game for the mountain climber than Kamet, both because of Its extreme height and the steepness of Its slopes. It Is the third highest mountain In the world, reaching upward five and one-third miles above sea level. Of the three highest peaks Everest, Goodwin Austen, and Klnchinjiinra the latter Is most Inaccessible. Tt lies 45 miles north of Darjeeling In an nlr line, hut the road that one must travel across canyons, over ridges and around Intervening peaks. Is much longer. Darjeeling has been headquarters for the several expeditions that have tried unsuccessfully to scale Kinehlnjunga Kinehln-junga In past years. Like Simla, 700 miles farther west, and Prinagar In Kashmir, Darjeeling Is a godsend to perspiring Europeans who must spend the hot period in India. But It Is tnare than a cool retreat: It Is a matchless observation post, when the clouds permit, for the mightiest mountain moun-tain scenery that the world affords. And the outstanding siiit to the northward, north-ward, across deep rhasms and beyond tier after tier of foothillis. Is the I mlchty Kinchinjuna, buttro--r.( hy i half a do7f-n inks from 0 24,000 feet In altitude. Darjeeling stands on a sort of stags before and above which sweep the amphitheater slopes of Himalayan foothills that rises about 7,000 feet from the Belgian plains. On the side toward the mountains the ridge drops away for approximately 6,000 feet forming what might, In American terminology, ter-minology, be called "the Grand Canyon Can-yon of the Ranjit," but whose heavily forested slopes and tropically luxuriant luxu-riant floor earns In India the more poetic name of "Vale of Ranjit." It Is across this titanic valley and beyond over ranges of foothills, lower than that on which Darjeeling sits, that one looks to migfcty Kinehlnjunga. Kinehln-junga. The eye therefore sees a rise of approximately 7,000 feet, a range of altitude to be seen in few If any other places In the world, since most of. the highest mountains rise from lofty plateaus. Darjeeling on the Foothills. Darjeeling has characteristics unlike un-like those of most towns. It can hardly hard-ly be said to have streets. Most of the buildings face on paths or walks which run along the main ridge and out onto Its minor spurs, or work their way by serpentine routes to other paths that cling to the steep sides of the slopes. Steps, too, serve In place of roads, connecting terraces that rise one above the other. One of the few carriage roads Is a driveway that skirts the lower end of the main ridge and leads below to the suburb Lebong and its barracks for British soldiers. The villas, bungalows, shops, government gov-ernment buildings, hospitals, churches, schools, barracks and native huts that make up Darjeeling and its suburb form pendant communities, like giant saddle-bags thrown over the ridge. Dwellings are scattered down the slopes for a thousand feet, the ground floors of one tier on a level with the roofs of the next tier below If one must cover much space in Darjeeling he rides on pony back or is carried In a litter by four servants. The center of Darjeeling Is Observatory Observa-tory hill, a knoll on the crest of the ridge. Topping the knoll Is a Buddhist monument and surrounding It Is a small forest of staffs from which prayer flags flutter their supplications. From the benches near the monument one may sit, when mist and clouds do not interfere, and take advantage of Darjeellng's best view of mighty Kinehlnjunga Kin-ehlnjunga and Its fellows. But often the vigil Is fruitless. It Is only for relatively brief periods during spring and early winter that one may be sure of long, uninterrupted views of the towering granite and lee walls and snowy slopes to the north. Looking Across to the Peaks. Standing on the Darjeeling ridge when the air Is free of mists, the oh server first looks down, deep down 6,000 feet Into a river gorge choked with tropical Jungle. Then his eves rise to the rice fields reflecting the blue sky and the tea plantations. Up and up to the Temperate zone trees, then to the pine forests crowning lower mountains. The observer peeps over half a dozen Intervening ridges Into the dark mysterious depths of valleys. Then he sees the hare uplands up-lands above the tree line and finally the beginning of Ihe snows. Imq white glaciers drape the mountain mass whose two-pronged peak half fills the-sky. The world seems to be walled on the north. There Is no such thing as a horizon ; Kinehlnjunga closes the view like an exquisite screen. The vertical height Is to the length, at this point of vantage as one Is to eight; that Is, as a tree 00 feet high appears when viewed at the distance of one average city block. In terms of familiar American views, Klnchinjungn, seen from Darjeeling, Is like the Washington monument as It appears from the west veranda of the Capitol or the Woolworlh building as seen from the Jersey shore, Darjeeling well earns Its popularity as a summer resort, while on Ihe steamy plains of Bengal, a few miles away, the mercury climbs In summer above 10 degrees Fahrenheit. It seldom sel-dom tops 7."i degrees at Darjeeling; and In winter .Ti degrees marks the low point of the temperature range. Tho unpleasant feature of the feather Is furnished by the heavy rains. Ten feet of water fail caeh year, and soma of the storms are violent |