Thirteen

He had some difficulty in getting the shikaris to cut the path, and it was only by his being able to get about on the slope safely with ice claws on his boots that he kept them at the work. Our other pair of claws had been stolen at Arundu, but I could not have worn them as they were too small for my boots.
Our Khansamah (cook) was the next to come down. I was rather nervous about him, as he is of a timid nature and not used to mountains, and on the march had had to be helped at very easy places, Down rocks etc. However, a shikari brought him safely down to where I was.
It was a very slow job getting the coolies down. Neve had great trouble with them, 12 of them refusing to come further, and were sent back.
Of the rest, one man came down with a small load, the rest, with or without loads, were helped down by the shikaris. The heavier loads, the shikaris brought down themselves.
When the rope wasn’t wanted any more, I was starting to go on down the slope - now not so steep - but the shikaris would not let me till another man came up to help me, I holding on to his girdle. He slipped and I had to hold him up.
The reason they were so careful about me was because had anything happened to either Neve or me they would have been punished - so they told me afterwards..
It was two hours between the time that the first man came through the tunnel and when we were all together again at the bottom of the steep slope, 200 feet or so below the cornice.
Before staring on again, we had a tope out to which the old guide, 2 shikaris and I linked, and soon after, as evidently there were crevasses about, the other 3 shikaris linked onto us, and Neve made the coolies rope together in two parties.
There was first a flat bit of going, then a descent of 200 feet then an easy slope. We were going parallel to the direction of the valley, having ice precipices and ice falls on our left above the glacier which was several hundred feet below us, and on our right, snow-covered ice slopes.
Before we had got a mile from the top of the pass and had come down about 600 feet, the bergshrund (“yawning” wrote Neve, “15 to 30 feet wide”) closed round in front of us.
Neve and the shikaris then went on to reconnoitre, going a short way to the right, where there was an ice fall, and then the right, where there was another. Then came to a crevasse which was still bridged by snow. Neve was roped and tried to cross, but the bridge gave way. Beyond the crevasse, the slopes down to the main glacier were nothing but ice falls and crevasses, and looked hopeless.