Arundu is situated on a moraine, terraced and cultivated, but no trees. It is a compact village, houses all together.
We entered a street, or alley rather, about 4 feet wide, walls of large pebbles on each side.
After going a few yards, we were taken up a ladder to the flat roof, a roof which extended over the whole village - except for the alleyways. On the roof was a sort of second storey the walls of which were simply made of woven willow branches and withers, and with the exception of one or two separate rooms, the roof of these rooms also stretched over a whole block.
We climbed a ladder to the roof of this wicker-work storey, and walked straight off it on to the ground which, at the back of the village, rises to that level.
Close by was a building called a fort, but I should not have guessed it.
Our camp is in a little field a little above the village.
Just above us, in the mouth of a nullah, down which flows a glacier which ends within half a mile of our tents. It is about 4 miles long, and descends from a 20,000 ft peak. Our height here is about 9700 feet.
A straight spur of this peak crosses the nullah at the top, and is covered by the purest white domes, folds, wrinkled, slopes and precipices of glistening, frozen snow - a lovely sight.
Half a mile up the main valley is the snout of the great the Chogo Longma glacier about 30 miles long and ¾ mile wide.. The terminal ice cliff, from 50 to 100 feet high, stands right across the valley. The river rushes out from beneath it. The natives say that the glacier is advancing very rapidly.
Just opposite to us on the further side of the glacier is the entrance to a very narrow gorge, up which we have to go the Nushik Pass.
An old man here is coming up to act as guide - so far as he can. He was one of the party that 30 years ago crossed the pass to go to Nagar to take a ransom for some Kashmiri soldiers who had been captured by the natives there.
We are taking 30 coolies with us from here, having brought 2 or 3 good men along from villages further back. They are carrying food for 8 days.
Our friend the Wazir produced today some very fine grapes and melons which he had brought from Shigar for us. He has also brought some goats along so we shall have milk. Some men have also been sent on ahead to repair the road a bit.
Arandu, Baltsistan.
Sunday 8th Sept 1895
My Dear Albert,
You will have heard one way or another that we have had to retrace our steps.
I am sorry that I shall not be able to give you any description of Hunza and Nagar and of the sites of the deeds of valour performed in those parts.
Anyhow, I will give you an account of our attempt on the Nushik La.
On Monday morning last, September 2nd, we turned out at 6.15, but as the collies were making their final arrangements, and we had to arrange light loads, it was 8.30 before we got started.
As I have said, the Chogo Longma (glacier) ends about ½ a mile up the valley from the village.
We first made our way down to the river, followed along it a little way, and then went up the hill side on our left and so reached the top of the south edge of the glacier.
Here we found the advanced party of our men waiting for the rest to come up.
While waiting, the indefatigable Gustaveson improved the occasion by preaching to the coolies.
Our party consisted of, beside Neve and myself and one cook, the Wazir of Shigar, who had arranged the whole bundabast, a guide - an old man who had been across the pass 30 years ago - 5 shikaris, who carried native ice axes, 13 coolies for our own kit and 16 for the Wazir and for carrying extra blankets and food, the Wazir’s gun carrier, a herd of 17 sheep and goats.
When all the men went up, Gustaveson bid no adieu and returned to Arandu, while we 41 humans and 17 beasts started across the glacier towards the narrow entrance to the Kero Longma nullah on the further side.
Take the Atlantic with a big cross sea on it, freeze it and cover it over with stones and dirt, and you might have some idea of the surface of this glacier.
We crossed it in half an hour, and then waited for the collies to catch up.
This Chogo Longma has never been explored, but it must be 25 or 30 miles long. It was from ½ to ¾ mile wide where we crossed.
For several miles the nullah up which we went is very narrow. The sides being on the further side precipitous rocks and on our steep debris slopes, the rocks and the slopes falling straight into the stream, which rushes down over stones and between boulders of enormous size.
The path we followed along the debris slopes was of the roughest description.
At 12.30, having come only 5 miles, we halted for breakfast, and marched on till we came to where the nullah widened a little, where was a grove of birches and willows and rose bushes. Here we waited a long time for the coolies.
Just here a glacier protrudes from a side ravine on the left, and blocked up the main nullah, the stream tunnelling right through it.
On either side of the glacier were moraines of debris about 100 feet high. We climbed up the moraine and crossed the glacier and descended the other side to a spot called Domok (“Ding Bransá” according to Neve’s account), where are a number of circular sleeping shelters and some birch trees, amongst which we camped.
This place is 11000 feet above sea level. We had come only 8 miles from Arundu - 8 hours march for coolies.
Before night, 14 more coolies came in from villages below Arundu to take the place of some Arundu men, so we were a party of 56 in camp that night
It was rather a weird sight, the groups of long-haired, wild-looking Baltis sitting around their various camp fires amongst the birch trees.
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