sparingly. The view from the pass was extensive to the
southward, hut to the north entirely intercepted by lofty
precipitous ridges, distant not more than a mile. The
morning had been beautiful, but before I reached the
summit., a high wind had sprung up from the south,
drifting heavy watery clouds over the crest, from which
there were slight showers of hail.
The descent on the north side was over snow,
commencing a few feet from the rocky crest of the
pass. After the first few hundred yards, the snow-
bed was very steep, and perhaps covered a small glacier.
Further on, the mountains on both sides closed in so
as to form a narrow valley, the course of which I
followed for many miles, before I could find a bare
spot upon which to encamp. The valley was bounded
on both sides by exceedingly steep rocky mountains,
sometimes quite precipitous, which soon became bare
of snow. After descending rapidly for a considerable
time, patches of juniper appeared on the hill-sides, succeeded
by birch, and soon after by a few pines, which,
from their shape, were, I believe, silver fir. A little
lower, pines became frequent wherever the mountainsides
were not absolutely precipitous; Picea and Pinus
excelsa were first recognized, and a little lower down
Abies Smitlriana; deodar did not appear till I had
nearly reached the end of the day s journey. I encamped
at 8500 feet, on the first available bare spot,
among a few pine-trees.
From the summit of the pass till within a few hundred
yards of my encampment, snow was continuous
in the valley along which I descended, covering the
stream and the whole of the level portion of the valley
for many miles after it had melted from the steep sloping
hills on both sides, on which vegetation was already making
rapid progress. This snow-bed was not in the least
icy, but consisted of pure snow, much compressed and
often dirty. Its slope followed that of the valley, and
its surface was quite smooth till close to its termination,
where it was broken up into fragments by the fall of
portions into the stream below. The greater permanence
of snow in valleys and ravines than on mountain slopes
seems to be due to its accumulation there during the
winter to a great depth by avalanches from both sides.