Explorers of the Karakoram-Himalaya

View from French Pass (5360 m). Tukuche West (L, 6848 m), Dhaulagiri I (C, 8172 m), Sita Chuchura (R, 6611 m)

“It was beyond all comparison the finest view of mountains it has ever been my lot to behold, nor do I believe the world can hold a finer one.”

William Conway, 1892, View from the Hispar Pass, central Karakoram

This webpage is all about the men and women who literally put the Karakoram and Himalaya (KH) Ranges on the map. Visser, Kellas, Workman, Conway are not exactly household names for most 21st century readers, nevertheless these folks are in the pantheon of mountain explorers. These were the explorers the likes of Shipton, Tilman, and Smythe looked up to and tried to emulate. These were the original hard core go for broke mountaineers: where a trailhead starts today, they would often spend two or three weeks trekking to that same point from whence they proceed into the remote areas of the KH. Nuke the Gore-tex and satellite phones, these were the days of canvas, fur lined jackets and hobnail boots. Forget about being rescued if an accident occurred, the expedition was its own rescue party. Read all about it in the following materials…

Between Sky and Earth: The Explorers of the Karakoram and Himalaya Ranges

This 34 chapter manuscript starts with the geographical and historical setting of the KH. It continues with a chapter on how surveyors in the late 19th and early 20th century went about their work. After the introductory material there is a chronological progression of the various explorers and expeditions. The bulk of the work covers the period from the 1880’s-1930’s. In addition, there is a three chapter summary of the early expeditions to Mt. Everest, up through 1953. Chapter 33 investigates the interesting topic of why it took so many decades for the fourteen 8000 m peaks to finally be climbed. Thirteen maps accompany the text as well. Its in pdf format and free. Table of contents.

Between Sky and Earth (pdf)
What else this page has to offer:
Articles
Maps
Quiz
Expedition List
Word Search
Photos of the Workmans during their various expeditions

Fanny Bullock Workman and Dr. William Workman (Americans) and one of their Alpine guides, on the slopes of a small peak they named: Tawiz. This was during their 1912 expedition to the Siachen Glacier. Tawiz is just north of the Bilafond La on the upper Lolofond Glacier, a tributary of the Siachen Glacier.

The Workmans were pretty accomplished photographers, the five books they penned about their expeditions are full of their photos. Here is a image from the upper Biafo Glacier, they do not identify the mountain but it would be appear to be the Ogre (Biantha Brakk), or near to it. They were in this area on two occasions, the first time in 1899 (this photo) and again in 1908.

The happy couple in their lightweight trekking clothes. Fanny seems to have worn skirts most of the time, as it is rare to see her in a photo wearing pants at any altitude. This is early on in their KH exploration careers, as the image is taken from their book: In the Ice World of the Himalaya, published in 1900.

Here is an image they took of one of their camps on the lateral moraine of the Hispar Glacier in 1899. The Workmans tended to travel with more ‘luxury’ goods than most expeditions of that era. This of course meant they always had a large number of porters, which could be a problem as many did not care to work for money so would desert or go on strike at inopportune times.

You can read all about the Workmans in chapters 12-14 of: Between Sky and Earth…

Contact: Drop me an email with your comments and suggestions. nembrothaguttata@gmail.com Author: John Papineau. Washington USA

Practical Mountain Weather

I wrote this guide in 2000-2001 so could use a bit of an update in some sections; however, loads of useful information on all aspects of mountain weather. After explaining the basics, I dive into weather patterns and climate stats for most major mountainous regions on earth.

Click HERE to view document

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