Untitled

128 THE EXPLORATION OF THE CAUCASUS
unreadable. I shall be content to
generally succeed in becoming
summarise only some of the chief indications of the new survey.
In this group it shows one peak over 15,000, nine over 14,000 feet.
The lowest pass over the main chain fells just under 11,000 feet.
About sixty-five square miles are covered with snow and ice. The
Karagom Glacier is ten miles, the Zea Glacier six, and the Songuta
Glacier three and a half miles in length.
In 1868, when the three young Englishmen whose travels
are recorded in my Central Caucasus undertook to examine
amhulando the nature of the chain between Kasbek and Elbruz,
t,he second object of their journey was the exploration of this
Adai Khokh Group. We had no trustworthy map to guide us
at that date. Our information was limited to the notes, mainly
archfeological, of Brosset, to a very confused notice in Klaproth
of the snow-passes between Stir-Digor and Gebi,^ and to the
vague indications and blue smears of the five-verst majj. The
excursions of Dr. Abich and Dr. Radde had been limited to the
lower ends of the two great frozen streams which, issuing
from far
invisible and unknown fountains in the recesses of the range,
stretch their icy tongues down into the forest region. One of
these, the Zea Glacier, flows into a glen some ten miles long
that opens on the Ardon valley at St. Nikolai. Beyond the
of men or the tracks of hunters all was obscure.
paths
Our intention in 1868 was to have gone up the Zea valley,
and crossed from its head to the Mamison. But the difliculties
we experienced with the inhabitants in traversing the deep and
isolated basins that hold the sources of the Nardon made us
give up a project which involved separation from our baggage.
Consequently we carried out but half our plan, and were content,
in the first instance, to ci'oss the Mamison to the soutliern side.
We found ourselves at Chiora in the liion valley, at the foot of
a native glacier pass, leading
to the north side of the chain.
' The best explanation tliat has been given of Khiproth's very curious description of the
passage with liorses of the Gebi Passes— the Giirdzivsek, and Gebivsek or Gezevsek (new
map)^ls that he took down hearsay information and turned it into a narrative in the first
person.