Another beautiful effect I observed on several occasions when enveloped in mist, of immense white concentric circles with a luminous centre, caused by the sun penetrating through different layers of mist. When under similar circumstances the sun was behind the spectator instead of in front, and the spectator himself not enveloped in the mist, a huge spectre—the spectator’s shadow—was often reflected in the centre of the luminous circle. As I have elsewhere described, the latter phenomenon can be produced by the moon or the sun, by the former in a less intensified form, by the latter with a circular rainbow of beautiful colours.
Night marching in a Storm
There are many kinds of “seas of mist” upon mountains, some with islands (mountain tops peeping through), some without; some smooth-surfaced [[109]]like a placid lake, others in undulations or actual waves like a stormy sea. The shadows and lights play upon the mist and produce many quaint effects, and objects assume curious and interesting shapes.
One misty evening, near the Nui Glacier, I saw before me what seemed an immense crouching lion carved in the rock, not unlike one of the famous lions in Trafalgar Square, only some thousand times bigger. Sure enough you could see the eyes, the luxuriant mane, the extended forepaws, and the tail spread out with the typical end tuft of hair. It was only on getting quite close that the huge animal showed itself to be a mere big boulder, with three mani walls with terminal chokdens (cairns) erected by Tibetans from its base, which from a distance formed the lion’s legs and tail.
So much for optical illusions; there are a thousand more upon high mountains, and it is the number of surprises one meets at every moment which makes a lonely life at great elevations full of enchantment.
Having, on our descent from the Savage Pass, reached a lower elevation and less perilous ground to tread upon, we directed our steps towards 20° (N.E.) bearings magnetic. At 16,100 feet we [[110]]found moss, but now dead and dry. Unfortunately for us we were benighted before we could find a suitable camping-ground, and a violent snow-storm broke out which made it very difficult to see where we were going. We were endeavouring to get lower down, where we could obtain some shelter and a slightly warmer temperature, my men being simply paralysed with cold. They stumbled along, a row of black silent figures, I keeping the direction in which I wanted to travel with a luminous compass.
A Sea of Mist
We went on for a considerable portion of the night, the storm getting so bad that we could not see where we were putting our feet; and towards midnight, having come across a lot of big boulders, we decided to take advantage of them and make camp. My men were so tired and frozen that they simply threw themselves down, covered themselves up, and went fast asleep, declining to eat any food. They had eaten nothing that day, for they maintained that if you eat food when you are so cold you will surely die. Of course their philosophy does not go quite so far as to reflect whether it is preferable to die of indigestion or from the low temperature. Personally, as I have never been troubled with the former, I thought I would not risk [[111]]the latter. While everybody around snored and moaned or was delirious from pain, I got out a small spirit Etna and attempted to brew myself some hot chocolate. Box after box of matches went in trying to keep it alight, and when, after using the patience of a saint, I had succeeded in making the water tepid, my tent was blown down on the top of us, and upset the whole thing. So, cold chocolate I ate in chunks and some corned beef—oh, it was cold!—and some biscuits.