The Times of Tuesday gives a very interesting account of
the enterprise in which Mr. Mummery, probably our greatest Alpine climber, and two Goorkbas lost their lives last August. They were attempting to reach the summit of one of the greatest of the Himalayas, Nanga Parbat, approaching it from Kashmere, and had built their main camp on the south side of that mountain, not far from Astor, at a height of 9,000 ft. From that place Mr. Mummery contrived to reach a height of no less than 20,000 ft. with one Goorkha, and had not the latter been taken ill at that great height, Mr. Mummery might have then effected his purpose ; but he was forced to return with the invalid. Later, be started with the two Goorkhas to attempt what seemed a long glacier pass from the northern side of the range, but from the attempt he and his two Goorkbas never returned, and subse- quent explorations seemed to make it most likely that the party had been swept away by avalanches to which the glacier which they intended to cross, was fully exposed, though Mr. Mummery had not previously had the means of discovering this greatest of all dangers in his route. They were last seen on August 24th going up a side-glacier which branched off from the main glacier on which they had started. Mr. Mummery was the most chivalric of climbers, having often stripped himself to clothe his fellow-mountaineers, and was also an eager student of political economy who had intended to devote a great part of his life to that study.
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