Elizabeth Sarah Mazuchelli, known as Nina (1832-1914), was living in Darjeeling, India, with her husband, a chaplain in the British army, when she determined to make an extended tour of the glaciers of the eastern Himalayas.

 

They following the Nepal-Sikkim frontier along the Singailila Ridge & while at Darjeeling set off on a journey to explore the glaciers of the eastern Himalayas to the Singalila Ridge and Pass with much baggage, taking with them many coolies to bear their supplies.

 

Accompanied by the District Officer and an army of bearers, they set forth with Nina ensconced in a sort of sedan chair and before long were hopelessly lost in the snowfields. Their survival was just fools' luck. As Jane Robinson concludes in Wayward Women, 'It was a farcical expedition and Nina was the first to admit it, making her account an affectionate burlesque But Nina's account has become by default a classic of mountaineering literature she was, after all, the first Englishwoman to have travelled so far into the eastern Himalaya (they all but reached the Tibetan border before turning back) a real 'Lady Pioneer'.'

 

This book is very large, 10' tall and 2' thick, is one of the early classics of Himalayan travel, and one of the few early exploration books that was not primarily a hunting expedition. Due to its weight and size, this book is often found in less than acceptable condition. Other than some light corner and edge wear and bumps, this volume has a fine exterior appearance, bright and handsome. Internally it has no foxing or other major flaws of any kind. A Near Fine copy.