The Baltistan-Ladakh hunt

Filmed during the Morden Expedition to Africa and Asia, 1922-1924. This film chronicles the expedition made by William James Morden and Herford Tynes Cowling to hunt ibex and visit monasteries in northern Pakistan and India. Beginning in Baltistan (northern Pakistan) the expedition team weaves through the rocky terrain filming Baltis as they perform domestic tasks, such as weaving and making sandals. The expedition tracks across snowy Korakorum peaks and valleys and crosses the Indus River on a bridge made of inflated goat skins lashed onto a stick frame. In Ladakh, chortens (monuments containing ashes of deceased lamas) and monasteries dot the landscape. Ladakhi women wearing yak-hide piraks (hats) gather hay in the fields adjoining a monastery (possibly Hemis Gompa). Inside the monastery a lama spins a prayer wheel and a group of lamas pose for the camera. The expedition team returns to Baltistan and an ibex hunt ensues. Throughout the film, camp scenes show expedition staff members engaged in the normal, menial activities of expedition life.