Next Time you want to complain about your map or GPS...

[Puck]

Most of our topos come from photographs from an airplane. Check out this project;

From Amazon
Spying for the Raj: The Pundits and the Mapping of the Himalaya
Jules Stewart

From the early nineteenth century, Imperial Russian expansion threatened the increasing British dominance of India. In the 1860s, Captain Thomas Montgomerie hit on the idea of training natives from Indian border states to be surveyors, and have them explore the region covertly. Disguised as traders of Buddhist monks, the Pundits taught themselves to count their own paces and to walk at exactly 2,000 paces to the mile, whether uphill, downhill or on level ground. They were taught the use of sextant and compass, to navigate by the stars and to calculate altitudes by observing the boiling point of water. These loyal servants of the Raj, for personal prestige, the opportunity of employment or the sheer love of adventure displayed an extraordinary dedication to their British employers. Despite their precautions and tricks, some of them were sent back, imprisoned or tortured. Even so, they managed to map the Himalaya, Tibet and surrounding areas with remarkable precision, thereby helping the British to consolidate their rule in the Indian subcontinent.

 

[ColdRiverRun]

FCaptain Thomas Montgomerie hit on the idea of training natives from Indian border states to be surveyors, and have them explore the region covertly. Disguised as traders of Buddhist monks, the Pundits taught themselves to count their own paces and to walk at exactly 2,000 paces to the mile, whether uphill, downhill or on level ground. They were taught the use of sextant and compass, to navigate by the stars and to calculate altitudes by observing the boiling point of water.

This makes me think Pin Pin Jr is a Pundit disguised as an French Canadian hiker! I'm going to laugh even harder than normal when he turns to me and says, 1000 steps to the stick place!

 

[DougPaul]

This is well-known history. Outlines of it can be found in many places.

FWIW, many of the high peaks of the Himalayas were mapped from the plains of India. Everest, for instance, was known as Peak XIV until the British recognized its height and renamed it. K2 still keeps its survey name (Karakorum #2).

Doug

 

[Chip]

"They were taught the use of sextant and compass, to navigate by the stars and to calculate altitudes by observing the boiling point of water."

Let's hope if those GPS Sats ever fall out of the sky, that there are still people around that can function this way.