However, the only westerner to see the valley had been Francis Younghusband, whose book The heart of a continent : a narrative of travels in Manchuria, across the Gobi Desert, through the Himalayas, the Pamirs, and Chitral, 1884-1894 had first inspired Mason as a schoolboy to pursue a career in geography.
Francis Younghusband, whose book "The Heart of a Continent" inspired Mason to pursue a career in geography, had been the only westerner to see the valley.