xii THE FIRST ACCOUNT 



On the llth we made the interesting discovery 

 that the Ross Barrier ended in an elevation on the 

 south - east, formed between a chain of mountains 

 running south - eastward from South Victoria Land 

 and another chain on the opposite side, which runs 

 south-westward in continuation of King Edward VII. 

 Land. 



On the 13th we reached lat. 84, where we estab- 

 lished a depot. On the 16th we got to 85, where 

 again we formed a depot. From our winter quarters 

 at Framheim we had marched due south the whole 

 time. 



On November 17, in lat. 85, we came to a spot 

 where the land barrier intersected our route, though for 

 the time being this did not cause us any difficulty. The 

 barrier here rises in the form of a wave to a height of 

 about 300 feet, and its limit is shown by a few large 

 fissures. Here we established our main depot. We 

 took supplies for sixty days on the sledges and left 

 behind enough provisions for thirty days. 



The land under which we now lay, and which we 

 were to attack, looked perfectly impossible, with peaks 

 along the barrier which rose to heights of from 2,000 to 

 10,000 feet. Farther south we saw more peaks, of 

 15,000 feet or higher. 



Next day we began to climb. The first part of the 

 work was easy, as the ground rose gradually with 

 smooth snow-slopes below the mountain-side. Our 



