THE ICE-CAP AND BACK 



that even though we are shod with our crampons 

 we had made less than a mile of advance when 

 at six o'clock in the evening thoroughly tired out 

 we halted to camp. By three o'clock a cover of 

 ice had begun to form on the water holes. 



Heavy labor with our ice-axes was necessary 

 in order to level off a place large enough to get up 

 the tent, after which with use of the ice auger we 

 set the ice-axes as tent stakes. All our available 

 heavy objects, including the sled, were put to use 

 as weights on the sod cloth of the tent. Our cram- 

 pons, or steigeisen as the Germans call them, I 

 had purchased from a dealer in Berlin who is a 

 well-known outfitter for climbing parties in the 

 Alps. These creepers were vicious looking objects 

 armed with spikes an inch long and having the 

 appearance of being forged. Two of the four 

 pairs broke during the first day and the straps 

 were constantly coming apart. This was a very 

 serious handicap to our advance. 



We have all been wearing snow spectacles of the 

 metal type provided with slits in the form of a 

 cross. These are excellent when the footing is 

 good, though hardly adequate over such a danger- 

 ous surface as we were now on. 



After we had got up our tent and had eaten 

 our supper of pemmican, erbswurst and pilot 



171 



