42 THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS 



snow. So as not to fall into these on the return, we 

 erected our beacons in such a way that the line between 

 any two of them would take us clear of any danger. It 

 was no use working in Polar clothing among these hills ; 

 the sun, which stood high and clear, was uncomfortably 

 warm, and we were obliged to take off most of our 

 things. We passed several summits from 3,000 to 

 7,000 feet high; the snow on one of them had quite a 

 reddish-brown tint. 



Our distance this first day was eleven and a half 

 miles, with a rise of 2,000 feet. Our camp that evening 

 lay on a little glacier among huge crevasses; on three 

 sides of us were towering summits. When we had set 

 our tent, two parties went out to explore the way in 

 advance. One party — Wisting and Hanssen — took the 

 way that looked easiest from the tent — namely, the 

 course of the glacier ; it here rose rapidly to 4,000 feet, 

 and disappeared in a south-westerly direction between 

 two peaks. Bjaaland formed the other party. He 

 evidently looked upon this ascent as too tame, and 

 started up the steepest part of the mountain-side. 

 I saw him disappear up aloft like a fly. Hassel and 

 I attended to the necessary work round about and in 

 the tent. 



We were sitting inside chatting, when we suddenly 

 heard someone come swishing down towards the tent. 

 We looked at each other ; that fellow had some pace on. 

 We had no doubt as to who it was — Bjaaland, of course. 



