r 



102 THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS 



deer-skin clothing, as we could see that we should have 

 no use for it, the temperature being far too high. We 

 kept the hoods of our reindeer coats, however; we 

 might be glad of them in going against the wind. Our 

 day's march was not to be a long one; the little slack- 

 ening of the wind about midday was only a joke. It 

 soon came on again in earnest, with a sweeping blizzard 

 from the same quarter — the south-east. If we had 

 known the ground, we should possibly have gone on; 

 but in this storm and driving snow, which prevented 

 our keeping our eyes open, it was no use. A serious 

 accident might happen and ruin all. Two and half 

 miles was therefore our whole distance. The tempera- 

 ture when we camped was - 5"8° F. Height above the 

 sea, 9,780 feet. 



In the course of the night the wind veered from 

 south-east to north, falling light, and the weather 

 cleared. This M^as a good chance for us, and we were 

 not slow to avail ourselves of it. A gradually rising 

 ice surface lay before us, bright as a mirror. As on the 

 preceding days, I stumbled along in front on ski, while 

 the others, without their ski, had to follow and support 

 the sledges. The surface still offered filled crevasses, 

 though perhaps less frequently than before. JNIean- 

 while small patches of snow began to show themselves 

 on the polished surface, and soon increased in number 

 and size, initil before very long they united and covered 

 the unpleasant ice with a good and even layer of snow. 



