90 THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS 



how to feel victory in the air. The formations appeared 

 to promise it, and yet — had we been so often deceived 

 by these formations that we now refused to offer them 

 a thought? Was it possibly instinct that told us this? 

 I do not know, but certain it is that Hanssen and I 

 agreed, as we stood there discussing our prospects, that 

 behind the farthest ridge we saw, we should conquer 

 the glacier. We had a feverish desire to go and have 

 a look at it; but the way round the many crevasses 

 was long, and — I may as well admit it — we were 

 beginning to get tired. The return, downliill as it 

 was, did not take long, and soon we were able to tell 

 our comrades that the prospects for the morrow were 

 very promising. 



While we had been away, Hassel had measured the 

 Nilsen Mountain, and found its height to be 15,500 feet 

 above the sea. How well I remember that evening, 

 when we stood contemplating the glorious sight that 

 Nature offered, and believing the air to be so clear that 

 anything within range of vision must have shown itself; 

 and how well, too, I remember our astonishment on the 

 return journey on finding the whole landscape com- 

 pletely transformed! If it had not been for Mount 

 Helmer Hanssen, it would have been difficult for us to 

 know where we were. The atmosphere in these regions 

 may play the most awkward tricks. Absolutely clear 

 as it seemed to us that evening, it nevertheless turned 

 out later that it had been anything but clear. One has, 



