ioo SPITSBERGEN chap vi 



the certainty that this way would not have to be retraced 

 was for the moment a distinct pleasure. 



The descent, led down waist-deep snow to a large open 

 space, soon revealed as a lake of snow slush, quite im- 

 passable. It was turned with difficulty above its head by 

 wading through rivers of a nameless compound neither 

 solid nor liquid, neither ice, water, nor snow, but which 

 possessed the qualities of being as wet as water, as cold as 

 ice, and, whilst offering no support to the tread, opposing a 

 deadly heavy obstruction to the advancing foot. Below the 

 snow-lake was another smaller one, both in the midst of a 

 white wilderness, and below that the floor of Bolter Valley. 

 Two glaciers debouch into it, on a common ice-foot. That 

 from the west leads up to the plateau, and by it a way could 

 be found to the valley of Coles Bay. The other, named 

 Rieper Glacier by Garwood (for purposes of geological 

 reference), drains the north-westerly part of the Fox Plateau. 

 Its great snout was of the normal form in these parts, rounded 

 both vertically and horizontally, and apparently advancing. 

 There were recently deposited beds of boulder-clay before 

 it, which instantly attracted the attention of us both. 



The interesting phenomena of the Rieper Glacier's snout, 

 coupled, perhaps, with a sub-consciousness of the horrible 

 nature of the remainder of the walk, conspired to keep us 

 long delaying. When we set forward it was with the deter- 

 mination of getting back to the tent as soon as possible. 

 Doggedly we plodded down the right bank of Bolter Valley, 

 then round the end of it over a boggy shoulder to the sledge 

 tracks of our former way. A pair of ptarmigan close at 

 hand were so well aware of our feeble condition that they 

 let us come within three yards of them. One would have 

 made a welcome dish for supper ; I heaved stones at it, 

 but so feebly that it merely hopped aside and let me go on 

 heaving till I was ready to drop. There was less snow by 



