710 ANNUAL EEPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1912. 



"Framheim" and not to deviate from this direction unless we should 

 be forced to by obstacles which nature might place in our path. If 

 our plans succeeded it would be our privilege to explore completely 

 unknown regions and thereby to accomplish valuable geographic 

 work. 



The immediate ascent due south into the mountainous region led 

 us between the high peaks of South Victoria Land. To all intents 

 and purposes no great difficulties awaited us here. To be sure, we 

 should probably have found a less steep ascent if we had gone over 

 to the newly discovered mountain range just mentioned. But as we 

 maintained the principle that direct advance due south was the 

 shortest way to our goal, we had to bear the consequences. 



At this place we established our principal depot and left provi- 

 sions for 30 days. On our four sleds we took provisions with us for 

 60 days. And now we began the ascent to the plateau. The first 

 part of the way led us over snow-covered mountain slopes, which 

 at times were quite steep, but not so nmch so as to prevent any 

 of us from hauling up his own sled. Farther up, we found several 

 glaciers which w^ere not very broad but were very steep. Indeed, 

 they were so steep that we had to harness 20 dogs in front of each 

 sled. Later the glaciers became more frequent, and they lay on 

 slopes so steep that it was very hard to ascend them on our skis. On 

 the first night we camped at a spot which lay 2,100 feet above sea 

 level. On the second day we continued to climb up the mountains, 

 mainly over several small glaciers. Our next camp for the night was 

 at an altitude of 4,100 feet above the sea. 



On the third day we made the disagreeable discovery that we 

 should have to descend 2,100 feet, as between us and the higher 

 mountains to the south lay a great glacier which crossed our path 

 from east to west. This could not be helped. The expedition therefore 

 descended with the greatest possible speed and in an incredibly short 

 time we were down on the glacier, which was named Axel Heiberg 

 Glacier. Our camp of this night lay at about 3,100 feet above sea 

 level. On the following day the longest ascent began; we were forced 

 to follow Axel Heiberg Glacier. At several places ice blocks were 

 heaped up so that its surface was hummocky and cleft by crevasses. 

 We had therefore to make detours to avoid the wide crevasses which, 

 below, expanded into large basins. These latter, to be sure, were 

 filled with snow; the glacier had evidently long ago ceased to move. 

 The greatest care was necessary in our advance, for we had no ink- 

 ling as to how thick or how thin the cover of snow might be. Our 

 camp for this night was pitched in an extremely picturesque situa- 

 tion at an elevation of about 5,250 feet above sea level. The glacier 

 was here hemmed in by two mountains which were named ''Fridtjof 

 Nansen" and "Don Pedro Christophersen," both 16,000 feet high 



