I9II] LASHLY IN A CREVASSE 



357 



and fairly soft; dips and rises all round. It is evident we are 

 skirting more disturbances, and I sincerely hope it will not 

 mean altering course more to the west. 14 miles in 4 hours 

 is not so bad considering the circumstances. The southerly wind 

 Is continuous and not at all pleasant in camp, but on the march 

 it keeps us cool. (T. -3°.) The only inconvenience is the 

 extent to which our faces get iced up. The temperature hovers 

 about zero. 



We have not struck a crevasse all day, which is a good sign. 

 The sun continues to shine in a cloudless sky, the wind rises 

 and falls, and about us is a scene of the wildest desolation, but 

 we are a very cheerful party and to-morrow is Christmas Day, 

 with something extra in the hoosh. 



Monday, December 25, Christmas. — Lunch. Bar. 21-14. 

 Rise 240 feet. The wind was strong last night and this morning; 

 a light snowfall in the night; a good deal of drift, subsiding 

 when we started, but still about a foot high. I thought it might 

 have spoilt the surface, but for the first hour and a half we went 

 along in fine style. Then we started up a rise, and to our annoy- 

 ance found ourselves amongst crevasses once more — very hard, 

 smooth neve between high ridges at the edge of crevasses, and 

 therefore very difficult to get foothold to pull the sledges. Got 

 our ski sticks out, which improved matters, but we had to tack 

 a good deal and several of us went half down. After half an 

 hour of this I looked round and found the second sledge halted 

 some way in rear — evidently someone had gone into a crevasse. 

 We saw the rescue work going on, but had to wait half an hour 

 for the party to come up, and got mighty cold. It appears that 

 Lashly went down very suddenly, nearly dragging the crew with 

 him. The sledge ran on and jammed the span so that the Alpine 

 rope had to be got out and used to pull Lashly to the surface 

 again. Lashly says the crevasse was 50 feet deep and 8 feet 

 across, in form U, showing that the word ' unfathomable ' can 

 rarely be applied. Lashly is 44 to-day and as hard as nails. His 

 fall has not even disturbed his equanimity. 



After topping the crevasse ridge we got on a better surface 

 and came along fairly well, completing over 7 miles (geo.) just 

 before i o'clock. We have risen nearly 250 feet this morning; 

 the wind was strong and therefore trying, mainly because It held 

 the sledge; it is a little lighter now. 



