2i6 THE VOYAGE OF THE 'DISCOVERY [Dec. 



summits, there was not a vestige of ice or snow to be seen ; and 

 as we ran the comparatively warm sand through our fingers 

 and quenched our thirst at the stream, it seemed almost 

 impossible that we could be within a hundred miles of the 

 terrible conditions we had experienced on the summit. 



' Proceeding after lunch, we found that the valley descended 

 to a deep and splendid gorge formed by another huge groin 

 extending from the southern side, but as we approached the 

 high cliffs we found our way again obstructed by confused 

 heaps of boulders, amongst which for the first time we saw the 

 exposed rocks of the floor of the valley smoothed and striated 

 in a manner most typical of former ice action. My object in 

 pressing on had been to get a view of the sea, and I now 

 thought the best plan would be to ascend the neck of the groin 

 on our right. It was a long climb of some 700 feet over 

 rough, sharp boulders. We eventually reached the top, but, 

 alas ! not to catch any glimpse of the sea ; for the valley 

 continued to wind its way onward through deep gorges, and 

 some five or six miles below yet another groin shut out our 

 further view. 



' But from our elevated position we could now get an 

 excellent view of this extraordinary valley, and a wilder or in 

 some respects more beautiful scene it would have been 

 difficult to imagine. Below lay the sandy stretches and con- 

 fused boulder heaps of the valley floor, with here and there the 

 gleaming white surface of a frozen lake and elsewhere the 

 silver threads of the running water; far above us towered 

 the weather-worn, snow-splashed mountain peaks, between 

 which in places fell in graceful curves the folds of some hang- 

 ing glacier. The rocks at our feet were of every variety of 

 colour and form, mixed in that inextricable confusion which 

 ice alone can accomplish. The lower slopes of the mountains 

 were thickly clothed with similar rocks, but the variety of 

 colour was lost in the distance, and these steep slopes had a 

 general tone of sober grey. This colour was therefore pre- 

 dominant, but everywhere at a height of 3,000 feet above the 

 valley it ended in a hard line illustrating in the most beautiful 



