28 
separates the two glaciers. Here great caution was requisite, 
as the rocks were very slippery, and there were many loose stones. 
We presently reached a steep slope, which we had to cross— 
where we saw before us—footsteps! Crusoe’s surprise at finding 
footprints in the sand could not have much exceeded ours. On 
a closer inspection we found that they were the fresh tracks of a 
bear. What Bruin could have been doing up there, out of the 
way of all vegetation, we could not divine, but there were his 
traces, quite recent. Perhaps he too was on a tour of explora- 
tion, or possibly we had frightened him on the previous day. 
He had proceeded in the direction we were taking, and in 
descending to our glacier a few minutes later we found his track 
again; he seemed to understand the crevasses like a man of 
experience, and had picked out his intricate way most cleverly, 
steering across to an aréte of the Maradalstinder. Of course we 
put on the rope, I leading, then Mohn, whilst Knut brought up 
the rear. After proceeding a few hundred yards we came to an 
interesting place where a jutting crag contracted a glacier, and 
thus caused its pent-up masses to be heaped up indiscriminately, 
and form what are usually termed séracs. We had no difficulty 
here, and but little step-cutting. Seeing an avalanche fall far up 
the mountain on the right of the glacier, we kept somewhat to 
the left, quite under Skagastolstind, which towered proudly 3,000 
feet above us —an awful precipice, but from which there seemed 
to be hardly any débris fallen on to the glacier—a good sign for 
us. Near the top of the glacier a bergschrund spread nearly 
across ; the width there would be perhaps 500 yards. In some 
places it looked a fearfully hungry open-jawed monster, 20 to 25 
feet wide, and awfully deep. As there were no snow bridges 
in the centre, we followed it to the western cliff where the snowy 
wall had collapsed and partially choked up the crevasse. Here 
we made sure of crossing. In the best place, however, there was 
a wall of névé 12 feet high above the snow in the crevasse. I 
twice cut my way up the wall, but could not get over on the top, 
as the snow, at that late hour of the day, was too soft for my ice- 
axe to hold in, and I twice fell down, in my fruitless endeavours, 
on to the soft snow, the second time my feet passing through 
and revealing uncanny depths below, but as my companions 
were well anchored above, there was no danger. I tried again, 
but to no purpose, so after our little excitement we retraced our 
steps, and eventually found a substantial bridge on the eastern 
side. We soon reached the black belt of rock, which we found 
as difficult to climb as we expected. The glacier is certainly 
very interesting in the condition we found it, and with ordinary 
care there can be no danger, because the crevasses are all 
apparent—nothing is hidden. When we got to the rocks, still 
1,114 feet from the summit, Mohn said he felt tired, as, owing 
