i9"l EXPEDITION PREPARING 71 



to see the ice conditions in the Ross Sea after the gale. Large 

 stretches of open water lay to the S.E. and east, while small 

 pools and lanes were very numerous on the northern horizon, 

 and a heavy bank of fog or mist seemed to indicate a lot of open 

 water there. To the S.W. across Robertson Bay the open water 

 appeared to reach right up to the cliffs of the mainland, but the 

 day was not very clear, and it was hard to make out distinctly 

 if there was a strip of fast ice along the coast. 



August 21. A lovely clear day. We went up Cape Adare 

 again to see the ice conditions to the westward. Owing to the 

 young ice over the open water it was hard to make out if there 

 was an ice foot along the cliffs of the mainland. If the ice re- 

 mains in I shall go into Robertson Bay early in September to 

 see if the coast journey is feasible, for our only other alternative 

 is to find glaciers leading on to the plateau. 



To get a better idea of the gradient of these I climbed about 

 2500 feet up the slopes of Cape Adare, and the result was not 

 very encouraging. I doubt if the glaciers in Robertson Bay lead 

 directly to the plateau, as the Admiralty Range rises in a series 

 of unbroken ridges of bare rock from the sea to apparently far 

 inland. 



Altogether the outlook made me wish more than ever that 

 the ship had had sufficient coal to take us back to Wood Bay. 



The spell of fine weather lasted till the 3Oth, allowing thin 

 ice to form over the open water, except in some pools near Cape 

 Adare which the current seemed to keep open. The night of 

 the 3Oth a blizzard began, with heavy drift, some of the squalls 

 being very heavy indeed, but it moderated towards the morning. 

 The new ice had not gone out, but a large sheet of open water 

 was visible to the north, while along the northern horizon an 

 open water sky was visible. A decided swell along the beach 

 makes me certain open water is not far distant. 



September 7. September came in with blizzards which pre- 

 vented our getting away as early as we wished. Yesterday and 

 to-day, however, we have been getting sledges and outfit over the 

 bad pressure ice which lies to the southward of the beach. 



We are taking a 12-ft. and a lo-ft. sledge, the latter being 

 on iron runners, as no wooden runners would stand the sharp 

 edges of the pressure ice for long. We also find the iron run- 

 ners, in spite of the 40 Ibs. extra weight, run much better over 



