172 WITH SCOTT : THE SILVER LINING 



lateral moraines left by the Koettlitz glacier, and not terminal 

 moraines of the small tributary glaciers. I could see that the 

 latter (Ward) glacier now lay about five miles up the valley, 

 and resembled the others which we had observed previously. 



Wright and I then traced the Alph River from the lake 

 down to the glacier opposite Heald Island. We had to climb 

 over several rough barriers of silt-coated ice, under which the 

 stream flowed. The relative movement of the frozen surface 

 and overhanging ice-cliffs led to very queer twists and bends 

 in numerous icicles, thus forming a striking example of the 

 plasticity of ice. 



The water was flowing strongly with musical gurgles under 

 a lace-work of crystal-edged ice. We got very wet boots 

 by slipping through on our walk at the foot of the steep 

 slopes fifty feet high. The river ended in a little round lake 

 separated from the Koettlitz by the silt-covered pinnacle 

 described previously. 



We walked along the glacier edge towards the camp. At 

 one spot the water was welling up through holes in the ice, 

 and appeared to indicate a slight tide, for it had spread out to 

 varying boundaries at various times. Probably a variation in 

 temperature would account fully for the difference in supply. 



We reached the tent about a quarter past six. 



The weather had been dull, and it was useless to expect a 

 good view of the western scarp and valleys. 1 decided to 

 wait until the 3rd if necessary to climb up for this view. The 

 hills were now snow-covered, and we had several valleys to the 

 north to investigate before our return. 



The month of March opened with a bright sunny morning, 

 just suited for our proposed climb up one of the hinterland 

 ranges. We climbed up the slope about eight hundred 

 feet and soon reached the level floor of the hanging " valley ' 

 just behind the camp. We marched along this to the north 

 end of the valley towards a prominent peak on the eastern 

 ridge. A stiff climb over snow slopes and rugged granite 

 led to the summit, which we reached at 1 p.m. The aneroid 

 made this 3000 feet above sea-level. It was a beautiful day 

 and we could see Erebus, Discovery, Morning, and the Pyramid 

 up the Koettlitz. Lister itself, as usual, was in the clouds, but 

 nearly all below was visible. We could see numerous hinter- 

 land ridges reaching from the Lower Koettlitz to the Lister 



