312 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 



their length (instead of across them, as in traversing ordinary 

 outlet glaciers). 1 think our party were the first to do any 

 considerable distance over such a glacier, and I must confess 

 that I would infinitely prefer to ascend a normal glacier for 

 twice the distance. 



In one important respect the environment of our hut was 

 scientifically more interesting than that of 1902 or 1907. 

 We were only a few minutes' walk from the huge face of 

 an important glacier. This meant that many hours could be 

 spent studying ice conditions, without being at a dangerous 

 distance from safety if a blizzard suddenly sprang up. Al- 

 most every day Wright and myself prowled around High 

 Cliff" and the vertical 1 50-foot face of the Barne Glacier. 



As one walked north from the cape on to the sea-ice, 

 the ice-covered slopes of the Ramp (which we called Slippery 

 Slopes) merged into the ice of the Barne glacier. Just at the 

 northern " root " of Cape Evans was Low Cliff, a mass of 

 kenyte in situ. Further north every few hundred yards was 

 a permanent snow ramp leading up to the glacier surface 

 100 feet above. At High Cliff an outcrop of kenyte was 

 exposed below the ice mass, and a little further north was 

 another lower outcrop at sea-leveL Between these two — and 

 about a mile from the hut — Gran worked hard to convert 

 a snow slope into a suitable ski-run. It looked a ferocious 

 jump to the tyro, and ended in a jumble of sea-ice blocks 

 which usually upset even our champion ski-er ! (/ did not 

 tackle this particular spot, having a desire to keep sound 

 limbs for the ensuing summer, but nothing ever harmed 

 Gran, as far as we could see !) 



A stiff pull up the ski-slope brought one to the top of the 

 glacier. Here the edge of the latter was closely corrugated 

 by small thaw streams, while the sun had etched out the face 

 of the ice and left great blocks of englacial kenyte projecting 

 like the gargoyles of Notre Dame. The silt bands and 

 texture of the glacier hereabouts, which was unusually rich 

 in included debris, are well shown in the accompanying photo- 

 graphs. 



The last volume of S.P. T. for 1 9 1 1 was now in prepara- 

 tion. The editor honoured me with an order for another skit 

 on the lines of the Bipe research. So I wrote a second 

 dealing with sledging trials, purporting to be love-letters 



