1903] THE DESCENT 105 



breathing, and was carried for most of the way on the 

 sledges ; but it soon became evident that there was nothing 

 very wrong with him, and that he was more alarmed about 

 himself than others were for him. 



On the way down, visits were made to the cliffs on each 

 side, and specimens of the rock were obtained in situ as well 

 as from the various moraines which were passed. By January 1 1 

 the party were well on towards the lower reaches of the glacier, 

 and they found that the temperature of the valley had risen 

 considerably ; it was frequently above 40 , and the air inside 

 the tents was often oppressively warm. This led to several 

 minor and unexpected troubles ; for instance, it was found 

 that the sleeping-bags gradually melted the surface of ice or 

 snow on which they were laid, and in the morning were sur- 

 rounded with a pool of water. 



The high temperatures also gave rise to a very great 

 amount of thawing in the valley. We never again found it 

 in this condition, and it is probable that it only lasts for a 

 period of a fortnight, or at the most three weeks. This season 

 of thaw is an extremely interesting matter, and no doubt it 

 plays an important part in the denudation of the country. It 

 will be remembered that before our arrival in winter quarters, 

 in February 1902, we had landed on the tongue of a glacier 

 and observed the beds of considerable glacial streams, though 

 at that time the thaw had ceased. It may therefore be worth 

 while to quote some remarks from a report made by Skelton, 

 who, as a member of this party, saw the glacier in its most 

 melting mood. Skelton writes : ' During the hot days of the 

 latter part of December and early in January an immense 

 amount of melting goes on in the valley. On the glacier 

 surface there is quite a loud " buzzing " sound, caused by the 

 air bubbles confined in the ice being freed and coming to the 

 surface through water. On the way back we found every 

 boulder in the moraines standing in a large pool of water, often 

 three or four feet deep, and during the night frequent rumblings 

 could be heard as the boulders lost their equilibrium and 

 shifted their positions. Some boulders could be seen in the 



