342 WORST JOURNEY IN THE WORLD 



been so easy with the ponies, who were sinking very deeply 

 in places, while we ourselves were sinking well over our 

 ankles. This day we began to cross the great undulations 

 in the Barrier, with the crests some mile apart, which here 

 mark the approach to the land. We had built the walls 

 to the north of the ponies on camping, because the wind 

 was from that direction, but by breakfast on December 

 4 it was blowing a thick blizzard from the south-east. 

 We began to feel bewildered by these extraordinary 

 weather changes, and not a little exasperated too. Again 

 we could not march, and again we had to dig out the 

 sledges and ponies, and to move them all round to the 

 other side of the walls which we had partly to rebuild. 

 "Oh for the simple man-hauling life ! " was our thought, 

 and " poor helpless beasts — this is no country for live 

 stock." By this time we could not see the neighbouring 

 tents for the drift. The situation was not improved by the 

 fact that our tent doors, the tents having been pitched for 

 the strong north wind then blowing, were now facing the 

 blizzard, and sheets of snow entered with each individual. 

 The man-hauling party came up just before the worst of 

 the blizzard started. The dogs alone were comfortable, 

 buried deep beneath the drifted snow. The sailors began to 

 debate who was the Jonah. They said he was the cameras. 

 The great blizzard was brewing all about us. 



But at mid-day as though a curtain was rolled back, the 

 thick snow fog cleared off, while at the same time the wind 

 fell calm, and a great mountain appeared almost on the top 

 of us. Far away to the south-east we could distinguish, by 

 looking very carefully, a break in the level Barrier horizon 

 — a new mountain which we reckoned must be at least in 

 latitude 86° and very high. Towards it the ranges stretched 

 away, peak upon peak, range upon range, as far as the eye 

 could see. "The mountains surpassed anything I have 

 ever seen : beside the least of these giants Ben Nevis 

 would be a mere mound, and yet they are so immense as to 

 dwarf each other. They are intersected at every turn with 

 mighty glaciers and ice-falls and eternally ice-filled valleys 

 that defy description. So clear was everything that every 



