3$2 WORST JOURNEY IN THE WORLD 



Before setting out on December 1 1 we rigged up the 

 Lower Glacier Depot, three weekly Summit units of pro- 

 visions, two cases of emergency biscuit which was the 

 ration for three weekly units, and two cans of oil. These 

 provisions were calculated to carry the three returning 

 parties as far as the Southern Barrier Depot. We also left 

 one can of spirit, used for lighting the primus, one bottle 

 of medical brandy and certain spare and personal gear not 

 required. On the sledges themselves we stowed eighteen 

 weekly Summit units, besides the three ready bags con- 

 taining the ration for the current week, and the comple- 

 ment of biscuit, for this was ten cases in addition to the 

 three boxes of biscuit which the three parties were using. 

 Then there were eighteen cans of oil, with two cans of 

 lighting spirit and a little additional Christmas fare which 

 Bowers had packed. Every unit of food was worked out 

 for four men for one week. 



During this time of deep snow the sledge-meters would 

 not work and we were compelled to estimate the distance 

 marched each day. " It has been a tremendous slog, but 

 I think a most hopeful day. Before starting it took us 

 about two hours to make the depot and then we got 

 straight into the midst of the big pressure. The dogs, 

 with ten cases of biscuit, came behind and pulled very 

 well. We soon caught sight of a big boulder, and Bill and 

 I roped up and went over to it. It was a block of very 

 coarse granite, nearly gneiss, with large crystals of quartz 

 in it, rusty outside and quite pinkish when chipped, and 

 with veins of quartz running through it. It was a vast 

 thing to be carried along on the ice, and looked very 

 typical of the rock round. Instead of keeping under the 

 great cliff where Shackleton made his depot, we steered for 

 Mount Kyffin, that is towards the middle of the glacier, 

 until lunch, when we had probably done about two or 

 three miles. There was a crevasse wherever we went, but 

 we managed to pull on ski and had no one down, and the 

 deep snow saved the dogs." x The dog-teams were cer- 

 tainly running very big risks that morning. They turned 



1 My own diary. 



