370 WORST JOURNEY IN THE WORLD 



crossing them the whole party, sledge and all, would be on 

 the bridge at once. They only gave way at the edges, and 

 we did nothing worse than put our feet through now and 

 then. The surface is all snow now, neve and hard sastrugi, 

 which seem to point to a strong prevalent S.S.E. wind here. 



We are well clear of the land now, and it is a beauti- 

 ful evening. I have just taken six photographs of the 

 Dominion Range. We can see many new mountains. Our 

 position by observation is 85 13" 29" S., 161 54/ 45" E., 

 variation being 175 45'. 



December 23. Turned out at usual time, 5.45 a.m. 

 I am cook this week in our tent. After breakfast built two 

 cairns to mark spot and shoved off at quarter to eight. 



We started up a big slope on a S.W. course to avoid the 

 pressure which lay across our track to the southward. It 

 was a pretty useful slog up the rise, at one time it seemed 

 as if we would never top the slope. We stopped for five 

 minutes to look round after i\ hours' hard plugging and 

 about 1 \ hours later reached the top, from which we could 

 see the distant mountains which have so recently been our 

 companions. They are beginning to look pretty magni- 

 ficent. The top of the great pressure ridge was running 

 roughly S.E. and N.W. : itwas one of a succession of ridges 

 which probably cover an area of fifty or sixty square miles. 

 In this neighbourhood Shackleton met them almost to 8 6|° 

 south. At the top of the ridge were vast crevasses into 

 which we could have dropped the Terra Nova easily. The 

 bridges were firm, however, except at the sides, though we 

 had frequent stumbles into the conservatory roof, so to 

 speak. The sledges were rushed over them without mishap. 

 We had to head farther west to clear disturbances, and at 

 one time were going W.N.W. 



At lunch camp we had done 8 1 miles, and in the after- 

 noon we completed fifteen on a S.W. course over improved 

 ground. Our routine is to actually haul our sledges for nine 

 hours a day; five in the morning, 7.15 a.m. till 1 p.m. ; 

 and four in the afternoon, 2.30 P.M.-6.30 p.m. We turn 

 out at 5.45 a.m. just now. The loads are still pretty heavy, 

 but the surface is remarkably good considering all things. 



