THE DEPOT JOURNEY ep 
at the camp to be joined by Gran later. Scott started off for 
Hut Point with Crean and Cherry on his sledge, while I 
followed with Fordeand Atkinson. The others helped us up 
several hundred feet of slope and left us under Castle Rock. 
* It was here that they mistook their way in the blizzard 
and lost a man from the Discovery. Though it was fine 
below it was blowing like anything on the heights. I was 
too busily occupied tosee much of the hills and snow-slopes 
which I got to know so well later. It was about three miles 
direct to the hut, but very up and down hill. At the last, 
however, you see the Bay in panorama with Cape Armitage 
on one side, and Hut Point on the other, where the Dis- 
covery lay two whole years. It is a magnificent view 
from the heights and for wild desolate grandeur would 
take some beating; the Western Mountains and the great 
dome of Mount Discovery across the black strait of water, 
covered with dark frost smoke, and here and there an ice- 
berg driving fast towards the sea. About half a mile below 
us was the little hut and, on the left, the 800-feet pyramid 
of Observation Hill. It is a perfect chaos of hills and ex- 
tinct craters just here. 
“Tt was blowing like fun. We left one sledge on the 
top of ski-slope and just took what was necessary on the 
other, such as our bags, etc. It was my first experience of 
steep downhill sledging. Instead of anybody pulling for- 
ward we all had to hang back and guide the sledge down 
the slippery incline without letting it take charge or getting 
upset. It is great fun. On reaching the head of the Bay, 
however, we had quite a dangerous little bit to cross. Here 
it was swept of snow and there was nothing but glassy ice 
and the incline ended in a low ice-cliff with the water below 
it. Attached as we were to the sledge we should have been 
at a disadvantage had it come to swimming, which a slip 
might easily have brought about. We scratched carefully 
across this and then headed down on the snow, arriving at 
the hut all well. The old hut had changed tremendously 
since I last saw it, having been dug out and cleared of 
snow and ice. Two unrecognizable sweeps greeted us 
heartily, they were Bill and Meares; the dogs howled a 
