PATIENCE CAMP 
was very mild. New Year's Eve, however, was foggy and 
overcast, with some snow, and next day, though the tempera- 
ture rose to 38° Fahi., it was " abominably cold and wet under- 
foot." As a rule, during the first half of January the weather 
was comparatively warm, so much so that we could dispense 
with our mitts and work outside for quite long periods with 
bare hands. Up till the 13th it was exasperatingly warm and 
calm. This meant that our drift northwards, which was almost 
entirely dependent on the wind, was checked. A light southerly 
breeze on the 16th raised all our hopes, and as the temperature 
was dropping we were looking forward to a period of favour- 
able winds and a long drift north. 
On the 18th it had developed into a howling south-westerly 
gale, rising next day to a regular bhzzard with much drift. 
No one left the shelter of his tent except to feed the dogs, 
fetch the meals from the galley for his tent, or when his turn 
as watchman came round. For six days this lasted, when the 
drift subsided somewhat, though the southerly wind continued, 
and we were able to get a glimpse of the sun. This showed us 
to have drifted 84 miles north in six days, the longest drift 
we had made. For weeks we had remained on the 67th parallel, 
and it seemed as though some obstruction was preventing us 
from passing it. By this amazing leap, however, we had 
crossed the Antarctic Circle, and were now 146 miles from the 
nearest land to the west of us — Snow Hill — and 357 miles from 
the South Orkneys, the first land directly to the north of us. 
As if to make up for this, an equally strong north-easterly 
wind sprang up next day, and not only stopped our northward 
drift but set us back three miles to the south. As usual, high 
temperatures and wet fog accompanied these northerly winds, 
though the fog disappeared on the afternoon of January 25, 
and we had the unusual spectacle of bright hot sun with a 
north-easterly wind. It was as hot a day as we had ever had. 
The temperature was 36° Fain*, in the shade and nearly 80° Fahr. 
inside the tents. This had an awful effect on the surface, 
covering it with pools and making it very treacherous to walk 
upon. Ten days of northerly winds rather damped our spirits, 
but a strong southerly wind on February 4, backing later to 
H 113 
