i 9 ii] PATIENCE AND RESOLUTION 489 
there is a lot of snow about. The wind also remains 
fairly strong and the temperature high. It is not pleasant, 
but if no worse in the morning we can get on at last. We 
are very, very wet. 
Thursday, December 7. — Camp 30. The storm con- 
tinues and the situation is now serious. One small feed 
remains for the ponies after to-day, so that we must either 
march to-morrow or sacrifice the animals. That is not 
the worst ; with the help of the dogs we could get on, 
without doubt. The serious part is that we have this 
morning started our Summit rations — that is to say, the 
food calculated from the Glacier depot has been begun. 
The first supporting party can only go on a fortnight from 
this date and so forth. The storm shows no sign of abate- 
ment and its character is as unpleasant as ever. The 
promise of last night died away about 3 a.m., when the 
temperature and wind rose again, and things reverted to 
the old conditions. I can find no sign of an end, and all of 
us agree that it is utterly impossible to move. Resignation 
to misfortune is the only attitude, but not an easy one to 
adopt. It seems undeserved where plans were well laid 
and so nearly crowned with a first success. I cannot 
see that any plan would be altered if it were to do again, 
the margin for bad weather was ample according to all 
experience, and this stormy December — our finest month 
— is a thing that the most cautious organiser might not 
have been prepared to encounter. It is very evil to lie 
here in a wet sleeping-bag and think of the pity of it, 
whilst with no break in the overcast sky things go steadily 
from bad to worse (T. + 32 0 ). Meares has a bad attack of 
