So8 
SCOTT'S LAST EXPEDITION 
[December 
We got fearfully hot this morning and marched in 
singlets, which became wringing wet; thus uncovered the 
sun gets at one's skin, and then the wind, which makes it 
horribly uncomfortable. 
Our lips are very sore. We cover them with the soft 
silk plaster which seems about the best thing for the 
purpose. 
I'm inclined to think that the summit trouble will be 
mostly due to the chill falling on sunburned skins. Even 
now one feels the cold strike directly one stops. We get 
fearfully thirsty and chip up ice on the march, as well as 
drinking a great deal of water on halting. Our fuel only 
just does it, but that is all we want, and we have a bit in 
hand for the summit. 
The pulling this afternoon was fairly pleasant ; at 
first over hard snow, and then on to pretty rough ice 
with surface snowfield cracks, bad for sledges, but ours 
promised to come through well. We have worn our 
crampons all day and are delighted with them. P.O. 
Evans, the inventor of both crampons and ski shoes, is 
greatly pleased, and certainly we owe him much. The 
weather is beginning to look dirty again, snow clouds 
rolling in from the east as usual. I believe it will be 
overcast to-morrow. 
Monday, December 1 8. — Camp 40. Lunch nearly 
4000 feet above Barrier. Overcast and snowing this 
morning as I expected, land showing on starboard hand, 
so, though it was gloomy and depressing, we could march, 
and did. We have done our 8 stat. miles between 8.20 and 
1 p.m. ; at first fairly good surface ; then the ice got very 
