i9»] HARD WORK ON THE SUMMIT 531 
the hard snow, but to-night the outlook is not promising 
better things. However, we are very close to the 88th 
parallel, little more than 120 miles from the Pole, only a 
march from Shacklcton's final camp, and in a general 
way 4 getting on.' 
We go little over a mile and a quarter an hour now — 
it is a big strain as the shadows creep slowly round from 
our right through ahead to our left. What lots of things 
we think of on these monotonous marches ! What castles 
one builds now hopefully that the Pole is ours. Bovvers 
took sights to-day and will take them every third day. 
We feel the cold very little, the great comfort of our 
situation is the excellent drying effect of the sun. Our 
socks and finnesko are almost dry each morning. Cooking 
for five takes a seriously longer time than cooking for four ; 
perhaps half an hour on the whole day. It is an item I 
had not considered when re-organising. 
Saturday y January 6. — Height 10,470. T. -22-3°. 
Obstacles arising — last night we got amongst sastrugi — 
they increased in height this morning and now we arc in 
the midst of a sea of fish-hook waves well remembered 
from our Northern experience. We took off our ski after 
the first \\ hours and pulled on foot. It is terribly heavy 
in places, and, to add to our trouble, every sastrugus is 
covered with a beard of sharp branching crystals. We 
have covered 61 miles, but we cannot keep up our average 
if this sort of surface continues. There is no wind. 
Camp 59. Lat, 88° f. Height 10,430-10,510. Rise 
of barometer? T. -22-5°. Minimum -25-8°. Morn- 
ing. Fearfully hard pull again, and when we had marched 
2 M 2 
