glorious sunshine to thaw my frozen form.

In spite of the low temperature we did sleep this second night, for we
were tired men, and Nature nursed us somehow into a sort of mild
unconsciousness.

On the third day of our march a considerable effort was necessary to
bring the sledge out of its settled position in the hard snow, but we
soon got going, like willing horses swaying at our load. The day was very
cold and our breath came out grayly steaming in the clear, crisp air.

At first our faces, feet, and fingers were quite painful from the cold,
which bit right through, but as the march progressed the temperature rose
kindly, until towards noon it was only about 30 degrees below zero, warm
enough after what we had experienced earlier.

As we trudged along we watched the mist which clothed the distant hills
uncurl from their summits and roll back into rising sheets of vapour
which finally dispersed and left a cloudless sky. The awful absence of
life struck strong notes within us. Even our feet made no noise at all,
clad in their soft fur boots, for we could no longer pull on ski owing to
the increasing weight of ice collecting in our sleeping-bags and on the
sledging equipment.

We were disappointed as the day progressed, for the sky became overcast
and the wind blew stronger and stronger from the W.S.W: with low drifts,
and at 8.30 p.m., it being too dark to see properly, we camped. By the
time our tent was pitched a fair blizzard was upon us, and by 10 o'clock
the camp was well snowed up. In spite of the howling wind we made all
snug inside, and the temperature rose to such an extent that we got quite
a good night's rest.

The blizzard continued throughout the night, but on the following day the
wind took off somewhat, and by the afternoon it was fine enough for us to
make a start again, which we did in a biting cold wind. We marched on
until nightfall, covering about seven and a half miles.

On the 13th September, having shivered in my bag all night, at five
o'clock I told my companions to get up, both of them being awake. The
cold had been so dreadful that none of us had slept a wink, and we were
not at all surprised on looking at the thermometer when we found the
temperature was 73.3 degrees below zero, Fahrenheit.

We cooked a meal and then prepared to scout for Corner Camp. I got a
glimpse of Observation Hill, a well-known landmark, and took a bearing of
that and another hill.

This gave me our wherea