Hut, nor remain away longer than a
fortnight.

Webb, McLean and Stillwell, the southern reconnoitring party, were the
first to set off, leaving on September 7 against a wind of fifty-six
miles per hour. Between them they had only one pair of good spiked
crampons, and it was a hard, five hours' drag up to Aladdin's Cave. A
tent which had been spread over the entrance to keep out snow was picked
up here. It had suffered punctures and small tears from crampons, and,
as the next day was one of boisterous wind, the party spent it repairing
the tent and endeavouring to take magnetic observations. The latter had
to be abandoned owing to the instrument becoming iced up.

Next afternoon the wind fell to the forties, and the party struggled
on to the south for three miles two hundred yards and camped, as it was
necessary to make a search for a small depot of pemmican tins, a pick
and a shovel left by us in the vicinity in August. The drift cleared
at noon on the 11th, and the bamboo pole marking the depot appeared
a quarter of a mile away on the right. The pick, shovel and flag were
secured and another afternoon's march against a fifty-mile wind with
a temperature at -20 degrees F. brought the party three and a quarter
miles further, to a point eleven and three-quarter miles south of the
Hut. The wind rose to the eighties during the night, and there were
many small holes in the tent which provided more ventilation than was
agreeable. As the wind was too strong for travelling on the 12th, it was
decided to make a cave in case of accident to the tent.

A tunnel was driven into the sloping surface of the ice towards a
crevasse about a foot wide. It was a good ten hours' job in tough ice
before the crevasse was reached. Into the fissure all the hewn ice was
thrown instead of being laboriously shovelled up through the tunnel. The
"Cathedral Grotto" was soon finished, the tent was struck and the party
made themselves comfortable inside. The cavern was found to be a very
draughty place with a crevasse along one wall, and it was difficult to
keep warm in one-man sleeping-bags. The crevasse was accordingly closed
with ice and snow. That evening and on several subsequent occasions
McLean took blood-pressure observations.

During the next three days the wind was so strong that Webb's were the
only crampons in which any efficient marching could be done. The time
was spent in building a high break-wind of ice-blocks, a pit being
excavate