. Our depot
thus had a mound four miles on the southern and five miles on the
northern side of it. It was not marked as well as I had hoped, but under
the circumstances we could not do better. Moreover, at intervals during
the day, some very distinctive snow ramps had appeared in the valley,
some five miles to the north-east, and their position was fixed relative
to the course.

Our hopes for a good afternoon were disappointed, as the wind and drift
came up again as strong as ever. The surface, too, grew worse; nothing
but sastrugi eighteen inches to thirty inches high and very close
together. We were marching a little to the east of the wind, and the
sledge was continually blown sideways, making considerable leeway. By
8.30 P.M. it was blowing sixty miles per hour, so we halted, thoroughly
tired out, having hauled our one-third of a ton eight and three-quarter
miles.

When it is blowing hard, the end of the day's march is not the end of
the day's work. As soon as a camping spot has been chosen, the sledge
is pulled round head to wind. The straps round the load are loosened
carefully, the shovel and tent removed and the straps retightened. One
man starts breaking out chunks of snow, experimenting until he finds a
place where large pieces come away readily. Lumps of forty pounds are
the handiest and quickest, but often only smaller ones can be obtained.
These are arranged in a circle round the tent-site, while the man with
the tent places it on the ground pointing upwind, the bottom of the
poles being just where the middle windward leg will be, and makes a hole
for that leg.

When everything is ready, all three catch hold of the tent, one man
crawling half into it, gripping hard the leather loop on the windward
leg. The others sort out and grip their two side legs. "All ready? Up!"
It almost takes one's breath away, the roar and the flap! The side legs
are quickly separated as the tent rises, and before it can blow over,
the leeward legs are more or less in position, taking the strain. The
centre man is throwing all his weight on to the leather loop, while the
other two outside each holds down his windward pole with one hand and
with the other pulls blocks of snow on to the skirt to windward. Once
this is done, the rest is simple: cutting holes in just the right
positions for the other legs, pulling out the skirt and making it snug
all round. Then in goes the floor-cloth, and, by the time that is
spread out properly,