out of the broken ice, we steered in a
south-westerly direction, just above the line of serac and crevassed
ice. The coast here trended to the south-west, forming the eastern side
of Drygalski's Posadowsky Bay. The going was heavy, the surface being
covered by a layer of frost-crystals deposited during the night. A fog
came up again early in the afternoon and had quite surrounded us at
camping time. During the day there were fine clouds of ice-crystals in
the air, and at 8 P.M. a fog-bow was seen in the east.

Turning out in the morning we saw Gaussberg peeping over a ridge to the
west, but were still prevented from steering directly towards it by the
broken surface. When we had advanced ten miles, a heavy fog brought us
to a halt at 5 P.M.

On Friday the 20th, in spite of a sticky surface, thirteen miles
was covered on a west-south-west course. The ice-cap continued to be
undulating but free of crevasses. The altitude was between two thousand
five hundred and three thousand feet.

In the morning, after travelling two miles, we came in sight of
Gaussberg again and steered directly towards it. The surface was good
with a downward grade. At five and a quarter miles a depot was made of
the small sledge and most of the food, in expectation of a clear run
to the mountain. Not far ahead, however, were two broken-backed ridges
intersecting the course, and a detour had to be made to the south to
cross them higher up.

Midsummer's day, December 22, was spent in the tent, a move being
impossible on account of the high wind. In the afternoon we walked ahead
a short distance and reconnoitred six or seven crumpled ridges. Though
the barometer had been falling ominously for twenty-four hours, the bad
weather did not continue.

Gaussberg was reached in the afternoon, after our track had passed
through seventeen miles of dangerous country. For the first few miles
the surface consisted of a series of steep, buckled ice-ridges; later,
it was snow-covered, but at times literally cut into a network of
crevasses.

The only approach to Gaussberg from the plateau is from the south. To
the east and west there are magnificent ice-falls, the debris from which
litters the floe for miles around.

December 24 and Christmas Day were devoted to examining the mountain.
Dovers made a long series of observations for longitude, latitude
and magnetic variation, while Hoadley examined the rocks and took
photographs.

On the southern side, the i