CREVASSES
Our retreat began early on the morning of December 2, and after a
week's struggle on the glacier Mackay, just before camping-time on
the 9th, sighted open water on the northern edge of the Drygalski Ice
Barrier, from three to four miles away. This convinced us that we could
not hope for sea-ice over which to sledge westwards to that part of the
shore where we proposed to make our final depot, before attempting the
ascent of the great inland plateau in order to reach the Magnetic Pole.
On the 10th, however, at the end of the day's sledging we rejoiced to
find ourselves off the true glacier type of surface, and on to one
of the undulating barrier type. This improvement enabled us to steer
westwards, and on the following day we had a fine view of "Terra Nova"
Bay, and as far as could be judged the edge of the Drygalski Ice
Barrier on the north was scarcely a mile distant.
So surprised were we at the general appearance of the outline of the
ice, which did not seem to agree with the shape of this region as shown
on the Admiralty chart, that we halted a little earlier than usual to
reconnoitre. Mackay started off with the field-glasses to a conspicuous
ice-mound about half a mile to the north-west, Mawson began to change
his plates, while I went out with my sketch-book to get an outline
panoramic view of the grand coast ranges in sight.
So few had been the crevasses of late that I failed to take my ice-axe
with me and I had scarcely gone half a dozen yards from the tent when
the lid of a crevasse collapsed under me, and let me down nearly up to
my shoulders.
I only saved myself from going right down by throwing out my arms and
staying myself on the snow-lid on either side. The lid was so rotten
that I did not dare to move for fear that I might be thrown into the
abyss, but fortunately Maws on was near, and on my calling to him he
brought an ice-axe and chipped a hole in the firm ice on the edge of
the crevasse nearest to me. Then he inserted the chisel edge of the
ice-axe in the hole and, holding on to the pick-point, swung the handle
towards me. Grasping this, I was able to climb out on to the solid ice.
On the following day we sledged on until we were close to the ice-mound
already mentioned, and decided that as this mound commanded such a
general view of the surrounding country, it must also be a conspicuous
object to any one approaching the Drygalski Glacier by sea from the
north. And so we decided that as we could find no trace of the "low,
sloping shore"--as it was called on the Admiralty chart--we would make
our depot at this spot.
We estimated that we still had 220 miles to travel from this depot
on the Drygalski Glacier to the Magnetic Pole, and therefore it was
necessary to make preparations for a journey there and back of at least
440 miles. We considered that with _détours_ the journey might possibly
amount to 500 miles.
Our first business, therefore, was to lay in a stock of provisions
sufficient to last us for our journey, and after Mackay had killed some
seals and Emperor penguins we started cooking our meat for the trip.
Our calculation was that the total weight--when we depoted one sledge
with spare equipment and all our geological specimens--would be 670
lb. But we were very doubtful whether we, in our stale and weakened
condition, would be able to pull such a load.
We unpacked and examined both sledges, and found that of the two, the
runners of the Duff sledge were the less damaged.
On the 14th we were still busy preparing for the great trek inland.
Mackay was cooking meat, Mawson was employed in transferring the
scientific instrument boxes and other things from the Christmas Tree
sledge to the Duff sledge, while I was engaged on fixing up depot
flags, writing letters to the commander of the _Nimrod_, Lieutenant
Shackleton, and my family, and fixing up a milk-tin to serve as a post
office on to the depot flag-pole.
When we were fully prepared the Christmas Tree sledge was dragged to
the top of the ice-mound, where we cut trenches with our ice-axes in
which to embed the runners of the sledge; then we fixed the runners
into these grooves, piled the chipped ice on top, and then lashed the
flag-pole about six feet high with the black flag displayed on the top
of it very carefully to the sledge. We all felt quite sorry to part
with the Christmas Tree sledge, which by this time seemed to us like a
bit of home.
Anxious as we were to start for our dash towards the Pole, we were
prevented by a furious blizzard from getting on our way until the 16th.
Then we were delighted to find that, in consequence of our three days'
rest we were able to pull our sledge with comparative ease.
Soon afterwards we reached another open tide-crack, and had to spend
some time in going round it, and on the far side of this crack we
encountered a large pressure ridge forming a high and steep slope
which barred our advance. Its height was about eighty feet, but if we
were to go on there was nothing to do but drag our sledge up the slope,
a most exhausting work which was made more difficult still by the fact
that this ice-slope was traversed by numerous crevasses.
At last we got up the slope, only to see in the dim light that a
succession of similar slopes were ahead of us, becoming continually
higher and steeper. The ice, too, became a perfect network of
crevasses, some of which were partly open, but most of them covered
with snow lids.
Suddenly, when crossing one of these lids, and just as he was about
to reach firm ice on the other side, we heard a slight crash, and
Mawson instantly disappeared. Fortunately the toggle at the end of his
sledge-rope held, and he was left swinging in the empty space between
the walls of the crevasse, being suspended by his harness attached to
the sledge-rope.
Mackay and I hung on to the rope in case it should part at the toggle,
but when Mawson called out for the alpine rope to be passed down to him
I left Mackay and hurried back to the sledge to get it. Just, however,
as I was trying to disengage a coil of rope, Mawson called out that he
felt he was going, so I returned to help Mackay in his effort to keep
a strain on Mawson's harness rope. Then Mawson said that he was all
right, and the rope having suddenly cut back through the lid of the
crevasse was probably the reason why he had felt that he was falling.
I now held on to the harness rope while Mackay got the alpine rope, and
made a bow-line at the end in which Mawson could put his foot. In the
meantime Mawson, who was down about eight feet below the level of the
snowy lid, secured some ice crystals from the side of the crevasse and
threw them up for subsequent examination.
The alpine rope having been lowered, we eventually hoisted him up
little by little to the under surface of the snow-lid, but as his
harness rope had cut back a narrow groove in this snow-lid several feet
from where the snow gave way under him, he found his head and shoulders
pressing against the under side of the snow-lid and had difficulty in
breaking through this in order to get out his head.
At last the top of his head appeared, and presently he got safely
out on the near side of the crevasse, a deliverance for which we
were all supremely thankful. After this too-exciting episode we were
extra-cautious in crossing crevasses, but the ice was simply seamed
with them.
Twice when our sledge was being dragged up ice-pressure ridges it
rolled over sideways with one runner in a crevasse, and once the whole
sledge all but disappeared into a crevasse, the snow-lid of which
partly collapsed under its weight. Had it gone down completely we
should certainly have been dragged down with it, as it weighed nearly
one-third of a ton.
It was clear to us that these numerous crevasses which we had reached
were caused not by the Drygalski but by the Nansen Glacier.
On the 20th we held a council of war, the question being whether
we should continue in the direction of the Mount Nansen Glacier,
or whether we should retreat and try to find some other way to the
plateau. Mackay was in favour of hauling ahead over the glacier, while
Mawson and I favoured retreat, and at last we decided to retreat once
more.