After we had seen to the wants of the dogs we could then think of ourselves.  As early as April the house was entirely covered by snow.  In this newly drifted snow, passageways were dug connecting directly with the dog huts.  Ample room was thus at our disposal without the need on our part of furnishing building material.  We had workshops, a blacksmith shop, a room for sewing, one for packing, a storage room for coal, wood, and oil, a room for regular baths and one for steam baths.  The winter might be as cold and stormy as it would; it could do us no harm.

On April 21st the sun disappeared and the longest night began which had ever been experienced by man in the Antarctic.  We did not need to fear the long night, for we were well equipped with provisions for years and had a comfortable, well-ventilated, well-situated and protected house.  In addition we had our splendid bathroom where we could take a bath every week.  It really was a veritable sanatorium.

After these arrangements had been completed we began preparations for the main advance in the following spring.  We had to improve our equipment and make it lighter.  We discarded all our sleds, for they were too heavy and unwieldy for the smooth surface of the Ice Barrier.  Our sleds weighed 165 pounds each.  Bjaaland, our ski and sledmaker, took the sleds in hand, and when spring arrived he had entirely made over our sledge equipment.  These sleds weighed only one-third as much as the old ones.  In the same way it was possible to reduce the weight of all other items of our equipment.  Packing the provisions for the sledge journey was of the greatest importance.  Captain Johansen attended to this work during the winter.  Each of the 42,000 loaves of hard bread had to be handled separately before it could be assigned to its proper place.  In this way the winter passed quickly and agreeably.  All of us were occupied all the time.  Our house was warm, dry, light and airy, and we all enjoyed the best of health.  We had no physician and needed none.

Meteorological observations were taken continuously.  The results were surprising.  We had thought that we should have disagreeable, stormy weather, but this was not the case.  During the whole year of our sojourn at the station we experienced only two moderate storms.  The rest of the time light breezes prevailed, mainly from an easterly direction.  Atmospheric pressure was as a rule very low, but remained constant.  The temperature sank considerably, and I deem it probable that the mean annual temperature which we recorded, -26 deg.  Centigrade, is the lowest mean temperature which has ever been observed.  During five months of the year we recorded temperatures below -50 deg.  Centigrade.  On August 23d the lowest temperature was recorded, -59 deg..  The aurora australis, corresponding to the northern lights of the Arctic, was observed frequently and in all directions and forms.  This phenomenon changed very rapidly, but, except in certain cases, was not very intensive.