As we neared the bottom of the mountain slope, farther to the north than we had previously gone, we had to be careful about crevasses, but we soon hit off the edge of the cliff and skirted along it until it petered out on the same level as the Barrier.  Turning left handed we headed towards the sea-ice, knowing that there were some two miles of pressure between us and Cape Crozier itself.  For about half a mile it was fair going, rounding big knobs of pressure but always managing to keep more or less on the flat and near the ice-cliff which soon rose to a very great height on our left.  Bill’s idea was to try and keep close under this cliff, along that same Discovery way which I have mentioned above.  They never arrived there early enough for the eggs in those days; the chicks were hatched.  Whether we should now find any Emperors, and if so whether they would have any eggs, was by no means certain.

However, we soon began to get into trouble, meeting several crevasses every few yards, and I have no doubt crossing scores of others of which we had no knowledge.  Though we hugged the cliffs as close as possible we found ourselves on the top of the first pressure ridge, separated by a deep gulf from the ice-slope which we wished to reach.  Then we were in a great valley between the first and second ridges:  we got into huge heaps of ice pressed up in every shape on every side, crevassed in every direction:  we slithered over snow-slopes and crawled along drift ridges, trying to get in towards the cliffs.  And always we came up against impossible places and had to crawl back.  Bill led on a length of Alpine rope fastened to the toggle of the sledge; Birdie was in his harness also fastened to the toggle, and I was in my harness fastened to the rear of the sledge, which was of great use to us both as a bridge and a ladder.

Two or three times we tried to get down the ice-slopes to the comparatively level road under the cliff, but it was always too great a drop.  In that dim light every proportion was distorted; some of the places we actually did manage to negotiate with ice-axes and Alpine rope looked absolute precipices, and there were always crevasses at the bottom if you slipped.  On the way back I did slip into one of these and was hauled out by the other two standing on the wall above me.

We then worked our way down into the hollow between the first and second large pressure ridges, and I believe on to the top of the second.  The crests here rose fifty or sixty feet.  After this I don’t know where we went.  Our best landmarks were patches of crevasses, sometimes three or four in a few footsteps.  The temperatures were lowish (-37 deg.), it was impossible for me to wear spectacles, and this was a tremendous difficulty to me and handicap to the party:  Bill would find a crevasse and point it out; Birdie would cross; and then time after time, in trying to step over or climb over on the sledge, I put my feet right into the middle of the cracks.  This day I went well in at least six times; once, when we were close to the sea, rolling into and out of one and then down a steep slope until brought up by Birdie and Bill on the rope.