On December 7, noon position 61 deg. 22’ S., 179 deg. 56’ W., one berg was sighted far away to the west, as it gleamed every now and then in the sun.  Two more were seen the next day, and at 6.22 A.M. on December 9, noon position 65 deg. 8’ S., 177 deg. 41’ W., the pack was sighted ahead by Rennick.  All that day we passed bergs and streams of ice.  The air became dry and bracing, the sea was calm, and the sun shining on the islands of ice was more than beautiful.  And then Bump!  We had just charged the first big floe, and we were in the pack.

“The sky has been wonderful, with every form of cloud in every condition of light and shade; the sun has continually appeared through breaks in the cloudy heavens from time to time, brilliantly illuminating some field of pack, some steep-walled berg, or some patch of bluest sea.  So sunlight and shadow have chased each other across our scene.  To-night there is little or no swell—­the ship is on an even keel, steady, save for the occasional shocks on striking ice.

“It is difficult to express the sense of relief this steadiness gives after our storm-tossed passage.  One can only imagine the relief and comfort afforded to the ponies, but the dogs are visibly cheered and the human element is full of gaiety.  The voyage seems full of promise in spite of the imminence of delay."[51]

We had met the pack farther north than any other ship.

What is pack?  Speaking very generally indeed, in this region it is the sea-ice which forms over the Ross Sea area during the winter, and is blown northwards by the southerly blizzards.  But as we shall see, the ice which forms over this area is of infinite variety.  As a rule great sheets spread over the seas which fringe the Antarctic continent in the autumn, grow thicker and thicker during the winter and spring, and break up when the temperatures of sea and air rise in summer.  Such is the ice which forms in normal seasons round the shores of McMurdo Sound, and up the coast of the western mountains of Victoria Land.  In sheltered bays this ice will sometimes remain in for two years or even more, growing all the time, until some phenomenal break-up releases it.  We found an example of this in the sea-ice which formed between Hut Point and the Barrier.  But there are great waters which can never freeze for very long.  Cape Crozier, for instance, where the Emperor penguins nest in winter, is one of the windiest places in the world.  In July it was completely frozen over as far as we could see in the darkness from a height of 900 feet.  Within a few days a hurricane had blown it all away, and the sea was black.

I believe, and we had experiences to prove me right, that there is a critical period early in the winter, and that if sea-ice has not frozen thick enough to remain fast by that time, it is probable that the sea will remain open for the rest of the year.  But this does not mean that no ice will form.  So great is the wish of the sea to freeze, and so cold is the air, that the wind has only to lull for one instant and the surface is covered with a thin film of ice, as though by magic.  But the next blizzard tears it out by force or a spring tide coaxes it out by stealth, whether it be a foot thick or only a fraction of an inch.  Such an example we had at our very doors during our last winter, and the untamed winds which blew as a result were atrocious.