We arrived at the old pony-food depot, Safety Camp, during the forenoon of September 9, and dug out the stores and bales of compressed hay, which we carefully tallied and marked by setting up a large black flag.  Then we continued towards Corner Camp.  We covered only eight or nine miles this second day on account of spending much time in digging out the depot at Safety Camp.  The temperature seemed to fall as we advanced into the Barrier, and this night the thermometer fell to 62 degrees below zero, which meant more shivering and even more discomfort, because now the moisture from our bodies and our breath formed ice in the fur of our sleeping-bags, especially at the head, hips, and feet.  One can never forget the horrible ice-clammy feeling of one’s face against the frozen fur.  How I yearned for a whiff of mild New Zealand air and an hour of its glorious sunshine to thaw my frozen form.

In spite of the low temperature we did sleep this second night, for we were tired men, and Nature nursed us somehow into a sort of mild unconsciousness.

On the third day of our march a considerable effort was necessary to bring the sledge out of its settled position in the hard snow, but we soon got going, like willing horses swaying at our load.  The day was very cold and our breath came out grayly steaming in the clear, crisp air.

At first our faces, feet, and fingers were quite painful from the cold, which bit right through, but as the march progressed the temperature rose kindly, until towards noon it was only about 30 degrees below zero, warm enough after what we had experienced earlier.

As we trudged along we watched the mist which clothed the distant hills uncurl from their summits and roll back into rising sheets of vapour which finally dispersed and left a cloudless sky.  The awful absence of life struck strong notes within us.  Even our feet made no noise at all, clad in their soft fur boots, for we could no longer pull on ski owing to the increasing weight of ice collecting in our sleeping-bags and on the sledging equipment.

We were disappointed as the day progressed, for the sky became overcast and the wind blew stronger and stronger from the W.S.W:  with low drifts, and at 8.30 p.m., it being too dark to see properly, we camped.  By the time our tent was pitched a fair blizzard was upon us, and by 10 o’clock the camp was well snowed up.  In spite of the howling wind we made all snug inside, and the temperature rose to such an extent that we got quite a good night’s rest.

The blizzard continued throughout the night, but on the following day the wind took off somewhat, and by the afternoon it was fine enough for us to make a start again, which we did in a biting cold wind.  We marched on until nightfall, covering about seven and a half miles.

On the 13th September, having shivered in my bag all night, at five o’clock I told my companions to get up, both of them being awake.  The cold had been so dreadful that none of us had slept a wink, and we were not at all surprised on looking at the thermometer when we found the temperature was 73.3 degrees below zero, Fahrenheit.