In addition to this brilliant result, we arrived at several other conclusions.  In the first place, the question of the long time spent in our morning preparations thrust itself on our notice:  this could not be allowed to occur on the main journey.  At least two hours might be saved, I had no doubt of that —­ but how?  I should have to take time to think it over.  What required most alteration was our heavy outfit.  The sledges were constructed with a view to the most difficult conditions of ground.  The surface here was of the easiest kind, and consequently permitted the use of the lightest outfit.  We ought to be able to reduce the weight of the sledges by at least half —­ possibly more.  Our big canvas ski-boots were found to need thorough alteration.  They were too small and too stiff, and had to be made larger and softer.  Foot-gear had such an important bearing on the success of the whole expedition that we had to do all that could be done to get it right.

The four who had stayed at home had accomplished a fine piece of work.  Framheim was hardly recognizable with the big new addition on its western wall.  This pent-house was of the same width as the hut —­ 13 feet —­ and measured about 10 feet the other way.  Windows had been put in —­ two of them —­ and it looked quite bright and pleasant when one came in; but this was not to last for long.  Our architects had also dug a passage, 5 feet wide, round the whole hut, and this was now covered over, simply by prolonging the sloping roof down to the snow to form a roof over this passage.  On the side facing east a plank was fixed across the gable at the required height, and from this boards were brought down to the snow.  The lower part of this new extension of the roof was well strengthened, as the weight of snow that would probably accumulate upon it in the course of the winter would be very great.  This passage was connected with the pent-house by a side-door in the northern wall.  The passage was constructed to serve as a place for storing tinned foods and fresh meat, besides which its eastern end afforded an excellent place to get snow for melting.  Here Lindstrom could be sure of getting as much clean snow as he wanted, which was an impossibility outside the house.  We had 120 dogs running about, and they were not particular as to the purpose for which we might want the snow.  But here in this snow wall Lindstrom had no need to fear the dogs.  Another great advantage was that he would not have to go out in bad weather, darkness, and cold, every time he wanted a piece of ice.

We now had to turn our attention in the first place, before the cold weather set in, to the arrangement of our dog tents.  We could not leave them standing as they were on the snow; if we did so, we should soon find that dogs’ teeth are just as sharp as knives; besides which, they would be draughty and cold for the animals.  To counteract this, the floor of each tent was sunk 6 feet below the surface of the