go down again.  They had both observed the immense glacier that stretched beneath us running east and west.  A lengthy discussion took place between the two parties, who mutually scorned each other’s “discoveries.”  “Yes; but look here, Bjaaland, we could see that from where you were standing there’s a sheer drop —­ " —­ “You couldn’t see me at all.  I tell you I was to the west of the peak that lies to the south of the peak that” I gave up trying to follow the discussion any longer.  The way in which the different parties had disappeared and come in sight again gave me every reason to decide in favour of the route the last arrivals had taken.  I thanked these keen gentlemen for their strenuous ramble in the interests of the expedition, and went straight off to sleep.  I dreamed of mountains and precipices all night, and woke up with Bjaaland whizzing down from the sky.  I announced once more that I had made up my mind for the other course, and went to sleep again.

We debated next morning whether it would not be better to take the sledges two by two to begin with; the glacier before us looked quite steep enough to require double teams.  It had a rise of 2,000 feet in quite a short distance.  But we would try first with the single teams.  The dogs had shown that their capabilities were far above our expectation; perhaps they would be able to do even this.  We crept off:  The ascent began at once —­ good exercise after a quart of chocolate.  We did not get on fast, but we won our way.  It often looked as if the sledge would stop, but a shout from the driver and a sharp crack of the whip kept the dogs on the move.  It was a fine beginning to the day, and we gave them a well-deserved rest when we got up.  We then drove in through the narrow pass and out on the other side.  It was a magnificent panorama that opened before us.  From the pass we had come out on to a very small flat terrace, which a few yards farther on began to drop steeply to a long valley.  Round about us lay summit after summit on every side.  We had now come behind the scenes, and could get our bearings better.  We now saw the southern side of the immense Mount Nansen; Don Pedro Christophersen we could see in his full length.  Between these two mountains we could follow the course of a glacier that rose in terraces along their sides.  It looked fearfully broken and disturbed, but we could follow a little connected line among the many crevasses; we saw that we could go a long way, but we also saw that the glacier forbade us to use it in its full extent.  Between the first and second terraces the ice was evidently impassable.  But we could see that there was an unbroken ledge up on the side of the mountain; Don Pedro would help us out.  On the north along the Nansen Mountain there was nothing but chaos, perfectly impossible to get through.  We put up a big beacon where we were standing, and took bearings from it all round the compass.