We stopped right under Mount Engelstad in a warm and sunny place, and allowed ourselves on this occasion a little lunch, an indulgence that had not hitherto been permitted.  The cooking-case was taken out, and soon the Primus was humming in a way that told us it would not be long before the chocolate was ready.  It was a heavenly treat, that drink.  We had all walked ourselves warm, and our throats were as dry as tinder.  The contents of the pot were served round by the cook —­ Hanssen.  It was no use asking him to share alike; he could not be persuaded to take more than half of what was due to him —­ the rest he had to divide among his comrades.  The drink he had prepared this time was what he called chocolate, but I had some difficulty in believing him.  He was economical, was Hanssen, and permitted no extravagance; that could be seen very well by his chocolate.  Well, after all, to people who were accustomed to regard “bread and water” as a luxury, it tasted, as I have said, heavenly.  It was the liquid part of the lunch that was served extra; if anyone wanted something to eat, he had to provide it himself —­ nothing was offered him.  Happy was he who had saved some biscuits from his breakfast!  Our halt was not a very long one.  It is a queer thing that, when one only has on light underclothing and windproof overalls, one cannot stand still for long without feeling cold.  Although the temperature was no lower than -4deg.  F., we were glad to be on the move again.  The last ascent was fairly hard work, especially the first half of it.  We never expected to do it with single teams, but tried it all the same.  For this last pull up I must give the highest praise both to the dogs and their drivers; it was a brilliant performance on both sides.  I can still see the situation clearly before me.  The dogs seemed positively to understand that this was the last big effort that was asked of them; they lay flat down and hauled, dug their claws in and dragged themselves forward.  But they had to stop and get breath pretty often, and then the driver’s strength was put to the test.  It is no child’s play to set a heavily-laden sledge in motion time after time.  How they toiled, men and beasts, up that slope!  But they got on, inch by inch, until the steepest part was behind them.  Before them lay the rest of the ascent in a gentle rise, up which they could drive without a stop.  It was stiff, nevertheless, and it took a long time before we were all up on the plateau on the southern side of Mount Engelstad.

We were very curious and anxious to see what the plateau looked. like.  We had expected a great, level plain, extending boundlessly towards the south; but in this we were disappointed.  Towards the south-west it looked very level and fine, but that was not the way we had to go.  Towards the south the ground continued to rise in long ridges running east and west, probably a continuation of the mountain chain running to the south-east, or a connection between it and