Our dogs, which during the last few days had covered a distance of nearly 440 miles, put in a very good piece of work that day, as they did twenty-two miles on ground rising to 5,770 feet.  It was an almost incredible record.  It only took us four days from the barrier to reach the immense inland plateau.  We camped at a height of 7,600 feet.  Here we had to kill twenty-four of our brave dogs, keeping eighteen —­ six for each of our three sledges.  We halted here for four days on account of bad weather.  On November 25 we were tired of waiting, and started again.  On the 26th we were overtaken by a raging blizzard.  In the thick, driving snow we could see absolutely nothing; but we felt that, contrary to what we had expected —­ namely, a further ascent —­ we were going rapidly downhill.  The hypsometer that day showed a descent of 600 feet.  We continued our march next day in a strong wind and thick, driving snow.  Our faces were badly frozen.  There was no danger, but we simply could see nothing.  Next day, according to our reckoning, we reached lat. 86deg..  The hypsometer showed a fall of 800 feet.  The following day passed in the same way.  The weather cleared up about noon, and there appeared to our astonished eyes a mighty mountain range to the east of us, and not far away.  But the vision only lasted a moment, and then disappeared again in the driving snow.  On the 29th the weather became calmer and the sun shone —­ a pleasant surprise.  Our course lay over a great glacier, which ran in a southerly direction.  On its eastern side was a chain of mountains running to the southeast.  We had no view of its western part, as this was lost in a thick fog.  At the foot of the Devil’s Glacier we established a depot in lat. 86deg. 21’, calculated for six days.  The hypsometer showed 8,000 feet above sea level.  On November 30 we began to ascend the glacier.  The lower part was much broken up and dangerous, and the thin bridges of snow over the crevasses often broke under us.  From our camp that evening we had a splendid view of the mountains to the east.  Mount Helmer Hansen was the most remarkable of them all; it was 12,000 feet high, and covered by a glacier so rugged that in all probability it would have been impossible to find foothold on it.  Here were also Mounts Oskar Wisting, Sverre Hassel, and Olav Bjaaland, grandly lighted up by the rays of the sun.  In the distance, and only visible from time to time through the driving mists, we saw Mount Thorvald Nilsen, with peaks rising to 15,000 feet.  We could only see those parts of them that lay nearest to us.  It took us three days to get over the Devil’s Glacier, as the weather was unusually misty.