were suffering with cracked lips; there was
consequently a big demand for hazeline cream in the evening.

On Wednesday November 13, we started early, and, finding a good firm
track over a gently rising plateau, made fair progress. At three o'clock
a gale sprang up suddenly; and fortunately the sledges were only a
quarter of a mile apart as we were relaying them in stages up the rising
plateau. The tent was pitched hurriedly, though with difficulty, on
account of the high wind and drift. The distance for the day was four
miles one thousand five hundred yards, the last mile and a half being
downhill into a valley at the head of the bay. The morainic boulders
visible from the camp at the depot were now obscured behind a point to
the west of Depot Bay.

The next sixty hours were spent in sleeping-bags, a heavy snowstorm
making it impossible to move. Owing to the comparatively high
temperature, 20 degrees to 26 degrees F., the snow melted readily on
the lee side of the tent, and, the water running through, things became
uncomfortably wet inside. At midday of the 16th, however, we were able
to go out, and, after spending two and a half hours digging out the tent
and sledges, we made a start, travelling two and three-quarter miles on
a south-westerly course.

During the morning of the 17th a slight descent was negotiated, but in
the afternoon came the ascent of the slopes on the western side of Depot
Bay. The ice-cap here was very badly crevassed, and spiked boots had to
be worn in hauling the sledges up the steep neve slopes. In the latter
part of the afternoon a course was made more to the west, and about the
same time the south-east wind freshened and we travelled for a couple of
hours through thick drift. The night's camp was situated approximately
at the eastern edge of the Helen Glacier. The portion of the ice-cap
which contributes to the glacier below is marked off from the general
icy surface on either side by a series of falls and cascades. These
appeared quite impassable near sea-level, but we hoped to find a smooth
passage at an altitude of about one thousand feet.

A start was made at 7 A.M. The surface consisted of ice and neve and
was badly broken by pressure-mounds, ten to twenty feet high, and by
numerous crevasses old and recent; many with sunken or fallen bridges.
While crossing a narrow crevasse, about forty feet of the bridge
collapsed lengthwise under the leading man, letting him fall to the full
exte