Page:Scott's Last Expedition, Volume 2.djvu/172

gale. Large stretches of open water lay to the S.E. and east, while small pools and lanes were very numerous on the northern horizon, and a heavy bank of fog or mist seemed to indicate a lot of open water there. To the S.W. across Robertson Bay the open water appeared to reach right up to the cliffs of the mainland, but the day was not very clear, and it was hard to make out distinctly if there was a strip of fast ice along the coast.

August 21.—A lovely clear day. We went up Cape Adare again to see the ice conditions to the westward. Owing to the young ice over the open water it was hard to make out if there was an ice foot along the cliffs of the mainland. If the ice remains in I shall go into Robertson Bay early in September to see if the coast journey is feasible, for our only other alternative is to find glaciers leading on to the plateau.

To get a better idea of the gradient of these I climbed about 2500 feet up the slopes of Cape Adare, and the result was not very encouraging. I doubt if the glaciers in Robertson Bay lead directly to the plateau, as the Admiralty Range rises in a series of unbroken ridges of bare rock from the sea to apparently far inland.

Altogether the outlook made me wish more than ever that the ship had had sufficient coal to take us back to Wood Bay.

The spell of fine weather lasted till the 30th, allowing thin ice to form over the open water, except in some pools near Cape Adare which the current seemed to keep open. The night of the 30th a blizzard began, with heavy drift, some of the squalls being very heavy