Monday 13 Nov. [Actually November 12]

The land appeared to us in the most glorious hues. Glittering white, shining blue, raven black lit by the sun, the land looks like a fairy tale. Pinnacle after pinnacle, peak after peak – crevassed, wild as any land on our globe, it lies, unseen and untrodden. It is a wonderful feeling to travel along it.

If B range is the same that Sh. has mapped then, as far as I can make out, it lies in a more ESE’ly direction. Made a great discovery in the forenoon. The S’most and E’most point of C range, which I assumed must lie around 86°, and where our climb must take place, suddenly turned out to be the w’most cape of a huge bight running south, at least C range finishes there, and land only appears again a whole point more E’ly. We cannot see land between these two capes, and therefore I assume that we cannot come up against it before 87°. According to the new compass error we have established today, our course runs straight between the capes. We are naturally very excited.

Reached 84° today, and ought really to have a rest day tomorrow, but we have agreed to profit by the fine weather. The dogs do not give the impression of being exhausted. We put out a depot during the afternoon. It contains 24 kg dog pemmican, 6 kg human pemmican, 2 kg chocolate, four bags of dried milk, 800 biscuits, one can of paraffin (17 l.) 1 box of matches, five seal steaks, one whip, a few carabiners and some items of clothing. It is about 2 m high and marked with a big empty packing case on the top.

Last night repeatedly heard bangs and the cannon roars in the ice. They came separately. Noticed today – in a short distance – some really narrow cracks – ca. 1 inch wide – in the ice. This shows that there has been great pressure just in this place – that is to say, quite locally.