Thursday 7 Dec. [Actually December 06]Same weather. Heavy snowfall. Sky and horizon melt into each other. Can see absolutely nothing at all.
Despite this we have done our 20 nautical miles and consequently have passed 88° S. Lat. Are now at 88°9' by dead reckoning. Tomorrow we will do another 20 mile march and then exceed Sh.’s record. Then we will stop for a day and recuperate. Of that we are sorely in need, both men and animals. The terrain has much improved today. Completely flat and fine everywhere. No sastrugi but much loose snow. And this evening the hypsometer shows that we have not climbed at all. Are we now on the final high plain? I think so. That does not quite agree with Sh. But possibly he did not have a hypsometer for his final spurt. This transcript comes from “Race for the South Pole - The Expedition Diaries of Scott and Amundsen” by Roland Huntford. It appears by courtesy of the author and The Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd. |
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