Sunday, 11 February 1912

Scott

Without a marked route, a maze of crevasses led to uncertainty. "For three hours we plunged on on ski," Scott wrote, "first thinking we were too much to the right, then too much to the left; meanwhile the disturbance got worse and my spirits received a very rude shock. There were times when it seemed almost impossible to find a way out of the awful turmoil in which we found ourselves. At length, arguing that there must be a way on our left, we plunged in that direction. It got worse, harder, more icy and crevassed. We could not manage our ski and pulled on foot, falling into crevasses every minute."

After twelve hours' march, Scott could write, "I think we are on or about the right track now," but that night at dinner they made their three remaining pemmican meals into four.


Notes:

[1] R.F. Scott, diary, 11 February, 1912, quoted in Scott's Last Expedition, v.1.