The watchman had to be continually on the alert for
cracks in the ice, or any sudden changes in the ice conditions, and
also had to keep his eye on the dogs, who often became restless,
fretful, and quarrelsome in the early hours of the morning. At the end
of his hour he was very glad to crawl back into the comparative warmth
of his frozen sleeping-bag.
On November 6 a dull, overcast day developed into a howling blizzard
from the south-west, with snow and low drift. Only those who were
compelled left the shelter of their tent. Deep drifts formed
everywhere, burying sledges and provisions to a depth of two feet, and
the snow piling up round the tents threatened to burst the thin fabric.
The fine drift found its way in through the ventilator of the tent,
which was accordingly plugged up with a spare sock.
This lasted for two days, when one man wrote: "The blizzard continued
through the morning, but cleared towards noon, and it was a beautiful
evening; but we would far rather have the screeching blizzard with its
searching drift and cold damp wind, for we drifted about eleven miles
to the north during the night."
For four days the fine weather continued, with gloriously warm, bright
sun, but cold when standing still or in the shade. The temperature
usually dropped below zero, but every opportunity was taken during
these fine, sunny days to partially dry our sleeping-bags and other
gear, which had become sodden through our body-heat having thawed the
snow which had drifted in on to them during the blizzard.
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