The afternoon was wearing
on and the fog was rolling up ominously from the west. It was of the
utmost importance for us to get down into the next valley before dark.
We were now up 4500 ft. and the night temperature at that elevation
would be very low. We had no tent and no sleeping-bags, and our
clothes had endured much rough usage and had weathered many storms
during the last ten months. In the distance, down the valley below us,
we could see tussock-grass close to the shore, and if we could get down
it might be possible to dig out a hole in one of the lower snow-banks,
line it with dry grass, and make ourselves fairly comfortable for the
night. Back we went, and after a detour we reached the top of another
ridge in the fading light. After a glance over the top I turned to the
anxious faces of the two men behind me and said, "Come on, boys."
Within a minute they stood beside me on the ice-ridge. The surface
fell away at a sharp incline in front of us, but it merged into a snow-
slope. We could not see the bottom clearly owing to mist and bad
light, and the possibility of the slope ending in a sheer fall occurred
to us; but the fog that was creeping up behind allowed no time for
hesitation. We descended slowly at first, cutting steps in the snow;
then the surface became softer, indicating that the gradient was less
severe.
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