The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1912-03-12
A Difficult Climb.

A Difficult Climb.
The land under which we lay and
which we now had to attack looked
quite imposing. The nearest SUBMITS
along the barrier had a height from
1000 to 1000 feet, but several others
farther south were 900 feet or more.
The next day we began the climb.
The first part Of 1t was an easy task,
light stops and well filed mountain
sides. 1t did not take long time for
| our willing dogs worked their way up
Further up we met with some small
but very steep glaciers. Here we hud
to harness 20 dogs to each sledge and
take the four sledges In two turns
In some places 1t was SO steep that
1t was difficult enough to use our skis
Some big creviccs forced us from time
to time to make detours. The first
day we climbed 1000 feet, the next
day, mostly up some small glaciers,
camping at a height of $500 feet; the
third day we were obliged to go down
on a mighty glacier "Axel Heiberg's
Glacier" which divided the coast
I
south. The next day began tho long
est part of our climb. Many detours
had TO be made In order to avoid
broad cracks and open crevlces, These
were apparently mostly filed up, as
the glaciers In all probability had long
ago stopped moving, but we had to be
very careful, never knowing for cor
tain how thick was the layer that COW
cred them. Our camp that night lay
In the very picturesque surroundings
Mt n height OF 5000 feet. The glacier
here WAS narrowed In between the
two $4,000 feet high mountains, the
| "Fiiltiof Nansen" and the Don Pc
dro Christophersen." From the bot.
tom Of the glacier rose Mount "Ole
Englstul" big snow cone 1850
feet high.
Days Splendid Work.
In this comparatively narrow pass.
the mignty crevices seemed to stop
us from going farther, but 1t was not
10 serious as 1t appeared. Our dogs,
which up to this time had covered
a distance Of about 700 kilometers,
the last days very hard work, ran
this day 30 kiometers, the ascent be-
ing $500 feet an almost incredible
record. II took us only four days
from the barrier to get up on the vast
inland plateau. We camped that night
at height OF 10000 feet. Here we
4. ..f. kru, u,,I,
and keep Is. six for each of our three
sledges We stopped here four days
on account Of bad weather. We tired
OF this. We set out ON the 2Sth of No
veinber. On the Goth, In a furious
blizzard and In a dense snow drift, alb
solutely nothing was to be seen. but
wo felt that, contrary TO expectations,
we were going fast down hill The
hipsometer gave us that day de-
scent OF 900 feet. We continued our
march the next day In a gale and a
dense snowdrlft got our faces badly
frozen. We could soc nothing. We
reached that day S6 degrees, dead
reckoning. The hypsometer indicated
full ~ 500 feet. The next day was
similar. Tho weather cleared little
al dinner time and exposed to our
View mighty mountain range TO the
east and not far ofr-only for a mo
meat and then II disappeared IN the
sense snowdrift, On the 29th 1t calm
sd down and the sun shope. though II
was not the only pleasant surprise h
gave. In our course stretched a biz
Glacier runnlng toward the south. Al
Its otstern end was the mountai,
fanae going In southeasterly direc
ton OK The western part of II nc
view was TO bs had. It being hldder