Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-12-03
byrd DESCRIBES
FLIGHT IN PEAKS
Staked All on Unknown Pass,
Winning by Scant Margin
Over Icy Barrier.
Continued From First Page.)

above it. It was, of course, too tiny t.
! be seen from our altitude.
: When we had landed at that base tn
mountain ridge running in an easterlJ
| and westerly direction about miles
south of it doomed above us from the
snow as a very large mountain. Nov
we could see that behind it and to the
south, southeast and southwest were
great towering peaks that made our baSt
mountain look like pigmy. We real
| lied forcefully then how very little, in
| deed, the foot traveller sees.
Terrible CrevaSses Below.
Now below us was the ice line of the
great glacier. For a distance 1t was
terribly crevaSSed, cracks running par
allel looking like huge washing board
not good landing place. The noun
tain peaks and formations that were
in our view now were awe-inSpiring in
their majesty, terrible in the colossal
shapes that had been carved into ex-
traordinary jagged and rounded forms
by ice cutting through them for the
untold years that the bottom Of the
world has been in the clutches of an ice
age.
AS we eagerly looked around We ~;
insignificant and small among these
lofty and eternal peaks. which since
bolized its aspirations. Everywhere We
looked was some formation probably no
living thing ever before had seen, for
this area, the coolest on the earth, is
dead.
Too Busy for Thinking.
But there was little time for such
thoughts. Our plane was busy plane
"a great contrast to our lifeleSs sur
roundings.
There was Mas with his great aerial
camera, elated at his opportunity to
record for geography the unknown
things about him. swapping picture aft
er picture and painting from his Strenu-
Gus efforts in the rarified atmosphere
of the high altitude The air bumps
were throwing him about as he aimed
his 50-pound camera through the WIN
dow, but all of it didn't prevent him
from looking around and smiling at us
occasionally. Good old Mac, an in
vincible, straight-shooting fellow to
whom one can't help becoming at
tached.
June Hops About Plane.
There was Harold June cranking
away at his moving picture camera to
get a panorama Of the mountains OF
dashing over to the radio to report oul
position. The critical time now has
come The moment we had discussed a
thousand times. What had been ouI
gasoline consumption? Would we have
enough left to reach the Pole? Would
we have too much aboard to climb over
the hump? Calmly, even TRANQUILITY
Harold stands examining the gauges
of the five gas tanks in the great wing
Then he unscrews the cap of the tank
in the fuSelage and measures with a
graduated stick the gas left in that
tank
He cuts open some of the sealed FIVE
gallon tins, dumps the gas into the tank
so that we can throw the tin overheard
Each can weighs hardly a pound, but
every pound counts at the critical CELL
ing of the plane. He figures for a mo-
ment on pad and hands me the re-
suit with a smile. We have enough gas
to go beyond the Pole if we don't have
to dump any. Then Harold looks at the
engines, listens to their hum and ex.
amines the gauges. Harold is as expert
mechanic as he Is pilot and radio
operator.
BaIchen Fights for Altitude.
There was Bernt concentrating on hi.
hight to gain altitude, with uncertainty
ahead, for the glacier was a long one
and the lowest point of the pass before
us still was above the nose of the plane
The confused air currents from thu
cliffs had begun to toss the plane abou
more violently. We could note tensenes.
and strain on Bernts face as he pu
himself into the job he was doing 81
well.
AS I stood there at his shoulder there
| flashed into my mind for moment the
| time We were tossed about in the nigh
storm clouds in the 1nky blackness ovel
France on the transatlantic fight. ]
nave mighty good reasons to know thu
tstuf that is in Bernt. In the air anc
on the ground he plays the game, al
ways true, a capable and dependable
man.
Air Gets ROugher.
The air began to get rougher. Bern
Rugged the peaks on the lee side O.
the pass, where the bumps would b,
| more likely to carry the plane up anC
down We were getting close to tn,
| highest altitude the plane could reach
A 9.000-foot peak was near us on ou
right and the wind from our left wa!
striking it and being shot upward, help
ing us, we thought. The altimetei
showed 10000 feet, but we could no
depend on that. The barometer herr
| was likely to read the same as owe
| Little America because of local pressure
changes.
Our weight was a bit over 13,OOC
pounds. TO the right We saw some
| deep gorges that surely would NEAR
turbulent air. Bernt eased over to the
left, where there was a long, fairly
smooth slope running up to a peak
some $4,000 feet high. He avoided thu
turbulent area, but the down current!
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