After the question had been well discussed and each had given his opinion, we went out to get the repacking done.  It was lucky the weather was so fine, otherwise this taking stock of provisions might have been a bitter piece of work.  All our supplies were in such a form that we could count them instead of weighing them.  Our pemmican was in rations of 2 kilogram (1 pound 12 ounces).  The chocolate was divided into small pieces, as chocolate always is, so that we knew what each piece weighed.  Our milk-powder was put up in bags of 102 ounces just enough for a meal.  Our biscuits possessed the same property —­ they could be counted, but this was a tedious business, as they were rather small.  On this occasion we had to count 6,000 biscuits.  Our provisions consisted only of these four kinds, and the combination turned out right enough.  We did not suffer from a craving either for fat or sugar, though the want of these substances is very commonly felt on such journeys as ours.  In our biscuits we had an excellent product, consisting of oatmeal, sugar, and dried milk.  Sweetmeats, jam, fruit, cheese, etc., we had left behind at Framheim.

We took our reindeer-skin clothing, for which we had had no use as yet, on the sledges.  We were now coming on to the high ground, and it might easily happen that it would be a good thing to have.  We did not forget the temperature of -40deg.  F. that Shackleton had experienced in 88deg.  S., and if we met with the same, we could hold out a long while if we had the skin clothing.  Otherwise, we had not very much in our bags.  The only change we had with us was put on here, and the old clothes hung out to air.  We reckoned that by the time we came back, in a couple of months, they would be sufficiently aired, and we could put them on again.  As far as I remember, the calculation proved correct.  We took more foot-gear than anything else:  if one’s feet are well shod, one can hold out a long time.

When all this was finished, three of us put on our ski and made for the nearest visible land.  This was a little peak, a mile and three-quarters away —­ Mount Betty.  It did not look lofty or imposing, but was, nevertheless, 1,000 feet above the sea.  Small as it was, it became important to us, as it was there we got all our geological specimens.  Running on ski felt quite strange, although I had now covered 385 miles on them; but we had driven the whole way, and were somewhat out of training.  We could feel this, too, as we went up the slope that afternoon.  After Mount Betty the ascent became rather steep, but the surface was even, and the going splendid, so we got on fast.  First we came up a smooth mountain-side, about 1,200 feet above the sea, then over a little plateau; after that another smooth slope like the first, and then down a rather long, flat stretch, which after a time began to rise very gradually, until it finally passed into small glacier formations.  Our reconnaissance extended to these small glaciers.