A very beautiful day. In the afternoon went well out over the floe to the south, looking up Nelson at his icehole and picking up Bowers at his thermometer. The surface was polished and beautifully smooth for ski, the scene brightly illuminated with moonlight, the air still and crisp, and the thermometer at -10ยบ. Perfect conditions for a winter walk.
In the evening I read a paper on ‘The Ice Barrier and Inland Ice.’ I have strung together a good many new points and the interest taken in the discussion was very genuine – so keen, in fact, that we did not break up till close on midnight. I am keeping this paper, which makes a very good basis for all future work on these subjects.
Shelters to Iceholes
Time out of number one is coming across rediscoveries. Of such a nature is the building of shelters for iceholes. We knew a good deal about it in the Discovery, but unfortunately did not make notes of our experiences. I sketched the above figures for Nelson, and found on going to the hole that the drift accorded with my sketch. The sketches explain themselves. I think wall ‘b’ should be higher than wall ‘a.’
My night on duty. The silent hours passed rapidly and comfortably. To bed 7 A.M.
“Dr Wilson and Lieut Bowers reading the Ramp thermometer. June 7th 1911” |