Scott, with his two sledge teams, now pushed forward, keeping to an average speed of 15 miles a day, with the party dragging loads of nearly 200 lb. per man. On December 23, enormous crevasses, far wider than Nanking Road, were met with. Fortunately, they were well bridged with snow and the party, taking them at the rush, negotiated these great chasms in safety. The dangerous part is at the snow bridge and the explorers frequently fell through up to ther armpits, just stepping on to or leaving the snow bridge. On Christmas Eve, Scott was 8,000 feet above the Barrier and the party congratulated themselves on now being clear of crevasses and pressure vidges, but they felt the cold far more whilst marching than they "had done at lower altitudes, experiencing a tingling southerly wind, which constantly caused fingers and faces to become frost-bitten and turned the men's breath into cakes of ice on their beards. The work of observing was a bitterly cold business, but everything was taken with a spirit of cheerfulness and unselfishness.
On Christmas Day, over 17 miles was covered and one of the party, Lashly, whose 44th birthday it was, fell into a crevasse 8 feet wide. The laden sledge just bridged the chasm and poor Lashly was suspended below, spinning round, with 80 feet of clear space beneath him. He was hauled up with the greatest difficulty, on account of his being directly under the sledge. When he reached the surface, one of the party wished him a happy Christmas and another many happy returns. Captain Evans said he regretted that, being Sunday, he could not tell the audience what Lashly said in reply.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.