part of the Heiberg Glacier which had completely barred our progress.

Up here all was strangely peaceful; the mountain-side and the glacier
united in a great flat terrace -- a plain, one might call it --
without disturbance of any kind. We could see depressions in the
surface where the huge crevasses had formerly existed, but now they
were entirely filled up, and formed one with the surrounding level. We
could now see right to the end of this mighty glacier, and form some
idea of its proportions. Mount Wilhelm Christophersen and Mount Ole
Engelstad formed the end of it; these two beehive-shaped summits,
entirely covered with snow, towered high into the sky. We understood
now that the last of the ascent was before us, and that what we saw
in the distance between these two mountains was the great plateau
itself. The question, then, was to find a way up, and to conquer
this last obstruction in the easiest manner. In the radiantly clear
air we could see the smallest details with our excellent prismatic
glasses, and make our calculations with great confidence. It would
be possible to clamber up Don Pedro himself; we had done things as
difficult before. But here the side of the mountain was fairly steep,
and full of big crevasses and a fearful quantity of gigantic blocks
of ice. Between Don Pedro and Wilhelm Christophersen an arm of the
glacier went up on to the plateau, but it was so disturbed and broken
up that it could not be used. Between Wilhelm Christophersen and Ole
Engelstad there was no means of getting through. Between Ole Engelstad
and Fridtjof Nansen, on the other hand, it looked more promising,
but as yet the first of these mountains obstructed our view so much
that we could not decide with certainty. We were all three rather
tired, but agreed to continue our excursion, and find out what was
here concealed. Our work to-day would make our progress to-morrow so
much the easier. We therefore went on, and laid our course straight