Hall Island at Cape Tegetthoff was reached on the 12th March. Part of the journey had to be made against driving snow with a temperature about 26° F. below zero. In the afternoon of the 12th, Payer with two Tyrolese ascended the plateau of Cape Tegetthoff. Those who remained behind spent their time in rubbing their feet with snow. The summit was reached in two hours, and the height was ascertained to be 2600 feet. The weather conditions were not favourable, and the view in consequence was limited. Next morning they entered Nordenskjöld Fiord, and at noon reached the high, precipitous termination of Sonklar Glacier. In the afternoon, Payer with the Tyrolese ascended Cape Littrow, 2500 feet in height, and early on the morning of the 14th they ascended to the summit of the precipitous face of the Sonklar Glacier. Here the temperature went down to the lowest ever experienced by Payer, about 59° F. below zero. They had taken some rum with them, and as each took his share, he knelt down and allowed another to shake it into his mouth, without bringing the metal cup in contact with the lips. The rum seemed to have lost all its strength and fluidity. It tasted like milk, and its consistence was that of oil. The bread was frozen so hard that they feared to break their teeth in biting it, and it brought blood as they ate it. They attempted to smoke cigars, but the icicles on their beards always put them out. The instruments used in surveying seemed to burn when they were touched. Payer found that this extreme cold was depressing in its influence, and enfeebled the powers of the will. At first, cold stimulates to action, but when extreme, this vigour is quickly followed by torpidity; exertion is soon followed by the desire to rest. Persons exposed to these extremely low temperatures feel as if they were intoxicated: from the stiffness and trembling of their jaws they speak with great effort. When dragging a sledge, their breath streams forth like smoke, which is soon transformed into a mass of needles of ice, almost hiding their mouths from view. Ice becomes so hard that it emits a ringing sound; wood is as difficult to cut as bone; butter becomes like stone; meat must be split, and mercury may be fired as a bullet from a gun. Snow of a temperature of 30° below zero feels in the mouth like hot iron, and does not quench but increases thirst by its inflammatory action on the mucous membrane. After descending from the Sonklar Glacier, they decided to return to the ship, which was reached on the 15th March. Two of the party had frost-bitten feet, one had his face frost-bitten, and a fourth had both his hands severely affected. Next day, Krisch, the engineer, died from consumption. He was buried on Wilczek Island.