These attractions, however, were overridden by the fact that the beach was open to the attack of wind and sea from the north-east and east.

Easterly gales are more prevalent than western in that area of the Antarctic during the winter.
Before turning in that night I studied the whole position and weighed every chance of getting the boats and our stores into a place of safety out of reach of the water.

We ourselves might have clambered a little way up the snow-slopes, but we could not have taken the boats with us.
The interior of the island was quite inaccessible.

We climbed up one of the slopes and found ourselves stopped soon by overhanging cliffs.

The rocks behind the camp were much weathered, and we noticed the sharp, unworn boulders that had fallen from above.