 In September , Mertz , Ninnis and Herbert Murphy formed a survey party , man @-@ hauling to the south @-@ east of Aladdin 's cave . In strong winds , they travelled just 12 @.@ 5 miles ( 20 @.@ 1 km ) in three days , before the temperature dropped to − 34 ° C ( − 29 ° F ) and the wind speed increased to 90 miles per hour ( 78 kn ) , confining them to the tent . When a gap in the wind allowed , they hurried back to the hut . 
