 Here they carried out an extensive programme of scientific observations, although opportunities for inland exploration were restricted by the mountainous and glaciated terrain surrounding the base.In January 1900, the party left Cape Adare in "Southern Cross" to explore the Ross Sea, following the route taken by Ross 60 years earlier.They reached the Great Ice Barrier, where a team of three made the first sledge journey on the Barrier surface, during which a new Farthest South record latitude was established at 78° 50′S.