037: The Race To The South Pole

The Race to the South Pole

Expedition Number One:

Leader: Roald Amundsen

Expedition Name: Amundsen’s South Pole Expedition

Reached on 14 December, 1911

Expedition Number Two:

Leader: Robert Falcon Scott

Expedition Name: Terra Nova Expedition

Reached on 17 January, 1912

Amundsen’s South Pole expedition (1910-1912)

###Key people: (Total 19)

Thorvald Nilsen, a navigator who would be second-in-command

Hjalmar Fredrik Gjertsen, expedition doctor

Kristian Prestrud, a naval officer

Oscar Wisting, a naval gunner/amateur veterinarian*

Olav Bjaaland, a champion skier who was a skilled carpenter and ski-maker*

Helmer Hanssen, a skilled dog driver*

Sverre Hassel, a skilled dog driver*

Adolf Lindstrøm, the cook

Timeline:

Had planned for a North Pole expedition

Obtained Fridtjof Nansen’s polar exploration ship, Fram

Plan disrupted in 1909 when rival explorers, Frederick Cook and Robert E. Peary each claimed to have reached the North Pole

He changed his focus to South Pole

Uncertain whether he would get the support, he kept the plan to himself up to a month after leaving for the expedition

June 1910 - Set out for the expedition with the crew thinking they are embarking on an Arctic drift

Reveals the plan to go to Antarctica when Fram left the last port Madeira

Telegrams Scott of his intentions to travel south

Framheim, the Antarctic Base, at Bay of Whales on the Great Ice Barrier

Near disaster false start in August - September (8 September)

Proper start in 19 October, 1911

Use of sledge dogs for trouble free travel

Discovery of Axel Heiberg Glacier, first exploration of King Edward VII Land

Reached South Pole on 15 December, 1911

Reached back at Farheim on 25 January, 1912

Total 52 sledge dogs, 11 survived the expedition

The expedition took 99 days and 3,440 km journey

Terra Nova Expedition (1910-1913)

Key People (Total 65)

Edgar Evans, second-in-command

Harry Pennell, navigator

George Murray Levick, skiing expert

Edward L Atkinson, skiing expert

Henry Robertson Bowers*

Lawrence Oates, an army captain*

Edgar Evans, Antarctic veteran*

Edward Wilson, chief scientist*

George Simpson, meteorologist

Herbert Ponting, photographer

Timeline:

15 June, 1910 - Terra Nova sailed from Cardiff, Wales

Scott tied up with expedition business, joined Terra Nova in South Africa after catching a faster passenger liner

Leaves the ship in Melbourne for further business, receives letter from Amundsen

Rejoined the ship in New Zealand with additional supplies

Met with heavy storms and loss of supplies in the Sea

January 1911 - Built a base at Cape Evans (named after Scott’s second-in-command)

Campbell’s Eastern party to explore King Edward VII Land, meets Amundsen’s party

January 1911 - Start of Depot laying with the One Ton Depay laid 48 kilometers short of its intended location

1911 winter - Hut was separated using packing cases for “officers” and “men”

09 February, 1911 - Campbell’s party became the Northern party and set up camp at Robertson Bay (They could not carry out experiments as per the plan and returned to base came in September 1912)

Wester Parties - Conducted two geological expeditions

Journey to Cape Crozier in the winter to secure eggs of emperor penguin and to experiment with food rations and equipment before the polar journey

13 September, 1911 - South polar journey plans revealed

24 October, 1911 - The Motor Party left the base

01 November, 1911 - Scott and his party left the base

21 November, 1911 - Scott’s party caught up with the Motor party

03 January, 1912 - Scott chose his party of five (instead of four) - Scott, Wilson, Oates, Bowers and Edgar Evans

09 January, 1912 - Passed Shackleton’s furthest point

16 January, 1912 - Saw Amundsen’s black flag

17 January, 1912 - Reached South Pole (Scott’s entry - “The Pole. Yes, but under very different circumstances from those expected … Great God! This is an awful place and terrible enough for us to have laboured to it without the reward of priority. Well, it is something to have got here”)

18 January, 1912 - Finds Amundsen’s tent, supplies and letter stating they had reached on 16 December, 1911

Returning homewards - Edgar Evans suffering and Lawrence Oates severe frostbite

17 February, 1912 - Edgar Evans dies due to head injuries, frostbite and a hand injury which failed to heal

Reached the meet point, but could not find the dog teams, temperature dropped sharply, and the fuel supplies were meagre

Low temperature and radiation caused poor surface to pull the sledge, lack of wind made the temperatures even worse, and Oates frostbite reduced the daily average of distance covered to three to five miles down from fifteen

10 March, 1912 - It became evident that the dog teams where not coming

Oates sacrifices himself by walking out of his tent towards his death. Last words, “I am just going outside and may be some time.”

20 March, 1912 - Reached 11 miles near to the One Ton Depot but a blizzard stopped them in their tracks

29 March, 1912 - Presumed date of their death and Scott’s last entry - “Every day we have been ready to start for our depot 11 miles away, but outside the door of the tent it remains a scene of whirling drift. I do not think we can hope for any better things now. We shall stick it out to the end, but we are getting weaker, of course, and the end cannot be far. It seems a pity but I do not think I can write more. R. Scott. Last entry. For God’s sake look after our people.”

29 October 1912 - Search party sent to find Scott

12 November 1912 - The tent containing Scott, Wilson, and Bowers found 11 miles south of One Ton Depot

10 February, 1913 - Edward Atkinson and Lieutenant Harry Pennell reached the ports of New Zealand and relayed a message about the fate of Scott’s party.

Aftermath

Scott hailed a tragic hero which overshadowed Amundsen’s achievements

Critics questioned the leadership abilities of Scott

The fate of the group said to be the result of many “ifs” with the weather playing the major part

Notes

Asterisk (*) next to names means those who reached the South Pole

Amundsen received help at Argentina from Peter “Don Pedro” Christophersen, a Norwegian expatriate whose brother was Norway’s Minister in Buenos Aires

The Musafir Stories Episode mentionedin the beginning: TMS Specials - Conquering Mt. Everest with Satyarup Siddhanta

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