Today it's 100 years since Roald Amundsen and his crew were the first men to reach the South Pole.
The race for the pole: Amundsen vs Scott. Two teams competing, using very different approaches.
Scott relied on motorsleds and ponies (and a handful of dogs). The motors failed and the ponies died (not much hay in Antarctica). His men walked on foot, and had to pull the sledges by hand.
Amundsen had learnt survival in the Arctic and dog-sledging from the navive Inuits, when he discovered the North-West Passage a few years earlier. He started out with more than 100 dogs, and going on skis. On the way to the pole, he killed the weaker dogs and used the meat to feed the living dogs, and his men.
The British didn't like Amundsen's methods. They called him a brutal maniac.
Amundsen reached the South Pole one month before Scott, and brought his team back home, alive.
Scott and his men died on the way back from the pole.
Skis and dogs rule in the snow.
(The picture above is a very famous one; it's Roald Amundsen and his crew on the South Pole in December 1911.)
Scary story, but Amundson proved Scott wrong.
ReplyDeleteLove the picture!
I had no idea people brought horses along. Not smart, in retrospect.
ReplyDeleteI am trying to remember where and why I read the history of the exploration of Antarctica. The only thing I can come up with is a science fiction novel called Antarctica, but I am pretty damn sure it was somewhere else. Still, the novel (by Kim Stanley Robinson) is worth a read. No starships or lightsabers, just a close-future what-could-happen.
ReplyDeleteI do love true stories about adventure and survival. From what I've read about Amundsen, he was a realist, which I suppose you need to be if you're going to travel to the South Pole.
ReplyDeleteAnother book recommendation slightly on topic is "The Cruelest Miles", which is the story about the historical events that the dog sled race Iditarod commemorates every winter.
ReplyDeleteGeez that's horrific. Why would anyone be so cruel to ponies?
ReplyDeleteMy son told me this story only a few weeks ago. I thought it was so fascinating.
ReplyDeleteHelen: The race for the South Pole is a very intersting part of (Ant)arctic exploration history. Amundsen was an experienced explorer, who knew how to deal with the extreme climate near the poles. Scott was an officer in the British Navy. He was probably relied to much on his general experience ... and he did a mistake by leaving behind his mechanic engineer in base camp when he set out in the motor sleds.
ReplyDeleteLydia: The hosrses were Siberian ponies, used to harsh climate, but still horses are vegetarians and need hay or grass.
Silme: Thanks for the book recommendations. I don't read much sci-fi, but might check out the other one. I ususally follow the Iditarod race in newspapers and TV. I don't know much about dog sledging (tried it once, for a couple of of hours), but Iditarod is fascinating and impressive.
Liz: I've always been fascinated by Arctic and Antarctic exploration history. When I was a kid I read all the books i could find, about Nansen, Amundsen, Scott, and the Austrian expedition to Franz Joseph Land. The polar explorers were realists, but also took big risk, and they didn't have a satellite phone to call from in emergency.
Amundsen's way is "the end justifies the means". Good thing at times...but only sometimes
ReplyDeleteIf you can't repair it yourself, bring someone who can!
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