Amundsen and Scott what they discovered. Conquest of the Pole. "Conquering the South Pole"

The conquest of the "green island" Greenland has long attracted the attention of residents of neighboring islands and the mainland, as well as travelers. One of the highlights of 1887 was the expedition to the ice island, led by Fridtjof Nansen, a former laboratory assistant at the Bergen Museum.

The Conquest of the Libyan Desert After G. Rolfs, who visited in the second half of the 19th century on the outskirts of the oasis of Kufra, located in the very center of the Libyan Desert, no more Europeans set foot on its rocky and sandy lands. Settled in an oasis

How is the conquest of peaks celebrated? No, it is not accepted to take wine with you when climbing, it is not recommended. Dizziness is undesirable not only from alcohol, but also from the "miner", epoxy, as altitude sickness is called. Yes, and the euphoria of success reaching the top marks is better

Who first reached the South Pole? In 1911, two independent groups of polar explorers almost simultaneously set off on a difficult and dangerous trek through the ice of Antarctica. The goal of the researchers was the South Pole, where no human foot had yet set foot. Went to try their luck

"I have the honor to inform you that I am going to Antarctica - Amundsen"
Such a telegram was sent by the Norwegian polar explorer Roald Amundsen to the head of the English expedition, Robert Scott, and this was the beginning of the drama that played out in the southern polar latitudes 100 years ago ....

December 2011 marks the 100th anniversary of one of the most important events in the series of geographical discoveries of the 20th century - the South Pole was reached for the first time.

This was achieved by the Norwegian expedition of Roald Amundsen and the English expedition of Robert Scott.

The Pole was discovered by Amundsen on December 14, 1911, and a month later (January 18, 1912) Scott's group reached it, perishing on their way back to the Ross Sea.

The geographic South Pole, the mathematical point at which the imaginary axis of rotation of the Earth intersects its surface in the Southern Hemisphere, is not located in the central part of the mainland of Antarctica, but closer to its Pacific coast, within the Polar Plateau at an altitude of 2800 m. The thickness of the ice here exceeds 2000 m The minimum distance to the coast is 1276 km.

The sun at the pole for half a year (from September 23 to March 20–21, excluding refraction) does not set below the horizon and does not rise above the horizon for half a year,

but until mid-May and from the beginning of August, astronomical twilight is observed, when dawn appears in the sky. The climate in the region of the pole is very severe. The average air temperature at the Pole is -48.9 °С, the minimum is -77.1 °С (in September). The South Pole is not the coldest point in Antarctica. The lowest temperature on the Earth's surface (-89.2 ºС) was recorded on July 21, 1983 at the Soviet scientific station Vostok. At the geographic point of the South Pole is the American research station "Amundsen-Scott".

The English navigator James Cook in 1772-75 twice came quite close (less than 300 km) to Antarctica. In 1820, the Russian expedition of F. F. Bellingshausen and M. P. Lazarev on the ships "Vostok" and "Mirny" came close to the coast of Antarctica. Great scientific work was carried out in Antarctic waters, currents, water temperatures, depths were studied, 29 islands were discovered (Peter I, Alexander I, Mordvinov, etc.). The expedition ships circled around Antarctica. In 1821-23, the hunters Palmer and Weddell approached Antarctica. In 1841, the English expedition of James Ross discovered an ice shelf (the Ross Glacier, from where the path to the Pole began). Its outer edge is an ice cliff up to 50 m high (Ross barrier). The barrier is washed by the waters of the Ross Sea. TO late XIX and the beginning of the 20th century, many expeditions carried out work off the coast of Antarctica, collecting data on depths, bottom topography, bottom sediments, and marine fauna. In 1901-04, Scott's British expedition aboard the Discovery conducted oceanographic work in the Ross Sea. The members of the expedition penetrated deep into Antarctica up to 77 ° 59 "S. In the Weddell Sea in 1902-04, the English expedition of Bruce carried out oceanological research. years and 1908-10 oceanographic research in the Bellingshausen Sea.

In 1907-09, the English expedition of E. Shackleton (of which R. Scott was a member) wintered in the Ross Sea, conducted oceanological and meteorological research here and made a trip to the south magnetic pole.

Shackleton also made an attempt to reach the geographic pole.

On January 9, 1909, he reached latitude 88 ° 23 "and, being 179 miles from the pole, turned back due to lack of food. Shackleton used undersized Manchurian horses (Siberian pony) as a draft force, however, during the ascent to the glacier Birdmore ponies broke their legs, were shot and left as food to use on the return trip.

For the first time, the South Pole was reached on December 14, 1911 by a Norwegian expedition led by Roald Amundsen.

Amundsen's original target was the North Pole. The Fram expedition ship was provided by another great Norwegian, Fridtjof Nansen, who made the first ever drift across the Arctic Ocean (1893-1896). However, having learned that the North Pole was conquered by Robert Peary, Amundsen decided to go to the South Pole, which he notified Scott of by telegram.

On January 14, 1911, the Fram arrived at the landing site of the expedition chosen by Amundsen - the Bay of Whales. It is located in the eastern part of the Ross Ice Barrier, located in the Pacific sector of Antarctica. From February 10 to March 22, Amundsen was engaged in the creation of intermediate warehouses. On October 20, 1911, Amundsen, with four companions on dogs, set out on a campaign to the south and on December 14 was at the South Pole, and on January 26, 1912 he returned to the base camp. Together with Amundsen at the South Pole were the Norwegians Olaf Bjaland, Helmer Gansen, Sverre Gassel and Oscar Wisting.

Robert Scott's Terra Nova expedition landed on January 5, 1911 on Ross Island, in the western part of the Ross Glacier. Warehouses were organized from January 25 to February 16. On November 1, a group of British led by Scott, accompanied by auxiliary detachments, went to the pole. The last auxiliaries left on January 4, 1912, after which Robert Scott and his comrades Edward Wilson, Lawrence Oates, Henry Bowers and Edgar Evans moved on, towing sleds with equipment and provisions.

Having reached the Pole on January 18, 1912, Scott and his comrades perished from starvation and deprivation on the way back.

The last entry in Scott's diary (It is a pity but I do not think I can write more - R.Scott - For God's sake look after our people - Sorry, but I don't think I can still write - R. Scott - For the sake of God, do not leave our loved ones) refers to March 29th.

The reasons for the tragic outcome of Scott's expedition and the prerequisites for the successful campaign of Amundsen have long been considered in various literary sources, ranging from the extremely emotional novella "The Struggle for the South Pole" by Stefan Zweig (in my opinion, very biased) and ending with the publications of Amundsen himself and scientific articles based on modern knowledge about the climate of Antarctica.

Briefly, they are as follows:

Amundsen had an accurate calculation of forces and means and a rigid mindset for success; Scott can see the lack of a clear plan of action and a mistake in the choice of transport.

As a result, Scott returned in February-March, that is, at the beginning of the Antarctic autumn, with lower temperatures and blizzards. It was because of the strongest eight-day snowstorm that Scott and his comrades could not walk the last 11 miles to the food warehouse and died.

Without pretending to be an exhaustive review of the causes and prerequisites, we will nevertheless consider them in a little more detail.
The beginning of the way
The Norwegian expedition turned out to be in more favorable conditions than the English one. The Fram camp (the base camp of Amundsen's expedition) was located 100 km closer to the pole than Scott's camp. Dog sleds were used as a means of transport. However, the subsequent road to the Pole was no less difficult than that of the British. The British followed the path explored by Shackleton, knowing the place of ascent to the Beardmore Glacier; the Norwegians, on the other hand, overcame the glacier along an unknown path, since Scott's route was unanimously recognized as inviolable.

Ross Island was located 60 miles from the ice barrier, the path to which, already at the first stage, cost the participants of the English expedition enormous labor and losses.

Scott pinned his main hopes on motor sledges and Manchurian horses (ponies).

One of the three snowmobiles specially made for the expedition fell through the ice. The remaining motor sledges were out of order, the ponies fell into the snow and died from the cold. As a result, Scott and his comrades, 120 miles from the pole, had to pull the sled with equipment themselves.

The most important issue is transport
Amundsen was convinced that dogs were the only suitable mounts in the snow and ice. "They are fast, strong, intelligent and able to move in any road conditions, where only a person himself can pass." One of the foundations of success was that in preparing intermediate food stores and on the way to the Pole, Amundsen also took into account the meat of dogs carrying food.

“Since the Eskimo dog provides about 25 kg of edible meat, it was easy to calculate that each dog we took south meant a reduction of 25 kg of food both on the sledges and in warehouses. …

I fixed the exact day when each dog should be shot, that is, the moment when it ceased to serve as a means of transportation for us and began to serve as food.

We adhered to this calculation with an accuracy of approximately one day and one dog. Fifty-two dogs went on a campaign, eleven returned to the base.

Scott believed not in dogs, but in ponies, knowing about their successful use in expeditions to Franz Josef Land and Svalbard. "The pony carries the same load as ten dogs, and eats three times less food." It's right; however, ponies need a bulky diet unlike pemmican-fed dogs; in addition, the meat of a dead pony cannot be fed to other ponies; a dog, unlike a pony, can walk on the crust without falling through; finally, the dog is much better than the pony, endures frosts and snowstorms.

Scott had previously had bad experiences with dogs and had erroneously concluded that they were unsuitable for polar travel.

Meanwhile, all successful expeditions were carried out on dogs.

Polar group member Lawrence Oates, who was in charge of horses, found that dogs are better adapted to polar conditions than ponies. When he noticed how the horses were weakening from cold, hunger and hard work, he began to insist that Scott slaughter the weakest animals on the route and leave their carcasses in storage for the next season as dog food, and if necessary, also for people. . Scott refused: he hated the thought of killing animals.

Scott also had a negative attitude towards the killing of dogs in the Amundsen detachment, speaking out against cruelty to animals.

By the way, the same fate befell the dogs in Nansen's campaign to the North Pole and in the transition to Franz Josef Land in 1895, but no one reproached him for cruelty. This is the high price one has to pay in order to achieve success, and often in order to survive.

I no less feel sorry for the unfortunate ponies who first, on the road, suffered from seasickness, and then, falling into the snow and suffering from the cold, pulled the sled. They were doomed from the start (Scott was well aware of this: in the polar group they took food for ponies “one way”) and they all died, and on December 9 the last ones were shot and ... went to feed both dogs and people in Scott's group. In Scott's diary, upon returning from the Pole, we read: "It is a great happiness that our rations are replenished with horsemeat (February 24)."

When preparing food warehouses and on a trip to the Pole, motorized sledges were used (until they failed due to cracks in the cylinder block), and ponies, and ... all the same dogs. Scott's diary entry dated November 11: "Dogs work great." From December 9: "Dogs run well, despite the bad road."

However, on December 11, Scott sends the dogs back and is left without vehicles.

The change in seemingly unshakable principles suggests that Scott did not have a firm, clear plan of action. For example, only during the wintering of "Terra Nova" in Antarctica, some participants of the route groups for the first time in their lives got on skis. And here is the entry in the diary dated December 11: “Everywhere ... such loose snow that with every step you go into it up to your knees ...

One means is skis, and my stubborn compatriots have such a prejudice against them that they did not stock them up.

A very strange statement for the leader of the expedition - a simple statement of fact.

From the information below, you can see how different the pace of movement of the Amundsen and Scott groups was. Scott started 13 days behind Amundsen, at the pole he was already 22 days behind. To the place of the last camp, which became the grave of Scott and his comrades, the backlog was 2 months (it is already winter). Amundsen returned to the base in just 41 days, which indicates an excellent physical condition participants.

Start from base Pole Total Start from pole End of route Total Total
Amundsen 10/20/1911 12/14/1911 56 12/17/1912 1/26/1912 41 97
Scott 11/1/1911 1/17/1912 78 1/19/1912 3/21/1912 62,140

Looking for food stores
In preparing the food depots on the preliminary stage of the expedition, Amundsen secured himself against searching for them in case of poor visibility on the way to the Pole and back. For this purpose, a chain of landmarks was stretched from each warehouse to the west and east, perpendicular to the direction of movement. The landmarks were located 200 m apart; the length of the chain reached 8 km. The milestones were marked in such a way that, having found any of them, it was possible to determine the direction and distance to the warehouse. These chores fully justified themselves during the main campaign.

“We just then met the weather with fog and a snowstorm, which we had counted on in advance, and these conspicuous signs saved us more than once.”

The British piled up ice houris along the way, which also helped to navigate when returning, but the absence of perpendicularly located chains of signs sometimes made it difficult to find warehouses.

Shoes
Having tested ski boots during a trip to set up the first warehouse and identified their shortcomings, the Norwegians altered their boots, making them more comfortable and, most importantly, spacious, which made it possible to avoid frostbite. A little later, the British also took up this. Frostbite on the feet of Scott's group on the way back is most likely due to general exhaustion.

History of kerosene
The story of kerosene is very indicative, which hastened the fateful denouement in Scott's group.
Here are the entries in Scott's diary
02/24/1912: ... We reached the warehouse ... Our supplies are in order, but there is not enough kerosene.
26.02 Fuel is terribly low...
2.03. ... We reached the warehouse ... First of all, we found a very meager supply of fuel ... With the strictest economy, it can hardly be enough to reach the next warehouse, which is 71 miles away ...

Instead of the expected gallon (4.5 l) of kerosene, Scott found less than a quart (1.13 l) in the canister. As it turned out later, the shortage of kerosene in the warehouses was not at all the result of an incorrect calculation of the need for fuel. This happened because, under the influence of low temperatures, the leather linings in the jars of kerosene shrank, the tightness of the container was broken, and part of the fuel evaporated. Amundsen encountered similar kerosene leaks in extreme cold conditions while sailing through the Northwest Passage and made every effort to avoid this on an expedition to the South Pole.

Fifty years later, a hermetically sealed kerosene canister belonging to Amundsen was found at 86 degrees south latitude.

Its contents have been completely preserved.

Cold resistance
In my opinion, the exceptional ability of the Norwegians to endure low temperatures without losing strength and maintaining efficiency was of no small importance. This applies not only to the Amundsen expedition. The same, as an example, can be said about the expeditions of another great Norwegian, Fridtjof Nansen. In the book "Fram" in the Polar Sea, in that part of it, which tells about the campaign of Nansen and Johansen to the North Pole, we read the lines that struck me (remembering that they lived in a canvas tent, heated only by a primus stove and only while cooking):

"21 March. At 9 am it was -42 ºС. Sunny, fine weather, excellent for traveling.

March 29. Last night the temperature rose to -34 ºС, and we spent such a pleasant night in a sleeping bag, which we have not had for a long time.

March 31. A southerly wind blew and the temperature rose. Today it was -30 ºС, which we welcome as the onset of summer.”

As a result, the Norwegians moved at the calculated speed in such weather conditions(for example, during a blizzard on the way to the Pole), in which the British were forced to wait out or at least greatly lost momentum.

"A terrible disappointment!.. It will be a sad return... Farewell, golden dreams!" are Scott's words spoken at the pole. Would Scott's group have survived if there had not been a "terrible disappointment" and the British would have been the first at the pole? Assume that Peary would not have reached North Pole by 1910. In this case, Amundsen would certainly have taken the Fram on a new drift into the Arctic Ocean with his original goal of reaching the North Pole. It seems to me that this "virtual" question deserves attention. There is an opinion that

the main cause of the death of Scott's group was a severe moral condition its members,

as well as difficult route and climatic conditions. And if it weren't for the race with Amundsen... However, an analysis of the events that took place allows us to draw a different conclusion.

The route conditions of the Amundsen group were no less difficult. Overcoming the glacier while climbing the Polar Plateau, the Norwegians encountered giant zones of cracks, which the British did not have. And the tight return schedule (alternating between 28-kilometer and 55-kilometer daily hikes until returning to base) allowed Amundsen to return before the fall. The main reason for the death of the Scott group is, first of all, the wrong choice of vehicles, which does not correspond to the goal. The consequence of this was the loss of pace and - due to a later return - getting into the difficult climatic conditions of the impending winter (the air temperature dropped to -47 ºС). To this circumstance was added overwork and exhaustion of the participants.

Under these conditions, the risk of frostbite increases - and everyone had frostbite on their feet.

The situation was extremely aggravated by the fact that Evans (February 17) and Ots (March 17) died during the return. Returning under such conditions was beyond human capabilities. There was practically no real chance to escape.

Scientific significance of expeditions
The dramatic nature of the events affected the evaluation of the scientific results of the Amundsen and Scott expeditions to a certain extent. In addition, there were no researchers in the wintering composition of the Norwegian expedition.

This sometimes led to preconceived notions about the "unscientific" nature of Amundsen's expedition.

Indeed, the British Antarctic Expedition achieved more results in its scientific program than Amundsen's expedition. However, it turned out that the observations made by the Amundsen group make it possible to extend the conclusions of British researchers to much more extensive territories. It concerns geological structure, relief, meteorology. It was Amundsen's observations that made a significant contribution to modern principles calculation of the ice mass budget of the Antarctic ice sheet. There are other examples as well. A genuine explorer will not evaluate which of the expeditions is "more scientific", he will use the results of the work of both.

Despite the "terrible disappointment", on his return Scott was active, without losing the will to live.

Pages last notebook Scott's diaries are impressive testimonies of genuine courage and great willpower.

Amundsen's expedition is still a model of the most accurate calculation of forces and means. So, while still in Norway and drawing up a campaign plan, he wrote down in 1910 (!) Year: “Return after conquering the South Pole to the base camp - January 23, 1912.” He returned on January 26th.

Estimated time in the path to the Pole and back, 2500 km, "the most difficult road on earth", coincided with the actual one to within three days.

Even in the 21st century, such accuracy of calculations can be envied.

Roald Amundsen dreamed of reaching the North Pole all his life, but discovered ... the South. He died on June 18, 1928, somewhere near Bear Island, flying to rescue the expedition of U. Nobile, whose airship crashed while returning from the North Pole.

On Ross Island, at its southern tip, there is a cross in memory of Robert Scott and his comrades Edward Wilson, Lawrence Oates, Henry Bowers and Edgar Evans, on which their names and motto are inscribed: To strive, to seek, to find and not to yield - "Fight and seek, find and not give up."

The expedition on the barque Terra Nova was a private enterprise with state financial support under the patronage of the British Admiralty and the Royal Geographical Society. In scientific terms, it was a direct continuation of the British National Antarctic Expedition of 1901-1904 on the Discovery ship.

The main purpose of the expedition was Scientific research Victoria Land, as well as the western spurs of the Transantarctic Ridge and Edward VII Land. The success of Shackleton in 1908 (he did not reach the South Pole only 180 km) and the statements of Cook and Peary that they had conquered the North Pole set Scott, first of all, a political task - ensuring the primacy of Great Britain in the extreme South of the Earth.
Robert Falcon Scott

The expedition plan, published by Scott on September 13, 1909, called for work in three seasons with two winterings:
1. December 1910 - April 1911
Establishment of a base for wintering and scientific research on Ross Island in McMurdo Sound. Departure of an autonomous research team to Edward VII Land or, in ice conditions, to Victoria Land. Geological surveys in mountain spurs near the base. Most of the team is involved in the laying of warehouses for the campaign next Antarctic spring.
2. October 1911 - April 1912
The main task of the second season is a trip to the South Pole along the Shackleton track. All personnel are involved in its preparation, 12 people work directly in the field, four of them reach the pole and return back using intermediate warehouses. Integrated climatic, glaciological, geological and geographical studies.
3. October 1912 - January 1913
Completion of scientific research started earlier. In case of an unsuccessful trip to the Pole in the previous season, a repeated attempt to reach it according to the old plan. In an interview with the Daily Mail, R. Scott stated that “if we don't reach the goal on the first try, then we will return to the base and repeat it next year.<…>In a word, we will not leave there until we achieve our goal. ”
Main results
The plan was carried out down to the details (minus the cost of its implementation). Scientifically, the expedition a large number of meteorological and glaciological observations, collected many geological samples from glacial moraines and spurs of the Transantarctic Mountains. Scott's team tested a variety of modes of transport, including motorized sleds in a polar environment, as well as balloons for atmospheric research. Scientific research was led by Edward Adrian Wilson (1872-1912). He continued to study penguins at Cape Crozier and also carried out a program of geological, magnetic and meteorological studies. In particular, the meteorological observations made by the Scott expedition, when compared with the data of Shackleton and Amundsen, led to the conclusion that the South Pole is in summer period Antarctic High.

The political task of the expedition was not directly fulfilled. The Norwegians were especially harsh about this, in particular, the brother of Roald Amundsen - Leon wrote in 1913:
“... The expedition (Scott) was organized in ways that did not inspire confidence. It seems to me ... everyone should be glad that you have already visited the South Pole. Otherwise ... they would have instantly assembled a new British expedition to achieve the same goal, most likely without changing the methodology of the campaign. As a result, disaster would follow disaster, as was the case with the Northwest Passage.”
Nevertheless, Scott's death and Amundsen's primacy brought many problems to British-Norwegian relations, and Scott's tragedy in a political sense became a symbol of the heroism of a true gentleman and representative of the British Empire. Similar role public opinion prepared for E. Wilson, who, in spite of everything, dragged 14 kg of fossils from the Beardmore Glacier. The presence of polar expeditions, and in the second half of the 20th century - of the stationary bases of Britain and the subjects of the British Commonwealth (Australia, New Zealand) in this sector of the Antarctic became permanent.

The Terra Nova expedition was initially seen as a private initiative with very limited government support. Scott's budget was £40,000 (£40,000), which was well above the budgets of similar Norwegian expeditions, but less than half the budget of the 1901-1904 expedition. The ship's commander, Lieutenant Evans, wrote:
We would never have raised the funds needed for the expedition if we had only emphasized the scientific side of the matter; many of those who made the largest contributions to our fund were not at all interested in science: they were fascinated by the very idea of ​​​​a trip to the pole.
As a result, the national subscription, despite the appeal of the London Times, gave no more than half of the necessary funds. Money came in small sums from 5 to 30l. p.:161 Sir Arthur called for funding for Scott Conan Doyle, who stated:
…There is only one pole left, which should become our pole. And if the South Pole can be reached at all, then ... Captain Scott is just the one who can do it.
Scott and his wife in Altrincham while collecting donations for the expedition

Nevertheless, capital grew very slowly: Royal geographical society donated £500. Art., Royal Society - 250 f. Art. Things got off the ground in January 1910 when the government decided to give Scott £20,000. Art. The actual cost estimate for the expedition for February 1910 was £50,000. Art., of which Scott disposed of 32,000 p. Art. The largest item of expenditure was the expedition ship, which cost £12,500 to rent from the sealing company. Art. Fundraising continued as it reached South Africa (the government of the newly formed Union of South Africa provided 500 pounds, Scott's own lectures brought in 180 pounds), Australia and New Zealand. The expedition began with a negative financial balance, and Scott was forced, already during the wintering period, to ask the expedition members to waive their salaries for the second year of the expedition. Scott himself donated to the expedition fund both his own salary and any remuneration that would be due to him. In the absence of Scott in the summer of 1911, Sir Clement Markham, former head of the Royal Geographical Society, led the fundraising campaign in Great Britain: the situation was such that by October 1911 the treasurer of the expedition, Sir Edward Speyer, could no longer pay the bills, the financial deficit reached 15 thousand f. Art. On November 20, 1911, an appeal was published to raise £15,000 to the Scott fund, written by A. Conan Doyle. By December, no more than £5,000 had been raised, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Lloyd George, categorically refused an additional subsidy.

Scott's expedition plans, with commentary by famous explorers, were published in the Daily Mail on September 13, 1909. The term "polar race" was coined by Robert Peary in an interview published in the same issue. Piri stated:
You can take my word for it: the race to the South Pole, which will begin between the Americans and the British in the next seven months, will be intense and breathtaking. The world has never seen such races.
By this time, of the iconic geographical objects on Earth, only the South Pole remained unconquered: on September 1, 1909, Frederick Cook officially announced that the North Pole had been reached on April 21, 1908. On September 7 of the same year, Robert Peary also announced the achievement of the North Pole, according to his statement, this happened on April 6, 1909. Rumors persisted in the press that Peary's next target would be the South Pole. On February 3, 1910, the National Geographic Society officially announced that the American expedition would depart for the Weddell Sea in December. Similar expeditions were prepared: in France - Jean-Baptiste Charcot, in Japan - Nobu Shirase, in Germany - Wilhelm Filchner. Filchner planned to cross the entire continent, from the Weddell Sea to the Pole, and from there along the Shackleton route to McMurdo. Expeditions were being prepared in Belgium and Australia (Douglas Mawson together with Ernest Shackleton). For Scott, as he believed, only Peary and Shackleton could be serious competitors, but Shackleton in 1910 provided the implementation of plans to one Mawson, and Peary moved away from polar exploration. Roald Amundsen in 1908 announced a transarctic drift from Cape Barrow to Svalbard. During an Easter visit to Norway in 1910, Scott hoped that his expedition in Antarctica and Amundsen's Arctic team would operate on a single research plan. Amundsen did not respond to Scott's letters and telegrams, nor to his phone calls.
The expedition was divided into two groups: scientific - for wintering in Antarctica - and ship. Scott and Wilson supervised the selection of personnel for the scientific detachment, the selection of the ship's crew was entrusted to Lieutenant Evans.

In total, 65 people were selected from more than eight thousand candidates. Of these, six participated in Scott's Discovery expedition and seven in Shackleton's expedition. The scientific detachment included twelve scientists and specialists. A scientific team of this type has never been on a polar expedition. The roles were distributed as follows:
Edward Wilson is a physician, zoologist and artist.

Apsley Cherry-Garrard - Wilson's assistant, the youngest member of the team (24 years old in 1910). Included in the expedition for a donation of 1000 pounds, after his candidacy was rejected in the competition.

T. Griffith-Taylor (Australia) - geologist. Under the contract, the period of his stay in the expedition was limited to one year.
F. Debenham (Australia) - geologist

R. Priestley - geologist
J. Simpson - meteorologist

E. Nelson - biologist

Charles Wright (Canada) - physicist

Cecil Mears is a specialist in horses and sled dogs. In March 1912 he left Antarctica.

Cecil Mears and Lawrence Oates

Herbert Ponting is a photographer and cinematographer. In March 1912 he left Antarctica.

The team included many representatives of the Royal navy(Navy) and the Royal Indian Service.
Victor Campbell - a retired Navy lieutenant, senior assistant on the Terra Nova, became the leader of the so-called Northern Party in Victoria Land.
Harry Pennel - Navy lieutenant, Terra Nova navigator

Henry Rennick – Navy lieutenant, chief hydrologist and oceanographer
G. Murray Levick - ship's doctor with the rank of lieutenant

Edward Atkinson - ship's doctor with the rank of lieutenant, acted as commander of the wintering party from December 1911. It was he who examined the found remains of Scott and his companions.

The pole squad also included:
Henry R. Bowers - lieutenant in the Royal Indian Navy

Bowers, Wilson, Oates, Scott and Evans

Lawrence Oates - Captain of the 6th Inniskilling Dragoons. Pony specialist, joined the expedition, contributing to its fund 1000 pounds.

Of the foreigners in the Scott expedition participated:
Omelchenko, Anton Lukich (Russia) - expedition groom. Scott calls him simply "Anton" in his diaries. He went with the pole team to the middle of the Ross Glacier, after the expiration of the contract he returned to New Zealand in February 1912.
Girev, Dmitry Semyonovich (Russia) - musher (dog driver). Scott wrote his last name in his diary as Geroff. Accompanied Scott's expedition to 84°S. sh., then with most of the expedition remained in Antarctica and participated in the search for Scott's group.
Jens Trygve Grand (Norway) - musher and specialist skier. Included at the insistence of Fridtjof Nansen in the team after Scott's visit to Norway. Despite the lack of mutual understanding with the head of the expedition, he worked until its completion.

Scott decided to use a triad of draft vehicles: motor sleds, Manchurian horses, and sled dogs. The pioneer of the use of ponies and motor vehicles in the Antarctic was Shackleton, who became convinced of the complete practical uselessness of both.
Ponies aboard the Terra Nova and on the expedition

Scott had an extremely negative attitude towards dogs, his diaries are full of complaints about the difficulties of handling these animals.
Expedition sled dogs

However, Scott, as in the campaign of 1902, relied most of all on the muscular strength and strength of the human spirit. The sled performed rather poorly in tests in Norway and the Swiss Alps: the engine constantly broke down, and its own weight pushed the snow to a depth of at least a foot. However, Scott stubbornly rejected Nansen's advice and took three motor sleighs on the expedition.
motor sled

An essential part of the equipment were 19 undersized Manchurian horses (called "ponies" by the team members) of white color, delivered by October 1910 to Christchurch, New Zealand. 33 dogs were delivered, along with Russian mushers. Stables and dog kennels were erected on the upper deck of the Terra Nova. Forage was 45 tons of pressed hay, 3-4 tons of hay for immediate consumption, 6 tons of cake, 5 tons of bran. For dogs, 5 tons of dog biscuits were taken, while Mears claimed that the consumption of seals by dogs is extremely harmful.
The British and Colonial Airplane Company offered the expedition an aircraft, but Scott turned down the experience, stating that he doubted the suitability of aviation for polar exploration.
"Terra Nova"

"Terra Nova" in the port

Scott hoped to use radiotelegraphy to communicate between the research teams at McMurdo Main Base and Edward VII Land. The study of this project showed that radio transmitters, receivers, radio masts and other equipment simply will not find a place on Terra Nova due to bulkiness. However, the National Telephone Company provided Scott with several telephone sets for McMurdo Base for promotional purposes.
The main supplies of provisions were received in New Zealand and were gifts from local residents. So, 150 frozen sheep and 9 bovine carcasses, canned meat, butter, canned vegetables, cheese and condensed milk were sent. One of the weaving mills made special hats with the emblem of the expedition, which were given to each member along with a copy of the Bible.
Scott and his wife in New Zealand. Last joint photo. 1910

Terra Nova sailed from Cardiff on 15 July 1910. Scott was not on board: desperately fighting for funding for the expedition, as well as with bureaucratic obstacles (the barque had to be registered as a yacht), he boarded his ship only in South Africa.
Terra Nova Team

Terra Nova Officers and Robert Scott

The bark arrived in Melbourne on October 12, 1910, where a telegram from Roald Amundsen's brother Leon was received: “I have the honor to inform the Fram is heading for Antarctica. Amundsen.

The message had the most painful effect on Scott. On the morning of the 13th, he sent a telegram to Nansen asking for clarification, Nansen replied: "Not in the know." At a press conference, Scott said that he would not allow scientific results to be sacrificed for the sake of the polar race.
Members of the Scott Expedition

Local newspapers wrote: Unlike some explorers, who seem to bend under the burden of what awaits them, he carries himself cheerfully and cheerfully. He goes to Antarctica in such a mood, like a person who has a pleasant date ahead.
If in Australia and New Zealand the press and the public followed the progress of the expedition with close attention, then in London Scott's plans were completely crossed out by the excitement around the Dr. Crippen case.
"Terra Nova" before sailing

On 16 October the Terra Nova sailed for New Zealand, Scott remained with his wife in Australia to settle matters, leaving Melbourne on 22 October. He was received in Wellington on the 27th. By that time, Terra Nova was receiving supplies at Port Chalmers.
Loading supplies

The expedition said goodbye to civilization on November 29, 1910.
On December 1, "Terra Nova" fell into the zone of a strong squall, which led to great destruction on the ship: sacks of coal and gasoline tanks poorly secured on the deck acted like rams. I had to drop 10 tons of coal from the deck. The vessel drifted, but it turned out that the bilge pumps were clogged and unable to cope with the water continuously drawn by the vessel.
December 24, 1910

As a result of the storm, two ponies died, one dog drowned in torrents of water, and 65 gallons of gasoline had to be poured into the sea. On December 9, they began to encounter pack ice, on December 10 they crossed the Antarctic Circle.

It took 30 days to pass the 400-mile strip of pack ice (in 1901 it took 4 days).
Captain Robert Falcon Scott (pipe in hand) with his crew aboard the Terra Nova during the second expedition (1910-1912)

A lot of coal was spent (61 tons of 342 on board) and provisions. On January 1, 1911, they saw land: it was Mount Sabin, 110 miles from Victoria Land. Scott's expedition reached the Ross Islands on January 4, 1911. The wintering place was named Cape Evans in honor of the ship's commander.
First of all, 17 surviving horses were landed on the shore and two motor sledges were unloaded, they carried provisions and equipment. After four days of unloading work, on January 8, it was decided to turn on the third motor sleigh, which fell through the fragile ice of the bay under its own weight.
By January 18, the expedition house measuring 15 × 7.7 m was brought under the roof. Scott wrote:
Our house is the most comfortable room imaginable. We have created for ourselves an extremely attractive refuge, within the walls of which peace, tranquility and comfort reign. The name “hut” (English hut) does not fit such a beautiful dwelling, but we settled on it because we could not think of another.
The interior of the officer's quarters of Scott's hut. Photo by Herbert Ponting. Left to right Cherry-Garrard, Bowers, Oates, Mears, Atkinson

The house was wooden, with dried seaweed insulation between two layers of planking. The roof is double tar paper, also insulated with sea grass. The double wooden floor was covered with felt and linoleum. The house was lit with acetylene torches, the gas for which was produced from carbide (Day was in charge of lighting).

To reduce heat loss, chimneys were stretched through the entire room, however, during the polar winter, the temperature in the house was maintained no higher than +50 °F (+9 °C). A single interior space was divided into two compartments by food crates, which contained supplies that could not tolerate frost, such as wine.

There was a hill near the house where meteorological instruments were located, and two grottoes were dug in a snowdrift nearby: for fresh meat (frozen lamb from New Zealand became moldy, so the team ate canned food or penguins), in the second a magnetic observatory was built. Stables and dog rooms were located in the neighborhood, over time, when the pebbles on which the house was built, caked, fumes from the stables began to seep into the house through the cracks, the fight against which had not the slightest success.
Meanwhile in Britain, Scott's expedition became a successful promotional item.

The first attempt to reach the South Pole was made by the Englishman Robert Scott in 1902. But he only reached 82 ° 17 "south latitude. Returning to England, Scott began to prepare for the next more serious expedition to the South Pole. But one of the participants in his first expedition, Ernest Shackleton, who arrived at home earlier, decided to get ahead of him. rivalry for the conquest of the South Pole.Shackleton arrived on the shores of Antarctica in early 1908. On January 9, 1909, he and his companions reached 88 ° 23 "south latitude. Only 180 kilometers remained to the Pole, but food was negligible. I had to turn back. After that, Japan and Germany began to prepare expeditions to the South Pole. And then, unexpectedly, the Norwegian Roald Amundsen, who was preparing an expedition to the Arctic on the ship Fram, entered the competition. But he, having learned that the North Pole had been reached, secretly changed the purpose of the expedition and decided to go to Antarctica to conquer the South Pole. At first, he did not tell anyone about his decision, even the members of the expedition.

On May 1, 1910, the Fram was moored in Akershus to load equipment. On June 2, the royal couple was on board, hosted by Amundsen and Nansen. On June 3, the Fram was relocated to Bunnefjord, where a dismantled house was loaded on board for wintering in Antarctica. On June 7, they sailed for a short cruise in the North Sea and around the British Isles - this was a preliminary test of a marine diesel engine, during which oceanographic research was carried out. Severe storms have shortened sailing. On July 11, "Fram" returned to Bergen, and on July 23 - to Christiania (to take dried fish, dogs, etc.). Here, the assistant commander Ertsen and Lieutenant Prestrud were dedicated to the true goals of the expedition.

2 Madeira, Funchal

Roald Amundsen handed over the management of all his affairs to his brother Leon. Even before the Fram left Christiania, Leon Amundsen made a trip to Madeira, where he checked the quantity and quality of supplies for the transition of his brother's team to Antarctica, subsequent wintering and assault on the pole.

The Fram arrived at Funchal on September 6, 1910. For a few days, the team was dismissed. The parking lasted until September 9: propeller bearings were repaired and 35 tons of fresh water(it was poured even into large boats and fuel tanks).

On September 9, an incident occurred: local newspapers published reports of Amundsen's campaign to the South Pole. Amundsen assembled the team and explained his true intentions, offering those who disagree to return to their homeland at his expense. Helmer Hansen described it this way: “Each of us, one by one, was asked whether he agreed with this new plan for us and whether he wanted to overcome the South instead of the North Pole. The result was that all of us, as one, answered yes. This is where the show ended."

Leon Amundsen went ashore with three letters from his brother addressed to the King, Nansen and the Norwegian people. The messages were delivered to the King and Nansen on 1 October.

Roald Amundsen's letter to the Norwegian people (as amended by Leon Amundsen) was reprinted by many newspapers in Norway on 2 October. On the same day Leon Amundsen sent a telegram to Christchurch on English language signed by his brother, addressed to Robert Scott: “I have the honor to inform the Fram is heading for Antarctica. Amundsen. She reached the addressee on October 12.

At 21:00 on September 9, the Fram left Madeira. The next stop was supposed to be made at Kerguelen, but bad weather prevented us from approaching it. The equator was crossed on October 4th.

On January 1, 1911, the first iceberg was seen; on January 2, the expedition crossed the Antarctic Circle. The passage through the pack ice took four days. On January 11, the Great Ice Barrier was seen, on January 14, 1911, the Fram entered the Bay of Whales.

3 Wintering at Framheim

The landing of the Amundsen team on the coast of the Bay of Whales took place on January 15, 1911. Shipping building materials took place on January 15-16, 1911, the wintering house was brought under the roof on January 21. Housewarming was celebrated on January 28, the house was named "Framheim". On this day, more than 900 boxes of provisions were transported from the ship to the base. On February 4, the barque Terra Nova, Robert Scott's supply ship, visited the Bay of Whales, some of whose expedition members visited both the Fram and Amundsen's coastal base.

Amundsen announced the list of participants in the campaign to the South Pole on December 1, 1910, when the Fram was still at sea. The wintering detachment included the following persons: Roald Amundsen - head of the expedition, head of the sledge party on the campaign to the South Pole, Olaf Bjoland - an experienced skier and carpenter, Oscar Wisting - skier and musher, Jorgen Stubberud - carpenter, participant in the campaign to King Edward VII Land , Christian Prestrud - lieutenant of the Norwegian Navy, immediate head of Wisting at the Horten shipyard, head of the sledge party to King Edward VII Land, carried out meteorological and other measurements on the expedition, Frederik Hjalmar Johansen - reserve captain of the Norwegian army, member of the Norwegian polar expedition in 1893-1896 , Helmer Hansen - skier, Sverre Hassel - skier, Adolf Henrik Lindstrom - cook and food master, member of the expeditions of Sverdrup and Amundsen.

On February 10, 1911, Amundsen, Johansen, Hansen and Prestrud set off for 80° S. sh. on three sleighs, reaching their destination on the 14th. They were supposed to lay a base warehouse for a trip to the South. They returned on February 16, the day before the Fram had left the Bay of Whales. Subsequent campaigns of the Amundsen group to the south were based on the camp of the 80th latitude. The road was marked with bamboo milestones with black flags; when the milestones were over, they were perfectly replaced by dried cod. The people who remained at the base stocked up more than 60 tons of seal. As a result of three campaigns (until April 11), warehouses were laid up to 82 ° S. sh., where over 3,000 kg of provisions were brought, including 1,200 kg of seals, and fuel. The chief did not participate in the last (April) campaign: he suffered from bleeding from the rectum and recovered only by June. These were the consequences of an injury received on Gyoa. Johansen commanded the last campaign as the most experienced polar explorer in the team.

The polar night at the Framheim latitude began on April 21, 1911 and lasted until August 24. Wintering took place in a favorable environment, for necessary work Norwegians built a snowy town, where there was even a sauna. The winterers had a gramophone and a set of records, mostly of the classical repertoire. For entertainment, cards and darts served, as well as reading (the library included 80 books).

Throughout the polar winter, intensive preparations for the campaign went on. Bjoland, having made sure that the surface of the glacier was flat, reduced the weight of the sled from 80 to 30 kg - they were originally intended for heavy terrain. Johansen spent the winter packing up provisions so as not to waste time unpacking and weighing them on the way.

4 Unsuccessful exit to the pole

By the onset of the polar day, the Chief was impatient - his team was 650 km from Scott's group and 96 km closer to the pole, so it was impossible to judge the weather conditions of competitors (at that time it was not yet known that it was colder in Framheim than At Scott's base, the average winter temperature reached -38 °C at Amundsen and -27 °C at Scott, but Scott's main draft force was horses, which determined the later release dates). Amundsen was particularly concerned about the news of Scott's motor sleigh, so he decided to perform on September 1, 1911. However, even 4 days before departure, the temperature did not rise above -57 °C. Only on August 31 it warmed up to -26 ° С, but then the weather deteriorated again.

The team included 8 people (except Lindstrom, the permanent keeper of the base) with all the dogs that survived the winter, of which 86 remained. The first attempt to hike to the South Pole was made on September 8, 1911 at -37 ° С. The trip turned out to be unsuccessful: when the temperature dropped to -56 ° C, the skis did not slip, and the dogs could not sleep. The vodka taken on the trip froze.

The polar explorers decided to get to the warehouse at 80 ° S. sh., unload the sledges there and return to Framheim. On September 16, Amundsen rushed back to base. The return turned into an unorganized flight, in which each polar explorer was left to himself. The time interval between the return of the members of the expedition to Framheim was 6 hours, the lantern was not even lit at the base to make it easier for those who were behind to orient themselves in space. Along the way, Johansen saved the less experienced Prestrud from certain death in a snowstorm and in the extreme cold of -60 ° C: his entire dog team fell.

The next morning, upon his return to Framheim, Johansen sharply criticized Amundsen's leadership. Irritated by the opposition, Amundsen expelled Johansen from the polar party despite being the expedition's most experienced musher. Johansen, together with Prestrud and Stubberud, who supported him, instead of a prestigious campaign to the geographical pole, were sent by Amundsen on a minor expedition to the Land of King Edward VII. In addition, Captain Johansen was now subordinate to the notoriously less trained thirty-year-old Lieutenant Prestrud.

5 Leaving Framheim

Only in October 1911 did signs of the Antarctic spring appear. Nevertheless, the weather in the 1911/1912 season was abnormally cold: temperatures were between -30 °C and -20 °C, while the norm was -15 °C - -10 °C.

On October 20, five participants of the polar campaign set off. They had 4 sleds and 52 dogs. The first warehouse at 80 ° S. sh. reached October 23 and arranged a two-day halt. Starting from October 26, the expedition began to build snow pyramids about 2 m high for orientation in space (frequent cloudy weather on the Antarctic glacier generally leads to disorientation), they were erected every 3 miles. The initial 180 miles of the journey were marked with poles with flags and other milestones. The last of the previously laid down warehouses was reached on November 5 in dense fog. Then the path passed through unknown territory. On November 9, the team reached 83°S. sh., where a large warehouse was laid for the return trip. Here I had to shoot several pregnant bitches, which were buried in the snow in reserve.

6 Ascent to the Polar Plateau

On November 11, the Transantarctic Mountains appeared, the highest peaks were named Fridtjof Nansen and Don Pedro Christophersen. Geological samples were collected here and left in an intermediate warehouse. On November 17, the team approached the border of the ice shelf, the ascent to the Polar Plateau was coming. There were 550 km to the Pole.

On the last push to the Pole, Amundsen took provisions for 60 days, a 30-day supply remained in a warehouse at 84 ° S. sh. By this time there were 42 dogs left. It was decided to climb the plateau, kill 24 dogs and move to the pole with 18. Six more dogs were supposed to be slaughtered along the way, 12 animals were supposed to return to the camp.

The ascent to the plateau began on November 18 under the canopy of Mount Betty, named after Amundsen's old nurse, the Swede Elisabeth Gustavson. On the first day, the team covered 18.5 km, rising 600 meters above sea level. Wisting and Hansen reconnoitered an ascent of a glacier about 1300 m high, the length of which could not be determined (he received the name of Axel Heiberg). Then there were other passes, up to 2400 m high. On November 21, 31 km were passed with an ascent to a height of 1800 m.

7 Camp "Slaughterhouse"

On November 21, the camp was called “Slaughterhouses”: each musher killed his dogs, on which the choice fell, Amundsen did not participate in this, taking on the duties of a cook. 24 dogs were butchered and buried in a glacier, and also partially eaten on the spot. The sun came out for a short time, after which it was possible to determine that the expedition reached 85 ° 36 "S. Lat. The two-day rest with plentiful food strengthened the dogs, but further the team met with great difficulties, as evidenced by the names given to these places: Devil's Glacier and Dance Floor These were deep fissures at 3030 m above sea level and a steep glacier.The mountains discovered further were named Helland-Hansen.Amundsen was worried: climbing equipment was left in a warehouse below, but managed to find a relatively gentle glacier to climb.

Temperatures hovered around -20°C all along with gale-force winds, dogs and team members suffering from altitude sickness. Constant storm winds brought new problems.

On December 6, the Norwegians reached highest point on the way - 3260 m above sea level - and on the same day broke Shackleton's 1909 record. The nerves of the team were on edge: petty quarrels often flared up.

8 South Pole

Amundsen and his comrades reached the Pole on December 14 at 15:00 Framheim time. The plain surrounding it was named after Haakon VII (Shackleton named it after Edward VII). The conquest of the Pole was celebrated by smoking cigars, stocked by Bjoland. Since there were eight cigars - according to the number of original team members, three of them went to Amundsen.

Because of the heated debate that accompanied the discussion of the reports of the polar expeditions and, in particular, the competing claims of Frederick Cook and Robert Peary that they had reached the North Pole first, Amundsen came up with the definition geographical location with special responsibility. Amundsen believed that his instruments would determine the position with an error of no better than one nautical mile, so he decided to "surround" the pole with ski runs at a distance of 10 miles from the calculated point.

Since the theodolite was damaged, the observation was made using a sextant. The sun made a circle around the camp in 24 hours, not hiding behind the horizon. After making measurements and calculations, Amundsen determined that their current position was about 5.5 miles (8.5 kilometers) away from the mathematical point of the South Pole. This place was also "surrounded" by skis.

On December 17, Amundsen decided that he was at the true point of the South Pole and undertook a new 24-hour measurement cycle, with each observation performed by two people with careful recording in the navigation log. Four out of five travelers were qualified as navigators (except for Olaf Bjoland).

This time, from Amundsen's calculations, it followed that the group was 1.5 miles (about 2.4 kilometers) from the pole, and two expeditioners marked with flags and "surrounded" the calculated place. Thus, for the sake of authenticity of the conquest, the South Pole was “surrounded” by the expedition three times. A silk tent, the Pulheim, was left at the Pole with letters to Robert Scott and the King of Norway.

Amundsen left a letter at the South Pole with the following content: “Dear Captain Scott, since you will probably be the first to reach this place after us, I kindly request that this letter be sent to King Haakon VII. If you need any of the items in this tent, feel free to use them. I sincerely wish you a safe return. Sincerely yours, Roald Amundsen.

9 Return to Framheim

They returned quickly: the Devil's Glacier was reached on January 2, 1912, the descent took one day. The weather deteriorated sharply: fog descended. In the fog on January 5, the expedition nearly missed the Slaughterhouse, which Wisting accidentally found when he stumbled upon his own broken ski. On the same day, a storm broke out at a temperature of -23 ° C. The success achieved, however, did not work in better side on the relationship of the team members: once Bjoland and Hassel were severely reprimanded for snoring. Hassel complained in his diary that Amundsen "always chooses the most hostile and haughty tone of reprimand"; by that time a good relationship only H. Hansen remained with the Chief.

On January 7, the Norwegians were at the foot of the Axel Heiberg glacier, in the same place that they left on November 19, at an altitude of 900 m above sea level. Here the team adopted a new routine: after 28 kilometers of crossing, a 6-hour halt was made, then a new crossing, etc. After the new collection of geological data, one dog was killed (11 remained), and 17 liters were buried in a stone pyramid at the foot of the glacier kerosene in a can and matches. The expedition had provisions for 35 days of travel and intermediate warehouses at every degree of latitude. From that day on, the expeditionaries ate meat every day.

The team arrived at Framheim at 04:00 on January 26, 1912 with two sleds and 11 dogs. The distance traveled was just under 3,000 km, so for a 99-day journey the average journey was 36 km.

10 Hobart

Amundsen's nervous tension only increased after returning from the pole, especially since he did not know that he had already defeated Scott: he had to return to civilization as soon as possible and report the results. Outwardly, this was expressed in the fact that in the diary and letters Amundsen generally ceased to adhere to the generally accepted Norwegian spelling. On the evening of January 30, the Fram left the Bay of Whales in thick fog and for about 5 weeks crossed the fields of pack ice, heading for Hobart, although Lyttelton in New Zealand was closer, but this was Scott's main base.

The Fram arrived in Hobart on March 7, 1912. Only Amundsen went ashore with a folder containing the texts of telegrams drawn up in advance. There was no news about Scott. Amundsen incognito rented a room in a port hotel, after which he immediately contacted Norway, sending three telegrams - to his brother Leon, Nansen and the king, even the sponsors of the news were sent later. In the morning telegram from his brother, it was reported that Leon Amundsen had by then sold the exclusive rights to publish materials about the Norwegian Polar Expedition to the London newspaper Daily Chronicle. Roald Amundsen's fee was 2,000 pounds - at the highest rate. Ernest Shackleton provided invaluable assistance in concluding the treaty. Under the terms of the contract, Amundsen had the exclusive right to publish reports and diaries of all members of the expedition. They could not publish anything without Amundsen's consent for three years after their return. The telegram to Nansen was very laconic: “Thank you for everything. Mission accomplished. Everything is fine". Leon Amundsen failed to meet with the King of Norway - he sat at the headquarters of military exercises, but the content of the telegram was handed over to him by the adjutant.

Only on March 11, 1912, the Fram crew were allowed to go ashore in Hobart, giving out 10 shillings for pocket expenses.

11 Buenos Aires

On March 20, 1912, Amundsen left on a lecture tour of Australia and New Zealand, on the same day he received news that the publishing house of Jacob Dubwad had concluded an agreement with him for a book about the trip in the amount of 111 thousand crowns - a record for that time. On May 21, he arrived in Buenos Aires, posing as businessman Engelbregt Gravning, and a solemn celebration took place on May 30 at the Norwegian Society of La Plata. The team was sent to Norway, "Fram" remained in Argentina under the supervision of Lieutenant T. Nielsen.

12 Return

On July 1, 1912, almost all the participants of the expedition to the South Pole arrived in Bergen. On July 31, Amundsen also arrived from Buenos Aires via Copenhagen.

The discovery of the South Pole - the centuries-old dream of polar explorers - at its final stage in the summer of 1912, took on the character of a tense competition between the expeditions of two states - Norway and Great Britain. For the first it ended in triumph, for others - in tragedy. But, despite this, Roald Amundsen and Robert Scott, who led them, forever entered the history of the development of the sixth continent.

The first explorers of the southern polar latitudes

The conquest of the South Pole began back in those years when people only vaguely guessed that somewhere on the edge of the Southern Hemisphere there should be land. The first navigator who managed to get close to it was sailing in the South Atlantic and in 1501 reached the fiftieth latitude.

This was the era when, having briefly described his stay in these previously inaccessible latitudes (Vespucci was not only a navigator, but also a scientist), he continued his journey to the shores of a new, recently discovered continent - America - bearing his name today.

Almost three centuries later, the famous Englishman James Cook undertook a systematic exploration of the southern latitudes in the hope of finding an unknown land. He managed to get even closer to it, while reaching the seventy-second parallel, but Antarctic icebergs and floating ice prevented his further advance to the south.

Discovery of the sixth continent

Antarctica, the South Pole, and most importantly, the right to be called the discoverer and pioneer of the ice-bound lands and the fame associated with this circumstance haunted many. Throughout the 19th century there were incessant attempts to conquer the sixth continent. They were attended by our navigators Mikhail Lazarev and Thaddeus Bellingshausen, who were sent by the Russian Geographical Society, the Englishman Clark Ross, who reached the 78th parallel, as well as a number of German, French and Swedish researchers. These enterprises were crowned with success only at the end of the century, when the Australian Johann Bull had the honor of being the first to set foot on the shore of hitherto unknown Antarctica.

From that moment on, not only scientists rushed into the Antarctic waters, but also whalers, for whom the cold seas represented a wide fishing area. Year after year, the coast was developed, the first research stations appeared, but the South Pole (its mathematical point) still remained inaccessible. In this context, the question arose with extraordinary urgency: who will be able to get ahead of competitors and whose national flag will be the first to fly on the southern tip of the planet?

Race to the South Pole

At the beginning of the 20th century, attempts were repeatedly made to conquer the impregnable corner of the Earth, and each time the polar explorers managed to get closer to it. The climax came in October 1911, when the ships of two expeditions at once - the British, led by Robert Falcon Scott, and the Norwegian, led by Roald Amundsen (the South Pole was an old and cherished dream for him), almost simultaneously headed for the coast of Antarctica. Only a few hundred miles separated them.

It is curious that at first the Norwegian expedition was not going to storm the South Pole. Amundsen and his crew members were on their way to the Arctic. It was the northern tip of the Earth that was listed in the plans of an ambitious navigator. However, on the way, he received a message that he had already submitted to the Americans - Kuku and Piri. Not wanting to lose his prestige, Amundsen abruptly changed course and turned south. In doing so, he challenged the British, and they could not help standing up for the honor of their nation.

His rival Robert Scott, before devoting himself to research, served as an officer in Her Majesty's Navy for a long time and gained sufficient experience in command of battleships and cruisers. After retiring, he spent two years on the coast of Antarctica, taking part in the work of a scientific station. They even made an attempt to break through to the pole, but having advanced a very significant distance in three months, Scott was forced to turn back.

On the eve of the decisive assault

The tactics of achieving the goal in a kind of race "Amundsen - Scott" were different for the teams. Main vehicle English were Manchurian horses. Short and hardy, they were the best suited to the conditions of the polar latitudes. But, besides them, travelers also had at their disposal dog teams, traditional in such cases, and even a complete novelty of those years - motor sledges. The Norwegians, in everything, relied on the proven northern huskies, who had to pull four sleds, heavily loaded with equipment, throughout the journey.

Both of them had a journey of eight hundred miles one way, and the same amount back (if they survived, of course). Ahead of them were glaciers cut by bottomless cracks, terrible frosts, accompanied by snowstorms and snowstorms that completely excluded visibility, as well as frostbite, injuries, hunger and all kinds of hardships that were inevitable in such cases. The reward for one of the teams was to be the glory of the discoverers and the right to hoist the flag of their state on the pole. Neither the Norwegians nor the British doubted that the game was worth the candle.

If he was more skilled and experienced in navigation, then Amundsen clearly surpassed him as an experienced polar explorer. Decisive crossings to the Pole were preceded by wintering on the Antarctic continent, and the Norwegian managed to choose a much more suitable place for her than his British counterpart. Firstly, their camp was located almost a hundred miles closer to the end point of the journey than the British, and secondly, Amundsen laid out the route from it to the pole in such a way that he managed to bypass the areas where the most severe frosts raged at this time of the year. and incessant snowstorms and snowstorms.

Triumph and defeat

The detachment of Norwegians managed to go all the way and return to the base camp, keeping within the period of the short Antarctic summer. One can only admire the professionalism and brilliance with which Amundsen led his group, withstood with incredible accuracy the schedule he himself compiled. Among the people who trusted him, there were not only dead, but even those who received any serious injuries.

A completely different fate awaited Scott's expedition. Before the most difficult part of the journey, when one hundred and fifty miles remained to the goal, the last members of the auxiliary group turned back, and five British explorers harnessed themselves to heavy sleds. By this time, all the horses had fallen, the motor sledges were out of order, and the dogs were simply eaten by the polar explorers themselves - they had to take extreme measures in order to survive.

Finally, on January 17, 1912, as a result of incredible efforts, they reached the mathematical point of the South Pole, but there a terrible disappointment awaited them. Everything around bore traces of the rivals who had been here in front of them. The imprints of sledge runners and dog paws were visible in the snow, but the most convincing evidence of their defeat was a tent left between the ice, over which the Norwegian flag fluttered. Alas, they missed the discovery of the South Pole.

About the shock that the members of his group experienced, Scott left entries in his diary. The terrible disappointment plunged the British into a real shock. They all spent the next night without sleep. They were weighed down by the thought of how they would look into the eyes of those people who, over hundreds of miles of travel across an icy continent, freezing and falling into cracks, helped them reach the last leg of the journey and launch a decisive but unsuccessful assault.

Catastrophe

However, in spite of everything, it was necessary to gather strength and return. There were eight hundred miles of return journey between life and death. Moving from one intermediate camp with fuel and food to another, the polar explorers lost strength catastrophically. Their situation became more and more hopeless every day. A few days later, death visited the camp for the first time - the youngest of them and seemingly physically strong Edgar Evans died. His body was buried in the snow and covered with heavy ice floes.

The next victim was Lawrence Ots, a dragoon captain who went to the pole, driven by a thirst for adventure. The circumstances of his death are very remarkable - having frostbitten hands and feet and realizing that he was becoming a burden to his comrades, at night he secretly left the place of lodging for the night and went into impenetrable darkness, voluntarily dooming himself to death. His body was never found.

The nearest intermediate camp was only eleven miles away when suddenly a blizzard arose, completely eliminating the possibility of further advance. Three Englishmen found themselves in ice captivity, cut off from the whole world, deprived of food and any opportunity to warm themselves.

The tent they pitched, of course, could not serve as any kind of reliable shelter. The air temperature outside dropped to -40 ° C, respectively, inside, in the absence of a heater, it was not much higher. This insidious March blizzard never let them out of its arms...

Posthumous lines

Six months later, when the tragic outcome of the expedition became obvious, a rescue group was sent to search for the polar explorers. Among the impenetrable ice, she managed to find a snow-covered tent with the bodies of three British explorers - Henry Bowers, Edward Wilson and their commander Robert Scott.

Scott's diaries were found among the belongings of the dead, and, which amazed the rescuers, bags with geological samples collected on the slopes of the rocks protruding from the glacier. Incredibly, the three Englishmen stubbornly continued to drag these stones even when there was practically no hope of salvation.

In his notes, Robert Scott, having detailed and analyzed the reasons that led to the tragic denouement, highly appreciated the moral and strong-willed qualities of his comrades accompanying him. In conclusion, addressing those in whose hands the diary fell, he asked them to do everything so that his relatives would not be left to the mercy of fate. Dedicating a few farewell lines to his wife, Scott bequeathed to her to make sure that their son received an appropriate education and was able to continue his research activities.

By the way, in the future, his son Peter Scott became a famous ecologist who devoted his life to protecting natural resources planets. Born shortly before the day when his father went on his last expedition, he lived to a ripe old age and died in 1989.

caused by tragedy

Continuing the story, it should be noted that the competition of two expeditions, which resulted in the discovery of the South Pole for one, and death for the other, had very unexpected consequences. When the celebrations on the occasion of this, of course, important geographical discovery, congratulatory speeches fell silent and applause died down, the question arose about the moral side of what happened. There was no doubt that indirectly the cause of the death of the British lay in the deep depression caused by the victory of Amundsen.

Not only in the British, but also in the Norwegian press, there were direct accusations against the recently honored winner. A quite reasonable question was raised: did Roald Amundsen, experienced and very experienced in the study of extreme latitudes, have the moral right to draw the ambitious, but lacking the necessary skills, Scott and his comrades into the competitive process? Wouldn't it be more correct to offer him to unite and carry out his plan by common efforts?

Amundsen's riddle

How Amundsen reacted to this and whether he blamed himself for unwittingly causing the death of his British colleague is a question that has forever remained unanswered. True, many of those who closely knew the Norwegian researcher claimed that they saw clear signs of his mental confusion. In particular, his attempts at public excuses, which were completely uncharacteristic of his proud and somewhat arrogant nature, could serve as evidence of this.

Some biographers tend to see evidence of unforgivable guilt in the circumstances of Amundsen's own death. It is known that in the summer of 1928 he went on an Arctic flight, which promised him certain death. The suspicion that he foresaw his own death in advance is caused by the preparations he made. Not only did Amundsen put all his affairs in order and paid off his creditors, he also sold all his property, as if he was not going to go back.

The sixth continent today

One way or another, the discovery of the South Pole was made by him, and no one will take this honor away from him. Today, large-scale scientific research is being carried out at the southern tip of the Earth. At the very spot where the Norwegians once expected triumph, and the British - the greatest disappointment, today is the international polar station "Amundsen - Scott". In its name, these two fearless conquerors of extreme latitudes invisibly united. Thanks to them, the South Pole on the globe is perceived today as something familiar and quite within reach.

In December 1959, an international treaty on Antarctica was concluded, initially signed by twelve states. According to this document, any country has the right to conduct scientific research throughout the continent south of the sixtieth latitude.

Thanks to this, today numerous research stations in Antarctica are developing the most advanced scientific programs. Today there are more than fifty of them. Scientists have at their disposal not only ground-based means of control over environment, but also aviation and even satellites. The Russian Geographical Society also has its representatives on the sixth continent. Among the existing stations there are veterans such as Bellingshausen and Druzhnaya 4, as well as relatively new ones - Russkaya and Progress. Everything suggests that great geographical discoveries do not stop today.

A brief history of how brave Norwegian and British travelers, defying danger, strove for their cherished goal, only in in general terms can convey all the tension and drama of those events. It is wrong to consider their duel only as a fight of personal ambitions. Undoubtedly, the thirst for discovery and the desire to assert the prestige of their country, built on true patriotism, played a paramount role in it.