The discoverers of the southern latitudes did not always leave their names to history. Many expeditions are known only by the names of their leaders, leaving the names of the remaining participants in oblivion. Those who first reached the South Pole, fortunately, left their names. The brilliant expedition, which reached its cherished goal, took place in 1911.
Roald Amundsen. short biography
The great Norwegian, the one who reached the first South Pole, constantly traveled in the most difficult and sparsely populated corners of the Earth. He was born in 1872 in a family of sailors. Even in his youth, the remarkable book of J. Franklin, a polar explorer, fell into the hands of a future researcher. Roald Amundsen was inspired by the idea of becoming a pioneer, so from childhood he prepared himself for the upcoming difficulties. He slept with open windows even in severe frosts, was extremely unpretentious in food and constantly trained his body. His mother wanted Royal to devote himself to medicine. He faithfully studied books and attended classes. But immediately after her death, Amundsen abandoned textbooks and began to prepare himself for polar travel.
First travels
Roald Amundsen boarded his first ship at age 22. Initially, he served as a young boy on a fishing vessel sailing to the North Atlantic. In 1896, for the first time, he was forced to winter with his comrades in high latitudes. Wintering was sudden and unplanned; sailors were forced to eat their own shoes in order to survive. Upon his return, he appreciated the importance of thorough preparation for difficult conditions. Subsequently, Amundsen was able to pass an important exam and received a diploma of the captain of the sea.
Sailing schooner “Yoa” became the traveler’s first ship. With a small crew, Amundsen marched from Greenland to Alaska, opening the Northwest Passage. Such serious preparation for the conditions of navigation in the polar latitudes allowed him to ripen for new discoveries, among which was the South Pole of the Earth.
Expedition
In 1910, with the support of the great F. Nansen, R. Amundsen prepares for a campaign in the Antarctic. For this purpose, the ship "Fram" was hired, which was supposed to drop travelers in Antarctica. A carefully prepared expedition, consisting of five people, 52 dogs and four sleds, set off. October 19, 1911, travelers landed on the shelf of Ross and went deep into the icy continent.
Initially, the expedition walked for a long time along a wide icy desert. After crossing the 85th parallel, the terrain changed - high icy rocks blocked the road. At the foot of the cliffs, travelers made a small cache of food supplies. Amundsen took the rest of the provisions with him, hoping that the South Geographic Pole was within reach, and the journey to and from it should take no more than 60 days.
By the middle of the scheduled period, travelers reached a large glacier, which was named after Axel Heiberg, the sponsor of the expedition, who believed in Amundsen's victory and provided considerable money to cover expenses. Later on the map were the names of other people, friends and relatives. So on the map of Antarctica appeared Liv glacier, named after the daughter of F. Nansen.
Get there
In mid-summer, travelers reached a milestone that no polar expedition had yet visited. The extreme point of the cold continent, discovered by Shackleton, did not reach the geographic mark of the pole by only 180 km. Having passed the last leg of the journey, the expedition reached the treasured point at which all the Earth’s meridians intersected. The name of everyone who first reached the South Pole remained forever connected with the cold southern continent. These are Roald Amundsen, Oscar Wisting, Sverre Hassel, Helmer Hansen and Olaf Bialand.
Travelers marked their stay at the southernmost point of the earth with a Norwegian flag and a pennant from the Fram ship. A tent was set up not far from the flag, in which Amundsen set aside a message to his rival, Scott. Having recorded their stay at the South Pole, the expedition headed back.
The whole trip took 99 days. Those who first reached the South Pole were joyfully greeted first on the Fram ship, and then in the small town of Hobard, located in Tasmania. From there, a message came to the newspapers of the world that the southernmost point of the earth was conquered. But for Royal Amundsen, the journey did not stop ...