The first expedition to reach the Geographic South Pole was led by the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen. He and four other crew members made it to the geographical South Pole on 14 December 1911, which was to be five weeks ahead of the British party led by Robert Falcon Scott as part of the Terra Nova Expedition. Amundsen and his team returned safely to their base, and about a year later heard that Scott and his four companions had perished on their return journey.
Amundsen's initial plans had focused on the Arctic and the conquest of the North Pole by means of an extended drift in an icebound ship. He obtained the use of Fridtjof Nansen's polar exploration ship Fram, and undertook extensive fundraising in a country that had gained its independence only some six years earlier. Preparations for this expedition were disrupted when, in 1909, the rival American explorers Frederick Cook and Robert Peary each claimed to have reached the North Pole - both claims are highly disputed. Amundsen then changed his plan and began to prepare for a conquest of the South Pole; uncertain of the extent to which the public and his backers would support him, he kept this revised objective secret. When he set out in June 1910, he led even his crew to believe they were embarking on an Arctic drift, and revealed their true Antarctic destination only when Fram was leaving their last port of call, Madeira, on 9 September 1910.
Amundsen made his Antarctic base, which he named "Framheim" (Home of Fram, after their ship Fram), in the Bay of Whales on the Great Ice Barrier. After months of preparation, depot-laying and a false start that ended in near-disaster, he and his party set out for the pole in October 1911. In the course of their journey they discovered the Axel Heiberg Glacier, which provided their route to the polar plateau and ultimately to the South Pole. The party's mastery of the use of skis and their expertise with sled dogs ensured rapid and relatively trouble-free travel. Other achievements of the expedition included the first exploration of King Edward VII Land and an extensive oceanographic cruise.
The expedition's success was widely applauded, and was later compared to the Apollo flight to the Moon, in its manner of spending resources and keeping focus on the primary goal of reaching the geographical South Pole. Though the story of Scott's so-called heroic failure, meaning the death of his full crew, overshadowed Amundsen's achievement in the United Kingdom, Amundsen's decision to keep his true plans secret until the last moment was criticised by some. Recent polar historians have more fully recognised the skill and courage of Amundsen's party; the permanent scientific base at the pole bears his name, together with that of Scott.
Background
Amundsen was born in Fredrikstad around 80 km from Christiania (now Oslo), Norway, in 1872, the son of a ship-owner. In 1893, the adventurous young man abandoned his medical studies at Christiania University and signed up as a seaman aboard the sealer Magdalena for a voyage to the Arctic. After several further voyages he qualified as a second mate; when not at sea, he developed his skills as a cross-country skier in the harsh environment of Norway's Hardangervidda plateau. In 1896, inspired by the polar exploits of his countryman Fridtjof Nansen, Amundsen joined the Belgian Antarctic Expedition as mate, aboard Belgica under Adrien de Gerlache. Early in 1898 the ship became entrapped by pack ice in the Bellinghausen Sea, and was held fast for almost a year. The expedition thus became, involuntarily, the first to spend a complete winter in Antarctic waters, a period marked by depression, near-starvation, insanity, and scurvy among the crew. Amundsen remained dispassionate, recording everything and using the experience as an education in all aspects of polar exploration techniques, particularly aids, clothing and diet.
The Belgica's voyage marked the beginning of what would become to be known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, and was rapidly followed by expeditions from the United Kingdom, Sweden, Germany and France. However, on his return to Norway in 1899, Amundsen turned his attention northwards. Confident in his abilities to lead an expedition, he planned a traversal of the Northwest Passage, the then-uncharted sea route from the Atlantic to the Pacific through the labyrinth of north Canadian islands. Having earned his master's ticket, Amundsen acquired a small sloop, Gjøa, which he adapted for Arctic travel. He secured the patronage of King Oscar of Sweden and Norway, the support of Nansen, and sufficient financial backing to set out in June 1903 with a crew of six. The voyage lasted until 1906 and was wholly successful; the Northwest Passage, which had defeated mariners for centuries, was finally conquered. At the age of 34 Amundsen became a national hero, in the first rank of polar explorers.
In November 1906 the American Robert Peary returned from his latest unsuccessful quest for the North Pole, claiming a new Farthest North of 87° 6′—a record disputed by later historians. He immediately began raising funds for a further attempt. In July 1907 Dr Frederick Cook, a former shipmate of Amundsen's from Belgica, set off northwards on what was ostensibly a hunting trip but was rumoured to be an attempt on the North Pole. A month later Ernest Shackleton's Nimrod Expedition sailed for Antarctica, while Robert Falcon Scott was preparing a further expedition should Shackleton fail. Amundsen saw no reason to concede priority in the south to the British, and spoke publicly about the prospects of leading an Antarctic expedition—although his preferred goal remained the North Pole.
Preparation
Nansen and Fram
In 1893 Nansen had driven his ship Fram into the Arctic pack ice off the northern Siberian coast and allowed it to drift in the ice towards Greenland, hoping that this route would cross the North Pole. In the event, the drift did not approach the pole, and an attempt by Nansen and his companion Hjalmar Johansen to reach it on foot was likewise unsuccessful. Nevertheless, Nansen's strategy became the basis of Amundsen's own Arctic plans. He reasoned that if he entered the Arctic Ocean via the Bering Strait, well to the east of Nansen's starting point, his ship would achieve a more northerly drift and pass near or through the pole.
Amundsen consulted Nansen, who insisted that Fram was the only vessel fit for such an undertaking. Fram had been designed and built in 1891–93 by Colin Archer, Norway's leading shipbuilder and naval architect, in accordance with Nansen's exacting specifications, as a vessel that would withstand prolonged exposure to the harshest of Arctic conditions. The ship's most distinctive feature was its rounded hull which, according to Nansen, enabled the vessel to "slip like an eel out of the embraces of the ice". For extra strength the hull was sheathed in South American greenheart, the hardest timber available, and crossbeams and braces were fitted throughout its length. The ship's wide beam of 36 feet (11 m) in relation to its overall length of 128 feet (39 m) gave it a markedly stubby appearance. This shape improved its strength in the ice but affected its performance in the open sea, where it moved sluggishly and was inclined to roll most uncomfortably. However, its looks, speed, and sailing qualities were secondary to the provision of a secure and warm shelter for the crew during a voyage that might extend over several years.
Fram had emerged virtually unscathed from Nansen's expedition after nearly three years in the polar ice. On its return it had been refitted, before spending four years under the command of Otto Sverdrup, charting and exploring 100,000 square miles (260,000 km2) of uninhabited territory in the northern Canadian islands. After Sverdrup's voyage ended in 1902 Fram was laid up in Christiania. Although the ship was technically the property of the state, it was tacitly acknowledged that Nansen had first call on it. After his return from the Arctic in 1896 he had aspired to take Fram on an expedition to Antarctica, but by 1907 such hopes had faded. Late in September of that year, Amundsen was summoned to Nansen's home and told he could have the ship.
Initial steps
Amundsen made his plans public on 10 November 1908, at a meeting of the Norwegian Geographical Society. He would take Fram around Cape Horn to the Pacific Ocean; after provisioning in San Francisco the ship would continue northwards, through the Bering Strait to Point Barrow. From here he would set a course directly into the ice to begin a drift that would extend over four or five years. Science would be as important as geographical exploration; continuous observations would, Amundsen hoped, help to explain a number of unresolved problems. The plan was received enthusiastically, and the next day King Haakon VII opened a subscription list with a gift of 20,000 kroner. On 6 February 1909 the Norwegian Parliament approved a grant of 75,000 kroner to refit the ship. The general fundraising and business management of the expedition was placed in the hands of Amundsen's brother Leon so that the explorer could concentrate on the more practical aspects of organisation.
In March 1909 it was announced that Shackleton had reached a southern latitude of 88° 23′—97 nautical miles (180 km) from the South Pole—before turning back; thus, as Amundsen observed, in the south "a little corner remained". He was unreserved in his praise for Shackleton's achievement, writing that Shackleton was the south's equivalent of Nansen in the north. Following this near miss, Scott immediately confirmed his intention to lead an expedition (what became the Terra Nova Expedition) that would encompass the "little corner" and claim the prize for the British Empire.
Personnel
Amundsen chose three naval lieutenants as his expedition's officers: Thorvald Nilsen, a navigator who would be second-in-command; Hjalmar Fredrik Gjertsen, and Kristian Prestrud. Gjertsen, despite lacking a medical background, was made expedition doctor, and was sent on a "lightning course" in surgery and dentistry. A naval gunner, Oscar Wisting, was accepted on Prestrud's recommendation because he could turn his hand to most tasks. Although he had little previous experience of sledge dogs, Amundsen wrote that Wisting developed "a way of his own" with them, and became a useful amateur veterinarian.
An early choice for the party was Olav Bjaaland, a champion skier who was also a skilled carpenter and ski-maker. Bjaaland was from Morgedal in the Telemark province of Norway, a region renowned for the prowess of its skiers and as the home of the pioneer of modern techniques, Sondre Norheim. Amundsen shared Nansen's belief that skis and sledge dogs provided by far the most efficient method of Arctic transport, and was determined to recruit the most skilful dog drivers. Helmer Hanssen, who had proved his worth on the Gjøa expedition, agreed to travel with Amundsen again. He was joined later by Sverre Hassel, an expert on dogs, and veteran of Sverdrup's 1898–1902 Fram voyage, who intended only to travel with Amundsen as far as San Francisco. The carpenter Jørgen Stubberud built a portable building to serve as base for the expedition, which could be dismantled and prepared for shipment with the Fram. Stubberud asked Amundsen for permission to join the expedition, which was granted. Mindful of the value of a competent cook, Amundsen secured the services of Adolf Lindstrøm, another Sverdrup veteran who had been cook aboard Gjøa.
From his experiences on board Belgica and Gjøa, Amundsen had learned the importance of choosing stable and compatible companions, and with these experienced personnel he felt he had the core of his expedition. He continued to recruit through 1909; the Fram party would eventually total 19. All of these except one were Amundsen's personal choices; the exception was Hjalmar Johansen, who was taken on at the request of Nansen. Since his epic march with Nansen, Johansen had been unable to settle down. Despite the efforts of Nansen and others to help him, his life became a downward spiral of drunkenness and debt. Nansen wished to give his former comrade a final chance to show that he was still a capable worker in the field; feeling that he could not refuse Nansen's wishes, Amundsen reluctantly accepted Johansen. The party contained two foreigners: a young Russian oceanographer Alexander Kuchin (or Kutchin), who was a pupil of Bjorn Helland-Hansen, and a Swedish engineer, Knut Sundbeck.
Change of plan
In September 1909 newspapers carried reports that Cook and Peary had each reached the North Pole, Cook in April 1908 and Peary a year later. Asked to comment, Amundsen avoided an outright endorsement of either explorer, but surmised that "probably something will be left to be done". While he avoided the controversy over the rival claims, he saw immediately that his own plans would be seriously affected. Without the allure of capturing the pole, he would struggle to maintain public interest or funding. "If the expedition was to be saved ... there was nothing left for me but to try and solve the last great problem—the South Pole". Thus Amundsen decided to go south; the Arctic drift could wait "for a year or two" until the South Pole had been conquered.
Amundsen did not publicise his change of plan. As Scott's biographer David Crane points out, the expedition's public and private funding was earmarked for scientific work in the Arctic; there was no guarantee that the backers would understand or agree to the proposed volte-face. Furthermore, the altered objective might cause Nansen to revoke the use of Fram, or parliament to halt the expedition for fear of undermining Scott and offending the British. Amundsen concealed his intentions from everyone except his brother Leon and his second-in-command, Nilsen. This secrecy led to awkwardness; Scott had sent Amundsen instruments to enable their two expeditions, at opposite ends of the earth, to make comparative readings. When Scott, in Norway to test his motor sledges, telephoned Amundsen at home to discuss cooperation, the Norwegian refused to take the call.