Finding the wayWe are impressed. How did the five men who were here in 1911 gain an understanding of the landscape so quickly? How did they know which path to choose? Where we are supposed to make our ascent, it looks as though the onward road ends abruptly in a vertical wall of rock.
“Instead of improving, the Nor’Easter assumed the force of a storm in the course of the night. It eased somewhat in the morning, but nonetheless was a heavy gale with thick drift when we turned out at 8 o’clock.”– Amundsen on this day 100 years ago (Read more …) 
Were they just lucky? Was it determination and fearlessness? These are our thoughts as our skis carry us within sight of one sheer ice wall after the other, and tall mountains are succeeded by even taller mountains. Regardless of how the feat was accomplished, we feel deep respect for the way they managed to move all those dogs and people and all that gear southward and upward with such impressive speed. We thought we would start climbing up the icefall today, but history repeats itself. Let’s listen to Amundsen again: “The task we had taken on was larger than we had expected. For one thing, it was three times as far as any of us had imagined. In addition, the snow was soft and deep and made moving a great effort.” We organised ourselves like a cycling team: five minutes at the head of the line, clearing the path, then the next man takes the lead. And when we reached the bottom of the icefall, the two fittest of us continued, tramping a path up 200 metres, while our two more domestically oriented members pitched the tents and made dinner. Tomorrow we will take a day’s rest: we’re almost certain of that. We have had 25 strenuous days without a break. Several bodies would benefit from a bit of recuperation. The observant reader will have noticed that we have narrowed the gap between us and Amundsen. This is mainly because he was delayed by weather for several days just after he reached the plateau. But “now” he is moving on again. And one last thing – for those who are wondering: no-one has found the fiver yet. There is still a bit of extra excitement every morning when we open our breakfasts. Position: S 85 26.416, W 165 50.709
Temperature: -15°C Wind: Calm Elevation: 1000 metres Distance traversed: 22 km Distance behind Amundsen: 78 km Total distance traversed: 760 km Distance remaining to the South Pole: 551 km
Did you know that more and more tourists are going to Antarctica?
Cruises to Antarctica have become increasingly popular in recent years, but tourism has side effects on the pristine and fragile environment. |
South Pole 1911–2011 is an informational outreach project run by the Norwegian Polar Institute
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