Roald Amundsen, South Pole, Norwegia Antarctic Expedition 1910-1912, Fram
Crew of the Fram 1912, Amundsen         centre with bowler hat Crew of the Fram         in detail
Exercising a dog team in a run out from         the Fram
The Fram and Terra Nova (Captains Scott's         ship) unexpectedly meet in the Bay of Whales, Ross Sea,         Antarctica, 4th Feb 1911
Roald Amundsen, Olav Olavson Bjaaland,         Hilmer Hanssen, Sverre H. Hassel and Oscar Wisting by         their South Pole marker tent and flag
Roald Amundsen and his dog team at the         South Pole
The South Pole party safely back aboard         the Fram
Roald Amundsen began a career         studying medicine at the University of Christiana (now         the University of Oslo), but dropped out in order to         go to sea. His first Antarctic trip was in         1899 on the Belgica expedition when he was one of the first party ever to         over winter in Antarctica as the ship became trapped         in the pack ice and drifted until it broke out in the         following spring. He established his credentials on         this trip as a leader, ice master and as a resourceful         expeditioner.
He led his first polar expedition in         the Arctic from 1903 - 1906 in the Gjoa, successfully         traversing the "North West Passage" an extraordinary         achievement in a tiny ship that came after a century         of attempts and the loss of literally hundreds of lives.
The next major expedition was         to be to drift over the North pole with the pack ice         in the ship Fram built for fellow Norwegian         explorer Nansen (regarded as being the father         of polar travel - North and South). The Fram was an unusual ship, unlike many polar exploratory ships         that started life as merchant-men, coal ships, or the         like, the Fram was designed and built for polar         travel. It was a round bottomed ship that was about         a third as wide as it was long. The idea being that         it was immune to the perils of being stuck in pack ice.         Other ships stuck in pack would succumb to the immense         pressures on them and be crushed leaving the occupants         stranded on floating seasonal ice with no ship.
The Fram was different in that         she would respond to the sideways pressure by being         pushed upwards, rising out of the pack to sit above         the ice in the way that many small and relatively weak         boats had regularly been seen to do when frozen in forming         sea ice in the Norwegian Fjords in winter time. Against         many expectations, the Fram performed perfectly         in this manner.
Before the expedition set off to drift         over the North Pole, news reached Amundsen of American         Robert Peary claim of having reached the North Pole.         Plans were hastily changed and Amundsen set out to lead         the party that would the first to reach the South Pole         instead.
Amundsen left Christiana, Norway in         August 1910 with provisions for 2 years and nearly a         hundred Greenland sled dogs that were to be the key         in his team's subsequent success in reaching the South         Pole ahead of Scott and his manhaul party.
Such was the secrecy of Amundsen's          plans, that it was not until a month after leaving          Norway, when their ship had reached Madeira, that          Amundsen told his crew of the revised goal of Antarctica          and the South Pole. Until this point, they were          all of the impression that they were then to head          north again for the Arctic.
The Fram and Amundsen's party         reached Antarctica and land fall at the Bay of Whales         on January 14th 1911 where a winter base was established.         Depots were established between then and April when         the sun set for the long Antarctic winter night, depots         of stores that would be used in the push to reach the         South Pole the following spring. It was at the Bay Of         Whales that Captain Scott's ship the Terra Nova called         quite fortuitously 3 weeks later while exploring along         the coast having dropped off the main party including         Scott himself. Scott's party had no idea that the Fram         was there, thinking that perhaps they would attempt         the Pole from the opposite side of Antarctica from the         Weddell Sea.
The winter was passed in orderly industriousness         while the party prepared the equipment and stores for         the polar journey as well as settling into winter routines         to maintain morale and make sure the men were kept occupied.         Amundsen had endured a difficult enforced winter on         the Belgica over 10 years beforehand and understood         the importance of preparation for the winter and of         maintaining spirits particularly during the dark days         of winter.
By late winter / early spring,         the sun had reappeared, sledges were ready for the push         to the pole and dogs and men were prepared. The weather however was a constant source of frustration,         everything would be in place and ready but the weather         would turn at the last moment, so the trip would be         cancelled.
When eventually Amundsen and his team         set off, there were 8 men with sledges, pulled by 86         dogs. The first attempt was halted by the weather that         became much colder than expected forcing the team to         return to the winter base.
In the end a team of  5 men set         off each with a sledge pulled by 13 dogs (52 dogs in         total). They made good progress feeding the dogs on         seal meat and blubber that had been brought with them.         The men's rations were meagre in quality, but sufficient         in quantity.
Plans were made for the final push to         the pole based on setting out with dogs that would be         systematically shot and fed to the remainder. They struggled         on against poor weather, blizzards and bad snow conditions         which took their toll on both dogs and men.
At 3 p.m. on Friday December         the 14th 1911 the party arrived at the South Pole. They had been concerned that Scott may have beaten them         to the prize. They erected a small tent and placed inside         it a letter and then set off back to their winter base.         They arrived 39 days later with all five men and 11         dogs "hale and hearty". The party that had reached the         South Pole first was:
Roald Amundsen
Sverre H. Hassel
Oscar Wisting
The 11 surviving dogs would later be         given to Douglas Mawson for his Australasian Antarctic         Expedition when the Fram and Mawson's ship the Aurora         met at Hobart in March 1912 as Amundsen was leaving         Antarctic and going back to Norway.
Amundsen continued his explorations         in the Arctic becoming more and more interested in flying         and airship travel. He disappeared with no trace in         1928 while searching for the survivors of an airship         crash in the Arctic.
Amundsen was much troubled in later         years by accusations of ungentlemanly conduct and being         unsporting in the manner that he arrived in Antarctica         to "race" Scott to the pole without giving any prior         notice of intention. Accusations made all the more painful         because he and his team survived while Scott and his         party all perished.
100 Years Ago in Antarctica
... as it happened