The South Pole: the Norwegian Expedition in the Fram, 1910-1912 Free
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
FREE THE SOUTH POLE: THE NORWEGIAN EXPEDITION IN THE FRAM, 1910-1912 PDF Captian Roald Amundsen,A.G. Chater | 896 pages | 13 Jan 2001 | C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd | 9781850654698 | English | London, United Kingdom The South Pole; an account of the Norwegian antarctic expedition in the "Fram," - Free Ebook Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Want to Read saving…. Want to Read Currently Reading Read. Other editions. Enlarge cover. Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Open Preview See a Problem? Details if other :. Thanks for telling us about the problem. Return to Book Page. Preview — South Pole by Roald Amundsen. At last we got away, on October The weather for the past few days had not been altogether reliable; now windy, now calm - now snowing, now clear: regular spring weather, in other words With this matter of fact sentence begins one of the most famous journeys in all exploration - Amundsen's conquest of the South Pole. The details of the tragic race with Scott are well At last we got away, on October The details of the tragic race with Scott are well known, but often forgotten is the sheer professionalism and courage which drove the Norwegian expedition on. Unlike the driven and tortured egos which bedeviled the British expeditions, the Norwegians worked purposefully as a 1910-1912 using the latest technology, and Amundsen acknowledges this openly when the Pole was finally achieved. I had determined that the act of planting it [the flag] - the historic event - should be equally divided among us all. It was not for one man to do this; it was for all who had staked their lives in the struggle, and held together through thick and thin. This was the only way in which I could show my gratitude to my comrades in this desolate spot Five weather-beaten, frostbitten fists they were that grasped the pole, raised The South Pole: The Norwegian Expedition in The Fram waving flag in the air, and planted it as the first at Get A Copy. Paperbackpages. Published March 1st by Interlink Publishing Group first published More Details Original Title. Roald Amundsen. Other Editions Friend Reviews. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about South Poleplease sign up. Lists with This Book. Community Reviews. Showing Average rating 4. Rating details. More filters. Sort order. Victory awaits him who has everything in order—luck, people call it. Defeat is certain for him who has neglected to the necessary precautions in time; this is called bad luck. The heroic age of polar exploration is defined by ambition, privation, bad luck compounded by bad planning, sometimes eating shoe leather, cannibalism, or worse, death, and hubris…lots of hubris. For those interested in these stories, hardship, tragedy and the quest to overcome the 1910-1912 in pursuit of geographic glor Victory awaits him who has everything in order—luck, people The South Pole: The Norwegian Expedition in The Fram it. For those interested The South Pole: The Norwegian Expedition in The Fram these stories, hardship, tragedy and the quest to overcome the elements in pursuit of geographic glory tend to translate into more interesting stories. The notable exceptions to the rule were the multiple expeditions of William Parry and Roald Amundsen. Parry, whose ship-based wintering in the Canadian Arctic was relatively trouble free as he established long-held records in the early 19th century of furthest west in the Northwest Passage the furthest north, lacked the ability to promote himself. Being a good soldier in service of his country was quite enough for him. He was no Robert Scott who, along with his companions died a The South Pole: The Norwegian Expedition in The Fram death on their return as runners-up in the race to the South Pole. Nor was Amundsen, whose successful expedition to conquer the Northwest Passage while spending two winters beset by ice as he learned how to live successfully in polar regions learning from his Inuit hosts, as his expedition accomplished the first-ever navigation of the Northwest Passage. As Roland Huntford made clear in his brilliant comparative biographymuch of Scott's mystique is built on propagandistic editing of his story and, ironically, rests in large part on the fact that Amundsen, the winner, made it 1910-1912 too easy, an unforgivable sin for Edwardians who wanted to believe a heroic story, regardless if it is was honest and truthful. Roald Amundsen was my childhood hero. Imagine my surprise when I realized that his narrative was endearingly charming, witty, and self- deprecatingly humble. Frederick Cook and Robert Peary each claimed to have reached it respectively in and Peary got the credit for attaining the pole and Amundsen and the rest of the world accepted his claim. In private and shared only with his brother, Amundsen made other plans. As he put together a crew and provisions for a multi-year wintering Arctic expedition, his real intention was to be the first to the south pole. Scott and the Royal Geographic Society felt the pole belonged to them, having tried once and using the route Shackleton has pioneered in his unsuccessful quest before setting the record for furthest south. The plan was to round Cape Horn and enter the Arctic through the Bering Straits as the public remained fooled. He did not inform his crew—not one decided to leave the ship—until they were to depart from the last port of call in Madeira before sailing away from civilization around the Cape of Good Hope. Letters were left behind with his brother informing the world of the change of plans, infuriating Scott and his allies and inspiring the whole of Norway. Amundsen prepared with incredible foresight, putting together his crew carefully, each with a particular purpose and personality that would meld into a team. He had veterans from his Northwest Passage expedition who understood how to care The South Pole: The Norwegian Expedition in The Fram and drive dogs, expert sledge makers—one of whom eliminated more than 50 pounds per sledge without compromising their strength, cooks, navigators and scientists. The yells one heard while the operation was in progress seemed to indicate that it was not entirely painless. He had a shelter made, put together while still in Norway, and then taken apart, with each piece numbered, that would serve as the base on The South Pole: The Norwegian Expedition in The Fram Barrier for the nine of the shore party. In The South Pole: The Norwegian Expedition in The Fram to the dogs and sledges, the most important equipment was a relatively new Norwegian invention, skis, or as the plural was used then, ski. But Amundsen was not perfect, as he finally admitted in his trek south. After establishing their home base north of the Bay of Whales, Framheim, the Fram departed for the winter to conduct studies on South Atlantic currents, leaving behind Amundsen and the four who would accompany him to the pole, three who would explore the eastern edge of Barrier where it met 1910-1912 Edward VII Land at the same time of the pole trek, and one cook. Before winter, all energies were focused refining equipment and killing as many seals and penguins they would need for food to supplement their supplies. Additionally, much work was done to lay out black flags and other markers at intervals on each side of each depot with directions attached to them. These would be important should the expedition miss the depots in storms. This was an innovation unknown to British expeditions, who relied on memory and dumb luck or The South Pole: The Norwegian Expedition in The Fram thereof to hope to find large white mounds on an endless white plain. The planning journeys were also practice runs for the dogs and ski. Other than the survival of his men, everything related to the expedition had a tactical, unsentimental, utilitarian purpose. The dogs were arguably the best example of this mindset. On the one hand, he and his men were devoted to their care, gave each one a name, and were very observant about their habits, temperament and care. A part of the plan was to kill and butcher many of the dogs once they reached the plateau. Otherwise they would have had too many dogs for the final push and the journey back to Framheim. Fresh meat also meant there would be fresh food for men and the remaining dogs—who would eat every part of their former comrades, teeth included—alike to stave off scurvy. If a man, he would have ended up in penal servitude. No other moment of the whole trip affected me like this. In it was a letter and some supplies for his rivals. The journey back was relatively uneventful. They had prepared so well that they even left large caches of supplies behind. Not one life had been lost, not one story of extreme privation where their lives were held in the balance. Making it look too easy earned them everlasting respect and admiration from those who knew how demanding, grueling and unpredictable the polar regions are. And it earned them never-ending enmity from those The South Pole: The Norwegian Expedition in The Fram preferred heroic deaths, regardless of lack of planning, impulsive decision-making and poor leadership. A nice touch of class on their part! View 2 comments. Mar 22, Louisa rated it really The South Pole: The Norwegian Expedition in The Fram it Shelves: non-fictionhistoryexploration. Roald Amundsen's account of the expedition to the geographic South Pole is a fascinating read.