Flaws in the Ice: In Pursuit of the South Pole
Abstract
There were three notable attempts by the British to reach the South Pole, one led by Ernest Shackleton (1874-1922) and two led by Robert Falcon Scott (1868-1912), but it was Norwegian Roald Amundsen (1872-1928) who reached the Pole first on 14 December 1911. Scott and his team reached the Pole a month later 17 January 1912, but tragically died on the return journey. The attainment of the Pole came down to profoundly different planning, execution, and outcomes. Amundsen was a superb tactician and with good food and reliable transport his success was assured.
References
Amundsen, Roald. The South Pole: An Account of the Norwegian Antarctic Expedition in the Fram 1910-1912. Translated by A. G. Chater. Edinburgh: Birlinn, 2002.
_____. The Roald Amundsen Diaries: The South Pole Expedition 1910-1912. Oslo: The Fram
Museum, 2010.
Berton, Pierre: The Arctic Grail: The Quest for the Northwest Passage and the North Pole, 1818-1909. New York: Viking Penguin, 1988.
Cadler, Ian, and Jan Till. “Shackleton’s Heart.” Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine,
109 (2016): 106-108.
Cherry-Garrard, Apsley. The Worst Journey in the World: Antarctic 1910-13. New York: Dover Publications, 2010.
Cook, Frederick. Through the First Antarctic Night 1898-1899. New York: Doubleday & McClure,1900.
Crane, David. Scott of the Antarctic: A life of Courage and Tragedy. New York: Vintage Books, 2005.
Coulson, Joseph. “Scott’s Antarctic Diet: Stewed Penguin and Champagne.” BBC News.
29 March 2012. 28 Feb. 2023.
Christian, Harrison. Terra Nova. Sydney: Ultimo Press, 2024.
Debenham, Frank. The Quiet Land: The Diaries of Frank Debenham: Member of the British Antarctic Expedition 1910-1913. Huntingdon: Bluntisham Books, 1992.
Evans, Admiral Sir Edward R.G.R. South with Scott. London: Collins, 1938.
Feeney, Robert. Polar Journeys: The Role of Food and Nutrition in Early Exploration. Washington, D.C., & Fairbanks: American Chemical Society, U of Alaska P, 1997.
Gran, Tryggve. The Norwegian with Scott: Tryggve Gran’s Antarctic Diary, 1910-1913. Oslo: National Maritime Museum, 1984.
Griffiths, Tom. Slicing the Silence: Voyaging to Antarctica. Sydney: U of New South Wales P, 2007.
Huntford, Roland. Scott and Amundsen. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1979.
_____. Race for the South Pole: The Expedition Diaries of Scott and Amundsen New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2010.
Jones, Aubrey A. Scott’s Forgotten Surgeon: Dr Reginald Koettlitz, Polar Explorer. Scotland: Whittles Publishing, 2011.
Larson, Edward. An Empire of Ice: Scott, Shackleton, and the Heroic Age of Antarctic Science. New Haven: Yale UP, 2011.
Norum, Kaare, and Hans Grav. “Axel Holst, and Theodor Frolich: Pioneers in the Combat of Scurvy.” Journal of the Norwegian Medical Association. 30 June 2002. 28 Feb. 2003.
Preston, Diana. A First-Rate Tragedy: Robert Falcon Scott and the Race to the South Pole. New York: Mariner Books, 1999.
Pyne , Stephen J. The Ice. London: Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 2003.
Rubin, Jeff. “Train Oil and Snotters: Eating Antarctic Wild Foods,” Gastronomica, The Journal of Food and Culture 3.1 (Winter 2003): 37-50.
Scott, Robert Falcon. Scott’s Last Expedition: The Journals. New York: Carroll & Graf, `
1996.
_____. The Voyage of the ‘Discovery’. Hertfordshire: Wordsworth, 2009.
Shackleton, Ernest. The Heart of the Antarctic: Being the Story of the British Antarctic Expedition 1907–1909. Skowhegan, Maine: Kellscraft Studio, 2018.
Smith, Michael. Shackleton: By Endurance We Conquer. London: Oneworld, 2015.
Solomon, Susan. The Coldest March: Scott’s Fatal Antarctic Expedition. Melbourne: Melbourne UP, 2001.
Stroud, Mike. Shadows in the Wasteland: Crossing Antarctica with Ranulph Fiennes. London: Jonathan Cape, 1993.
Turney, Chris. 1912: The Year the World Discovered Antarctica. Melbourne: Text Publishing, 2012.
_____. “Why didn’t they ask Evans?” Polar Record 53. 5 (2017): 498–511.
Wilson, Edward. “The Medical Aspects of the ‘Discovery’ Voyage.” The British Medical Journal (8 July 1905): 77-80.
_____. Diary of the Discovery Expedition to the Antarctic Regions 1901-1904. London: Blandford P, 1966.
_____. Diary of the “Terra Nova” Expedition to the Antarctic, 1910-1912: An Account of Scott’s Last Expedition. London: Blandford P, 1972.