Typical Loose Pack—Mt Melbourne in distance
The start was made on October 5th, and twelve days later, after landing at Cape Bernacchi, the Union Jack was hoisted and Victoria Land taken possession of for the British Empire. Progress was very slow, only about four miles a day being covered by relay work. The Drygalski Glacier, however, was reached in the beginning of December, whence the party turned inland, and on January 16th the mean position for the magnetic pole, as calculated by Mawson, was reached in Lat. 72° 25′ S., Long. 155° 16′ E. The return was made to the depôt left by them on the Drygalski Glacier, and this was attained on February 3rd after desperately hard work and many narrow escapes from falling into crevasses. Next day they were picked up by the Nimrod, having brought their work to a successful termination. The remaining parties were then picked up and the Nimrod arrived safely in Lyttelton on March 25th.
CHAPTER LXI
AMUNDSEN’S JOURNEY TO THE SOUTH POLE
Shackleton’s attempt to reach the South Pole was soon followed by another and more successful one. The Norwegian, Amundsen, whose conquest of the North-west Passage had fascinated him with Arctic work, had formed a project of drifting across the North Pole after the manner of Nansen. Funds for such an expensive expedition, however, were difficult to obtain, and it was while awaiting events that the idea occurred to him of making a bid for fame and the South Pole together, the latter goal requiring less time and hence less expense. But the affair was kept secret, and when on August 9th, 1910, the Fram left Norway under Roald Amundsen with 110 dogs and 18 men, she left for an unknown destination. Reaching Madeira on the 5th September this was announced to be the South Pole.
There were several points of difference between the Norwegian expedition and those led by Scott and Shackleton. The first, and perhaps the most important, was that dogs were to form the motive power, instead of men as in Scott’s, or men plus ponies as in Shackleton’s journey. All the Norwegians had been practised ski-runners from childhood, but the English were very indifferent performers in this respect. The English always used woollen clothing, the Norwegians only wore it in moderate temperatures, invariably using fur for the extreme cold. It was not a teetotal expedition, though alcohol was apparently only served out about twice a week. The aim was to make seal meat as much as possible the basis of their rations, and whether owing to this or not the fact remains that there was not a single case of scurvy throughout.
On January 2nd, 1911, the Antarctic Circle was crossed, and a few hours later the pack was sighted. Fortune favoured them and they got through it with great rapidity—“a four days’ pleasure-trip,” Amundsen called it. They were no less favoured in finding Ross Sea free from icebergs, and on January 11th they reached the Great Barrier and altered course due east for the Bay of Whales, their destination, which they reached on the following day. Their hut was in 78° 40′ S. and 164° W., three miles from the edge of the Barrier, and 150 ft. above the sea. Great herds of seals were found here—Weddell’s seals and “crab-eaters”—but at that time not many penguins. The crew were now divided into two parties. It had been decided to despatch the Fram on an oceanographical cruise while the Polar journey was attempted, and with her went ten men under Capt. Nilsen. The party to be left on shore consisted of eight. Without loss of time the hut, “Framheim,” which had been brought out in pieces, was erected, and the party set to work to shoot and store seals, of which they soon had a pile of 100 or more. On February 4th Capt. Scott’s ship, the Terra Nova, entered the bay on its way from M’Murdo Sound.
On February 10th the first expedition for the placing of depôts started; it consisted of four men and three sledges, each drawn by six dogs, and left a depôt in Lat. 80° S., a distance of 93 miles, which took them 4½ days. They drove back in two days, running no less than 62 miles in one day. On February 22nd the second depôt expedition started, consisting of eight men, seven sledges, and 42 dogs. They passed the depôt in 80° S., and reached 81° S. on March 3rd, where they left a depôt of 1234 lb. of dogs’ pemmican, and three men returned. They flagged their depôts for a distance of 5½ miles at right angles on each side, the flags being about 1000 yards apart, so that they should be sure of not missing them. The weather was very cold for the season, -49° Fahr. Five days later, March 8th, Lat. 82° S. was attained, and 1370 lb. of pemmican placed in depôt. But the dogs had suffered greatly and they could not get farther. They got back to the base March 21st, having lost 8 dogs altogether. On March 31st the third depôt party left for Lat. 82° S., returning April 11th, and by the time winter arrived they had a total of 3 tons of supplies in their depôts.
Anxious to lose no time, they started for their attempt on the Pole on September 8th, but it was soon evident that it was far too early, the temperature being -60° Fahr. or thereabouts, and the party returned after reaching the first depôt in 80° S. and leaving further stores there.
At length, on October 19th, 1911, the final start was made—five men, Amundsen, Bjaaland, Wisting, Hassel, and Hanssen, with four sledges, each with 13 dogs. Under favourable conditions the pace attained was very fast, and 4½ miles per hour was covered with the greatest ease. They now began the system of putting up beacons of snow, 6 ft. high, each of which was numbered and gave the distance and direction of the next one to the north. They were put up about every 13th or 15th kilometre, and 150 of them were erected. After 81° S. they were put up every 9 kilometres. The final depôt at 82° S. was reached and left on November 6th, and the latitude of 83° on November 8th, and here provisions for 5 men and 12 dogs for four days were left.
On November 10th they approached the great mountain chain, the mighty peaks of which rose to heights of 15,000 ft., and on the 12th made their depôt in Lat. 84° S. leaving provisions for 5 men and 12 dogs for five days, as well as matches and about 4 gallons of paraffin. Three days later they were in 85° S. It was from here that they decided to make their dash for the Pole—a distance there and back of 683 English miles—and it was resolved to take 60 days’ provisions on the sledges, leaving the remainder, 30 days, in depôt. The weather was very fine, and in this respect they were peculiarly fortunate. On the 17th they began their passage through the mountain range and found it easier than they had expected. The dogs were in admirable condition, and nearing 86° S. they found the heat positively disagreeable, and “sweated as if they were running races in the tropics.” Twenty-four dogs were killed for food on reaching the divide, and a rest of five days taken, partly owing to a blizzard. Great difficulties now beset them on the glacier on the farther side, and one day only 2½ miles were covered. In Lat. 87°, however, things improved, and December 4th and following days they progressed at the rate of some 25 miles a day. On the 6th they passed Lat. 88° S., and were at an altitude of a little over 11,000 ft. A meridian altitude was obtained in 88° 16′ S. on December 7th, and a little later Shackleton’s record of 88° 23′ was beaten. Two miles farther they camped and left 220 lb. of stores. They were suffering greatly from frost sores on the face and shortness of breath. On the 14th December, 1911, the Pole was reached without further adventure. After a series of observations the return journey was begun on the 17th. On January 6th they reached the Barrier and met with much snow and a temperature of 17° Fahr. The remaining dogs were in very good condition, and 34 miles were made one day. On January 25th, 1912, they were all safely back at “Framheim” with eleven dogs. The journey of 1860 miles had taken 99 days. It was a miracle of forethought and organisation, the success of which was greatly aided by remarkably favourable weather conditions, and no doubt also by the fact that the explorers were all practised ski-runners. All returned in perfect health.