ROALD E. AMUNDSEN: EXPEDITION TO THE BOTH POLES

Roald Amundsen

Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (16 July 1872–18 June 1928) was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He led the Antarctic expedition of 1910–12 which was the first to reach the South Pole, on 14 December 1911. In 1926, he was the first expedition leader for the air expedition to the North Pole.

Amundsen is recognized as the first person, without dispute, to reach both poles. He is also known as having the first expedition to traverse the Northwest Passage (1903–06) in the Arctic.

Amundsen joined the Belgian Antarctic Expedition (1897–99) as first mate. This expedition, led by Adrien de Gerlache using the ship the RV Belgica, became the first expedition to winter in Antarctica. The Belgica, whether by mistake or design, became locked in the sea ice at 70°30′S off Alexander Island, west of the Antarctic Peninsula. 

More information: Nansen Amunsen

Amundsen next planned to take an expedition to the North Pole and explore the Arctic Basin. Finding it difficult to raise funds, when he heard in 1909 that the Americans Frederick Cook and Robert Peary had claimed to reach the North Pole as a result of two different expeditions, he decided to reroute to Antarctica. 

Roald Amundsen

Amundsen left Oslo for the south on 3 June 1910. Nearly six months later, the expedition arrived at the eastern edge of the Ross Ice Shelf , then known as the Great Ice Barrier, at a large inlet called the Bay of Whales, on 14 January 1911. 

Amundsen established his base camp there, calling it Framheim. Amundsen eschewed the heavy wool clothing worn on earlier Antarctic attempts in favour of adopting Inuit-style furred skins.

Using skis and dog sleds for transportation, Amundsen and his men created supply depots at 80°, 81° and 82° South on the Barrier, along a line directly south to the Pole. The painful retreat caused a quarrel within the group, and Amundsen sent Johansen and the other two men to explore King Edward VII Land.

More information: Oceanwide Expeditions

A second attempt, with a team made up of Olav Bjaaland, Helmer Hanssen, Sverre Hassel, Oscar Wisting, and Amundsen, departed base camp on 19 October 1911. They arrived at the edge of the Polar Plateau on 21 November after a four-day climb. 

Roald Amundsen in the Antarctic Peninsula

On 14 December 1911, the team arrived at the Pole (90° 0′ S). Amundsen named their South Pole camp Polheim, meaning Home on the Pole. Amundsen renamed the Antarctic Plateau as King Haakon VII’s Plateau. They left a small tent and letter stating their accomplishment, in case they did not return safely to Framheim.

Amundsen's expedition benefited from his careful preparation, good equipment, appropriate clothing, a simple primary task, an understanding of dogs and their handling, and the effective use of skis. 

More information: Tom Crean Discovery

Amundsen wrote about the expedition in The South Pole: An Account of the Norwegian Antarctic Expedition in the 'Fram,' 1910–12 (1912).

Amundsen disappeared with five crew on 18 June 1928 while flying on a rescue mission in the Arctic. They were seeking missing members of Nobile's crew, whose new airship Italia had crashed while returning from the North Pole. 

With the Norwegian flag in the South Pole, 1911

Afterward, a wing-float and bottom gasoline tank from Amundsen's French Latham 47 flying boat, which had been adapted as a replacement wing-float, were found near the Tromsø coast. It is believed that the plane crashed in fog in the Barents Sea, and that Amundsen and his crew were killed in the crash, or died shortly afterward. 

The search for Amundsen and team was called off in September 1928 by the Norwegian Government and the bodies were never found. 

More information: The Guardian

We must always remember with gratitude and admiration the first sailors who steered their vessels through storms and mists, and increased our knowledge of the lands of ice in the South. 

Roald Amundsen