Who First Explored Antarctica?
In 1912 while traveling back from the South Pole, Captain Robert Falcon Scott suffered a tragic death. Both he and those traveling with him were afflicted with intense cold and starvation, causing their deaths. Despite Scott’s disappointment at losing the race to the south pole his courage in the face of his end raised him to the status of a national hero.
Nearly a century later, modern scientists continue to work towards a better understanding of the fierce conditions in Antarctica. Winter air temperatures could reach minus 90 degrees Celsius.
Winds traveled about 67 kilometers per hour. Scott most likely faced these conditions but he was not educated in the extent of the dangers.
Scott worked as a scientist in the Polar Regions, and the letters that he had written to his wife are filled with his overwhelming sense of seclusion. Even today, with the most up-to-date communications equipment, scientists working at the pole often note the same sense of utter isolation. When Scott died, he left behind his wife and young son.
The letters he wrote to his wife were discovered when his body was found months after he died. The camp with his equipment was eleven miles away. Scott’s wife learned of his demise in New Zealand, where she waited for his triumphant return.
Researchers throughout history have learned a great deal from Scott’s letters. At the trip’s onset, he spoke of the pleasure derived from a fine meal and his appreciation of his body’s ability to endure the conditions. Scott made little note of the extreme cold, saying only that the hot meals helped fend off the loss of body heat.
However, as time went on, and food became short in supply, Scott’s mental outlook changed as well. His letters speak of unrelenting, brutal cold.
The men rationed their food and allowed themselves one hot meal followed by two days of cold meals. They had only a little food to survive during their last 11 miles.
Scott was an icon of the great age of exploration, but his journey was twice cursed. First, the race to the South Pole was lost to a Norwegian named Roald Amundsmen. Amundsmen arrived on December 21, 1911, beating out Scott, who arrived on January 18, 1912, by nearly one month.
Scott had already become a true hero in his country before making his last journey due to a previous attempt at the South Pole from 1902-1904. Nearing the end of the 1912 expedition, along with Lt.
Henry Bowers and Dr. Edward Wilson, he fought for survival until the very end. Two others, Petty Officer Edgar Evans and Captain Lawrence Oats, had already died.
With just twenty miles until the next depot, the expedition stowed their provisions. They had quickly run out of food and supplies. Scott told his wife to find another husband if he should perish because of the bitterly cold temperatures and insufficient shelter.
In his parting letters he expressed that he did not regret the expedition that ultimately ended his life. He went so far as to say that it was an improvement to just sitting around at home all day. Many generations of British youths have been inspired by Scott’s courage and determination.
Captain Scott’s expedition finished second to Roald Amundsmen in the race to the South Pole, arriving several weeks after Amundsmen. He is said to have died on March 29, 1912. In 1913 his journal and letters were published in a book titled Scott’s Last Expedition.
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