Who reached the first South Pole? The Amundsen feat

The discoverers of the southern latitudes did not always leave the history of their names. A lot of expeditions are known only by the names of their leaders, leaving the names of the remaining participants in non-existence. Those who reached the first South Pole, fortunately, left their names. The brilliant expedition, which reached its cherished goal, was held in 1911.

Rual Amundsen. short biography

The great Norwegian, who reached the first South Pole, traveled unceasingly in the most difficult and sparsely populated corners of the Earth. He was born in 1872 in a family of seafarers. Even in his youth, a remarkable book by J. Franklin, a polar explorer, fell into the hands of the future researcher. Rual Amundsen was imbued with the idea of becoming a pioneer, so from childhood he prepared himself for the upcoming difficulties. He slept with open windows, even in the frigid cold, was extremely unpretentious in food and constantly coached his body. His mother wanted Rual to devote himself to medicine. He conscientiously studied books and attended classes. But immediately after her death, Amundsen abandoned the textbooks and began to prepare himself for polar travel.

First travels

On board his first ship, Rual Amundsen ascended to 22 years. Initially, he served as a cabin boy on a fishing vessel that traveled to the North Atlantic. In 1896, for the first time he was compelled to winter with his comrades in high latitudes. Wintering was sudden and unplanned, the sailors were forced to eat their own shoes in order to survive. After returning, he appreciated the importance of careful preparation for difficult conditions. Subsequently, Amundsen was able to pass an important exam and received a diploma of a sea captain.

The first own ship of the traveler was the sailing schooner "Joa". With a small crew, Amundsen passed through it from Greenland to Alaska, opening the Northwest Passage. Such a serious preparation for the conditions of navigation in the polar latitudes allowed him to ripen for new discoveries, among which was the South Pole of the Earth.

Expedition

In 1910, with the support of the great F. Nansen R. Amundsen is preparing for a march to Antarctica. For this purpose, a ship "Fram" was hired, which was supposed to land travelers in Antarctica. A carefully prepared expedition consisting of five people, 52 dogs and four sledges, set out on a journey. October 19, 1911 travelers landed on the Ross shelf and went deep into the ice continent.

At first the expedition walked for a long time along the wide icy wasteland. After crossing the 85th parallel, the relief of the terrain changed - the road was blocked by high icy cliffs. At the foot of the rocks travelers made a small cache of food. The remaining provisions Amundsen took with him, calculating that the South Geographic Pole is within reach, and the way to and from it should take no more than 60 days.

By the middle of the planned time, the travelers reached a large glacier, which was named after Axel Heyberg, the sponsor of the expedition, who believed in Amundsen's victory and provided considerable money to cover the expenses. Later on, the names of other people, acquaintances and relatives were put on the map. So on the map of Antarctica appeared glacier Liv, named after the daughter of F. Nansen.

Get there

In the middle of summer the travelers reached the line, beyond which not a single polar expedition had visited. The extreme point of the cold continent, discovered by Shackleton, did not reach the geographic mark of the pole only 180 km. After the last leg of the journey, the expedition reached the coveted point, in which all the meridians of the Earth crossed. The name of everyone who reached the first South Pole remains forever connected with the cold southern continent. These are Roal Amundsen, Oscar Wisting, Sverre Hassel, Helmer Hansen and Olaf Bieland.

Their stay at the southernmost point of the world travelers marked the Norwegian flag and a pennant from the ship "Fram". Not far from the flag was installed a tent, in which Amundsen left the message to his rival - Scott. Fixing his stay at the South Pole, the expedition moved on its way back.

The whole trip took 99 days. Those who reached the first South Pole were greeted at first on the ship "Fram", and then - in the small town of Hobard, located in Tasmania. From there to the newspapers of the world came the message that the southernmost point of the earth was conquered. But for Ruul Amundsen the journey did not stop ...