Roald Amundsen is the greatest Norwegian polar explorer who forever left his name in history.
Amundsen - (07/16/1872 - 06/18/1928) - one of the most famous navigators in Norway. Amundsen Roald Engelbregt Gravning is a famous traveler. Roald Amundsen is also known as an explorer of the polar lands.
Roald Amundsen is the first person to reach the South Pole (December 14, 1911). The first explorer to make a sea crossing through both the North-Eastern (along the coast of Siberia) and the North-Western sea route (along the straits of the Canadian archipelago).
From bbiographies of Roald Amundsen:
Roald was born in 1872 in southeastern Norway (Borge, near Sarpsborg) into a family of hereditary sailors and shipbuilders. Roual was born the youngest, fourth son in the family. His parents had their own plans for their youngest child, deciding not to introduce him to the family craft.
The boy grew up surrounded by brothers and neighbors, spending a lot of time playing near his parents' house. The family devoted a lot of effort to sports - exercise machines and horizontal bars were built. In winter they were replaced by puddles.
At school, Rual was a mediocre student, but even then many noted his perseverance and stubbornness.
Since childhood, his hobby was reading books about travel to distant countries. At the same time, he read almost all the publications about travel to the Arctic Circle that he managed to get his hands on.
When Rual was 14 years old, his father died and the family moved to Christiania (since 1924 - Oslo). His mother and children moved closer to the royal court. His mother diligently predicted a place for Rual in the intellectual elite of society, sending him to the Faculty of Medicine after high school.
At the age of 15, he came across D. Franklin’s book about an expedition in the Atlantic Ocean, which determined his entire subsequent life. The young man’s entire youth was devoted to serious preparation for the future expedition. Secretly from his mother, Amundsen began to prepare for expeditions in his early years: he hardened himself, did physical exercises, and also played football, believing that this game helped strengthen his leg muscles. The future polar explorer accustomed himself to cold temperatures. He knew that medicine was not his life's work.
Roald Amundsen in childhood
Rual, at the insistence of his mother, entered the medical faculty of the university, but when he was 21 years old, his mother died, and Rual immediately left the university. He later wrote: “With inexpressible relief, I left the university to devote myself wholeheartedly to the only dream of my life.”
When Amundsen had just entered the medical faculty in Oslo, he devoted most of his time to studying foreign languages, being sure that their knowledge was necessary for travel. What Roald Amundsen subsequently discovered in geography was largely due to his long years of preparation throughout his youth.
From a young age, he dreamed of conquering the cold lands of the planet. After reading a book about the famous traveler, he began to prepare himself for the hardships that could be encountered along the way. Since adolescence, Amundsen tested himself with diets and exhausting physical activity. Rual even took a job on a fishing ship to hone his navigator skills. However, during one of the training trips, Rual miraculously managed to escape death. After the food ran out, he and his brother, disorientated, wandered along the plateau not far from home. Rual's brother miraculously managed to find his way home.
In 1893, the future traveler Roald Amundsen met the Norwegian explorer Astrup, and did not even consider any other fate than to be a polar explorer. He literally became obsessed with the idea of conquering the poles.
In 1896, Roual's first voyage took place. He joined an expedition on the ship Belgica under the command of the Belgian polar explorer Adrien de Gerlache. On the same team with him was the famous traveler Frederick Cook, who 10 years later would fight with Robert Peary for the right to be the discoverer of the North Pole. The ship was unable to pass through the ice, and the entire crew had an unplanned winter stay without provisions or warm clothing. They made ammunition from warm blankets and ate penguins and seals. After the captain's illness, Roald took command and led the ship out of the ice.
After returning, Roald immediately began to prepare for his own campaign. There was not enough funding, so preparations were constantly in jeopardy. He studies the basics of geophysics, in 1901 he buys a used 47-ton motor-sailing yacht “Gjoa”, “the same age” as Amundsen himself (built in 1872), refits it and sets off on an Arctic expedition. The schooner was equipped with a 13 hp diesel engine. With.
In 1903 the long journey began. In it, Roald Amundsen is the head of the expedition, glaciologist, specialist in terrestrial magnetism, ethnographer. He set sail through the Northwest Passage. A lot happened in two years - the search and discovery of the magnetic pole, meeting the Eskimos, all the team members quarreling among themselves, traveling on dogs in the bitter cold. All this did not frighten Rual and he decided to stay for the winter for the third year.
In 1906, the journey ended in San Francisco, and the Northwest Passage was discovered and crossed. After returning to Europe, Roald gave lectures and made a report for the Royal Geographical Society of England. He finally managed to pay off his debts, albeit with the help of the new Norwegian government.
While Amundsen was preparing to conquer the North Pole, he was already conquered. They decided to conquer the South. Again, in conditions of a severe shortage of money, the researcher is preparing the departure of the ship Fram. His rival, Briton Scott, also hopes to be the first to place the British flag on the pole.
Gradually the rivalry grew, the methods of reaching the pole were different. Rual took with him a hundred sled dogs and a collapsible house for the winter. Wintering took place in 1911 and lasted 4 months. At this time, food was being stocked and the sleigh was being prepared.
In October 1911, four sleds and fifty dogs, led by 5 people, set off to conquer the Pole. Two months later it was achieved at the cost of incredible efforts. On January 13, 1911, Amundsen sailed to the Ross Ice Barrier in Antarctica. At the same time, Robert Scott's English expedition set up camp in McMurdo Sound, 650 kilometers from Amundsen.
The pole was carefully marked and a message was left in the tent for Scott. The team returned to base twice as fast. The team, as best it could, urgently sent telegrams about the conquest of the pole to the king of Norway, as well as Nansen and Amundsen’s brother.
Rual remained in Argentina to describe his adventures and systematize the information. Afterwards, ceremonial receptions took place in honor of the traveler in the capitals of Europe. Then a commemoration took place in America when news of Scott's death arrived. This news further increased public interest in Rual; he managed to earn much more than planned.
With this money he bought an airplane, because he believed that future expeditions would not be possible without aircraft. After the outbreak of World War II, Roald began preparing his new expedition, since he did not participate in hostilities due to Norway’s neutrality.
The expedition of the Maud ship in 1918 was not very successful - the crew constantly clashed, some of the sailors left the ship, money and provisions ran out, Roald himself suffered carbon monoxide poisoning and broke his arm. This was followed by an attempt at air travel, crossing the Arctic on an airship.
After all the trials in the late 20s, everyone around them began to note the inadequacy of Rual. Although he continued to perform in Japan and Russia, he wrote memoirs. He considered his mission as a researcher completed.
Amundsen spent his last years at his home in Bunnafjord, near Oslo. His life was called Spartan. He sold all the orders and openly quarreled with many former comrades. Fridtjof Nansen wrote to one of his friends in 1927: “I have the impression that Amundsen has completely lost his mental balance and is not fully responsible for his actions.”
Relations with Umberto Nobile also went poorly, whom Rual called “an arrogant, childish, selfish upstart,” “a ridiculous officer,” “a man of a wild, semi-tropical race.” But Roald Amundsen died trying to save the expedition of the Italian Umberto Nobile in the Barents Sea area.
Nobile became a general under Mussolini. On May 23, 1928, he decided to repeat the flight to the North Pole. Starting from Spitsbergen, he reached the Pole, but on the way back, due to icing, the airship crashed, the members of the expedition were thrown onto drifting ice, and radio contact with them was interrupted.
At the request of the Norwegian Minister of War, Amundsen joined the many rescuers who went in search of Nobile. On June 18, 1928, he took off on a seaplane Latham 47 with a French crew from the city of Tromsø in northern Norway and headed for Spitsbergen. When the plane was over the Barents Sea, the radio operator reported that the flight was in dense fog and requested a radio bearing, after which the connection was lost. The next day it became obvious that Latham 47 was missing. Long searches yielded no results. The last message received from Amundsen was information that they were over Bear Island.
The commission found that the plane crashed, resulting in the tragic death of the crew. The exact circumstances of Amundsen's death are unknown. The crashed plane was never found. It was only a few months later that the seaplane's float and dented gas tank were discovered.
Umberto Nobile and his seven other surviving companions were discovered five days after the death of Roald Amundsen.
Brief chronology of the travels of the great navigator:
1. From 1894 to 1899 he sailed as a sailor and navigator on various ships.
2. Starting in 1903, Amundsen made a number of expeditions that became widely known.
3. First passed (1903-1906) on a small fishing vessel “Yoa” through the Northwest Passage from East to West from Greenland to Alaska.
4. On the ship "Fram" went to Antarctica; landed in Whale Bay and on December 14, 1911, reached the South Pole on dogs, a month ahead of the English expedition of R. Scott.
5. In the summer of 1918, the expedition left Norway on the ship Maud and in 1920 reached the Bering Strait.
6. In 1926, he led the 1st trans-Arctic flight on the airship “Norway” along the route: Spitsbergen - North Pole - Alaska.
7. In 1928, during an attempt to find the Italian expedition of Umberto Nobile, which crashed in the Arctic Ocean on the airship Italia, and to provide assistance to it, Amundsen, who flew on June 18 on the Latham seaplane, died in the Barents Sea.
40 interesting facts from the life of the great traveler Roald Amundsen:
1.Roald Amundsen was a man of great destiny. He will forever remain in people's memory as a true conqueror of Antarctica.
2. The main achievements of Roald Amundsen: he was the first person to reach the South Pole and visited both poles of the Earth.
3. The South Pole is not the only thing that Roald Amundsen discovered.
4. He was the first to make the passage in 1903-1906 from Greenland to Alaska via the Northwest Passage on the small ship Gjoa. It was a risky undertaking in many ways, but Amundsen did a lot of preparation, which explains his subsequent success.
5. Amundsen never married, but adopted two Chukchi girls.
6. In 1918-1920, on the ship “Maud” it passes along the northern shores of Eurasia.
7. To one Italian journalist, who asked what fascinated him so much in the polar regions, Amundsen replied: “Oh, if you ever had a chance to see with your own eyes how wonderful it is there, I would like to die there.”
8.People nicknamed him the Last Viking, and he fully justified this nickname.
10. When Roald decided to enter the race to conquer the North Pole, he had serious rivals - Nansen with the only ship at that time for drifting in the ice, the Americans Cook, Peary, Shackleton.
11. Roual managed to get Nansen’s ship, since he was in the thick of internal family disputes and preferred his family to a new journey.
12. Rual modernized the ship and began to seek funds to prepare the expedition. He managed to earn money by lecturing in the USA and received a subsidy from the Norwegian government.
13. Why did Roald Amundsen manage to get ahead of Robert Scott in the discovery of the South Pole? Scott made his main bet on the use of technology - motor sleighs. Amundsen, using the experience of the Norwegians, took with him a large team of dogs for sledding. In addition, Amundsen's team consisted of excellent skiers, and Scott's crew members did not pay enough attention to ski training.
14. Robert Scott's expedition set out in November 1911 and reached the South Pole on January 18, 1912, but died on the way back. The cause of death was gross miscalculations in the organization of the expedition, in particular, the selection of equipment and food.
15. In February 1913, Amundsen wrote: “I would sacrifice fame, absolutely everything, to bring him back to life... My triumph is overshadowed by the thought of his tragedy, it haunts me.”
16.Despite the rigidity of his character, Roald was a fairly fair person, and first of all, he demanded from himself discipline, accountability and complete dedication to the work. The press often published unflattering reviews about him, portraying the polar explorer as quarrelsome and meticulous. But who can judge the winner, given that it was his team that survived in full force, without deaths?
17. Amundsen’s main discovery was preceded by many tests. After the death of his mother, Amundsen decided to become a long-distance navigator. However, in order to successfully pass the exams, it was necessary to work for at least three years as a sailor on a schooner.
18.The future polar explorer sets off for the shores of Spitsbergen on an industrial ship. He then transfers to another ship and sets off for the Canadian coast.
19. Before becoming a great traveler, Amundsen served as a sailor on several ships and visited many countries: Spain, Mexico, England and America.
20. In 1896, Amundsen passed the exams and received a diploma, which made him a long-distance navigator.
21. After graduating, Antarctica finally becomes the place to go.
22. In Antarctica, the main goal is to stay alive. The expedition, which was intended to study terrestrial magnetism, almost became the last for the entire crew. Severe blizzards, scorching frost and a long hungry winter - all this almost destroyed the team. They were saved only thanks to the energy of a brave traveler, who constantly hunted seals to feed the starving crew.
23. The transition to the South Pole lasted almost two months. All this time, the travelers walked in a strong storm wind and frost below -20 degrees. Along the way, they had to climb 1800 meters in height to overcome the mountains. In the mountains, in addition to the frost and winds, there was a lack of oxygen, which further complicated the already difficult road. But, nevertheless, having overcome all obstacles, on December 14, Amundsen and four of his comrades successfully reached the South Pole.
24. To accurately determine where the South Pole is, Amundsen had to measure the height of the sun for several days - he had to find a point where the height of the sun was the same all the time. At any other point except the pole, the sun either slightly approaches the horizon or moves away slightly due to the fact that the Earth rotates around its axis. And the pole is located exactly on the axis of rotation of the Earth, so the sun there remains at the same height during the day, moving during the day strictly parallel to the horizon - around the observer.
25.Finally, having made sure that the South Pole was found correctly, the expedition members planted a Norwegian flag on it (for reliability, they attached the flag to the tent) and set off on the return journey.
26. About a month later they were already at the base where they spent the winter. The round trip took 99 days. During this time, the travelers covered about 3,000 kilometers.
27. Amundsen passed through the North Atlantic, Baffin Bay, Lancaster, Barrow, Peel, Franklin, and James Ross straits and in early September stopped for the winter off the southeastern coast of King William Island. In the summer of 1904, the bay was not free of ice, and the Gjoa remained for a second winter.
28. On August 13, 1905, the ship continues sailing and practically completes the North-West Route, but still freezes into ice. Amundsen travels by dog sled to Eagle City, Alaska. He later recalled: “Upon my return, everyone put my age between 59 and 75, although I was only 33.”
29. On October 19, 1911, five people led by Amundsen set off to the South Pole on four dog sleds. On December 14, the expedition reached the South Pole, having traveled 1,500 km, and hoisted the flag of Norway.
30. Amundsen received an enthusiastic reception upon his return to Oslo. According to the Norwegian traveler, it was the happiest moment in his life.
31. A member of Amundsen’s expedition was biologist Alexander Stepanovich Kuchin, but at the beginning of 1912 he returned to Russia from Buenos Aires.
32. In July 1918, Amundsen set off on an expedition along the coast of Siberia (Northern Sea Route) on a specially built ship “Maud”.
33. On top of everything else, Roald Amundsen is a recognized pioneer of polar aviation. Subsequently, his passion for aviation cost him his life.
34. With the money of American millionaire Lincoln Ellsworth, Amundsen buys two large seaplanes and on May 21, 1925, departs from Spitsbergen to Alaska via the North Pole. Due to technical problems, the planes landed on ice 150 kilometers from the Pole. After repairs, the expedition was able to return to Spitsbergen. By that time she was already considered dead.
35. In 1926, he makes the first flight on the airship “Norway” across the North Pole.
36.Amundsen was awarded medals from many countries around the world.
37.He made many discoveries; geographical objects were named in his honor. The sea, the mountain, the American Amundsen-Scott research station in Antarctica, as well as a bay and basin in the Arctic Ocean, and a lunar crater are named in honor of the famous traveler.
38.Antarctica more than once showed man “his place,” until the fearless Norwegian, Roald Amundsen, appeared in front of it. He discovered that true courage and heroism can conquer ice and severe frosts.
39.Now, near the southernmost point of the planet, there is the Amundsen-Scott polar station, named after the two pioneers of the South Pole.
40. 100 years after Amundsen, several hundred polar travelers from different countries gathered in Antarctica to celebrate the anniversary. Most of them reached the polar station on skis, exactly repeating Amundsen's route (only some of the laggards had to be rescued by plane, otherwise they would not have been in time for the holiday). To celebrate the anniversary, even the Prime Minister of Norway flew to the South Pole.
(the shortest route from the Atlantic to the Pacific around the Arctic coasts of North America, 1903-1905) Amundsen’s goal was to conquer the North Pole.
His name, which became known far beyond Norway, quickly helped attract the necessary capital for the expedition. The explorer's plan was to reach the North Pole on a ship frozen in ice.
To carry out the trip, Amundsen used the Norwegian ship Fram, specially built for polar research. The ship was created for the expedition of polar explorer Fridtjof Nansen (1893-1896), and participated in the campaign of the Norwegian navigator Otto Sverdrup, who explored the Perry Archipelago off the coast of North America in 1898-1902.
However, Amundsen's plans were ruined when in April 1909 news arrived that the American Robert Peary had already reached the North Pole. Then Amundsen decided to conquer the South Pole. At the same time, it became known that the Englishman Robert Falcon Scott was also preparing for his second attempt to discover the South Pole. Amundsen, driven by his ambition to be the first, decided to get there before him, but the Norwegian polar explorer hid the purpose of the upcoming expedition. Four people knew about Amundsen's intention to go to Antarctica before the Fram sailed from Norway - his brother and three members of the expedition. The purpose of the expedition was not known to the Norwegian government either, since Amundsen feared a ban - Norway was economically and politically dependent on Great Britain. The world learned that Roald Amundsen was also preparing to make a leap to the South Pole only when the Fram reached the island of Madeira (near the Canary Islands). Amundsen's telegram reached Scott's expedition as he was leaving New Zealand.
Among the participants in Amundsen's expedition, which consisted mainly of Norwegians, there was one Russian - a native of the Arkhangelsk province, oceanographer Alexander Kuchin (1888-1912).
On December 14, 2011, 100 years after the conquest of the South Pole, Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg unveiled an ice bust monument to Roald Amundsen at the South Pole.
The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources
It has become the subject of very extensive discussions among professional polar explorers and historians of polar expeditions. This article discusses the main opinions and versions existing in the literature.
The main reasons for Scott's failure
- Weather during the 1911-1912 season. was abnormally cold. The cold summer and early winter did not allow the assault squad to escape.
- Relying on one's own strength as the basis for reaching the Pole: three quarters of the way people carried all the equipment on themselves. According to Sullivan, this factor was decisive in the failure of the polar race.
- Using ponies as the main auxiliary draft force. 9 out of 19 animals delivered to the Artarctic died before the start of the expedition. Their sensitivity to cold determined the later date of the start of the trip to the South Pole and the weight of equipment that could be stored in warehouses.
- Complexity of the transport system. Scott envisioned using ponies, motor sleds and dogs.
- The intermediate warehouse was supposed to be located at 80° S. Due to the fact that Lieutenant Evans had to carry all the equipment on himself, it was laid down 31 miles from the intended site. Scott's team died 18 km (11 miles) from the depot in March 1912.
- At the last moment, the pole team of 4 people was supplemented by a fifth (Henry Bowers), but the amount of provisions and other equipment was designed only for four.
- The diet was low in calories and did not contain vitamin C (it would not be discovered until 1928). Members of the Pole group fell ill with scurvy even before reaching the Pole.
- Kerosene cans became leaky and fuel leaked or evaporated. Because of this, Scott's team was limited in their ability to melt ice for drinking and cooking hot food during the last months of the campaign.
Terrain. Passability ratings
These factors are discussed in detail by V. S. Koryakin in the preface to the memoirs of E. Cherry-Garrard: 12-19.
The terrain along which Amundsen's and Scott's routes passed is similar. From their wintering bases, both groups walked along the Ross Ice Shelf, then along the glacial valleys of the Transantarctic Mountains and further along the plains of the Polar Plateau. Both teams relied on the experience of E. Shackleton's expedition of 1908-09 (the expedition did not reach the Pole 97 geographical miles or 180 km) and believed that the greatest difficulties would be crossing the mountains and climbing the plateau. The Ross Ice Shelf was the easiest part of the route.
Amundsen's distance from the base to the pole was 1381 km, and it took 56 days to complete it. The route along the ice shelf was 751 km (21 days), the ascent along the Axel Heiberg glacier - 221 km (18 days), the route along the polar plateau - 413 km (11 days).
Scott's team traveled 1,548 km (79 days from base to pole). The path along the ice shelf is 707 km (40 days), the ascent along the Beardmore Glacier is 304 km (13 days), the path along the polar plateau is 537 km (26 days): 12.
Weather. Travel schedule
The weather conditions accompanying the expeditions are more difficult to consider due to the discrepancy in the timing of the trips. Scott wrote in his diary that he encountered unexpectedly low temperatures at the end of the polar route. However, during wintering on the Discovery, temperatures below −40 °C were recorded already in March 1903. Amundsen sought to reduce his time in the field as much as possible, avoiding the adverse conditions that Scott faced.
V.S. Koryakin noted that the differences in the natural conditions on both polar routes were not so great as to explain the success of one researcher and the failure of another: 13. It is necessary to compare the routes of both teams to clarify many details. Amundsen's average speed on the way to the Pole was 24.6 km/day, Scott's was 19.5 km/day. This difference, accumulating, was of greater significance than the more southern position of Amundsen's original base:14.
Amundsen spent one and a half times less time returning to base than on the way to the Pole, so his average speed over the entire distance is 36 km/day. The reasons for this are obvious: there was no need for reconnaissance, traces were preserved (partially), and there were intermediate warehouses at every geographic degree of latitude. Scott's team speed was approximately constant on both legs.
When Scott's team climbed the Beardmore Glacier, despite the snowstorm of December 5-9, 1911 and the crevasse zones, its speed increased. This was due to the fact that after the horses were shot, packing up and breaking up the camp was simplified. The surface of the glacier did not create any serious obstacles: 15.
The pace of Amundsen's advance on the Axel Heiberg glacier, on the contrary, fell sharply, which was due to the need for reconnaissance, but increased on the polar plateau. Scott's speed on the polar plateau continuously decreased, which was obviously due to the loss of strength of the participants in the campaign. Scott's team averaged 27 km/day in December 1911, falling to 21 km/day at the end of the month and 19 km/day in the first week of 1912. These features were not reflected in Scott's diary:15.
On the way back from the Pole, the pace of Scott's team increased from 20 to 22 km/day. In January 1912, Amundsen introduced a new routine: a strict schedule of marches of 28 km with a six-hour rest. This pace was maintained until returning to base.
Signs of Scott's crew becoming dangerously exhausted appeared after three months of marching. Apparently, this is the deadline for safe operation in extreme conditions. Since the death of E. Evans, the average march of Scott's team did not exceed 5 km/day, and was often lower than: 16.
The same features were recorded by members of the auxiliary parties of the Scott expedition returning to the base at the end of the polar summer. Lieutenant Evans to 80° S. w. I was no longer able to move independently. In this situation, any accident could have fatal consequences. Scott's men were in a worse situation in March, being 240 km from the base in the onset of winter: 16-17.
Polar Race (table)
The table is based on Amundsen’s book “The South Pole” and the collection “Scott’s Last Expedition”.
| Events | Amundsen's Expedition | Scott's Expedition | Additionally |
|---|---|---|---|
| Announcement of expedition plans | November 10, 1908 | September 13, 1909 | Amundsen's official goal was a five-year drift in the Arctic Ocean with an attempt to reach the North Pole. No later than September 1909, in connection with the competing statements of Cook and Peary, he secretly decided to change his plans, which was announced to the public only September 9, 1910 |
| Departure of the expedition | June 3, 1910 | June 16, 1910 | Amundsen's expedition ship Fram departed from Christiania, Norway. Scott's expedition ship Terra Nova departed from Cardiff. |
| Arrival at the Ross Ice Shelf | January 14, 1911 | January 4, 1911 | Amundsen landed on a territory that was not even known, whether it was a glacier or an area of the mainland; his advance was also carried out through unknown territory Scott's route was explored by his predecessors to 88° 23" S. |
| Base camp | Framheim, Whale Bay, 78° 30" S. | Cape Evans, Ross Island, 77° 38" S. | |
| Transport system | The use of sled dogs as the main draft force, as well as as food for people and other dogs: out of 52 dogs at the start, only 11 returned. This subsequently caused protests from animal rights activists around the world. | The bet is on the muscular strength of the participants themselves for most of the route. Initial use of ponies, tractors and dogs to establish base camps. Use of ponies as food for people and dogs. | |
| Distance in a straight line from base camp to the South Pole | 1285 km | 1381 km | Amundsen's base was located 96 km closer to the pole |
| Start of the expedition | October 20, 1911 | November 1, 1911 |
Already at the start Amundsen was 11 days ahead of Scott |
| Reaching 80° S | October 23, 1911 | November 18, 1911 | 1117 km to the Pole, Amundsen is 26 days ahead of Scott |
| Reaching 81° S | October 31, 1911 | November 23, 1911 | 1005 km to the Pole, Amundsen is 23 days ahead of Scott |
| Reaching 82° S | November 5, 1911 | November 28, 1911 | 893 km to the Pole, Amundsen is 23 days ahead of Scott |
| Reaching 83° S | November 9, 1911 | December 2, 1911 | 782 km to the Pole, Amundsen is 23 days ahead of Scott |
| Reaching 84° S | November 13, 1911 | December 15, 1911 | 670 km to the Pole, Amundsen is 32 days ahead of Scott |
| Reaching 85° S | November 17, 1911 | December 21, 1911 | 558 km to the Pole, Amundsen is 34 days ahead of Scott |
| Reaching 86° S | November 27, 1911 | December 26, 1911 | 447 km to the Pole, Amundsen is 29 days ahead of Scott |
| Reaching 87° S | 04 December 1911 | January 1, 1912 | 335 km to the Pole, Amundsen is 27 days ahead of Scott |
| Reaching 88° S | December 6, 1911 | January 6, 1912 | 223 km to the Pole, Amundsen is 31 days ahead of Scott |
| Reaching 88° 23" S. | December 7, 1911 | January 9, 1912 | Southernmost point reached in 1909 |
(the shortest route from the Atlantic to the Pacific around the Arctic coasts of North America, 1903-1905) Amundsen’s goal was to conquer the North Pole.
His name, which became known far beyond Norway, quickly helped attract the necessary capital for the expedition. The explorer's plan was to reach the North Pole on a ship frozen in ice.
To carry out the trip, Amundsen used the Norwegian ship Fram, specially built for polar research. The ship was created for the expedition of polar explorer Fridtjof Nansen (1893-1896), and participated in the campaign of the Norwegian navigator Otto Sverdrup, who explored the Perry Archipelago off the coast of North America in 1898-1902.
However, Amundsen's plans were ruined when in April 1909 news arrived that the American Robert Peary had already reached the North Pole. Then Amundsen decided to conquer the South Pole. At the same time, it became known that the Englishman Robert Falcon Scott was also preparing for his second attempt to discover the South Pole. Amundsen, driven by his ambition to be the first, decided to get there before him, but the Norwegian polar explorer hid the purpose of the upcoming expedition. Four people knew about Amundsen's intention to go to Antarctica before the Fram sailed from Norway - his brother and three members of the expedition. The purpose of the expedition was not known to the Norwegian government either, since Amundsen feared a ban - Norway was economically and politically dependent on Great Britain. The world learned that Roald Amundsen was also preparing to make a leap to the South Pole only when the Fram reached the island of Madeira (near the Canary Islands). Amundsen's telegram reached Scott's expedition as he was leaving New Zealand.
Among the participants in Amundsen's expedition, which consisted mainly of Norwegians, there was one Russian - a native of the Arkhangelsk province, oceanographer Alexander Kuchin (1888-1912).
On December 14, 2011, 100 years after the conquest of the South Pole, Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg unveiled an ice bust monument to Roald Amundsen at the South Pole.
The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources
Nowadays, even a child has a general idea of the polar world: snow-white plains, the amazing natural phenomenon of the northern lights, giant icebergs and amazing sea animals - polar bears or penguins.
How many dangers are hidden in these extraordinary corners of the Earth. Despite all the obstacles of travelers and seafarers is drawn to the North and South Poles, trying to fill in the “blank spots” on the world map and prove to everyone and to himself that a person is capable of taking risks. One of the first who managed to conduct successful polar voyages were the Norwegian Fridtjof Nansen and Roald Amundsen. One managed to become the first person to visit the North Pole, while the other reached the South Point before anyone else.
In the south of Norway in the town of Borg on July 16, 1872 in the family of a shipbuilder Amundsen, the youngest son Roald was born. Roald dreamed of connecting his life with the sea. People came to the port city where the boy lived, and he went to the pier in any weather to watch them. There he heard stories from experienced sailors about adventures and exploits at sea. Rual hoped that one day he too would go to discover unknown lands. Norwegian Roald Amundsen Since childhood, he dreamed of the Arctic and prepared for future campaigns, training hard and enthusiastically reading all the literature available to him about the exploration of the North. Amundsen was greatly impressed by stories about the difficulties that the team of John Franklin, the English explorer and notorious polar explorer, had to overcome.
The young man started skiing. He achieved excellent success in this sport. In addition, by accustoming yourself to the cold, Amundsen slept with the window open even in the most severe cold.
Rual, at the age of 18, obeying his mother’s wishes, entered the medical faculty of the university. The young man did not try to prove himself in the field of medical research, so over time he left the university and was drafted into the army. Thanks to diligent training, Amundsen easily overcame this period in his life. Dreams of future campaigns inspired him in everything.
Amundsen student
In 1894 Amundsen began preparations for the upcoming seafaring. By that time, he had read a lot of books available to him about the Arctic. To gain experience as a sailor, he set sail, starting as a sailor. Studying navigation, he gradually rose to the rank of navigator, and then passed the exam for the rank of captain of the ship. With time Amundsen learned to steer a ship during a storm and became an experienced mate and an excellent navigator.
maps depicting the Arctic Ocean in Amundsen's time were completely different from what they are now
In 1897, twenty-five-year-old Roald Amundsen traveled to Antarctica on a research vessel. Belgium"as the first navigator. The journey turned out to be difficult and not successful. The ship was stuck between the ice for thirteen months. Almost the entire leadership of the expedition fell ill with scurvy, and command passed to the young navigator. Amundsen Thanks to his knowledge in medicine, he saved most of the crew. For seafarers managed to escape from the ice trap in 1899 and the ship " Belgium"returned to Europe.
Thanks to the experience gained Amundsen successfully passed the exams and began organizing his own expedition in 1900 as captain. Taking out a loan against his own house, he purchased a yacht " Yoa» with a displacement of 47 tons and a length of 21 meters. To hire a team and purchase food, he had to ask friends for help and look for sponsors.
On the night of July 16, 1903, the yacht " Yoa"with a crew of seven people left the port of Tromso and headed for Alaska through Baffin Bay, moving between the islands of the northern coast of Canada. The difficult navigation was finally completed in 1905. This meant that he had made a voyage to the Northwest Passage, thereby making the 34-year-old Amundsen accomplished a feat that his “adviser” John Franklin failed to achieve.
polar explorer John Franklin
Upon returning home Amundsen became instantly famous and he toured the United States, giving lectures in many cities. The money he received allowed him to pay off his debts. But this independence did not last long. While planning a new expedition, Amundsen soon incurred new debts. Finding money for the expedition turned out to be difficult. They tried to get to the North Pole more than once, but without success. The most famous was Nansen's attempt. He built " Fram", which was specially adapted for navigation in the Arctic climate, but it failed to reach the target. Roald Amundsen decided to enlist the support of his famous predecessor. He met with Nansen and he approved his plan. Moreover, great navigator gave Amundsen schooner " Fram", thereby appointing him as his successor. This also helped solve financial problems - investors believed in the plan.
navigator Amundsen
polar explorer Amundsen
schooner "Fram"
arrival at the South Pole
going on an unknown journey
sailing ship "Maud"
Amundsen went on a campaign in early August 1910. There was a depressed mood among the members of the expedition. They did not talk about it out loud, but the success of explorer Peary, who reached the North Pole on April 6, 1909, had an unpleasant effect on the mood of the team. Observing this state of affairs, Amundsen made a decision in secret. Having gone to sea, the schooner " Fram” followed an unexpected path. The ship was supposed to move towards the Arctic, but it continued to sail through the Atlantic Ocean. The sailing team was alarmed, but Amundsen, the captain and chief leader of the expedition knew where his schooner was heading. October 12, when the schooner " Fram"approached the island of Madeira off the coast of North Africa, the mystery was revealed. Amundsen convened the team and announced a change of course. He decided that since he failed to become the discoverer of the North Pole, he would conquer the South Pole. Information about the change in course delighted the team and inspired excitement.
In February 1911, as summer ended in the Southern Hemisphere, schooner« Fram"reached the shores of Antarctica. First of all seafarers organized a base and equipped several warehouses. With the onset of winter, the main part of the expedition remained to wait it out in the camp. The remaining group of people, consisting of four people, left the base on October 19, 1911, on dog sleds, rushing into the interior of the continent. The team covered up to 40 km a day and on December 14, 1911 reached their goal - the South Pole. After three days of observations carried out at this point on the planet, a group of researchers led by Amundsen returned to camp. The Norwegian public rejoiced. Everyone congratulated Amundsen on his feat. The government encouraged navigator And discoverer a generous reward.
But the scientist was not satisfied with the collected materials, so on June 7, 1916, on the ship “Maud”, built with his own money Amundsen set off on his second voyage. This ship had many new devices at that time, which made it possible to better maneuver in the ice. Roald Amundsen invested almost all his funds in it, undertaking another polar exploit. His goal was again the North Pole. To visit the northernmost point of the Earth remained the most remarkable dream of the navigator. Amundsen decided to first open the Northeast Passage along the northern coast of Russia. On July 16, 1918, Roald Amundsen set sail on the Maud along the northern coast of Russia to the Bering Strait. With great difficulty, he reached Alaska in 1920. The polar explorer broke his arm and was forced to change course to Seattle to provide medical assistance and repairs to the ship. This is how the second ended Amundsen expedition.
Amundsen conducted brilliant expeditions, visited the Arctic and Antarctica. He became the most famous polar explorer, but it was the Arctic, so beloved by the explorer, that ultimately destroyed him.
A certain Italian aeronaut, Umberto Nobile, decided to conquer the North Pole in 1928, getting there by airship. However, after takeoff, Nobile crashed. Several rescue groups immediately rushed to his aid, one of them included Amundsen. They previously knew each other - they participated together in a joint expedition on the airship "Norway" in 1926. However, later the relationship between them suddenly turned hostile. Nevertheless, Amundsen made the decision to participate in the rescue of the Italian expedition without delay.
The crew of a large seaplane " Latam-47" consisted of Norwegians and French. In its composition Amundsen flew off in an unknown direction. It must be said that he carefully hid his intentions. He did not inform anyone about the chosen route, which subsequently made the search extremely difficult. Didn't leave Amundsen and records, with journalists he was brief and restrained. The great traveler, as if he had prepared for the tragedy in advance, sold his property and paid off his creditors. Eyewitnesses claim that the far-sighted Amundsen I didn’t even take emergency rations, just a few sandwiches. Norway for a long time refused to believe in the death of its national hero. Death Amundsen officially recognized only six months after the disappearance of the seaplane. The country honored the memory of the famous polar explorer with a few minutes of silence. And General Nobile, Amundsen’s rival, having learned about the death of the Norwegian, found the courage to say out loud: “ He beat me».
In honor of the Norwegian navigator and explorer Roald Amundsen a mountain in East Antarctica, a bay of the Arctic Ocean near the coast of Canada, a basin in the Arctic Ocean located between the Lomonosov and Gakkel ridges and the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Antarctica are named. A historical museum dedicated to the great polar explorers has been created in Norway.
monument on the island of Spitsbergen. From here Amundsen went on an expedition
museum in Oslo, Norway
Amundsen-Scott polar station at the South Pole
