December 14, 1911: 100 years ago the southernmost point of the planet was conquered. The expedition of the Norwegian Amundsen was the first to do this, ahead of the British Scott’s detachment by 34 days.
January 4, 1911. Robert Scott and his comrades land in Antarctica on Scott Island, establishing a base camp 1381 km as the crow flies from their target. For the hike, they chose a route explored to 88°23′ south latitude.
January 14, 1911. Roald Amundsen set foot on the ice of the continent. Together with other polar explorers, he settled on the shores of Whale Bay, 1285 km from the pole. But they had to follow a previously untrodden path.
February 10, 1911. Amundsen made the first attempt to conquer southern point. But after a month because bad weather the detachment was forced to turn back. Several people returned to Camp Franheim with frostbitten feet. True, the advantage of this enterprise was that up to 82° the polar explorers left warehouses with food and equipment.
October 19, 1911. The Norwegian dog sled expedition set off. In this case, animals were divided into three categories, depending on the circumstances. Some were left in temporary camps on their way back. The second, which included those who were exhausted, were killed and given as food to the third, who continued to perform a “transport” role. People also ate dog meat.
November 1, 1911. The start was taken by the detachment of Robert Scott, who made the main bet on ponies as draft power. This, as experts would later say, was one of his main mistakes.
December 7, 1911. Amundsen reached the so-called Shackleton height - 88°23′, the southernmost point to which man had previously reached. “I cannot convey the feelings that overwhelmed me as I stood there, understanding what had happened,” the Norwegian wrote in his book “The South Pole.”
December 14, 1911. Before desired goal There was very little left, so the participants carefully monitored the instruments that measured the coordinates. At three o'clock in the afternoon everyone shouted at the same time: “Stop!” The South Pole has been conquered. In honor of significant event They hoisted the flag of Norway and named the area the Plain of King Gokon VII.
January 17, 1912. Scott's expedition reached the Pole. When the British discovered Amundsen's site, their disappointment knew no bounds.
January 25, 1912. In the morning the Norwegians stopped at the doorstep wooden house camp "Franheim".
March 29, 1912. Robert Scott made the last entry in his diary, and soon died, like other members of the expedition he led.
“I would sacrifice fame, absolutely everything, so that Robert Scott would come back to life,” Amundsen said of his rival. The bodies of the dead from Scott's detachment, as well as the expedition's diary, were found on November 12, 1912. A pyramid of snow was erected over the grave, crowned with a cross made of skis. Amundsen died in the ice of the North Pole in June 1928, when he went to rescue the missing airship Italia.
Opening South Pole- the centuries-old dream of polar explorers - on its own final stage in the summer of 1912, it took on the character of an intense competition between the expeditions of two countries - Norway and Great Britain. For the first it ended in triumph, for others - in tragedy. But, despite this, Roald Amundsen and Robert Scott, who led them, forever went down in the history of the exploration of the sixth continent.
The first explorers of the southern polar latitudes
The conquest of the South Pole began back in those years when people only vaguely realized that somewhere on the edge Southern Hemisphere there must be land. The first of the navigators who managed to approach it was sailing in the South Atlantic and in 1501 reached the fiftieth latitude.
This was the era when accomplishments Briefly describing his stay in these previously inaccessible latitudes (Vespucci was not only a navigator, but also a scientist), he continued his journey to the shores of a new, recently discovered continent - America - which today bears his name.
Systematic exploration of southern latitudes in the hope of finding unknown land Almost three centuries later, the famous Englishman James Cook undertook the project. He managed to get even closer to it, reaching the seventy-second parallel, but his further advance to the south was prevented by Antarctic icebergs and floating ice.
Discovery of the sixth continent
Antarctica, the South Pole, and most importantly - the right to be called a discoverer and pioneer frozen in ice lands and the glory associated with this circumstance haunted many. Throughout the 19th century there were continuous attempts to conquer the sixth continent. Our navigators Mikhail Lazarev and Thaddeus Bellingshausen, who were sent by the Russian geographical society, the Englishman Clark Ross, who reached the seventy-eighth parallel, as well as whole line German, French and Swedish researchers. These enterprises were crowned with success only at the end of the century, when the Australian Johann Bull had the honor of being the first to set foot on the shores of the hitherto unknown Antarctica.
From that moment on, not only scientists, but also whalers, for whom the cold seas represented a wide fishing area, rushed to the Antarctic waters. Year after year, the coast was developed, the first research stations appeared, but the South Pole (its mathematical point) still remained out of reach. In this context, the question arose with extraordinary urgency: who will be able to get ahead of the competition and whose national flag will be the first to fly at the southern tip of the planet?
Race to the South Pole
At the beginning of the 20th century, attempts were made repeatedly to conquer this inaccessible corner of the Earth, and each time the polar explorers managed to get closer to it. The climax came in October 1911, when the ships of two expeditions at once - the British, led by Robert Falcon Scott, and the Norwegian, led by Roald Amundsen (the South Pole was a long-standing and cherished dream), almost simultaneously set a course for the shores of Antarctica. They were separated only by a few hundred miles.
It is curious that at first the Norwegian expedition did not intend to storm the South Pole. Amundsen and his crew were heading to the Arctic. Exactly northern tip The land was in the plans of the ambitious navigator. However, on the way, he received a message that he had already submitted to the Americans - Cook and Peary. Not wanting to lose his prestige, Amundsen abruptly changed course and turned south. Thus, he challenged the British, and they could not help but stand up for the honor of their nation.
His rival Robert Scott, before committing himself research activities, long time served as an officer navy Her Majesty and gained sufficient experience in command of battleships and cruisers. After retiring, he spent two years on the coast of Antarctica, taking part in the work of a scientific station. They even made an attempt to break through to the Pole, but having advanced a very significant distance in three months, Scott was forced to turn back.
On the eve of the decisive assault
The teams had different tactics for achieving the goal in the unique Amundsen-Scott race. Main vehicle The British were Manchurian horses. Short and hardy, they were perfectly suited to the conditions of polar latitudes. But, besides them, travelers also had at their disposal dog sleds, traditional in such cases, and even a completely new product of those years - motor sleighs. The Norwegians relied in everything on the proven northern huskies, who had to pull four sledges, heavily loaded with equipment, throughout the entire journey.
Both faced a journey of eight hundred miles each way, and the same amount back (if they survived, of course). Ahead of them awaited glaciers, cut by bottomless cracks, terrible frosts, accompanied by blizzards and blizzards and completely excluding visibility, as well as frostbite, injuries, hunger and all kinds of deprivation inevitable in such cases. The reward for one of the teams was supposed to be the glory of discoverers and the right to hoist the flag of their power on the pole. Neither the Norwegians nor the British doubted that the game was worth the candle.
If he was more skillful and experienced in navigation, then Amundsen was clearly superior to him as an experienced polar explorer. The decisive transition to the pole was preceded by wintering on the Antarctic continent, and the Norwegian managed to choose much more for it. appropriate place than its British counterpart. Firstly, their camp was located almost a hundred miles closer to end point travel than the British, and secondly, Amundsen laid out the route from it to the Pole in such a way that he was able to bypass the areas where the most violent very coldy and incessant snowstorms and blizzards.
Triumph and defeat
The Norwegian detachment managed to complete the entire intended journey and return to the base camp, meeting it during the short Antarctic summer. One can only admire the professionalism and brilliance with which Amundsen led his group, following with incredible accuracy the schedule he himself had drawn up. Among the people who trusted him, there were not only no deaths, but even no serious injuries.
A completely different fate awaited Scott's expedition. Before the most difficult part of the journey, when there were one hundred and fifty miles left to the goal, the last members of the auxiliary group turned back, and the five English explorers themselves harnessed themselves to the heavy sledges. By this time, all the horses had died, the motor sleds were out of order, and the dogs were simply eaten by the polar explorers themselves - they had to take extreme measures to survive.
Finally, on January 17, 1912, as a result of incredible efforts, they reached the mathematical point of the South Pole, but terrible disappointment awaited them there. Everything around bore traces of the rivals who had been here before them. The imprints of sledge runners and dog paws could be seen in the snow, but the most convincing evidence of their defeat was the tent left between the ice, above which the Norwegian flag fluttered. Alas, they missed the discovery of the South Pole.
Scott left notes in his diary about the shock that the members of his group experienced. The terrible disappointment left the British in complete shock. They all spent the next night without sleep. They were burdened by the thought of how they would look into the eyes of those people who, for hundreds of miles along the ice continent, freezing and falling into cracks, helped them reach the last section of the path and undertake a decisive, but unsuccessful assault.
Catastrophe
However, no matter what, we had to gather our strength and return. Eight hundred miles of return lay between life and death. Moving from one intermediate camp with fuel and food to another, the polar explorers catastrophically lost strength. Their situation became more and more hopeless every day. A few days later, death visited the camp for the first time - the youngest of them and seemingly physically strong, Edgar Evans, died. His body was buried in the snow and covered with heavy ice floes.
The next victim was Lawrence Oates, a dragoon captain who went to the Pole, driven by a thirst for adventure. The circumstances of his death are very remarkable - having frozen his hands and feet and realizing that he was becoming a burden to his comrades, he secretly left his accommodation at night and went into impenetrable darkness, voluntarily dooming himself to death. His body was never found.
There were only eleven miles left to the nearest intermediate camp when a snowstorm suddenly arose, completely excluding the possibility of further advance. Three Englishmen found themselves captive in ice, cut off from the rest of the world, deprived of food and any opportunity to warm themselves.
The tent they pitched, of course, could not serve as any reliable shelter. The air temperature outside dropped to -40 o C, respectively, inside, in the absence of a heater, it was not much higher. This insidious March blizzard never released them from its embrace...
Posthumous lines
Six months later, when the tragic outcome of the expedition became obvious, a rescue group was sent to search for polar explorers. Among the impassable ice, she managed to discover a snow-covered tent with the bodies of three British explorers - Henry Bowers, Edward Wilson and their commander Robert Scott.
Among the belongings of the victims, Scott's diaries were found, and, what amazed the rescuers, bags of geological samples collected on the slopes of rocks protruding from the glacier. Incredibly, the three Englishmen stubbornly continued to drag these stones even when there was practically no hope of salvation.
In his notes, Robert Scott, having detailed and analyzed the reasons that led to the tragic outcome, gave highly appreciated moral and strong-willed qualities the comrades who accompanied him. In conclusion, addressing those into whose hands the diary would fall, he asked to do everything so that his relatives would not be left to the mercy of fate. Having dedicated several farewell lines to his wife, Scott bequeathed to her to ensure that their son received an appropriate education and was able to continue his research activities.
By the way, in the future his son Peter Scott became famous ecologist who dedicated their lives to protecting natural resources planets. Born shortly before the day when his father set off on the last expedition of his life, he lived to a ripe old age and died in 1989.
caused by tragedy
Continuing the story, it should be noted that the competition between two expeditions, the result of which for one was the discovery of the South Pole, and for the other - death, had a very unexpected consequences. When the celebrations on the occasion of this undoubtedly important geographical discovery, fell silent congratulatory speeches and the applause ended, the question arose about moral side what happened. There was no doubt that indirectly the cause of the death of the British was the deep depression caused by Amundsen's victory.
Direct accusations against the recently honored winner appeared not only in the British, but also in the Norwegian press. A completely reasonable question was raised: did Roald Amundsen, experienced and very experienced in exploring extreme latitudes, have the moral right to involve the ambitious, but lacking the necessary skills, Scott and his comrades in the competitive process? Wouldn't it be more correct to invite him to unite and joint efforts accomplish your plans?
Amundsen's riddle
How Amundsen reacted to this and whether he blamed himself for unwittingly causing the death of his British colleague is a question that remains forever unanswered. True, many of those who knew the Norwegian explorer closely claimed that they saw clear signs of his mental turmoil. In particular, evidence of this could be his attempts at public justification, which were completely out of character for his proud and somewhat arrogant nature.
Some biographers are inclined to see evidence of unforgiven guilt in the circumstances of Amundsen's own death. It is known that in the summer of 1928 he went on an Arctic flight, which promised him certain death. The suspicion that he foresaw his own death in advance is aroused by the preparation he made. Not only did Amundsen put all his affairs in order and pay off his creditors, he also sold off all his property, as if he had no intention of returning.
The sixth continent today
One way or another, he discovered the South Pole, and no one will take this honor away from him. Nowadays, large-scale Scientific research. In the very place where triumph once awaited the Norwegians, and the greatest disappointment for the British, today there is the Amundsen-Scott international polar station. Its name invisibly unites these two intrepid conquerors of extreme latitudes. Thanks to them, the South Pole on the globe is perceived today as something familiar and quite within reach.
In December 1959 it was concluded international treaty on Antarctica, originally signed by twelve states. According to this document, any country has the right to conduct scientific research throughout the continent south of the sixtieth latitude.
Thanks to this, today numerous research stations in Antarctica are developing the most advanced scientific programs. Today there are more than fifty of them. Scientists have at their disposal not only ground means control over environment, but also aviation and even satellites. The Russian Geographical Society also has its representatives on the sixth continent. Among the operating stations there are veterans, such as Bellingshausen and Druzhnaya 4, as well as relatively new ones, Russkaya and Progress. Everything suggests that great geographical discoveries do not stop today.
A brief history of how brave Norwegian and British explorers braved danger to reach cherished goal, only in general outline can convey all the tension and drama of those events. It is wrong to consider their fight only as a struggle of personal ambitions. Undoubtedly, the primary role in it was played by the thirst for discovery and built on true patriotism desire to establish the prestige of their country.
The meaning of the word AMUNDSEN-SCOTT in the Big Encyclopedic Dictionary
AMUNDSEN-SCOTT
(Amundsen-Scott) (Pole)
American inland polar station (since 1957) in the South geographic pole, at an altitude of 2800 m.
Large encyclopedic dictionary. 2012
See also interpretations, synonyms, meanings of the word and what AMUNDSEN-SCOTT is in Russian in dictionaries, encyclopedias and reference books:
- AMUNDSEN-SCOTT
AMUNDSEN-SCOTT (Pole), amer. inland. polar station (since 1957) in the Yuzh region. geogr. poles, at high 2800... - AMUNDSEN-SCOTT
(Amundsen-Scott), Pole, Antarctic scientific station USA at the South Pole. Opened in January 1957. Station staff 17-22 people. Located on the surface... - AMUNDSEN-SCOTT
(Amundsen-Scott) (Pole), American inland polar station (since 1957) in the region of the South Geographic Pole, at an altitude of 2800 ... - SCOTT V Architectural Dictionary:
, Giles (1880-1960). English architect who, at the age of 23, won a design competition cathedral in Liverpool (neo-Gothic). The author of the new... - SCOTT in Sayings of Great Men:
The trouble with those who write quickly is that they cannot write concisely. W. Scott... - SCOTT in 1000 biographies of famous people:
Walter (1771 - 1831) - famous English novelist and poet. His historical novels combine essential elements romanticism: interest... - SCOTT
- AMUNDSEN in the Big Encyclopedic Dictionary:
(Amundsen) Roald (1872-1928) Norwegian polar traveler and explorer. He was the first to navigate the Northwest Passage on the ship Gjoa from Greenland to Alaska (1903-06). ... - SCOTT V Encyclopedic Dictionary Brockhaus and Euphron:
(Sir Walter Scott) - famous English. novelist (1771 - 1831). He spent his childhood among Scottish nature, studied in Edinburgh and was distinguished... - SCOTT
- AMUNDSEN in the Modern Encyclopedic Dictionary:
- SCOTT
(Scott) Walter (1771 - 1832), English writer. Collection folk ballads"Songs of the Scottish Border" (volumes 1 - 3, 1802 - 03). ... - AMUNDSEN in the Encyclopedic Dictionary:
(Amundsen) Roald (1872 - 1928), Norwegian polar explorer. In 1903 - 06, with three winterings, he was the first to pass the Northwest Passage from ... - SCOTT in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
New Zealand polar station (since 1957) to the south. coast of the Ross Peninsula in Cape Ross (West Antarctica), 2 km to the west... - SCOTT in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
Cyril (1879-1970), English. composer, poet. Studied in Germany, from the 30s. In Great Britain. Rep. music impressionism, nicknamed "English Debussy". 3... - SCOTT in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
Robert Falcon (1868-1912), English. Antarctic explorer. In 1901-04 he led the expedition that discovered the Edward VII Peninsula, Transarctic. mountains, Ross Ice Shelf, research. ... - SCOTT in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
(Scott) Walter (1771-1832), English. writer. Founder of English realistic. novel. Collection of folklore ballads, including his own. S.'s poems - "Songs of the Scottish Border" ... - AMUNDSEN in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
AMUNDSEN (Amundsen) Roald (1872-1928), Norwegian. polar traveler and explorer. The North-West passed first. passage on the ship "Gjoa" from Greenland to Alaska... - SCOTT in the Complete Accented Paradigm according to Zaliznyak:
sko"tt, sko"tty, sko"tta, sko"ttov, sko"ttu, sko"ttam, sko"tta, sko"ttov, sko"ttom, sko"ttami, sko"tte, ... - SCOTT in the Dictionary for solving and composing scanwords:
Author … - SCOTT in Modern explanatory dictionary, TSB:
New Zealand polar station (since 1957) on south coast Ross Peninsula in Ross Cape (West Antarctica), 2 km to the west... - AMUNDSEN in the Modern Explanatory Dictionary, TSB:
(Amundsen) Roald (1872-1928), Norwegian polar traveler and explorer. He was the first to navigate the Northwest Passage on the ship Gjoa from Greenland to Alaska... - CONQUEST OF THE SOUTH POLE; "RUAL ENGEBERIT GRAVNING AMUNDSEN"
The first to reach the South Pole was a Norwegian expedition of 5 people, led by Captain Roald Engeberith Gravning Amundsen. Having set off from the Whale Ridge of the Dogs... - MACES;"ANTHONY GATTO,SCOTT SORENSEN" in the 1998 Guinness Book of Records:
Anthony Gatto used 8 clubs in his performance in 1989. and Scott Sorensen (USA) in 1995... - THROWS;"SCOTT ZIMMERMAN" in the 1998 Guinness Book of Records:
Scott Zimmerman July 8, 1986 at Fort Funston, N.C. California, USA, threw the ring at 383.13... - ROAL AMUNDSEN in Wiki Quotebook:
Data: 2008-12-31 Time: 14:12:24 Navigation Topic = Roald Amundsen Wikipedia = Amundsen, Roald Wikimedia Commons = Roald Amundsen Roald Amundsen - ... - GEOGRAPHICAL POLES in big Soviet encyclopedia, TSB:
geographical (North and South). General information. P. g. - points of intersection of the imaginary axis of rotation of the Earth with earth's surface; V … - GEOGRAPHICAL DISCOVERIES in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, TSB.
- WALTER SCOTT in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, TSB:
Scott (1771-1826), English writer; see Scott... - ANTARCTIC in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, TSB:
(Greek antarktikos - Antarctic, from anti - against and arktikos - northern), the south polar region, including the continent of Antarctica and the surrounding ... - AMUNDSEN RUAL in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, TSB:
(Amundsen) Roald (16.7. 1872 - 1928), Norwegian polar traveler and explorer. Born in Borg, in the family of a captain, owner of a shipyard... - SCOTT, ROBERT FALCON in Collier's Dictionary:
(Scott, Robert Falcon) (1868-1912), English naval officer, explorer of Antarctica. Born in Davenport June 6, 1868. Enlisted in the Navy... - SCOTT, WALTER in Collier's Dictionary:
(Scott, Walter) (1771-1832), English poet, novelist, historian. Scottish by origin. Born 15 August 1771 in Edinburgh. His parents were a lawyer... - AMUNDSEN, ROAL in Collier's Dictionary:
(Amundsen, Roald) (1872-1928), prominent Norwegian explorer of the polar regions. Born in Vidsten near Sarpsborg (Norway) on July 16, 1872. Entered medical school ... - ANTARCTICA in the Modern Explanatory Dictionary, TSB:
continent in the center of Antarctica. 13975 thousand km2 (including 1582 thousand km2 - ice shelves and islands attached to ... - BIG (MOVIE) in Wiki Quote:
Data: 2009-08-05 Time: 15:10:53 *— I have a million reasons to come back, and only one to stay. - Which one? ... - 1928.06.18
While trying to save the NOBILE expedition, the conqueror of the South Pole R. disappears without a trace... - 1926.05.12 in Pages of History What, where, when:
R. AMUNDSEN and U. NOBILE fly on an airship over the Northern ... - 1926.05.11 in Pages of History What, where, when:
From Spitsbergen to Teller (Alaska, USA) on the first flight on an airship on North Pole The airship "Norway" takes off. Among the crew members... - 1912.01.18 in Pages of History What, where, when:
The expedition of Robert Falcon SCOTT reaches the South Pole, which was discovered a month earlier by Roald AMUNDSEN. On the way back … - 1911.12.14 in Pages of History What, where, when:
Norwegian polar explorer Roald AMUNDSEN is the first to reach the Earth's South Pole - 35 days before Captain... - 1911.10.19 in Pages of History What, where, when:
(Or October 20?) Norwegian polar explorer Roald AMUNDSEN, together with four comrades on 4 sleighs drawn by 52 sled dogs, sets off... - 1906.09.02 in Pages of History What, where, when:
Roald Amundsen completes his voyage around Canada's Northwest... - Ivanhoe V Literary Encyclopedia:
(English Ivanhoe) - the hero of W. Scott’s novel “Ivanhoe” (1819). The novel takes place at the end of the 12th century, during the era of King Richard the Lion... - REALISM in the Literary Encyclopedia:
" id=Realism.Contents> I. General character realism II. Stages of realism A. Realism in the literature of pre-capitalist society B. Bourgeois realism ...
Amundsen-Scott Station, named after the discoverers of the South Pole, amazes with its scale and technology. In a complex of buildings around which there is nothing but ice for thousands of kilometers, there is literally its own separate world. They did not reveal all scientific and research secrets to us, but they a most interesting excursion through the residential blocks and showed how polar explorers live...
Initially, during construction, the station was located exactly at the geographic south pole, but due to ice movement over several years, the base shifted to the side by 200 meters:
3.
This is our DC-3 aircraft. In fact, it was heavily modified by Basler and almost all of its components, including avionics and engines, are new:
4.
The plane can land both on the ground and on ice:
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This photo clearly shows how close the station is to the historical South Pole (group of flags in the center). And the lone flag on the right is the geographic South Pole:
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Upon arrival, we were met by a station employee and gave us a tour of the main building:
7.
It stands on stilts, just like many houses in the north. This was done to prevent the building from melting the ice underneath and “floating.” In addition, the space below is well blown by winds (in particular, the snow under the station has not been cleared even once since its construction):
8.
Entrance to the station: you need to climb two flights of stairs. Due to the thinness of the air, this is not easy to do:
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Residential blocks:
10.
At the Pole, during our visit, it was -25 degrees. We arrived in full uniform - three layers of clothing, hats, balaclavas, etc. - and then we were suddenly met by a guy in a light sweater and Crocs. He said that he was used to it: he had already survived several winters and the maximum frost he experienced here was minus 73 degrees. For about forty minutes, while we were walking around the station, he walked around looking like this:
11.
The inside of the station is simply amazing. Let's start with the fact that it has a huge gym. Popular games among employees are basketball and badminton. To heat the station, 10,000 gallons of aviation kerosene per week are used:
12.
Some statistics: 170 people live and work at the station, 50 people stay in the winter. They feed for free in the local canteen. They work 6 days a week, 9 hours a day. Everyone has a day off on Sunday. The cooks also have a day off and everyone, as a rule, eats what was left uneaten in the refrigerator from Saturday:
13.
There is a room for playing music (in the title photo), and in addition to the sports room, there is a gym:
14.
There is a room for trainings, conferences and similar events. When we passed by, there was a Spanish lesson going on:
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The station is two-story. On each floor it is pierced by a long corridor. Residential blocks go to the right, scientific and research blocks go to the left:
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Conference hall:
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There is a balcony next to it, with a view of the station’s outbuildings:
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Everything that can be stored in unheated rooms lies in these hangars:
19.
This is the Ice cube neutrino observatory, with which scientists catch neutrinos from space. Briefly, it works like this: The collision of a neutrino and an atom produces particles known as muons and a flash of blue light called Vavilov-Cherenkov radiation. In transparent arctic ice IceCube's optical sensors will be able to recognize it. Usually, for neutrino observatories, they dig a shaft at depth and fill it with water, but the Americans decided not to waste time on trifles and built an Ice cube at the South Pole, where there is plenty of ice. The size of the observatory is 1 cubic kilometer, hence, apparently, the name. Project cost: $270 million:
20.
Theme "made a bow" on the balcony overlooking our plane:
21.
Throughout the base there are invitations to seminars and master classes. Here's an example of a writing workshop:
22.
I noticed the palm tree garlands attached to the ceiling. Apparently there is a longing for summer and warmth among the employees:
23.
Old station sign. Amundsen and Scott are two discoverers of the pole who conquered the South Pole almost simultaneously (well, if you look at historical context) with a difference of a month:
24.
In front of this station there was another one, it was called "Dome". in 2010 it was finally dismantled and this photo shows the last day:
25.
Recreation room: billiards, darts, books and magazines:
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Scientific laboratory. They didn’t let us in, but they opened the door slightly. Pay attention to the trash cans: separate waste collection is practiced at the station:
27.
Fire departments. Standard American system: everyone has their own closet, in front of it is a completely finished uniform:
28.
You just need to run up, jump into your boots and put on:
29.
Computer Club. Probably, when the station was built, it was relevant, but now everyone has laptops and comes here, I think, to play games online. There is no Wi-Fi at the station, but there is personal Internet access at a speed of 10 kb per second. Unfortunately, they didn’t give it to us, and I never managed to check in at the pole:
30.
Just like in the ANI camp, water is the most expensive commodity at the station. For example, it costs one and a half dollars to flush a toilet:
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Medical Center:
32.
I looked up and looked at how perfectly the wires were laid out. Not like it happens here, and especially somewhere in Asia:
33.
The most expensive and most difficult to reach is located at the station gift shop in the world. A year ago, Evgeniy Kaspersky was here, and he did not have cash (he wanted to pay with a card). When I went, Zhenya gave me a thousand dollars and asked me to buy everything in the store. Of course, I filled my bag with souvenirs, after which my fellow travelers began to quietly hate me, since I created a queue for half an hour.
By the way, in this store you can buy beer and soda, but they sell them only to station employees:
34.
There is a table with South Pole stamps. We all took our passports and stamped them:
35.
The station even has its own greenhouse and greenhouse. There is no need for them now, since there is a message with outside world. And in winter, when communication with the outside world is interrupted for several months, employees grow their own vegetables and herbs:
36.
Each employee has the right to use the laundry once a week. He can go to the shower 2 times a week for 2 minutes, that is, 4 minutes a week. I was told that they usually save everything and wash it once every two weeks. To be honest, I already guessed from the smell:
37.
Library:
38.
39.
And this is a corner of creativity. There is everything you can imagine: sewing threads, paper and paints for drawing, prefabricated models, cardboard, etc. Now I really want to go to one of our polar station and compare their life and arrangement:
40.
At the historic South Pole there is a stick that has not changed since the days of the discoverers. And the marker for the geographic South Pole is moved every year to adjust for ice movement. The station has a small museum of knobs accumulated over the years:
41.
In the next post I will talk about the South Pole itself. Stay Tuned!
Many people dreamed of reaching the South Pole, among them the French navigator Jean-Baptiste Charcot, famous explorer The Arctic and Antarctic (he died in 1936 during another expedition to Greenland).
Nansen, who intended to go to the southern regions, also dreamed of being the first to reach the pole in Antarctica. polar seas on your favorite Fram. In 1909 Englishman Ernest Shackleton and his comrades penetrated into the very heart of the continent and were forced to turn to the coast just 100 miles from the Pole due to an acute shortage of food.
In October 1911, in the frosty Antarctic spring, two expeditions, Norwegian and British, rushed to the South Pole almost simultaneously. One was led by Roald Amundsen (1872-1928), a polar explorer who had already spent the winter on a ship in Antarctic waters at the end of the 19th century. And he managed to become famous in the Arctic, having overcome the labyrinth of the Canadian archipelago on the tiny boat “Yoa” in 1903-1906.
The second is Captain First Rank, Commander of the Order of Victoria, Robert Falcon Scott (1868-1912). Scott was a naval officer who managed to command both cruisers and battleships in his time.
At the very beginning of the 20th century, he spent two years on the Antarctic coast, leading a research wintering camp. A small detachment led by Scott attempted to penetrate into the interior of the continent, and in three months they managed to advance almost 1000 miles towards the pole. Returning to his homeland, he began to prepare for the next expedition. When their ship "Tera Nova" was on the way to Antarctica, the British learned that the "Fram" was heading there at full speed with the Amundsen expedition on board and the goal of the Norwegians was the same South Pole!
The further competition went under the motto: “who will win?” Amundsen extremely skillfully chose the place of wintering and future launch - as much as 100 miles closer to the pole than Scott. On their route, which ran at an angle to the British route, Amundsen's men did not meet any terrible cold, no deadly prolonged snowstorms. The Norwegian detachment carried out a round trip to much more short terms, without going beyond the short Arctic summer. And here we can only pay tribute to the organizer of the expedition.
And so on January 17, 1912, Robert Scott and his comrades came to geographical point South Pole. Here they saw the remains of someone else's camp, traces of sledges, dog paws and a tent with a flag - exactly a month before them, their rival reached the Pole. With his characteristic brilliance, without a single casualty, without serious injuries, maintaining the route schedule he himself compiled almost to the minute (and, what looks absolutely fantastic, predicting with the same accuracy the timing of the return to coastal base), Amundsen demonstrated yet another and far from his last achievement.
The following entry appeared in Scott’s diary: “The Norwegians were ahead of us. A terrible disappointment, and I feel pain for my faithful comrades. None of us could sleep as a result of the blow we received...”
The British detachment set off on the return journey, following from one intermediate warehouse with food and fuel to another. But they were stopped forever by the endless March snowstorm.
Their bodies were discovered more than seven months later by a rescue team that went out to search for them. Next to Scott's body was a bag containing diaries and farewell letters. There were also 35 pounds of samples collected during the route on the rocks framing the Antarctic glaciers. The British continued to carry these stones even when death was already staring them in the eye.
The last line in the diary was a phrase that later spread throughout the world: “For God’s sake, don’t leave our loved ones...”
Admitting to his wife that there was no chance of salvation, Robert Scott asked her to interest their son natural history, so that in the future he would continue his work as a traveler-naturalist. Dr. Peter Scott (he was not even a year old when his father went to his last expedition) became outstanding biologist and ecologist, one of the leaders International Union protection of nature and natural resources.
On the coast of the mainland near the base of the British expedition, on the top of a high hill facing the majestic ice Ross Barrier, a three-meter cross made of Australian eucalyptus rose.
There is a gravestone inscription on it in memory of the five victims and final words classic of British poetry: “Fight, seek, find and don’t give up!”
Amundsen, having learned about the death of Scott and his companions, wrote: “I would sacrifice glory, absolutely everything, to bring him back to life. My triumph is overshadowed by the thought of his tragedy. It haunts me!”
Amundsen and Scott, Scott and Amundsen... Today at the very point that brought great victory alone and fatal defeat to another, conducts scientific research Antarctic station, which was named Amundsen-Scott.