100th Anniversary of RF Scott's Expedition to South Pole

dls

Today marks the 100th Anniversary of Robert Falcon Scott's arrival at the South Pole in his ill fated Terra Nova Expedition with the British Antarctic Survey. The Terra Nova expedition was the second team to ever set foot at the South Pole, beaten by Roald Amundsen's Norwegian team who arrived there Dec 4, 1911. When RF Scott arrived at the Pole, he was rather surprised (and dismayed) to see that Amundsen had preceded him by a month, as Amundsen was supposed to be at the North Pole. Amundsen's change of plans were not made public. The 800 mile return trip to Ross Island of the 5 member disheartened team was met with tragedy, as they were battered with deteriorating weather, diminishing supplies and increasing exhaustion. As they marched back, they lost two of their men before the remaining 3 were stopped because of a storm. Unable to move further and with no further supplies, RF Scott and his 2 remaining team members died just 11 miles shy of their supply depot/base at McMurdo Sound.

1. Cross atop Ob (Observation) Hill commemorating RF Scott's Expedition. McMurdo.


2. RF Scott's Discovery Hut at McMurdo Station


3. Inside RF Scott's Discovery Hut


4. Old bike parts found at Supply/shelter huts/bases at Cape Royds, Cape Evans, or McMurdo Sound. Restoration/preservation via the Antarctic Heritage Trust team at Scott Base.


5. And for the old school photogs out there... a 100 year old film drying rack


And alas, no shots of South Pole itself. It was 800 miles away from my location.

devbobo

Dan,

These are some amazing photos. My uncle has just been on a 31 day expedition down there, visting places like Mawson's Hut, Wyatt Earp Islands, The Emery Ice shelf, Heard Island, etc.

I'm in the middle of reading 'Mawson: And the Ice Men of the Heroic Age: Scott, Shackleton and Amundsen', it's a great read intertwining all the stories of the adventurers as they raced towards the South Pole. It's great to see some recent photos of Scott's hut having read so much about it.

Cheers,

David

Islandcrow

Those first three are simply wonderful! #2 looks just plain surreal, and the use of lighting in #3 is simply perfect.