Wednesday, March 08, 2006
For those curious about the Scott expedition
On arriving at the Pole January 17-18, 1912, with a five-man party (Scott, Lieutenant Henry Bowers, Dr Edward Wilson, Petty Officer Edgar Evans and army Captain Lawrence Oates), Scott found that Amundsen had been there a month earlier. Amundsen returned to his base in good order, while Scott's entire party perished while returning from the Pole in conditions of extreme cold that have only been recorded once more since the introduction of modern weather stations in the 1960s. Heavy snowfall and refusal to abandon a significant quantity of rock samples undoubtedly also contributed to the slow pace of the party and to its ultimate end.
