Who was the first explorer to reach the South Pole in 1911?
Roald Amundsen
In the early 20th century, the race was on to reach the South Pole, with a number of explorers testing themselves in the freezing Antarctic. In 1911, Britain’s Robert Falcon Scott and Norway’s Roald Amundsen both launched expeditions to reach the Pole.
How many dogs did Roald Amundsen take to the South Pole?
116 sled dogs
Mary Tahan’s new book Roald Amundsen’s Sled Dogs: The sledge dogs who helped discover the South Pole presents a comprehensive study on the 116 sled dogs Roald Amundsen took with him to conquer the South Pole in 1911.
What happened to Captain Scott?
What happened to Scott? Scott achieved his dream and reached the South Pole on 17–18 January 1912. The achievement was bittersweet as he discovered that Amundsen had got there first. The 800-mile journey back to their base camp was torturous, and all five of Scott’s party died from cold and hunger.
Why did Scott use ponies?
Much of Scott’s hauling was to be done by ponies, which are ill-suited to work on snow and ice without snow-shoes. Their relatively small hooves and large weight caused them to sink into anything other than very firm snow or ice. Oates was opposed to snow-shoes and had left most of them at base camp.
Who got to the South Pole first?
The first expedition to reach the geographic South Pole was led by the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen.
What was the temperature at the South Pole in 1911?
A new Antarctic expedition is retracing the 1911-1912 route of Captain Robert Scott. The plan: Four months, 1,800 miles (2,900 kilometers) on foot, in temperatures down to -58 Fahrenheit (-50 Celsius), along the same route to the South Pole that claimed the lives of British polar explorer Captain Robert Scott and his men more than a century ago.
When did Roald Amundsen reach the South Pole?
Roald Amundsen’s South Pole Expedition 1911 Hosted by Karine Hagen On December 14, 1911, Norwegian Roald Amundsen became the first person to reach the South Pole and secured his place in history as one of the great explorers.
How long did the expedition take to get to the South Pole?
Amundsen and his team spent 4 days at the South Pole, they went out 20km in three directions at right angles and took numerous positional readings at different times of the day to ensure they really had reached the pole beyond all doubt. One problem that arriving at the South Pole posed was determining exactly where it was.