Framheim was the name of explorer Roald Amundsen

Roald Amundsen

Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He led the first Antarctic expedition to reach the South Pole between 1910 and 1912 and he was the first person to reach both the North and South Poles. He is also known as the first to traverse the Northwest Passage....

's base at the Bay of Whales

Bay of Whales

The Bay of Whales is a natural ice harbor, or iceport, indenting the front of Ross Ice Shelf just north of Roosevelt Island. It is the southernmost point of open ocean not only of the Ross Sea, but worldwide...

 on the Ross Ice Shelf

Ross Ice Shelf

The Ross Ice Shelf is the largest ice shelf of Antarctica . It is several hundred metres thick. The nearly vertical ice front to the open sea is more than 600 km long, and between 15 and 50 metres high above the water surface...

 in Antarctica during his quest for the South Pole

South Pole

The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is one of the two points where the Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on the surface of the Earth and lies on the opposite side of the Earth from the North Pole...

. It was used between January of 1911 and February of 1912.

Cabin and tents

The hut was constructed in sections by a master carpenter, Jørgen Stubberud

Jørgen Stubberud

Jørgen Stubberud was a Norwegian polar explorer who participated in the Amundsen Antarctica Expedition between 1910 and 1912....

 and erected at Amundsen's home in Norway, then dismantled for shipment to Antarctica on the Fram

Fram

Fram is a ship that was used in expeditions of the Arctic and Antarctic regions by the Norwegian explorers Fridtjof Nansen, Otto Sverdrup, Oscar Wisting, and Roald Amundsen between 1893 and 1912...

. The term literally means "home of the Fram". During its construction in Norway, Amundsen maintained that the hut was for "observation", which would fit in nicely with his supposed intent to head to the North Pole

North Pole

The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...

. To the more than casual student of exploration, it was obvious that the hut was intended as living quarters. Amundsen was, in fact, headed to the South Pole

South Pole

The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is one of the two points where the Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on the surface of the Earth and lies on the opposite side of the Earth from the North Pole...

.

The cabin was an early example of a pre-fabricated structure, and employed a custom dining table which could retract to the ceiling for cleaning beneath. It measured five by four meters, and the walls were made up of four layers of three inch wooden boards with cardboard between for insulation.

During the long Antarctic winter, Amundsen and the members of his expedition constructed a network of workshops and storage rooms, including a steam-bath room, carved out of the ice surrounding the main hut. In this complex the men busied themselves in preparing for the upcoming journey to the South Pole.

Amundsen spurned the traditional white tent, and instead dyed his tent material black. He stated that this was to serve three purposes: First, black would absorb what little solar radiation would fall upon the tent. Second, a black tent would provide the best possible contrast against the endless snow and ice if one became lost. And finally, the black provided a rest for the eyes. In addition, the square, pyramid-style tent was equipped with a single central pole that was lashed to one of the sledges in its full length during travel, avoiding the need to assemble tent-poles and making the job of pitching the tent very simple and quick. The tent also featured a sewn-in floor, which was an innovation several years ahead of its time.

Equipment

At Framheim, Amundsen continually upgraded his equipment, since he was largely dissatisfied with standard polar gear. The sledges were refined by shaving down portions of their frames and runners, achieving a 60% weight reduction without compromising their overall strength.

Amundsen designed special sledge-cases for food and equipment that remained permanently lashed to the sledges, with access through a lid that could easily be pried off without the need to remove mitts. This saved the time of unloading and re-loading packing boxes when making and breaking camp while on the march, and also eliminated the risk of frostbite when unpacking the sledges. The sledge-cases were also refined during the winter by planing down the wood to reduce their weight. Further, food selection and packing had been refined for both efficiency and maximum space usage. Amundsen brought only four foods: pemmican

Pemmican

Pemmican is a concentrated mixture of fat and protein used as a nutritious food. The word comes from the Cree word pimîhkân, which itself is derived from the word pimî, "fat, grease". It was invented by the native peoples of North America...

 (made according to his own recipe), chocolate, milk powder and biscuits, although this diet was supplemented by seal and penguin meat stored in the supply depots on the Barrier, and by fresh dog-meat from the dogs that they culled during the journey. This fresh, vitamin-rich meat in their diet prevented the onset of Scurvy.

To prepare for the trip to the pole, the ski bindings were fitted with hooks so they could be removed during sleeping hours and hung inside the tent. Since the bindings were made of leather, the ravenous sledge dogs would often gnaw at them when the men were asleep. Footwear and the risk of frostbite was a major concern for Amundsen, especially after some negative experiences during the autumn depot-laying trips and the abortive first attempt to reach the Pole. He and his men re-constructed and refined their ski-boots several times before the final Polar journey, in order to obtain maximum insulation against the cold and also to provide the necessary flexibility for skiing. Each man also brought spare boots on the polar journey in case of breakage or malfunction, with the risk of debilitating frostbite outweighing the issue of weight. It is worth noting that none of Amundsen's men experienced frostbitten feet during the polar journey, despite the extreme temperatures.

Sources

Roald Amundsen wrote about the expedition in Sydpolen published in two volumes in 1912–1913. The work was translated into English by A. G. Chater, and published as The South Pole: An Account of the Norwegian Antarctic Expedition in the "Fram," 1910–1912. (London: John Murray. 1912)

Other sources

• Huntford, Roland
  Roland Huntford
  Roland Huntford is an author, principally of biographies of Polar explorers. He lives in Cambridge, and was formerly Scandinavian correspondent of The Observer, also acting as their winter sports correspondent...
  
   (1979) Scott and Amundsen (Hodder & Stoughton Ltd) ISBN 978-0340195659
• Huntford, Roland
  Roland Huntford
  Roland Huntford is an author, principally of biographies of Polar explorers. He lives in Cambridge, and was formerly Scandinavian correspondent of The Observer, also acting as their winter sports correspondent...
  
  (1999) The Last Place on Earth (Modern Library Exploration) ISBN 978-0375754746