Terra Nova Expedition - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Terra Nova Expedition (1910–1912), officially the British Antarctic Expedition 1910, was led by Robert Falcon Scott

Robert Falcon Scott

Captain Robert Falcon Scott, CVO was a Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the Discovery Expedition, 1901–04, and the ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition, 1910–13...

with the objective of being the first to reach the geographical 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...

. Scott and four companions attained the pole on 17 January 1912, to find that a Norwegian team led by 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....

had preceded them by 33 days. Scott's entire party died on the return journey from the pole; some of their bodies, journals, and photographs were discovered by a search party eight months later.

Scott was an experienced polar commander, having previously led the Discovery Expedition

Discovery Expedition

The British National Antarctic Expedition, 1901–04, generally known as the Discovery Expedition, was the first official British exploration of the Antarctic regions since James Clark Ross's voyage sixty years earlier...

to the Antarctic

Antarctic

The Antarctic is the region around the Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica and the ice shelves, waters and island territories in the Southern Ocean situated south of the Antarctic Convergence...

in 1901–04. The Terra Nova Expedition, named after its supply ship, was a private venture, financed by public contributions augmented by a government grant. It had further backing from the Admiralty

Admiralty

The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...

, which released experienced seamen to the expedition, and from the Royal Geographical Society

Royal Geographical Society

The Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...

. As well as its polar attempt, the expedition carried out a comprehensive scientific programme, and explored Victoria Land

Victoria Land

Victoria Land is a region of Antarctica bounded on the east by the Ross Ice Shelf and the Ross Sea and on the west by Oates Land and Wilkes Land. It was discovered by Captain James Clark Ross in January 1841 and named after the UK's Queen Victoria...

and the Western Mountains

Transantarctic Mountains

The three largest mountain ranges on the Antarctic continent are the Transantarctic Mountains , the West Antarctica Ranges, and the East Antarctica Ranges. The Transantarctic Mountains compose a mountain range in Antarctica which extend, with some interruptions, across the continent from Cape Adare...

. An attempted landing and exploration of King Edward VII Land was unsuccessful. A journey to Cape Crozier

Cape Crozier

Cape Crozier is the most easterly point of Ross Island in Antarctica. It was discovered in 1841 during James Clark Ross's expedition with HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, and was named after Francis Crozier, captain of HMS Terror...

in June and July 1911 was the first extended sledging journey in the depths of the Antarctic winter.

For many years after his death, Scott's status as tragic hero was unchallenged, and few questions were asked about the causes of the disaster which overcame his polar party. In the final quarter of the 20th century the expedition came under closer scrutiny, and more critical views were expressed about its organisation and management. The degree of Scott's personal culpability remains a matter of controversy among commentators.

Background

After Discovery's return from the Antarctic in 1904, Scott eventually resumed his naval career, but continued to nurse ambitions of returning south, with the conquest of the Pole as his specific target. The Discovery Expedition

Discovery Expedition

had made a significant contribution to Antarctic scientific and geographical knowledge, but in terms of penetration southward had only reached 82° 17′ and had not traversed the Great Ice Barrier

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 1909 Scott received news that Ernest Shackleton

Ernest Shackleton

Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton, CVO, OBE was a notable explorer from County Kildare, Ireland, who was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration...

's Nimrod Expedition

Nimrod Expedition

The British Antarctic Expedition 1907–09, otherwise known as the Nimrod Expedition, was the first of three expeditions to the Antarctic led by Ernest Shackleton. Its main target, among a range of geographical and scientific objectives, was to be first to the South Pole...

had narrowly failed to reach the Pole. Starting from a base close to Scott's Discovery anchorage in McMurdo Sound

McMurdo Sound

The ice-clogged waters of Antarctica's McMurdo Sound extend about 55 km long and wide. The sound opens into the Ross Sea to the north. The Royal Society Range rises from sea level to 13,205 feet on the western shoreline. The nearby McMurdo Ice Shelf scribes McMurdo Sound's southern boundary...

, Shackleton had crossed the Great Ice Barrier

Ross Ice Shelf

, discovered the Beardmore Glacier

Beardmore Glacier

The Beardmore Glacier in Antarctica is one of the largest glaciers in the world, with a length exceeding 160 km . The glacier is one of the main passages from the Ross Ice Shelf through the Queen Alexandra and Commonwealth ranges of the Transantarctic Mountains to the Antarctic Plateau, and was one...

route to the Polar Plateau, and had struck out for the Pole. He had been forced to turn for home at 88° 23′ S, less than 100 geographical mile

Geographical mile

The geographical mile is a unit of length determined by 1 minute of arc along the Earth's equator. For the 1924 International Spheroid this equalled 1855.4 metres...

s (112 statute miles, 180 km) from his objective. However, Scott claimed prescriptive rights to the McMurdo Sound area, describing it as his own "field of work", and Shackleton's use of the area as a base was in breach of an undertaking not to do so. This soured relations between the two explorers, and increased Scott's determination to surpass Shackleton's achievements.

As he made his preparations for a further expedition, Scott was aware of other polar ventures being planned. A Japanese expedition was in the offing; the Australasian Antarctic Expedition

Australasian Antarctic Expedition

The Australasian Antarctic Expedition was an Australasian scientific team that explored part of Antarctica between 1911 and 1914. It was led by the Australian geologist Douglas Mawson, who was knighted for his achievements in leading the expedition. In 1910 he began to plan an expedition to chart...

under Douglas Mawson

Douglas Mawson

Sir Douglas Mawson, OBE, FRS, FAA was an Australian geologist, Antarctic explorer and Academic. Along with Roald Amundsen, Robert Falcon Scott, and Ernest Shackleton, Mawson was a key expedition leader during the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.-Early work:He was appointed geologist to an...

was to leave in 1911, but would be working in a different sector of the continent. Meanwhile, Roald Amundsen

Roald Amundsen

, a potential rival, had announced plans for an Arctic voyage.

Personnel

Sixty-five men (including replacements) formed the shore and ship's parties of the Terra Nova Expedition. They were chosen from 8,000 applicants, and included six Discovery veterans together with five who had been with Shackleton on his 1907–09 expedition. Lieutenant E R G R ("Teddy") Evans

Edward Evans, 1st Baron Mountevans

Admiral Edward Ratcliffe Garth Russell Evans, 1st Baron Mountevans, KCB, DSO , known as "Teddy" Evans, was a British naval officer and Antarctic explorer...

, who had been the navigating officer on Morning during the Discovery relief operation in 1904, was appointed Scott's second-in-command. He abandoned plans to mount his own expedition, and transferred his financial backing to Scott.

Among the serving Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

(RN) personnel released by the Admiralty were Lieutenant Harry Pennell

Harry Pennell

Harry Lewin Lee Pennell was a Royal Navy Officer, Lieutenant and Commander of the Terra Nova Expedition. He was responsible for the first sighting of Oates Coast on 22 February 1911, and named it after Captain Lawrence Oates...

, who would serve as navigator and take command of the ship once the shore parties had landed, and two Surgeon-Lieutenants, George Murray Levick

George Murray Levick

George Murray Levick was a British Antarctic explorer, and founder of the British Schools Exploring Society.He was born in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, the son of George Levick and Jeannie Sowerby. After a short medical career, he joined the Royal Navy in 1910 but was quickly given leave of absence to...

and Edward L Atkinson. Ex-RN officer Victor Campbell

Victor Campbell

Victor Lindsay Arbuthnot Campbell DSO & Bar, OBE , was a British sailor and renowned explorer.-Terra Nova expedition:In 1910, he was First Officer on Robert Falcon Scott's Terra Nova expedition...

, known as "The Wicked Mate", was one of the few who had skills in skiing, and was chosen to lead the party that would explore King Edward VII Land. The Admiralty also provided a largely naval lower deck, including the Antarctic veterans Edgar Evans

Edgar Evans

Petty Officer Edgar Evans was a member of the Polar Party on Robert Falcon Scott's companions on his ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition to the South Pole in 1911–1912...

, Tom Crean and William Lashly

William Lashly

William Lashly was a Royal Navy seaman who was a member of both of Robert Falcon Scott's Antarctic expeditions.-Early life:The son of a farm worker, Lashly was born in Hambledon, Hampshire, a village near Portsmouth, England...

. Two non-naval officers were appointed: Henry Robertson Bowers, known as "Birdie", who was a lieutenant in the Royal Indian Marine, and Lawrence Oates

Lawrence Oates

Captain Lawrence Edward Grace Oates was an English Antarctic explorer, known for the manner of his death, when he walked from a tent into a blizzard, with the words "I am just going outside and may be some time"....

("Titus"), an Army captain from the 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons

6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons

The 6th Dragoons was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1689. It saw service for three centuries, before being amalgamated into the 5th/6th Dragoons in 1922.The 'Skins' are one of the four ancestor regiments of the Royal Dragoon...

. Oates, independently wealthy, volunteered his services to the expedition and paid £1,000 (2009 value approximately £75,000) into its funds.

To head his scientific programme, Scott appointed Edward Wilson

Edward Adrian Wilson

Edward Adrian Wilson was a notable English polar explorer, physician, naturalist, painter and ornithologist.-Early life:...

as chief scientist. Wilson was Scott's closest confidant among the party; on the Discovery expedition he had accompanied Scott on the Farthest South

Farthest South

Farthest South was the term used to denote the most southerly latitudes reached by explorers before the conquest of the South Pole in 1911. Significant steps on the road to the pole were the discovery of lands south of Cape Horn in 1619, Captain James Cook's crossing of the Antarctic Circle in...

march. A distinguished research zoologist, he was also a talented illustrator. His scientific team—in the words of Scott's biographer David Crane "as impressive a group of scientists as had ever been on a polar expedition"—included some who would enjoy later careers of distinction: George Simpson

George Simpson (meteorologist)

Sir George Clarke Simpson KCB CBE FRS was a British meteorologist, born in Derby, England.-Biography:George Clarke Simpson was born 2 September 1878 in Derby England, the son of Arthur Simpson, a proprietor of a department store in East Street, and Alice Lambton Clarke...

the meteorologist, Charles Wright

C. S. Wright

Sir Charles Seymour Wright, KCB, OBE, MC was a Canadian member of Robert Falcon Scott's Antarctic expedition of 1910-1913, the Terra Nova Expedition....

, the Canadian physicist, and geologists Frank Debenham

Frank Debenham

Frank Debenham, OBE was Emeritus Professor of Geography at the Cambridge University and first director of the Scott Polar Research Institute.-Biography:...

and Raymond Priestley

Raymond Priestley

Sir Raymond Edward Priestley was a British geologist and early Antarctic explorer.-Biography:Raymond Priestley was born in Bredon's Norton,Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, in 1886, the second son and second of eight children of Joseph Edward Priestley, headmaster of Tewkesbury grammar school, and his...

. T. Griffith Taylor

Thomas Griffith Taylor

Thomas Griffith "Grif" Taylor was a British / Australian geographer, anthropologist and world explorer. He was a survivor of Captain Robert Scott's ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition to Antarctica .-Early life:...

, the senior of the geologists, biologist Edward William Nelson and assistant zoologist Apsley Cherry-Garrard

Apsley Cherry-Garrard

Apsley George Benet Cherry-Garrard was an English explorer of Antarctica. He was a survivor of the Terra Nova Expedition and is acclaimed for his historical account of this expedition, The Worst Journey in the World....

completed the team. Cherry-Garrard had no scientific training, but was a protege of Wilson's. He had, like Oates, contributed £1,000 to funds. After first being turned down by Scott, he allowed his contribution to stand, which impressed Scott sufficiently for him to reverse his decision. Scott's biographer David Crane describes Cherry-Garrard as "the future interpreter, historian and conscience of the expedition." Herbert Ponting

Herbert Ponting

Herbert George Ponting, FRGS was a professional photographer. He is best known as the expedition photographer and cinematographer for Robert Falcon Scott's Terra Nova Expedition to the Ross Sea and South Pole...

was the expedition's photographer, whose pictures would leave a vivid visual record. On the advice of Fridtjof Nansen

Fridtjof Nansen

Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen was a Norwegian explorer, scientist, diplomat, humanitarian and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. In his youth a champion skier and ice skater, he led the team that made the first crossing of the Greenland interior in 1888, and won international fame after reaching a...

, Scott recruited a young Norwegian ski expert, Tryggve Gran

Tryggve Gran

Jens Tryggve Herman Gran DSC, MC was a Norwegian aviator, explorer and author. He was the first pilot to cross the North Sea.-Background:...

Transport

Scott had decided on a mixed transport strategy, relying on contributions from dogs, motor sledges and ponies. He appointed Cecil Meares to take charge of the dog teams, and recruited Shackleton's former motor specialist, Bernard Day, to run the motor sledges. Oates would be in charge of the ponies, but as he could not join the expedition until May 1910 Scott instructed Meares, who knew nothing of horses, to buy them—with unfortunate consequences for their quality and performance.

Motor traction and the use of ponies had been pioneered in the Antarctic by Shackleton, on his 1907–09 expedition. Scott believed that ponies had served Shackleton well, and he was impressed by the potential of motors. However, Scott always intended to rely on man-hauling

Manhauling

Manhauling, often expressed as man-hauling, means the pulling forward of sledges, trucks or other load-carrying vehicles by human power unaided by animals or machines...

for much of his polar journey; the other methods would be used to haul loads across the Barrier, enabling the men to preserve their strength for the later Glacier and Plateau stages. In practice, the motor sledges proved only briefly useful, and the ponies' performance was affected by their age and poor condition. As to dogs, while Scott's experiences on Discovery had made him dubious of their reliability, his writings show that he recognised their effectiveness in the right hands. As the expedition developed, he became increasingly impressed with their capabilities.

Finance

Unlike the Discovery expedition, where fundraising was handled jointly by the Royal Society

Royal Society

The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...

and the Royal Geographical Society

Royal Geographical Society

The Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...

, the Terra Nova Expedition was organised as a private venture without significant institutional support. Scott estimated the total cost at £40,000 ( at 2009 values), half of which was eventually met by a government grant. The balance was raised by public subscription and loans. The expedition was further assisted by the free supply of a range of provisions and equipment from sympathetic commercial firms. The fund-raising task was largely carried out by Scott, and was a considerable drain on his time and energy, continuing in South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand after Terra Nova had sailed from British waters.

By far the largest single cost was the purchase of the ship Terra Nova
Terra Nova (ship)
The Terra Nova was built in 1884 for the Dundee whaling and sealing fleet. She worked for 10 years in the annual seal fishery in the Labrador Sea, proving her worth for many years before she was called upon for expedition work.Terra Nova was ideally suited to the polar regions...

, for £12,500. The Terra Nova had been in Antarctica before, as part of the second Discovery relief operation. Scott wanted to sail her as a Naval vessel under the White Ensign; to enable this, he obtained membership of the Royal Yacht Squadron

Royal Yacht Squadron

The Royal Yacht Squadron is the most prestigious yacht club in the United Kingdom and arguably the world. Its clubhouse is located in Cowes Castle on the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom...

for the sum of £100. He was thus able to impose Naval discipline on the expedition, and as a registered yacht of the Squadron, Terra Nova became exempt from Board of Trade

Board of Trade

The Board of Trade is a committee of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, originating as a committee of inquiry in the 17th century and evolving gradually into a government department with a diverse range of functions...

regulations which might otherwise have deemed her unfit to sail.

Objectives

Scott defined the objects of the expedition in his initial public appeal: "The main objective of this expedition is to reach the South Pole, and to secure for The British Empire the honour of this achievement." There were other objectives, both scientific and geographical; the scientific work was considered by chief scientist Wilson as the main work of the expedition: "No one can say that it will have only been a Pole-hunt ... We want the scientific work to make the bagging of the Pole merely an item in the results." Wilson hoped to continue investigations, begun during the Discovery expedition, of the penguin colony at Cape Crozier

Cape Crozier

, and to fulfil a programme of geological, magnetic and meteorology studies on an "unprecedented" scale. There were further plans to explore King Edward VII Land, a venture described by Campbell, who was to lead it, as "the thing of the whole expedition", and Victoria Land

Victoria Land

First season, 1910–11

Voyage out

Terra Nova sailed from Cardiff

Cardiff

Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...

, Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

, on 1910. Scott, detained by expedition business, sailed later on a faster passenger liner and joined the ship in South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

. In Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

, Australia, he left the ship to continue fund-raising, while Terra Nova proceeded to New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. Waiting for Scott in Melbourne was a telegram from Amundsen, informing Scott that the Norwegian was "proceeding south"; the telegram was the first indication to Scott that he was in a race. When asked by the press for a reaction, Scott replied that his plans would not change and that he would not sacrifice the expedition's scientific goals to win the race to the Pole. In his diary he wrote that Amundsen had a fair chance of success, and perhaps deserved his luck if he got through.

Scott rejoined the ship in New Zealand, where additional supplies were taken aboard, including 34 dogs, 19 Siberian ponies and . Terra Nova, heavily overladen, finally left Port Chalmers

Port Chalmers

Port Chalmers is a suburb and the main port of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand, with a population of 3,000. Port Chalmers lies ten kilometres inside Otago Harbour, some 15 kilometres northeast from Dunedin's city centre....

on 1910. During the first days of December the ship was struck by a heavy storm; at one point, with the ship taking heavy seas and the pumps having failed, the crew had to bail her out with buckets. The storm resulted in the loss of two ponies, a dog, 10 imperial tons (10,200 kg) of coal and 65 imperial gallons (300 L) of petrol. On Terra Nova met the southern pack ice and was halted, remaining for 20 days before breaking clear and continuing southward. The delay, which Scott attributed to "sheer bad luck", had consumed 61 tons of coal.

Cape Evans base

Arriving off Ross Island on 4 January 1911, Terra Nova scouted for possible landing sites around Cape Crozier

Cape Crozier

at the eastern point of the island, before proceeding to McMurdo Sound to its west, where both Discovery and Nimrod had previously landed. After Scott had considered various possible wintering spots, he chose a cape remembered from the Discovery days as the "Skuary", about 15 miles (24 km) north of Scott's 1902 base at Hut Point. Scott hoped that this location, which he renamed Cape Evans

Cape Evans

Cape Evans is a rocky cape on the west side of Ross Island, forming the north side of the entrance to Erebus Bay.The cape was discovered by the Discovery expedition under Robert Falcon Scott, who named it the Skuary. Scott's second expedition, the British Antarctic Expedition , built its...

after his second-in-command, would be free of ice in the short Antarctic summer, enabling the ship to come and go. As the seas to the south froze over, the expedition would have ready access over the ice to Hut Point and the Barrier. At Cape Evans the shore parties disembarked, with the ponies, dogs, the three motorised sledges (one of which was lost during unloading), and the bulk of the party's stores. Scott was "astonished at the strength of the ponies" as they transferred stores and materials from ship to shore. A prefabricated accommodation hut

Scott's Hut

Scott's Hut is a building located on the north shore of Cape Evans on Ross Island in Antarctica. It was erected in 1911 by the British Antarctic Expedition of 1910–1913 led by Robert Falcon Scott...

, measuring , was erected and made habitable by .

Amundsen's camp

Scott's programme included a plan to explore and carry out scientific work in King Edward VII Land, to the east of the Barrier. A party under Campbell was organised for this purpose, with the option of exploring Victoria Land to the north-west if King Edward VII Land proved inaccessible. On 1911 Campbell's party left in the ship and headed east. After several failed attempts to land his party on the King Edward VII Land shore, Campbell exercised his option to sail to Victoria Land. On its return westward along the Barrier edge, Terra Nova encountered Amundsen's expedition

Amundsen's South Pole expedition

The first expedition to reach the geographic South Pole was led by the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen. He and four others arrived at the pole on 14 December 1911, five weeks ahead of a British party led by Robert Falcon Scott...

camped in 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...

, an inlet in the Barrier.

Amundsen was courteous and hospitable, willing for Campbell to camp nearby and offering him help with his dogs. Campbell politely declined, and returned with his party to Cape Evans to report this development. Scott received the news on , during the first depot-laying expedition. According to Cherry-Garrard, the first reaction of Scott and his party was an urge to rush over to the Bay of Whales and "have it out" with Amundsen. However, Scott recorded the event calmly in his journal. "One thing only fixes itself in my mind. The proper, as well as the wiser, course is for us to proceed exactly as though this had not happened. To go forward and do our best for the honour of our country without fear or panic."

Depot laying, 1911

The aim of the first season's depot-laying was to place a series of depots on the Barrier from its edge (Safety Camp) down to 80° S, for use on the polar journey which would begin the following spring. The final depot would be the largest, and would be known as One Ton Depot. The work was to be carried out by 12 men, the 8 fittest ponies, and two dog teams; ice conditions prevented the use of the motor sledges.

The journey started on 27 January, "in a state of hurry bordering on panic", according to Cherry-Garrard. Progress was slower than expected, and the ponies' performance was adversely affected because the Norwegian snowshoes they needed for Barrier travel had been left behind at Cape Evans. On the party established Corner Camp, 40 miles (64 km) from Hut Point, when a blizzard held them up for three days. A few days later, after the march had resumed, Scott sent the three weakest ponies home (two died en route). As the depot-laying party approached 80°, Scott became concerned that the remaining ponies would not make it back to base unless the party turned north immediately. Against the advice of Oates, who wanted to go forward, killing the ponies for meat as they collapsed, Scott decided to lay One Ton Depot at 79° 29′ S, more than 30 miles (48.3 km) north of its intended location.

Scott returned to Safety Camp with the dogs, after risking his own life to rescue a dog-team that had fallen into a crevasse. When the slower pony party arrived, one of the animals was in very poor condition and died shortly afterwards. Later, as the surviving ponies were crossing the sea ice near Hut Point, the ice broke up. Despite a determined rescue attempt, three more ponies died. Of the eight ponies that had begun the depot-laying journey, only two returned home.

Winter quarters, 1911

On 23 April 1911 the sun set for the duration of the winter months, and the party settled into the Cape Evans hut. Under Scott's naval regime the hut was divided by a wall made of packing cases, so that officers and men lived largely separate existences, scientists being deemed "officers" for this purpose. Everybody was kept busy; scientific work continued, observations and measurements were taken, equipment was overhauled and adapted for future journeys. The surviving ponies needed daily exercise, and the dogs required regular attention. Scott spent much time calculating sledging rations and weights for the forthcoming polar march. The routine included regular lectures on a wide range of subjects: Ponting on Japan, Wilson on sketching, Oates on horse management and geologist Frank Debenham

Frank Debenham

Frank Debenham, OBE was Emeritus Professor of Geography at the Cambridge University and first director of the Scott Polar Research Institute.-Biography:...

on volcanoes. To ensure that physical fitness was maintained there were frequent games of football in the half-light outside the hut; Scott recorded that "Atkinson is by far the best player, but Hooper, P.O. Evans and Crean are also quite good." The South Polar Times, which had been produced by Shackleton during the Discovery expedition, was resurrected under Cherry-Garrard's editorship. On a feast was arranged, to mark Scott's 43rd birthday; a second celebration on marked Midwinter Day, the day that marks the midpoint of the long polar night.

Northern Party

After leaving news of Amundsen's arrival at Cape Evans, Campbell's Eastern party became the "Northern Party". On 1911 they sailed northwards, arriving at Robertson Bay, near Cape Adare

Cape Adare

Cape Adare is the northeastern most peninsula in Victoria Land, East Antarctica. The cape separates the Ross Sea to the east from the Southern Ocean to the west, and is backed by the high Admiralty Mountains...

on , where they built a hut close to Norwegian explorer Carstens Borchgrevink

Carstens Borchgrevink

Carsten Egeberg Borchgrevink was an Anglo-Norwegian polar explorer and a pioneer of modern Antarctic travel. He was the precursor of Robert Falcon Scott, Ernest Shackleton, Roald Amundsen and other more famous names associated with the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration...

's old quarters.

The Northern Party spent the 1911 winter in their hut. Their exploration plans for the summer of 1911–12 could not be fully carried out, partly due to the condition of the sea ice and also through their inability to discover a route into the interior. Terra Nova returned from New Zealand on 1912, and transferred the party to the vicinity of Evans Coves, a location approximately 250 miles (402.3 km) south of Cape Adare and 200 miles (321.9 km) northwest of Cape Evans. They were to be picked up on after the completion of further geological work, but due to heavy pack ice, the ship was unable to reach them. The group, with meagre rations which they had to supplement by fish and seal meat, were forced to spend the winter months of 1912 in a snow cave which they excavated on Inexpressible Island

Inexpressible Island

-History:Robert Falcon Scott's Terra Nova Expedition comprised several groups. One of these, the Northern Party, led by Victor Campbell, did not accompany Scott into the interior but wintered at Cape Adare. In 1912, that group , began the long journey homewards and began making their way to Cape...

. Here they suffered severe privations—frostbite

Frostbite

Frostbite is the medical condition where localized damage is caused to skin and other tissues due to extreme cold. Frostbite is most likely to happen in body parts farthest from the heart and those with large exposed areas...

, hunger, and dysentery

Dysentery

Dysentery is an inflammatory disorder of the intestine, especially of the colon, that results in severe diarrhea containing mucus and/or blood in the faeces with fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, dysentery can be fatal.There are differences between dysentery and normal bloody diarrhoea...

, aggravated by extreme winds and low temperatures, and the discomfort of a blubber stove in confined quarters.

On 17 April 1912 a party under Edward Atkinson, in command at Cape Evans during the absence of the polar party, went to relieve Campbell's party, but were beaten back by the weather. The Northern Party survived the winter in their icy chamber, and set out for the base camp on 1912. Despite their physical weakness, the whole party managed to reach Cape Evans on , after a perilous journey which included a crossing of the difficult Drygalski Ice Tongue. Geological and other specimens collected by the Northern Party were retrieved from Cape Adare and Evans Coves by Terra Nova in January 1913.

First geological expedition, January–March 1911

The objective of this journey was geological exploration of the coastal area west of McMurdo Sound, in a region between the McMurdo Dry Valleys

McMurdo Dry Valleys

The McMurdo Dry Valleys are a row of snow-free valleys in Antarctica located within Victoria Land west of McMurdo Sound. The region is one of the world's most extreme deserts, and includes many interesting features including Lake Vida and the Onyx River, Antarctica's longest river.-Climate:The Dry...

and the Koettlitz Glacier

Koettlitz Glacier

The Koettlitz Glacier is a large Antarctic glacier lying west of Mount Morning and Mount Discovery, flowing from the vicinity of Mount Cocks northeastward between Brown Peninsula and the mainland into the ice shelf of McMurdo Sound....

. This work was undertaken by a party consisting of Griffith Taylor, Debenham, Wright and P.O. Evans. They landed from Terra Nova on at Butter Point, opposite Cape Evans on the Victoria Land shore. On , the party established its main depot in the Ferrar Glacier

Ferrar Glacier

The Ferrar Glacier is an Antarctic glacier about long, flowing from the plateau of Victoria Land west of the Royal Society Range to New Harbour in McMurdo Sound. The glacier makes a right turn northeast of Knobhead, where it is apposed, i.e., joined in Siamese-twin fashion, to Taylor Glacier...

region, and then conducted explorations and survey work in the Dry Valley and Taylor Glacier

Taylor Glacier

The Taylor Glacier is an Antarctic glacier about long, flowing from the plateau of Victoria Land into the western end of Taylor Valley, north of the Kukri Hills, south of the Asgard Range...

areas before moving southwards to the Koettlitz Glacier. After further work there, they started homewards on , taking a southerly route to Hut Point, where they arrived on .

Second geological expedition, November 1911 – February 1912

This was a continuation of the work carried out in the earlier expedition, this time centring on the Granite Harbour region approximately 50 miles (80 km) north of Butter Point. Taylor's companions this time were Debenham, Gran and Forde. The main journey began on , and involved difficult travel over sea ice to Granite Harbour, which was reached on . Headquarters were established at a site christened Geology Point, and a stone hut was built. During the following weeks, exploration and surveying work took place on the Mackay Glacier, and a range of features to the north of the glacier were identified and named. The party was due to be picked up by Terra Nova on 1912, but the ship could not reach them. The party waited until before trekking southward, and were rescued from the ice when they were finally spotted from the ship on . Geological specimens from both Western Mountains expeditions were retrieved by Terra Nova in January 1913.

Winter journey to Cape Crozier

This journey was the brainchild of Dr. Edward Wilson

Edward Adrian Wilson

Edward Adrian Wilson was a notable English polar explorer, physician, naturalist, painter and ornithologist.-Early life:...

. He had suggested the need for it in the Zoology section of the Discovery Expedition's Scientific Reports, and was anxious to follow up this earlier research. The journey's scientific purpose was to secure Emperor Penguin

Emperor Penguin

The Emperor Penguin is the tallest and heaviest of all living penguin species and is endemic to Antarctica. The male and female are similar in plumage and size, reaching in height and weighing anywhere from . The dorsal side and head are black and sharply delineated from the white belly,...

eggs from the rookery near Cape Crozier

Cape Crozier

at an early embryo

Embryo

An embryo is a multicellular diploid eukaryote in its earliest stage of development, from the time of first cell division until birth, hatching, or germination...

stage, so that "particular points in the development of the bird could be worked out". This required a trip in the depths of winter to obtain eggs in an appropriately early stage of incubation. A secondary purpose was to experiment with food rations and equipment in advance of the coming summer's polar journey. Scott approved, and a party consisting of Wilson, Bowers and Cherry-Garrard set out on 1911.

Travelling during the Antarctic winter had not been previously tried; Scott wrote that it was "a bold venture, but the right men have gone to attempt it." Cherry-Garrard later described the horrors of the 19 days it took to travel the 60 miles (96.6 km) to Cape Crozier. Gear, clothes, and sleeping bags were constantly iced up; on , the temperature fell below −77 °F (−60 °C) – "109 degrees of frost – as cold as anyone would want to endure in darkness and iced up clothes", wrote Cherry-Garrard. Often the daily distance travelled was little more than a single mile.

At Cape Crozier the party, with great difficulty, built an igloo

Igloo

An igloo or snowhouse is a type of shelter built of snow, originally built by the Inuit....

from snow blocks, stone, and a sheet of wood they had brought for the roof. They were then able to visit the penguin colony and collect several Emperor Penguin eggs. Subsequently their igloo shelter was almost destroyed in a blizzard with force 11

Beaufort scale

The Beaufort Scale is an empirical measure that relates wind speed to observed conditions at sea or on land. Its full name is the Beaufort Wind Force Scale.-History:...

winds. The storm also carried away the tent upon which their survival would depend during their return journey, but fortunately this was recovered, half a mile away. The group set out on the return journey to Cape Evans, arriving there on . The three eggs that survived the journey went first to the Natural History Museum

Natural History Museum

The Natural History Museum is one of three large museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London, England . Its main frontage is on Cromwell Road...

in South Kensington

South Kensington

South Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London. It is a built-up area located 2.4 miles west south-west of Charing Cross....

, and thereafter were the subject of a report from Dr. Cossar Stewart at the University of Edinburgh

University of Edinburgh

The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...

. The eggs failed, however, to provide proof of Wilson's theories.

Cherry-Garrard afterwards described this as the "worst journey in the world", and used this as the title of the book

The Worst Journey in the World

The Worst Journey in the World is a memoir of the 1910–1913 British Antarctic Expedition led by Robert Falcon Scott. It was written and published in 1922 by a survivor of the expedition, Apsley Cherry-Garrard, and has earned wide praise for its frank treatment of the difficulties of the expedition,...

that he wrote in 1922 as a record of the entire Terra Nova Expedition. Scott called the Winter Journey "a very wonderful performance", and was highly satisfied with the experiments in rations and equipment: "We are as near perfection as experience can direct."

South polar journey

On 13 September 1911, Scott revealed his plans for the South Pole march. Sixteen men would set out, using motor-sledges, ponies and dogs for the Barrier stage of the journey, which would bring them to the Beardmore Glacier

Beardmore Glacier

. At this point the dogs would return to base and the ponies would be shot for food. Thereafter, twelve men in three groups would ascend the glacier and begin the crossing of the polar plateau, using man-hauling. Only one of these groups would carry on to the pole; the supporting groups would be sent back at specified latitudes. The composition of the final polar group would be decided by Scott during the journey.

The Motor Party (Lt. Evans, Day, Lashly and Hooper) started from Cape Evans on with two motor sledges, their objective being to haul loads to latitude 80° 30′ S and wait there for the others. By both motor sledges had failed after little more than 50 miles' travel, so the party man-hauled 740 pounds (336 kg) of supplies for the remaining 150 miles (241 km) reaching their assigned latitude two weeks later. The other parties, which had left Cape Evans on with the dogs and ponies, caught up with them on .

Scott's initial plan was that the dogs would return to base at this stage, and be kept there for possible use during the following season. However, because of the slower than expected progress Scott decided to take the dogs on further. Day and Hooper were despatched to Cape Evans with a message to this effect for Simpson, who had been left in charge there. On the expedition had reached the Gateway, the name given by Shackleton to the route from the Barrier on to the Beardmore Glacier. At this point a blizzard struck, forcing the men to camp until and to break into rations intended for the Glacier journey. When the blizzard lifted, the remaining ponies, who were in an advanced state of exhaustion and could pull no further, were shot. On , Meares and Dimitri finally turned back with the dogs, carrying a message back to base that "things were not as rosy as they might be, but we keep our spirits up and say the luck must turn."

The party began the ascent of the Beardmore, and on reached the beginning of the polar plateau where they laid the Upper Glacier Depot. There was still no hint from Scott as to who would be in the final polar party. On , at latitude 85° 20′ S, Scott sent back Atkinson, Cherry-Garrard, Wright and Keohane. Scott gave Atkinson further verbal orders concerning the dogs; contradicting Scott's previous instructions, they were now to be brought out to meet and assist the polar party on its return journey the following March.

The remaining eight men continued south, in better conditions which enabled them to make up some of the time lost on the Barrier. By they had "caught up" with Shackleton's 1908–09 timetable. On 1912, at latitude 87° 32′ S, Scott made his decision on the composition of the polar party – five men (Scott, Wilson, Oates, Bowers and Edgar Evans) would go forward while Lt. Evans, Lashly and Crean would return. The decision to take five men forward involved recalculations of weights and rations, since everything had been based on four-men teams.

Evans was given new and specific orders about the dogs, emphasising the need for them to be brought south to meet the polar party. During his party's return journey Evans became seriously ill with scurvy

Scurvy

Scurvy is a disease resulting from a deficiency of vitamin C, which is required for the synthesis of collagen in humans. The chemical name for vitamin C, ascorbic acid, is derived from the Latin name of scurvy, scorbutus, which also provides the adjective scorbutic...

. From One Ton Depot he could not march, and was carried on the sledge by his comrades to a point 35 miles (56 km) south of Hut Point. On , Crean walked on alone to reach Hut Point, and by chance found Atkinson and Dimitri there with dog teams, preparing for a journey to resupply One Ton depot. A rescue party was formed, and Evans was brought to Hut Point, barely alive, on . In the confusion Scott's latest orders about the deployment of the dogs were overlooked. Lashly and Crean were later each awarded Albert Medals

Albert Medal (lifesaving)

The Albert Medal for Lifesaving was a British medal awarded to recognise the saving of life. It has since been replaced by the George Cross.The Albert Medal was first instituted by a Royal Warrant on 7 March 1866 and discontinued in 1971 with the last two awards promulgated in the London Gazette of...

for their life-saving efforts.

Meanwhile the polar group continued towards the Pole, passing Shackleton's Furthest South (88° 23′ S) on . Seven days later, about 15 miles (24.1 km) from their goal, Amundsen's black flag was spotted and the party knew that they had been forestalled. They reached the Pole the next day, 1912, and discovered that Amundsen had arrived there on 1911. He had left a tent, some supplies, and a letter to King Haakon VII of Norway which he politely asked Scott to deliver.

Scott wrote in his diary: "The Pole. Yes, but under very different circumstances from those expected ... Great God! This is an awful place and terrible enough for us to have laboured to it without the reward of priority." He concluded the entry: "Now for a desperate struggle [to get the news through first]. I wonder if we can do it."

After confirming their position and planting their flag, Scott's party turned homewards the next day. During the next three weeks good progress was made, Scott's diary recording several "excellent marches". Nevertheless Scott began to worry about the physical condition of his party, particularly of Edgar Evans who was suffering from severe frostbite and was, Scott records, "a good deal run down." The condition of Oates's feet became an increasing anxiety, as the group approached the summit of the Beardmore Glacier and prepared for the descent to the Barrier. On , they began their descent, but were finding travel harder and had difficulty locating their depots. Despite this, Scott ordered a half-day's "geologising", and 30 pounds (13.6 kg) of samples were added to the sledges. Edgar Evans's health was by now deteriorating rapidly; a hand injury was failing to heal, he was badly frostbitten, and is thought to have injured his head after several falls on the ice. "He is absolutely changed from his normal self-reliant self", wrote Scott. All the party were suffering from malnutrition, but as the largest man, Evans felt this most. Near the bottom of the glacier he collapsed, and died on .

On the Barrier stage of the homeward march the four survivors suffered from some of the most extreme weather conditions ever recorded in the region. The weather, and the poor surfaces ("like pulling over desert sand" – Scott) slowed them down, as did Oates's worsening foot condition. Scott hoped for a change in the weather, but as February drew to a close the temperature fell further. On , at the Middle Barrier Depot, Scott found a shortage of oil, apparently the result of evaporation: "With the most rigid economy it can scarce carry us to the next depot ... 71 miles away." They found the same shortage at the next depot on , and no sign of "the dogs which would have been our salvation." Daily marches were now down to less than five miles, and the party was desperately short of food and fuel. On or about , Oates, while apparently lucid, stepped outside the tent, saying, by Scott's account, "I am just going outside and I may be some time." This sacrifice was not enough to save the others. Scott, Wilson and Bowers struggled on to a point 11 miles (18 km) south of One Ton Depot, but were halted on by a fierce blizzard. Although each day they attempted to advance, they were unable to do so, and their supplies ran out. Scott's last diary entry, dated 1912, the presumed date of their deaths, ends with these words:

Re-supply of One Ton Depot

Scott had ordered the re-supply of One Ton Depot in instructions to Simpson immediately before setting out on the polar journey. These orders required the transportation to the depot of "five XS rations [an Extra Summit ration was food for four men for one week], or at all hazards three ... and as much dog food as could be carried, the depot to be laid by 1912". When Atkinson returned to Cape Evans on , he learned that the minimum three rations had been deposited but that the requested dog food had not been taken. He decided to take the two outstanding rations to One Ton himself, but apparently took no action over the dog food. Atkinson either overlooked or misunderstood Scott's instructions about bringing dogs south to meet and assist the returning polar party, because without dog food at One Ton Depot these orders could not possibly be carried out.

The emergency that arose from Lt. Evans's rescue from the Barrier changed Atkinson's plans, and the role of completing the re-supply of One Ton fell to Cherry-Garrard, as the only "officer" available. He would be accompanied by the skilled dog driver Dimitri Gerov. Atkinson did not yet have fears for the polar party's safety, as Scott was not overdue and, when last seen on the Polar Plateau by Evans, had been travelling in good order and on schedule. Atkinson's verbal orders to Cherry-Garrard, remembered and recorded later, were "to travel to One Ton Depot as fast as possible and leave the food there. If Scott had not arrived before me, I was to judge what to do", and to "remember that Scott was not dependent on the dogs for his return, and that the dogs were not to be risked".

Cherry-Garrard left Hut Point with Dimitri and two dog teams on , arriving at One Ton on and depositing the extra rations. Scott was not there. With supplies for themselves and the dogs for 24 days, they had about eight days' waiting time before having to return to Hut Point. The alternative to waiting was moving southwards, and in the absence of the dog food depot this would mean killing dogs for dog food as they went along, thus breaching Scott's "not to be risked" order (but within Cherry-Garrard's brief from Atkinson to "judge what to do"). However, Cherry-Garrard decided to wait for Scott. On , in worsening weather, with his own supplies dwindling and unaware that Scott's team were fighting for their lives less than 70 miles (112.7 km) away, Cherry-Garrard turned for home. Atkinson would later write, "I am satisfied that no other officer of the expedition could have done better", but Cherry-Garrard was troubled for the rest of his life by thoughts that he might have taken other actions that could have saved the polar party.

Final relief effort

After Cherry-Garrard's return from One Ton Depot without news of Scott, anxieties slowly rose. Atkinson, now in charge at Cape Evans as the senior naval officer present, decided to make an attempt to reach the polar party, and on set out with Keohane, man-hauling a sledge containing 18 days' provisions. In very low temperatures (−40 °F,−40 °C) they had reached Corner Camp by , when, in Atkinson's view, the weather, the cold and the time of year made further progress south impossible. Atkinson recorded, "In my own mind I was morally certain that the [polar] party had perished".

Search party

The remaining expedition members (other than Campbell's Northern Party who were still away) waited at Cape Evans through the winter, continuing their scientific work. In the spring Atkinson had to consider whether efforts should first be directed to the rescue of Campbell's party, or to establishing if possible the fate of the polar party. A meeting of the whole group decided that they should first search for signs of Scott. The search party set out on , accompanied by a team of mules that had been landed from the Terra Nova during its resupply visit the previous summer. On the party found the tent containing the frozen bodies of Scott, Wilson and Bowers, 11 miles (17.7 km) south of One Ton Depot. Atkinson read the relevant portions of Scott's diaries, and the nature of the disaster was revealed. After diaries, personal effects and records had been collected, the tent was collapsed over the bodies and a cairn

Cairn

Cairn is a term used mainly in the English-speaking world for a man-made pile of stones. It comes from the or . Cairns are found all over the world in uplands, on moorland, on mountaintops, near waterways and on sea cliffs, and also in barren desert and tundra areas...

of snow erected, topped by a cross fashioned from Gran's skis. The party searched further south for Oates's body, but found only his sleeping bag. On , they raised a cairn near to where they believed he had died.

On returning to Hut Point on 25 November the search party found that Campbell's Northern Party had rescued itself and had returned safely to base.

Aftermath

As Campbell was now the senior Naval officer of the expedition, he assumed command for its final weeks, until the arrival of Terra Nova on 1913. Before the final departure a large wooden cross was erected on the slopes of Observation Hill, overlooking Hut Point, inscribed with the five names of the dead and a quotation from Tennyson

Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson

Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson, FRS was Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom during much of Queen Victoria's reign and remains one of the most popular poets in the English language....

's Ulysses
Ulysses (poem)
"Ulysses" is a poem in blank verse by the Victorian poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson , written in 1833 and published in 1842 in Tennyson's well-received second volume of poetry. An oft-quoted poem, it is popularly used to illustrate the dramatic monologue form...

: "To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield".

Given that the likely cause of the deaths of the polar party included starvation, scurvy

Scurvy

, or both, the question of sledging diets is of interest. The rations carried and consumed by all the sledging parties on the expedition were based on nutritional science as understood in 1910, before knowledge of Vitamin C and its prevention of scurvy. Emphasis was given to high protein content deemed necessary to replace calories burned during the heavy work of sledging, especially man-hauling. In fact, the caloric values of the rations were greatly over-estimated, although this was not apparent until many years later. The staple daily ration per man was 16 ounces (453.6 g) biscuit, 12 ounces (340.2 g) 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...

, 3 ounces (85 g) sugar, 2 ounces (56.7 g) butter, 0.7 ounces (19.8 g) tea and 0.57 ounces (16.2 g) cocoa. This diet would be supplemented on the Southern Journey by killing ponies for meat once their hauling function was over, but such supplements would not have bridged the calorie deficit for more than short periods.

The loss of Scott and his party overshadowed all else in the public's mind, including Amundsen's feat in being first at the Pole. For many years the image of Scott as a tragic hero

Tragic hero

A tragic hero is the main character in a tragedy. Tragic heroes appear in the dramatic works of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Seneca, Marlowe, Shakespeare, Webster, Marston, Corneille, Racine, Goethe, Schiller, Kleist, Strindberg, and many other writers.-Aristotle's tragic hero:Aristotle...

, beyond reproach, remained virtually unchallenged, for although there were rifts among some who were close to the expedition, including relatives of those who died, this disharmony was not public. This image was reflected in a well-known 1948 film, Scott of the Antarctic, with John Mills

John Mills

Sir John Mills CBE , born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills, was an English actor who made more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades.-Life and career:...

in the title role and music by Ralph Vaughan Williams

Ralph Vaughan Williams

Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...

. There was no real change in public perceptions until the 1970s, by which time nearly all those directly concerned with the expedition were dead.

Controversy was ignited with the publication of Roland Huntford

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...

's book Scott and Amundsen (1979, re-published and televised in 1985 as The Last Place on Earth
The Last Place on Earth
The Last Place on Earth is a 1985 Central Television seven part serial, written by Trevor Griffiths based on the book Scott and Amundsen by Roland Huntford. The book is an exploration of the expeditions of Captain Robert F...

). Huntford was critical of Scott's supposedly authoritarian leadership style and of his poor judgment of men, and blamed him for a series of organisational failures that led to the death of everyone in the polar party. Scott's personal standing suffered from these attacks; efforts to restore his reputation have included the account by Ranulph Fiennes

Ranulph Fiennes

Sir Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, 3rd Baronet, OBE , better known as Ranulph Fiennes, is a British adventurer and holder of several endurance records. He is also a prolific writer. Fiennes served in the British Army for eight years including a period on counter-insurgency service while...

(a direct rebuttal of Huntford's version), Susan Solomon

Susan Solomon

Susan Solomon is an atmospheric chemist working for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Solomon was one of the first to propose chlorofluorocarbons as the cause of the Antarctic ozone hole.Solomon is a member of the U.S...

's scientific analysis of the weather conditions that ultimately defeated Scott, and David Cranes's Crane}}, the last, according to historian Stephanie Barczewski, doing "a tremendous job of restoring Scott's humanity."

In comparing the achievements of Scott and Amundsen, most polar historians generally accept that Amundsen's skills with ski and dogs, and his general familiarity with ice conditions, gave him considerable advantages in the race for the Pole. Scott's verdict on the disaster that overtook his party, written when he was close to death in extreme conditions, blames a long list of misfortunes rather than faulty organisation. While detractors such as Huntford reject this as self-justifying, Cherry-Garrard observes that "the whole business simply bristles with 'ifs'"; an accumulation of decisions and circumstances that might have fallen differently ultimately led to catastrophe. But "we were as wise as anyone can be before the event." Diana Preston's verdict, after summarising all the circumstances of the southern journey, is: "The point is not that they ultimately failed but that they so very nearly succeeded." The story received important fictional treatment in Beryl Bainbridge

Beryl Bainbridge

Dame Beryl Margaret Bainbridge, DBE was an English author from Liverpool. She was primarily known for her psychological novels, often set amongst the English working classes. Bainbridge won the Whitbread Awards prize for best novel in 1977 and 1996; she was nominated five times for the Booker...

's Booker Prize short-listed novel, The Birthday Boys

The Birthday Boys

The Birthday Boys is a novel by Beryl Bainbridge. First published in 1991, this book tells the story of Captain Robert Scott's 1910-13 expedition to Antarctica.-Plot introduction:...

, which tells sections of the story from the perspectives in turn of Edgar Evans

Edgar Evans

Petty Officer Edgar Evans was a member of the Polar Party on Robert Falcon Scott's companions on his ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition to the South Pole in 1911–1912...

, Edward Wilson

Edward Adrian Wilson

Edward Adrian Wilson was a notable English polar explorer, physician, naturalist, painter and ornithologist.-Early life:...

, Robert Falcon Scott

Robert Falcon Scott

, Henry Robertson Bowers, and Lawrence Oates

Lawrence Oates

External links

South-pole.com
Coolantarctica.com
The Antarctic Circle website and forum
The Antarctic Heritage Trust
http://images.rgs.org/search_.aspx?view=dDwyMzY0NjQ0NjM7O2w8c2VhcmNoX2N0bDppbWFnZVN1Ym1pdDtzZWFyY2hfY3RsOnNlYXJjaFBob3RvZ3JhcGhPclBlcnNvblNob3duOjA7c2VhcmNoX2N0bDpzZWFyY2hQaG90b2dyYXBoT3JQZXJzb25TaG93bjoxO3NlYXJjaF9jdGw6c2VhcmNoUGhvdG9ncmFwaE9yUGVyc29uU2hvd246MTs+PjwjnoKtxcxVIhP4Sl/NWC7UW2EL&search_ctl:keyword=herbert+ponting&search_ctl:image_type_list=0&search_ctl:collection_list=-1&search_ctl:imageSubmit.x=0&search_ctl:imageSubmit.y=0&search_ctl:date_range_list=0&search_ctl:regionEvent=0&search_ctl:dropdownThemes=0&search_ctl:searchPhotographOrPersonShown:0=on&search_ctl:searchPhotographOrPersonShown:1=on&search_ctl:refine_keyword_field=&isAdvancedSearchDisplay=&search_ctl:collection_choosed=&search_ctl:isButtongotoPressed=noHerbert Ponting Photographs]
Herbert G Ponting's Haunting Expedition Record — slideshow by The First Post
The First Post
The First Post is a British daily online news magazine based in London. It was launched in August 2005. It publishes news, current affairs, lifestyle, opinion, arts and sports pages, and it features an online games arcade and a cinema featuring short films, virals, trailers and eyewitness news...
Project Gutenberg: The Worst Journey in the World by Apsley Cherry-Garrard
Scott Polar Research Institute daily blog of Scott's Journal

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Background

Personnel

Transport

Finance

Objectives

First season, 1910–11

Voyage out

Cape Evans base

Amundsen's camp

Depot laying, 1911

Winter quarters, 1911

Northern Party

First geological expedition, January–March 1911

Second geological expedition, November 1911 – February 1912

Winter journey to Cape Crozier

South polar journey

Re-supply of One Ton Depot

Final relief effort

Search party

Aftermath

See also

External links