The discovery of the South Pole. Roald Amundsen and Robert Scott. Research stations in Antarctica

The discovery of the South Pole - the centuries-old dream of polar explorers - at its final stage in the summer of 1912 took the form of a tense match between the expeditions of the two states - Norway and Britain. For the first, it ended in triumph, for others - with tragedy. But in spite of this, the great travelers, Rual Amundsen and Robert Scott, who led them, entered the history of the sixth continent forever.

The first researchers of the southern polar latitudes

The conquest of the South Pole began in those years when people only vaguely suspected that somewhere on the edge of the Southern Hemisphere there must be land. The first of the seafarers who managed to get close to her was Amerigo Vespucci, who sailed in the South Atlantic and in 1501 reached the fiftieth latitude.

It was an era when great geographical discoveries were made. Briefly describing his stay in these previously inaccessible latitudes (Vespucci was not only a seafarer, but also a scientist), he continued his journey to the shores of a new, newly discovered continent - America, which today bears his name.

A systematic study of the southern latitudes in the hope of finding an unknown land almost three centuries later was undertaken by the famous Englishman James Cook. He managed to approach it even more, having reached the seventy second parallel, but his further advance to the south was prevented by Antarctic icebergs and floating ice.

The discovery of the sixth continent

Antarctica, the South Pole, and most importantly - the right to be called the pioneer and pioneer of ice-bound lands and the glory connected with this circumstance did not give rest to many. Throughout the XIX century there were unceasing attempts to conquer the sixth continent. Our sailors Mikhail Lazarev and Thaddeus Bellingshausen, who were sent by the Russian Geographical Society, the Englishman Clark Ross, who reached the seventy-eighth parallels, as well as a number of German, French and Swedish explorers, took part in them. These enterprises were crowned with success only at the end of the century, when the Australian Johann Bull fell honor to the first step on the shore of the unknown Antarctica.

From this moment, not only scientists but also whalers have rushed to the Antarctic waters, for which the cold seas represented a wide commercial space. Year after year, the coast was developed, the first research stations appeared, but the South Pole (its mathematical point) was still out of reach. In this context, with extraordinary acuteness the question arose: who will be able to get ahead of competitors and whose national flag will first rise at the southern tip of the planet?

Race to the South Pole

At the beginning of the 20th century, attempts were repeatedly made to conquer the inaccessible corner of the Earth, and each time the polar explorers were able to approach him more and more. The climax came in October 1911, when the ships of two expeditions - the British, under the leadership of Robert Falcon Scott, and the Norwegian, headed by Roal Amundsen (the South Pole for him was an old and cherished dream), almost simultaneously headed for the coast of Antarctica. They were separated only a few hundred miles.

Curiously, at first the Norwegian expedition was not going to storm the South Pole. Amundsen and his crew were on their way to the Arctic. It was the northern extremity of the Earth that appeared in the plans of an ambitious navigator. However, on the way, he received a message that the North Pole had already submitted to the Americans - Cook and Piri. Unwilling to drop his prestige, Amundsen sharply changed course and turned to the south. Thus, he challenged the British, and they could not stand up for the honor of their nation.

His rival, Robert Scott, before devoting himself to research activity, for a long time served as an officer of her Majesty's naval fleet and gained sufficient experience of commanding battleships and cruisers. After retiring, he spent two years on the coast of Antarctica, taking part in the work of the scientific station. They even attempted to make their way to the pole, but having advanced a very considerable distance in three months, Scott was forced to turn back.

On the eve of the decisive assault

The tactics for achieving the goal in the original Amundsen-Scott race were different for the teams. The main vehicle of the British were the Manchu horses. Low and sturdy, they could not be better suited to the conditions of the polar latitudes. But, besides them, at the disposal of travelers there were also traditional in such cases dog sleds and even the perfect novelty of those years - motor sleighs. The Norwegians, in all, relied on proven northern hounds, which were supposed to pull four sledges, heavily loaded with equipment, all along the way.

Both of them had to travel eight hundred miles one way, and the same amount back (if they stay alive, of course). Ahead of them were glaciers, cut by bottomless cracks, terrible frosts, accompanied by snowstorms and snowstorms and completely excluding visibility, as well as inevitable frostbites, traumas, famine and all kinds of deprivations in such cases. The reward for one of the teams was to become the glory of the discoverers and the right to hoist the flag of their power on the pole. Neither the Norwegians nor the British had any doubts that the game was worth the candle.

If Robert Scott was more skilful and experienced in navigation, Amundsen clearly outperformed him as an experienced polar explorer. The decisive transitions to the pole were preceded by wintering on the Antarctic continent, and the Norwegian managed to choose a much more suitable place for her than his British colleague. Firstly, their camp was located almost a hundred miles closer to the final destination of travel than the British, and secondly, the route from it to the Amundsen pole was laid in such a way that it managed to pass the areas where the strongest frosts were raging at this time of the year And incessant snowstorms and snowstorms.

Triumph and defeat

The detachment of the Norwegians managed to do the whole planned journey and return to the base camp, meeting the period of the short Antarctic summer. It remains only to admire the professionalism and brilliance with which Amundsen held his group, withstanding with incredible accuracy the drawn up schedule for themselves. Among the people who trusted him, there were not only the dead, but even those who received some serious injuries.

A completely different fate awaited the expedition of Scott. Before the hardest part of the road, when the goal was a hundred and fifty miles away, the last members of the auxiliary group turned back, and the five British researchers themselves harnessed themselves into heavy sledges. By this time, all the horses had fallen, motor sledges were out of order, and the dogs were simply eaten by the polar explorers themselves - they had to go to extreme measures to survive.

Finally, on January 17, 1912, as a result of incredible efforts, they reached the mathematical point of the South Pole, but there they were awfully frustrated. Everything around was worn by the rivals who had been here before them. On the snow there were imprints of runners of sledges and dog's paws, but the tent, which was flying between the ice, was most convincing evidence of their defeat, over which the Norwegian flag fluttered. Alas, the discovery of the South Pole was missed by them.

About that shock, which survived the members of his group, Scott left entries in the diary. A terrible disappointment plunged the British into a real shock. They spent the next night without sleep. They were burdened by the thoughts of how they would look into the eyes of those people who, for hundreds of miles along the ice continent, freezing and falling into cracks, helped them reach the last section of the road and took a decisive but unsuccessful assault.

Catastrophe

However, despite everything, it was necessary to gather strength and return. Eight hundred miles of the way back lay between life and death. Moving from one intermediate camp with fuel and products to another, the polar explorers lost their strength. Their situation with every day became more and more hopeless. A few days' journey, the camp first visited death - the youngest of them died and seemed physically strong Edgar Evans. His body was buried in the snow and filled up with heavy ice.

The next victim was Lawrence Ots - dragoon captain, who went to the pole, driven by a thirst for adventure. The circumstances of his death are very noteworthy - he froze his arms and legs and realizing that he was becoming a burden to his comrades, he left the night in secret from all others and left in impenetrable darkness, voluntarily condemning himself to death. His body was never found.

The nearest intermediate camp was only eleven miles away, when a blizzard suddenly arose, completely excluding the possibility of further advancement. Three Englishmen were trapped in ice, cut off from the whole world, deprived of food and any opportunity to warm themselves.

The tent, broken by them, of course, could not serve at least some safe hiding place. The outside temperature dropped to -40 ° C, respectively, inside, in the absence of a heater, it was not much higher. This insidious March blizzard never released them from their embrace ...

Posthumous strings

Six months later, when the tragic outcome of the expedition became evident, a rescue team was sent to search for the polar explorers. Among the impassable ice, she managed to find a snow-covered tent with the bodies of three British researchers - Henry Bowers, Edward Wilson and their commander Robert Scott.

Among the belongings of the victims were found diaries of Scott, and, which struck rescuers, bags of geological specimens collected on the slopes of speakers from the glacier rocks. Incredibly, but the three Englishmen persistently dragged these stones, even when there was practically no hope of salvation.

In his notes, Robert Scott, detailing and analyzing the reasons that led to the tragic outcome, highly appreciated the moral and strong-willed qualities of his companions. In conclusion, referring to those in whose hands the diary comes, he asked to do everything so that his relatives would not remain left to the mercy of fate. Devoting a few farewell strings to his wife, Scott bequeathed her to ensure that their son received the appropriate education and was able to continue his research activities.

By the way, in the future his son Peter Scott became a famous ecologist who dedicated his life to protecting the planet's natural resources. Born shortly before the day when his father went to the last expedition in his life, he lived to an advanced age and died in 1989.

Public resonance caused by the tragedy

Continuing the story, it should be noted that the competition of two expeditions, the result of which for one was the discovery of the South Pole, and for another - death, had very unexpected consequences. When the festivities on the occasion of this, of course, an important geographical opening were over, congratulatory speeches and ovations were sounded, the question arose about the moral side of what had happened. There was no doubt that, indirectly, the cause of the British death was the deep depression caused by the victory of Amundsen.

Not only in the British, but also in the Norwegian press there were direct charges against the newly-honored winner. A quite reasonable question was raised: had the moral law experienced and highly experienced in the study of extreme latitudes Roald Amundsen drawn into the adversarial process of an ambitious but deprived of the necessary skills of Scott and his comrades? Was it not more correct to invite him to unite and join forces to carry out his plans?

The Riddle of Amundsen

How did Amundsen react to this and whether he accused himself of involuntarily causing the death of his British colleague - a question that remained forever unanswered. True, many of those who knew the Norwegian researcher closely, claimed that they saw obvious signs of his emotional turmoil. In particular, his proof of this could be his attempts at public excuses, which are not at all characteristic of his proud and partly arrogant nature.

Some biographers tend to see a testimony of self-indulgence in the circumstances of Amundsen's death. It is known that in the summer of 1928 he went to the Arctic flight, which promised him a certain death. The suspicion that he foresaw his own doom in advance causes the preparation he undertook. Not only did Amundsen put all matters in order and paid off with creditors, he also sold all his property, as if he did not intend to go back.

Sixth continent today

One way or another, and the discovery of the South Pole has been accomplished by him, and no one will take this honor from him. Today, large-scale scientific research is being carried out at the southern tip of the Earth. At the very place where once the Norwegians were expecting a triumph, and the British - the greatest disappointment, today is the international polar station "Amundsen - Scott". In its name, the two intrepid conquerors of the extreme latitudes have unseparably united. Thanks to them, the South Pole on the globe is perceived in our days as something familiar and quite accessible.

In December 1959, an international treaty on Antarctica was signed, originally signed by twelve states. According to this document, any country has the right to conduct scientific research throughout the continent south of the sixtieth latitude.

Thanks to this, numerous research stations in Antarctica are now developing the most advanced scientific programs. Nowadays there are more than fifty of them. At the disposal of scientists are not only ground-based means of control over the environment, but also aviation and even satellites. Has its representatives on the sixth continent and the Russian Geographical Society. Among the existing stations there are veterans, such as Bellingshausen and Druzhnaya 4, as well as relatively new ones - Russkaya and Progress. Everything says that in our days great geographical discoveries do not stop.

Briefly stated the story of how brave Norwegian and British travelers, despising dangers, aspired to the cherished goal, only in general terms can convey the tension and drama of those events. It is not right to consider their duel only as a struggle of personal ambitions. Undoubtedly, the primary role in it was played by the thirst for discovery and the desire, based on true patriotism, to affirm the prestige of our country.