US research stations

The first American scientific settlement in Antarctica - Little America I - appeared on the Ross Ice Shelf in 1929, during the first expedition of R. Baird. American long-term stations began to appear in Antarctica since 1955, in connection with preparations for the IGY; After this event, their number decreased significantly.

Amundsen-Scott(90° S, South geographic pole, 2800 m above sea level). The station is located on the flat snowy surface of the glacial Polar Plateau at a distance of 1276 km from the coast. The station's structures after its reconstruction, which ended in early 1975, consist of prefabricated buildings and scientific pavilions, connected by covered walkways. Some of the buildings are located under a large dome made of aluminum structures. There is a runway for airplanes on skis near the station. It is supplied by aviation from the main base - McMurdo. Opened in January 1957. Staff consists of 17-22 people. The station carries out aerometeorological, geophysical, glaciological observations, as well as a number of other studies.

McMurdo(77°51" S 166°37" E, 26 m above sea level), the main base of Antarctic expeditions. Located on the coast of the Ross Peninsula (Victoria Land). Station structures are located on bedrock outcrops. The village has more than 150 different structures, including residential buildings, scientific laboratories, a radio station, a power plant, liquid fuel storage facilities with pipelines, etc. Several runways have been equipped in the station area and a pier has been created. In previous years, the wintering staff of the base consisted of 200-250 people, and in Lately decreased: in 1975 there were about 100 people on the base. The McMurdo base has existed since 1956. It conducts aerometeorological, geophysical, oceanological and biological observations. Based on it, American researchers carry out route work in West Antarctica and supply their inland stations.

Palmer(64°46" S 64°05" W, 8 m above sea level). The station is located on Anvers Island off the western coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. The main building, a three-story house, as well as service buildings, were built on an ice-free section of the coast in Arthur Harbor. There is a pier near the house. The station was opened in 1965. Its staff consists of 9 people. The station conducts meteorological, hydrological observations, as well as hydrobiological studies.

Siple(75°55" S 83°55" W, 1280 m above sea level). The station is located on Ellsworth Land near the Sentinel Mountains. The station structures (three houses) are located on the surface of the ice sheet. It is equipped with the latest equipment for radiophysical research and the study of physics upper atmosphere. To study the plasmapause and the upper boundaries of the plasmasphere, a 21 km long dipole antenna was built near the station. Siple station was created in 1969 and in the first years it operated only in summer time. It has been operating continuously since 1973. Wintering staff - 4 people. It is mainly used for geophysical research.

Previously operating US stations

Name	Latitude (South)	Longitude	Altitude (m)	Work period	Wintering staff
Ronne base	68°11"	67°00"w.		1947-1948	23
Baird	80°01"	119°32"w.	1530	1957-1972
Eastern base	68°12"	67°03"w.	9	1940-1941	26
Little America I	78°40"	164°03"w.	9	1929-1930	42
Little America II	-	-	-	1934-1935	56
Little America III	78°35"	163°52"w.	-	1940-1941	33
Little America V	78°19"	162°22"w.	42	1956-1958	72-109
Plateau	79°15"	40°30" in.	3624	1966-1968	8
Ayts	75°14"	77°10"w.	458	1963-1966	11

What has Robert Scott been doing all these years? Like many of Her Majesty's naval officers, he pursues an ordinary naval career.

Scott was promoted to lieutenant in 1889; two years later he enters the mine and torpedo school. Having completed it in 1893, he served for some time in the Mediterranean Sea, and then in family circumstances returns to his native shores.

By that time, Scott knew not only navigation, pilotage and minecraft. He also mastered surveying instruments, learned how to survey terrain, and was well versed in the basics of electricity and magnetism. In 1896, he was appointed as an officer to a squadron located in the English Channel.

It was at this time that Scott’s second meeting took place with K. Markham, who, having already become president of the Royal Geographical Society, persistently urged the government to send an expedition to Antarctica. During conversations with Markham, the officer gradually becomes captivated by this idea... so as not to part with it ever again.

However, about three more years passed before Scott made his fateful decision. With the support of Markham, he submits a report on his desire to lead an expedition to the extreme south of the Earth. After months of overcoming various kinds of obstacles, in June 1900, Captain Second Rank Robert Scott finally received command of the National Antarctic Expedition.

So, by an amazing coincidence, at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the two main participants in the future grandiose competition were almost simultaneously ready for their first independent polar expeditions.

But if Amundsen was going to go to the North, then Scott intended to conquer the extreme South. And while Amundsen was making a test voyage on his ship in the North Atlantic in 1901, Scott was already heading towards Antarctica.

Scott's expedition on the Discovery ship arrived on the shores of the icy continent in early 1902. For the winter the ship was placed in the Ross Sea (southern part Pacific Ocean).

It passed safely, and in the Antarctic spring, in November 1902, Scott set off for the first time on a trip to the south with two companions - the military sailor Ernst Shackleton and the naturalist Edward Wilson, secretly hoping to reach South Pole.

True, it seems somewhat strange that, planning to do this with the help of dogs, they did not consider it necessary to acquire the necessary experience in handling dog sleds in advance. The reason for this was the British idea (which later turned out to be fatal) about dogs as not a very important means of transport in Antarctica.

This is evidenced, in particular, by the following fact. For some time ahead of Scott's main group, an auxiliary party walked with an additional supply of food, personally dragging several sleighs with loads, and with a flag on which was a proud inscription: “We do not need the services of dogs.” Meanwhile, when Scott and his comrades set out on a hike on November 2, 1902, they were surprised by the speed with which the dogs pulled their loaded sleigh.

However, pretty soon the animals lost their initial agility. And it was not just the unusually difficult road, numerous uneven spots covered with deep, loose snow. The main reason Poor-quality food caused the dogs to quickly lose strength.

With limited help from dogs, the expedition progressed slowly. In addition, snowstorms often raged, forcing travelers to stop and wait out the bad weather in a tent. In clear weather, the snow-white surface, easily reflecting Sun rays, caused snow blindness in people.

But, despite all this, Scott's group was able to reach 82 degrees 17" south latitude, where no man had ever set foot before. Here, after weighing all the pros and cons, the pioneers decided to turn back. This turned out to be timely , because soon the dogs, one after another, began to die of exhaustion.

The weakest animals were killed and fed to the rest. It ended with the people, again, harnessing themselves to the sleigh. Enormous physical exertion in extremely unfavorable conditions natural conditions quickly exhausted their strength.

Shackleton's symptoms of scurvy began to appear more and more clearly. He was coughing and spitting blood. Bleeding was less evident in Scott and Wilson, who began to pull the sled together. Shackleton, weakened by his illness, somehow trudged behind them. Finally, three months later, in early February 1903, all three returned to Discovery.

Caroline Alexander

A century ago, Briton Robert Scott lost and Norwegian Roald Amundsen won the battle for the South Pole. Why did Amundsen win?

“Visibility is poor. Terrible wind from the south. Minus 52 Celsius. Dogs do not tolerate cold well. It’s hard for people to move in frozen clothes, it’s difficult to regain strength - they have to spend nights in the cold... It’s unlikely that the weather will improve.”

The famous Norwegian Roald Amundsen made this short note in his diary on September 12, 1911, when his expedition was heading to the South Pole.

The conditions were harsh even for Antarctica, and it is not surprising - the Norwegians set out on a campaign from their base too early, even before the onset of the polar spring and relatively favorable weather. As a result, the dogs died, it was impossible to walk without them, and the people had frostbitten feet and could recover no earlier than in a month. What made Amundsen, an experienced and prudent traveler with a brilliant polar career behind him, act so imprudently?

Captivated by dreams. Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen was born in 1872 into a wealthy family of shipowners and sailors. Already at the age of 25, as the second mate on the Belgica ship, he participated in a scientific Antarctic expedition. And when the Belgica got stuck in the ice, its crew members inevitably became the world’s first winterers in Antarctica.

The sailors, unprepared for such a turn of events, survived mainly thanks to the efforts of Amundsen and the doctor Frederick Cook (who later, alas, tarnished his good name unfounded claims that he was the first to conquer the North Pole and Mount McKinley).

Amundsen kept a diary, even then approaching the issue of organizing winter quarters with interest. “As for the tent, it is convenient in terms of shape and size, but too unstable in strong winds,” he noted in February 1898. In the future, persistently, year after year, the Norwegian will inventively improve his polar equipment. And the unscheduled hard winter, overshadowed by despair and illness of the crew, only strengthened him in his desire to fulfill his old dream.

This dream originated in childhood, when the future polar explorer read how, in search of the Northwest Passage, Atlantic Ocean John Franklin's expedition perished in the Pacific. For many years this story haunted the Norwegian. Without abandoning his navigator career, Amundsen began simultaneously planning an Arctic expedition. And in 1903, the dream finally began to come true - Amundsen sailed north on the small fishing vessel Gjoa with six crew members (Franklin took 129 people with him). The purpose of the expedition was to find the Northwest Passage from east to west from Greenland to Alaska, and also to determine the current coordinates of the north magnetic pole (they change over time).

The Gjoa team, carefully preparing to conquer the Northwest Passage, worked in the Arctic for three whole winters - and eventually managed to navigate the ship among the islands, shoals and ice of the Canadian Arctic archipelago to the Beaufort Sea, and then the Bering Sea. No one has ever succeeded in doing this before. “My childhood dream came true at that moment,” Amundsen wrote in his diary on August 26, 1905. “I had a strange feeling in my chest: I was exhausted, my strength had left me - but I could not hold back my tears of joy.”

Teach me, native. However, the energy left the enterprising Norwegian for only a short time. Even during the expedition on the schooner "Joa", Amundsen had the opportunity to observe the way of life of the Netsilik Eskimos, learning the secrets of survival in the harsh Arctic. “There is a joke that Norwegians are born with skis on their feet,” says polar historian Harald Jolle, “but there are a lot of important skills and abilities besides skis.” Therefore, not only Amundsen, but also other European travelers diligently adopted the experience of the aborigines. Thus, another Norwegian, Amundsen’s senior contemporary and comrade, the great polar explorer Fridtjof Nansen, learned from the Sami, the indigenous northern people of Norway, how to dress correctly, move through the snowy desert and get food in the cold. After the expedition to the Gjoa, Amundsen could tell how to travel in the harshest regions: loose clothing made of reindeer skin, in which the body breathes and retains heat; fur shoes, dog sleds, snowshoes. The Norwegian polar explorer also learned how to build Eskimo dwellings - ice caves and igloos. And Amundsen could now put all this knowledge into practice: he enthusiastically prepared to conquer North Pole. But suddenly, for some reason, he abruptly changed the geographical vector and rushed to the extreme south.

It was probably due to the news that reached the Norwegian: Robert Peary had already visited the North Pole. Whether Piri actually visited there has not yet been established, but Amundsen only wanted to be the first everywhere.

It must be said that the South Pole, not yet conquered in those days, was the cherished dream of all discoverers, and the race for it, in terms of the intensity of passions, anticipated the space race. Roald Amundsen dreamed that conquering the South Pole would bring him not only fame, but also money for future expeditions.

For many months, Amundsen and his team stocked up on everything they needed, carefully thinking through every little detail, strictly selecting provisions, clothing, and equipment. In January 1911, Roald Amundsen, a 38-year-old seasoned, experienced polar explorer, sets up a base camp in the Antarctic Welsh Bay. Although he had stepped onto hitherto unexplored ground, snow and ice were spread out around him - an element well known to him. And suddenly - this mysterious false start in September, which jeopardized the entire expedition.

Amundsen VS Scott. And the reason was simple: at the same time, a British Antarctic expedition under the command of Captain Robert Falcon Scott was preparing to go to the South Pole. Today we know that one of the expeditions was destined for a brilliant victory, while the other was destined for defeat and painful tragic death. What determined the outcome of the battle for the pole?

What if Scott ends up first? — this thought drove Amundsen forward. But the Norwegian would not have become great if his ambition had not been combined with prudence. Having set out on a campaign prematurely in September 1911, four days later he adequately assessed the situation, said to himself “stop” and decided to “go back as soon as possible and wait for the real spring.”

In his diary, Amundsen wrote: “To stubbornly continue the journey, risking losing people and animals - I cannot allow this. To win the game, you need to act wisely." Returning to the Framheim base (named after his ship Fram, which means "forward" in Norwegian), Amundsen was in such a hurry that two of the participants reached the camp even a day later than him. “This is not an expedition. This is panic,” Hjalmar Johansen, the most experienced polar explorer on the team, told him.

Amundsen did not take Hjalmar into the new detachment, which on October 20 set off for the second assault on the Pole. Amundsen and his four companions followed four loaded sleighs on skis. Each sleigh weighing 400 kilograms was pulled by a team of 13 dogs. People and animals had to travel more than 1,300 kilometers, descending and climbing monstrous chasms in glaciers (received emotional names from grateful Norwegians, such as the Devil's Glacier), passing abysses and ice in the Queen Maud Mountains and then conquering the Polar Plateau. Every second the weather threatened with another dangerous surprise.

But everything turned out well. “So we have arrived,” Amundsen wrote in his diary on December 14, 1911, right on time.

Leaving “Polheim” (as the team members dubbed the camp at the South Pole), Amundsen wrote a letter on notepaper to King Haakon VII of Norway “and a couple of lines to Scott, who, in all likelihood, will be the first to get here after us.” This letter ensured that even if something happened to Amundsen's people, the world would still know about his achievement.

Scott, having reached the Pole a month later than Amundsen, found this letter and nobly kept it - but could not personally hand it over. All five members of the British team died on the way back. The search team found the letter a year later next to Scott's body.

It is difficult to compare, in the words of the legendary chronicler of the British expedition, Apsley Cherry-Garrard, Amundsen’s “business operation” and Scott’s “first-class tragedy.” One of the members of the English team, having frostbitten feet, secretly went into a deadly snowstorm so that his comrades would not have to carry him. The other, already exhausted, did not throw away the rock samples. Scott and the last two members of his squad did not reach the food warehouse only 17 kilometers.

And yet, in order to find out the reasons for this tragedy, we can try to understand the differences between the approaches of Scott and Amundsen. Amundsen brought dogs with him; Scott - pony and motor sleigh. Amundsen moved on skis - he and his team were great skiers - Scott could not boast of this. Amundsen prepared three times more supplies than Scott - Scott suffered from hunger and scurvy. The preparation of the Norwegian expedition is evidenced by the fact that it left extra supplies on the way back. On January 26, 1912, the Norwegians triumphantly returned to base - the British walked for another two months after this date, when the weather became truly unbearable.

Some of Scott's mistakes can be understood if we remember that he relied on the experience of his predecessors - his compatriot and rival Ernest Shackleton used ponies as draft force and almost reached the South Pole. And we must not lose sight of the fact that the British, having discovered the news of Amundsen’s primacy at the Pole, were in an extremely depressed state of mind, which may have fatally affected the resources of their bodies.

However, many researchers believe that the fundamental difference between Amundsen and Scott is determined not by the details of the organization, but by the general approach to equipping the expedition: in one case professional, in the other amateur. If a Norwegian goes on a hike, he is obliged to provide everything in order to return safe and sound. For the British, it was about struggle, heroism and overcoming. They relied not on professionalism, but on fortitude. Today such a view would be considered irresponsible. “The way Amundsen prepared for his expeditions is an example for me to follow,” says Borge Ousland, the Norwegian explorer who was the first to cross Antarctica alone. “He was always ready to learn from others. He clearly defined the problem and looked for ways to solve it.”

Life is in the Arctic. Having won the race for the Pole, Amundsen had no intention of resting on his laurels. In July 1918, he returned to the Arctic to fulfill his promise to Nansen and engage in scientific work: to study the movement of floating ice on the schooner Maud.

But his soul yearned for global discoveries, and in the 1920s, following the trends of the times, Amundsen made several unsuccessful attempts to fly over the North Pole. And only in 1926, the airship "Norway" (pilot - Italian Umberto Nobile, commander - Amundsen) crossed the Arctic by air for the first time in history.

But financially, Amundsen turned out to be much less fortunate than his charismatic compatriot and mentor Nansen: neither books nor lectures brought the polar explorer the expected material well-being. Embittered by lack of money, he quarreled with friends, including Nobile. But when the airship Nobile disappeared somewhere over the Arctic in May 1928, Amundsen, who was preparing for his wedding, persuaded his friends to give him money for a search plane and rushed to the Arctic, where search parties from all over the world were then sent. Nobile's team was then rescued by Soviet sailors.

And shortly before this, in the Arctic, searching not for another unexplored point on the Earth, but for a man, his friend and rival, the famous discoverer Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen went missing.

Routes of the expeditions of Scott and Amundsen

Amundsen and Scott: teams and equipment

nat-geo.ru

Scott vs. Amundsen: The Story of the Conquest of the South Pole

Ivan Siyak

The rivalry between the British and Norwegian expeditions, who sought to reach the center of Antarctica, is one of the most dramatic geographical discoveries in the history.

In 1909, the South Pole remained the last of the major geographical trophies not taken. It was expected that the United States would enter into a fierce battle over it with the British Empire. However, the leading American polar explorers Cook and Peary at that time focused on the Arctic, and the British expedition of Captain Robert Scott on the Terra Nova vessel received a temporary head start. Scott was in no hurry: the three-year program included extensive scientific research and methodical preparation for the trip to the Pole.

These plans were confused by the Norwegians. Having received a message about the conquest of the North Pole, Roald Amundsen did not want to be the second there and secretly sent his ship "Fram" to the South. In February 1911, he already received British officers at a camp on the Ross Glacier. “There is no doubt that Amundsen’s plan is a serious threat to ours,” Scott wrote in his diary. The race has begun.

Captain Scott

Roald Amundsen

In the preface to his memoirs, one of the members of the Terra Nova expedition later wrote: “For scientific research give me Scott; for a jerk to the pole - Amundsen; pray to Shackleton for salvation.”

Perhaps a penchant for the arts and sciences is one of the few reliably known positive qualities Robert Scott. His literary talent was especially evident in his own diary, which became the basis for the myth of a hero who fell victim to circumstances.

Cracker, unsociable, human-function - Roald Amundsen was created to achieve results. This planning maniac called adventures the unfortunate consequence of poor preparation.

Team

The composition of Scott's expedition shocked the polar explorers of that time, numbering 65 people, including the Terra Nova crew, twelve scientists and cameraman Herbert Ponting. Five people set off on the trip to the Pole: the captain took with him the cavalryman and groom Ots, the head of the scientific program Wilson, his assistant, the caretaker Evans, and at the last moment the sailor Bowers. This spontaneous decision is considered fatal by many experts: the amount of food and equipment, even skis, was designed only for four.

Captain Scott's team. Photo by the Norwegian National Library

Amudsen's team could win any of the modern winter ultramarathons. Nine people landed with him in Antarctica. There were no mental workers - these were, first of all, physically strong men who had a set of skills necessary for survival. They were good skiers, many knew how to drive dogs, were qualified navigators, and only two did not have polar experience. The five best of them went to the Pole: the path for Amundsen's teams was paved by the Norwegian cross-country champion.

Roald Amundsen's team. Photo by the Norwegian National Library

Equipment

Like all Norwegian polar explorers of that time, Amundsen was a proponent of studying Eskimo ways of adapting to extreme cold. His expedition dressed in anoraks and kamikki boots, improved during the winter. “I would call any polar expedition without fur clothing inadequately equipped,” wrote the Norwegian. On the contrary, the cult of science and progress, burdened with the imperial “burden” white man", did not allow Scott to benefit from the experience of the Aborigines. The British wore suits made of wool and rubberized fabric.

Modern research - in particular, blowing in wind tunnel— did not reveal a significant advantage of one of the options.

On the left is Roald Amundsen's equipment, on the right is Scott's.

Transport

Amundsen's tactics were both effective and brutal. His four 400-kilogram sleigh with food and equipment was pulled by 52 Greenland huskies. As they moved toward their goal, the Norwegians killed them, fed them to other dogs, and ate them themselves. That is, as the load decreased, the transport, which was no longer needed, itself turned into food. 11 huskies returned to base camp.

Dog team on Roald Amundsen's expedition. Photo by the Norwegian National Library

Difficult transport plan Scott involved the use of motorized sleds, Mongolian ponies, backup by teams of Siberian huskies, and a final push on their own feet. An easily predictable failure: the sleigh quickly broke down, the ponies were dying of cold, there were too few huskies. For many hundreds of kilometers, the British themselves harnessed themselves to the sleigh, and the load on each one reached almost a hundredweight. Scott considered this rather an advantage - in the British tradition, the researcher had to reach the goal without “outside help.” Suffering turned achievement into feat.

Motorized sleds on Scott's expedition

Top: Mongolian ponies on Scott's expedition. Below: The Brits are pulling the weight

Food

Scott's failed transportation strategy led his people to starvation. By dragging a sleigh on their feet, they significantly increased the duration of the journey and the amount needed for such physical activity calories. At the same time, the British were unable to carry required quantity provisions.

The quality of the food also affected. Unlike Norwegian biscuits, which contained wholemeal flour, cereals and yeast, the British was made from pure wheat. Before reaching the Pole, Scott's team suffered from scurvy and nervous disorders, associated with vitamin B deficiency. She did not have enough food for the trip back and did not have enough strength to walk to the nearest warehouse.

About the nutrition of the Norwegians, it will be enough to say that on the way back they began to throw away excess food to lighten the sleigh.

Stop. Expedition of Roald Amundsen. Photo by the Norwegian National Library

To the Pole and back

The distance from the Norwegian base to the pole was 1,380 kilometers. It took Amundsen's team 56 days to complete it. Dog sled made it possible to carry away more than one and a half tons of payload and create supply warehouses along the way for the return trip. On January 17, 1912, the Norwegians reach the South Pole and leave a Pulheim tent there with a message to the King of Norway about conquering the Pole and a request to Scott to deliver it to its destination: “The way home is very far, anything can happen, including something that will deprive us of the opportunity to personally report our journey." On the way back, Amundsen's sleigh became faster, and the team reached the base in 43 days.

Roald Amundsen's team at the South Pole. Photo by the Norwegian National Library

A month later, Amundsen's pulheim at the pole is found by the British, who have traveled 1,500 kilometers in 79 days. “Terrible disappointment! I feel pain for my faithful comrades. The end of all our dreams. It will be a sad return,” Scott wrote in his diary. Disappointed, hungry and sick, they wander back to the coast for another 71 days. Scott and his last two surviving companions die in a tent from exhaustion, 40 kilometers short of reaching the next warehouse.

Defeat

In the autumn of the same 1912, a tent with the bodies of Scott, Wilson and Bowers was found by their comrades from the Terra Nova expedition. The last letters and notes lie on the captain’s body, and Amundsen’s letter to the Norwegian king is kept in his boot. After the publication of Scott's diaries, an anti-Norwegian campaign unfolded in his homeland, and only imperial pride prevented the British from directly calling Amundsen a murderer.

However, Scott's literary talent turned defeat into victory, and painful death placed his companions above the perfectly planned push of the Norwegians. “How can you equate Amundsen’s business operation with Scott’s first-class tragedy?” - contemporaries wrote. The primacy of the “stupid Norwegian sailor” was explained by his unexpected appearance in Antarctica, which disrupted the preparation plans of the British expedition, and the ignoble use of dogs. The death of the gentlemen from Scott's team, by default more strong in body and spirit, was explained by an unfortunate coincidence of circumstances.

It was only in the second half of the 20th century that the tactics of both expeditions were subjected to critical analysis, and in 2006 their equipment and rations were tested in the most realistic BBC experiment in Greenland. The British polar explorers were not successful this time either - their physical condition became so dangerous that doctors insisted on evacuation.

Last photo of Scott's team

bird.depositphotos.com

“Antarctica is a continent in the center of Antarctica, with an area of ​​13,975 km2, including 1,582 km2 of ice shelves and islands” - this is the meager scientific description of the small white spot at the very bottom of the globe. But what is Antarctica really? This is an icy desert with unbearable conditions for living beings: temperature in winter from −60 to −70°C, in summer −30 to −50°C, strong winds, ice blizzard... In East Antarctica there is the Earth's pole of cold - 89.2° below zero there!

The inhabitants of Antarctica, such as seals, penguins, as well as sparse vegetation, huddle on the coast, where in the summer the Antarctic “heat” sets in - the temperature rises to 1-2°C.

In the center of Antarctica is the South Pole of our planet (the word “southern” will seem like a joke to you if you suddenly find yourself here). Like everything unknown and difficult to reach, the South Pole attracted people, and at the beginning of the 20th century there were two daredevils who dared to reach it. This is Norwegian Roald Amundsen(1872-1928) and Englishman Robert Scott(1868-1912). Just don't think that they went there together. On the contrary, each of them strived to become the first, they were rivals, and this incredibly difficult campaign was a kind of competition between them. For one he brought glory, for another he became the last... But first things first.

It all started with equipment, because the correct calculation when we're talking about about such, as we will now say, extreme travel, it could cost people their lives. An experienced polar explorer, and also a native of a northern country, Roald Amundsen relied on sled dogs. Unpretentious, hardy, covered with thick hair, huskies had to pull sledges with equipment. Amundsen himself and his companions intended to travel on skis.

Motor sleigh of Scott's expedition. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

Robert Scott decided to use the achievement of scientific progress - a motor sleigh, as well as several teams of shaggy short ponies.

And so in 1911 the journey began. On January 14, Amundsen's ship Fram reached its final starting point - Whale Bay on the northwestern coast of Antarctica. Here the Norwegians had to replenish supplies and move to the southeast, into the desolation and ice of Antarctic waters. Amundsen sought to enter the Ross Sea, which cuts deeper than others into the continent of Antarctica.

He achieved his goal, but winter began. Going to Antarctica in winter is tantamount to suicide, so Amundsen decided to wait.

In the early Antarctic spring, on October 14, Amundsen and four comrades set off for the Pole. The journey was difficult. 52 huskies pulled a team of four loaded sleds. When the animals were exhausted, they were fed to their more resilient comrades. Amundsen drew up a clear schedule of movement and, surprisingly, almost did not violate it. The rest of the journey was covered on skis, and on December 14, 1912, the Norwegian flag was already flying at the South Pole. The South Pole has been conquered! Ten days later, the travelers returned to base.

Norwegian flag at the South Pole. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

Ironically, Robert Scott and his companions set out for the Pole just a few days after Amundsen's return, not knowing that the South Pole had already been conquered. On the way, it became clear how poorly equipped the expedition was. Due to the severe frosts, the engines of the new-fashioned sleighs broke down, horses died, there was a shortage of food... Many of the participants returned to the base, only Scott himself and his four comrades stubbornly continued their journey. The unbearable cold, the icy wind knocking down, the blizzard clouding everything around so that the satellites could not see each other, had to be overcome by brave researchers obsessed with one goal: “To get there first!”

Hungry, frostbitten, and exhausted, the British finally reached the South Pole on January 18. Now imagine what their disappointment was, what a disappointment there was - pain, resentment, the collapse of all hopes when they saw the Norwegian flag in front of them!

Robert Scott. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

Broken in spirit, the travelers set off on their way back, but never returned to the base. Without fuel and food, they died one after another. Only eight months later was it possible to find a tent covered with snow, and in it bodies frozen in the ice - all that remained from the English expedition.

Although no, not all. The only witness to the unfolding tragedy was also found - the diary of Robert Scott, which he kept, it seems, until his death. And there remains an example of true courage, an unbending will to win, the ability to overcome obstacles, no matter what.

Evidence of the resilience of the human spirit, capable of withstanding such harsh conditions of the southernmost continent of the planet, the station in Antarctica - directly and figuratively oases of warmth on the endless icy expanses of the continent. Antarctica is explored by 12 countries, and almost all have their own bases - seasonal or year-round. In addition to scientific research work, Antarctic stations perform another, no less honorable and difficult task - receiving polar tourists. Whether as part of an Antarctic cruise or on the way to the South Pole, travelers have a unique opportunity to get acquainted with the life of polar explorers, live for several days in tent camps and take exciting excursions through the nearby expanses of Antarctica.

Union Glacier's main attraction is amazing beauty a runway accommodating multi-ton “Ilya” aircraft.

Amundsen-Scott Station

Amundsen-Scott Station is the most famous Antarctic station. Its popularity is due to one simple fact: the station is located exactly at the South Pole of the Earth, and upon arriving here, you actually perform two tasks - to stand at the pole and get acquainted with polar life. In addition to its unique location, Amundsen-Scott is also known for being the first base in Antarctica, founded 45 years after Amundsen and Scott reached the South Pole of the planet. Among other things, the station is an example of high-tech construction in extremely difficult Antarctic conditions: inside there is room temperature, and jack piles allow the Amundsen-Scott to be raised as it becomes covered with snow. Tourists are welcome here: planes with travelers land at the local airfield in December - January. A tour of the station and the opportunity to send a letter home with a South Pole stamp are the main features of the base.

Vostok station

The unique Russian Vostok station, founded in 1957 among the pristine snow-white expanses of inner Antarctica, unfortunately does not accept tourists. To put it bluntly, there are no conditions for frivolous entertainment here: the distance to the Pole is about 1200 km, the most heat throughout the year - just under -30 °C, as well as a total lack of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the air due to its location at an altitude of almost 3 km above sea level - these are just some of the details of her difficult life. However, the exclusivity of this place makes it necessary to talk about the station even beyond the possibility of visiting it: it was here that the most low temperature in Antarctica - minus 89.2 °C. The only way to get to Vostok station is by signing up as a volunteer at the Institute for Arctic and Antarctic Research - so let’s dream for now...

Union Glacier Station

Strictly speaking, Union Glacier is not a station, but a tent base operating only in warm time of the year. Its main purpose is to serve as a home for tourists arriving in Antarctica with the help of an American company through the Chilean Punta Arenas. The main attraction of Union Glacier is the amazingly beautiful runway that receives multi-ton “Silts”. It sits right on the impressive thickness blue ice, which doesn’t even need to be leveled - its surface is so perfectly smooth. Logical name "Blue Ice" once again convinces you that you are in Antarctica - where else on the planet can a plane easily land on ice like that! Among other things, at Union Glacier tourists will find individual tents and utility modules, a canteen and toilets - by the way, the rules for using them invariably act as the main photographic attraction of the station.