An Educational Exploration of Early Antarctica Expeditions
It was in the year 1912 when Robert Falcon Scott died on his return trip from the south pole. His friends also perished due to starvation and hypothermia. Despite Scott’s disappointment at losing the race to the south pole his courage in the face of his end raised him to the status of a national hero. You will find that further information on Antarctic Cruising Trips is on that site.
In our modern times we now fully understand the extreme conditions that exist in the Antarctica wilderness. During the bitter winter months, temperatures often reach a low of minus 90 degrees Celsius and wind speeds average 67 kilometres an hour. These are the conditions that Scott faced, and without our current knowledge of the dangers lurking on this continent.
As a scientist in the Polar Regions, Scott expressed his overwhelming feeling of isolation to his wife in letters he wrote to her. Even today, scientists that work in the region agree with the extreme isolation, despite the availability of vastly superior methods of communication. Captain Scott’s wife was left a widow, and his young son without a father, at the time of Scott’s death.
His body and letters written for his wife weren’t discovered until many months after he died. Scott’s body was found 11 miles from his camp. Scott’s wife learned of his demise in New Zealand, where she waited for his triumphant return. Visit this site for further information on antarctic cruise ship.
The letters that Scott left behind gave historians a great deal of information about his expedition. In the first days of his exploration he wrote of feeling healthy and happy. The cold didn’t seem to be a problem, as the hot food made up for the bitter cold.
At the trip’s end, Scott’s outlook depleted along with the supply of food. He explains the temperature dropping, then continuing to drop more without relief. The men rationed their food and allowed themselves one hot meal followed by two days of cold meals. They had only a little food to survive during their last 11 miles.
Scott was a legend in his field, but this trip was twice cursed. Scott came in second in his quest for Antarctica to a Norwegian named Roald Amundsen. History shows that Amundsen arrived on the 21st day of December, 1911, and Scott made it on the 18th day of January, 1911.
Scott already maintained hero status before beginning his journey because of his expedition into the Antarctic between the years 1902 and 1904. Dr. Edward Wilson and Lieutenant Henry Bowers accompanied Scott. All three men grasped at hopes of survival. Two other men, Petty Officer Edgar Evans and Captain Lawrence Oats did not survive.
They were only twenty miles away from a relief zone and they stowed supplies. They were not just running low on food but fuel as well. Scott then told his wife in a letter that she could find a new husband in the event of his death. In the same letter, he wrote of temps reaching negative 70, and only a tent to provide protection.
He never once expressed any remorse or regret for setting out on his final journey. He would rather have been there than doing nothing in the comfort of home. His bravery and tenacity invigorated generations of Britain’s young.
Roald Amundsen beat Captain Robert Scott’s team to the South Pole by several weeks. Captain Scott passed on 29 March 1912. In 1913, “Scott’s Last Expedition” was published, chronicling his journey, as written in his journal he kept along the way.
