Raold Amundsen
I was struck by the life of explorer Roald Amundsen during a visit to the Fram Museum in Oslo (Norway) this November. Much of the museum is dedicated to his 1911 expedition to the South Pole, the first to reach the bottom of the Earth. In contrast, a rival team led by Robert F. Scott was second to the Pole by five weeks and perished during the journey back, just eleven miles short of their resupply cache. Amundsen’s entire crew returned home safely.
There is much to learn from the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Below are my highlights. This only begins to scratch the surface of Amundsen’s experience, preparedness, and wisdom. I encourage you to do your own reading.
KNOWLEDGE TRANSPORT: During his earlier trek through the Northwest Passage, Amundsen learned vital expeditionary skills and techniques from the Inuit, a society forged in the brutal cold. His personnel included experienced dog-drivers and a even champion skier; their skills were mostly honed in the Arctic and Norway. In Antarctica, a world away but with similar conditions, the use of sledge dogs, skis, and light clothing served his party well.
IN THE FIELD MODIFICATIONS: Amundsen’s set up their base camp Framheim in January of 1911 and would live there for nine months prior to the October push for the Pole. Preparatory depot supply runs, made from February to April, were critical to their later success. After these trips, the Norwegians decided their sledges were too heavy, so during the winter they planed them down in their woodshop. Framheim also featured a metal shop and sewing room to repair equipment: everything breaks.
DETAILS, DETAILS, DETAILS: Fuel and food were the name of the game. Upon retrieving fuel cans from their stores, Scott’s expedition discovered they had lost precious amounts of the life-sustaining fluid due to evaporation: the leather washers used to seal the cans had creeped in the extreme cold. Less fuel meant less water, so Scott’s team suffered from dehydration as they man-hauled sledges across the ice. Amundsen knew of this phenomenon and had his fuel cans soldered shut.
Reflecting on the challenges faced by these polar pioneers, I couldn’t help thinking back to our field testing in Yuma and Suffield. Certainly a far cry from the treacherous conditions faced by Amundsen and Scott, but I see quite a few similarities in our endeavors.
Inspired by my visit to the Fram (and the Kon-Tiki Museum), I have been writing logs of our summer field deployment at the Pop Up City Contest finale. I hope others can learn from our story, particularly the missteps and near-misses.
From Yuma to Suffield and beyond.