360Amundsen's team becomes the first to reach the South Pole
On 14 December 1911, the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and four companions became the first people to reach the South Pole. They travelled on skis with dog sledges and planted the Norwegian flag. A British team led by Robert Falcon Scott arrived five weeks later and found the tent Amundsen had left. Scott's party died on the return.
At the start of the 20th century, the South Pole, in the middle of the Antarctic ice sheet, was one of the last great unreached places on Earth.
Roald Amundsen, an experienced Norwegian polar explorer, set up his base at the Bay of Whales in January 1911. His team used skis and dog sledges, methods he had learned from Arctic peoples.
Amundsen and four companions, Olav Bjaaland, Helmer Hanssen, Sverre Hassel and Oscar Wisting, set out in October. On 14 December 1911, they reached the Pole. They left a tent with a letter for King Haakon VII and returned safely to their base.
The British explorer Robert Falcon Scott reached the Pole with four companions on 17 January 1912, relying partly on ponies and on men hauling sledges. All five died on the way back, in severe cold and storms.
Today the United States' Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, named after both leaders, stands near the Pole and hosts scientists all year round.
- January 1911
- Amundsen sets up his base in Antarctica
- 14 December 1911
- Amundsen reaches the South Pole
- 17 January 1912
- Scott's team reaches the Pole
- 1956
- The first South Pole research station is built
Sources: Fram Museum · Royal Museums Greenwich · Britannica.