Photo by Olav Bjaaland
On 14th December 1911, after years of preparation and a gruelling journey in treacherous conditions, Roald Amundsen and his team reached the South Pole and raised the flag of Norway—an achievement that marked them as the first to stand at this geographical zenith having beaten Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s British Antarctic Expedition by weeks. In his diary that evening, Amundsen briefly recorded this historic moment, but mistakenly dated it the 15th, a discrepancy caused by the crossing of the 180 degree meridian. His team’s triumph stood in stark contrast to the tragedy of Scott’s expedition, which ended in the deaths of all involved as they attempted to return home.
The Diary Entry
Thursday 15 Decbr.
So we arrived, and were able to raise our flag at the geographical South Pole – King Håkon VII’s Vidda. Thanks be to God!
The time was 3 p.m. when this happened. The weather was of the best kind when we set off this morning, but at 10 a.m., it clouded over and hid the sun. Fresh breeze from the SE. The skiing has been partly good, partly bad. The plain – King H VII’s Vidda – has had the same appearance – quite flat and without what one might call sastrugi. The sun reappeared in the afternoon, and now we must go out and take a midnight observation. Naturally we are not exactly at the point called 90°, but after all our excellent observations and dead reckoning we must be very close.
We arrived here with three sledges and 17 dogs. HH put one down just after arrival. ‘Helge’ was worn out. Tomorrow we will go out in three directions to circle the area round the Pole. We have had our celebratory meal – a little piece of seal meat each. We leave here the day after tomorrow with two sledges. The third sledge will be left here. Likewise we will leave a little three man tent (Rønne) with the Norwegian flag and a pennant marked Fram.
Further Reading
Roald Amundsen’s expedition diary can be read in transcript form on the website of the Norwegian Polar Institute. The originals live at Norway National Library. Entries can also be found in Roland Huntford’s excellent book, Race for the South Pole The Expedition Diaries of Scott and Amundsen.
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