Robert Falcon Scott’s British Antarctic Expedition (often called the Terra Nova Expedition) left Cardiff aiming to reach the South Pole while also carrying out a major scientific program. This departure set the British side of the later “race” in motion, even before Scott knew a rival was heading south.
Roald Amundsen sailed aboard Fram from Kristiansand, Norway, originally keeping his South Pole plan closely held. The voyage launched the Norwegian expedition whose speed-focused strategy (especially the use of dog teams and skis) would soon challenge Scott’s attempt.
Scott received a telegram from Amundsen indicating that Fram was proceeding to Antarctica. This message made clear that Scott’s expedition was no longer a solitary bid for the Pole, but part of a direct competition shaped by time, route choice, and logistics.
After arriving in the Ross Sea region, Scott selected Cape Evans on Ross Island for his main winter base. From here, his team planned depot-laying (placing supply caches) and scientific work to support the later push to the Pole.
Amundsen brought Fram to the Bay of Whales, a position on the Ross Ice Shelf that was closer to the South Pole than Scott’s base at Cape Evans. This choice reduced the total distance to the Pole and helped set up the Norwegian team’s major geographic advantage.
Amundsen’s shore base, Framheim, began its period of use at the Bay of Whales. From this hut and its nearby stores, the Norwegian party organized dogs, equipment, and depot lines for a fast summer journey to the Pole.
As daylight returned after winter, Amundsen’s five-man polar party set out from Framheim with sled dogs and skis. Their plan emphasized speed and efficient travel, including strict routines for navigation, camp setup, and managing dog teams.
Scott began his southward march with a mixed transport system—motor sledges, ponies, dogs, and man-hauling (pulling sledges by people). As support teams turned back, Scott’s group gradually narrowed toward a final polar party.
Amundsen and four companions arrived at the geographic South Pole and raised the Norwegian flag, marking the first confirmed attainment of the Pole. They left a tent and messages as proof of their position before beginning the return journey.
Scott and four companions arrived at the Pole and found evidence that Amundsen had already been there. This moment ended the central “race” question of who would arrive first, but left Scott’s team facing a long return in worsening conditions.
After completing the Pole journey, Amundsen’s party returned to Framheim with surviving dogs and key records intact. The successful round trip demonstrated the effectiveness of the Norwegian expedition’s planning, route selection, and reliance on dog teams and skis.
Petty Officer Edgar Evans, one of Scott’s five-man polar party, died on the return journey. His death reduced the party’s strength and increased the physical burden on the remaining men as food, fuel, and weather margins tightened.
Captain Lawrence “Titus” Oates, badly affected by frostbite and exhaustion, left the tent during a storm and did not return. His action, recorded by Scott, has often been interpreted as an attempt not to slow the others, though it did not change the outcome.
Scott’s last diary entry is dated this day, near the end of the return journey, with the remaining three men trapped by severe weather and short of supplies. Scott, Edward Wilson, and Henry Bowers are generally presumed to have died around this time, closing the expedition’s central tragedy.
A relief/search party located the tent containing the bodies of Scott, Edward Wilson, and Henry Bowers, along with journals and records. The discovery confirmed the scale of the loss, but it also preserved key documents that shaped how the race and its decisions were understood afterward.
In the longer-term aftermath, the Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI) was founded at the University of Cambridge as a national memorial to Scott and his companions. This helped turn a story of competition and disaster into lasting support for systematic polar research and archives.
Race to the South Pole (Amundsen vs. Scott, 1910–1912)