as a young boy i marvelled at the story of british explorer robert falcon scott as he bravely dragged his poorly equipped team to the south pole only to discover that they had in fact been beaten to their goal by amundsen. i recall feeling the unfairness of his untimely end and imagined myself in a similar predicament having forced and cajoled my colleagues through unimaginably wretched conditions only to find that the achievement was ultimately hollow.
the film version of this story replete with one of my favourite pieces of music, symphonia antarctica by english composer ralph vaughan williams, is a harrowing yet eerily beautiful piece of cinematography that captures the initial and very english euphoric departure through what appears to the modern observer to be in hindsight, poor decision-making that ultimately led to the team's end. i highly recommend this movie which is easily acquired through the usual sources.
for those of you who are completists, or who are drawn by the footage of antarctica contained in the aformentioned movie, i also recommend the restored film assembled by herbert ponting entitled "90 degrees south: with scott to the antarctic". ponting dedicated his life to scott's memory. filled with gorgeous stills as well as original movie footage from the doomed expedition and incorporating elements of the expedition journals, ponting's work merited inclusion on the national film theatre of england's fifty most famous films list.
the polar regions have gradually climbed back to somewhere just behind the collective awareness after a long period in which they were considered the rarified preserve of explorers and scientists in pursuit of . . . .well what? how do you characterize the efforts of people who voluntarily choose to place their lives at risk for the betterment of mankind? i sit back in wonder at the bravery and drive of these men and women perhaps none moreso than those who choose to brave the polar regions.
bitterly cold, unabashedly inhospitable, and to all intents and purposes barren, the north and south pole have a very limited appeal to the average person.
outside my house today it is minus eleven celsius. the cold fact of life at the south pole is that the average annual temperature is -50 degrees c and generally ranges between -21 degrees c in the summer and -78 degrees c in the winter. in other words, the warmest it gets at the south pole station is as cold as it gets around here!
this is the amundsen-scott south pole station as seen from the air.
here’s a virtual trip that takes you to the south pole
here’s the amundsen - scott south pole station
and here’s what the station looks like . . . from the air
and amazingly enough, here’s a live webcam from the station . . . .
so what are the people down there doing? well here’s a linked listing of the scientists and their projects . . . .
if you are interested in the history of the south pole from a human perspective then this site (nominally focussed on antarctica related stamps) has some excellent links and information. especially fascinating is this linked timeline. . . .
time-lapse photography of mcmurdo and scott stations can be watched here . . . .
and here’s a guided tour of the amundsen-scott station . . .
as mentioned in the introduction above, robert falcon scott - one of my heroes - led a colourful life that ended tragically while on expedition in antarctica in an effort to reach the south pole, which he famously achieved but not before roald amundsen beat him to it. it was on his return to the ship that he died. a summary of his life can be viewed here . . .
additional images and hauntingly appropriate music can be viewed here . . .
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