Approaching the Scott Centenary
It has been 100 years since Robert Falcon Scott and his team arrived at the South Pole. But words from Scott’s journal echo across time, capturing the landscape, the physical and mental hardships of polar expeditions, and above all, the dreams that inspire polar explorers.
“Over the sastrugi it is all up and down hill, and the covering of ice crystals prevents the sledge from gliding even on the down-grade. The sastrugi, I fear, have come to stay, and we must be prepared for heavy marching…The shadows creep slowly round from our right through ahead to our left. What lots of things we think of on these monotonous marches! What castles one builds now hopefully that the Pole is ours.”
Robert Falcon Scott
On January 17, 2012, ALE will pay tribute to the dreams and achievements of Scott and his men with a celebration at the South Pole. Fly-in guests, Ski Last Degree and other overland expeditions will gather at the Pole to share readings, reflections and a glass of champagne – a luxury that Scott’s team did not have!
The Scott-Amundsen Centenary Expedition teams hope to be there. Two teams are re-tracing Amundsen’s and Scott’s routes to the South Pole, in their own tribute to the courage, determination and pioneering spirit of those great explorers. The Amundsen team, led by Henry Worsley, ascended the Axel Heiberg glacier and are now at 89°S, a comfortable 60nm (111km) from their goal. Mark Langridge’s Scott team have left behind the blue-ice and crevasse fields of the Beardmore Glacier and are now at 86°30’S. They plan to push hard to arrive at the South Pole by the 17th. We look forward to seeing them there and wish them smooth surfaces, good glide, and clear skies along the way.