On his way home from the South Pole, Captain Robert Falcon Scott met his untimely demise in 1912. He and his traveling companions succumbed to the cold and starved to death. Scott showed great courage facing his unfortunate demise, following the extreme disappointment at losing the race to the South Pole, and this increased his popularity, and branded him a national hero.
It is only now, following many years of analysis and research, that the unforgiving nature of the climate of Antarctica is understood, and it's affects on explorers is realized. Average wind speed is 67 kilometers per hour, and the temperature can get as cold as negative 90 degrees Celsius! Unfortunately, Captain Scott saw the same conditions without knowing what to expect beforehand.
As a scientist in the Polar Regions, Scott expressed his overwhelming feeling of isolation to his wife in letters he wrote to her. Even with today's communication options, modern explorers in Antarctica concur that intense isolation is a problem. Scott was survived by his wife, and a young son.
When Captain Scott's body was discovered a few months after his death, correspondence to his wife were found as well. The supply camp was 11 miles from where he was found. Scott's wife learned of his demise in New Zealand, where she waited for his triumphant return.
With the help of Scott's letters, historians have learned a lot. When he first began his expedition, Scott told his wife in his letter how great he felt physically and how much he enjoyed a hot meal. Scott made little mention about the cold temperatures, saying that the cold temperatures were compensated by the availability of hot meals.
At the trip's end, Scott's outlook depleted along with the supply of food. He talked about the unwavering cold conditions. The men rationed their food and allowed themselves one hot meal followed by two days of cold meals. They had only a little food to survive during their last 11 miles.
Although Scott was a pioneer in the field of exploration, he had bad luck twice over with this trek. He lost the race to the South Pole to Norwegian Roald Amundsen. Amundsmen arrived on December 21, 1911, beating out Scott, who arrived on January 18, 1912, by nearly one month.
Scott already maintained hero status before beginning his journey because of his expedition into the Antarctic between the years 1902 and 1904. As the weather changed, Scott and two companions, Lieutenant Henry Bowers and Dr. Edward Wilson, still had hopes of surviving. Captain Lawrence Oats and Petty Office Edgar Evans weren't so lucky.
The team stored supplies a mere twenty miles from a depot. Their supply of fuel and food was dangerously low by now. Scott wrote in his letters to his wife that she should remarry if he were to die, his letters described weathering temperatures 70? below zero in nothing but a tent.
His last missive shows no regret for the decision to take the trip which took his life. He even mentioned that he preferred it to relaxing at home. For generations now, Scott's courage and determination have served as an inspiration for British youths.
Roald Amundsmen beat Scott's team to the South Pole by a few weeks. He met his death on March 29, 1912. In 1913, "Scott's Last Expedition" was published, chronicling his journey, as written in his journal he kept along the way.
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