Captain Scott Journey to the South Pole

Captain Scott: Journey to the South Pole

Captain Scott Captain Robert Falcon Scott was a naval officer and explorer. In June 1910, Scott and a team of men left Britain for Antarctica. At that time, no one had ever reached the South Pole in Antarctica and Scott wanted to be the first.

Scott's boat reached the Antarctic in January 1911. It had to get there in the Antarctic summer, so the ship could break through the ice to get to land. After setting up camp, the men had to wait through the long, dark Antarctic winter. Only in the following summer would it be warm and light enough to set out for the South Pole.

Base camp Scott and his team set up a base camp. They had brought a wooden hut with them, cut into sections, which they put together. The walls were packed with seaweed to keep out the wind and cold. Even in the Antarctic summer, the temperature is only two degrees Celsius - just above freezing.

While they were waiting for the Antarctic summer, Scott and his team studied penguins.

Setting out During the long Antarctic winter, when the temperature had dropped to minus 40 degrees Celsius, Scott sent out a group of four men with two motor sledges to drop food and fuel along their route.