Today's beautiful animated Google Doodle marks the 105th anniversary of Roald Amundsen's first expedition to the South Pole.
Norwegian Amundsen was the first man to lead a successful expedition to Antarctica's landmark in 1911, and his crew arrived at 3pm on December 14; a month before Britain's Captain Robert Falcon Scott (Scott of the Antartic), despite Scott's party setting off at a similar time.
Given his nationality and love for adventure, Amundsen was dubbed "the last of the Vikings," according to a Google blog post, and he was famously well organised. It was these organisation skills that were said to have won him the 'race' – although neither explorer ever referred to the voyage as that. Before setting off, Amundsen famously wrote: "victory awaits him who has everything in order."
Starting at the Bay of Whales, 60 miles closer to the pole than Scott, Amundsen's expedition party was made up of 19 people and nearly 100 Greenland sled dogs. The dogs – along with the use of skis – were reportedly key to the team's success.
copyright:
http://www.wired.co.uk/article/first-expedition-to-the-south-pole
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