[Leica] Amundsen's 100 anniversary - a very long post

[jhnichols at lighttube.net (Jim Nichols)]

Nice history lesson, Larry.  Thanks for sharing.

Jim Nichols
Tullahoma, TN USA
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Lawrence Zeitlin" <lrzeitlin at gmail.com>
To: "Leica LUG" <lug at leica-users.org>
Sent: Wednesday, August 18, 2010 9:03 AM
Subject: [Leica] Amundsen's 100 anniversary - a very long post


>A very long post about a very cold place.
>
> The temperature is hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk today so we
> cooled off by watching a PBS videotape "The Worst Place on Earth." This is 
> a
> reasonably factual retelling of the race to the South Pole. We enjoyed
> seeing explorers slog through the snow. Of course we might feel 
> differently
> about it in February. It is also the 100th anniversary of Amundsen's
> decision to head for the South Pole instead of going north as everyone
> expected.
>
> My wife is Norwegian and comes from a sailing and shipyard family - so 
> every
> time we visit her home country we get a full rundown on the lives and 
> loves
> of the various explorers. Seems they were all a pretty raunchy bunch,
> although gifted in many ways. As far as the Norwegians are concerned, 
> Nansen
> is at the top of the heap. But not for his exploration. He was Norwegian
> cross country skiing champion for eight years in a row and as an 18 year 
> old
> set a speed skating record for the mile. In Norway, ski champions are Babe
> Ruth, Wayne Gretsky and Michael Jordan rolled into one. Nansen trained as 
> a
> neuro physiologist and published frequently in medical journals. He was 
> the
> first to cross Greenland on skis. He was a staunch patriot and was
> instrumental in freeing Norway from Swedish domination. Nansen was 
> Norway's
> first ambassador to London. Finally he won the Nobel Prize for his work 
> with
> Russian refugees after WW1. Who cares if he slept with Kathleen Scott, 
> even
> through, at the time, he was married and had several children. Certainly 
> not
> the Norwegians. Unfortunately he never reached either pole.
>
> Amundsen is grudgingly given second place in Norway's pantheon of polar
> explorers although, objectively speaking, his exploration record is
> significantly greater than Nansen's. He was the first to complete the
> Northern Passage, drifting and sailing from the North Sea to the Bering
> Strait in a converted fishing trawler. The boat, the Gjoa is on display
> outside the Fram Museum in Olso. Inside the museum is, of course the Fram,
> the Colin Archer designed boat that Nansen had constructed to sail to the
> North Pole and Amundsen borrowed for his South Pole exploration. Fram was
> allegedly the strongest wooden boat ever constructed and was designed to 
> be
> frozen in the ice without damage. Amundsen's expedition to the South Pole
> was masterfully planned and executed. More important, he succeeded while 
> the
> much more elaborate Scott venture failed.
>
> Norwegians tend to ignore the fact that he defrauded his backers, violated
> his promise to Nansen to go to the North Pole, and had a very abrasive
> personality that annoyed most of those who befriended him.  Despite his
> character flaws Amundsen was a very experienced Arctic explorer. He had
> lived with the Eskimos and was well acquainted with the rigors of overland
> Arctic travel. His use of dogs and skis was exactly right. The final dash 
> to
> the Pole was largely without incident. One of the reasons that he is still
> reviled in England is that in addition to beating Scott HE ATE HIS DOGS as
> the load lightened. Or rather he fed them to the remaining dogs. Unlike
> Indonesians, a proper Englishman would as soon eat a dog as a Hindu would
> eat a cow. I can testify that letters protesting Amundsen's butchery still
> come into the London Times on every anniversary of Scott's death.
>
> In 1928 he died with his mucklucks on attempting to rescue the ill fated
> Nobile "Italia" airship expedition to the North Pole. A fitting passing.
>
> Shackleton seems to occupy a unique place in the annals of polar
> exploration. At least according to the Norwegian scholars I met. He is
> regarded as a man of unsurpassed courage, great leadership ability but a
> lousy explorer. He was blessed with amazing luck where it really counted. 
> As
> a sailor, I am most impressed with his 800 mile voyage though the Southern
> Ocean to get help for his crew in a boat that I would find unsuitable for 
> an
> afternoon trip on Long Island Sound. On the other hand, many would 
> question
> the poor planning that led to the loss of his ship, the Endurance, and 
> made
> such a sea voyage necessary. Incidentally, Shackleton is not to be 
> credited
> with the amazing photos of the Endurance expedition. He wanted to abandon
> the heavy glass plates and movie film. All credit must be given to
> Australian photographer Frank Hurley who risked his life rescuing the 
> films
> from the sinking hull of the Endurance. He later convinced Shackleton that
> the photos would be the only record of the failed voyage.
>
> Scott is now regarded, at least in Norway, as the flip side of Amundsen 
> and
> Shackleton. A poor planner, an inept explorer, an incompetent leader, and
> unlucky to boot. He is regarded as a necessary contrast to the better
> qualities of the other guys. But the Brits still revere him.
>
> Here are a number of pictures from various sources relevant to Amundsen's
> voyage. I took the actual pictures of the interior of the Fram with an 
> early
> Leica digital camera, a Digilux Zoom.
>
> This is Roald Amundsen, the photo is copied from one published in the
> Norwegian press.
>
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/Amundsen.jpg.html
>
> Next comes a picture of the actual telegram Amundsen sent to Scott 
> informing
> him that the race to the south pole was on.
>
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/Amundsen+note.jpg.html
>
> A model of the Fram showing hull details. Most shipwrights of the time 
> used
> models to show workers what the completed boat would look like.
>
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/Fram+model.jpg.html
>
> This is a painting of the Fram displayed in the Fram Museum in Oslo. The
> Fram was a very poor sea boat and the crew was probably seasick in
> conditions like this.
>
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/Fram+painting.jpg.html
>
> Fram frozen in the ice from one of Nansen's expeditions to reach the north
> pole. The boat suffered no damage.
>
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/Fram+in+ice.jpg.html
>
> The internal bracing of the Fram. Now you can see why the boat wasn't
> crushed.
>
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/Fram+bracing.jpg.html
>
> Here is the Fram's helm.
>
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/Fram+helm.jpg.html
>
> Amundsen and his team reached the South Pole in December, 1911.
>
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/Amundsen+at+South+Pole.jpg.html
>
> Finally, the actual camera that was used to photograph the Amundsen team 
> at
> the South Pole.
>
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/Amundsen+_s+camera.jpg.html
>
> Now I hope everyone feels cooler.
>
>
> Larry Z
>
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