OXFORD B O O K W O R M S L I B R AR

AR Y

True Stories
Stories

The Coldest Plac

Place
e on Ea rth
Stage 1 (400 headwords)

Series
Series Editor: Jenni fer
Founder Tricia
Activities Editors: Bassett and Raxter
 Chapter 1
Two Ships

T
he race began in the summer of 1910.
On June in London, a black ship, the Terra Nova, went
down the river Thames to the sea. Thousands of people stood
by the river to watch it. They were all excited and happ y .
On the Terra Nova, Captain Robert Falcon Scott smiled
quietly. It was a very important day for him. H e was a strong
man, not very tall, in the blue clothes of a captain. He was
forty-one years old, but he had a young face, like a boy. His eyes
were dark and quiet.
One man on the ship, Titus Oates, smiled at Scott.
'What an exciting day, Captain!' he said. 'Look at those
people! I feel like an important man!'
Scott laughed. 'You are important, Titus,' he said. 'And
you're going t o be famous, too . We all are. Do you see this flag?'
He looked at the big British flag at the back of the ship, and
smiled at Oates. 'That flag is coming with us,' he said. 'In the
Antarctic, I'm going to carry it under my clothes. We're going
to be the first men at the South Pole, an d th at flag is going to be
first, too!'

Five days later, on June a man opened the door of his

wooden house in No rway. H e was a tall man, with a long face.
2 The Coldest Place on Earth Two Ships 3

The man smiled, and walked away from the house,

down to the sea. In the water, a big wooden ship waited for
him. Th e man got on to the ship, and talked and laughed quietly
with his friends.
The ship's name was Fram, and the man was Roald
Amundsen. The was the most beautiful ship on earth,

Captain Robert Falcon Scott

H e waited outside the house for a minute. Everything was very

quiet. He could see no houses, only mountains, trees, and
water. It was nearly dark. The sky was black over the
mountains.
4 Th e Coldest Place on Earth The Race 5

Amundsen thought. H is friends were the best skiers on earth, they just eat and play all day! They're having a wonderful
too. O ne of them, Ola v Bjaaland, smiled at him. summer here!'
'Nor th Pole, here we come, Captain,' he said. 'Good, good.' Amundsen laughed. 'But that's finished now.
'Yes.' Amundsen said . His friends could no t see his face in Hey, Bjaaland! Stop laughing - come down here and help me.
the dark. 'Fram is going t o th e Arctic.' Let's get all these dogs on to t he ship!'
Everyone on th e Fram was ready to go t o the North Pole, to It was not easy. The dogs were fat and strong, and they
the Arctic. Amundsen wanted to go there, too. But first he didn't want to go on the ship. But at last, after three hours' hard
wanted to go south. His friends didn't kno w that. work, all ninety -nine were on the ship, and the Fram went out
At midnight on June the Fram moved quietly away fro m to sea again.
Amundsen's house, out t o sea. The men were not happy. The weather was bad, the dogs
were dirty, and some of the men were ill. They began to ask
questions.
Chapter 2 'Why are we bringing dogs with us?' asked one man,
Johan sen. 'We're going thousands of kilometres sou th, past
The Race
Cape Horn, and then nor th to Alaska. Why not wait, and get
dogs in Alaska?'

T
he Fram went to an island in the south of Norway . It was 'Don't ask me,' said his friend, Helmer Hans sen , 'I don't
a very little island, with only one small wooden house, two understand it.'
trees - and nearly a hundred dogs. The men talked for a long time. Then, on September
'Look a t that!' Bjaa land said. 'It's an island of dogs! Ther e Amundsen called everyone to the back of the ship. H e stood
are dogs in the water, near the trees, on the house - dogs quietly and looked at them. Behind him was a big map. It was
everywhere!' not a map of the Arctic. It was a map of Antarctica.
Two men came out of the house. 'Hassel! Bjaaland looked at Helmer Hanssen, and laughed. Then
Amundsen said. 'It's good t o see you! How many dogs do you Amundsen began to speak.
have for me?' 'Boys,' he said. 'I k no w you are unhap py. You often ask me
'Ninety-nine, Roald,' said Hassel. 'The best ninety-nine dogs difficult questions, and I don't answer. Well, I'm going to
from Greenland. And they're very happy! They don't work; answer all those questions now, today.
6 Th e Coldest Place on Earth

'We began to w ork for this journey tw o years ago. Then , we Chapter 3
wanted to be the first men at the North Pole. But last year,
Peary, an American, foun d the No rth Pole. So America was first The Ponies
to the North Pole, not Norway. We're going there, but we're
too late.'

0
n October the Terra arrived in Wellington,
'I don't understand this,' Bjaaland thought. 'Why is Amundsen
New When Scott came off the ship, a newspaper
talking about the N orth Pole, with a map of Antarctica behind
man walked up to him.
him?'
'Captain Scott! Captain Scott! Can I talk to you, please!' he
Amundsen stopped for a minute, and looked at all the men
said.
slowly. N o one said anything.
'We have t o go a long way south before we get to Alaska,' he
said. 'Very near Antarctica, you know. And Captain Scott, the
Englishman, is going to the South Pole this year. He wants
pu t his British flag there. An American flag at the Nort h Pole, a
British flag at the South Pole.'
Bjaaland began to understand. He started to smile and
couldn't stop. He was wa rm and excited.
'Well, boys,' Amundsen said slowly. 'Do we want th e British
to put their flag at the South Pole first? How fast can we travel?
We have a lot of dogs, and some of th e most wonde rful skiers
on earth - Bjaaland here is the best in Norway! So I have an
idea, boys. Let's go to the South Pole, and put the Norwegian
flag there before the British! What do you say?'
For a minute or two it was very quiet. Amundsen waited, and
the men watched him and thought. Then Bjaaland laughed.
'Yes!' he said. 'Why no t? It's a ski race, isn't it, and th e
English can't ski! It's a wonderful idea, of course! Let's go!' Terra Nova
8 The Coldest Place on Earth The Ponies 9

Scott stopped and smiled. 'Yes, of course,' he said. 'What do we have more men, and more money. He has only eight men,
you want to know?' and a lot of dogs. I know about dogs- they don't work in the
'Are you going to win ?' the man asked. Antarctic. We have sixteen men and the new motor sledges -
'Win?' Scott asked. 'Win what?' they are much better. And tomorrow the ponies are coming.
'Win the race to the South Pole, of course,' the newspaper We need ponies, mot or sledges, and good strong British men -
man said. 'It's a race between you and Amundsen, now. Look that's all. Forget about Amundsen! He's not important!'
at this!' H e gave a newspaper to Scott. Scott looked at it. It said: Scott asked Oates to look after th e ponies, but he did not let
Oates buy them. When Oates first saw the ponies, in New
he was very unhappy. Mo st of th e ponies were old,

RACES and some of them were ill.

'They're beautiful ponies, Titus,' Scott said. 'They come
SOUTH from China - they're wonderful ponies!'
Oates looked at them angrily, and said nothing. Then he
n!'says Amundsen asked: 'Where is their food, Captain?'
'Here!' Scott opened a door.
Oates looked inside. He thought for a minute. 'We need
Scott's face went white. 'Give me that!' he said. He took the more food than this, Captain Scott! These ponies are going to
newspaper and read it carefully. The newspaper man watched work in the coldest place on earth - they need a lot of food -
him, and waited. 'Well, Ca ptain Scott,' he said at last. 'Who's more than this!'
going to win this race? Tell me that!' Scott smiled quietly. 'We can't take more food on this ship,
Scott looked at him angrily. 'This is stupid!' he said. 'It's not Titus. Where can we put it? But it doesn't matter, old boy.
a race! I came here to learn about the Antarctic - I'm not They're very strong ponies, you know. The best ponies on
interested in Amundsen, or in races!' The n he walked back ont o earth.'
his ship, with the newspaper in his hand. Later that night, Oates wrote a letter to his mother. There
Later that day, he talked to his men. He gave them the are nineteen ponies on the Terra Nova now, he wrote. All the
newspaper, and laughed. ponies are in a small ro om at the front of the shi p. W e eat our
'It doesn't matter,' he said. 'We're in front of Amundsen, and food in the roo m under the ponies, so our table is often wet and
10 Th e Coldest Place on Earth

dirty. Scott make s a lot of mistakes, thi nk, and Antarctica is a

very dangerous place. Chapter 4

Food Depots

T
he two ships, Terra Nov a and arrived in Antarctica,
in January 1911, at the end of summer. The Englishmen
and the Norweg ians wanted to stay on the ice all winter. They
wanted t o be ready to go t o the South Pole at the beginning of
the next Antarctic summer.
Th e dogs pulled the Norwegians' sledges. They ran quickly
over the snow an d pulled the big sledges from the ship ont o the
ice. Th e men ra n beside them o n skis.
They put a big wooden house on the ice. Th e house was full
of food, and skis, and sledges. They called it Framheim.

the
Framheim
12 Th e Coldest Place on Earth Food Depots 13

Outside the house, the dogs lived in holes under the snow. flag on top . The n he put ten flags to th e east of th e depot - each
When the house was ready, the men made their first journey flag half a kilometre from the next - and ten flags to the west.
south. So there were flags for five kilometres t o the left of th e depot,
Before the winter, they wanted t o take a lot of food south , and five kilometres to the right.
and leave it in depots. For the long journey to the Pole, they Then they went back to Framheim, and took some more
needed a lot of food, and they couldn't carry it all with them. food south, this time to South.
On February five men, th ree sledges, eighteen dogs, an d This time it was harder. The temperature was sometimes
half a tonne of food left Framheim and went south. Centigrade, and there were strong winds with a lot of
It was easy. The weather was warm for the Antarctic, snow. The dogs and men were very tired, and the tents and
between Centigrade and Centigrade. The snow was boot s were bad. At the second depot , they pu t out sixty flags, to
good, an d the dogs and skis went fast. They went fifty or sixty help them find it again.
kilometres every day. After four days they reached South, They came back to Framheim on March It was nearly
and made the first depot. winter in the Antarctic. Their ship Fram was far away now,
Amundsen made his depot very carefully. It was very near South America. were alone on the ice.
important to find it again, next summer. So he put a big black

Oates we nt with Scott t o make the first British depot. Th ey left

Cape Evans on Jan uary 25th. Ther e were thirteen men, eight
ponies, and twenty -six dogs. The dogs were faster than the
ponies - they ran quickly over the top of the snow, but the
ponies' feet went through it. Every morning the ponies started
first, and the dogs started two hours later, because they ran
faster. At night, the dogs made war m holes under the snow, b ut
the ponies stood o n to p of the snow. It was Centigrade.
After fifteen days Oates talked to Scott. There was a strong
The first depot wind, and t he two men's faces were white with snow.
14 The Coldest Place on Earth A Long Cold Win ter 15

'Three of these ponies are ill, Captain,' Oates said. 'They Their cam p was on a n island in the ice, and the sea ice moved
can't go sometimes. There were holes in the ice, and black sea water
'Don't be stupid, Oates,' Scott answered. 'They're good under it. One day seven ponies went through the ice into the
strong animals - the best ponies on earth.' sea, and died. On e mot or sledge also went into t he sea.
'Not these three,' Oat es said. 'They're ill, and unhappy, and
now they can't walk. Let's kill them, and leave the meat here, in
the snow. We can eat it, or the dogs can.' Chapter
'Of course not!' Scott said angrily. 'These ponies are our
friends, they work hard for us. I don't kill my friends!'
A Long Cold Winter
Three days later, two of the ponies were dead.
Scott's men were slower than Amundsen's; it took them

I
t was dark for four months. Outside the wooden house at
twenty - four days to get to South. They made a big depot
Framheim, it was often Centigrade. Th e dogs lived in
there, and p ut one large black flag on top of it. Th en they went warm holes under the snow.
back t o Cape Evans. The men stayed in the
house, and worked in their
rooms under the snow.
The skis and sledges came
from the best shops in
Norway, but Bjaaland
wasn't happy with them.
He changed a lot of things
on the skis and sledges.
Soon the sledges were
stronger than before. The
skis were better and faster,
too. Bjaaland ch anged a lot o f thi ngs
Terra Nova ut
All the Norwegians on t he sledges.
16 Th e Coldest Place o n Earth A Lon g Cold W int er 17

worked hard. They looked after their dogs, and worked on

their equipment - the sledges, skis, tents. Every day they
thought about their journey to the Pole, and talked about it.
And every day, Amundsen thought about Scott. One day, in
midwinter, he talked to his men.
'Let's st art early, before Scott,' A mundsen said. 'Remember,
Scott has more men than us, and he has motor sledges, too.
Perhaps they can go faster than us.'
Bjaaland laughed. 'Oh no, they can't go faster than me,' he
said. 'On snow, nothing can go faster than a good m an on skis.'
'We don't know,' Amundsen said. 'You're the best skier in
Norway, but you get tired, and dogs get tired, too. Motor
sledges don't get tired. They can go all day and all night.'
Johansen laughed angrily. 'That's stupid,' he said. 'Perhaps Insi de Framheim
the m otor sledges can go all night, but the Englishmen can't.
The English can't win, Roald - they don't understand snow, unhappy. 'That's too early! We can't st art then - it's dangerous
but we do. And they're to o slow.' and stupid!'
'Perhaps,' Amundsen said. 'But I want to win this race. So Amundsen looked at Johansen coldly. 'You're wrong,
we're going to start early! Do you understand?' Johansen,' he said. 'We w ant t o win, remember? So we start o n
It was quiet and wa rm inside Framheim. Bjaaland looked at August 24th.'
Amundsen, an d though a bout the long, cold journey in front of Bjaaland listened t o the winter wind outside.
him. H e thoug ht abou t the dogs in their holes under the snow,
and listened to the wind over the house. 'When, Roald?' he said
quietly.
'On August 24th. The sun comes back on th at day. We start In Scott's cam p, a t Cape Evans, no one talked abou t Amundsen
then.' and no one wor ked hard. They h ad good food, and they played
'But we can't!' Johans en said. He looked angry, and football on the snow. They wrot e a newspaper - Polar
18 Th e Coldest Place on Earth A Long Cold Win te r 19

In Scott's camp at Cape Evans they had good food.

Times - and read books. No one learnt t o ski, no one worked

on t he motor sledges. Twice, men went for long journeys across
the snow. They walked, and pulled the sledges themselves.
Oates stayed at Cape Evans and looked after his ponies.
Over the window in Cape Evans, Scott put a map of
Antarctica. With a pen, he made a line from Ca pe Evans to the
South Pole, and he put a little British Flag at the Pole. Under the
map, Scott wrote the day for the start of their journey.
W e start on N ovember he wrote. We start on November he wrote.
 A Bad Start 21

Chapter 6 Then, on Monday, the temperature went down - to

A Bad Start Centigrade. Ther e was white fog in front of their faces. The y
couldn't see anythin g. But they travelled twenty-eight kilometres.
Th at night, in their tents, they nearly died of cold. Next day,

0
n August the Norwegians' sledges were ready. They they stopped and made snow houses. Inside the snow houses, it
took them outside, and the dogs pulled them across the was warm. But everyone was unhappy.
ice. The sun came up for a half an hour, but it was too cold: 'I told you, Roald!' Johansen said. 'Even September is too
Centigrade. They could not travel in that weather. They early! We can't travel in this cold. D o you w ant us to die? Let's
went back to Framheim and waited. go back and wait for better weather.'
They waited two Amundsen was very angry. He was angry w ith Johansen, but
weeks, until September he was angry with himself, too. H e knew Johansen was right.
8th. Then, with the 'All right,' he said slowly. 'We can go o n to the depot a t
temperature at South, leave the food there, and then go back. W e can't do more
Centigrade, they started. than that.'
They ran happily across It was thirty-seven kilometres to the depot. T he wind was in
the snow to the south - their faces all Tw o dogs died on the way. At the depot,
eight m en, seven sledges, they did not stop. They p ut out th e food and the flags, turned
and eighty - six dogs. round, and went north.
Only the At last the wind was behind them. Th e dogs ran quickly, and
cook, stayed behind in the men sat on the empty sledges. They went faster and faster.
Framheim. It was like a race. Amund sen was on Wisting's sledge, and so on
At first everything he, Wisting, and Hanssen were three or four kilometres in
went well. They went front. Soon they were alone. They travelled seventy -five
twenty- eight kilometres kilometres in nine hours, and they reached Framheim a t four
on Saturday, and o'clock that afternoon.
eight kilometres on Bjaaland arrived two hours later, with two more men. But
Sunday. It was easy. At first e ver yt hi ng we nt well. the last two - Johansen an d Prestrud - went mo re slowly. Their
22 The Coldest Place on Earth Motor Sledges and Mountains 23

dogs were tired, their feet were wet and cold, they had no food,
men went with them, but Scott stayed at Cape Evans for
and they were alone in the dark. The temperature was
another week.
Centigrade. They reached Framheim a t midnight.
Oates was unhappy. H e wrote to his mother: W e had a very
Next morn ing, Johansen was angry. In front of everyone, he
bad winter here. don't like Scott. W e were here all winter, but
said: 'You were wrong, Roald. September was too early. I told he didn't learn to ski, or t o drive dogs. Our equipm ent is bad, and
you but you didn't listen. And then you left us alone and we
he doesn't thin k about ot her people. I'm going to sleep in his tent
nearly died in the cold! You're a bad captain - I'm a better on the journey, but I don't want to.
captain t han you are!'
Amundsen was very angry. But at first he said nothing,
because he knew tha t Johansen was right. Th en, th at evening,
he gave a letter to Johansen. It said:
Yo u aren't coming to the Pole with me. Wh en I go south, you
can take some dogs and go east to King Edward Land. Yo u
can go wit h Prestrud and Yo u can be the first men to
go there - but not t o the South Pole!
Th e Norwegians stayed in Framheim and waited. They lay
in bed, listened to the wind outside, and thought about Scott
and his motor sledges.

Chapter 7

Motor Sledges and Mountains

S
cott had two motor sledges now. They were the first motor
sledges in the Antarctic - the first on earth. On October
the motor sledges started south from Cape Evans. Fou r The first motor sledge in Antarctica
24 The Coldest Place on Earth Motor Sledges and Mountains 25

On November 1st Scott and Oates and six more men left under the snow. They were all happy. had a lot of food,
Cape Evans with eight sledges and eight ponies. The ponies had good equipment, and they were warm. could
walked slowly because their feet went do wn i nto the snow. travel fast.
was hard work fo r them an d they got tired very quickly. They
travelled thirteen o r fourteen kilometres in a day.
Behind the ponies came with one sledge and some
dogs. knew how to drive dogs. Every day,
started two hours after the ponies, and arrived two hours
before them.
After five days, they found the motor sledges.

The Norw egians began again on Oct ober The re were five
men this time - Amundsen, Bjaaland, Wisting, Hassel, and
Hanssen. They had f our sledges, and forty-eight dogs.
There w as a lot of wind and fog. O n the first day, Wisting's
sledge suddenly stopped, and the back went down. 'Come on,
you dogs!' he said angrily. 'Pull! Pull!' At first nothing
happened; then, slowly, the sledge moved again. Wisting
looked down , over the side of the sledge. Under the snow, ther e
was a fifty metre hole. The depot at South.

'Did you see that? ' Amundsen said. 'The ice wants to eat us Next morning, the snowstorm stopped, and the journey
- men, dogs, sledges, everything.' again. Today , everything is wonderful, Bjaaland wrote in
On the fourth day they reached the depot at South. There his diar y. But where is Scott? In front of us, or behind?
was a bad snow storm , but they found the flags easily. N ext
the men stayed in their tents, and the dogs played in their holes
26 The Coldest Place on Earth Across the Plateau 27

There was no one with the motor sledges; they were broken. They laughed, and skied happily down the white snow. 'This
Scott looked at them angrily. is like home,' Bjaaland thought. 'But it's bigger than Norway,
'It doesn't matter,' he said. 'Teddy Evans and his men are in and better.'
front of us. They're good men - they're pulling their sledges In the next four days, the dogs pulled the sledges eighty-one
themselves. We can get to the Pole on foot.' kilometres, and went up 3,000 metres. At last, Amundsen and
Oates looked at Meares. Oates and the ponies were tired, but Bjaaland stood on the plateau behind the mountains. They
and his dogs were not. The snow was home for them. were tired, happy men.
Th at night, Oates wrote: Three mot or sledges at £1,000 each, Bjaaland looked back a t the mountains. 'Ca n a mo tor sledge
19 ponies at £5 each, 32 dogs at each. Well, it's not my get up here?' he asked.
money , it's Scott's. Amundsen smiled. 'No,' he said. 'I don't thin k so. And Scott
On November one of the ponies died. doesn't like dogs. So his men are going to pull their sledges up
these mountains themselves. Would you like to do th at, Ola v?'
Bjaaland didn't answer. H e smiled, and skied happily away
across the snow.
On November the Norwegians saw the mountains.
The mountains were very high - some of the highest on
earth. Bjaaland smiled. Chapter 8
'There is good skiing up there, he said. 'But c an dogs Across the Plateau
get up there too?'
'Of c ourse they can,' Amundsen said. 'Come on.'

0
They left Hanssen with the dogs, and skied a little way up the n November the Norwegians killed thirty dogs.
mountains. It was difficult, but the mountains were big and 'They were happy,' Amundsen said. 'And now they're
beautiful. Behind the mountains, Amundsen t hought there was going to die quickly. We need thr ee sledges, an d eighteen dogs,
a high plateau of ice. 'That's it,' Amundsen said. 'That's the to go to the Pole.'
road t o the Pole. Tomor row, we can bring the dogs and sledges When the dogs were dead, the other dogs ate them. The men
up here. But now, let's have a ski race. Who can get back to ate them, too. The y were good friends, Bjaaland wrote in his
camp first?' diary. And n ow t hey are good food. Tw o days later, the dogs
28 The Coldest Place on Earth Across the Plateau 29

were fat. Then, in a sno wstorm, they began the journey again.
After th e snowstorm, there was fog, and in th e fog, they got
lost on an ice river with hundreds of big holes in it. They could
see nothing, and it was very dangerous. In four days they
moved nine kilometres. But the ice is beaut iful, Bjaaland wrote.
Blue and green and white. This is a wonderful but don't
want to stay a time.
After t he ice, there were strong winds an d bad snowstorms.
They could see nothing in front of them. But every day,
they travelled twenty-five or thirty kilometres. Then, on
December the sun came out. They were at 23' South -
175 kilometres from the Pole.
Five more long days, Bjaaland wrote. That's all now. But
where is Scott?

'We can pull the sledges ourselves,' Scott said.

Leave your skis here.' So they pulled their sledge twent y- four
For four days, Scott's men stayed in their tents near the kilometres without skis.
mountains. There is a bad snowstorm outside, Oates wrote. It's Next day, Scott went to Teddy Evans's tent. 'You are ill,
too cold for the ponies, and our clothes and skis are bad, too. Teddy,' he said. 'You can't come to the Pole. Take tw o men and
O n December Oates killed the ponies. They were tired back, tomorrow.'
and ill and they could not walk up to the plateau. Then Evans was very unhappy. 'Two men, Captain?' he
and his dogs went back to Cape Evans. 'We can pull the sledges said. 'Why not three?'
ourselves,' Scott said. 'We can do it - we're all strong men.' 'Because Bowers is going to come with me,' Scott sai d. 'He's
There were t wo sledges and eight men. They went strong - we need him.'
four kilometres a day. O n December Scott said to Teddy 'But. . . you have foo d on your sledge for four men, not five!'
Evans, and the men on the second sledge: 'You can't ski well. Evans said. 'And Bowers has no skis!'
30 The Coldest Place on Earth Across the Plateau 31

'I'm the Captain, Teddy!' Scott said. 'You d o what I say. 'Six more kilometres,' thought. Is there a British
Take two men and leave Bowers with me!' flag? can't see a flag, but . . .
Oates wrote t o his mother: I am going to the Pole with Scott. 'Look!' Hassel said. 'What's t hat over there?'
I am pleased and feel strong. But in his diary h e wrote: My feet left his sledge and skied quickly away over the
are very bad. They are always wet now, and they don't look snow. 'What is it?' he thought. 'Is it . . .? No!'
good. 'It's nothing!' he called. 'There's nothing there . . . nothing!'
On Janu ary 4th Scott's men left Teddy Evans and went o n. Three kilometrcs, two.
,

Scott, Oates, Wilson and Edgar Hansscn called

Evans had skis, but Bowers did to Amundsen. 'Go in
not. They were 270 kilometres front of me, please. It
helps my dogs.'
'That's not t r ue , '
Bjaaland thought. 'His
dogs are running well
today. But Hanssen wants
Amundsen to be first. The
first man at the South
Pole!'
They skied on and on,
over the beautiful snow.
'Stop!' Amundsen said.
They were 270 kilometres from the Pole.
He waited quietly for his
men. 'This is it,' he said.
Bjaaland looked at
December 14th 1911 was a warm , sunny day. Five Norwegians him. 'But there's nothing
skied over the beautiful white snow. It was very quiet. N o one here,' he said.
spoke. They were excited, an d happy. Amundsen smiled. 'Oh 'This is
32 Th e Coldest Place on Earth Th e End of the Race 33

yes there is,' he said. 'There's something very impo rtan t here,
They left some more black flags near the Pole, and one
Olav. Very, very important.' twenty -eight kilometres north. Then they skied away, back to
'What's that, Roald?'
the north.
'Us. We're here now. Isn't that important, Olav?' It's a be au ti fu l day, Bjaaland wrote. T h e s u n i s w a r m , t h e
The fo ur men stood on the snow, and looked at him. Then, snow Bu t run too quickly 1can'tget in front of
-
slowly, they all began to laugh. them!
They found their depots easil y. Ther e were ten between the
Pole and Framheim. Each depot had a lot of food. They
Chapter 9 laughed and skied quickly down the mountains. Often, they
The End of the Race skied fifty a day. On Friday, January 1912,
they came back to Framheim. It was four o'clock in the
morning.

T
he Norwegians sta y ed tw o days at the Pole. They left a tent Inside the wooden house, the cook, was asleep.
there, with a Norwegian flag on it. Inside the Amundsen walked quietly to his bed. 'Good morning,
tent, they left some food, a letter for the King of he said. 'Is our coffee ready?'
Norway, and a letter for Scott.

Th e black flags waited at the Pole.

'What's that, Captain?' Bowers said. 'Over there?'
'Where?' Scott asked. 'What - oh my God!'
They all saw th e small black flag in the snow, t wo kilometres
in front of them. Slowly, they pulled their sledge to it.
Next day, January 17th 1912, they found the tent and the
Norwegian flag. Near it, Scott took t he British flag from under
his clothes, and pu t it up. In his diary, Scott wrote: This is a very
The Norwegians left a tent with a flag on it. bad W e are all tired, and ha ve cold feet and ha nds. is
34 The Coldest Place on Earth Th e End of the Race 35

Centigrade and there is a snowstorm. Great God! This is an

awful place!
They turned north. Five tired, unhappy men, in the coldest,
emptiest place on ea rth.

tired, unhapp y men , in the coldest, emptiest place on earth.

O n January 1912, they found the tent and the flag.

36 The Coldest Place on Earth The End o f the Rac e 37

On March 1912, Scott's wife Kathleen, looked at her

They were all tired and ill, too. Oates's feet were black now,
morning newspaper. NORWAY'S F LAG A T S O U T H PO L E,
and he could not feel them. On February Edgar Evans
it said. She looked at i t fo r a long time, and then began t o cry. died.
'What's the matter ?' her friend asked. On the 17th they were past the mountains. At the depot there
'My po or, poor husband,' Mr s Scott said. 'What's happened they ate one of the dead ponies. Then they went on - ten,
to him? Where is he now?' eleven, twelve kilometres a day. They were ill because their
clothes were not warm and didn't have much food. The
temperature was sometimes Centigrade. .
Scott's men were always hungry. There were no t many depots On March 7th Scott looked at Oates's feet. were big
and they were difficult to find. W e need to find the next depot and black. 'I can't pull the sledge now,' Oat es said. 'It's very
today, Oates wrote. But how can we find one black in all difficult to walk. Am I going to lose these feet, Captai n?'
this snow? very And there is food for four men, Scott looked at Oates's feet, and
not five. On March 9th they found another depot, but there was not
much food. Slowly, they walked on. feet were worse
every day.
March 17th was Oates's birthday. He was t hirty -two. H e lay
in the tent a nd listened t o the wind outside. H e was very cold,
very hungry, and very very tired.
He wrote a letter to his mother and gave it t o Wilson. Then
he got up, and opened the door of the tent. H e stopped in the
door for a minute. Scott, Wilson, and Bowers looked at him.
They didn't speak.
'I'm going outside for a minute,' Oates said. 'I may be some
time.'
They didn't see him again.

Scott's men were always hungry.

38 Th e Coldes t Place on Earth Th e End of the Race 39

At Cape Evans, the Englishmen waited. On December llth, Wilson, and Bowers. They put th e bodies under the snow. Then
and the came back. O n January Teddy Evans they took the men's letters and diaries, and went north t o Cape
and his two men arrived at Cape Evans. The Terra Evans again.

I
N ov a came, and went. Winter began. Scott did not In Scott's di ary they read: Oates died like agood Englishman.
come. W e all did. Please, remember us, and loo k after our families. W e
The Englishmen waited all winter at Cape did our best.
Evans. The n, on O ctob er 26th 1912, they started No one found Oates's body. But he is there, somewhere,
for the south. Tw o weeks later, they found a tent. under the snow an d the wind, in the coldest, emptiest place on
There were three bodies in the tent - Scott, earth.

They put the bodies under the snow.

40 The Coldest Place on Earth

GLOSSARY

alone if you are alone, you are the only person there
awful very, very bad
boot a big strong shoe
broken when an engine cannot move, it is broken
buy to give money for something
camp a place to stay
captain the most important man on a ship
dangerous something dangerous can kill or hurt you
depot a place to leave food and equipment
diary a book; you write in this what you did every day
Earth the world; our planet
empty with nothing in it
equipment the things you need skis, boots, sledges)
flag a piece of cloth with a special patt ern on it; every country
has its flag
fog thick, cloudy air near the ground
go on to continue (not stop)
God (my God) words you say when you are unhappy or afraid
great very importa nt, or very
hard difficult
hole where you can see through something
ice water tha t is hard because it is very cold
island a piece of land with sea all round it
journey going from one place to another place
king the most importa nt man in a countr y
last (at last) in the end
lie (past tense lay) to go down on the ground
line a row of people or things the depot flags were in a
line)
an d Scott's journeys to the South Pole.
look after (with animals) to give them food and take care of
them
42 Glossary

lost when you are lost, you do not know where you are
map a drawing of the land, which shows where things are
mistake when you do the wrong thing
motor sledge a sledge with an engine, a car
mount ain a very big hill
plateau a high, flat place on a hill
Pole (the South Pole) the exact bottom of the Earth
pony a small horse
poor when you say 'poor', you are feeling sorry for somebody
pull to make something move
race when two or more people try to be first
reach to arrive; to get somewhere
ski (n) a long piece of w ood under your shoes, for travelling
across snow
skier a person who travels on skis
sledge something to carry food and equipment across the snow
snow soft white stuff that falls from the sky when the weather
is very cold
snowstorm a lot of wind and a lot of snow
star t to begin; to take the first step
stupid not clever
temperat ure how hot or cold it is
tent a small house made of cloth
travel to go from one place to another place
unhappy not happy
win to be first in a race
wind air that moves
wooden made of wood, from trees