Monday, 23 October 1911

Amundsen

Held up by blizzard, the Norwegians rested at the 80° depot, the dogs gorging themselves on the seal meat brought out by Johansen in the autumn and, as Amundsen said, "enjoying life." [1]

"We have given the dogs plenty of seal meat and carcasses lie out on the snow for unlimited use.... We now have 4 dogs fewer than when we set off. These 4 were let loose along the way, as they could not keep up, presumably from overeating. Therefore we now have 48 dogs, or 4 teams of 12 each. We are enjoying ourselves in the tent. We had the good idea of making an outer tent out of our red bunk curtains [from the hut at Framheim]. This ... has been excellent, since it has reduced the warmth of the sun ... while holding the warmth inside. It is an amazing difference from the previous journey. Now we lie in loose sleeping clothes -- nice and warm. Another great advantage is that the tent is dark inside ... and that is desirable, when one has been staring at the snow all day." [2]


Notes:

[1] Roald Amundsen, [diary, 24 October, 1911], quoted by Roland Huntford in Scott and Amundsen (New York : Putnam, 1980, c1979), p.417.
[2] Roald Amundsen, diary, [24 October, 1911], quoted by Roland Huntford in The Amundsen Photographs (London : Hodder & Stoughton, c1987), p.118.