Tuesday, 2 April 1912

Scott

Cape Evans from Arrival Heights, the view the men at Hut Point had. [1]

"We have got to face it now," Cherry wrote miserably in his diary at Hut Point, "the Pole Party will not in all probability ever get back. And there is no more that we can do. The next step must be to get to C. Evans as soon as it is possible, & there are fresh men there at any rate fresh compared to us." [2]


Amundsen

Scott, the Norwegian press thought from reports brought back by the Terra Nova, "[gives] the impression that terrain and weather were much worse [than] Amundsen's. This can hardly be the case. From Amundsen's account, one can see, for example, that he was forced to lie still for four days in a snow storm. But he considers it as something that belongs to such a journey -- it's 'all in the day's work' -- and he doesn't make a fuss about it." [3]

The British press remained obdurate in their dislike of Amundsen. Scott's message sent back with Lt. Evans, that "I am remaining in the Antarctic for another winter in order to continue and complete my work," "suffices to tell the country that ... there has been no ... 'race' to the Pole.... Captain Scott ... was not lent by the Admiralty to take part in a Marathon race. There are questions of the utmost scientific importance to which he is seeking the answer.... The message is one of which Captain Scott's countrymen may be prouder than if he had been able to announce that he had arrived at the South Pole slightly in advance of Amundsen." [4]


Notes:

[1] Apsley Cherry-Garrard, The Worst Journey in the World, ch.XIII.
[2] Apsley Cherry-Garrard, diary, 2 April, 1912, Scott Polar Research Institute.
[3] Morgenbladet, 2 April, 1912, quoted by Roland Huntford in Scott and Amundsen (New York : Putnam, 1980, c1979), p.549.
[4] The Pall Mall Gazette, 1 April, 1912, quoted by Roland Huntford in Scott and Amundsen (New York : Putnam, 1980, c1979), p.549.