Roald Amundsen is probably the world’s greatest polar explorer. In his life, he would be the first person to reach the South Pole, the first person to sail the Northwest Passage, and the first person to reach the North Pole by Air.
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Episodes
Roald Amundsen – Part 1 – Early life and the Belgica Expedition
In part one of our series, we look at the early life of Norwegian polar explorer Roald Amundsen. We then take him on his first great adventure – that as the third in command of the Belgica Expedition – the first expedition of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. It will be a harrowing experience – but prepare Amundsen for bigger things.
Download this episode or listen online.
Roald Amundsen – Part 2 – The Gjøa Expedition
In the first part of this episode, Amundsen organizes an expedition to sail through the Northwest Passage – as well as locate the Magnetic North Pole. In the second part of the episode, we set out on his epic three year voyage to be the first person to ever sail the legendary passage.
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Roald Amundsen – Part 3 – The Gjøa Expedition (cont.)
Roald Amundsen makes a go for the Magnetic North Pole, then looks to complete the Northwest Passage – something he had dreamed about since he was 15 years old.
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Roald Amundsen – Part 4 – the South Pole
In 1910, Roald Amundsen and the Fram set off on what the world thought was an expedition to the Arctic. Instead, Amundsen sailed to Antarctica – his intention to make a run at the South Pole. It would set up a dramatic (and tragic) race for the pole with British explorers Robert Falcon Scott.
Note: lots of great images and maps of the expedition on the Wikipedia page of the expedition.
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Roald Amundsen – Part 5 – the South Pole (cont.)
Amundsen and his team survive the winter in Antarctica, then set out across the Ross Ice Shelf (aka the Great Ice Barrier), over the Transantarctic Mountains, and on to the South Pole. Will they be able to best Robert Falcon Scott and the Terra Nova team?
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Roald Amundsen – Part 6 – Return from the South Pole
In part 6 of our series on Roald Amundsen, we wrap up the South Pole Expedition as Amundsen and his team goes from the South Pole to Framheim. From there, Amundsen heads to Australia to let the world know about his achievements. We also take a look at the fate of Robert Falcon Scott and the Terra Nova Expedition.
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Roald Amundsen – Part 7 – The Maud Expedition
Amundsen sets out in 1918 on his new ship, the Maud, to take part in the polar drift. The hope is the drift will take the Maud all the way to the North Pole. Not much will go as planned.
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Roald Amundsen – Part 8 – Flights of Fancy
In 1924 and 1925, Amundsen made two attempts to fly over the Arctic. One would be a humiliating disaster. The other would be a glorious disaster.
Video of Dornier DO J Wall plane – including video of Amundsen and his team.
Images of Amundsen and the Dornier DO J Wal plane.
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Roald Amundsen – Part 9 – The Norge
In 1926, Roald Amundsen makes another attempt to cross the Arctic – this time in a dirigible – the Norge. The crossing will begin a rivalry with Italian airship designer Umberto Nobile – who designed the Norge and will serve as the ship’s pilot for the legendary flight.
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Roald Amundsen – Part 10 – Life, death, legacy
In the final episode in our series on Amundsen, the last viking sets out on one final polar adventure – an attempt to rescue a man he hated – Umberto Nobile – after his dirigible crashed in the Arctic. Amundsen would not return from the flight.
And so, we discuss the life, death and legacy of history’s greatest polar explorer.
Download this episode or listen online.
Maps
The blue line represents the rough path of the Belgica.
This image represents a very rough look position of Belgica in the Antarctic ice, and the attempts to cut a channel from the ship to the ice. Please note the map is very simplistic – but I think it gives you the idea of the challenges facing the men, and how it all transpired. This drawing is based up one found in Madhouse at the End of the Earth: The Belgica’s Journey into the Dark Antarctic Night by Julian Sancton.
This image represents the unique cutting strategy devised by Dr. Frederick Cook. The crew cut the ice between the banks in asymmetrical quadrilaterals pieces. This prevented the ice from getting wedged into place – and allowed the men to push it towards the mouth of the channel. This drawing is based up one found in Madhouse at the End of the Earth: The Belgica’s Journey into the Dark Antarctic Night by Julian Sancton.
Gjøa Expedition Maps
Source: By Shakki – Own work using:Topography: Landsat Image Mosaic Of Antarctica (LIMA)Journeys: Image:TerraNova2.png, adapted from map in Scott’s Journals ISBN 019929752-5, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3728901
Map of route of the Maud. Click on the image for a larger view.
Resources
There are several books on Amundsen. I’ve listed a few important ones, as well as good websites.
The Last Viking, by Stephen R. Bown, 2013. Nice biography of Amundsen, covering his entire life. This is the book you should read if you want just one book on the guy.
My Life as an Explorer: Autobiography of the First Man to Reach the South Pole, By Roald Amundsen, 1927. Amundsen’s autobiography is interesting, but he spends far too much time settling scores and ‘setting the record straight’. Just okay reading.
The Last Place on Earth: Scott and Amundsen’s Race to the South Pole, Roland Huntford, 1979. Huntford’s look at Amundsen and Scott – and their race for the pole – is really good reading. It very much favors Amundsen – and really was instrumental in chipping away at the Scott’s grand legacy. I’d argue it praises Amundsen too much – and rips apart Scott equally hard. But still a great read.
The North West passage, being the record of a voyage of exploration of the ship Gjoa 1903-1907, Roald Amundsen. This is Amundsen’s account of the Gjøa expedition. It has a lot of detail (probably too much). But it’s a valuable record of the expedition.
The South Pole: An Account of the Norwegian Antarctic Expedition in the Fram, 1910-1912, by Roald Amundsen. Amundsen’s account of the South Pole Expedition. Well done, but Amundsen glosses over the more uncomfortable parts of the expedition.
Fram Polar Museum – This website is dedicated to the Fram Museum in Oslo. The museum is supposed to be awesome (I have never been there), but I can also praise the website. It has tons of information about the era of polar exploration. It’s a wonderful resource.
Video of Dornier DO J Wall plane – including video of Amundsen and his team.
Images of Amundsen and the Dornier DO J Wal plane.
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