The birthplace of the explorers of Roald Amundsen. Roald Amundsen - famous Norwegian traveler, explorer who discovered the South Pole
Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (born July 16, 1872 – died June 18, 1928) was a polar explorer from Norway.
What Roald Amudsen discovered
The first person in the world to reach the South Pole (December 14, 1911). The first person (together with Oscar Wisting) to visit both geographic poles of the planet. He was the first in the world to travel through the North-West Passage from Greenland to Alaska, and later completed the passage through the North-East Route (along the coast of Siberia), completing the round-the-world distance beyond the Arctic Circle for the first time.
One of the pioneers in the use of aviation - seaplanes and airships - in Arctic travel. He died in 1928 while going in search of the missing expedition of Umberto Nobile. He received awards from many countries around the world, including America’s highest award - Gold medal Congress, numerous geographical and other objects bear his name.
Childhood. Youth
Roald Amundsen was born into a family of hereditary seafarers and youth dreamed of continuing the family tradition. But he knew well that this required good health - something that he did not have. However, being sick and physically weak, Roald set himself the task of strengthening his body as much as possible, for which he trained and hardened himself every day. He even wanted to become a doctor, but after two courses at the medical faculty of the University in Christiania (now Oslo), he left his studies and hired a sailor on a sailing schooner going seal fishing in the Greenland Sea.
First travels. Education
After two years of sea travel, Amundsen, salted by the sea winds, stronger and even more confident in himself, passed the exams to become a navigator. long voyage. In 1897–1899 As a navigator, he took part in the Belgian Antarctic expedition on the ship "Belgica", after which he passed the exam to become a sea captain.
Discovery of the Northwest Passage
In 1903–1906, Roald, for the first time in the history of navigation, sailed on his own sailing schooner “Gjoa” with a crew of 7 people from Greenland to Alaska through the waters of the Canadian Arctic archipelago. From Barrow Strait he headed south through the Peel and Franklin Straits to the northern tip of King William Island. Having rounded the island on the eastern side, he spent two winters in the harbor off the south-eastern coast of King William Island. 1904, autumn - he carried out a survey by boat of the narrowest part of Simpson Strait, and at the end of the summer of 1905 he moved directly west along the coast of the mainland, leaving the Canadian Arctic Archipelago to the north. 1906, summer - after the third winter, the traveler passed through the Bering Strait into the Pacific Ocean and ended his voyage in San Francisco. With this, he was able to open the Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean from east to west. During the expedition, he conducted valuable geomagnetic observations and mapped more than 100 islands.
Norwegian Antarctic Expedition (1910-1912)
In 1910–1912, Amundsen, on the ship Fram, owned by F. Nansen, led an expedition to Antarctica with the aim of discovering South Pole. The Fram crew included Russian sailor and oceanographer Alexander Stepanovich Kuchin. In January, Amundsen's expedition landed on the Ross Glacier in Whale Bay. A base camp was established there to prepare for the trip to the South Pole.
1911, October 19 - a group led by Roald Amundsen (Oscar Wisting, Helmer Hansen, Sverre Hassel, Olaf Bjaland) set off on 4 sleighs drawn by 52 dogs and on December 17, 1911 were able to reach the South Pole. During the expedition's work in Antarctica, the traveler discovered the Queen Maud Mountains. But only on March 7, 1912, while in the city of Hobart (Tasmania), Amundsen notified the world of his victory and the safe return of the expedition.
Northeast sea route
In 1918–1921 Roual built the Maud ship with his own money and sailed on it from west to east along the northern shores of Eurasia, repeating Nansen's drift on the Fram. With two winterings he traveled from Norway to the Bering Strait.
Air expedition 1925
In 1923–1925 Amundsen made several attempts to reach the North Pole. Biographers of the great Norwegian have preserved the details of the 1925 expedition. May 21, 1925 heading for North Pole took two seaplanes. On one were Ellsworth, Dietrichson and Omdahl, on the other were Amundsen, Riiser-Larsen and Voigt. At a distance of 1000 km from Spitsbergen, the engine of the plane Amundsen was on began to malfunction. We had to make an emergency landing, fortunately there was a large ice hole nearby. The second seaplane failed during landing.
We had to wait in the ice for weather suitable for takeoff for more than 3 weeks. It was clear that everyone would have to return on the same plane. Everything was thrown out of it except the most necessary things. Riiser-Larsen took the pilot's seat. The remaining 5 people could barely fit in the cabin.
Rual described what was happening like this: “The engine was started, and the plane took off. The next seconds were the most exciting of my entire life. Rieser-Larsen immediately gave full throttle. As the speed increased, the unevenness of the ice became more and more noticeable, and the entire hydroplane tilted so terribly from side to side that I was more than once afraid that it might somersault and break its wing. We were quickly approaching the end of the starting track, but the bumps and jolts showed that we were still not off the ice. With increasing speed, but still not separating from the ice, we approached a small slope leading into the wormwood. We were transported across the ice hole, fell onto a flat ice floe on the other side and suddenly rose into the air ... "
After 8 hours 35 minutes of flight, the rudder drives jammed. But open water was already glistening under the plane’s wing. The pilot confidently landed the seaplane on the water and steered it like a motor boat. This happened near the northern shores of Spitsbergen. Soon a small fishing boat approached the travelers, and the captain agreed to tow the plane to Kingsbay. From Spitsbergen, its participants traveled by boat along with the plane. 1925, July 5 - Amundsen's plane, greeted by thousands of jubilant people, landed in Oslo harbor. Norway honored its national heroes.
Airship "Norway"
1926, May - Roald led the first successful flight over the North Pole in an airship. aircraft lighter than air bore the name of the hero’s native country – “Norway”.
Death
2 years later, when another airship - with the proud name "Italy" - crashed after reaching the pole, Amundsen went in search of the expedition of General Umberto Nobile. He took off from Tromso on a French twin-engine seaplane Latham 47. During a flight from Norway to Spitsbergen, the plane crashed into the waters of the Barents Sea for unknown reasons. And no one heard anything more about the famous polar explorer.
General Nobile was rescued five days after the traveler disappeared.
Memory
A mountain in the eastern part of Antarctica, a bay in the Arctic Ocean, a sea off the coast of the Southern continent and the American polar station Amundsen-Scott are named after Roald Amundsen. His works “Flying Through” were translated into Russian. Arctic Ocean”, “On the ship “Maud””, “Expedition along the northern coast of Asia”, “South Pole” and a five-volume collection of works.
Fridtjof Nansen dedicated sincere words to the memory of his colleague and compatriot: “He will forever occupy a special place in the history of geographical research... Some kind of explosive force lived in him. On the foggy horizon of the Norwegian people he rose as a shining star. How many times did it light up with bright flashes! And suddenly it immediately went out, but we cannot take our eyes off the empty place in the sky.”
These days even a child has general idea about the polar world: snow-white plains, the amazing natural phenomenon of the northern lights, giant icebergs and amazing sea animals - polar bears or penguins.
How many dangers are hidden in these extraordinary corners of the Earth. Despite all the obstacles of travelers and seafarers is drawn to the North and South Poles, trying to fill in the “blank spots” on the world map and prove to everyone and to himself that a person is capable of taking risks. One of the first who managed to conduct successful polar voyages were the Norwegian Fridtjof Nansen and Roald Amundsen. One managed to become the first person to visit the North Pole, while the other reached the South Point before anyone else.
In the south of Norway in the town of Borg on July 16, 1872 in the family of a shipbuilder Amundsen, the youngest son Roald was born. Roald dreamed of connecting his life with the sea. People came to the port city where the boy lived, and he went to the pier in any weather to watch them. There he heard stories from experienced sailors about adventures and exploits at sea. Rual hoped that one day he too would go to discover unknown lands. Norwegian Roald Amundsen Since childhood, he dreamed of the Arctic and prepared for future campaigns, training hard and enthusiastically reading all the literature available to him about the exploration of the North. Amundsen was greatly impressed by stories about the difficulties that the team of John Franklin, the English explorer and notorious polar explorer, had to overcome.
The young man started skiing. He achieved excellent success in this sport. In addition, by accustoming yourself to the cold, Amundsen slept with the window open even in the most severe cold.
Rual, at the age of 18, obeying his mother’s wishes, entered the medical faculty of the university. The young man did not try to prove himself in the field of medical research, so over time he left the university and was drafted into the army. Thanks to diligent training, Amundsen easily overcame this period in his life. Dreams of future campaigns inspired him in everything.
Amundsen student
In 1894 Amundsen began preparations for the upcoming seafaring. By that time, he had read a lot of books available to him about the Arctic. To gain experience as a sailor, he set sail, starting as a sailor. Studying navigation, he gradually rose to the rank of navigator, and then passed the exam for the rank of captain of the ship. Over time Amundsen learned to steer a ship during a storm and became an experienced mate and an excellent navigator.
maps depicting the Arctic Ocean in Amundsen's time were completely different from what they are now
In 1897, twenty-five-year-old Roald Amundsen set out for Antarctica on a research vessel. Belgium"as the first navigator. The journey turned out to be difficult and not successful. The ship was stuck between the ice for thirteen months. Almost the entire leadership of the expedition fell ill with scurvy, and command passed to the young navigator. Amundsen Thanks to his knowledge in medicine, he saved most of the crew. For seafarers managed to escape from the ice trap in 1899 and the ship " Belgium"returned to Europe.
Thanks to the experience gained Amundsen successfully passed the exams and began organizing his own expedition in 1900 as captain. Taking out a loan against own house, he bought a yacht " Yoa» with a displacement of 47 tons and a length of 21 meters. To hire a team and purchase food, he had to ask friends for help and look for sponsors.
On the night of July 16, 1903, the yacht " Yoa"with a crew of seven people left the port of Tromso and headed for Alaska through Baffin Bay, moving between the islands of the northern coast of Canada. The difficult navigation was finally completed in 1905. This meant that he had made a voyage to the Northwest Passage, thereby making the 34-year-old Amundsen accomplished a feat that his “adviser” John Franklin failed to achieve.
polar explorer John Franklin
Upon returning home Amundsen became instantly famous and he toured the United States, giving lectures in many cities. The money he received allowed him to pay off his debts. But this independence did not last long. While planning a new expedition, Amundsen soon incurred new debts. Finding money for the expedition turned out to be difficult. They tried to get to the North Pole more than once, but without success. The most famous was Nansen's attempt. He built " Fram", which was specially adapted for navigation in the Arctic climate, but it failed to reach the target. Roald Amundsen decided to enlist the support of his famous predecessor. He met with Nansen and he approved his plan. Moreover, great navigator gave Amundsen schooner " Fram", thereby appointing him as his successor. This also helped solve financial problems - investors believed in the plan.
navigator Amundsen
polar explorer Amundsen
schooner "Fram"
arrival at the South Pole
going on an unknown journey
sailing ship "Maud"
Amundsen went on a campaign in early August 1910. There was a depressed mood among the members of the expedition. They did not talk about it out loud, but the success of explorer Peary, who reached the North Pole on April 6, 1909, had an unpleasant effect on the mood of the team. Observing this state of affairs, Amundsen made a decision in secret. Having gone to sea, the schooner " Fram” followed an unexpected path. The ship was supposed to move towards the Arctic, but it continued to sail through the Atlantic Ocean. The sailing team was alarmed, but Amundsen, the captain and chief leader of the expedition knew where his schooner was heading. October 12, when the schooner " Fram"approached the island of Madeira off the coast North Africa, the secret was revealed. Amundsen convened the team and announced a change of course. He decided that since he failed to become the discoverer of the North Pole, he would conquer the South Pole. Information about the change in course delighted the team and inspired excitement.
In February 1911, as summer ended in the Southern Hemisphere, schooner« Fram"reached the shores of Antarctica. First of all seafarers organized a base and equipped several warehouses. With the onset of winter, the main part of the expedition remained to wait it out in the camp. The remaining group of people, consisting of four people, left the base on October 19, 1911, on dog sleds, rushing into the interior of the continent. The team covered up to 40 km a day and on December 14, 1911 reached their goal - the South Pole. After three days of observations carried out at this point on the planet, a group of researchers led by Amundsen returned to camp. The Norwegian public rejoiced. Everyone congratulated Amundsen on his feat. The government encouraged navigator And discoverer a generous reward.
But the scientist was not satisfied with the collected materials, so on June 7, 1916, on the ship “Maud”, built with his own money Amundsen set off on his second voyage. This ship had many new devices at that time, which made it possible to better maneuver in the ice. Roald Amundsen invested almost all his funds in it, undertaking another polar exploit. His goal was again the North Pole. To visit the northernmost point of the Earth remained the most remarkable dream of the navigator. Amundsen decided to first open the Northeast Passage along the northern coast of Russia. On July 16, 1918, Roald Amundsen set sail on the Maud along the northern coast of Russia to the Bering Strait. With great difficulty, he reached Alaska in 1920. The polar explorer broke his arm and was forced to change course to Seattle to provide assistance. medical care and the vessel requiring repair. This is how the second ended Amundsen expedition.
Amundsen conducted brilliant expeditions, visited the Arctic and Antarctica. He became the most famous polar explorer, but it was the Arctic, so beloved by the explorer, that ultimately destroyed him.
A certain Italian aeronaut, Umberto Nobile, decided to conquer the North Pole in 1928, getting there by airship. However, after takeoff, Nobile crashed. Several rescue groups immediately rushed to his aid, one of them included Amundsen. They previously knew each other - they participated together in a joint expedition on the airship "Norway" in 1926. However, later the relationship between them suddenly turned hostile. Nevertheless, Amundsen made the decision to participate in the rescue of the Italian expedition without delay.
The crew of a large seaplane " Latam-47" consisted of Norwegians and French. In its composition Amundsen flew off in an unknown direction. It must be said that he carefully hid his intentions. He did not inform anyone about the chosen route, which subsequently made the search extremely difficult. Didn't leave Amundsen and records, with journalists he was brief and restrained. Great traveler, as if he was preparing for a tragedy in advance - he sold his property and paid off his creditors. Eyewitnesses claim that the far-sighted Amundsen I didn’t even take emergency rations, just a few sandwiches. Norway for a long time refused to believe in the death of its national hero. Death Amundsen officially recognized only six months after the disappearance of the seaplane. The country honored the memory of the famous polar explorer with a few minutes of silence. And General Nobile, Amundsen’s rival, having learned about the death of the Norwegian, found the courage to say out loud: “ He beat me».
In honor of the Norwegian navigator and explorer Roald Amundsen a mountain in East Antarctica, a bay of the Arctic Ocean near the coast of Canada, a basin in the Arctic Ocean located between the Lomonosov and Gakkel ridges and the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Antarctica are named. A historical museum dedicated to the great polar explorers has been created in Norway.
monument on the island of Spitsbergen. From here Amundsen went on an expedition
museum in Oslo, Norway
Amundsen-Scott polar station at the South Pole
Norwegian traveler, record holder, explorer and great man Roald Amundsen known all over the world as
- the first person to conquer both poles of our planet;
- the first person to visit the South Pole;
- the first person to commit trip around the world with its closure at the North Pole;
- one of the pioneers of the use of aviation - seaplanes and airships - in Arctic travel.
Brief biography of Roald Amundsen
Roald Amundsen ( full name — Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen) born July 16, 1872 in Borg, Norway. His father is Jens Amundsen, hereditary sea merchant. His mother - Hannah Salquist, daughter of a customs official.
Studying at school
Rual was always at school worst student, but stood out for his stubbornness and keen sense of justice. The school director even refused to allow him to take the final exam for fear of disgracing the institution as a failing student.
Amundsen had to sign up for final exams separately, as an external student, and in July 1890, with great difficulty, he received a matriculation certificate.
Further studies
After his father's death in 1886, Roald Amundsen wanted to study to the sailor, but the mother insisted that her son choose medicine after receiving his matriculation certificate.
He had to submit and become a medical student at the university. But in September 1893, when his mother suddenly died, he became the master of his fate and, having left the university, went to sea.
Maritime specialty and travel to the Arctic
For 5 years, Rual sailed as a sailor on different ships, and then passed the exams and received navigator diploma. And in this capacity, in 1897, he finally went to the Arctic for research purposes on a ship "Belgica", which belonged to the Belgian Arctic expedition.
It was the hardest test. The ship was trapped in ice, hunger and disease began, and people went crazy. Only a few remained healthy, among them Amundsen - he hunted seals, was not afraid to eat their meat, and thus escaped.
Northwest Passage
In 1903 Amundsen used the accumulated funds to buy a used 47-ton sailing-motor yacht "Yoa", built just in the year of his birth. The schooner had a diesel engine of only 13 horsepower.
Together with 7 crew members, he went out to the open sea. He managed to walk along the coast of North America from Greenland to Alaska and discover the so-called northwest passage.
This expedition was no less harsh than the first. I had to survive wintering in ice, ocean storms, encounters with dangerous icebergs. But Amundsen continued to conduct scientific observations, and he managed to determine the location magnetic pole Earth.
He reached “residential” Alaska by dog sled. He had aged a lot, at 33 he looked 70. Difficulties did not frighten the experienced polar explorer, seasoned sailor and passionate traveler.
Conquest of the South Pole
In 1910, he began preparing a new expedition to the North Pole. Just before going to sea, a message arrived that the North Pole had been conquered by an American Robert Peary.
The proud Amundsen immediately changed his goal: he decided to go to the South Pole.
The travelers overcame 16 thousand miles in a few weeks, and approached the iciest Ross Barrier in Antarctica. There we had to land ashore and move on with dog sleds. The path was blocked by icy rocks and abysses; the skis barely glided.
But despite all the difficulties, Roald Amundsen December 14, 1911 reached the South Pole. Together with his comrades, he walked through the ice 1500 kilometers and was the first to plant the Norwegian flag at the South Pole.
Polar aviation
Roald Amundsen flew to the North Pole on seaplanes, landed on the island of Spitsbergen, and landed in the ice. In 1926 on a huge airship "Norway"(106 meters long and with three engines) together with the Italian expedition Umberto Nobile and an American millionaire Lincoln-Ellsworth Amundsen realized his dream:
flew over the North Pole and landed in Alaska.
But all the glory went to Umberto Nobile. The head of the fascist state, Benito Mussolini, glorified Nobile alone, promoted him to general, and Amundsen was not even remembered.
Tragic death
In 1928 Nobile decided to repeat his record. On an airship "Italy", the same design as the previous airship, he made another flight to the North Pole. Italy was eagerly awaiting his return, national hero prepared for a triumphal meeting. The North Pole will be Italian...
But on the way back, due to icing, the airship "Italy" lost control. Part of the crew, together with Nobile, managed land on an ice floe. The other part flew away with the airship. Radio contact with the castaways was lost.
Amundsen agreed to become a member of one of the rescue expeditions of the Nobile team. June 18, 1928 together with the French crew he took off on a seaplane "Latham-47" towards the island of Spitsbergen.
This was Amundsen's last flight. Soon radio contact with the plane over the Barents Sea was lost. The exact circumstances of the death of the plane and the expedition remained unknown.
In 1928, Amundsen was awarded (posthumously) the United States' highest honor, Congressional Gold Medal.
Name ten famous Norwegians, Nansen will immediately appear - a tall, blue-eyed, blond, polar explorer, Nobeliat as the savior of nations, a politician, a person who is difficult to blame for anything. The list will certainly be supplemented by Amundsen - a traveler and polar explorer who continued Nansen’s endeavors and was the first to conquer the South Pole, flew an airship over the North Pole and made a sea crossing both by the North-Eastern and North-West routes.
The passion for travel in the Norwegians was awakened by the Viking forefathers. The ingenious interweaving of legends and sagas carried the glory of these brave men through the centuries, and since then, almost every Norwegian has a desire to explore something mysterious, inaccessible, complex... Geographical location Norway initially assumed sea voyages in a northern direction, where the most attractive - especially at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries. – I saw the icy expanses of the North Pole.
Of the two great Norwegian ice explorers, Fridtjof Nansen and Roald Amundsen, the latter is the more controversial figure. When Amundsen found out that Robert Scott was going to conquer the South Pole, he, contrary to shop ethics, rushed ahead of the Scot and became the first person to reach the absolute south. Scott reached his goal a little later and died in the snow, shocked by the loss. Scientific world condemned the Norwegian and decided to consider both Scott and Amundsen as pioneers. Indeed, compared to eternity, the difference of 36 days is insignificant.
For Nansen, everything was not so dramatic. He was well-behaved and made those around him happy. Born in 1861, he studied to become a zoologist. While still studying at the university, Nansen made his first trip to the Arctic Ocean. Then there will be several more polar expeditions. The future scientist and politician benefited from sports skills. Several times Nansen became the champion of Norway in cross-country skiing.
In 1888, before leading an expedition to Greenland, he became a Doctor of Science. And he returned famous from the expedition, having made a pedestrian trek with five companions from the east coast of Greenland to the west. In the 1890s he continued dangerous ice expeditions. Spitsbergen, Franz Josef Land, Jackson Island - for contemporaries this was equal to the first flights of astronauts. In the north even now there is no sugar, but in those years without modern technology it was really hard. When Nansen sailed on his ship "Fram", the design of which he specially developed for Arctic expeditions, he was escorted as if to the scaffold. But these expeditions, which ended with the miraculous return of the heroes, laid the foundations new science, physical oceanography and seriously raised Nansen’s shares personally. The sailing hero won worldwide recognition and reputation, which he later used for the benefit of hundreds of thousands of our compatriots. In 1922 he received the Nobel Peace Prize. Nansen died on May 13, 1930 at his estate near Oslo. According to his will, his body was cremated and his ashes were scattered over the Oslofjord.
Roald Amundsen was born in 1872 into the family of a ship owner and from his youth dreamed of polar exploration. Nevertheless, yielding to his mother’s insistence, he entered the medical faculty of the university, which he left in 1893, immediately after her death. Having joined the ship as a sailor, Amundsen sailed for several years on different ships and gradually rose to the rank of navigator. In 1897-1899, he took part in the Belgian Antarctic expedition, the participants of which, due to errors in preparation and during its conduct, were forced to spend a 13-month winter. This hard lesson was useful to Amundsen when preparing his own Arctic expedition. In 1903 - 1906, Amundsen and six companions explored the Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean on the small yacht Gjoa. However, this was only a prelude to the main goal - the South Pole.
Launched in the summer of 1910 on the famous ship Fram, the expedition arrived in Antarctica on January 13, 1911. Having built a base and carefully prepared for the transition, in October 1911 five people, led by Amundsen, set off on dog sleds to the South Pole and reached it on December 14, 1911. Subsequently, Amundsen made several more trips to the north and died while participating in the rescue of the expedition of Umberto Nobile on June 18, 1928. He was never found.
Amundsen initially planned to reach the North Pole, but upon receiving news of the conquest of the pole by Frederick Cook and later Robert Peary, he decided to reach the South Pole. When Scott arrived in Melbourne on October 12, 1910, a telegram from Madeira was waiting for him. It was short and to the point: “Let me tell you, the Fram is heading to Antarctica. Amundsen." Amundsen's expedition landed in Antarctica simultaneously with the expedition of the English traveler Robert Scott, but managed to reach the South Pole 36 days earlier.
The Norwegian set off on his decisive trip to the South Pole on October 20. And Scott - only November 2, 1911. Amundsen's path was shorter, although somewhat more difficult in terms of terrain. The climb up the mountain ridge was difficult. But on the flat terrain, the dogs easily pulled the sleigh, and people only held on to the ropes tied to them, sliding on skis. Before storming the pole, both expeditions prepared for the winter. Scott could boast of more expensive equipment, but Amundsen took into account every detail in his equipment. The English and Norwegian detachments were equal in number of people - five people each. The British motor sleds quickly broke down, and long before the pole they had to shoot the exhausted ponies. The people pulled the sleigh themselves. It turned out that the British even neglected skiing, while for the Norwegians it was a familiar means of transportation. Scott's expedition was left without fuel: it leaked from the iron vessels through poorly soldered seams.
On December 14, 1911, Amundsen reached the South Pole. The British were still marching, showing miracles of resilience, but very slowly. Only on January 18, 1912, they arrived at the Pole and were no longer surprised when they saw the Norwegian flag there. The return journey was beyond the capabilities of Scott and his comrades. Terrible frosts and wind took their toll. They often went astray and went hungry. On March 29, 20 km from the food warehouse, Robert Scott made his last entry in his diary: “Death is already close. For God’s sake, take care of our loved ones!” The bodies of three polar explorers, including Robert Scott, were discovered in November 1912. At the site of Scott’s first wintering place, a cross was erected with the words “Fight and seek, find and not give up.”
In 1936, a museum dedicated to the history of Norwegian polar expeditions was opened in Oslo, on the Bygdøy peninsula. Its main exhibit is the ship “Fram”, completely restored, tourists from all over the world come aboard and into it!
Welcome to Norway, the country of discoverers and travelers!
(1872-1928) Norwegian polar explorer
Roald Amundsen was born into the family of a captain and shipyard owner, and his favorite pastime since childhood was reading books that described travels to distant countries. He tried to read all the books about polar explorers that he managed to get his hands on. He was attracted to unexplored countries located near the pole of the planet. Secretly from his mother, Roual began to prepare for polar travel: he persistently trained, went in for skiing; played football, believing that this active game strengthens the muscles of the legs; tempered, pouring himself ice water. Having entered the medical faculty of the University of Christiania (now Oslo), Roald Amundsen intensively studied foreign languages, believing that the future traveler needs to know them.
After mother's death Rual decides to become a long-distance navigator. However, in order to receive a diploma and pass exams, it was necessary to serve as a sailor for at least three years, so he joins a schooner and goes with her to fish for seals off the shores of Spitsbergen. After this, Rual transfers to another ship, departing for the shores of Canada. Amundsen served as a sailor on many ships and visited countries such as Mexico, Spain, and England. He was also in Africa.
In 1896, Roald Amundsen passed the exams and received a diploma as a sea gourmand. Soon after, he goes on an expedition to Antarctica to study earth magnetism. During the expedition, he piloted a ship independently for the first time. The expedition was very difficult: frequent blizzards, frosts that severely burned the face, long sleigh rides on continental ice, a difficult hungry winter. It was only thanks to the energy of Roald Amundsen that people did not die of hunger. He hunted seals, the meat of which restored the strength of the dying crew. The expedition lasted about two years.
In 1903-1908. Roald Amundsen, already an experienced polar traveler, organized an independent expedition. On the sailing yacht Ioa, he decided to sail along the northern coast of America from Greenland to Alaska and open the so-called Northwest Passage. The expedition was difficult and dangerous: gigantic waves crashed onto the deck, threatening to capsize the yacht; the path ran through many islands and rocks; it seemed that the ice and storm would smash the ship against the rocks. During wintering, meteorological and astronomical observations were constantly carried out. Amundsen managed to determine the location of the Earth's magnetic pole, which was a major achievement of the expedition.
In 1910, Roald Amundsen began preparing an expedition to the North Pole. On the ship "Fram" he goes to the Arctic to repeat F. Nansen's drift. His plans included passing close to the North Pole. Before going to sea, the news spread around the world that the North Pole had been discovered by the American polar explorer Robert Peary. This news was a serious blow for Amundsen, but it was too late to retreat. The expedition went to sea, and in the Atlantic Ocean, Amundsen unexpectedly informed the team about his decision to go to Antarctica, to the South Pole. Having landed in Whale Bay, the team began wintering, during which they organized three food warehouses on the way to the Pole. With the onset of spring, travelers began to prepare for a trip to the interior of the mainland.
On October 20, 1911, Roald Amundsen and a team of four people set off on their dogs. At first the journey was not particularly difficult: the weather was favorable and the dog sleds moved quickly. However, at 85" south latitude, the travelers were blocked by mountains, where difficulties began on the way to the glacier. Subsequently, recalling this, Amundsen wrote that they were met by wide and deep cracks that had to be bypassed; they had to climb up the slippery ice crust , move into a severe snowstorm, spend the night at an altitude of 5000 m.
On December 14, 1911, travelers reached the South Pole. Here they stayed for three days, hoisted the Norwegian flag, made various observations, and then safely returned to Whale Bay, where the Fram was waiting for them, and returned to their homeland.
Simultaneously with the expedition of Roald Amundsen, the expedition of the English traveler R. Scott also sought to reach the South Pole, but it reached its goal a month later and died in the ice on the way back. Not only in Great Britain, but also in the homeland of Amundsen himself, they thought that the sudden appearance of his expedition in the ice of Antarctica was a terrible blow for R. Scott and his friends, since the desire to reach the South Pole had been a long-term dream for them, and for many months in a row they, Sparing no effort, they prepared for success that never materialized. Having learned about the death of Scott's expedition, Roald Amundsen wrote in one of his letters: “. . . I would sacrifice a lot, even fame, to bring them back to life. . . "
The traveler did not abandon his old dream and in 1918 set off on a voyage across the Arctic Ocean from west to east. He intended, having frozen the ship into the ice, to repeat the famous drift of F. Nansen. Amundsen hoped that his ship would reach the North Pole with the ice. However heavy ice pressed the ship to the shore, and the crew was forced to winter twice off the coast of Siberia.
Roald Amundsen never gave up his dream of visiting the North Pole. In Norway he learned to fly an airplane and received a diploma civilian pilot. In 1925, with five companions, the traveler set off on a flight on two planes from Spitsbergen to the Pole, but did not reach it. Only by miracle did the people manage to escape and return back on one of the seaplanes. In 1926, Amundsen, together with the American L. Ellsworth and the Italian W. Nobile, flew over the North Pole along the route Spitsbergen - North Pole - Alaska on the airship "Norway". Thus, he became the first person to visit both poles of the Earth.
Later, in 1928, Umberto Nobile organized a new expedition to the Arctic on the airship Italia. However, it was destined to end tragically. The icy airship hit the ice with its gondola. Some of the crew were thrown onto the ice floe, and some flew away with the airship. The fate of those who flew away is unknown, but the expedition members who found themselves on the ice floe were rescued, including U. Nobile. Roald Amundsen wanted to take part in saving the expedition. Having learned about the airship accident, he flew from Norway on a Latham plane, but the plane and its crew went missing. Only a few months later, in the Barents Sea, waves washed the float of the plane on which the traveler was flying to the coast of Norway. Roald Amundsen died in 1928, at the age of 56.
