AMUNDSEN

Nansen had been the first to cross Greenland by the icecap at nearly 9000 feet. 'Farthest North', 1897, recounts his adventures using the 'Fram', which, anchored to the ice, and specially shaped to avoid being crushed, drifted from Siberia to Greenland, allowing Nansen and his party to reach 86 degrees 14 minutes North, then a record.In 1909, Amundsen began planning for a South Pole expedition. He left Norway in June 1910 on the ship Fram and reached Antarctica in January 1911. His party established a camp at the Bay of Whales and a series of supply depots on the Barrier (now known as the Ross Ice Shelf) before setting out for the pole in October. The party of five, led by Amundsen, became the first to reach the South Pole on 14th December 1911.