Home Flowers Roald amundsen biography. Time of the Arctic - information portal

Flowers

Roald amundsen biography. Time of the Arctic - information portal

“All days and nights we were under the pressure of a terrible press. The noise of the ice blocks beating and breaking against the sides of our ship often became so strong that it was almost impossible to talk. And then ... we were saved by the ingenuity of Dr. Cook. He carefully preserved the skins of the penguins we killed, and now we made mats from them, which we hung over the sides, where they significantly reduced and softened the shocks of the ice ”(R. Amundsen. My life. Chapter II).

There was, perhaps, in the history of a more "enchanted" sea route than the Northwest Passage. Hundreds of sailors from John Cabot at the end of the 15th century. tried to find a way to Asia bypassing North America, but unsuccessfully. These attempts often ended tragically. Suffice it to recall the voyage of Henry Hudson (Hudson) in 1611 and the expedition of John Franklin in 1845. Robert McClure, one of those who were looking for Franklin, discovered the missing western link in 1851 waterway from the Atlantic to Pacific Ocean, however, no one managed to overcome the entire Northwest Passage for a long time.

Norwegian Roald Amundsen read a book about the death of John Franklin's expedition as a child and already then decided to become a polar explorer. He walked towards his goal confidently, knowing what he wanted and how to achieve it. This became the secret of his amazing accomplishments. To begin with, he entered as a sailor on a sailboat in order to go through all the steps on the way to the captain's diploma.

In 1897 Belgium organized an expedition to Antarctica. Since there were no polar explorers in Belgium itself, the expedition included scientists from other countries. Amundsen was the first navigator in it. The expedition spent some time at Tierra del Fuego, and then headed for the Antarctic Peninsula. But there the ship got stuck in the ice, it had to spend the winter, for which the travelers were completely unprepared. Fuel quickly ran out, with cold and darkness horror and despair crept into the souls of people. And also this terrible crack - ice, like a boa constrictor, squeezed the ship. Two went mad, all suffered from scurvy. The head of the expedition and the captain were also sick and did not get up from their beds. The story of the Franklin expedition could well repeat itself.

Everyone was saved by Amundsen and the ship's doctor, American Frederick Cook. First, keeping in mind that healthy body healthy spirit, they got some seals and began to feed the sick with seal meat. And it helped: the sick got better, their spirit got stronger. According to Amundsen, Dr. Cook, a brave and never discouraged man, became the main savior of the expedition. It was he who proposed to drill dozens of holes in the ice - in a straight line from the bow of the ship - and put dynamite into these holes. The winter explosion did not give anything, but in the summer the ice cracked just along this line and the ship went to clean water. After more than a year in ice captivity, the expedition returned to Europe.

A year later, Amundsen received a skipper's diploma. Now he could prepare for an independent expedition. He was going to overcome the Northwest Passage, and at the same time determine the position of the magnetic pole. To do this, Amundsen bought a small single-masted yacht "Joa". If the 39-meter "Fram" with its 400-ton displacement was considered too small for long-distance navigation, then what can we say about Amundsen's ship, 21 meters long and with a displacement of 48 tons? But Amundsen reasoned like this: the main problems for anyone who tried to conquer the Northwest Passage were heavy ice, clogging the straits, and shallow depths. At big ship there is little chance of breaking through, unlike a yacht with a shallow draft. However, there was another reason for this choice: Amundsen did not have a significant amount of money.

The Norwegian installed a 13-horsepower kerosene engine on the yacht; in addition, she was equipped with sails. Having made a trial voyage in the Barents Sea in 1901, Amundsen was pleased with his ship. In June 1903, Gyoa went west. The team consisted of only seven people, including Amundsen himself. It's funny, but by the time he sailed, he could not pay off his creditors, so the team made their way on board the ship at night, secretly, and just as secretly, "Yoa" left the port.

After the Norwegians crossed the Atlantic and entered the Baffin Sea, they stopped at Godhavn on Disko Island. Here, 20 dogs were loaded on board, the delivery of which Amundsen arranged with a Danish trading company. Further, the path lay north, to the camp of the Scottish whalers Dalrymple Rock, where supplies of fuel and food were replenished. The Gyoa rounded Devon Island and entered Lancaster Sound. Having overcome it, she reached the small island of Beachy. Amundsen made magnetic observations to determine the direction in which the magnetic pole was. Instruments showed - on the western coast of the Butia peninsula.

On the way to the peninsula - around Somerset Island through the Peel Strait - serious trials awaited the Norwegians. First, "Yoa", passing an extremely difficult section, stumbled upon an underwater rock. And then suddenly a storm hit. It seemed that another blow against the rocks would follow, this time fatal, but huge wave picked up the boat and carried it over the reef. After that collision, "Yoa" almost lost her helm. And one evening, when the yacht stopped at a small island and everyone was going to sleep, there was a heart-rending cry: “Fire!”. The engine room was on fire.

With great difficulty it was possible to fill the entire room with water. The happiness of the team that there was no explosion. Already at the very peninsula of Butia, the ship fell into a terrible storm that lasted four days. Amundsen managed to maneuver in such a way that the Gjoa remained afloat and was not washed ashore. Meanwhile, it was already September, and the polar night was fast approaching. Found a place to spend the winter south coast King William Island, in a quiet bay surrounded by hills on all sides. Amundsen wrote that one could only dream of such a bay. But not far from here, the final scenes of the tragedy with John Franklin in leading role. By the way, the Norwegians managed to find and bury the remains of several members of the British expedition.

Everything needed, including scientific equipment, was unloaded ashore. Having built a warm house, observatories and installed instruments, the Norwegians also made rooms for dogs. Now we had to provide ourselves with food for the winter. They began to hunt deer and soon shot a hundred. Amundsen noted that the members of Franklin's last expedition died mainly from starvation - and this was in places with an amazing abundance of animals and fish!

During the hunt, the travelers met the Eskimos. Between them quickly established a good relationship. The Eskimos as a whole tribe migrated to the winter quarters of the Norwegians and settled nearby. In total, up to 200 people came. Amundsen foresaw this development and took with him a lot of goods for barter. Thanks to this, he managed to collect a wonderful collection of Eskimo household items. Magnetic measurements and others Scientific research Amundsen was detained at this place for another year. And yet, in August 1904, he went on a boat to explore the narrow Simpson Sound, which separates King William Island from the mainland.

And in August next year Gyoa moved through this strait. Not a single ship had sailed in these waters before. For three weeks the ship literally crawled forward, the sailors constantly threw the lot and looked for a passage among the endless rocks and shallows. Once the keel of a ship was separated from the bottom by only one inch of water! And yet they broke through. When the sailors crossed the narrow winding straits between the mainland and the islands of the Canadian archipelago and entered the Beaufort Sea, they saw sails far ahead. It was the American whaling ship Charles Hansson, which came from San Francisco through the Bering Strait. It turns out that the end of the path is very close, and with it the victory! The Norwegians did not suspect that they would need another whole year to overcome last stage. The ice got thicker, then harder, and finally, on September 2, the Gyoa got stuck north of King Point, off the Canadian coast. The speed with which Amundsen covered the distance from King William Island to Cape King Point is striking: in 20 days, the Gyoa covered almost 2 thousand km, and at least a third of this path through narrow shallow straits.

In his memoirs, Amundsen wrote that long before the expedition, he tried to acquire all the available literature on the Northwest Passage. Thanks to this, he was able to prepare well for the journey. At first glance at the map of the Canadian archipelago, it seems that the most natural way from ocean to ocean - northern, through the straits of Lancaster, Barrow, Waycount-Melville and McClure. However, it is precisely on this path that traps await sailors. In one of the books devoted to the search for John Franklin, Amundsen found a suggestion, even a prophecy, that the real passage would be found by those who chose a more southerly route. And so it happened.

But back to the "Yoa", captured in ice captivity. The most annoying thing was that the Northwest Passage had already been passed. And Amundsen decided to tell the world about his accomplishment. To do this, it was only necessary to get to some telegraph station. But the nearest one was 750 km away, behind a mountain range 2750 m high. We set off on a journey at the end of October on sleds pulled by dogs. In a bitter cold, they reached the Yukon River, and on December 5 they reached Fort Egbert, the terminus of the military telegraph line. Amundsen wrote about a thousand words, which were immediately sent. But it was in those days that the wires on the line burst from the frost! It took a week to fix the problem, after which Amundsen received confirmation that the telegrams had reached the addressees. In response, he received hundreds of congratulations.

In February 1906, the traveler left Fort Egbert and on a dog sled moved along the trading stations back to Gjoa. In July, the ice receded, and the Norwegians reached Point Barrow without incident, passed through the Bering Strait, and arrived in San Francisco in October. Shortly before this, in April 1906, the city was seriously damaged by the famous earthquake, the most destructive in the history of the United States. Amundsen donated his yacht to the city as a memento of the conquest of the Northwest Passage.

Huge stress and wear and tear did not pass for the traveler in vain: in the first weeks after the end of the voyage, everyone took him for a 60- or 70-year-old man, although in fact he was only 33 years old.

NUMBERS AND FACTS

Main character

Roald Amundsen, the great Norwegian polar explorer

Other actors

Frederick Cook, American polar explorer, physician

Time of action

Expedition route

From Europe across the Atlantic to the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, then westward by narrow straits between the mainland and the islands

Target

Crossing the Northwest Passage, scientific research

Meaning

For the first time in history, it was possible to bypass North America from the north

3043

Every traveler-explorer deeply believes that there is nothing insurmountable and impossible in the world. He refuses to accept defeat, even if it is already becoming obvious, and relentlessly continues to go towards his goal. Antarctica has repeatedly demonstrated to man “his place”, until a fearless Norwegian, Roald Amundsen, appeared in front of her. He discovered that true courage and heroism can conquer ice and severe frosts.

Indomitable attraction

The years of Roald Amundsen's life were eventful. He was born in 1872 in the family of a hereditary navigator and merchant. At the age of fifteen, he falls into the hands of a book by D. Franklin about an expedition in the Atlantic Ocean, which determines his whole subsequent life. His parents had plans for younger child, deciding not to introduce him to the family craft. His mother diligently predicted for him a place in the intellectual elite of society, giving him after the gymnasium Faculty of Medicine. But the future polar explorer was preparing for something else: he diligently went in for sports, hardened his body in every possible way, accustoming himself to cold temperatures. He knew that medicine was not his life's work. Therefore, two years later, Roalle leaves school with relief, returning to his dream of adventure.

In 1893, the future traveler Roald Amundsen met the Norwegian explorer Astrup, and did not even consider another fate than to be a polar explorer. He literally became obsessed with the idea of conquering the poles. The young man set a goal to be the first to set foot on the South Pole.

Becoming a leader

In 1894-1896, the life of Roald Amundsen changes dramatically. After completing the courses of the navigator, he gets on the ship "Belgic", becoming a member of the team of the Antarctic expedition. This difficult journey is deprived of the attention of historians, but it was then that people first wintered near the icy continent.

Huge ice floes of Antarctica squeezed the ship of travelers. With no other choice, they were doomed to long months of darkness and loneliness. Not everyone was able to endure the trials that befell the team, many went crazy from difficulties and constant fear. The most persistent gave up. The captain of the ship, unable to cope with the situation, resigned and retired from business. It was during these days that Amundsen became a leader.

Despite the rigidity of his character, Roald was a fairly fair person, and first of all he demanded from himself discipline, accountability and full dedication to the cause. The press often published unflattering reviews about him, exposing the polar explorer as quarrelsome and meticulous. But who can judge the winner, given that it was his team that survived in in full force without death?

On the way to a dream

An interesting fact is in the biography of Roald Amundsen. It turns out that at first he intended to conquer North Pole, but in the process of preparing for the expedition, news came that Frederick Cook had already outstripped him. A week later, similar news came from the expedition of Robert Peary. Amundsen understands that competition is being created between those who want to conquer the unknown. He quickly changes his plans, opting for south pole, and goes ahead of the competition without saying anything to anyone.

The schooner reached the shores of Antarctica in January 1911. In the Bay of Whales, the Norwegians built a house from the materials they brought. They began to carefully prepare for the future trip to the pole: constant training of people and dogs, rechecking of equipment, and bases with provisions were prepared up to 82 ° south latitude.

The first attempt to conquer the South Pole was defeated. The eight-man team set out in early September but had to return due to rapidly dropping temperatures. There were such terrible frosts that even the vodka cooled down, and the skis did not go through the snow. But Amundsen's failure did not stop.

South Pole

On October 20, 1911, a new attempt was made to reach the Pole. The Norwegians, a group of five people, approached the border of the ice shelf on November 17 and began climbing the Polar Plateau. Ahead were the most difficult three weeks. There were 550 kilometers left.

It should be noted that in severe conditions of cold and danger, people were constantly in a stressful state, and this could not but affect relations in the group. Conflicts occurred for any reason.

The expedition was able to overcome a steep glacier at an altitude of 3030 meters above sea level. This section of the path was marked by deep cracks. Both dogs and people were exhausted, suffering from altitude sickness. And on December 6, they conquered a height of 3260 meters. The expedition reached the South Pole on December 14 at 15:00. The polar explorers made several repeated calculations to dispel the slightest doubt. The estimated place was marked with flags, and then a tent was set up.

The Pole was subdued by inflexible people, their perseverance and aspiration on the verge of madness. And you have to give credit leadership qualities Roald Amundsen himself. He discovered that the victory at the Pole, in addition to human determination and courage, is also the result of clear planning and calculations.

Traveler Achievements

Roald Amundsen is the greatest Norwegian polar explorer who forever left his name in history. He made many discoveries, geographical objects were named after him. People called him the Last Viking, and he fully justified this nickname.

Not everyone knows, but the South Pole is not the only thing Roald Amundsen discovered. He was the first to make the passage in 1903-1906 from Greenland to Alaska by the Northwest Passage on the small ship "Joa". It was in many ways a risky undertaking, but Amundsen prepared a lot, which explains his subsequent success. And in the years 1918-1920 on the ship "Maud" he passes along the northern coast of Eurasia.

In addition, Roald Amundsen is a recognized pioneer of polar aviation. In 1926, he made the first flight on the airship "Norway" over the North Pole. Subsequently, his passion for aviation cost him his life.

Last hike

The life of the legendary polar explorer ended tragically. The indefatigable nature could not help but react when on May 25, 1928, a distress signal was received from the expedition of the Italian Umberto Nobile in the Barents Sea area.

It didn't take long to get out to help. Despite all the achievements, Roald Amundsen (which he discovered, we examined above) still needed money. Therefore, only on June 18 from Tromso on the Latham-47 seaplane, thanks to common efforts, the fearless Norwegian, together with the team, flew to the rescue.

In the last message received from Amundsen, there was information that they were over Bear Island. After the connection was lost. The next day, it became apparent that Latham-47 was missing. Long searches have yielded no results. And a few months later, the float and dented gas tank of the seaplane were discovered. The commission found that the plane crashed, resulting in tragic death commands.

Roald Amundsen was a man of great destiny. He forever remained in the memory of people as a true conqueror of Antarctica.

2.3 Conquest of the South Pole

2.4 Northeast Sea Route

2.5 Transarctic flights

2.6 Last years and death

Objects named after the traveler.
List of used literature.

Norwegian polar traveler and explorer. First person to reach the South Pole (December 14, 1911). First person (with Oscar Wisting) to visit both geographic poles planets. The first explorer who made a sea passage through both the Northeast (along the coast of Siberia) and the Northwest sea route (along the straits of the Canadian archipelago). He died in 1928 during the search for the expedition of Umberto Nobile. He had awards from many countries of the world, including the highest award of the United States - gold medal Congress.

Brief chronology

In 1890-1892 he studied at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Christiania.

From 1894 to 1899 he sailed as a sailor and navigator on various ships. Beginning in 1903, he made a number of expeditions that became widely known.

Passed for the first time (1903-1906) on a small fishing vessel "Joa" through the Northwest Passage from East to West from Greenland to Alaska.

On the ship "Fram" went to Antarctica; landed in the Bay of Whales and on December 14, 1911 reached the South Pole on dogs, a month ahead of the British expedition of R. Scott.

In the summer of 1918, the expedition left Norway on the ship Maud and in 1920 reached the Bering Strait.

In 1926, he headed the 1st transarctic flight on the airship "Norway" along the route: Svalbard - North Pole - Alaska.

In 1928, during an attempt to find the Italian expedition of Umberto Nobile, who crashed in the Arctic Ocean on the Italia airship, and to help her, Amundsen, who took off on June 18 on the Latham seaplane, died in the Barents Sea.

A life

2.1 Youth and first expeditions

Roald was born in 1872 in the southeast of Norway (Borg, near Sarpsborg) into a family of sailors and shipbuilders. When he was 14 years old, his father died and the family moved to Christiania (since 1924 - Oslo). Roal went to study at the medical faculty of the university, but when he was 21, his mother dies, and Roal leaves the university. He wrote afterwards:

« With inexpressible relief, I left the university to give myself to the one dream of my life with all my heart. »

In 1897-1899. As a navigator, he took part in the Belgian Antarctic expedition on the Belgica ship under the command of the Belgian polar explorer Adrien de Gerlache.

2.2 Northwest Sea Route

Figure 1. Map of Amundsen's Arctic expeditions

In 1903, he buys a used 47-ton sailing and motor yacht "Joa" ("Gjøa"), "the same age" as Amundsen himself (built in 1872) and sets off on an Arctic expedition. The schooner was equipped with a 13 hp diesel engine.

The personnel of the expedition included:

Roald Amundsen - head of the expedition, glaciologist, specialist in terrestrial magnetism, ethnographer.
Godfried Hansen, a Dane by nationality, was the navigator, astronomer, geologist and photographer of the expedition. Senior lieutenant in the Danish Navy, participated in expeditions to Iceland and the Faroe Islands.
Anton Lund - skipper and harpooner.
Peder Ristvedt is a senior machinist and meteorologist.
Helmer Hansen is the second navigator.
Gustav Yul Vik - second machinist, assistant for magnetic observations. He died of an unexplained disease on March 30, 1906.
Adolf Henrik Lindström - cook and food master. Member of the Sverdrup expedition in 1898-1902.

Amundsen passed through the North Atlantic, Baffin Bay, the Straits of Lancaster, Barrow, Peel, Franklin, James Ross, and in early September stopped for the winter near the southeast coast of King William Island. In the summer of 1904, the bay was not free of ice, and the "Joa" remained for the second wintering.

On August 13, 1905, the ship continues sailing and practically completes the North-Western Route, but still freezes into ice. Amundsen travels by dog sled to Eagle City, Alaska.

He later recalled:

« Upon my return, everyone determined my age between 59 and 75 years, although I was only 33.

2.3 Conquest of the South Pole

Figure 2. Map of Amundsen's Antarctic expedition

2.4 Conquest of the South Pole

For 1910, Amundsen planned a transpolar drift through the Arctic, which was to begin off the coast of Chukotka. Amundsen hoped to be the first to reach the North Pole, for which back in 1907 he won support from Fridtjof Nansen. By an act of parliament, the ship "Fram" (Norwegian Fram, "Forward") was provided for the expedition. The budget was very modest, amounting to about 250 thousand crowns (for comparison: Nansen had 450 thousand crowns in 1893). Amundsen's plans were unexpectedly destroyed by Cook's announcement of the conquest of the North Pole in April 1908. Soon, Robert Peary also announced the conquest of the pole. It was no longer necessary to count on sponsorship, and then Roald decided to conquer the South Pole, for which the race also began to unfold.

By 1909, the Fram (Figure 3) was overhauled, but was already intended for a new expedition. All preparations were kept secret: apart from himself, Amundsen's plans were known by his lawyer brother Leon Amundsen and the commander of the Fram, Lieutenant Thorvald Nielsen. I had to go to non-standard solutions: a significant part of the provisions for the expedition was supplied by the Norwegian army (the new Arctic diet was to be tested), ski suits for the expedition members were sewn from decommissioned army blankets, the army provided tents and so on. The only sponsor was found in Argentina: at the expense of the magnate of Norwegian origin - Don Pedro Christophersen, kerosene and a lot of supplies were purchased. His generosity made Buenos Aires the Fram's main base. Later, a mountain in the Transantarctic Ridge was named after him.

Before sailing, Amundsen sent letters to Nansen and the King of Norway explaining his motives. According to legend, Nansen, having received a letter, exclaimed: “Fool! I would give him all my calculations ”(Nansen was going to make an expedition to Antarctica in 1905, but his wife’s illness forced him to abandon his plans).

The personnel of the expedition was divided into two detachments: ship and coastal. The list is as of January 1912.

Figure 3. "Fram" under sail

Coast Guard:

Roald Amundsen - head of the expedition, head of the sledge party on the march to the South Pole.
Olaf Bjoland - participant in the campaign to the Pole.
Oscar Wisting - participant in the campaign to the Pole.
Jorgen Stubberud - a member of the campaign to the Land of King Edward VII.
Christian Prestrud - leader of the luge party to King Edward VII Land.
Frederik Hjalmar Johansen - a member of the Nansen expedition in 1893-1896, due to a conflict with Amundsen, did not enter the pole detachment.
Helmer Hansen - participant in the campaign to the Pole.
Sverre Hassel - a member of the campaign to the Pole.
Adolf Henrik Lindström - cook and food master.

Team "Fram" (ship detachment):

Thorvald Nielsen - commander of the Fram
Steller is a sailor, a German by nationality.
Ludwig Hansen - sailor.
Adolf Olsen - sailor.
Karenius Olsen - cook, cabin boy (the youngest member of the expedition, in 1910 he was 18 years old).
Martin Richard Rönne - sailmaker.
Christensen is the navigator.
Halvorsen.
Knut Sundbek is a Swede by nationality, a ship mechanic (the engineer who created diesel engine for "Fram"), an employee of the firm of Rudolf Diesel.
Frederik Hjalmar Jertsen - First Assistant Commander, Lieutenant in the Norwegian Navy. He also performed the duties of a ship's doctor.

The twentieth member of the expedition was the biologist Alexander Stepanovich Kuchin, but in early 1912 he returned to Russia from Buenos Aires. For some time, Jakob Nödtvedt was the minder of the Fram, but he was replaced by Sundbeck.

In the summer of 1910, the Fram carried out oceanographic surveys in the North Atlantic, and it turned out that the ship's mechanic Jacob Nödtvedt was not coping with his duties. It was decommissioned ashore, and instead they took the designer of a marine diesel engine, Knut Sundbeck. Amundsen wrote that this Swede had great courage if he decided to go on such a long journey with the Norwegians.

On January 13, 1911, Amundsen sailed to the Ross Ice Barrier in Antarctica. At the same time, the British expedition of Robert Scott set up camp in McMurdo Sound, at a distance of 650 kilometers from Amundsen.

Before going to the South Pole, both expeditions prepared for wintering, placed warehouses along the route. The Norwegians built the Framheim base 4 km from the coast, consisting of a wooden house with an area of 32 sq.m. and numerous ancillary buildings and warehouses built from snow and ice, and deepened into the Antarctic glacier. The first attempt to march to the pole was made back in August 1911, but extremely low temperatures prevented this (at -56 C. the skis and runners of the sled did not slip, and the dogs could not sleep).

Amundsen's plan was worked out in detail back in Norway, in particular, a movement schedule was drawn up, which modern researchers compare with a musical score. The polar team returned to the Fram on the day prescribed by the schedule 2 years earlier.

On October 19, 1911, five people, led by Amundsen, went to the South Pole on four dogsleds. On December 14, the expedition reached the South Pole, having traveled 1,500 km, and hoisted the flag of Norway. Expedition members: Oscar Wisting, Helmer Hanssen, Sverre Hassel, Olav Bjaaland, Roald Amundsen. The entire trip over a distance of 3000 km with extreme conditions(ascent and descent to a plateau with a height of 3000 m at constant temperature over -40° and strong winds) took 99 days.

Amundsen (Amundsen) Roald (1872-1928), Norwegian polar traveler and explorer. He was the first to pass the Northwest Passage on the ship "Joa" from Greenland to Alaska (1903-06). Led an expedition to the Antarctic on the ship "Fram" (1910-12). He was the first to reach the South Pole (12/14/1911). In 1918-20 he sailed along the northern shores of Eurasia on the Maud ship. In 1926 he led the first flight over the North Pole on the airship "Norway". He died in the Barents Sea during the search for the Italian expedition of U. Nobile.

Amundsen Rual. He was the first to pass through the Northwest Passage on the ship "Yoa" from Greenland to Alaska (1903-1906). Led an expedition to the Antarctic on the ship "Fram" (1910-1912). He was the first to reach the South Pole (December 14, 1911). In 1918-1920 he sailed along the northern shores of Eurasia on the Maud ship. In 1926, he led the first flight over the North Pole on the airship "Norway". He died in the Barents Sea during the search for the Italian expedition of U. Nobile.

Amundsen said that he decided to become a polar traveler at the age of fifteen when he read D. Franklin's book about the expedition of 1819-1822, the purpose of which was to find a way from Atlantic Ocean in the Pacific around the northern coasts of North America. But only at the age of twenty-two, cabin boy Amundsen first stepped on board the ship. At twenty-six he wintered for the first time in high latitudes.

He was a member of the Belgian Antarctic expedition. Forced, unprepared wintering lasted 13 months. Amundsen remembered this lesson for the rest of his life.

Returning to Europe in 1899, he passed the captain's examination, then enlisted the support of Nansen, bought a small yacht "Joa" and set about preparing his own expedition. He wanted to do what Franklin hadn't been able to do, what no one had been able to do until now - go through the Northwest Passage. And for three years he carefully prepared for this journey. He invited people from thirty years of age on his travels, and everyone who went with him knew and could do a lot. There were seven of them on Gyoa, and in 1903-1906 they accomplished in three years what mankind had been dreaming of for three centuries.

Fifty years after McClure's so-called discovery of the Northwest Passage, Amundsen was the first to sail around North America. From West Greenland, following the directions of McClintock's book, he first repeated the path of the unfortunate Franklin expedition. From Barrow Strait, he headed south through the Peel and Franklin Straits to the northern tip of King William Island. But, taking into account Franklin's disastrous mistake, Amundsen circled the island not from the west, but from the east - by the straits of James Ross and Rey - and spent two winters in the harbor of Yeoa, off the southeast coast of King William Island. From there, in the autumn of 1904, he surveyed the narrowest part of the Simpson Strait by boat, and at the end of the summer of 1905, he moved due west along the coast of the mainland, leaving the Canadian Arctic archipelago to the north. He passed a series of shallow, island-studded straits and inlets, and finally met whaling ships that arrived from the Pacific Ocean to the northwestern shores of Canada. After wintering here for the third time, in the summer of 1906 Amundsen passed through the Bering Strait into the Pacific Ocean and finished his voyage to San Francisco.

Amundsen considered his next task to be the conquest of the North Pole. He wanted to enter the Arctic Ocean through the Bering Strait and repeat, only at higher latitudes, the famous Fram drift. Nansen lent him his ship. While preparations were underway for the expedition, Cook and Peary announced that the North Pole had already been conquered...

“In order to maintain my prestige as a polar explorer,” Amundsen recalled, “I needed to achieve some other sensational success as soon as possible ... I informed my comrades that since the North Pole was open, I decided to go to the South. they agreed with delight ... "On the spring day of October 19, 1911, the polar party, consisting of five people on four sledges pulled by 52 dogs, set off. At first, the path passed through the snowy hilly plain of the Ross Ice Shelf. At the 85th parallel, the surface went up steeply - the ice shelf ended. The ascent began on steep snow-covered slopes. At the beginning of the ascent, the travelers arranged the main food warehouse with a supply of 30 days. For the whole further way Amundsen left food at the rate of 60 days. During this period, he planned to reach the South Pole and return back to the main warehouse.

Finally they found themselves on a large glacier, which, like a frozen river of ice, cascaded down between the mountains from above. This glacier was named after Axel Heiberg, the patron of the expedition, who donated a large sum. The higher the travelers climbed, the worse the weather became. Mountain peaks that appeared in front of them during clear hours, they called the names of the Norwegians: friends, relatives, patrons. The most high mountain was named after Fridtjof Nansen. And one of the glaciers descending from it was named after Nansen's daughter - Liv.

On December 7, 1911, they passed the southernmost point reached before them: three years ago, the party of the Englishman Shackleton reached a latitude of 88 ° 23 ", but, under the threat of starvation, was forced to turn back, not having reached the pole, only 180 kilometers.

On December 17, they reached the point where, according to their calculations, the South Pole should have been. They left a small gray-brown tent, above the tent on a pole they strengthened the Norwegian flag, and under it a pennant with the inscription "Fram". In the tent, Amundsen left a letter to the Norwegian king with a brief report on the campaign and a message to his rival, Scott. Amundsen's entire journey to the South Pole and back took 99 days. Here are the names of the South Pole discoverers: Oscar Wisting, Helmer Hansen, Sverre Hassel, Olaf Bjaland, Roald Amundsen.

On March 7, 1912, from the city of Hobart on the island of Tasmania, Amundsen informed the world of his victory and the safe return of the expedition.

In 1925, Amundsen decided to make a test flight to the North Pole from Svalbard. If the flight was successful, then he planned to organize a transarctic flight. The son of the American millionaire Lincoln Ellsworth volunteered to finance the expedition. Subsequently, Ellsworth not only financed the air expeditions of the famous Norwegian, but also participated in them himself. Two seaplanes of the Dornier-Val type were purchased. The well-known Norwegian pilots Riiser-Larsen and Dietrichson were invited as pilots, and Feucht and Omdal were invited as mechanics. Amundsen and Ellsworth took over as navigators. In April 1925, the expedition members, aircraft and equipment arrived by steamboat at Kingsbay in Svalbard.

On May 21, 1925, both aircraft took off and headed for the North Pole. Ellsworth, Dietrichson and Omdal were on one plane, Amundsen, Riiser-Larsen and Voigt were on the other. Approximately 1000 kilometers from Svalbard, the engine of Amundsen's plane began to intermittently. Fortunately, there were polynyas in this place among the ice. I had to go to the landing. They sat down relatively safely, but could not take off. The situation seemed hopeless. Immediately after the accident, Amundsen carefully counted everything they had and set up a hard ration.

Finally, on June 15, on the 24th day after the accident, it froze, and they decided to take off. They flew, as Amundsen put it, "having death as their nearest neighbor." In the event of a forced landing on the ice, even if they survived, starvation awaited them.

The meeting in Norway was solemn. They were greeted by crowds of cheering people. It was July 5, 1925. It seemed that all the hardships of Amundsen were in the past. He was a national hero.

In 1925, Ellsworth bought an airship, which was named "Norge" ("Norway"). The leaders of the expedition to the North Pole were Amundsen and Ellsworth. The creator of the airship, Italian Umberto Nobile, was invited to the post of captain. The team was formed from Italians and Norwegians.

On May 8, 1926, the Americans launched to the North Pole. On the on board the aircraft, named "Josephine Ford", probably in honor of his wife Ford who financed the expedition, there were only two: Floyd Bennett as a pilot and Richard Byrd as a navigator. After 15 hours, they returned safely, flying to the Pole and back. Amundsen congratulated the Americans on the happy completion of the flight.

At 09:55 on May 11, 1926, in calm, clear weather, the Norge headed north, towards the pole. There were 16 people on board. After 15 hours 30 minutes of flight, at 1 hour 20 minutes on May 12, 1926, the airship was over the North Pole.

The return of the travelers was triumphant. On July 12, 1926, Amundsen and his friends arrived by boat in Norway, in Bergen.

May 24, 1928 Nobile on the airship "Italia" reached the North Pole and spent two hours above it. On the way back, he crashed. On June 18, Amundsen flew out of Bergen to rescue the crew of the Italia. After June 20, his plane went missing.

He was the first to reach the South Pole and the first to fly from Europe to America (Svalbard - Alaska); he was the first on the yacht "Yoa" to bypass America from the north and the first to follow the entire coast of the North Arctic Ocean, after the ship "Maud" in 1918-1920 rounded Europe and Asia from the north.

Roald Amundsen is a Norwegian polar explorer, explorer, champion in many fields. He was the first to reach the South Pole, visited the two geographic poles of the earth, which attracted him like a magnet all his life. Amundsen made many important discoveries, which turned out to be very useful in the further study of the polar regions.

short biography

The future researcher was born on July 16, 1872 in Borg, in the family of a Norwegian sea merchant. WITH early years he literally raved about traveling, and prepared for them to the best of his ability: he went in for sports, tempered himself, enthusiastically studied the literature about polar expeditions.

Roald wanted to learn to be a sailor, but at the insistence of his mother he was forced to study medicine. Orphaned in 1893 and becoming the master of his own destiny, Amundsen left the institute and went to sea.

Rice. 1. Roald Amundsen.

Having sailed for five years, and trained as a navigator, Roal went to the shores of the cherished Arctic as part of a Belgian expedition.

The first expedition to the Arctic turned out to be an incredibly difficult test. The ship was compressed by ice, people went crazy from hunger and disease. Few managed to survive. Among the lucky ones was also Roald, who hunted seals and did not disdain to eat their raw meat.

In 1903, Amundsen purchased a battered motor sailing yacht, the Gjoa, to fulfill his lifelong dream of conquering the North. His team consisted of only seven people, and the equipment was very modest, but this did not stop the traveler.

Conquest of the South Pole

In 1910, Roald Amundsen began active preparations for a new expedition. However, his plans changed after the news that the North Pole had been conquered by Robert Peary.

The ambitious traveler decided not to waste time, and with a team of like-minded people went to the South Pole. In just a few weeks, they covered more than 16,000 miles. Having come close to the ice barrier of Ross, the travelers were forced to disembark and transfer to dog sled.

Rice. 3. South Pole.

On December 14, 1911, Roald Amundsen reached the South Pole, having traveled more than 1,500 kilometers across the ice. He was the first person to set foot on the harsh polar lands, and in honor of this event he hoisted the flag of Norway at the South Pole.

During dangerous travels, Amundsen mastered all the means of transportation known at that time: different types ships, skis, dog sleds, and even airships and seaplanes. Roald Amundsen became one of the pioneers of polar aviation.

The brave traveler met his death at the North Pole. Having set off in 1928 in search of the missing Nobile expedition, after a while he stopped communicating. The exact circumstances of the tragic death of Amundsen have not yet been clarified.