14 December: Roald Amundsen reached the South Pole

On this date in 1911 Norwegian expedition led by Roald Amundsen became the first to reach the South Pole 35 days before Captain Scott. Here are 10 things you might not know about his expedition.

1. First, a little about Roald Amundsen himself. He was born in Fredrikstad (around 80 km from Christiania (now Oslo)), Norway, in 1872. His father was a ship owner. He began studying medicine at Christiania University but dropped out to become a sailor. When not at sea, he'd go cross country Skiing.
2. His original plan wasn't to go to the South Pole at all. His lifelong ambition was to be the first to go to the North Pole. That was what his crew signed up for, and what the man who provided his ship expected him to do. However, when Amundsen heard someone else had got to the North Pole before him, he changed his plans.
3. He didn't tell anyone about the change except for his brother and his second in command. When his ship, the Fram, sailed in August 1910, most people aboard still thought they were going to the North Pole and must have wondered why they were headed south, to Madeira. It was only when they got there that they were told where they were actually going. He told them they were still going to the North Pole but were making a “detour” to the South Pole on the way. He did ask if they were willing to continue, and all of them agreed. Amunsen wrote, "Never has a man achieved a goal so diametrically opposed to his wishes. The area around the North Pole—devil take it—had fascinated me since childhood, and now here I was at the South Pole. Could anything be more crazy?"
4. Why so much secrecy? A lot of the funding which had been secured had been given specifically for exploration in the Arctic, as had the ship. Amundsen obviously believed in the principle that it was easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. He was also afraid the Norwegian parliament would stop him from going, in case it offended Britain, who were also planning an expedition to the pole. Even so, it became harder and harder to get the rest of the funds he needed. People had lost interest in an expedition to the North Pole, so Amundsen mortgaged his house. He was heavily in debt, and would have been financially ruined if the expedition had failed.
5. Who went with him? There was a party of 19, all of which Amundsen had personally selected, except for one, Hjalmar Johansen, who was included at the request of the owner of the ship. Johansen had failed to settle down after his last journey and had been drinking heavily. His former boss wanted him to have a last chance to prove himself. Amundsen reluctantly agreed, although Amundsen ultimately excluded Johansen from the party of five who went to the Pole, because he'd been "violently insubordinate". Only two of the party were not from Norway - the Russian oceanographer Alexander Kuchin and a Swedish engineer, Knut Sundbeck.
6. The expedition's doctor, Hjalmar Fredrik Gjertsen, had no medical experience other than a crash course in dentistry and surgery before they set off.
7. Amundsen was do desperate to beat Scott to the Pole that he set off from his base camp, Framheim, too soon, in September. The temperature was still too low - −56 °C (−69 °F). While the party could cope with that while on the move, it was impossible to sleep at night and the sled dogs had frostbitten paws. Amundsen made the decision to turn back. They set out again on 19 October 1911.
8. Amundsen took 100 sled Dogs with him. He believed sleds pulled by dogs would be the best means of transport across the terrain, and didn't understand why the British expedition weren't using them. Sadly, only eleven dogs survived. A number froze to death, and still more were eaten. Part of the thinking in using dogs was that, as well as pulling the sleds, they could be slaughtered for meat to feed both men and the remaining dogs. About 27 dogs suffered that fate, even though the sled drivers had grown fond of them and Amundsen wrote in his diary about the “depression and sadness in the air” when they reached the point where they had to kill the dogs.
9. They reached the Pole on 14 December 1911, while looking out for any signs that Scott had got there before them. For a moment, they thought he had when they spotted something dark in the Snow – but it turned out to be dog poo from one of their own dogs. On reaching the pole, the planted the Norwegian flag and pitched camp, a couple of kilometers from it, naming the camp Polheim, or “Home at the Pole”. They left the tent and flags behind, but they're now buried under all the snow that's fallen since and nobody knows where they are. The team made extensive calculations to make sure they'd got the position of the Pole absolutely right (after going to all that trouble, they didn't want to get it wrong). They left equipment and letters for Scott's party to find including a letter addressed to King Haakon which he asked Scott to deliver.
10. The Pole wasn't the only achievement. Johansen and two others were sent to King Edward VII Land to try and find the point where the land began, surprisingly tricky when both land and sea are covered by so much ice. They collected geological specimens and samples of mosses, and had a look around before returning to Framheim on 16 December. They were the first men to set foot on King Edward VII Land.

My Christmas Novella!

A Very Variant Christmas

Last year, Jade and Gloria were embroiled in a bitter conflict to win back their throne and their ancestral home. This year, Queen Jade and Princess Gloria want to host the biggest and best Christmas party ever in their palace. They invite all their friends to come and bring guests. Not even the birth of Jade's heir just before Christmas will stop them.

The guest list includes most of Britain's complement of super-powered crime-fighters, their families and friends. What could possibly go wrong?

Gatecrashers, unexpected arrivals, exploding Christmas crackers and a kidnapping, for starters.

Far away in space, the Constellations, a cosmic peacekeeping force, have suffered a tragic loss. They need to recruit a new member to replace their dead colleague. The two top candidates are both at Jade and Gloria's party. The arrival of the recruitment delegation on Christmas Eve is a surprise for everyone; but their visit means one guest now faces a life-changing decision.

Meanwhile, an alliance of the enemies of various guests at the party has infiltrated the palace; they hide in the dungeon, plotting how best to get rid of the crime-fighters and the royal family once and for all. Problem is, they all have their own agendas and differences of opinion on how to achieve their aims.

Not to mention that this year, the ghosts who walk the corridors of the palace on Christmas Eve will be as surprised by the living as the living are by them.

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