The South Pole | Page 5

A Quiet Pipe First-lieutenant Thorvald Nilsen, Norwegian Navy The Second in Command Takes a Nap The "Fram" Sighted On the Ice-edge, January, 1911 Our Last Moorings on the Ice-foot A Hunting Expedition at the Foot of the Barrier Beck Steers the "Fram" through Unknown Waters Our Cook, Cheerful and Contented as Usual Sectional Diagrams of the "Fram"
List of Maps and Charts
Fig.
Chart of the Immediate Surroundings of the South Pole to face Chart of the Ross Sea Chart of the Bay of Whales 1. Hypothetical Representation of the Surface Currents in the Northern Atlantic in April 2. The "Fram's" Route from June 20 To July 7, 1910 3. Temperature and Salinity in the "Fram's" Southern Section, June, 1910 4. Temperature and Salinity in the "Fram's" Northern Section, July, 1910 5. The "Fram's" Stations in the South Atlantic (June -- August, 1911) 6. Currents in the South Atlantic (June -- August, 1911) 7. Salinities and Temperatures at the Surface in the South Atlantic (June -- August, 1911) 8. Temperatures (Centigrade) at a Depth of 400 Metres (218 Fathoms) 9. Temperatures at Station 32 (In the Benguela Current, July 22, 1911), and at Station 60 (In the Brazil Current, August 19, 1911) 10. Salinities at Station 32 (In the Benguela Current, July 22, 1911), and at Station 60 (In the Brazil Current, August 19, 1911) 11. Salinities and Temperatures in the Southern Section (June -- July, 1911) 12. Salinities and Temperatures in the Northern Section (July -- August, 1911) 13. Temperatures at one of the "Fram's" and one of the "Challenger's" Stations, to the South of the South Equatorial Current 14. Temperatures at one of the "Fram's" and one of the "Valdivia's" Stations, in the Benguela Current 15. Temperatures at the "Planet's" Station 25, And the "Fram's" Station 39 -- Both in the Neighbourhood of St. Helena 16. Salinities at the "Planet's" Station 25 (March 19, 1906), and the "Fram's" Station 39 (July 29, 1911) Chart of the Antarctic Region

The First Account
On February 10, 1911, we started for the South to establish depots, and continued our journey until April 11. We formed three depots and stored in them 3 tons of provisions, including 22 hundredweight of seal meat. As there were no landmarks, we had to indicate the position of our depots by flags, which were posted at a distance of about four miles to the east and west. The first barrier afforded the best going, and was specially adapted for dog-sledging. Thus, on February 15 we did sixty-two miles with sledges. Each sledge weighed 660 pounds, and we had six dogs for each. The upper barrier ("barrier surface") was smooth and even. There were a few crevasses here and there, but we only found them dangerous at one or two points. The barrier went in long, regular undulations. The weather was very favourable, with calms or light winds. The lowest temperature at this station was -49° F., which was taken on March 4.
When we returned to winter quarters on February 5 from a first trip, we found that the Fram had already left us. With joy and pride we heard from those who had stayed behind that our gallant captain had succeeded in sailing her farther south than any former ship. So the good old Fram has shown the flag of Norway both farthest north and farthest south. The most southerly latitude reached by the Fram was 78° 41'.
Before the winter set in we had 60 tons of seal meat in our winter quarters; this was enough for ourselves and our 110 dogs. We had built eight kennels and a number of connecting tents and snow huts. When we had provided for the dogs, we thought of ourselves. Our little hut was almost entirely covered with snow. Not till the middle of April did we decide to adopt artificial light in the hut. This we did with the help of a Lux lamp of 200 candle-power, which gave an excellent light and kept the indoor temperature at about 68° F. throughout the winter. The ventilation was very satisfactory, and we got sufficient fresh air. The hut was directly connected with the house in which we had our workshop, larder, storeroom, and cellar, besides a single bathroom and observatory. Thus we had everything within doors and easily got at, in case the weather should be so cold and stormy that we could not venture out.
The sun left us on April 22, and we did not see it again for four months. We spent the winter in altering our whole equipment, which our depot journeys had shown to be too heavy and clumsy for the smooth barrier surface. At the same time we carried out all the scientific work for which there was opportunity. We made a number of surprising meteorological observations. There was