The South Pole, a Comparison Essay

An arid tundra; temperatures so cold that limbs become black and immobile, land so barren that hardly anything can survive, this is the South Pole. Why anyone would want to go there may be hard to understand. Traveling to the South Pole isn't just a lengthy process and an uncomfortable experience, it is extremely dangerous as going to far south provides several life threatening conditions. To survive in such cold conditions one would need specially made clothing designed for such extremely cold climate. Maybe the pre-planning part of the trip is what separates Amundsen and Scott the most.

Both explorers have reached the South Pole but only Amundsen has returned, in good health. This can be mostly attributed to careful planning or as some would call, luck. Amundsen once said, "'Victory awaits those who have everything in order. People call this luckÐ'...'" (517). It can be judged from this quote that Amundsen is not one to believe in superstition. He believed that luck is a direct result of cautious planning and careful decision making. Scott on the other hand had a more fate oriented outlook on luck. A note was found beside Scott's body that read, "'The causes of the disaster are not due to faulty organization but to misfortune'" (522). Scott believed that several events could take place during a journey that were out of the control of the explorer, who in this case was Scott. Several events have occurred in Scott's journey but not in Amundsen's. Some of the misfortunes of Scott's adventure include having several supplies break through thin ice and become lost in the South Pole water. This mishap probably couldn't have been avoided unless the utmost scrutiny was observed during the trip. Being so cautious and careful would take a large amount of travel time away however and one can not possibly expect to reach the South Pole while traveling so slowly. So perhaps Scott was right and Amundsen has succeeded by blind luck along with his careful planning.

Amundsen analyzed every aspect of the journey before setting forth. If he felt that any particular item wasn't as efficient as it possibly could he would upgrade and modify it. This act of Amundsen can be attributed to his success as well as some other plans he made. Amundsen planned for a long time, he studied everything that was written about the South Pole. This careful planning has paid