emansfield
My apologies for splitting this into several parts, but the discussion server will only accept a limited length of text.
Transportation:
Of course, the most important difference in this regard was the choice of transportation. The decision to use ponies and man-hauling must be seen as nothing short of inane. Ponies were entirely unsuited for Antarctica for a number of reasons. As herbivores all their feed had to be transported to the continent and then transported over the Barrier to the various depots, in contrast to dogs who are able to eat indigenous seal and penguin meat, which was plentifully available at the coast, and even their own kind, were it not for the squeamish attitude of Scott and most of his men. The ponies' size and weight meant that without effective equine snowshoes they were constantly sinking into the relatively soft surface of the Barrier, thereby reducing their rate of travel and prematurely exhausting the animals. Scott experimented briefly with some snowshoe contraptions, but the experiments were largely unsuccessful and he never pursued the matter further. One has the feeling that had their roles been reversed, Amundsen would have persevered with the experiments until a reasonably successful solution was found, but Scott's cavalier attitude made him give up after the first unsuccessful attempts. The ponies' size also made them particularly vulnerable to heat loss in the freezing winds, a fact clearly underscored by the fact that the British spent several hours each evening during the journey over the Barrier building snow walls to protect the ponies from the winds during the night, effort that could not reasonably be afforded after ten to twelve hours of labourious travel, and which contributed to the general state of exhaustion experienced by the British. Amundsen clearly understood that any extra effort on the part of the men, or his dogs, incurred a heavy price in the harsh environment and should be avoided at all costs. Lastly, the ponies were only able to be of assistance during the outward journey across the Barrier, which was well understood by Scott.
Man-hauling heavy sledge loads was a traditional method of transportation in the British experience of polar exploration, but it had never been attempted before over such a great distances and over such difficult terrain, apart from Shackelton's experience on the Nimrod expedition a few years earlier, where the experience almost cost the lives of the explorers. The sheer agony, frustration and exhaustion of the British man-hauling their loads over such distances, and particularly the 120-mile slog up the Beardmore Glacier, is clearly evident in the men's diary accounts. However, no words can adequately convey the sheer misery of the experience. In this regard weight becomes a crucial factor, one that was somewhat cavalierly regarded by Scott. Picking up and transporting the 14kg. of geological specimens during the return journey down the Beardmore, by men who were already exhausted, undernourished and probably suffering the initial effects of scurvy, was madness in the extreme. I am aware of Rannulf Fiennes' opinion that it didn't make much difference, but that is ludicrous. Elementary physics tells us that every extra ounce of weight requires extra effort to move, and at that stage of the journey they should have been jettisoning every unnecessary ounce of weight that they could, rather than taking more on board. Perhaps this was just a symptom of the impending scurvy, which has a tendency to cloud judgment. Despite Fiennes' obvious qualifications, I am afraid I have to disregard much of his book because of its blatantly subjective bias in favour of Scott.
Transportation:
Of course, the most important difference in this regard was the choice of transportation. The decision to use ponies and man-hauling must be seen as nothing short of inane. Ponies were entirely unsuited for Antarctica for a number of reasons. As herbivores all their feed had to be transported to the continent and then transported over the Barrier to the various depots, in contrast to dogs who are able to eat indigenous seal and penguin meat, which was plentifully available at the coast, and even their own kind, were it not for the squeamish attitude of Scott and most of his men. The ponies' size and weight meant that without effective equine snowshoes they were constantly sinking into the relatively soft surface of the Barrier, thereby reducing their rate of travel and prematurely exhausting the animals. Scott experimented briefly with some snowshoe contraptions, but the experiments were largely unsuccessful and he never pursued the matter further. One has the feeling that had their roles been reversed, Amundsen would have persevered with the experiments until a reasonably successful solution was found, but Scott's cavalier attitude made him give up after the first unsuccessful attempts. The ponies' size also made them particularly vulnerable to heat loss in the freezing winds, a fact clearly underscored by the fact that the British spent several hours each evening during the journey over the Barrier building snow walls to protect the ponies from the winds during the night, effort that could not reasonably be afforded after ten to twelve hours of labourious travel, and which contributed to the general state of exhaustion experienced by the British. Amundsen clearly understood that any extra effort on the part of the men, or his dogs, incurred a heavy price in the harsh environment and should be avoided at all costs. Lastly, the ponies were only able to be of assistance during the outward journey across the Barrier, which was well understood by Scott.
Man-hauling heavy sledge loads was a traditional method of transportation in the British experience of polar exploration, but it had never been attempted before over such a great distances and over such difficult terrain, apart from Shackelton's experience on the Nimrod expedition a few years earlier, where the experience almost cost the lives of the explorers. The sheer agony, frustration and exhaustion of the British man-hauling their loads over such distances, and particularly the 120-mile slog up the Beardmore Glacier, is clearly evident in the men's diary accounts. However, no words can adequately convey the sheer misery of the experience. In this regard weight becomes a crucial factor, one that was somewhat cavalierly regarded by Scott. Picking up and transporting the 14kg. of geological specimens during the return journey down the Beardmore, by men who were already exhausted, undernourished and probably suffering the initial effects of scurvy, was madness in the extreme. I am aware of Rannulf Fiennes' opinion that it didn't make much difference, but that is ludicrous. Elementary physics tells us that every extra ounce of weight requires extra effort to move, and at that stage of the journey they should have been jettisoning every unnecessary ounce of weight that they could, rather than taking more on board. Perhaps this was just a symptom of the impending scurvy, which has a tendency to cloud judgment. Despite Fiennes' obvious qualifications, I am afraid I have to disregard much of his book because of its blatantly subjective bias in favour of Scott.