Terra Nova Expedition (1910-1913)

In June 1910, Scott embarked on a second Antarctic expedition onboard the HMS Terra Nova. Its aims were to study the Ross Sea area and to be the first to reach the South Pole. Equipped with motor sledges, ponies, and dogs, he and 11 others started overland for the pole from Cape Evans on October 24, 1911. The sled-motors soon broke down, the ponies had to be shot before reaching 83°30' S and the dog teams were sent back. On December 10, the party began an ascent of Beardmore Glacier with each of its sleds being hauled by a three-man team. By December 31, seven men had been returned to the base. The remaining five-member polar party, Scott, E.A. Wilson, H.R. Bowers, L.E.G. Oates, and Edgar Evans reached the pole on January 17, 1912, approximately one month after Roald Amundsen, the famous Norwegian explorer, had planted his flag.

The exhausted explorers began their return journey, but were met with extremely bad weather. Evans died on Beardmore. Trapped in their tent 21 miles from the safety of their ship, Oates left the tent in the hope of aiding the remaining three surviving members. When the weather abated, the three remaining members would struggle on for an additional ten miles before encountering a second blizzard. Confined to their tent and 11 miles from their ship, the last three members would await their deaths with quiet fortitude. On November 12, 1912, almost nine months after Scott's last diary entry, their frozen bodies were discovered. Scott's diary provided a full account of their journey to the South Pole.

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