Poles apart: Scott, Amundsen and science

One hundred years ago, teams led by Roald Amundsen and Robert Scott may have been heading in the same direction but they were poles apart in the way they sought their goals. Amundsen led a five-person team of expert Nordic skiers and dog-sledders with a single goal: getting to the South Pole first. He planned and executed the effort brilliantly. Scott, in contrast, led a complex and multi-faceted Antarctic expedition with 33 explorers and scientists, many of whom were focused on ambitious and often taxing scientific research projects that had nothing whatsoever to do with reaching the Pole. Although Scott failed to reach the South Pole first and died with four men on the return trip, his expedition made significant contributions to Antarctic science. Indeed, at least some of Scott's failure to reach the Pole first and the subsequent death of his polar party on the return trip can be attributed to burden of trying to do too much and not focusing on reaching the pole.

► 100 years ago, Roald Amundsen and Robert Scott led expeditions to the South Pole.
► Amundsen's small party successfully focused on getting to the Pole first.
► Scott's expedition had a research agenda extending beyond getting to the Pole.
► Scott failed to reach the Pole first but his men contributed to science.
► Scott's failure was caused in part not focusing on the Pole.