Editing Roald Amundsen (section)

== Polar treks ==
=== Belgian Antarctic Expedition ===
[[File:Belgica schiff.jpg|thumb|{{RV|Belgica|1884|6}} frozen in the ice, 1898]]
Amundsen joined the [[Belgian Antarctic Expedition]] as first mate at the age of 25 in 1897. This expedition, led by [[Adrien de Gerlache]] using the ship the [[RV Belgica (1884)|RV ''Belgica'']], became the first expedition to overwinter in Antarctica.<ref name="Mifflin" /> The ''Belgica'', whether by mistake or design, became locked in the sea ice at 70°30′S off [[Alexander Island]], west of the [[Antarctic Peninsula]]. The crew endured a winter for which they were poorly prepared.

By Amundsen's own estimation, the doctor for the expedition, the American [[Frederick Cook]], probably saved the crew from [[scurvy]] by hunting for animals and feeding the crew fresh meat. In cases where citrus fruits are lacking, raw meat – particularly [[offal]] – from animals often contains enough [[vitamin C]] to prevent scurvy.<ref name="Ferguson 2021 t544">{{cite web | last=Ferguson | first=Donna | title=The secret of how Amundsen beat Scott in race to south pole? A diet of raw penguin | website=The Guardian | date=16 May 2021 | url=http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/may/16/the-secret-of-how-amundsen-beat-scott-in-race-to-south-pole-a-diet-of-raw-penguin | access-date=21 June 2023 | archive-date=4 June 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604130201/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/may/16/the-secret-of-how-amundsen-beat-scott-in-race-to-south-pole-a-diet-of-raw-penguin | url-status=live }}</ref>

=== The Northwest Passage ===
[[File:Nlc amundsen.jpg|thumb|upright|Amundsen {{circa|1908}}]]
In 1903, Amundsen led the first expedition to traverse Canada's [[Northwest Passage]] between the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] and [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]] oceans. He planned a small expedition of six men in a {{nowr|45-ton}} fishing vessel, {{ship||Gjøa||2}}, to have flexibility. His ship had relatively shallow draft. His technique was to use a small ship and hug the coast. Amundsen had the ship outfitted with a small 13&nbsp;horsepower single-screw paraffin (diesel) engine.<ref name="Derry" />

They travelled via [[Baffin Bay]], the [[Parry Channel]] and then south through [[Peel Sound]], [[James Ross Strait]], [[Simpson Strait]] and [[Rae Strait]]. They spent two winters at [[King William Island]], in the harbor of what is today [[Gjoa Haven, Nunavut|Gjoa Haven]].<ref name="Mifflin" /><ref name="Derry" /> During this time, Amundsen and the crew learned from the local [[Netsilik Inuit]] about [[Arctic]] survival skills, which he found invaluable in his later expedition to the South Pole. For example, he learned to use sled dogs for the transport of goods and to wear animal skins in lieu of heavy, woolen parkas, which could not keep out the cold when wet.

Leaving Gjoa Haven, he sailed west and passed [[Cambridge Bay]], which had been reached from the west by [[Richard Collinson]] in 1852. Continuing to the south of [[Victoria Island (Canada)|Victoria Island]], the ship cleared the [[Canadian Arctic Archipelago]] on {{nowr|17 August 1905}}. It had to stop for the winter before going on to [[Nome, Alaska|Nome]] on Alaska's Pacific coast. The nearest telegraph station was {{cvt|500|mi}} away in [[Eagle, Alaska|Eagle]]. Amundsen travelled there overland to wire a success message on 5 December, then returned to Nome in 1906. Later that year he was elected to the [[American Antiquarian Society]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.americanantiquarian.org/memberlista|title=MemberListA &#124; American Antiquarian Society|website=www.americanantiquarian.org|access-date=22 June 2022|archive-date=3 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403174851/https://www.americanantiquarian.org/memberlista|url-status=live}}</ref>

Amundsen learned of the [[dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden]], and that he had a new king. The explorer sent the new king, [[Haakon VII of Norway|Haakon VII]], news that his traversing the Northwest Passage "was a great achievement for Norway".<ref name="explore"/> He said he hoped to do more and signed it "Your loyal subject, Roald Amundsen".<ref name="explore"/> The crew returned to Oslo in November 1906, after almost three and a half years abroad. ''Gjøa'' was returned to Norway in 1972. After a {{nowr|45-day}} trip from San Francisco on a bulk carrier, she was placed on land outside the [[Fram Museum]] in Oslo, where she is now situated inside her own building at the museum.<ref name="explore">{{cite book|title=''Roald Amundsen and the Exploration of the Northwest Passage''|publisher=[[Fram Museum]]|location=Oslo|year=2008|isbn=978-8282350013|pages=63–65}}</ref>

=== South Pole Expedition ===
{{main|Amundsen's South Pole expedition}}

[[File:Aan de Zuidpool - p1913-160.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Norwegian flag at the South Pole]]
[[File:The Three Polar Stars, 1913 (8889621500).jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|alt=Photograph of Roald Amundsen, Ernest Shackleton and Peary |The Three Polar Stars: Amundsen, [[Ernest Shackleton]], and [[Robert Peary]], are pictured in [[Philadelphia]] in January 1913]]

Amundsen next planned to take an expedition to the North Pole and explore the [[Arctic Basin]]. Finding it difficult to raise funds, when he heard in 1909 that the Americans Frederick Cook and [[Robert Peary]] had claimed to reach the North Pole as a result of two different expeditions, he decided to reroute to Antarctica.<ref name="Simpson" /> He was not clear about his intentions, and [[Robert F. Scott]] and the Norwegian supporters felt misled.<ref name="Simpson" /> Scott was planning his own expedition to the South Pole that year. Using the ship {{ship||Fram|ship|2}}, earlier used by [[Fridtjof Nansen]], Amundsen left Oslo for the south on 3 June 1910.<ref name="Simpson" /><ref name="Amundsen" /> At [[Madeira]], Amundsen alerted his men that they would be heading to Antarctica, and sent a telegram to Scott: "Beg to inform you ''Fram'' proceeding Antarctic – Amundsen."<ref name="Simpson" />

Nearly six months later, the expedition arrived at the eastern edge of the [[Ross Ice Shelf]] (then known as "the Great Ice Barrier"), at a large inlet called the [[Bay of Whales]], on 14 January 1911. Amundsen established his base camp there, calling it {{ship||Framheim||2}}. Amundsen eschewed the heavy wool clothing worn on earlier Antarctic attempts in favour of adopting [[Inuit]]-style furred skins.<ref name="Thomas" />

Using skis and dog sleds for transportation, Amundsen and his men created supply depots at 80°, 81° and 82°&nbsp;South on the Barrier, along a line directly south to the Pole.<ref name="Thomas" /> Amundsen also planned to kill most of his dogs on the way and use them as a source for fresh meat. As he went he butchered some of the dogs and fed them to the remaining dogs, as well as eating some himself.<ref name="Antarctic Dogs 1903 j958">{{cite web | title=Canine Companions | website=Canterbury Museum | date= | url=https://antarcticdogs.canterburymuseum.com/themes/canine-companions | access-date=29 April 2024}}</ref> A small group, including [[Hjalmar Johansen]], [[Kristian Prestrud]] and [[Jørgen Stubberud]], set out on 8 September, but had to abandon their trek due to extreme temperatures. The painful retreat caused a quarrel within the group, and Amundsen sent Johansen and the other two men to explore [[Edward VII Peninsula|King Edward VII Land]].

A second attempt, with a team of five made up of [[Olav Bjaaland]], [[Helmer Hanssen]], [[Sverre Hassel]], [[Oscar Wisting]] and Amundsen, departed base camp on 19 October. They took four sledges and 52&nbsp;dogs. Using a route along the previously unknown [[Axel Heiberg Glacier]], they arrived at the edge of the Polar Plateau on 21 November after a four-day climb. The team and 16&nbsp;dogs arrived at the pole on 14 December, a month before Scott's group.{{efn | Some sources give the date as 15 December. ''Fram'' crossed the [[International Date Line]] shortly before arriving at the [[Bay of Whales]], and thereby "lost" a day. Since the western and eastern hemispheres are conjoined at the South Pole, either date can be considered as correct, though Amundsen gives 14 December, both in his first telegraphed report on arrival in Hobart, and in his fuller account ''The South Pole''.{{sfn|Amundsen | loc=Vol. I, p. xvii}} }} Amundsen named their South Pole camp [[Polheim]]. Amundsen renamed the [[Antarctic Plateau]] as King Haakon VII's Plateau. They left a small tent and letter stating their accomplishment, in case they did not return safely to Framheim.

The team arrived at Framheim on 25 January 1912, with 11&nbsp;surviving dogs. They made their way off the continent and to [[Hobart]], Australia, where Amundsen publicly announced his success on 7 March 1912. He telegraphed news to backers.

Amundsen's expedition benefited from his careful preparation, good equipment, appropriate clothing, a simple primary task, an understanding of dogs and their handling, and the effective use of skis. In contrast to the misfortunes of Scott's team, Amundsen's trek proved relatively smooth and uneventful.