This is the time of year where most people are focusing their
efforts and thoughts upon the all-important North Pole, from
where they hope to receive many new toys and treasures. However,
during this week in 1907, the World’s greatest explorers were
more interested in the other side of the globe and the South
Pole! I doubt that the majority of the American public could
successfully answer the question: On what day did the first
explorers reach the South Pole? Or, who was the first explorer
to reach the South Pole? Nevertheless, the goal of reaching the
South Pole was so important that two of history’s greatest
arctic explorers raced each other in a contest to be the first
to reach the South Pole; a contest which ended up costing one of
the adventurers and many of his men their lives. The story is
recounted wonderfully in the book “The World’s Great Explorers
”. I find the story both fascinating and sorrowful. The two
explorers were known as Robert Falcon Scott and Roald Amundsen.
Amundsen was an explorer who