Rober t F. Scott
Helmer Hanssen
Fridtjo f Nanse n
Roald Amun dsen
POLAR HEROES The city of Tromsø has always been a hotspot for polar expeditions. Several of the most famous polar heroes were trained by local trappers. Perhaps the best known polar hero is Roald Amundsen. Amundsen led his famous expedition in the race to reach the South Pole in 1911. His rival was the British explorer Robert Falcon Scott. Amundsen’s right-hand man was Helmer Hanssen from Tromsø. Hanssen was a navigator and a highly skilled musher. Since only a short distance remained, Hanssen made it seem as if his dogs were tired so that Amundsen would become the first man to reach the South Pole.
THE TRAGEDY
Englishman Scott and his companions reached the South Pole a month later. They died on the way back from disap96
pointment, cold, exhaustion and scurvy. Hanssen was full of admiration for Scott’s achievement and thought that in terms of sheer willpower his expedition was far greater than the Norwegian expedition. Scott and his crew pulled the heavy sledges themselves for great distances, while the Norwegians had learned from the Eskimos and used dogs to pull their sleds. Describing Amundsen’s expedition, Hanssen wrote in his memoirs: “Amundsen’s brilliant planning, our comrades’ careful preparatory work and our dogs’ endurance had made the journey into a recreational trip.”
AMUNDSEN DIES
Like the other famous explorers, Amundsen learned seamanship from Tromsø’s many trappers. Most of his polar expeditions started in Tromsø, including what proved to be his final expedition - a rescue mission to save his Italian colleague, Umberto Nobile. Nobile went missing in the far north in 1928. Amundsen went on a rescue mission using a seaplane. The plane
