Blizzard: Race to the Pole (2006– ) User Reviews

Scott's "Luck"

[aereuter · 8/10 · 20 December 2006]

People often talk about Scott's bad luck and Amundsen's good luck in race to reach the South Pole. I think the luck involved is the hundreds of apologists, British and otherwise, arguing that Scott was not an incompetent leader. Amundsen has fewer adherents. This program, which races a team of Norwegians against a team of Brits using the same equipment their counterparts used in 1911 clearly demonstrates that Amundsen's expedition was simply better planned and better executed on all levels than Scott's.

The 4 hour program (3 hour if they put it on DVD and purge the commercials) is fascinating to watch, even though the ultimate outcome is a forgone conclusion to anyone knowledgeable about Amundsen's conquest of the South Pole. The viewer is introduced to each team's leader and given a brief background on the skills and physique of each of the competitors. Their challenge is to race a course in Eastern Greenland from the coast, up a glacier, through mountains, and to a plateau with the "pole" 350 miles away. The competitors are equipped as the 1911 teams were - the British using the same 1911 equipment, food, and clothing Scott used and the Norwegian team using the same 1911 equipment Amundsen used. They race in parallel paths, 10 miles apart, starting at the same time.

It's fascinating to watch how the 2 teams tackle the problems of the journey, work together, and even voice their private doubts in their video diaries. Interspersed are comments from authors who have written about the 2 expeditions, contemporary explorers, and mountaineers. Extracts from the diaries of Scott and Amundsen are provided in voice overs, along with an overview of the milestones of Amundsen's and Scott's expedition to the Pole.

I'm not sure the casual armchair enthusiast will enjoy this program. But for those of us who can't read or watch enough about Arctic and Antartic exploration, this is a great film and I for one can't wait to see it on DVD with outtakes, "making of" and more interviews with the participants.

Recreation of the1911 race to the South Pole between Scott and Amundsen

[GaryPUK · 10/10 · 12 November 2006]

Spoilers below...

This documentary recreates the race to the South Pole in 1911 between Roald Amundsen and Robert Falcon Scott and questions whether the success and failure was due to luck or strategy. Scott has been labelled as both an unlucky gifted explorer and an arrogant incompetent.

The two teams are kitted out in 1911 gear, carrying the same supplies as their counterparts, and employing the same strategies. The main difference between the teams being Amundsen's choice to use more dogs and to use them for more of the journey. Scott had decided that dogs were unreliable over unpredictable terrain and decided to man-haul the sledges.

Because dogs are no longer allowed in Antarctic, the race was recreated in Greenland where there's similar terrain and weather.

The modern Scott Team is lead by Bruce Parry, who has gentle leadership style which belies his military background as a Marines commando troop commander. Bruce is the youngest officer to have ever been in charge of all physical training for the Royal Marines Commandos.

The physical change in the modern Scott team is drastic. They man-haul sledges burning almost twice the calories than the original Scott diet provides and we see them shed body weight at a dramatic rate as the team lose between 16% - 25% of their body mass before their race is called off by the producers.

The modern Amundsen team, using dogs, make up so much time on their way back that they hit their previously dropped food stores early and actually put on weight.

The series mirrors the original journey remarkably closely, in both execution and weather, and there are great insights provided by explorers such as Ranulph Fiennes. It is truly great to watch the struggle, torment, let downs and achievement, and it provides a heartfelt view of the courage and struggle Scott and his team originally faced.

The result of the race is the same as the original to the point where the British team reach the Pole way behind the Norwegians and fail on the return journey.

Favourite moment in the series is when Bruce Parry is arguing with a team member about how to get the sledges up a steep section and off camera you hear... "Is that dissent amongst the men sir? Shall I shoot him sir?" Very Pythonesque.

This is truly compulsive viewing and the sort of documentary that inspires. I would recommend buying this on DVD as you will want to see this over and over.