The South Pole - Roald Amundsen

At last we got away, on October 19. The weather for the past few days had not been altogether reliable; now windy, now calm - now snowing, now clear: regular spring weather, in other words...With this matter of fact sentence begins one of the most famous journeys in all exploration - Amundsen's conquest of the South Pole. The details of the tragic race with Scott are well known, but often forgotten is the sheer professionalism and courage which drove the Norwegian expedition on. Unlike the driven and tortured egos which bedeviled the British expeditions, the Norwegians worked purposefully as a team using the latest technology, and Amundsen acknowledges this openly when the Pole was finally achieved. I had determined that the act of planting it [the flag] - the historic event - should be equally divided among us all. It was not for one man to do this; it was for all who had staked their lives in the struggle, and held together through thick and thin. This was the only way in which I could show my gratitude to my comrades in this desolate spot...Five weather-beaten, frostbitten fists they were that grasped the pole, raised the waving flag in the air, and planted it as the first at the geographical South Pole.Amundsen's Antarctic expedition of 1910-12 is one of the most heroic achievements in the history of exploration. The competence and efficiency with which it was accomplished is testimony to an inspired and inspirational leader.