UKC

Found myself reading about him and the Terra Nova Expedition in general,after seeing brilliant photos of one of Shackleton's expeditions on the Beeb site.

Got frostbite just reading about Scott ,Bowers et al and their exploits .and tragic demise.

Didn't realise Henry 'Birdie' Bowers hailed from glamorous Greenock.

Depending on what account you read. ,there is a consensus that Robert Falcon Scott was not the most capable of leaders.and indeed that he led his men to their ,and his ,deaths.

Sir Ranolph Feinnes comes to Scott's defence though.citing the severity of the storms that enveloped Scott and his team.

I tend to agree with his take on events.Seeing as he's been their ,done it .and got the missing fingers (and toes?) to prove it.

In reply to andymac:

You've read "The Worst Journey in the World" right? Best done from the comfort of a steaming hot bath, before retiring under a mountain of duvets in a cosey bed...in the middle of summer!

In reply to Bobling:

No

Read about it though.

Written by Apsley(sp) Cherry Garrard.

Have read that he broke all his teeth in the Antarctic,caused by the constant chattering against the cold.

In reply to andymac:

Have you read much about Tom Crean; he narrowly missed being selected for Scott's final party to the pole. On the return journey from the last depot with Lashly and Edward Evans; he made a solo trip of 35 miles in 18 hours to get get a rescue party when Evans was too ill to continue.
He later went on the Shackleton expedition, was one of the six on the James Caird and crossed South Georgia with Shackleton and Worsley.

An incredibly tough man!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Crean_%28explorer%29

In reply to andymac:



There's a fascinating book whose title I forget but will find if anyone's interested which takes diary entries from the Scott expedition and the Amundsen expedition and charts them on a day-by-day basis. Scott's preparation, planning and decision-making don't give a very favourable impression.

In reply to Hat Dude:


He was indeed. Michael Smith's biography of him is a terrific read and thoroughly recommended.

In reply to andymac:

If you are interested in that sort of thing there are a great series of tweets here: https://twitter.com/EShackleton