THE 1957-1958 COMMONWEALTH TRANS-ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION
You may be aware that Amundsen was the first person to reach the South Pole in December, 1911, followed by Scott, a month or so later in January, 1912.
But it would be another 46 years before anyone would try to reach the South Pole overland again when British explorer Sir Vivian ‘Bunny’ Fuchs conceived the idea of using motorised transport to cross Antarctica via the South Pole.
He enlisted the aid of New Zealander, Sir Edmund Hillary, to set up supply depots from the other side of the continent while Fuchs would start from the opposite side.
Fuchs, starting from Shackleton Base on the Weddel Sea, set out on the transcontinental journey in November 1957 after overwintering at Shackleton Base, He had with him a twelve-man team and six vehicles, consisting of three Sno-cats, two weasels and a Muskeg tractor.
Hillary set out from Scott Base on the opposite side of the continent driving converted Massey-Ferguson tractors. His team laid the supply depots for Fuchs team.
Hillary was never supposed to go to the South Pole but once he had completed the depot laying he realised he had just enough fuel to make it to the Pole.
So he took the chance and arrived at the US Amundsen-Scott Base on January 3rd, 1958 with one barrel of fuel left. It was the first time that motorised land vehicles had reached the Pole.
Both teams found the going hard and faced bad weather and dangerous terrain. Fuchs finally met with Hillary at the South Pole on January 20th but seemed to have no enmity against Hillary for stealing his thunder. They shook hands and Fuchs greeted him with ‘Damned glad to see you, Ed’.
However, Hillary’s actions were reminiscent of the race between Amundsen and Scott. Like Amundsen, Hillary had never declared his intention to reach the Pole first and the British people felt ripped off again. For awhile, Hillary was not a popular figure in Britain.
Fuchs would continue on his journey overland utilising the supplies laid down by Hillary (while Hillary flew back to Scott Base and later rejoined Fuchs for the rest of the trip).
The team finally arrived at Scott Base on March 2nd, 1958 after travelling 3,473 km (2,158 miles) in 99 days, much of it over unexplored territory.
They had completed the first trans-antarctic crossing. Fuchs would go on to be knighted by the Queen for his efforts.
In the latter part of the journey Hillary spent most of his time in the back of Fuch’s Sno-Cat sitting in the dark and only occasionally consulted to help with directions. Maybe it was punishment. 🙂
