Part XIII Race to the Pole

As we enter the heart of the Heroic Age in Antarctica, three men become competitors to be the first person to reach the South Pole: Robert Falcon Scott, Ernest Shackleton, and Roald Amundsen.  Scott and Shackleton had a falling out after Scott's Discovery expedition when he blamed Shackleton's illness with scurvy as why they didn't reach the pole at that time.  Here I give the history of Shackleton's attempt to reach the pole during his Nimrod expedition in 1907 and when he began emerging as one of the greatest leaders in British history.  Then, Scott tries again in his Terra Nova expedition of 1910-1913 but, just after departing England he learns that the Norwegian, Roald Amundsen, was also heading south to try for the pole. The race was on and the events leading up to it, its tragic outcome and mistakes made are described in this podcast.