The South Pole, Volume 2

The Start for the Pole

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. That day it continued unsettled; it was misty and thick in the morning, and did not promise well for the day, but by 9.30 there was a light breeze from the east, and at the same time it cleared.

There was no need for a prolonged inquiry into the sentiments of the party. — What do you think? Shall we start?” — Yes, of course. Let’s be jogging on.” There was only one opinion about it. Our coursers were harnessed in a jiffy, and with a little nod — as much as to say, “See you to-morrow” — we were off. I don’t believe Lindström even came out of doors to see us start. “Such an everyday affair: what’s the use of making a fuss about it?”

There were five of us — Hanssen, Wisting, Hassel, Bjaaland, and myself. We had four sledges, with thirteen dogs to each. At the start our sledges were very light, as we were only taking supplies for the trip to 80° S., where all our cases were waiting for us; we could therefore sit on the sledges and flourish our whips with a jaunty air. I sat astride on Wisting’s sledge, and anyone who had seen us would no doubt have thought a Polar journey looked very inviting.