It had been a race between Roald Amundsen, of Norway, and Robert Falcon Scott, from Great Britain.

Amundsen had anchored his ship 60 miles closer to the South Pole than Scott. He then set off using sleigh dogs; Scott used motor sledges, dogs and Siberian ponies (all of which had to be shot or dispensed with).

Amundsen returned safely to his base camp in January 1912.

Scott's expedition had a number of problems. They ended up traveling on foot, arriving on January 18, 1912, only to find Amundsen had beaten them by over a month. Scott's frozen body was found later that year.