With Scott to the Pole

Book excerpt: 'Had we lived, I should have had a tale to tell…which would have stirred the heart of every Englishman. These rough notes and our bodies must tell the tale' Robert Falcon Scott's 'message to the public' c. 29 March 1912 Through Beau Riffenburgh's narrative and the perfectly composed images of Herbert Ponting, With Scott to the Poletells the story of the triumph and tragedy of Scott's 1910-13 expedition to the South Pole. Along with four companions, the explorer reached the pole only to be bitterly disappointed to discover the Norwegian flag planted there by Roald Amundsen. Scott and his men could no longer hope to secure the first attainment of the South Pole for the British Empire, and their despondency shows in the photographs that survived them. Yet with grit and courage they started on the 800 mile return from the pole. A harrowing time ensued. By the time they were within 11 miles of a depot which would have saved them they had already lost two members of the expedition, and it was at this point that Scott and his remaining two companions were overcome by a blizzard and died. With Scott to the Pole is a fitting tribute not only to Ponting 's spell-binding aesthetic vision, but also to a magnificent story of adventure and heroism.