Different Approaches to Antarctic Exploration

Page 4 of 6

• 1. Different agendas
• 2. Camp conflicts
• 3. The devil's in the detail
• 4. Nutrition
• 5. Leadership
• 6. Find out more
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Nutrition

Lack of good nutrition has been seen by some historians as being the main reason for the British party's eventual failure. Before setting off for the Pole, the British team probably already had nutritional deficiencies. Scurvy, caused by a lack of vitamin C, was an illness long known to sailors. This painful debilitating condition is always fatal if left untreated. Even though vitamins had not been identified in the 1910s, it was known that fresh food appeared to be the cure.

Amundsen and his men were eating fresh seal and penguin meat which, unknown to anyone at that time, contained enough vitamin C to prevent scurvy. The Norwegians, of course, had got this idea from indigenous peoples in the Arctic who ate an almost exclusively meat diet. The British palate preferred a less fishy taste and their penguin and seal meat was often overcooked, destroying the vitamin C.

Another difference between the two teams was the flour used for 'sledging' biscuits, a staple part of any explorer's diet. The British biscuits were made with white flour and sodium bicarbonate. The Norwegian biscuits were made with oatmeal and yeast, which provided the essential B vitamins needed to keep the nervous system healthy. Pemmican, a cake made by mixing pounded dried beef with beef fat, was also eaten every day. Although it was nutritious and compact, it was unappetising. On sledging journeys, pemmican was mixed with melted snow to make a hot stew or 'hoosh'. Scott's pemmican lacked the oatmeal and peas of Amundsen's recipe, depriving his men of essential roughage.

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Published: 2002-07-01