The dangers associated with exploration and discoveries are always great. Tackling new environments and conditions, combined with the possible perils of over-sea travel were extremely testing even to the greatest and most experienced of men.

Weather has always played a major part in exploration, and most of our history's famous explorers suffered at the hands of nature at some point on their travels. But for Scott and his men on his last Antarctic expedition, the weather conditions they were to encounter were to be both unexpected and fatal.

Robert Falcon Scott was a British Naval officer until 1901 when he took up his dream of becoming a great explorer with his first Antarctic expedition. His career was going well and he was greatly recognised for his contributions towards exploration. But it was not until his second Antarctic expedition which began in 1910, in which he should have achieved his ultimate goal, that tragic weather conditions struck, and brought him and his expeditionary force to their peril.

The goal of the 1910 expedition was to be the first to reach the South Pole. The British party were in fierce competition with a Norwegian exploratory force to achieve this, so time was of the essence. On the journey up to the South Pole, storage camps were made at regular intervals that held supplies of food and fuel for the returning parties. With this storage in place, little else was thought to have been able to go wrong.

Nonetheless, this turned out not to be the case. The party had obviously not been expecting very cold weather conditions and had prepared and dressed accordingly. They constantly found themselves battling blizzards and freezing temperatures, and in his diary Scott wrote, "Our luck in weather is preposterous…the conditions simply horrible."

But there was one blizzard in particular that in particular affected the group. This Blizzard was so testing that it kept the party imprisoned in their tents for four days - wasting precious time. Every minute was crucial in their race to the pole, and those days lost to the blizzard may have, in fact, prevented the tragedy to come. About this Scott wrote, "One cannot see the next tent, let alone the land. What on earth does such weather mean at this time of the year? It is more than our share of ill-fortune."

The blizzard marked the unexpected turn in the weather. Conditions became dramatically worse, and as Scott wrote, "I had pinned my faith on getting better conditions as we rose, but it looks as though matters are getting worse instead of better."

In mid January, a five-force gale hit the tired and weather-beaten group, and brought falling temperatures with it. Temperatures reached an astonishing -54C in wind chill factor. Such cruel temperatures started to inflict frostbite to members of the force.

By this point, the group had just reached the South Pole to discover that they had lost the race to the Norwegian explorers. Scott's group were bitterly disappointed by their defeat, which was more than likely caused by the limitations the weather conditions had created for them. Scott wrote, "Great God! This is an awful place and terrible enough for us to have laboured to it without the reward of priority." The return trip got underway promptly as it was evident that temperatures were becoming colder. It was from there on that the tragic fate of the group unravelled.

The men were becoming very tired, and their progress suffered. They were unable to make good marching time and consequently did not reach the camps as quickly as they had originally anticipated. One of the men - Evans - was extremely weak and finding it hard to continue. He was suffering from frostbite and Scott described him as "…nearly broken down in brain…" Soon after, Evans collapsed and by the next day he had died.

When temperatures reached a natural -43C, another man - Oates - declared that he could not go on. His toes were black with frostbite and gangrene was setting in. Whilst the group sheltered from a blizzard in their tent, Oates announced, "I am just going outside and may be some time." Oates wandered out into the blizzard and was never seen again. Scott wrote, "We knew that poor Oates was walking to his death, but though we tried to dissuade him, we knew it was the act of a brave man and an English gentleman."

In the aftermath of these terrible deaths, the others realised that it was only a matter of time before they all were to die. The environment surrounding them had become too hostile, and their injuries were worsening. Yet another blizzard forced them to set up camp. The blizzard went on furiously for the next ten days, and confined the men to their tents. During this time the men wrote letters home to their families and friends, and came to terms with the fact that they all were going to meet their ends very soon.

The three remaining men eventually perished at the hands of the Antarctic's cruel and impossible conditions. Wilson and Bowers were found in their sleeping bags, and they appeared to have died peacefully in their sleep. Scott was hanging half out of his sleeping bag and one of his arms was stretched out towards Wilson. His skin was yellow and he was badly frostbitten. It appeared that his death was not as peaceful as his comrades.

Scott's death marked the end of a series of awful and untimely deaths. The powerful and unbearable weather of the Antarctic was to blame for the deaths of the great men who raced to the South Pole, and it shows that even the most experienced and prepared men cannot always escape the unpredictability of the weather.

Related Links:

- Captain Cook
- Scott of the Antarctic - Christopher Columbus
- Ernest Shackleton