Whose Expedition Reached the South Pole First?

Roald Amundsen led a five-man team that reached the geographic South Pole on 14 December 1911, beating the British expedition led by Robert Falcon Scott by 34 days. Amundsen success rested on meticulous planning: he used sled dogs (which could be fed to each other as loads lightened), established well-stocked supply depots along the route, and chose a shorter but untried path up the Axel Heiberg Glacier. Scott team, which relied on ponies and man-hauling, reached the Pole on 17 January 1912, found Amundsen tent and Norwegian flag, and tragically perished on the return journey, just 18 km from a supply depot.