95 Years Ago Today...

...Robert Falcon Scott reached the South Pole after months of hiking, having hauled all of his food and gear on a sled. Unfortunately, when he got here, he found a tent and a flag already set up at the Pole: Roald Amundsen had beat him by a month coming on skis and with dogsleds. I can't even imagine how shattered he must have felt. They sent an email around the station today with this photo and qoute from Scott:

“The Pole….Great God! This is an awful place and terrible enough for us to have laboured to it without the reward of priority….Now for the run home and a desperate struggle. I wonder if we can do it.”

Of course, they didn't. They got caught in a terrible month-long storm, ran out of food, and eventually froze to death one-by-one. It's hard to imagine how far we've come in 95 years, when a lazy-ass like myself can sit drinking tea in a nice, warm room within view of the geographical Pole, typing away on my laptop and reading emails. I think Scott would roll over in his grave.