The Jubilee Celebration at the South Pole has begunBecause of different time zones, we are ahead of the celebration in Norway. The first event was that Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg skied the last few kilometres of Amundsen’s route in to the South Pole along with Jan-Gunnar Winther, Stein P. Aasheim and Børge Ousland.
“So we arrived, and were able to raise our flag at the geographical South Pole – King Håkon VII’s Vidda. Thanks be to God! ”– Amundsen on this day 100 years ago (Read more …) 
Then Prime Minister Stoltenberg gave a speech to all the people at the station, gathered around the ceremonial South Pole, where he also unveiled a bust of Roald Amundsen cast in ice. This outdoor ceremony began with a beautiful rendition of the Norwegian national anthem played on the flute by an American woman who works at the station. After that, Jan-Gunnar shared his thoughts about travelling in Amundsen’s tracks for the past six weeks. About 300 people participated in the commemoration. Later in the day a reception was held for all the Norwegians who have gathered at the South Pole, followed by a dinner where Americans also participated. Vegard and Harald Dag are still skiing in Amundsen’s tracks. On Tuesday evening they were 13.5 kilometres behind Amundsen and had 41 kilometres left to ski before reaching the Pole. If the weather holds up, we expect them to arrive at the South Pole some time during the day – Norwegian time. We are keeping our fingers crossed. Did you know that Norway snatched Dronning Maud Land from right under the nose of Adolf Hitler?
Lars Christensen’s nine expeditions with the vessels Odd, Norvegia, and Torshavn made important discoveries in the Southern Ocean. |
South Pole 1911–2011 is an informational outreach project run by the Norwegian Polar Institute
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