Some people spend their lives exploring, and they take it as their responsibility to discover every unknown corner of the earth. Until the last breath of their lives, no one even knows where they died. Bipolar explorer Ruard Amundsen was one such explorer.

On June 18, 1928, Amundsen, who had brilliant adventure experience, unfortunately crashed over the Barents Sea in order to rescue his partner, the Italian explorer Umberto Norbi. In the Arctic sea of ??ice. A few months later, the wreckage of Amundsen's seaplane was discovered in northwest Norway, but Amundsen was never found again. He dedicated his soul and body to the North Pole, one of the most mysterious lands on earth.

His old friend Nansen wrote: "He (Amundsen) found an unmarked grave under the silent ice. His name will undoubtedly shine for a long time like the Northern Lights. He came among us like a star that suddenly appeared in the night sky, and then suddenly disappeared, leaving us alone, staring blankly at the empty place."

1872 7. Ruard was born on a small island at the entrance to Oslo Bay on October 16. His father, Jens Amundsen, was a shipowner and shipyard owner with extensive sailing experience. He often told little Amundsen about his experiences at sea, but his father opposed Amundsen becoming a sailor when he grew up.

Later, his father died and his mother sold the shipyard and all the ships. His mother said to him earnestly: "You must become a doctor." But he told his friends on the dock: "I must be a sailor in the future."

At that time, the Arctic Explorer Nansen made the first solo crossing of Greenland, causing a sensation across Norway. After attending Nansen's triumphal rally, Amundsen announced in public: "I want to go to the North Pole." He knew that going to the North Pole to explore required perseverance and a strong body. For this reason, in addition to playing football regularly, he also Get a ski workout. As soon as it snows, he insists on skiing 20 kilometers every day.

At the age of 21, Rual Amundsen finally got his wish and became a sailor on the animal trapping ship "Magdalena". The activity area of ??the "Magdalena" is the waters off the island of Spitsbergen. Being a sailor on a trapping ship is a disgusting occupation. His job is to beat the sea animals to death with a big stick, then skin them, marinate the meat, and put it in the hold. After a period of brutal massacre, the blood on the ship had to be washed away. Despite this, Amundsen was still very happy because after all, his long-cherished wish came true - he could live on the sea.

At that time, maritime exploration was a hot topic. Through his acquaintances, Amundsen found people who were preparing to go on an expedition to the sea, and expressed his strong desire to go on an adventure with them. However, no matter how much he begged, no one would take him on an adventure.

Later, Amundsen heard that the whole city was talking about the news that a Belgian named Gerlache was going to buy the ship "Patria" and prepare to explore around the Antarctic. Amundsen's heart couldn't help but "beat". This is a good opportunity, don't miss it!

Prior to this, the British expedition team led by James Ross took two ships, the "Erebus" and the "Troll", and arrived at 170° east longitude on January 1, 1841. waters entering the Antarctic Circle. During this expedition, Ross discovered an active volcano more than 4,000 meters above sea level, with flames burning in the blue sky. Ross named it "Erebus" volcano, and named the extinct volcano next to it "Trol" volcano.

Ross then continued southward along the unfrozen waters until he reached a glacier. This glacier stands vertically on the water, with a height of 60 meters, stretching to both sides, with no end as far as the eye can see. No one had ever been here before Ross. Later, people called the glacier the Ross Ice Barrier, and the sea in front of the glacier was called the "Ross Sea".

Gerlash introduced to Amundsen: "We can go farther south than Ross. But going to Antarctica is not that simple. You have only been a sailor, and what I need is an expert." And navigator. If you can get the certificate of naval lieutenant or navigator, I will take you on the expedition."

"I will definitely get the certificate."

A race against time begins. Zerrush bought the barque "Patria" and renamed it "Berezhka". Amundsen, on the other hand, eagerly studied courses such as spherical trigonometry, elementary astronomy, and marine calculations. A year later, he finally obtained the certificate of Navy Lieutenant. At this time, the preparations for the "Berezhka" were not yet ready.

"The required funds have not been raised yet," Baron Gerrash said, "but things are progressing relatively smoothly, and I have started to select the crew. If you are willing, please give me Assistant Navigator. We are preparing to set sail next spring. On August 16, 1897, the "Berezheka" set sail for the Antarctic expedition. Captain Gerlache had been an artillery officer, and the first mate Lekuant had also been a seaman. Amundsen ranked third on the ship, and almost all other sailors were Norwegians.

After half a year of sailing, the "Berezheka" sailed near Cape Horn. This sea area is extremely dangerous, with strong winds and high waves all year round.

Due to the rotation of the earth, hurricanes travel unimpeded across thousands of kilometers of open ocean, raging crazily from west to east. As soon as the "Berezheka" entered the waters of Cape Horn, it encountered a strong hurricane.

"Someone fell overboard!" a crew member shouted in the storm. A lifebuoy was thrown into the sea, and the crew member who fell into the water grabbed the lifebuoy. However, after a while, only a small black spot was visible on the sea, and it disappeared soon after.

"Don't change course!" Gerrush ordered loudly. Yes, the ship must not deviate in the slightest at this moment, otherwise the consequences will be disastrous. In order to save the lives of everyone on the ship, Gerrash had no choice but to sacrifice the unfortunate sailor. After a long time, the turbulent sea calmed down, and the "Berezheka" sailed around the South Shetland Islands and came to a sea completely different from the waters of Cape Horn. There are huge and steep icebergs everywhere. The dark blue icebergs look colorful and beautiful under the sunlight. Sometimes, the sea is covered with thick fog for several days, and the ship has to carefully avoid the icebergs and sail forward bit by bit.

During the voyage, Amundsen was not only responsible for mapping the coastline, but also had to attend duty on time. The "Berezheka" sailed south along the Antarctic Peninsula and arrived at Alexander I Island. Gerrash turned the helm and sailed westward, trying to reach 130° west longitude. At this time, the "Berezheka" had sailed to between 70° and 71° south latitude. By the end of February 1898, the ship was wandering in a maze of icebergs. The icebergs were gradually surrounding them. The crew felt as if they had fallen into the bottom of a deep well, and watched helplessly as the wellhead was about to close overhead.

In early March, the "Berezheka" was completely frozen in the sea of ??ice, and the crew had to spend the winter on the spot. This is the first time humans have spent the winter in Antarctica. The crew members all knew that as long as the ice floe squeezed the ship, they would be in dire straits and there would be no chance of survival.

As soon as winter entered, Amundsen hunted seals with the ship’s doctor. They killed the seals, cut off the meat, and stored it in warehouses made of ice. Gerrash tasted the seal meat and decided it was inedible, so he ordered the sailors not to eat it. This was puzzling, because for two centuries all polar explorers had agreed that fresh meat was necessary to prevent scurvy.

During the winter, the crew began to observe the weather, measure the position of the ship and the speed of the iceberg movement. They don't have to worry about food, because the food reserves on the ship are enough for two years. However, as the long polar night fell, they discovered that the ship lacked sufficient lighting equipment and had to save fuel. The sailors, who had nothing to do, were wrapped tightly in fur clothes from head to toe and paced back and forth on the ship. Gerrash said worriedly: "The days ahead are full of dangers and the future is unpredictable."

June is the coldest day in Antarctica. The mood of the crew, who had spent several months in the cold Arctic nights, was getting worse and worse. Disease began to spread, and one officer died of it. Soon, a sailor had the hallucination of "walking back home" and jumped off the ship from the deck at night and disappeared into the vast sea. Scurvy afflicted many people, and Gerrash and the first mate also fell ill.

Later, Gerrash finally agreed to let everyone eat seal meat, and the scurvy was under control. One day in late July, a ray of dawn appeared on the horizon. Although the light disappeared soon, it indicated that the long polar night was almost over.

The next day, the sun lazily rose higher, and the time it hung in the horizon gradually extended. Seeing the sun, the crew members burst into tears with joy, looking forward to the "Berezhka" being able to break through the ice floes and return to their hometown as soon as possible.

Unexpectedly, several months passed, and the ice surface showed no sign of moving, and the ship was still trapped in the ice. People fell into panic, melancholy, and uneasiness again, and some crew members even suffered from violent illness.

In 1899, the "Berezheka" finally returned to Oslo, and the crew received a warm welcome.

In the summer of 1899, in a small garden on the outskirts of Oslo, the capital of Norway, two people were sitting on an easy chair and talking leisurely. One was Frithjof Nansen, and the other was Ruard Amundsen. Although Nansen is only 38 years old, he is already world-renowned and a famous Arctic explorer.

At this moment, Amundsen was asking Nansen for advice. He told Nansen that he was not planning to explore the Antarctic anymore, and planned to concentrate on studying the displacement of the North Magnetic Pole and trying to open the Northwest Passage connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

When Nansen learned that Amundsen knew nothing about the North Magnetic Pole, he enthusiastically wrote a letter to Neimeyer, director of the Hamburg Observatory and professor of geology, sincerely expressing his sincere gratitude to him. Recommend this young man.

With Nansen’s help, Amundsen rented a simple old house and lived there. In the next six months, Professor Neimeyer taught him all the knowledge related to the North Magnetic Pole. Subsequently, Amundsen worked as an intern at the Observatory for a period of time.

In the summer of 1900, Amundsen was pacing back and forth on the dock in Transe Harbor in northern Norway. There are many fishing and trapping boats anchored here, and he wants to choose from these ships to go to the Arctic. Among the numerous ship masts, Amundsen finally spotted a small boat. This old ship is 22 meters long. It is a single-masted ship with a low mast, a shipsprit, and three small sampans.

The ship's round hull was exactly what Amundsen wanted.

Because the ship needs to sail smoothly and quickly among the ice floes in the Arctic, once it is squeezed by the ice, the ship will automatically jump onto the ice. This can only be done by a round ship.

Amundsen bought the ship for 60,000 francs and named it "Joa". An expedition to the North Pole is different. The cabin must be filled with food. Amundsen prepared enough food for five years. He directly selected six crew members, Gottfried Hansen was the navigator, astronomer, geologist and photographer; Anton Lund was the first mate; Heiner Hansen was the second mate; Pieter Riestvetter was a machinist and meteorologist; Gustave Guy Wilke was a magnetism expert; and Adolf Henrik Linztrem was a chef.

Amundsen explained his plan to the team members and emphasized in particular: "All the work in the future will be jointly undertaken by the seven of us. We will be divided into two groups on duty. When the weather is calm, 3 Change the shift every hour, and be free to move around during the rest of the time." This wise decision won unanimous approval from everyone, and Amundsen's prestige was doubled. Then, Amundsen began to repair and equip the "Joa" and installed a 9.6 kilowatt (13 horsepower) engine. This was the most advanced internal combustion engine at the time and its performance was very good. In addition, Amundsen also purchased spare sails, rigging, navigational instruments, guns, ammunition and fuel, as well as 6 huskies.

On June 17, 1903, the "Joa" set sail. Amundsen, standing next to the cabin, waved his arms and said goodbye to the people on the shore. On September 20, the ship anchored in a small harbor on Prince William Island.

Amundsen decided to stay in this small port for the winter and named it Port Joa after the ship. He learned from the experience of wintering in Antarctica and decided to build a house on the shore for the winter.

First they built dog pens, then houses, fuel depots and icehouses for storing fresh meat. After everything was arranged, they began to work. Here they spent two winters. Amundsen found that the North Magnetic Pole moves in an elliptical manner over time. Since 1831, it has moved 50 kilometers to the northeast.

On June 1, 1905, Amundsen ordered the land camps to be packed up and prepared to board the ship. They were lucky because the climate in the Arctic was exceptionally pleasant this summer and the glaciers melted. After completing the investigation mission of the North Magnetic Pole, they continued sailing on the "Joa" on August 13, 1905, and began their second investigation mission-looking for the Northwest Passage.

The ship moved extremely slowly in the vast white world. Except for the sound of the engine and the occasional barking of a dog, the surroundings were silent. Before, no one had ever been to this polar sea full of ice floes. The "Joa" traveled intermittently for four days and nights before the coastline on both sides of the ship extended and disappeared into the haze, with the open ocean in front of it. At this time they had arrived to the southwest of Victoria Island.

In order to commemorate Amundsen's achievements, later generations called this ice sea Amundsen Bay.

Then the "Joa" sailed along the coastline to the mouth of the Mackenzie River. On September 2, strong winds arose, and the "Joa" was forced to take shelter in Point King Bay. Here, they unexpectedly saw ice floes. This year the ice froze very early, and at the beginning of autumn, the sea was already frozen. Amundsen knew that it was too late for them to cross the Bering Strait, so he decisively decided to spend the winter here.

This is their third winter in the Arctic. The "Joa" anchored next to the American whaler "Bonanza". The "Bonancha" has been damaged by the storm and is in trouble. There are also several whale ships here. Amundsen led his team to build housing and an observatory on the shore. When winter came, people from other ships often gathered in their houses, and Eskimos were often invited to come as guests. People sat around the table, chatted, made fire, drank fragrant tea, and spent many happy times.

On one occasion, Captain Mock of the "Bonanza" accidentally said that the Americans had set up a radio station at Fort Yukon, which could send telegrams to every corner of the world. "We are only 500 kilometers away from Fort Yukon!" Amundsen was overjoyed after hearing this. He decided to go to Fort Yukon and tell his motherland the results of their expedition.

At the end of October, Amundsen set out on the road with Captain Mock and two Eskimos. Mock took one sleigh, the Eskimo and his wife took the other, and Amundsen led the way on skis. From the mouth of the Mackenzie River to Fort Yukon, you have to cross 500 kilometers of barren land and the Schikot Mountains, Rocky Mountains and Mackenzie Mountains. A few of them braved the freezing cold and trudged through thick fog with extremely low visibility.

With great difficulty they arrived at Fort Yukon. At that time, Fort Yukon was just a simple village consisting of a few cabins. There was no radio station at all. The only radio station was at Fort Egbert, 400 kilometers away. Amundsen decided to go there.

Captain Mock said he didn't want to leave anymore, so he returned alone. Amundsen and the two Eskimos finally arrived at Fort Egbert on December 3 after many hardships. There, Amundsen sent an urgent telegram to Norway, reporting the results of their investigation. Then I took three months off.

On February 3, Amundsen bid farewell to Fort Egbert and arrived at Pointkin Island at the end of March. After returning, Amundsen learned that magnetism expert Gustav Wilke was bedridden with pleurisy. There were no antibiotics at that time. Despite everyone's careful care, Wilke's condition became increasingly serious and he passed away on April 4. Human world.

Summer is here, and the "Joa" sets sail again, heading for the Bering Strait. During this voyage, they almost died in the ice. It was August 11, 1906. The sky was as dark as the bottom of a pot, and many tornadoes appeared on the horizon. In less than four hours, the mainmast girder and part of the sails on the "Joa" were damaged by the strong wind, and the mast was rattling. The boat rolled like crazy up and down the crests and troughs of the waves. It was not until after the hurricane that they discovered that the rudder had been blown off and the mast had been split in two.

On August 30, the "Joa" staggered into the Bering Strait. At this point, Amundsen finally completed the task of finding the Northwest Passage, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans with the help of the Arctic Ocean.

After going through many hardships, the "Joa" arrived at the Port of San Francisco (San Francisco). They received a grand welcome. The whistles and sirens of ships moored inside and outside the harbor sounded one after another, paying tribute to the "Joa". Hundreds of colorful flags fluttered in the wind on the blue water. The scene was very moving. Celebrations were held from all walks of life in the city, and the "Joa" became the pride of San Francisco.

Amundsen was also the first Norwegian in the world to reach the South Pole. He set off from the base on October 19, 1911, and returned to the base on January 25, 1912. It only took him 99 days to complete the world-famous Antarctic trip. This is certainly due to his perseverance and indomitable spirit, but his success also lies in his excellent organizational skills and serious work attitude. His plan was based on a completely scientific basis. He had estimated in advance all kinds of unforeseen difficulties that might arise and made sufficient material preparations, so he could complete his initiative so well. During the expedition, only 11 dogs were left, the people suffered severe frostbite, some suffered from snow blindness, and everyone was exhausted. However, their hearts were filled with joy, because it was they who set foot on the South Pole for the first time, and the silence that had enveloped Antarctica for hundreds of millions of years was broken by their cheers and laughter for the first time. They were victorious explorers, and Amundsen was a well-deserved exploration hero.

After the end of World War I, Amundsen commanded the ship "Mode" to conduct coastal surveys along the Eurasian continent. In 1926, he led an expedition team to fly over the North Pole for the first time on the airship "Norway" and dropped the flags of Norway, the United States and Italy over the North Pole. They flew a distance of 3,391 miles in 72 hours, setting a record for flying across the North Pole from Europe to North America. This was the last major expedition of his life. He was the first to reach the South Pole and the first to fly over the North Pole, leaving a magical mark in the history of human exploration.

Although Amundsen was buried in the unknown Arctic waters, his brilliant expedition achievements and unyielding exploration spirit will always be praised by the world.