21 November 1911 - The Butcher's Shop

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Amundsen’s route to the South Pole, from his base camp in the Bay of Whales along the Great Ice Barrier and across the Transantarctic Mountains, was completely uncharted.

His strategy involved the use of disciplined dog teams hauling sledges while the five men skied alongside. But it was possible they would find no route across.

They began their ascent of the mountain range on 18 November. The men had to cross the treacherous Axel Heiberg Glacier, climbing up frozen ice falls with 42 dogs and a ton and a half of supplies. On 21 November, they finally reached the Polar Plateau, having climbed 10,000 feet in four days. This remains one of the great feats of Polar exploration.

Amundsen had planned from the outset that at prearranged points on their journey, some of their dogs would be killed in order to provide food for the remaining dogs and for the men. That time had now come, and 24 of the dogs were to be killed.

Amundsen recorded his feelings as each man shot his dogs: ‘Shot now followed shot - it sounded gruesome over the wastes. A faithful servant lost his life for each shot...The festive mood which should have reigned in the tent that evening - the first on the plateau - did not come. There was something oppressive, miserable in the air: We had grown so fond of our dogs. The place was called ”the Butcher’s Shop”.’

Click to view the lesson plan - Animals on the ice