The deadly race to the South Pole 

Hey Darkroom fans! We've released a video extra from Coleman about Robert Falcon Scott's doomed expedition to the South Pole in the Video Lab. Sign up here and check it out! bit.ly/vox-video-membership

*first line of video "Everyone in this photo died" Me: jesus ok

I wish you guys expanded on Oates' sacrifice. Dude tells the team "I am just going outside and may be some time." because he knew his worsening condition was holding back the rest of the team and they'd have a chance if he sacrificed himself. And so he did. That got glossed over in this video but I always found that story to be heroic. That man had balls of steel to face certain death if it meant he could help his team survive. It was in vain, sure. But... I always felt it was noble of him to accept his fate and give others a chance.

What’s really depressing is that the last diary notes showed that a blizzard did not trap them, instead Scott got frostbite and was unable to make the last stretch home. Instead his friend lied about the blizzard, giving him an excuse to stay with Scott as the cold soon engulfed his last chance to escape. This is try loyalty. Even more to this, Scott told people to not blame the scientist who measured the temperatures, he said that they did their best and could have never predicted this to ever happen.

Imagine bringing ponies to the south pole this was made by Amundsen gang

It doesn't surprise me the Norwegians were able to ski so much better. They are crazy good with skis

I guess u could say the whole thing went south

Him: everyone in the photo died The camera man: 🥶

Go Norway! But also.. now I feel really bad for the British team :(

I'm starting to really like these short documentaries. I can't wait for the other episodes

Hi - Coleman here. Darkroom is a history series that unravels the stories of individual photographs. And I know, this one is kind of grim. But don't worry, the next episode is about the Hindenburg. Thanks for watching!

I... am a bit... speechless. What a remarkable story, and told extremely well. This is why I love youtube.

"I am just going outside and may be some time." - Last words of Capt Lawrence Oates.

Aw that's really sad, why would the news shame him after he died though? That's disrespectful. So after a little bit of research turns out Vox left out a lot of details about the mishaps of Scott's plan. He came really unprepared, which is part of the reason why he was late. And possibly part of the reason why him and his crew died. I find that really sad though, I feel like that if everyone wasn't rushing and prioritised safety first both teams would've made it back safely.

I mean, it wasn't just the tropping temperatures that killed Scott's team: 1. Scurvy. There was no vitamin C in their diet. The only they got was the tiny amount from eating fresh meat. 2. The ponies and electrical sleds would never have worked out, even under the best of circumstances, for several reasons. Many of the ponies died horrible deaths, because they left the horses' snow shoes at base, for example. 3. They WALKED. The Amundsen team skied and saved so much energy and time. The britts refused, even though they had a Norwegian at their base strongly advising them to learn how. Scott also went against much of Nansen's advise. 4. Clothes. Their clothes started falling apart from overuse, which really didn't help when the temperatures dropped.. Amundsen brought extra seal skin coats he never got to use. Just in case. 5. The people waiting at the base could have sent a search team for them. But their "English pride" or whatever you want to call it, prevented them from doing so. 6. Heavy equipment. For some reason they couldn't navigate without really heavy equipment. Also other science equipment they should have ditched along the way, to save the team's lives. 7. Last minute change of plans: They decided to include one new team member last minute. Really didn't help with those food reserves. 8. Food. They didn't have enough of it. They didn't have enough calories. If there was one thing that killed Scott's team, it was slow starvation. He didn't make the right calculations of how much energy it takes to haul several pounds of food and equipment through snow and cold temperatures. This was a horrible tragedy. But it wasn't just due to temperature changes. There was also a lot of human error, other cases of bad luck... and hubris. At the end of the day, Scott was responsible for his team's well-being, and he led them all to an early grave.

If you read Amundsen book you can prove it was good(almost obsesive preparation) vs very bad preparation and lack of experience by the english team. Amundsen goes in the book explaining that even the dogs pemmican has bits of dry fruit so they doesnt lack vitamins. He sends polar boots to be made again because soles are too hard and will generate blisters ( and possibly Gangrene) he makes a separated deck flooring of the ship so their dogs have better air circulation (when traveling ecuatorial seas) and easier cleaning of their waste ... I can keep going but you can make an idea.

"I've got dogs and I know how to use them!" - Amundsen

Quality work. At this point you guys at VOX are setting the bar at ever higher levels. Keep it up!

Nice. I saw the new "Amundsen" movie on cinema today. Surprisingly exciting and thrilling. It shows the Norwegian side of the race. Amundsen's childhood, earlier expeditions, conversations with the British, and the North Pole expedition ect. In a speech after Amundsen (Norwegians) had returned safe home from the South Pole, he was in the UK for dinner and was supposed to receive an honorary speech, but in the speech, the british said at the end: "Let us honor the brave. Cheers for the dogs!" (The British noble man did not mention the Norwegian crew, just their dogs). Amundsen got little disappointed of the British because he felt they became bad losers.

Every Norwegian on the Amundsen team has skied all their lives and they were expert skiers. They also KNEW how to use dogs for hauling and had trained over a year how to work with the dogs, taking lessons from Eskimos in the Arctic. They were also taught by the Eskimos how to build igloos. They fed the dogs seal meat. They marked their path as they went, putting food depots close together. They packed extra food to allow for problems. They basically skied home down hill most of the way back with the dogs doing all the hauling. And the dogs were running. They also had no problem traveling in a blizzard. Scott and his men walked most of the way, dragging the sleds, added an fifth man at the last minute after bringing enough food for four. They had to haul the food for the ponies. The ponies would sink int the snow. Their path back was not clearly marked. Their depots were too far apart. They brought a few sled dogs on the trip, but they left them at the home base when they set out for the pole because they had no idea how to use the dogs. It was not the weather that destroyed him, it was the poor planning.

If Amundsen had known that Scott were in peril, he would've went to save him. After all, he was the type of man who admired those who dared; even if the victim were his rival. The demise of Scott and his team troubled him greatly despite his achievement (he never liked seeing death. The first death he encountered was when a sailor was swept overboard during a storm close to Antarctica , and it left him very uneasy) and this may have had encouraged him to offer more help to others in trouble. This motivation would eventually lead to his mysterious & supposed demise, when he attempted to rescue Italian explorer, Nobile, in 1928. In doing so, Amundsen and his team of French and Norwegian rescuers would simply vanish, never to be seen again.

I see most of Scott's mistakes as systemic, a result of Royal Navy groupthink. The manhauling, the ponies, the ill-suited clothing, all had been used in previous British expeditions and carried into this one. But Scott's worst mistake isn't mentioned at all in the video. It was deciding, atop the Glacier, to add a fifth member to his Polar party, despite having only planned rations for four. Once again, it can be argued it's a systemic error, because It was done ostensibly for protocol, in order to have a representative of every branch of the British Army at the pole. And so he picked Oates, who had been in charge of the ponies (which weren't even around anymore) and had no previous Polar experience or skill to help his team. Scott still would not have beat Amundsen, but he might have had the supplies needed to make it back to camp alive. Sadly, that must have weighed heavy on Oates' mind when he walked off into that blizzard, never to be seen again.

How about the Norwegian adventure? That seems fascinating too, and a little less tragic

Other information: - Antarctica and South Pole were Amundsen's secret plan. Their ship was supposed to sail to the Arctic at first. - around Amundsen's base, the British (Eastern Party which led by Campbell) and Norwegians exchanged pleasantries and visited each other before the South Pole expedition. - Evan, the first guy died, his body never found by the search party - 4:28 it's Scott's sculpture that was made by his wife

The south pole station is named after them. The "Amundsen-Scott Station"

Can't wait for next episode, Liked this after first 35 seconds.

Murphy's Law hit them real bad

also... scott refused help from Amundsen on how to modify their sleds to be lighter. also Amundsen was very worried about the snow mobiles that Scott took, thinking that they would easily outpace his dogs. its also speculated that the storm that stopped Scott in his tracks never happened and they had actually become just too weak to go on because no snow storms have been observed in Antartica that last 5 weeks...

Since i’m from Norway i’ve heard this story 1000 times before

“We are very near the end, but have not and will not lose our good cheer.” -Robert Falcon Scott

*_HYVÄ NORJA!!_* 🇳🇴 Your neighbors are proud of you, greetings from Finland!

Rest in peace, Scott and the rest of the team, you will be remembered. Thank you for all the effort you guys put in!

This could be a really emotional movie

i really like this idea for a new video series, really 👍👍👍

Opens video Person: All the people in this photo died Closes video

Imagine what he felt 108 years ago in that moment when they found out they lost and being so close to making it back

This is so sad and left me heartbroken

I was going to make a joke talking about how Norwegians is the best but now am just sad

The penguins got there first

British team near the pole: Hippity Hoppity this is our victor- Norwegian guy 5 weeks earlier: Time to steal the victory off the Brits.

I love this new series guys! Thanks so much for putting time into them

Scientific prove shows GOOD BOI > MY LITTLE PONIES

Lawrence Oates' last words before he left the tent were, "I am just going outside and may be some time".

The major factor you neglected to mention was that Scott had planned supplies for 4, and included bowers at the last minute which meant the now 5 men had to ration food and were effectively starving from the offset of their journey, expending more calories than they had to consume.

I’m Chinese When I’m in junior high school I learned a article titled “The Fight for the South Pole”by Stefan Zweig,which told me the story about the exploration. Respect to these Explorers！！！

" Scotts English team" Im sure you'll find that the majority of the crew and some of his teammates were Scottish.

Oh this looks like an interesting vide- *EVERYONE IN THIS PHOTO DIED SHORTLY AFTER IT WAS TAKEN* ... I was correct

the graphic, color tone, are so perfect, good job editors

The presentation is just top notch. Super work Vox team.

So apparently Scott's plan wasn't really that well thought through. The ponies and motorised sleds they used were ineffective, so his team had to mostly pull the supplies by themselves. Which really ended up slowing them down. Scott's team would've made it back, if it hadn't been for the unpredictable weather conditions, but very slow and very late.

Loving dark room! Great analysis and storytelling 👍🏾👍🏾💕💕

Outstanding episode. Thank you very much.

A point to survival, Scott took 5-men and only 4 were planned for the final try, leaving the strongest man of all to return with an officer suffering scurvy, Tom Crean, who in their last miles to the base the officer failed, Crean did 36-miles solo on a biscuit & some chocolate to get help, dog teams made hours before a blizzard moved in. Crean was the unsung hero, Scott denied his wont of being among the 1st to the pole saying you got a bit of a cold, Crean was devastated yet too loyal to object, it saved his life to be with Shackleton, again as an unsung hero compared to Worsley & The Boss. Ymmv 🍺

They were so close

Can anyone identify the photos of upcoming episodes in 5:20? I can only identify 3 out of 5 photos that about Cuban Nuclear Crisis, Cat Righting Reflex and Hindenburg Incident.

In Norway we learn about this in elemenatry school.

Anyone else interested in this topic should read a related book, The Endurance: Shackleton’s Legendary Antarctic Expedition

Well that went south .⬇️

Amazing episode , can't wait for more , keep it up !

The content and quality of your videos is amazing. Thank you🙏

i read the story in 1997 in a rapid reader text book of my elder brother back in school. each of the word still pops up in my head. a great and emotional story and a journey they made together. RIP Scott

The quality of your content continues to rise; thanks, Vox!

Hey Just a request Can u plz keep the temperature stuff in Celsius as well it's really difficult to understand

Such a remarkable premise for a RU-vid channel - thank you.

Sad and amazing story. Really enjoyed this.

Thank you so much for this video. I was looking for a brief overview of the discovery of the South Pole for my classes of students in grades 4 to 9. I didn't want anything too long or too depressing, just accurate and interesting. This was GREAT!

The version of the Union Flag used in the graphics here hadn't been in use for more than 100 years at the time of the Scott expedition. The modern version of the flag was adopted in 1801. You can see it in photographs of this very expedition. Actually, you can see it at 3:44

I'm Norwegian and minus 35 celsius is the coldest I've ever experienced. Pulling a sled by foot at - 40 with the equipment they had back then is extremely brutal!

So well put together. The from the opening line to the music fantastic job!

This video was really well made, very good job VOX!!

Darkroom sounds like a fully immersive series that I am more than ready to dive into. Excited for the next episode!

Love your stuff brother, KEEP IT UP!

Great series. Thank you!

I would also recommend the documentary made about this expedition (they had a documentary crew for a portion of the time on their way to the South pole). This is also quite groundbreaking film achievement considering this was made so many years ago. It's called "The Great White Silence" and is one of the best films of the 1920's. They told the last journey through a combined use of animation and journal snippets which makes for a harrowing tale.

Just love that video. So touching and serious. Greetings from India 🇮🇳

Awesome man, good job with the nice short doc.

Love this episode, very well crafted!

The way how you told the story made me felt like I was there😫😱. I love Vox!

I must admit this is high quality, good job!

great video/ journalism!

Scott never planned for a race, his first and foremost goal was scientific exploration. Amundsen hid his plans to go for the pole (seeing the North pole priority, his original goal, had been taken from him) from everyone, even his crew, until they were at sail. Scott never had a sporting chance at pole priority. Highly recommend Ran Fienne's book on the matter ("Captain Scott")

Oh yes, such a entertaining video, well narrated, with kind of a dark and unsettling vibe, addictive storytelling, great editing (as always!), Vox you're a blessing. Ps. I only wish your videos could be longer, but I guess quality over quantity ( :

ive watched this so many times & it breaks my heart.

love this series, please do more

Amazing job, Vox! You should make a follow up episode on this topic covering the expedition lead by Sir E. Shackleton that is imho even more interesting.

1909: In the future we will have flying cars 1912: *confused british antarctic screeching* 1914: 🎵It's time for World War One!🎵

I really like the narratives of this video, well done guys

Really well done. Bravo!

This is an amazing documentary. It’s nice and short, has great editing and a story. Well done Vox!!

4:05 His last words were something to the effect of "I am stepping outside for a moment. I may be gone some time." He wasn't trying to fool anyone. Very British last words.

Congratulations on a stunningly creative and informative 5:37 minutes!! Great Production

Beautiful quality of video

My school joined the drive to provide dogs for Scott's journey. I always remember a photograph on a corridor wall of a dog named Oldham who was donated to the expedition. It was only years later that I realised Scott's party would have shot and eaten the animal.

-Vox has put a correction in the video description about these mistakes. The team to carry out the expedition weren’t just English. It was three Englishmen, Welshmen and a Scot. Also, why are you using that Union Jack at the start? The one that is currently used now has been in place since 1800s. Also Vox, this was British expedition... so why do you keep calling them/it English?

This is an incredible feat. Appreciate that. Never knew about this

This intro is literally perfect, catches my attention immediately and makes me curious about the subject. Gj

Norway is like a dream crushing machine!

Scotts team was not english. It was British. The majority of the team were from Scotland.

Interesting story. Awesome video format, really enjoyed it.

Super interesting, will be waiting for more videos like this!