Who was really to blame for the failure of Scott’s Antarctic expedition?

In the Antarctic summer of 1911-12, a team of British explorers led by Robert Falcon Scott attempted to be the first to reach the South Pole. Beaten by Roald Amundsen’s Norwegians,, less than 20 kilometres short of a food and fuel depot which may have saved them.

What is it about this story that has allowed it to endure so long? After all, Scott and his team failed. I think the answer rests in the biblical resonance of a Christ-like leader and his disciples dragging their heavy load across a vast and unforgiving wilderness on a doomed quest for eternal glory. Like the New Testament, the story is both epic and heroic, full of pathos and pain.

Or was there maybe a Judas? The latter theory has proven infectious. To some, the culprit is the surgeon, Edward Atkinson, who failed to follow Scott’s precise instructions about the rescue of the returning polar team. Others blame Apsley Cherry-Garrard, the scientific assistant, who never learnt how to navigate and turned his relief mission back too soon.

Readers, though, will have to decide for themselves whether Christian’s case against Evans is sufficiently made. Those familiar with the expedition’s records might question the sturdiness of some of his evidence, which relies in places upon post-facto accounts tainted by faulty memory and historical vindication.

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