INTRODUCTION xxxi 



through all difficulties as if they did not exist; every 

 one of them has been foreseen and encountered in 

 advance. Let no one come and prate about luck and 

 chance. Amundsen's luck is that of the strong man 

 who looks ahead. 



How like him and the whole expedition is his 

 telegram home as simple and straightforward as if it 

 concerned a holiday tour in the mountains. It speaks 

 of what is achieved, not of their hardships. Every word 

 a manly one. That is the mark of the right man, quiet 

 and strong. 



It is still too early to measure the extent of the new 

 discoveries, but the cablegram has already dispersed the 

 mists so far that the outlines are beginning to shape 

 themselves. That fairyland of ice, so different from all 

 other lands, is gradually rising out of the clouds. 



In this wonderful world of ice Amundsen has found 

 his own way. From first to last he and his companions 

 have traversed entirely unknown regions on their ski, 

 and there are not many expeditions in history that have 

 brought under the foot of man so long a range of 

 country hitherto unseen by human eye. People thought 

 it a matter of course that he would make for Beardmore 

 Glacier, which Shackleton had discovered, and by that 

 route come out on to the high snow plateau near the 

 Pole, since there he would be sure of getting forward. 

 We who knew Amundsen thought it would be more 



