Roald Amundsen: December 14, 1911

Joulien and I completed preparing the old ARIANNA station in the tent and brought the box of electronics out to the station's solar and wind towers and battery box. Here's a pic of me sealing it up in the tent and another showing the full station #1 in the snow (5 antennas buried last year, not visible). Flags here and there mark holes in the snow as hazards while we are encamped there. The next good wind will drift snow over them all making the surface pretty uniformly flat.
100 years ago on this day (December 14th), Roald Amundsen of Norway was the first person on Earth to reach the South Pole. He was followed a month later by Robert Scott from the UK. Here's a map of the two expeditions, and our ARIANNA site as well...not too far from where Scott and his party perished on their return journey. Note: McMurdo Station (USA) is on the North side of Ross Island and Scott Base (New Zealand) is on the SW side of the island.

Here's a nice comparison of the two expeditions: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_the_Amundsen_and_Scott_Expeditions, and a bit of news on the anniversary visit by the Prime Minister of Norway: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16173847. He came through and returned through McMurdo while I was in the field, but DVs (distinguished visitors) are frequency. For example, before we went into the field I happened to walk by the 5 or so persons accompanying the King of Malaysia in McMurdo, excusing myself as I walked by one of his aides. Wonderfully informal, yet maintaining decorum and respect.

So my own experience on the anniversary day of Amundsen reaching the South Pole, was to drag by sled the new solar station and battery box to their site 1km from camp with Nate and Joulien. It was a nice feeling to trek on this anniversary, since I'm a 2nd generation Norwegian-American myself (my father's father emigrated). My father, Dr. Raymond E. Berg of Newport Beach, as a 1st generation Norwegian-American has shared his passion for our heritage, and in fact took me to the traditional Lutefisk dinner (yum) just before I left for Antarctica. He's inspired me with tales of his world travels, which include every continent except Antarctica. So I told him playfully, that I'm going there to complete his goal of reaching them all. Here's a pic of me dragging the solar tower and looking back to camp after the first 1/10th of the way (imagine 10 football fields end-to-end).
Also here's Joulien and Nate with the solar tower after we hooked it to the battery box and wind tower and dead-man anchored guys ropes into the snow. The weather was so nice I had to take another picture of the wind tower about 100 yards farther on.