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Series Code: TIJ
Program Code: TIJ001154A
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00:27 Can you imagine one of the greatest races in history 00:31 happened here in Antarctica, the most remote continent on earth? 00:35 Yes, two men racing across this forbidding ice and snow. It was 00:41 a race to the death; only one would return alive. It would be 00:46 a contest between the English Naval officer Captain Robert 00:50 Scott and the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen. Back in 1911 00:56 each one wanted to be the first human being to reach the South 01:00 Pole. After all, back then every continent had been conquered 01:04 except this one. Well one man would plant a flag at the bottom 01:09 if the earth, the other would die trying. There were some 01:14 fascinating facts behind the heroic winner and the tragic 01:20 loser. You're about to discover just what made the difference. 01:24 ♪ ♪ 01:44 Antarctica is the southernmost continent. It covers roughly 14 01:48 million square kilometers. It's bigger than Europe and almost 01:52 double the size of Australia. Most of Antarctica is covered in 01:57 ice two kilometers thick. In some places the ice is more than 02:01 four kilometers thick. Around 90 percent of all the ice on the 02:06 earth is found in Antarctica. If all this ice were to melt, sea 02:11 levels would rise around 60 meters. Antarctica is a harsh and 02:16 forbidding place. It's the coldest, windiest, driest, and 02:22 emptiest place on earth. Any life that manages to survive 02:27 here does so in the face of incredible conditions. 02:30 Temperatures can fall to almost minus 90 degrees Celsius. Winds 02:36 reach up to 300 km/hour. Only about four centimeters of rain 02:41 fall here a year in the form of snow. And, as mentioned, it's 02:46 the emptiest place on earth. Apart from the penguins and a 02:50 scattering of other species it's population is zero. Human beings 02:55 cannot live here permanently. In fact the Antarctic continent 03:01 wasn't even actually seen by anyone until 1820 and no person 03:07 set foot in Antarctica until 1895. Just 16 years later in 03:13 this harsh and unbearable environment the greatest of 03:17 races took place. And the starting line was in the Ross 03:22 Sea at the edge of the great ice barrier. This stupendous mass 03:26 constantly cracks, shifts and drifts but in 1911 the finish 03:34 line lay about a thousand kilometers inland, a latitude of 03:37 90 degrees south, better known as the South Pole. But what 03:43 would compel anyone to compete in such a deadly race? 03:47 The answer to that question lies on the other side of the globe. 03:52 In 1901, Captain Robert Scott was the naval officer in charge 03:58 of the first British venture to the Antarctic, a discovery 04:03 expedition. The British Empire's Royal Society contributed quite 04:08 a few scientists that would study everything from 04:11 paleontology to meteorology and the earth's magnetic fields. 04:17 Sometime during this journey to the continent of ice a grand 04:22 idea began to grow in Scott's mind. What if he could discover 04:27 the South Pole, be the first human to set foot on it? It 04:33 would take Scott a further six years after the discovery 04:36 expedition to develop this ambition, but in 1910 he would 04:44 launch the Terra Nova expedition with one goal in mind: 04:58 But Scott wasn't the only one with ambition to conquer the 05:01 world's last unknown spaces. Captain Roald Amundsen was a 05:05 Norwegian explorer and was the first to sail the 05:08 Arctic's Northwest 05:10 Passage. He also spent a winter south of the Antarctic circle 05:14 in 1898. In 1909 he was preparing to mount an expedition 05:22 to reach the North Pole when news arrived that two American 05:26 explorers claimed to have got there ahead of him. He continued 05:29 his preparations but quietly changed his goal. On August 9, 05:37 1911, he set sail in his unique ice resistant ship Fram. 05:43 Two months into his voyage he announced to the world his real 05:48 destination. Amundsen was heading for the South Pole: 06:01 Amundsen made it to the opposite end of the planet with his team, 06:07 his supplies and his secret intact. It was only when he 06:11 sailed out of his last port of call that he sent a cable to 06:16 Scott who was making his own preparations in Melbourne. 06:18 Beg, leave to inform you, Fram proceeding Antarctic Amundsen. 06:27 The race was on. Suddenly both of these men would end up in the 06:34 Antarctic with a purpose. In January of 1911 Amundsen 06:39 set on his race on the Ross Ice Shelf at the Bay of Whales. 06:45 Scott would start out at Cape Evans on Ross Island. Both 06:49 resolved to set out as soon as winter ended. And the two set 06:55 off roughly about the same time. Amundsen on October 20, Scott on 07:01 November 1. Both would end up leading a small team of five. 07:07 Amundsen's group was closer to the Pole by about 96 km. 07:10 But Scott's 07:12 route was more familiar. He had traveled in this region before. 07:17 And another British explorer, Ernest Shackleton, had trekked 07:23 most of the way before him and had come within 157 km of the 07:27 Pole. One of these men would be the first to stand at the South 07:32 Pole. The other would never return. He would become a frozen 07:37 body in this icy world. What made the difference? How did one 07:43 man win the race while the other walked to his death. So who won 07:49 the race to the South Pole? Who survived and who didn't? On 07:58 December 14, 1911 it was Roald Amundsen, the Norwegian explorer 08:04 that first reached the bottom of the planet. It was this man who 08:09 put up a flag at 90 degrees south in latitude. Amundsen 08:14 arrived at the South Pole where no other person had ever stood 08:18 a full 33 days ahead of Scott, almost five weeks, an incredible 08:26 triumph. But happened to Robert Scott. His story is far 08:32 more bleak. Scott and his men managed to make it all the way 08:37 to the South Pole, but only to discover that the Norwegians had 08:43 beat them to it. In his diary, Scott admitted this was a 08:48 horrible day. And then he wrote something quite scary. He 08:54 admitted for the first time that he and his companions might not 08:58 survive the 1000 km journey back to the coast. The five did start 09:03 their return journey across the icy plains. Soon the team grew 09:08 more exhausted and frost bitten but they trudged on. Scott still 09:13 stopped to collect 14 kg of fossilized plants to add to 09:17 their sled but 09:19 injuries were mounting and wounds were failing to heal. 09:24 At the bottom of the glacier Edgar Evans collapsed and died. 09:30 Then the weather deteriorated. Their progress slowed to a crawl 09:36 Their supplies diminished to almost nothing. Soon they were 09:40 huddled together in a tent while the wind piled snow around them. 09:44 Lawrence Oates sacrificed himself for the group by 09:49 wandering out into the snow. The remaining three struggled on 09:54 trying desperately to reach a vital supply depot. But 09:59 Scott's diary records that he sensed the end was near: 10:13 On March 29, 1912 Henry Bowers, Edward Wilson and Robert Scott 10:22 would die in their tent of cold, dehydration and starvation only 10:28 18 km from the next supply depot Tragically the planner would 10:36 pass away in that brutal ice world. A nationally celebrated 10:40 explorer but one who failed to attain his goal, while Amundsen 10:48 would arrive safely back in Tasmania without losing a single 10:52 man hailed as a hero by kings and countrymen. Now I'd like to 11:00 share something very important with you about these two racers 11:03 to the South Pole. Here's the real distinction between the two 11:08 teams. This is what really lies behind ponies versus dogs. 11:13 walking versus skiing, scientists versus navigators. 11:18 Now ponies were just part of Scott's transportation. His plan 11:24 actually had four options to start with: Ponies, motor 11:30 sledges, man hauling and some dogs. Unfortunately they were 11:34 all partial options. The motor sledges quickly broke down. They 11:40 hadn't been tested in polar conditions. What's more Scott 11:44 sent the dogs back to the starting camp when he was 11:48 three quarters of the way to the Pole. He didn't think they would 11:52 do well traversing the crevasse pocked terrain. And the ponies, 11:56 well they made slow painful progress. Scott and his men had 12:02 build walls of snow each night to protect those animals from 12:06 the freezing wind. They weren't built for this cold. Their hoofs 12:12 sank deep, their sweaty harness froze up. They didn't survive 12:17 very far. This man actually wanted to rely on man hauling 12:21 in a way because of the source of pride. Scott put it this way: 12:35 So Scott's men put themselves in the harnesses and dragged 90 12:41 kilo sleds step by step to the pole. Amundsen, however, focused 12:48 on basic transportation means. He used husky-type dogs who were 12:52 made to survive in this cold, icy world. They were low 12:56 maintenance haulers. They would find shelter from the icy winds 13:00 and keep themselves warm by digging holes in the snow and 13:05 crawling in. Amundsen understood he needed those dogs hauling 13:11 sleds. Ironically Scott would march nine or ten hours a day 13:15 desperately trying to win the race. Amundsen would travel only 13:20 five or six hours a day and yet he sometimes covered twice the 13:25 ground than Scott had because those huskies were dependable 13:29 moving quickly across the ice. Beautiful isn't it. Ice and snow 13:35 may be easy on the eyes but they can also be very hard work 13:38 on the muscles. Another thing Scott and his party failed to 13:43 take into consideration. These aren't just tools you can pick 13:48 up and use straight away. Amundsen on the other hand 13:51 understood he and his men had to prepare for skiing. He didn't 13:56 just select experienced skiers. For months ahead of time 14:00 Amundsen designed special skis and goggles and dog harnesses. 14:05 They field tested each one. He honed each one into better shape 14:11 He also designed better tents and stripped back his sledges. 14:17 This man knew that trekking across the ice wouldn't be easy. 14:21 He needed all the help he could get. Scott, however, found 14:27 himself busy with other things. He and his men did refine their 14:31 equipment somewhat during the winter but they spent quite a 14:35 bit of time just writing letters playing sports and giving 14:40 lectures to each other. When it came to moving across that ice 14:43 flow Scott would discover that his were unwieldy and prone to 14:48 tipping over, possibly because they were also overloaded and 14:53 his men's lack of ski experience would tell against them. Scott 14:57 would even decide to add an extra man to the group that made 15:01 the last trek to the South Pole, one that didn't even have skis 15:06 and that meant more walking, more unnecessary struggling. 15:11 And what about the people who made up Scott and Amundsen's 15:16 expeditions. The scientists versus the navigators. Well the 15:21 bottom line is this. Amundsen focused on one single goal, 15:28 reaching the South Pole. But Scott wanted to be recognized 15:32 as making scientific accomplishments too, so he had 15:37 men with him whose job it was to make a variety of environmental 15:42 observations. They'd take some 2000 photographs. They also 15:47 gathered a variety of stones weighing the sleds down. Those 15:52 sleds were also loaded with scientific equipment which meant 15:56 they could carry less food. On his return journey Scott and his 16:00 men would often barely make it to the next depot of food 16:04 supplies before running out. Scott had planned to put his 16:09 furtherest food depot at the 80th parallel. That way there 16:14 would be supplies in reach of the exhausted team returning 16:18 from the South Pole. But on their preparation journey that 16:21 Scott used to set up the depots the men were tired and the 16:25 ponies were floundering. So Scott decided to drop supplies 16:31 50 km shy of his target. That proved fatal. He and his men 16:38 would lay down and die just 15 km short of that essential depot 16:44 Amundsen, however, grasped the need for food all the way there and 16:51 back. He made sure there were more than enough supplies in his 16:56 depots. And what's more, he made sure his team would reach them, 17:00 even through thick fog or blizzards. He placed a line of 17:05 10 black flags spaced a half mile apart on both sides of each 17:10 depot. That way they could go from one marker to the other and 17:15 reach their essential food. You know what's ironic about that 17:22 South Pole race between the planner and the dasher. Amundsen 17:26 the dasher actually planned better because he focused on 17:31 what he would need to reach his one all-important goal. But 17:36 Scott the planner actually dashed here and there focusing 17:40 on other things as he headed to the South Pole with tragic 17:46 results. And I believe that's one of the essential principles about 17:51 our race through life. It's one of the most important factors 17:55 that determines whether we'll reach our goal or not. It's easy 18:02 to be distracted as we journey from day to day. It's easy to 18:05 take detours. It's easy for pride to keep us looking here 18:09 and there instead on the road ahead. Are we meeting our 18:15 basic needs. Amundsen made sure he did. It's such a vital 18:20 component of any race, especially our race through life 18:24 What really keeps us going as human beings is in here. It's 18:30 the state of our hearts and minds that will secure or deny 18:34 success because our main obstacles are also in here. 18:39 In order to meet our basic needs we have to get through basic 18:44 obstacles like guilt, anger and insecurity. These are like the 18:49 elements that can really upset life's journey. Guilt for 18:55 example makes you push things away, things you might actually 18:59 need, like dogs moving fast over the ice. Anger makes you stomp 19:05 along pounding on that snow. It sinks you down like walking 19:09 instead of skiing. And insecurity compels you to add 19:15 too much, carry too much, to try to cover your inadequacy. 19:19 Scientific equipment over essential food, if you like. 19:24 Yes, guilt, anger, insecurity, they are the real obstacles when 19:32 it comes to making progress in life. So how do we deal with 19:37 them? Well I believe there are some spiritual qualities that 19:40 counter those common problems. I believe God has actually shown 19:45 us how to meet our essential needs. Do you know what's the 19:50 exact opposite of guilt, anger and insecurity? Well, it's 19:55 forgiveness, grace and love. Let me explain by pointing you to 20:01 the Bible, humanity's clearest map of the human heart. In it 20:07 the apostle John acknowledges troubles of the human heart and 20:12 writes down what God can do about guilt, all our guilt. 20:16 Listen: 20:31 Opening up to God, laying out our problems, our mistakes, 20:36 that's how we get access to that Divine forgiveness that wipes 20:41 out our guilt. Jesus Christ paid the price for all of our 20:45 faults and failures on the cross so we don't have to carry any 20:49 of them anymore. And it's the sense of forgiveness that 20:55 enables us to look forward on life's journey. Guilt keeps us 20:58 looking back to some mistake in the past. It keeps us pushing 21:02 things away, things that we really need like forgiveness. 21:08 Yes it gives us a clear positive focus for the way ahead. And 21:14 here's the second quality that will help. The opposite of anger 21:19 is grace. Here's how the apostle Peter expresses it: 21:40 Anger takes us down but God's grace builds us up. God's grace 21:46 restores, produces a gracious way of life. It washes away all 21:52 the bitterness that keeps us angry. We don't have to keep 21:56 stomping around. We can move forward smoothly like we're 22:03 skiing on ice. And the third quality. What deals with our 22:08 insecurity? Well the opposite of insecurity is love. All those 22:14 obstacles that insecurity puts up, they're all there because 22:19 love hasn't built us up. Here's the apostle John again 22:25 describing the best kind of love for building strong lives: 22:41 God the Father cherishes us as his beloved children. When we 22:45 trust our lives to him we are completely accepted into God's 22:50 family. We are regarded as valuable as his own Son, that 22:56 heroic Jesus who lived a perfect life so we could be saved. It's 23:02 this Divine love that can really counter insecurity. When we 23:07 genuinely loved we don't have to pretend. We don't have to hide 23:12 our real needs can be met. We can lay out our supply depots. 23:19 We can get all of the emotional and spiritual nourishment we 23:24 need. Yes, I believe that's what God can give us, forgiveness, 23:30 grace and love that moves us, forward, that propels us through 23:36 life in the best possible way which is why 23:40 the Bible encourages us: 24:02 Do you want to escape from pain and shame, to find refuge in 24:07 some heavenly place. Then start the race marked out for us. 24:12 Start building a strong life on the only sure foundation, Jesus 24:17 Christ. He'll keep you moving forward. He'll enable you to 24:21 experience that forgiveness, that grace, that love. He will 24:26 take you all the way to our ultimate destination, the right 24:30 hand of the throne of God. Why not make that decision right now 24:35 as we pray? 24:40 Dear Father, we do face a lot of obstacles in our lives. We'd 24:45 like to move forward. We'd like to build strong lives, to run a 24:49 good race, but guilt and anger and insecurity get in our way. 24:54 So we choose to place our faith in this Jesus Christ who laid 24:59 down such a good life for us. We choose to keep our eyes on him 25:04 as a Redeemer and as our shining example. In Jesus' name, Amen. 25:15 The story of the great race to the South Pole has both 25:17 fascinated and inspired people for over 100 years. It also 25:22 reminds us that we're all participants in the great race 25:27 of life. In this race, we all face obstacles and challenges. 25:31 If you're struggling with the challenges of life or with guilt 25:35 shame and insecurity, then I'd like to recommend a free gift we 25:39 have for all our viewers today. It's the book The Solution to 25:45 the Guilt Problem. This book is our gift to you and is 25:49 absolutely free. There are no costs or obligations whatsoever. 25:53 Many have been blessed and inspired by this book, The 25:57 Solution to the Guilt Problem, so make the most of this 26:00 wonderful opportunity to receive the gift we have for you today. 26:04 Here's the information you need: Phone or text us at 0436333555 26:15 or visit our website www.tij.tv to request today's free offer 26:24 and we'll send it to you totally free of charge and with no 26:27 obligation. So don't delay. Call or text 0436333555 in 26:36 Australia or 0204222042 in New Zealand or visit our website 26:44 www.tij.tv to request today's offer. Write to us at: 27:10 Don't delay. Call or text us now. 27:14 If you've enjoyed today's journey be sure to join us again 27:19 next week when we will share another of life's journey's 27:22 together and experience another new and thought provoking 27:25 perspective on the peace, insight, understanding and hope 27:30 that only the Bible can give us. The Incredible Journey truly is 27:36 television that changes lives. Until next week, remember the 27:41 ultimate destination of life's journey. Now I saw a new heaven 27:46 and a new earth. And God will wipe away every tear from their 27:49 eyes. There shall be no more death nor sorrow nor crying. 27:53 There shall be no more pain for the former things have passed 27:58 away. 28:01 ♪ ♪ |
Revised 2021-02-08