January 19, 1958: Journalists had been flown to the American station at the South Pole because the whole world was eagerly waiting to see whether the great adventure would succeed: Vivian Fuchs, 40 years old, the famous English geologist of German descent, awarded the Gold Medal by the National Geographic Society, an army major, and a distinguished explorer of Africa, had been traveling for weeks across Antarctica with 12 men, tractors, tracked vehicles, sled dogs, and aircraft support. It looked very much as though he would actually succeed in becoming the first person to cross the White Continent overland. Fuchs was expected to arrive at the South Pole at any moment.
But the journalists were excited about something else entirely: Would there be a fierce dispute between Vivian Fuchs and Sir Edmund Hillary?
The situation was as follows: The Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition, led by Vivian Fuchs, planned for him to start from the coast of the Weddell Sea, advance to the South Pole, and then continue to the opposite coast at the Ross Sea. At the destination point on the Ross Sea coast, Sir Edmund Hillary, yes, the man who had stood on the summit of Mount Everest five years earlier, was already stationed with his team. Using tractors and tracked vehicles as well, Hillary’s team was moving toward Fuchs. Their task was to establish food and supply depots so that Fuchs’ team could safely complete the final few hundred kilometers.
Hillary carried out his job without difficulty. And since he was already so close to the South Pole, he spontaneously decided, against the expedition plan, to proceed to the Pole himself and welcome Fuchs there. The problem: by doing so, Edmund Hillary became only the third expedition leader ever to reach the South Pole on foot, 47 years after the famous race between Roald Amundsen and Robert Falcon Scott. This honor was actually meant for Vivian Fuchs. Understandably, Fuchs had every reason to be annoyed with Hillary.
However, the meeting turned out to be peaceful: “Hello Bunny,” journalists recorded Hillary as saying (Bunny was Fuchs’ nickname from his student days). “Damn glad to see you, Ed,” Fuchs replied calmly.
The rest was all cordial: Fuchs even praised Hillary’s initiative and had no trouble with being “only” the fourth expedition leader to reach the South Pole on foot. Soon after, Fuchs set off again, he still had to reach the Ross Sea. His convoy followed exactly the route along which Hillary had previously established the supply depots. Hillary himself chose to return by airplane.
On March 2, 1958, Vivian Fuchs and his men reached Scott Base on the Ross Sea, thus becoming the first people to cross Antarctica overland. 3,473 kilometers in 99 days.
Two years of meticulous preparation, two winters spent under the harshest weather conditions, and tons of lost equipment had paid off. While still at the base, Queen Elizabeth II, under whose patronage the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition had been carried out, informed him that she intended to knight him for this achievement.
In the same year, Fuchs was appointed Director of the British Antarctic Survey. Adjusted to today’s standards, the expedition cost around 11 million euros. It was a collaborative effort between the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa, financed entirely through donations. It was therefore reassuring that Fuchs also brought back numerous geological research findings.
Among other things, every 30 to 50 kilometers he detonated explosives in the ice and used seismic measurements to determine the thickness of the ice and the nature of the ground beneath it.
From today’s perspective, it may seem straightforward to cross Antarctica with tractors, tracked vehicles, aircraft support, and a second team setting up supply depots. In fact, Fuchs’ expedition could be described as a massive logistical operation. However, this does not diminish the achievement, especially considering that the second overland crossing of Antarctica was not accomplished until 1981, 23 years after Vivian Fuchs, following several unsuccessful attempts.
Author: Greta Paulsdottir