Crew of the Fram 1910

Alphabetically

Amundsen, Roald - expedition leader
Beck, Andreas - seaman and ice pilot
Bjaaland, Olav Olavson
Gjertsen, Lieutenant Fredrick - first mate.
Hansen, Ludvig - Seaman and ice pilot
Hanssen, Helmer
Hassel, Sverre
Johansen, Hjalmar
Kristensen - deck-hand and then 3rd engineer
Kutchin, Alexander

Lindstrøm, Adolf Henrick - cook / carpenter
Nilsen, Lieutenant Thorvald - First-Lieutenant, second in command.
Nödtvedt, Jacob - 2nd engineer
Olsen, Karinius - cook / carpenter
Prestrude, Lieutenant Kristian - second officer.
Rønne, Martin - sail maker
Stubberud, Jorgen - carpenter
Sundbeck, Knut - Engineer
Wisting, Oskar

Crew of the Fram - Amundsen centre with bowler hat

Roald Amundsen had originally planned his expedition on the Fram to be one to the North Pole. Peary and Cook however independently claimed to have reached that goal in 1909 when Amundsen's plans were already well advanced.

When the Fram set off from Christiana (now Oslo) in Norway in August 1910 with provisions for 2 years and nearly a hundred Greenland sled dogs, most of the crew and all of the people in Norway who had helped and funded Amundsen thought that the North Pole was still the goal. It was only a month after setting sail, when the ship had reached Madeira, that Amundsen told them his true intentions.

Unlike nearly all of the other expeditions to Antarctica around this time, Amundsen's had but one single goal, to be the first to reach the South Pole. No scientific studies were planned and no investigatory detours of the ship were on the agenda. It was an incredibly bold and risky plan (Amundsen took a different route to that planned by Scott, one that he was not certain would be passable, in the end it turned out to be the better route) but one that was meticulously planned and carried out with precision and of course ultimate success.

In more detail

bullet denotes other Arctic or Antarctic expeditionary experience, prior to, or following this expedition

Roald Amundsen (1872-1928) - expedition leader, member of the south pole party on the first successful expedition to reach the South Pole

first mate - De Gerlache/Belgica 1897-99
expedition leader Gjøa / northwest passage 1903-06

Lieutenant Thorvald Nilsen - First-Lieutenant, second in command.

Lieutenant Fredrick Gjertsen - first mate.

A Norwegian Naval officer

Lieutenant Kristian Prestrude - second officer.

A Norwegian Naval officer and expedition navigator.

Hjalmar Johansen -

A legendary figure in Norway at the time of the expedition after being Nansen's partner in 1895, sledging from the Fram to the farthest north record at that time. When not on expeditions Johansen was prone to alcoholism. Amundsen took Johansen at Nansen's request though he had personal reservations.

stoker - Nansen/Fram North Pole attempt 1893-96
sailor - De Gerlache/Belgica 1897-99

Adolf Henrick Lindstrøm - cook / carpenter

cook - Otto Sverdrup/Fram northwest Greenland, Arctic Ocean expedition 1898-1902
cook and handyman - Amundsen/Gjøa northwest passage expedition 1903-06

Olav Olavson Bjaaland - member of the south pole party on the first successful expedition to reach the South Pole

Olav Bjaaland, was probably the world's greatest living skier at the time. He came from the Telemark region of Norway where skiing was developed from a method of transportation into a sport.

Helmer Hanssen - member of the south pole party on the first successful expedition to reach the South Pole

At the time one the world's most talented (non Eskimo) dog drivers. Hanssen had his Mate's certificate and could navigate.

Amundsen/Gjoa northwest passage expedition 1903-06

Sverre Hassel - member of the south pole party on the first successful expedition to reach the South Pole

Master dog driver. Navigator.

Otto Sverdrup/Fram northwest Greenland, Arctic Ocean expedition 1898-1902

Oskar Wisting - member of the south pole party on the first successful expedition to reach the South Pole

Naval gunner, with whaling experience in the arctic. He also had his mate's certificate.

Ludvig Hansen - Seaman and ice pilot

Experienced in the Arctic. A skilled tin smith who made paraffin tanks for use on sledging journeys. Paraffin was used as fuel in the recently developed Primus stoves used on the expedition. It has a tendency to evaporate in dry climates (known as creep), screw capped tanks will not seal well enough to prevent this. One of Hansen's solder sealed tanks was found 50 years later with the contents still intact.

Martin Rønne -

A skilled sail maker who did a lot of work on the tents for the expedition.

Jorgen Stubberud - carpenter

A master carpenter who had renovated Amundsen's house. For the expedition he was commissioned to build a prefabricated observation hut for the pack ice.

Andreas Beck - seaman and ice pilot

Master Arctic ice pilot from the Tromsø area of northern Norway, with 20 years experience sailing in ice strewn waters.

Knut Sundbeck - Engineer

A Swede and an employee of Diesels Moterer Co. of Stockholm Sweden, who helped design Fram's new engine.

Jacob Nödtvedt - 2nd engineer

Nödtvedt set up a black smith's shop on the deck of the Fram, and made parts for dog harnesses, ski bindings, etc.

Otto Sverdrup/Fram northwest Greenland, Arctic Ocean expedition 1898-1902

Alexander Kutchin -

Russian student of oceanography working under professor Bjørn Helland-Hansen.

Karinius Olsen - cook / carpenter

Youngest member of the expedition at only 20.

H. Kristensen - deck-hand and then 3rd engineer

Kristensen was trained for his position as third engineer during the voyage as Amundsen felt that the continuous watches by the first and second engineers while the motor was running was "... rather severe duty ..." and so another engineer was required.

Expedition members in winter clothing The Norwegians wore furs rather than the tweeds and woollens that British Expeditions favoured at the time
Jorgen Stubberud	Oskar Wisting	Sverre Hassel	Roald Amundsen

Roald Amundsen Books and Film
Scott and Amundsen: Last Place on Earth by Roland Huntford UK	Roald Amundsenc by Tor Bomann-Larsen UK	The South Pole: An Account of the Norwegian Antarctic Expedition in the Fram, 1910-1912 UK	Last Place on Earth (1994) DVD VHS DVD
Scott, Shackleton and Amundsen: Ambition and Tragedy in the Antarctic UK	The Amundsen Photographs discovered in 1986, pictures from three of Amundsen's voyages UK	Let Heroes Speak: Antarctic Explorers, 1772-1922 UK	Roald Amundsen - The Quest for the South Pole. Ages 9-12 UK

Roald Amundsen Prints
Roald Amundsen Norwegian Polar Explorer Giclee Print	Roald Amundsen on being the First to Reach the South Pole Photographic Print	Roald Amundsen on being the First to Reach the South Pole Photographic Print	Amundsen and Others in Their Winter Quarters in Antarctica Photographic Print
Amundsen and His Team at Hobart Photographic Print	Roald Amundsen in the Cabin of His Ship Gjoa Photographic Print	Roald Amundsen Norwegian Polar Explorer Giclee Print	Roald Amundsen the First to Reach the South Pole Giclee Print
The Fram - Ship of Roald Amundsen, First to Reach the South Pole Photographic Print	Roald Amundsen, The First to Reach the South Pole Photographic Print	Roald Amundsen the First to Reach the South Pole Giclee Print

Biographical information - This is a particularly difficult area to research and I am concentrating on the Antarctic (and Arctic) experiences of the men involved. Any further information or pictures visitors may have is gratefully received. Likewise links to other websites, details of family trees or any other form of information of the people mentioned here and involved in early Antarctic exploration, or of any corrections to the details published. Please email - Paul, webmaster.

Roald Amundsen, Fram
Norwegian South Pole Expedition 1910 - 1911

Copyright 2001 Paul Ward | copyright issues | privacy policy | | Last modified: May 05, 2008

Roald Amundsen, Fram Norwegian South Pole Expedition 1910 - 1911

Roald Amundsen, Fram
Norwegian South Pole Expedition 1910 - 1911