Olav Olavson Bjaaland - Biographical notes

Amundsen/Fram - first successful expedition to reach the South Pole - 1910-11 Fram

One of the first party of men 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.

Bjaaland had no great desire in particular to journey to the pole, he simply wanted adventure and to see the world. He was also a skilled carpenter.

Landmarks named after Olav Bjaaland

Feature Name: Mount Bjaaland
Type: summit
Elevation: 2675
Latitude: 86°33´S
Longitude: 164°14´W
Description: A rock peak (2,675 m), the south-eastern most summit of the massif at the head of Amundsen Glacier, in the Queen Maud Mountains. In November 1911, a number of mountain peaks in this general vicinity were observed and rudely positioned by the South Pole Party under Roald Amundsen. Amundsen named one of them for Olaf Bjaaland, a member of the party. The peak described was mapped by USGS from surveys and U.S. Navy aerial photography, 1960-64. For the sake of historical continuity and to commemorate the Norwegian exploration in this area, the US-ACAN has selected this feature to be designated Mount Bjaaland. Other peaks in the massif have been named for members of Amundsen's South Pole Party.

Variant Name(s) - Mount Olaf Bjaaland