I was greatly astonished to hear, on my return from the South, that some people had actually believed we had set our course from the Bay of Whales for Beardmore Glacier —­ Shackleton’s route —­ and followed it to the south.  Let me hasten to assure them that this idea never for a single instant crossed my mind when I made the plan.  Scott had announced that he was going to take Shackleton’s route, and that decided the matter.  During our long stay at Framheim not one of us ever hinted at the possibility of such a course.  Without discussion Scott’s route was declared out of bounds.

No; due south was our way, and the country would have to be difficult indeed to stop our getting on to the plateau.  Our plan was to go south, and not to leave the meridian unless we were forced to do so by insuperable difficulties.  I foresaw, of course, that there would be some who would attack me and accuse me of “shabby rivalry,” etc., and they would perhaps have had some shadow of justification if we had really thought of taking Captain Scott’s route.  But it never occurred to us for a moment.  Our starting-point lay 350 geographical miles from Scott’s winter quarters in McMurdo Sound, so there could be no question of encroaching upon his sphere of action.  Moreover, Professor Nansen, in his direct and convincing way, has put an end once for all to this twaddle, so that I need not dwell upon it any longer.

I worked out the plan, as here given, at my home on Bundefjord, near Christiania, in September, 1909, and as it was laid, so was it carried out to the last detail.  That my estimate of the time it would take was not so very far out is proved by the final sentence of the plan:  “Thus we shall be back from the Polar journey on January 25.”  It was on January 25, 1912, that we came into Framheim after our successful journey to the Pole.

This was not the only time our calculations proved correct; Captain Nilsen showed himself to be a veritable magician in this way.  While I contented myself with reckoning dates, he did not hesitate to go into hours.  He calculated that we should reach the Barrier on January 15, 1911; this is a distance of 16,000 geographical miles from Norway.  We were at the Barrier on January 14, one day before the time.  There was not much wrong with that estimate.

In accordance with the Storthing’s resolution of February 9, 1909, the Fram was lent for the use of the expedition, and a sum of 75,000 kroner (4,132 pounds sterling) was voted for repairs and necessary alterations.

The provisions were chosen with the greatest care, and packed with every precaution.  All groceries were soldered in tin boxes, and then enclosed in strong wooden cases.  The packing of tinned provisions is of enormous importance to a Polar expedition; it is impossible to give too much attention to this part of the supplies.  Any carelessness, any perfunctory packing on the part of the factory, will as a rule lead to scurvy.  It is an interesting fact that on the four Norwegian Polar expeditions —­ the three voyages of the Fram and the Gjoa’s voyage —­ not a single case of scurvy occurred.  This is good evidence of the care with which these expeditions were provisioned.