Scott takes Huskies instead of ponies.
Amundsen catches a cold and develops pneumonia
Would this butterfly away Captain Oats' famous noble sacrifice?
Not likely. He was a skilled and weathered polar explorer by the time of the 1911 expedition. He already had cca 25 years of polar exploration experience and a few notable firsts (NW Passage, etc.) behind his belt when he set off for the South Pole.
You can't prevent "the cold" by experience - it just happens - or else it would be extinct by now...
Here's a variation on the question (posted elsewhere but worth reviving):
Amundsen still reaches the Pole first, and his flag is found by Scott a month later, as in OTL. BUT, on the return journey Admiral Scott finds the remains of the Norwegian party, dead due to natural causes (a sudden crevasse, avalanche, etc), including enough recoverable supplies to help Scott and his men return to base. The question here is what Scott would admit to and how much.
This would also hinge on:
1. Just how badly Scott wanted to be first to the Pole.
How far would he go to maintain that claim? Would he respect his fellow explorer or actually claim first rights? Scott and his fellow Brits would know just how severe the Antarctic is, and he also knew that Amundsen would have been the only other man who'd faced this. Plus Scott realized how lucky he was to survive at all as opposed to his fellow explorer (in TTL).
2. The loyalty of Scott's men, would they ever say otherwise against a commander who sought glory but often ignored common sense. Also how much national pride would factor, England vs Norway.
3. What happened at the Pole itself. Would Scott tear down the Norwegian flag in frustration and raise the Union Jack? Sooner or later others would also reach the South Pole and discover the evidence.
When you are in the midst of the antarctic wastes, there are very few people to sneeze on you...
Bruce
Now that's just getting burlesque.Here's a variation: Let's give Admiral Scott a break, say the weather, or he listens to more expert advice, his equipment does not malfunction, and get him started a month earlier, about the same time as Amundsen.
The timing would be so that both men are approaching the Pole at about the same time. Possibly they would spot each other closing in.
What then? A race to the finish? A double conquest, with mutual photos?
Either "Mr. Amundsen, I presume?" or "Get the fuck out of my way!"What would they say to one another?
Where's the film about Vasco da Gama, Zheng He or even Magellan? Just like Amundsen, they only got smaller productions outside the scope of the dominant Anglo-Saxonic film industry...No one made a film about Amundsen.
Where's the film about Vasco da Gama, Zheng He or even Magellan? Just like Amundsen, they only got smaller productions outside the scope of the dominant Anglo-Saxonic film industry...