AMUNDSEN’S PLANS.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXIII, 30 March 1926, Page 7

AMUNDSEN’S PLANS.

, —O'—— —— ANCHORING AIRSHIP. LONDON, March 13. Captain Amundsen hopes, during his forthcoming Arctic flight, to- stop his airship, drop anchor on the ice, lower men in baskets, and take observations and examine anything interesting. Ho contrasts such a prospect with his last experience in an aeroplane, when the speed rendered observations valueless. Navigation was mere guesswork. The greatest advantage is that the ice loses the terrors which have always been the bane of Polar exploration. Changes are hourly, and there is never a moment’s peaco or safety' owing to the weather. “Luto May, when I hope to start, should be favourable,” said Amundsen. “Thb Arctic air during the six summer months is mostly' troubled by' zephyrs. Fogs are usually light and low-lying, not compelling an ascent- to excessively' cold. altitudes. ‘‘.if wo meet trouble, we shall resort to the sleds, and aim for Greenland or Alaska. Six months’ provisions should suffice for any emergency. “The rations,” lie say, “will be what I personally' have found most sustaining in the Arctic—pemmican, oatmeal, biscuits, and dried milk.” On Amundsen’s last journey the party was reduced to eight ounces of food daily, and though they became very thin, they' were never hungry. “The expedition’s greatest hopes,” he continued, “are to discover the land we are almost certain exists amidst ice-floes which have hitherto defied human penetration. “Wo hope to be the first to put foot on a territory as isolated as the- moon. If yve succeed, the discovery' wifi be of enormous strategic and commercial importance. providing a short cut across the Arctic.” The expedition's ship Hobby will leave for King’s Bay (Spitzbergen) in a. few days, carrying the Norge’s mooring mast, gas containers, and other stores. Amundsen and Ellsworth wilt join the Norge at King's Bay in April.