Scott's Hut

Scott's Hut is a building located on the north shore of Cape Evans on Ross Island in Antarctica. It was erected in 1911 by the British Antarctic Expedition of 1910-1913 (also known as the Terra Nova Expedition) led by Robert Falcon Scott. From here Scott and four companions set out on the ultimately fatal trek to the South Pole. Although abandoned in 1913, the hut and its contents are remarkably well preserved today due to the consistently sub-freezing conditions.

Earlier building on Ross Island - Discovery Hut and the Cape Royds (Shackleton) Hut

In selecting a base of operations for the 1910-1913 Expedition, Scott rejected the notion of re-occupying the hut he had built on Ross Island during the Discovery Expedition of 1901-1904. This first hut, known as the 'Discovery Hut' was located at Hut Point, 20km south of Cape Evans. Scott's ship, the Discovery, had been trapped by sea ice at Hut Point, a problem he hoped to avoid by establishing his new base further north. Discovery Hut was never fully occupied during the Discovery Expedition, as most expeditioners elected to live aboard the ice bound ship. Ten years later when members of the Terra Nova Expedition journeyed south from Scott's Hut at Cape Evans they found Discovery Hut intact (although full of snow and ice), along with supplies left over from 1903. Discovery Hut was cleaned out and used during 1911 and 1912 as a staging and rendezvous point for Terra Nova expeditioners heading south towards the Pole from Scott's Hut at Cape Evans.

Another hut, built by Ernest Shackleton during his 1907-1909 expedition, lay 10km north of Cape Evans, at Cape Royds. Scott could have used this as a base - given that it was unlikely to suffer the sea ice problem that afflicted Hut Point, but he had reached an agreement with Shackleton that neither would use each other's facilities. Such was the delicacy of the relationship between Scott and Shackleton that the only visit to Shackleton's hut made during Scott's 1910-1913 expedition was by a former member of Shackleton's expedition. Shackleton's hut was found intact, with bread still on the tables just as they had been left. Priestly who had walked out the door of the building two years previously described coming back to the place as 'very eerie'. Shackleton (and Scott) might have been disturbed to learn that Priestly retrieved a tin of butter, tins of jam, a plum pudding and gingerbread biscuits from the site, all of which were described as being perfectly fresh.

Construction details: Discovery Hut and Scott's Hut

Both Scott's Hut and Discovery Hut were prefabricated (in England and Australia respectively) before being brought south by ship.

Discovery Hut is essentially square, with verandas on three sides. The pyramidal roof is supported by a central post. Insulation was provided by felt placed between the inner and outer wood plank walls. This was found to be insufficient, and the hut was difficult to keep warm. The Discovery expeditioners largely preferred to live aboard their ship, ice bound just offshore. Seal blubber was used for heating Discovery Hut during subsequent expeditions, resulting in considerable staining of the interior walls and contents.

Scott's Hut is rectangular, 50 feet long and 25 foot wide. Insulation was provided by seaweed sewn into a quilt, placed between double-planked inner and outer walls. The roof was a sandwich of three layers of plank and 2 layers of rubber ply enclosing more quilted seaweed. Lighting was provided by acetylene gas, and heating came from the kitchen and a supplementary stove using coal as fuel. Cherry-Garrard writes that the hut was divided into separate areas for sleeping and working by a bulkhead comprised of boxes of stores. A stable building (for nineteen Siberian ponies) approximately 50 feet by 16 feet was subsequently attached to the north wall of the main building. A utility room, approximately 40 feet by 12 feet was also added later, built around the original small porch at the South West end of the main building. Considerable effort was made to insulate the building, and to extract the maximum amount of heat from the flues from the stove and the heater, based on lessons learnt from the Discovery expedition. Terra Nova expeditioners described the hut as being warm to the point of being uncomfortable. During the winter of 1911 25 men lived in the hut.

The Terra Nova expeditioners laid a telephone line between Scott's Hut at Cape Evans and Discovery Hut at Hut Point.

Preservation and decay at Discovery Hut and Scott's Hut

Discovery Hut, built in 1901 was reused by Shackleton's 1908 expedition, Scott's 1910-1914 expedition and again by Shackleton in 1917. After that it remained untouched until 1956 when US expeditioners dug it out of the snow and ice. It was found to be in a remarkable state of preservation, and included many artifacts from both the earlier expeditions. While some artifacts were taken as souvenirs at the time (and since), this hut remained largely as it was in 1917.

New Zealand and the UK have undertaken responsibility at various times since the 1970s to restore (largely removing snow and ice) both Scott's hut and Discovery Hut [http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/earth/antarctica/about/index.html] [http://www.heritage-antarctica.org/index.cfm/default/] .

While the preservation of food in the freezing temperatures and dry climate has been noted, bacterial decay still occurs. Visitors describe the seal meat preserved at the Discovery Hut as smelling 'quite rancid', and there are concerns that the fabric of these huts are being affected by fungal decay [http://forestpathology.coafes.umn.edu/addantarctica.htm] . Both Scott's Hut and Shackleton's Hut have been included on the World Monuments Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites.

Visiting Discovery Hut and Scott's Hut today

Visitors to Antarctica, arriving at either the US Base at McMurdo or New Zealand's Scott Base are likely to encounter Discovery Hut first, as all three are located on Hut Point. Discovery Hut is just 300m from McMurdo Base.

Some confusion arises because Discovery Hut can correctly be referred to as 'Scott's' Hut, in that his expedition built it, and it was his base 'ashore' during the 1901-1904 expedition. But the title 'Scott's Hut' correctly belongs to the building erected in 1911 at Cape Evans.

A cross was erected on the hill behind Discovery Hut in memory of George Vince who died in an accident nearby in 1902. His body was never found. Again some confusion arises from another cross erected on a hill behind Scott's Hut at Cape Evans, however, this is not connected to Captain Scott, having been erected in memory of the three members of Shackleton's Ross Sea Party, who died nearby. The cross erected in memory of Captain Scott and his polar companions is to be found atop Observation Hill.

ee also

* List of Antarctica expeditions
*Winter Quarters Bay

External links

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/1695897.stm Scott's hut needs repair] "from the BBC"
* [http://www.savethehuts.com/ Discussion on issues surrounding the future of Scott's huts]
* [http://tiger.gsfc.nasa.gov/tiger03_11_20.html Photographs of Scott's Hut at Cape Evans today]
* [http://climate.envsci.rutgers.edu/Antarctica/DiscoveryHut9.10.04.jpgPhotograph of the Discovery Hut with McMurdo Base in the background]
* [http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/earth/antarctica/history/index.html Photograph of Cape Royds (Shackleton's) Hut]
* [http://www.polarheritage.com/index.cfm/anthutlist Index of Huts, Ruins and Historic Sites in Antarctica]
* [http://wmf.org/watch2008/watch.php?id=S4960 The page featuring Scott's Hut in the World Monuments Fund's 2008 Watch List of the 100 Most Endangered Sites]