Swedish rescue expedition in Antarctica, 1902

In the Melting History blog, I have translated some snippets of the materials of the Swedish Rescue Expedition that is known to be the first expedition to land at Snow Hill after Nordenskjöld and his team were evacuated by Captain Irizar and the Argentine Navy. Since there was no glorious rescue, the expedition is little known, yet the descriptions and the photo material held at Sjöhistoriska Museet is fascinating.

The Swedish Rescue Expedition Landing Anniversary - MELTING HISTORY

It is not only the Argentines who sent a rescue expedition - Sweden, too, sent out their boat that was supposed to collaborate with corvette Uruguay and carry out rescue works together. But Captain Irizar maintained that by October 25th, 1903, he had still not received a confirmation about the whereabouts of the Swedish rescue mission and as he was concerned for the time passing, he had decided to venture to South on their own, eventually rescuing the entire Nordenskjöld’s expedition. The Swedish were clearly not happy about not having anyone to rescue and were not treated particularly kindly after their return in Sweden. It was considered shameful that men from the warmer latitudes, who “had not seen ice anywhere other than in their cognac or whiskey glasses”, would have got there first.

Winter at Esperanza Base

Winter has come to Esperanza Base.

Here I share some photos sent my dear friends overwintering there and an excerpt from Duse’s eloquent memoirs.

Winter at Hope Bay - MELTING HISTORY

We can only imagine what it meant to spend a winter in this hut. Samuel Duse writes: The worst was during the periods of rough weather when we were forced to stay inside the artificial polar darkness of the stone hut, not disturbed by a single ray of light - perhaps only when a heavier storm tore open the ice plaster in the roof.