VINTAGE PRINTS 1898
Mount William (1,600m - 6,200 ft)
Mount William (1,600m - 6,200 ft)
Antarctica
In Le Belgica ancré devant le Mont William 1898,
From Travaux hydrographiques et Instructions Nautiques by Georges Lecointe
The mountain
Mount William (1,600m - 6,200 ft) is a prominent snowy mountain in Antarctica, located 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) north-northeast of Cape Lancaster which is the south extremity of Anvers Island, in the Palmer Archipelago. This is the tallest mountain visible from Biscoe Bay, near the south end of the island's Osterrieth Range which also includes Mount Français (the tallest mountain on the island).
This mountain was discovered on February 21, 1832, by John Biscoe who incorrectly believed it to be part of the mainland of Antarctic Peninsula, instead of on an island. He named it for William IV, then King of the United Kingdom. Mountain climbers from the U.K. were the first to ascend this peak, in 1956. In 2003, after climbing this mountain, two Americans skied down.
About the Belgica expedition
The Belgian Antarctic Expedition led by Adrien de Gerlache de Gomery from 1897 to 1899 aboard the Belgica, is the first expedition to winter in the Antarctic region and, most of all, the very expedition to Antartica. Among its members are Frederick Cook and Roald Amundsen, explorers who will claim, respectively, the conquest of the North Pole and the conquest of the South Pole and the Northwest Passage.
First expedition to Antarctica with purely scientific objectives, she left Antwerp on August 16, 1897 and headed for the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. Even before the arrival to the South, several members of the crew abandon the ship or are caught in various quarrels and incidents in Ostend, Montevideo and Punta Arenas, leaving doubts about the choice and quality of the crew members compared to the scientific staff who are irreproachable. The different nationalities and languages associated with discipline problems undermine the morale of the crew.
After a long journey, the crew docked in Tierra del Fuego or they will have the last contacts with men before their departure to the great south.
Their arrival on the Antarctic continent is the occasion of the first scientific discoveries on these lands. A team of international scientists including a biologist, a glaciologist, a geographer, a naturalist and a doctor will work for several weeks to collect as much information as possible about these virgin lands.
Despite the season, it is decided to continue the exploration further south ..., the ship will be trapped by ice a few weeks later near the island Peter I, and will drift into the sea Bellingshausen during the following thirteen months. The expedition thus became the first to officially winter in the Antarctic region. Seal hunters had forcibly wintered on King George Island in the South Shetland Islands in 1821.
The members of the expedition lived in very harsh weather conditions, but this will not prevent them from collecting a significant amount of scientific data and commenting on the annual Antarctic cycle1. The crew is severely affected by scurvy, but Dr. Cook, in advising the seal and penguin meat, will restore the members of the expedition. On July 5, 1898, Émile Danco died of a heart attack.
After months of drifting, the ship managed to free itself from the ice and make its way to Belgium where explorers were welcomed as heroes.
This first scientific expedition will launch the great nations to discover the continent. The Belgica Expedition will go down in history as the pioneering expedition to scientific research in Antarctica. Indeed, for the first time, an expedition had explored the Antarctic with a goal primarily scientific, bringing back to his return seasoned men including two of them, Roald Amundsen and Frederick Cook, had discovered their polar vocation, the one that was going to lead them to become great of the conquest of the poles, that of the South for Amundsen, that of the north for Cook.
About the Belgica expedition
The Belgian Antarctic Expedition led by Adrien de Gerlache de Gomery from 1897 to 1899 aboard the Belgica, is the first expedition to winter in the Antarctic region and, most of all, the very expedition to Antartica. Among its members are Frederick Cook and Roald Amundsen, explorers who will claim, respectively, the conquest of the North Pole and the conquest of the South Pole and the Northwest Passage.
First expedition to Antarctica with purely scientific objectives, she left Antwerp on August 16, 1897 and headed for the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. Even before the arrival to the South, several members of the crew abandon the ship or are caught in various quarrels and incidents in Ostend, Montevideo and Punta Arenas, leaving doubts about the choice and quality of the crew members compared to the scientific staff who are irreproachable. The different nationalities and languages associated with discipline problems undermine the morale of the crew.
After a long journey, the crew docked in Tierra del Fuego or they will have the last contacts with men before their departure to the great south.
Their arrival on the Antarctic continent is the occasion of the first scientific discoveries on these lands. A team of international scientists including a biologist, a glaciologist, a geographer, a naturalist and a doctor will work for several weeks to collect as much information as possible about these virgin lands.
Despite the season, it is decided to continue the exploration further south ..., the ship will be trapped by ice a few weeks later near the island Peter I, and will drift into the sea Bellingshausen during the following thirteen months. The expedition thus became the first to officially winter in the Antarctic region. Seal hunters had forcibly wintered on King George Island in the South Shetland Islands in 1821.
The members of the expedition lived in very harsh weather conditions, but this will not prevent them from collecting a significant amount of scientific data and commenting on the annual Antarctic cycle1. The crew is severely affected by scurvy, but Dr. Cook, in advising the seal and penguin meat, will restore the members of the expedition. On July 5, 1898, Émile Danco died of a heart attack.
After months of drifting, the ship managed to free itself from the ice and make its way to Belgium where explorers were welcomed as heroes.
This first scientific expedition will launch the great nations to discover the continent. The Belgica Expedition will go down in history as the pioneering expedition to scientific research in Antarctica. Indeed, for the first time, an expedition had explored the Antarctic with a goal primarily scientific, bringing back to his return seasoned men including two of them, Roald Amundsen and Frederick Cook, had discovered their polar vocation, the one that was going to lead them to become great of the conquest of the poles, that of the South for Amundsen, that of the north for Cook.