The Scott Antarctic Expedition

January 1912. Dying inch by inch, Captain Robert Falcon Scott and his team crawl back from the South Pole towards safety through the most hostile conditions on earth. Their attempt to be the first ever people to reach the South Pole was turning to tragedy. After being beaten to the Pole by Roald Amundsen’s team Antarctica killed them one by one until, just eleven miles from the sanctuary of their largest depot of food, the last of Scott’s team perished.

In the 97 years since, no one has ever walked from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole, and back. No one has even come close. It is the four-minute mile of the polar world, a journey that many believe to be impossible.

Helmer Hanssen, Amundsen’s principal dog driver, remarked:

"It is no disparagement of Amundsen and the rest of us when I say that Scott’s achievement far exceeded ours... Just imagine what it meant for Scott and the others to drag their sleds themselves, with all their equipment and provisions, to the Pole and back again. We started with 52 dogs and came back with 11. What shall we say of Scott and his comrades, who were their own dogs? Anyone with any experience will take off his hat to Scott’s achievement. I do not believe men ever have shown such endurance at any time, nor do I believe there ever will be men to equal it."

In the last 50 years, twelve people have stood on the moon and more than two thousand people have climbed Everest. Yet Hanssen’s words seem increasingly prophetic: Scott’s dream remains unrealised. No one has ever walked from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole and back again.

More information on this pioneering project will follow soon. To discuss opportunities for corporate and media partners, please contact Alistair Watkins at i-nfluence

If you would like to receive an email notification when more information is available, please fill out the following form.

Enter your email address:

Own a Mile

You can sponsor a mile of the Scott Antarctic expedition for a minimum donation of $100*. If you can afford more, we'd love you to donate more (if we sell every mile, we've still only covered 10% of the expedition's budget) but it's strictly one mile per person, or per company, if you'd like your company to be involved.

You can purchase your mile below - once you do, we'll email you to let you know which mile is yours, and your name will be printed on the team's sledges as well as on a flag they'll be planting at the South Pole. Ben and Al be sending daily updates from Antarctica, and when your mile comes up (mile 832, for example, will the team about eight weeks to get to) we'll feature that day's sponsors on the front page of the site.

* We're using US Dollars rather than Sterling as that's what most of our expedition budget is worked out in. If you're not sure what $100 is in your currency, try this currency converter.

• 1-300
• 301-600
• 601-900
• 901-1200
• 1201-1500
• 1501-1800