Things went wrong for Scott from the beginning. The motorized sledges broke down and had to be abandoned. Blizzards then struck and lasted several weeks into December. Scott’s ponies were a poor choice for Antarctic travel as well. Their hooves sank deep into the snow, and their perspiration froze on their bodies, forming sheets of ice. (Dogs do not perspire; they pant.)

On December 9, the men shot the last of the surviving weak and frozen ponies. Two days later Scott sent his remaining dogs back to base camp along with several members of the expedition. Over the next month, most of the men returned to the camp. Scott’s plan from here on was for the five men remaining to carry all the supplies the rest of the way to the Pole and back.