[2][5] In the summer of 1910, Beck boarded the polar schooner Fram as an ice captain for Roald Amundsen's planned North Pole expedition.

Few people knew that Amundsen had already planned a "detour" to the South Pole, and that Beck was actually brought in to guide the "Fram" through the southern polar ice.

Beck was recommended by Amundsen's friend and contact man in Tromso, the pharmacist and Morgenbladet correspondent Fritz Gottlieb Zapffe.

From Oslo, the Fram sailed to Madeira, where Beck and the rest of the crew were informed about the change of plans and were given the opportunity to withdraw from the expedition.

Eighteen Years with Roald Amundsen): "Beck was a giant of a figure and, as usual for large, strong people, he had an outstanding good humor.

In January 1912, Beck and the Fram returned to the Bay of Whales and retrieved the expedition, which had planted the Norwegian flag at the South Pole on December 14, 1911.

They then traveled to Hobart, Tasmania and on to Buenos Aires, Argentina, where the Fram was laid up to await the expeditions continuation to the North Pole.

In Buenos Aires, Norway's special envoy and plenipotentiary minister to Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay, Peter "Don Pedro" Christophersen, hosted a celebration and the expedition was awarded a medallion from the Norwegian La Plata Society.