[1] The Discovery Expedition had made a significant contribution to Antarctic scientific and geographical knowledge, but in terms of penetration southward had reached only 82° 17' and had not traversed the Great Ice Barrier.

Starting from a base close to Scott's Discovery anchorage in McMurdo Sound, Shackleton had crossed the Great Ice Barrier, discovered the Beardmore Glacier route to the Polar Plateau, and had struck out for the Pole.

[14] Ex-Royal Navy officer Victor Campbell, known as "The Wicked Mate", was one of the few who had skills in skiing, and was chosen to lead the party that would explore King Edward VII Land.

[15][16] Two non-Royal Navy officers were appointed: Henry Robertson Bowers ("Birdie"), who was a lieutenant in the Royal Indian Marine,[14] and Lawrence Oates ("Titus"), an Army captain from the 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons.

[20] Wilson's scientific team—which Scott's biographer David Crane considered "as impressive a group of scientists as had ever been on a polar expedition"[14]—included some who would enjoy later careers of distinction: meteorologist George Simpson; Canadian physicist Charles Wright; and geologists Frank Debenham and Raymond Priestley.

[37] The fund-raising task was largely carried out by Scott, and was a considerable drain on his time and energy, continuing in South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand after Terra Nova had sailed from British waters.

He was thus able to impose naval discipline on the expedition, and as a registered yacht of the Squadron, Terra Nova became exempt from Board of Trade regulations which might otherwise have deemed her unfit to sail.

"[41] He hoped to continue investigations, begun during the Discovery Expedition, of the emperor penguin colony at Cape Crozier[42] and to fulfil a programme of geological, magnetic and meteorology studies on an "unprecedented" scale.

Against the advice of Oates, who wanted to go forward, killing the ponies for meat as they collapsed, Scott decided to lay One Ton Depot at 79°29′S, more than 30 miles (48 km) short of its intended location.

[70] The routine included regular lectures on a wide range of subjects: Ponting on Japan, Wilson on sketching, Oates on horse management and geologist Debenham on volcanoes.

[76] The group, with meagre rations which they had to supplement by fish and seal meat, were forced to spend the winter months of 1912 in a snow cave which they excavated on Inexpressible Island.

Despite their physical weakness, the whole party managed to reach Cape Evans on 7 November, after a perilous journey which included a crossing of the difficult Drygalski Ice Tongue.

[83] This was a continuation of the work carried out in the earlier journey, this time concentrating on Granite Harbour region approximately 50 miles (80 km) north of Butter Point.

The journey's scientific purpose was to secure emperor penguin eggs from the rookery near Cape Crozier at an early embryo stage, so that "particular points in the development of the bird could be worked out".

In a brief spell of good weather, Scott ordered a half-day's rest, allowing Wilson to "geologise"; 30 pounds (14 kg) of fossil-bearing samples were added to the sledges.

The objective of these orders was to hasten the party back to Cape Evans before Terra Nova left so that news of the polar conquest could be carried immediately to New Zealand.

[130] When Atkinson arrived back at Cape Evans from the Beardmore Glacier at the end of January, he was the senior officer present and thus in command of the base camp, a role to which he was not accustomed.

[131] Terra Nova arrived from her winter mooring in New Zealand on 9 February, and instead of setting off for Scott,[132] Atkinson used the shore party for the arduous task of unloading the ship—a mistake, Cherry-Garrard thought, since these men might be required to sledge again.

[133] Belatedly, on 13 February, Atkinson set out with Dimitri Gerov and the dog teams for the scheduled meeting with Scott on the Barrier, reaching Hut Point 13 miles (21 km) south before being delayed by bad weather.

On 18 February, Crean walked on alone to reach Hut Point (covering 35 miles (56 km) of difficult terrain in only 18 hours), where he found Atkinson and Dimitri with their dogs, pausing in their journey to meet Scott.

[141] Cherry-Garrard left Hut Point with Dimitri and two dog teams on 26 February, arriving at One Ton Depot on 4 March and depositing the extra rations.

Atkinson, now in charge at Cape Evans as the senior naval officer present,[h] decided to make another attempt to reach the polar party when the weather permitted, and on 26 March set out with Keohane, man-hauling a sledge containing 18 days' provisions.

In very low temperatures (−40 °F (−40 °C)) they had reached Corner Camp by 30 March, when, in Atkinson's view, the weather, the cold and the time of year made further progress south impossible.

After diaries, personal effects and records had been collected, the tent was collapsed over the bodies and a cairn of snow erected, topped by a cross fashioned from Gran's skis.

Before the final departure a large wooden cross was erected on the slopes of Observation Hill, overlooking Hut Point, inscribed with the five names of the dead and a quotation from Tennyson's Ulysses: "To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield".

[152] For many years the image of Scott as a tragic hero, beyond reproach, remained almost unchallenged, for although there were rifts among some who were close to the expedition, including relatives of those who died, this disharmony was not public.

Huntford was critical of Scott's supposedly authoritarian leadership style and of his poor judgment of men, and blamed him for a series of organisational failures that led to the death of everyone in the polar party.

Presumably with regard to the failed rendezvous with the dog teams requested for 1 March 1912, Scott furthermore wrote, "No-one is to blame and I hope no attempt will be made to suggest that we have lacked support".

[98] Cherry-Garrard, whom Atkinson placed in charge of the dog teams which started late, failed to meet Scott and turned for home, observes that "the whole business simply bristles with 'ifs'"; an accumulation of decisions and circumstances that might have fallen differently ultimately led to catastrophe.

[162] The meteorological data collected was the longest unbroken weather record in the early twentieth century, providing baselines for current assessments of climate change.