Kristian Prestrud (22 October 1881 – 11 November 1927) was a Norwegian naval officer and polar explorer who participated in Amundsen's South Pole expedition between 1910 and 1912. Prestrud was first officer of the ''Fram'' and leader of the Norwegian expedition's Eastern Sledge Party to the

Scott Nunataks The Scott Nunataks are a group of conspicuous nunataks lying about 18 km east of the Richter Glacier and forming the northern end of the Alexandra Mountains in King Edward VII Land, Antarctica. History The formation was discovered in 1902 ...

Background

Kristian Prestrud was born in the parish of Grue in Hedmark, Norway and was baptized in

Grue Church Grue Church ( no, Grue kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Grue Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the village of Kirkenær. It is the church for the Grue parish which is part of the Solør, Vinger og Odal ...

during January 1882. His father was a distillery manager in Løten. Krsitian Prestrud left for the sea in 1896. He entered at the Naval Academy at Karljohansvern in

Horten is a town and municipality in Vestfold in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway—located along the Oslofjord. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Horten. The municipality also includes the town of Åsgårdstrand an ...

during 1898. He became second lieutenant in 1902 and first lieutenant in 1905. After leaving the Academy he sailed in the merchant fleet.

Amundsen's South Pole expedition

Roald Amundsen was secretive about his real attentions with regards of the '' Fram'' expeditions, the only persons to know in advance were his brother, and the ship's commander, Lieutenant Thorvald Nilsen. Lieutenant Prestrud and one other of the crew, Hjalmar Fredrik Gjertsen (1885-1958), were trusted with the information on the eve of the ''Fram'''s departure from Norway. The rest of the crew of 18 was only to know upon ''Fram'''s stop-over at

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

. During the winter stay at

Framheim Framheim was the name of explorer Roald Amundsen's base at the Bay of Whales on the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica during his successful quest for the South Pole. It was used between January 1911 and February 1912. Cabin and tents The hut wa ...

in Antarctica Prestrud, assisted by Hjalmar Johansen, made scientific observations. Prestrud was assigned to the original group of eight men that made the unsuccessful attempt to reach the Pole on 8 September 1911. Although they were forced to retreat due to extreme temperatures, they decided to head for the depot at 80°, unload their sledges and race back to Framheim. The disordered return was made in scattered groups, with the last two men arriving more than six hours after the others. Johansen and Prestrud stumbled into Framheim totally exhausted, having found the camp in the dark and fog only by following the barking of the dogs. It is likely that Prestrud would have frozen to death if Johansen had not taken care of him and brought him to safety. The next morning Amundsen was heavily criticised by Johansen, who had experience from his Arctic exploration with

Fridtjof Nansen Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen (; 10 October 186113 May 1930) was a Norwegian polymath and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He gained prominence at various points in his life as an explorer, scientist, diplomat, and humanitarian. He led the team t ...

. Such opposition was unheard-of and Amundsen then reorganized the Pole party by reducing its number. Consequently, Johansen, together with Prestrud and Stubberud was separated from the Pole team and tasked with the exploration of King Edward VII Land. In order to dishonor Johansen further, the less experienced Prestrud was put in charge of this. A

cairn A cairn is a man-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the gd, càrn (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehis ...

erected by Prestrud's group at

Alexandra Mountains :''See also Queen Alexandra Range'' Alexandra Mountains () is a group of low, separated mountains in the north portion of Edward VII Peninsula, just southwest of Sulzberger Bay in Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica. Discovered in January–February 1 ...

() on 3 December 1911 is considered a historic site of Antarctica.

Awards

For his participation in the expedition, Kristian Prestrud was awarded the South Pole Medal (''Sydpolsmedaljen''), a Royal Norwegian award instituted by King Haakon VII in 1912 to reward participants in Roald Amundsen's South Pole expedition. In 1926, Prestrud was appointed assistant port of Kristiansand, but died the following year in 1927 at Kristiansand, Norway .

Sources

Roald Amundsen wrote about the expedition in ''Sydpolen'' published in two volumes in 1912-1913. The work was translated into English by A. G. Chater, and published as ''The South Pole: An Account of the Norwegian Antarctic Expedition in the "Fram," 1910-1912''

References

External links

Fram Museum official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prestrud, Kristian 1880s births 1927 suicides People from Grue, Norway Royal Norwegian Navy personnel Explorers of Antarctica Marie Byrd Land explorers and scientists Norwegian polar explorers Norwegian military personnel who committed suicide Suicides by firearm in Norway Amundsen's South Pole expedition