Amundsen's Gjoa expedition. Members of crew and others on deck of the ship Gjoa, commanded by Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen (1872-1928, in foreground at left). On this expedition, between 1903 and 1906, Amundsen and a crew of six became the first to sail through the icy Northwest Passage between Canada and the Arctic. The crew spent three winters in the Arctic during this expedition. Beaten to the North Pole by Robert Peary in 1910, Amundsen's most famous achievement came when he reached the South Pole ahead of Captain Scott's ill-fated team in 1911. Photographed at Nome, in western Alaska, on 1 September 1906.