Polar History and Polar Mysteries

January 20, 2012

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It was 100 years ago today that British explorer, Capt. Robert Falcon Scott, reached the South Pole in Antarctica along with four other brave men.

A mixture of heroism and tragedy makes the story of Scott and his ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition in 1911-12 so compelling, even a century later.

It was in the mid-1980’s, as a teen, that I began reading stories about famous explorers, particularly in the polar regions. The one book that captivated me the most was Reginald Pound’s 1966 biography of Scott titled Scott of the Antarctic. I still have this one on my shelf.

Pound had had access to Scott’s journals and when he wrote the chapter about the heartbreaking realization Scott and his men had upon arriving at the Pole, only to find out the Norwegians, led by Roald Amundsen, had arrived first – 33 days earlier.

Wrote Pound in the chapter “Heartbreak at the Pole”: “At the head of his journal page for Wednesday 17 January 1912, he penciled THE POLE in shaky, inch-high capital letters, and recorded that ‘none of us slept much after the shock of our discovery.’ His revelation of dismay is important in the light of later claims that he was unmoved by his eclipse. It seems likely that his personal disappointment was more profound than he or anyone else realized. In crushing out zest and hope, it may have inflicted injury at deeper levels of his being. ‘Well, we have turned our backs on the goal of our ambition with sore feelings, and must face 800 miles of solid dragging – and goodbye to most of the daydreams! Great God! This is an awful place.’”

Scott and his men would perish on the gruelling return trek. In their memory, a wooden cross was placed at Observation Hill, Antarctica that featured lines from the poem Ulysses by Alfred, Lord Tennyson: “One equal temper of heroic hearts / Made weak by time and fated, but strong in will / To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.”

Scott and his men – Edward Wilson, Henry Bowers, Edgar Evans and Lawrence Oates – were not perfect men. Scott, in particular, has been called a bungler and had his flaws exposed many times over. But he was driven to explore and take risks, in the name of discovery, as so many before him had done.

Which brings me to the present day. As a fan of Red Ice Radio, with Henrik Palmgren, I listened to a most fascinating interview Palmgren had with Dr. Brooks Agnew.

Agnew is planning to lead the “North Pole Inner Earth Expedition” sometime this year. Agnew explained that there is a legend – a belief – that at a certain place above the Arctic Circle, there exists an oceanic depression (where the sea level is not sea level) or an entrance into the interior of the Earth, giving credence to the idea that the Earth is hollow.

As Agnew explained, the science exists that allow explorers to enter the inner Earth. Sure, it’s controversial, but as author Tim R. Swartz wrote in his 2007 book Admiral Byrd’s Secret Journey Beyond the Poles, the “Hollow Earth” theory is “a theory that refuses to die” and is often dismissed as a crackpot theory that is scientifically implausible.

In this exciting year of 2012 – 100 years after the end of the Golden Age of Polar Exploration – it is indeed inspiring to see that there are modern-day explorers seeking to learn more about our own planet and how it was formed. What will Agnew and his team find? No one is really sure. It is interesting to note that Agnew is a descendant of the Scottish explorer James Ross, who is credited with the discovery of the Magnetic North Pole in 1831.

As Agnew writes on his site NPIEE.org, about what he believes will be “the greatest expedition in the history of the world”: “The North Pole Inner Earth Expedition is by far the most innovative and courageous exploration effort in modern times. We are unable to go to the Moon. We are decades away from manned exploration to Mars. This Expedition to the North Pole region is possible and within reach.”

Agnew, a physicist and the team’s scientific project director, explained to Red Ice Radio host Henrik Palmgren that they plan to take two nuclear-powered Russian icebreaking ships – the only known civilian ships that can do this – deep into the Arctic Ocean in hopes of finding the “oceanic depression” and the entrance into the Inner Earth.

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Agnew and others are embracing a new hypothesis about how planets are formed, that they form as hollow spheres, rather than as solid balls, and that there is significant gravity on the inside of the crust.”

While Antarctica is largely off limits to civilians, due to scientific and military projects o that ice-bound continent, the Arctic regions and North Pole area are largely ice and sea and no permanent bases are there, making it fair game for the scientifically curious to go up there and see what they can see and perform experiments while filming everything. They will survey the ocean floor and marine life, take core samples from the sea floor, and sample the physical and chemical properties of the region at different depths while observing the sky above, with a helicopter.

Will the Russians allow this? Agnew told Palmgren that the Russians have been very supportive of their plans. There is historic precedence with the Russian interest in exploring the unknown, particularly when involving the Arctic and the Inner Earth, as noted in the fascinating new book by Andrei Znamenski titled Red Shambhala: Magic, Prophecy and Geopolitics in the Heart of Asia. After the Bolshevik revolution, spiritual seekers, occultists and scientists within the Soviet Union began to seek out the secrets of Tibet. It addresses “field trips” made to the Arctic to study “Arctic hysteria” among the indigenous Lapps, also known as the Saami people.

The work of French occultist Alexndre Sant-Yves d’Alveydre were of particular importance to these Soviet Communist seekers. D’Alveydre’s thoughts on “synarchism” – basically “joint rule” or “rule by a secret elite” – were of interest to these Communists as they worked to control the masses. And so was D’Alveydre’s interest in “Agartha” the legendary city said to reside inside the Earth’s core, often linked to legendary Shambhala, noted in Tibetan Buddhist texts. Ancient wisdom was believed to be housed there and some elements within the Soviet government were intrigued by the efforts of idealistic seekers like Alexander Barchenko, who sought out “Shambhala wisdom” as a way to teach the violent and ignorant peasants and Bolshevik elite to be more “humane and compassionate to one another.”

As Znamenski writes in Red Shambhala: “(Barchenko) constantly talked about the mysterious land of Shambhala and wanted to bring its spiritual wisdom and psychological techniques to Red Russia.”

It’s an absolutely fascinating read and has only recently been revealed via the Soviet archives.

So, when Dr. Brooks Agnew, an American, says in his interview that the Russians “want to explore this area too” and have agreed to participate in a joint venture to this area of the Arctic, it reminds one of the previous interest made by the Russians in the early years of the Soviet Union. Agnew said that even if another nation tries to prevent the ship from venturing forth with their expedition, they will get it on film “and the whole world will see it live.”

Will there be an international incident in Russian waters over this? No one can say. Regardless, though, Agnew said the Russians are eager to venture forth with the expedition and will offer their help as they charge northward “breaking ice for eight days solid.”

“They are so excited about it,” Agnew told Palmgren, adding, “They want to participate in this.”

All the while, scientific and metaphysical experiments will be taking place. There will be meditation and “human consciousness classes” taking place. Agnew says he hopes a “consciousness beacon” that they create during the expedition will be warmly received by any beings who may be in the Inner Earth.

So where is this “oceanic depression” and possible Inner Earth entrance? According to Agnew, it is 86 degrees North, 141 degrees East – “way, way up in the Arctic Circle,” based on historical space and maritime data. Interestingly, satellite photos of the North Pole is often “blacked out” or not visible. The impression is that governments do not want folks to know what is really up there.

Yet, Agnew and the North Pole Inner Earth Expedition intend to go forth from Murmansk, likely this summer, with their $2 million trip and cover 10-12,000 square miles in 15 days with both the ship and the helicopter. Oh, and they are still raising money for the NPIEE and you can go to the website and donate to this historic event.

Right now, 100 people are expected to take part in the expedition. Said Agnew: “We decided these 100 people had to be very special people.”

A film production adviser, a chief historian and even a “leader in the exopolitics movement” who will be in charge of communicating with any beings they may come in contact with.

So, as we remember the achievements of those brave explorers 100 years ago, we look towards the future in this most amazing year and wish our modern-day explorers a safe journey as they seek to unlock the mysteries of a world that may indeed be beneath our feet.