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Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen in the Antarctic in 1911.

The Associated Press reports:

Polar adventurers, scientists and the prime minister of Norway gathered at the bottom of the world Wednesday to mark the 100th anniversary of explorer Roald Amundsen becoming the first to reach the South Pole.

Under a crystal blue sky and temperatures of minus 40 F (minus 40 C), the group remembered the Norwegian explorer's achievement on the spot where he placed his flag on Dec. 14, 1911.

"We are here to celebrate one of the greatest feats in human history," Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said as he unveiled an ice sculpture of Amundsen.

AFP - Getty Images

From left: Roald Amundsen and his companions Oscar Wisting, Sverre Hassel and Helmer Hansen, saluting the Norwegian flag at the South Pole on December 16, 1911, two days after they reached their goal with the help of 52 dogs and four sledges.

Ole Mathismoen / AP

Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg joins three polar adventurers heading to the South Pole on Dec, 14, 2011 to mark the 100th anniversary of Roald Amundsen's feat. Several expeditions skied across Antarctica to attend the ceremony though many were delayed and had to be flown the last stretch.

Stoltenberg also honored British explorer Robert Falcon Scott, who lost the race against Amundsen and arrived at the South Pole more than month later, only to find Amundsen's tent, a Norwegian flag and a letter from Amundsen. Scott and four companions died on the way out.

Amundsen and his team spent almost two months skiing across the frozen Ross Sea, climbing steep hills to the Antarctic plateau at about 9,800 feet (3,000 meters) and crossing vast ice fields to reach the pole. Read the full story.

Hulton Archive via Getty Images

Roald Amundsen and members of his Antarctic expedition team. Date unspecified.

Nasjonalbiblioteket via AFP - Getty Images

Roald Amundsen posing in Nome, Alaska in 1925.

Previously on PhotoBlog: Cambridge exhibit tells the story of Captain Scott's final Terra Nova polar expedition

Related: New York Times Amazing race to the bottom of the world

Lieutenant Henry Bowers / AFP - Getty Images

Captain Robert Falcon Scott (L) with members of the British Antarctic Expedition, 1910-13, also known as Terra Nova at the South Pole next the tent of Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen who beat Scott to the Pole by 33 days. Laying bare their dejection and determination, the story of Robert Scott's bid to become the first to reach the South Pole is being told by the men themselves, 100 years on from the ill-fated expedition.

From the Scott Polar Research Institute website:

"These rough notes: Capt. Scott's last expedition" (7th December – 5th May) puts on show papers from the British Antarctic Expedition 1910–13 held in the Polar Museum's archive collection, much of which has never been on public display before.

The exhibition tells the full story of the fateful Terra Nova expedition, not just through the famous journals and letters of Scott, Bowers, Evans, Oates and Wilson, who perished on their way back from the Pole, but through other members of the ship's crew and shore party.

The title of the exhibition comes directly from Captain Scott's message to the public written at the end of his journal, just prior to his death. Dated March 29, 1912, it reads: "Had we lived, I should have had a tale to tell of the hardihood, endurance, and courage of my companions which would have stirred the heart of every Englishman. These rough notes and our dead bodies must tell the tale, but surely, surely, a great rich country like ours will see that those who are dependent on us are properly provided for."

Herbert Ponting/AFP - Getty Images

Taken sometime between 1910 and 1913, this photo shows members of the British Antarctic Expedition, 1910-13, also known as Terra Nova at the "Ice Cave".

Herbert Ponting/AFP - Getty Images)

Taken on Dec. 9, 1910, this photo shows members of the British Antarctic Expedition, 1910-13, on the forecastle of the Terra Nova, as they enter the Antarctic ice pack.

George Murray Levick / AFP - Getty Images

A picture released by the Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI) at the University of Cambridge on Dec, 7, 2011 as part of the exhibition at Cambridge university about Captain Scott's polar expedition entitled "These rough notes and our dead bodies . . ." and taken in 1912 shows members of the northern party after winter in a snow cave during the British Antarctic Expedition, 1910-13, also known as Terra Nova.

The exhibition runs at The Polar Museum in Cambridge, England, until May 5, 2012.