Why British people fail in the snow (unless they're Stephen Fry)

They had not foreseen that bringing ponies to the South Pole probably wasn't a good idea, and when they (not surprisingly) lost the ponies they couldn't bring all their stuff.
They were also surprised by the bad, cold weather and it slowed them down.
And it seems it took them by surprise when it started snowing, and the snow slowed them down as well.
It seems like the British had prepared for a vacation on Barbados and not a mission to the South Pole.