The British geologist Raymond Priestley used to say back in 1917, that when facing a desperate situation from which there seems to be no exit, we can always try to pray, asking for Shackleton coming to rescue us.
The Anglo-Irish explorer Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton was the person who, in 1914, decided to cross on foot the Antarctic continent, from one side to the other and through the Pole. This was, in Shackleton's words, 'one great main object of Antarctic journeyings', as three years earlier, Roald Amundsen and Robert Scott had reached the South Pole (the latter dying in his attempt, but this is another story.)
Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition was the third conducted in Antarctica. The first one, in 1901 with Captain Scott on his Discovery expedition, and the second, in 1907, as head of the Nimrod Expedition. In his third trip, aboard the Endurance and with 13 other men, Shackleton never stepped on the southernmost continent, but made one of the greatest adventures of the twentieth century.
At the beginning of World War I, the Endurance went deep into the Weddell Sea on its way to the Vahsel Bay, in the Antarctic coast. The plan was, after arriving to the bay, that Shackleton, five other men and a hundred dogs, would move to the South Pole and then continue to the Ross Sea. The rest of his crew would be distributed between Graham Land, Enderby Land and the base camp, to carry out scientific studies. At the same time, a supporting group (the Ross Sea party) would travel on the Aurora ship to the opposite side of the continent, establish camp in McMurdo Sound, and from there lay a series of supply depots across the Ross Ice Shelf to the foot of the Beardmore Glacier. In this way, Shackleton's team would not carry all the necessary equipment and food from their point of departure.
What Shackleton never imagined was that even before reaching Vahsel Bay, the Endurance would be trapped by the ice and for more than eight months, his crew would be blocked and adrift. In this situation, Shackleton tried to avoid that the inactivity and fear would make a dent in his group, because he knew that they could only leave that icy hell if they remained together, as no one could come to rescue them. The worst moment came when the pressure of the ice finally shattered the hull of the Endurance, of more than one meter thick. The camera of Frank Hurley attended powerless, like the rest of the crew, to the disappearance of the boat that was supposed to carry them to their destination. At this moment, they decided to take everything they could, with the help of the sled dogs. They moved forward while the dogs resisted. Then, they slaughtered and ate them. For six months they lived on unstable and drifting ice floes, sometimes leaving them quickly, when they suddenly broke.
In April 1916, two years after beginning their journey, the always harsh Antarctic forced them to choose between two great dangers: keep moving between breaking icebergs, or embarking on three small boats to the Antarctic Ocean. They chose to venture into the sea. A fearsome and tough navigation between enormous waves and storms led them finally to Elephant Island, at the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. After many months they stepped on shore, but were still lost. Shackleton decided to look for help getting into the sea in one of the small boats with five other men. As incredible as it seems, they reached the coast of South Georgia Island, after having sailed for 808 miles (1.300 Km). But before arriving to the whaling factory on the island, they still had to traverse 18.64 miles (30 Km) of glaciers and escarpments. Shackleton could only rest when he returned to Elephant Island and checked that all his men were safe. Later, he wrote to his wife: 'I have done it. Not a life lost and we have been through Hell.' In December 1916, Shackleton arrived in New Zealand.
Meanwhile, unaware of the calamities of the Endurance's group, the Ross Sea party reached Discovery Bay in March 1915. Two months later, when the Aurora was docked at Ross Island and ten of its men carrying the material to Beardome glacier, the boat got stuck in the ice and swept to sea, leaving the sailors on ground and unable to reach the Aurora. On February 12th, 1916, the ship was freed from the ice and managed to return to Dunedin (New Zealand) for help. Throughout 1916, the governments of Australia, New Zealand and England arranged the financing of a new journey of the Aurora to retrieve the sailors stranded on the ice. In early 1917, the Aurora, led by John King Davis and having Shackleton aboard, reached Cape Evans. A week later, seven survivors among the ten men went up to the boat and were taken back to Wellington (New Zealand).
The Anglo-Irish explorer Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton was the person who, in 1914, decided to cross on foot the Antarctic continent, from one side to the other and through the Pole. This was, in Shackleton's words, 'one great main object of Antarctic journeyings', as three years earlier, Roald Amundsen and Robert Scott had reached the South Pole (the latter dying in his attempt, but this is another story.)
Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition was the third conducted in Antarctica. The first one, in 1901 with Captain Scott on his Discovery expedition, and the second, in 1907, as head of the Nimrod Expedition. In his third trip, aboard the Endurance and with 13 other men, Shackleton never stepped on the southernmost continent, but made one of the greatest adventures of the twentieth century.
At the beginning of World War I, the Endurance went deep into the Weddell Sea on its way to the Vahsel Bay, in the Antarctic coast. The plan was, after arriving to the bay, that Shackleton, five other men and a hundred dogs, would move to the South Pole and then continue to the Ross Sea. The rest of his crew would be distributed between Graham Land, Enderby Land and the base camp, to carry out scientific studies. At the same time, a supporting group (the Ross Sea party) would travel on the Aurora ship to the opposite side of the continent, establish camp in McMurdo Sound, and from there lay a series of supply depots across the Ross Ice Shelf to the foot of the Beardmore Glacier. In this way, Shackleton's team would not carry all the necessary equipment and food from their point of departure.
What Shackleton never imagined was that even before reaching Vahsel Bay, the Endurance would be trapped by the ice and for more than eight months, his crew would be blocked and adrift. In this situation, Shackleton tried to avoid that the inactivity and fear would make a dent in his group, because he knew that they could only leave that icy hell if they remained together, as no one could come to rescue them. The worst moment came when the pressure of the ice finally shattered the hull of the Endurance, of more than one meter thick. The camera of Frank Hurley attended powerless, like the rest of the crew, to the disappearance of the boat that was supposed to carry them to their destination. At this moment, they decided to take everything they could, with the help of the sled dogs. They moved forward while the dogs resisted. Then, they slaughtered and ate them. For six months they lived on unstable and drifting ice floes, sometimes leaving them quickly, when they suddenly broke.
In April 1916, two years after beginning their journey, the always harsh Antarctic forced them to choose between two great dangers: keep moving between breaking icebergs, or embarking on three small boats to the Antarctic Ocean. They chose to venture into the sea. A fearsome and tough navigation between enormous waves and storms led them finally to Elephant Island, at the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. After many months they stepped on shore, but were still lost. Shackleton decided to look for help getting into the sea in one of the small boats with five other men. As incredible as it seems, they reached the coast of South Georgia Island, after having sailed for 808 miles (1.300 Km). But before arriving to the whaling factory on the island, they still had to traverse 18.64 miles (30 Km) of glaciers and escarpments. Shackleton could only rest when he returned to Elephant Island and checked that all his men were safe. Later, he wrote to his wife: 'I have done it. Not a life lost and we have been through Hell.' In December 1916, Shackleton arrived in New Zealand.
Meanwhile, unaware of the calamities of the Endurance's group, the Ross Sea party reached Discovery Bay in March 1915. Two months later, when the Aurora was docked at Ross Island and ten of its men carrying the material to Beardome glacier, the boat got stuck in the ice and swept to sea, leaving the sailors on ground and unable to reach the Aurora. On February 12th, 1916, the ship was freed from the ice and managed to return to Dunedin (New Zealand) for help. Throughout 1916, the governments of Australia, New Zealand and England arranged the financing of a new journey of the Aurora to retrieve the sailors stranded on the ice. In early 1917, the Aurora, led by John King Davis and having Shackleton aboard, reached Cape Evans. A week later, seven survivors among the ten men went up to the boat and were taken back to Wellington (New Zealand).
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