Ernest Shackleton

Why do we still talk about Ernest Shackleton today?

In August of 1914, Shackleton and 28 men left England to embark on what we now call the Endurance Expedition. During this voyage, he planned to cross Antarctica from a base on the Weddell Sea to McMurdo Sound, via the South Pole. Devastatingly, the expedition ship Endurance was trapped in ice off the Caird coast and drifted for 10 months before being crushed and sinking in the pack ice. Shackleton and his men then drifted on ice floes for another five months and finally arrived in boats to Elephant Island in the South Shetland Islands, where they survived on seal meat, penguins, and their dogs. Shackleton and five others sailed 1,300 km to South Georgia in a small whale boat, a 16-day treacherous journey across a stretch of dangerous ocean, before landing on the southern side of South Georgia. Shackleton and his small desperate crew then made the first crossing of the island to seek help. Four months later, after leading four separate rescue expeditions, Shackleton succeeded in safely getting his crew from Elephant Island to SOuth Georgia. It's hard to believe or even imagine that all survived. This heart wrenching story is the reason why Shackleton remains one of the greates leaders and explorers of his generation.