Endurance

Many years ago my mother and I sat in the movie theater and watched a fascinating film about the expedition of the Endurance to the South Pole. I remember being riveted by the story and the extraordinary lengths that the crew went to for survival. Ever since then I have been wanting to learn more about this potential disaster. So this past week I sat down with South: The Endurance Expedition, written by none other than the ship's captain himself Ernest Shackleton. I'm not reviewing the book here. I'm more interested in telling you this amazing story of survival.

The year is 1914. Roald Amundson and Robert Scott have just finished their race to the South Pole and discovered it. Amundson is given the glory of first although more people remember the tragedy (and stupidity) of Scott's attempt. And the world has South Pole fever. Ernest Shackleton has gone on a couple Antarctic expeditions but he has hatched a new plan. His goal is to cross the Antarctic continent on foot. He puts an ad out calling for men. It blatantly says that there is a good chance they won't survive the attempt. Amazingly, hundreds of men clamor for the spots. Shackleton picks 27 to accompany him on the Endurance. In August of 1914 they set sail, right as war is breaking out throughout Europe.

The ship sails to Chile and finally sails for the Pole in December, at the height of the Antarctic summer. At first the sailing goes well. The ship and crew pass easily into the Weddell Sea and push to make landfall. But the ice pack is worse that year than normal. The traveling is slow going as they are constantly needing to find breaks in the ice pack in order to make forward progress. The ship can push through, but not at any great speed. Finally in February the ship becomes trapped in the ice pack and can no longer move. Shackleton realizes that the ship and the crew will now have to spend the winter trapped in the seas around the Antarctic. Sadly this is not the worst of the things to come.

Winter passes quietly. The ice pack drifts north along with the ship and crew. The crew makes themselves useful by training the sled dogs, hunting for food, and playing the occasional pick-up soccer game. Although the temperature is well below zero, and there is no regular light, food is not scarce and the men are relatively comfortable. The pack is moving north and everyone is hopeful that by the end of the winter they will be free to sail. But this is not to be. In October 1915, nine months after being trapped, the ship is crushed by the ice pack and the expedition is required to abandon ship.

Endurance crushed in the ice pack

They move their smaller fishing boats, supplies, dogs, and food onto stable ice and set up camp for the spring. (Patience Camp) The ice pack continues to drift north and the temperature is starting to warm up. The crew is forced to camp on the pack throughout the summer but the ice pack is starting to break up. In April 1916 the crew is forced to leave the ice in their lifeboats. The dogs have long since become ill and been shot. Food is running short and Shackleton decides that they must try for the Danger Islands or Elephant Island. The crew is forced to live in the fishing boats for days, finding occasional packs to prepare hot meals. Finally they are able to land on Elephant Island in May and build something of a camp. But this is not a permanent solution and Shackleton knows it. He must find rescue for his crew. So he devises a risky plan. He and five other men will take one of the boats and attempt to sail to South Georgia Island in Chile. The island is 800 miles away through open ocean. But it is the crew's only chance of rescue.

Crew left behind at Elephant Island

With the limited rations and winter approaching, Shacketon and his chosen crew, only wait a couple days to set sail. They take only a few of the supplies and head out into open water. The ocean is rough and the boat has a hard time making headway. The group is constantly freezing and thirsty, but 16 days after setting out from Elephant Island they are able to land on South Georgia Island. They find a secluded bay to land in only to realize that they are on the wrong side of the island. The ocean has battered the little boat and it is incapable of making it around. So Shackleton leaves three of the men with the boat, and he and two others set off to cross the island on foot. With no real food to assist them and little fresh water, the three manage to cross the mountains and glaciers of the island in two days. They stumble into a whaling harbor in clothes that have been worn for 10 months or more straight. They are starved and unkempt and unwashed. But the manager of the station hears their story and offers them aid.

The three men left on the other side of the island are picked up within a day or so of Shackleton making it to the harbor. When he arrives with the rescue boat, the men on shore don't recognize him shaved and cleaned. They keep wondering why none of the original crew would come for them. Then Shackleton begins the campaign to find a ship that can rescue the rest of his crew still stranded on Elephant Island. It takes months to find a suitable ship that can make the attempt in the winter. The rescue is attempted three times without success. Finally Shackleton takes a small tugboat, not suited for the ice pack but still workable, and manages to reach Elephant Island. He arrives to find that every single member of the party is still alive. In August 1916 the crew is finally brought to Chile and safety, two years after leaving England for the expedition and 18 months after becoming stranded. The crew survived two Antarctic winters, numerous frostbites, low food, and unimaginable odds.

I am in awe of this story. It seems so fantastical that it is hard to imagine that it is real. They say that humans can survive through some of the toughest conditions on earth as long as the desire to survive is strong enough. This story is a testament to that for me. I'm completely in awe of Shackleton and his crew and their desire for survival. I don't think they would have lasted without it.

Shackleton (right) at Patience Camp

All images taken by Frank Hurley, expedition photographer.