The Full Story
In 1914, Ernest Shackleton set out to cross the Antarctic continent on foot. His ship, the Endurance, became trapped in pack ice in the Weddell Sea in January 1915. The ice held her for months. On 27 October 1915 it crushed her. On 21 November 1915 she sank. 28 men stood on an ice floe with three small wooden lifeboats, around 800 miles from the nearest settlement.
They drifted on the ice for months more. When the floe broke apart they took the boats and rowed to Elephant Island, their first solid ground in 16 months. Nobody would find them there. Shackleton knew that. He took 5 men and a 22.5-foot wooden double-ender called the James Caird. Around 800 miles across the Southern Ocean. Mountainous seas. Hurricane winds. 16 days.
They landed on the wrong side of South Georgia. He then crossed the island's unmapped mountains on foot in about 36 hours to reach the whaling station at Stromness. On 30 August 1916, all 22 men left on Elephant Island were rescued. Not one life from the ship's party was lost. Honesty demands the rest of the ledger: the expedition's other arm, the Ross Sea party laying supply depots on the far side of the continent, lost 3 men. Shackleton brought all 28 of the Endurance party home. The expedition as a whole did not come home whole.
Why This Matters
Shackleton's expedition failed its stated goal completely. He never crossed Antarctica. He is remembered anyway as one of the greatest leaders in the history of exploration, because once the mission changed from science to survival he did not lose a single man of the ship's party over two years of catastrophe. As the saying often attributed to Raymond Priestley has it: "For scientific leadership, give me Scott. For swift and efficient travel, Amundsen. But when you are in a hopeless situation, when there seems no way out, get down on your knees and pray for Shackleton."
Key Facts
- ⚠Correction: the video's claim that all 28 men came home is true of the Endurance (Weddell Sea) party only. The expedition's Ross Sea party, laying depots from the other side of the continent, lost 3 men. The video also calls the James Caird a 22-foot boat; she was 22.5 feet. Endurance was crushed on 27 October 1915 and sank on 21 November 1915.