On our expedition to Antarctica, you may hear the stories of the Irish expedition leader Sir Ernest Shackleton and his remarkable achievements on the Antarctic continent. Many places, ships, and research stations here are named in honor of his legendary legacy. Read on to learn more about the explorer celebrated for his courage and leadership.
Discovery
Ernest Shackleton was born in 1874 in Ireland. His adventurous path began in the early years of the new century when he joined Robert Falcon Scott’s Discovery expedition as third officer. The main focus was science and research, but the goal was also to reach farther south than anyone ever had before – a step toward the South Pole. The expedition faced severe hardships. All 22 sled dogs soon fell ill and died, while the men suffered from snow blindness, frostbite, and scurvy. After a medical examination, Shackleton was sent home early.
The Farthest South
Eager for redemption, Shackleton began raising funds for his own expedition and returned five years later with the Nimrod expedition. The goal was to reach the South Pole by sledge, and although they did not make it all the way the point they reached, just 180 kilometers from the Pole, was the southernmost location ever discovered at the time. The team also climbed Mount Erebus, Antarctica’s most active volcano, and for these remarkable achievements, Shackleton was knighted upon his return to Britain.
By Endurance We Conquer
The expedition that would make Shackleton famous and remembered for his courage throughout history was, above all, the Endurance expedition. Named after the family motto “By endurance we conquer,” its goal was to cross the entire Antarctic continent on foot, from the Weddell Sea to the Ross Sea.
Sailing with 28 men and 68 dogs, the ship became trapped in the ice and was eventually crushed after ten months of relentless pressure from the pack ice. The crew was forced to survive on drifting ice floes for five months before they finally set foot on solid ground at Elephant Island, a desolate, uninhabited island among the South Shetlands after a total of 497 days at sea. There they established a camp they named Point Wild, after Shackleton’s second-in-command, Frank Wild.
With no hope of rescue, as no ships passed the remote island, Shackleton realized he would have to find help himself. Accompanied by five men he set out in a small lifeboat, the James Caird, sailing 1,300 kilometers across the stormy Southern Ocean in 16 days - a journey that has gone down in history as one of the most remarkable feats of seamanship ever accomplished. After reaching South Georgia, they still had to cross mountains and glaciers before finally reaching a whaling station.
Determined to save the rest of his crew, Shackleton led four rescue attempts before finally succeeding on the fourth. Nearly two years after being stranded, every single man from the Endurance expedition was rescued and all 28 survived, having endured on seals, penguins, and even their own dogs.
The Final Expedition – Quest
In 1921–1922, Shackleton returned with the aim of exploring the sub-Antarctic islands and the coast of Antarctica. But only hours after arriving in Grytviken, he suffered a heart attack on board the ship. In accordance with his wife’s wishes, he was buried in the whalers’ cemetery in Grytviken at the place where his adventures came to an end, yet where his name continues to live on. It is a place you have the chance to visit during our grand expedition to Antarctica and South Georgia.