Weather conditions were always to be a problem as far as Antarctic exploration was concerned. The climate created a very hostile environment for the explorers and mountaineers that studied the terrain. For Ernest Shackleton and his expedition, the Antarctic conditions were to become extremely challenging.
After the conquest of the South Pole by Norwegian explorer, Roald Amundsen, people began to wonder what would be the next feat in the field of Antarctic exploration. It was decided that Antarctica should be crossed from one side to the other. This would be done by the shortest land route between the Weddell Sea and the Ross Sea. This appeared to be an attractive mission, and Shackleton rose to the challenge with the ‘Trans-Antarctic Expedition’.
Shackleton organised a kind of double expedition that would consist of one ship entering the Weddell Sea with a party of men approaching the Pole from that side; and another ship entering at the Ross Sea. The two ships were called Endurance and Aurora, and they set sail in 1914.
When Shackleton, who was on board the Endurance, reached the Weddell Sea, the ship became surrounded by pack ice. Pack ice is a floating mass of ice that expands during the winter season. The ice surrounding the ship meant that the Endurance could not sail any further, and it consequently began to drift.
The crew had no control over the ship or its direction, so it drifted for nine months in a circle. In late October as temperatures got colder, the ice started to expand and squashed the wooden hull. This caused the ship to sink soon after. At the same time, the Aurora was blown by strong winds out of where it was anchored and also became caught up in pack ice. The ship was forced to helplessly drift, just like the Endurance.
Meanwhile, before the Endurance sank, Shackleton got his crew, dogs, some supplies and three lifeboats off the ship and onto the ice. The crew managed to set up a camp on the ice, on which they drifted for a further five months.
In April, the camp reached the edge of the ice which was melting around them. Shackleton hastily got the crew and their belongings into the lifeboats. Safely within the boats, they rowed until they reached Elephant Island where they set up camp again. After the crew had constructed their shelter and had rested, Shackleton suddenly realised that no one knew where they were, and in effect they were stranded. He came to the decision that he and come of the crew should sail to South Georgia in one of the lifeboats and get assistance for his marooned crew.
The weather was certainly not an ally to Shackleton and his limited crew on the lifeboat. Freezing temperatures, adverse winds, storms, mist, and ice building up on the boat, made the journey enormously testing. Shackleton finally arrived at King Haakon Bay that was on the deserted side of the island. Here they were forced to take shelter and wait for a week for clear weather, which would enable them to make the extensive crossing of the island.
The island had very difficult terrain, making it harder to cross, but the group persevered and finally reached signs of life. They came across the whaling station in Stromness Bay. The whalers were very accommodating and promised to inform the appropriate authorities of the crew’s whereabouts. Shackleton was able to convince the whalers to give him and his men a ride back to Elephant Island to rescue the remaining stranded crew.
Unfortunately, the pack ice had surrounded the island, and the whaling ship was unable to get anywhere near. A further attempt was made later on, and the stranded men were saved at long last.
After this traumatic but tedious experience, Shackleton and his men abandoned the expedition and returned to Europe. The Trans-Antarctic expedition was a complete failure because of the weather. The conditions in this remote part of the world will always be challenging, but this was in a time without satellite navigation and modern weather reports. Whether the attempt was foolhardy or brave is the debate that surrounds all great explorers.
Related Links:
- Captain Cook
- Scott of the Antarctic
- Christopher Columbus
- Ernest Shackleton
