Shackleton's Endurance: Part 1 - Setting Sail

Ernest Shackleton hails from a time when men were men; they smoked from pipes, their beards were thick and full, and the idea of going on a harrowing expedition with only a moderate chance of survival sounds just like their very British cup of tea. This was the time where man sought to have no land left unconquered, and who better to do that than the English? They were at the forefront of the age of grand discoveries and romanticized travels full of danger and heroism, with all the fame, riches and glory that come with such adventures. Unfortunately for them, the south pole had already been reached by a Norwegian, and one that beat out Shackleton as he was trying to do just that. Now it was his time to shine, late in his exploring life and with hopes of one last shot at expedition redemption, he sought to traverse Antarctica by land from one side to the other. The result was a voyage so mentally and physically taxing that many of the men, tough as nails

A young Ernest Shackleton: he put the "boat" in
"Dreamboats of the Great Age of Antarctic
Expeditions".

as they were, refused to discuss it with their friends or family; a few would not allow their children to ever read their diaries of their journey until after they had passed.

Why Shackleton decided to attempt this is beyond me. I guess it's just in the blood of people back then, as now people are much more satisfied with living their lives while simultaneously keeping tremendous physical pain and stress to a minimum. Back then it just wasn't as big of a deal - which is why when Shackleton called for good men to assist him in his task and be on the ship that sailed towards the frozen continent he had a great number of responses. Five thousand men sent word that they wished to join him for adventure, glory, and all the fun that frostbite has to offer. But how could he have convinced them to join, considering the danger and the horrible conditions they would have to endure? Well, his ad was this, copied verbatim. Despite what you may believe, I'm not making this up. "Men wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in case of success."

How men read that and thought "where do I sign up?" is so beyond me I lack the words to describe it.

The crew chopping away at the ice hoping to
free the boat to move forward. I, uh, don't
have high hopes for how that will turn out.

Seven months of preparation found them ready to depart in 1914 with twenty-seven men and sixty-nine Canadian sled dogs ready at his side. Unfortunately, 1914 was known for another rather large event, and Shackleton felt it was his duty to offer his services in the war. He contacted the British navy if he should send his ships to battle instead of exploration, who replied with the single word "proceed". It wasn't that they were war-dodging - one man even wrote in his journal that he would "hope to be home in nineteen months and go straight to the front." He then commented on how it's a "glorious age we live in". I'm legitimately confused if he meant for the second half to be sarcastic or if men back then were so unspeakably brave as to be genuinely pleased at the opportunity to fight in a war only after risking their lives on an expedition to a continent in which no human should be.  Regardless of how he or the men felt about missing their... opportunity?... to enter the war, Shackleton was ready to depart. He had named his ship the Endurance, after his family motto: "By endurance we conquer". On December 5th, 1914 they headed south from South Georgia, an island whaling community far to the east of the southernmost point of South America. Fortunately for us, there are plenty of photographs and footage from their expedition as a large amount of the funding for the expedition came from investors paying for the right to sell the documentation they took during the trip.

It wasn't long before they hit the Weddell Sea - a half-frozen body of water which is essentially a massive, constantly shifting ice field. Historian Thomas R. Henry describes the testimony of men who have travelled the sea as "berg-filled waters, the most treacherous and dismal region on earth". They made it far through the sea, travelling in between ice bergs and breaking through the thinner sheets of ice, but in February the temperature dropped rapidly and suddenly - somewhat of an unlucky and unexpected occurrence - that froze the very water around the ship. The men attacked it with picks and shovels and tried to press on through it, but to no avail. The ship had become trapped between two massive ice floes, large bodies of ice that are not attached to any land. Just like that, they were stuck. In Antarctica. On a floating body of ice. With no means of rescue or return. They would have to wait until Spring to move again, which was seven months from then. The unfortunate explorers were stopped just one day sail from land - but this is just the beginning of their problems. They have the warmth of a ship, food at the ready in their stores, and one of their most prominent enemies at this time was boredom. Things were about to get worse - and by a grand, terrible margin.

Remind me again why anyone would want to do this?