Ice crushed Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ship, Endurance, forcing him and his crew to travel by lifeboat. (Frank Hurley / Bettmann / Corbis)
To the End of the Earth
A modern-day explorer prepares for a historic adventure to Antarctica
PHOTO: Tim Jarvis will sail in a replica of Shackleton’s lifeboat. (www.timjarvis.org)
MAP: The journey will cover roughly 800 nautical miles and should take about two months. (Jim McMahon)
In 1916, British explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton made one of the first trips to Antarctica and barely survived. Now an adventurer named Tim Jarvis has announced plans to re-create Shackleton’s dangerous journey next month, hoping to raise awareness about climate change.
Shackleton wanted to lead the first expedition across Antarctica, from the northern side to the south. But the adventure went off course when ice crushed his ship, and he and the crew had to fight their way back to civilization.
With nothing but a lifeboat and a small amount of food, Shackleton and 5 members of his 22-man crew sailed 800 nautical miles through icebergs and freezing conditions, from Antarctica’s Elephant Island to a whaling station on an island called South Georgia, off the continent’s coast. Once there, Shackleton was able to get help to rescue the crewmembers he had left behind months before.
Almost 100 years later, Jarvis plans to re-create the voyage in the same kind of lifeboat that Shackleton was forced to use in 1916. The replica lifeboat is named after Alexandra Shackleton, the great explorer’s granddaughter, who originally asked Jarvis to consider the trip.
“We’re on a boat with absolutely no modern navigational aids whatsoever,” Jarvis recently told reporters. “We'll just be going into darkness.”
STEERING INTO DANGER
Why take the trip? Little was known about Antarctica at the time of Shackleton’s journey. The expedition gave the world important information about Antarctica’s climate and geography. Jarvis intends his 2013 mission to show how the continent’s icy environment has changed over the past hundred years because of climate change.
“The irony is that Shackleton tried to save his men from Antarctica,” Jarvis told reporters. “We are now trying to save Antarctica from man.”
But this crew will not be in the same kind of danger that the Shackleton expedition was. A high-tech boat will follow Jarvis at all times and help if necessary. Jarvis and his crew will compare what they see of Antarctica’s melting ice with Shackleton’s descriptions, then document the differences.
Jarvis will leave for Antarctica from the southern tip of South America in January. He believes the trip will take two months if everything goes according to plan.
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Antarctica: Journeys to the South Pole (Enriched EBK)
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Antarctica: Journeys to the South Pole (Enriched EBK)
by Walter Dean MyersExploring the treacherous South Pole was never easy, but a few brave men, such as James Cook, Richard Byrd, and Ernest Shackleton, were determined to do it. The author describes their journeys in riveting detail and really helps the reader understand the courage it took to face such unforgiving conditions. The book also explains the contributions these expeditions made to science. Later, it goes on to look at Antarctica as it is today and what the land means to the rest of the world.
Adventure and science lovers will find much to enjoy in this dramatic and fascinating look at this beautiful but brutal place.
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Antarctica: Journeys to the South Pole
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Antarctica: Journeys to the South Pole
by Walter Dean MyersWalter Dean Myers brings the dramatic race to the South Pole to life in Antarctica, tracking the explorers of the South Pole - including James Cook, Ernest Shackleton, and Richard Evelyn Bird - and the dangers they encountered there, as well as their contributions to science. The heroism and adventure - and the ultimate failure - of the expeditions are depicted in Myer's powerful prose, and through the photos, maps, and illustrations that complement the text.
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