After Roald Amundsen claimed the South Pole for Norway in 1911, the British polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton mounted an expedition to claim the remaining prize—crossing the continent of Antarctica. He christened his ship the Endurance after his family motto “Fortitudine vincimus. By endurance we conquer.”1 It is said he ran this advertisement: “Men wanted for hazardous journey. Low wages, bitter cold, long hours of complete darkness. Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in event of success.” Over 5,000 people applied to be a part of his 26-man crew, and there was even a stowaway.
The journey went almost as advertised. Just 100 miles from its landing spot on Antarctica, the Endurance was beset in pack ice.4 For almost 10 months, the ship drifted in the pack ice before being crushed. Forced to abandon ship, the men lived on ice floes—dragging three lifeboats by sledges until they reached open water. They sailed for seven sleepless nights, landing on a small sliver of inhospitable land called Elephant Island. From there, Shackleton and five men set out for South Georgia Island, some 800 miles away. Remarkably, they made it, but landed on an uninhabited part of the island. Shackleton and two of his men crossed the island by foot and got help, eventually rescuing all 27 crewmembers.
