The Endurance

The ship creaked and groaned for months as it slowly crushed under the pressure of 10 million pounds of sea ice. By the time the call came to abandon ship on October 27, 1915, the men of the Trans-Antarctic Expedition, also known as the Endurance voyage, had been trapped in the ice in bone-chilling temperatures for nine months.

As the decks started buckling and the beams began breaking, the expedition’s leader, Ernest Shackleton, knew it was time for the crew to save itself from an icy grave. “She’s going, boys,” he cried. “It’s time to get off.”

Shackleton was one of the most famous South Pole explorers of all time, and his Endurance voyage went down in history. When the ship eventually disappeared beneath the Weddell Sea, so did his dreams of leading the first-ever crew to cross the continent of Antarctica by foot.

The ship creaked and groaned for months as it slowly crushed under the pressure of 10 million pounds of sea ice. The men of the Trans-Antarctic Expedition, also known as the Endurance voyage, had been trapped in the ice for nine months. They suffered through long stretches of bone-chilling temperatures. On October 27, 1915, the call came to abandon the ship.

The decks started buckling, and the beams began breaking. That’s when the crew’s leader, Ernest Shackleton, knew it was time for them to save themselves from an icy grave. “She’s going, boys,” he cried. “It’s time to get off.”

Shackleton was one of the most famous South Pole explorers of all time. His Endurance voyage went down in history. When the ship sank into the Weddell Sea, it ended Shackleton’s dreams of leading the first-ever crew to cross the continent of Antarctica by foot.

Yet the rescue of all 28 members of the voyage has become one of history’s most stunning tales of human survival. There is much to be learned from the story of the Endurance crew and Shackleton’s leadership, historians say. That’s especially true today, as the global pandemic drags into its second winter.

“This is a story about the triumph of the human spirit,” says Harvard Business School historian Nancy F. Koehn, who did a case study about Shackleton’s leadership. “It’s a story that tells and shows us that we are capable of making the impossible possible.”

Antarctica is the southernmost continent on Earth. In the early 20th century, it remained one of the most unexplored regions of the world. Thick sea ice surrounds the continent. During the winter, temperatures dip below -70 degrees Fahrenheit. Both the icy land and brutal cold made exploration tricky and a test of will.

One of those who set their sights on conquering the South Pole was an Irishman named Ernest Shackleton. He took part in four expeditions to Antarctica in his lifetime. These trips happened during an era known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.

Shackleton had a long journey leading up to what would go down as his most famous attempt. In fact, it took nearly two years to gather the money he needed to fund the Endurance voyage and recruit his crew. At the time, he was nearing 40 years old. Though some historians dispute this, legend has it that Shackleton placed a newspaper ad that read: “Men wanted for hazardous journey. Low wages, bitter cold, long hours of complete darkness. Safe return doubtful. Honor and recognition in event of success.”

The ad turned out to be an accurate description of the events to come.

The Endurance set sail from London for Antarctica on August 8, 1914. On board were a 28-member crew and a pack of 69 dogs to pull sledges (see map, above). There were engineers, surgeons, scientists, artists, and cooks. Each contributed his skills and knowledge to help the expedition.

After four months at sea, the Endurance approached the world’s southernmost continent. Sailing became difficult. Then it became nearly impossible, as the ship came across thick sheets of ice. For weeks, the men slowly weaved through cracks in the frozen ocean. Then, on January 18, 1915, a polar windstorm blew in. It closed the ice around the ship. No amount of sawing or picking at the ice nor firing up the steam engine could free it. The Endurance was, as crew member Thomas Orde-Lees later put it, “frozen, like an almond in the middle of a chocolate bar.”

The ship was just a day’s sail away from Antarctica under normal conditions. The men decided to stay aboard the stuck Endurance as it drifted slowly away from the continent. They hunkered down for the polar winter, bracing themselves for total darkness day and night. And they held out hope that warmer weather would melt the ice and free the ship.

They settled into a routine.

“Daily routine was super important to keeping his men alive, healthy, and mentally fit,” says University of Alabama polar and marine biology professor James McClintock.

Shackleton made sure the men ate meals at regular times and socialized together into the evenings. Each also had his daily tasks to perform: hunting for seals and penguins for food and fuel, collecting scientific specimens for research, or snapping photographs to document the sights.

It would only be a matter of months before the ice began putting pressure on the Endurance and Shackleton would make the call to abandon ship. “She was doomed,” he wrote in his diary, in late October of 1915. “No ship built by human hands could have withstood the strain.”

Twenty-five days later, the crew would watch in silence as the Endurance sank into the Weddell Sea. Without a ship, the objective for the expedition changed—from exploration to mere survival. The task at hand was now to bring all 28 men safely home.

They settled into a routine.

“Daily routine was super important to keeping his men alive, healthy, and mentally fit,” says University of Alabama polar and marine biology professor James McClintock.

Shackleton made sure the men ate meals at regular times. He also had them socialize together in the evenings. Each also had his daily tasks to perform: hunting for seals and penguins for food and fuel, collecting scientific specimens for research, or snapping photographs to document the sights.

It would only be a matter of months before the ice began putting pressure on the Endurance. That forced Shackleton to make the call to abandon ship. “She was doomed,” he wrote in his diary, in late October of 1915. “No ship built by human hands could have withstood the strain.”

Twenty-five days later, the crew would watch in silence as the Endurance sank into the Weddell Sea. Without a ship, the expedition’s goal changed from exploration to survival. The task at hand was now to bring all 28 men safely home.

The men gathered supplies, equipment, and their personal property. They then set up camp on a drifting ice floe, a large sheet of floating ice, about a mile and a half away. Each was allowed to keep just two pounds of his own belongings.

Despite the situation, the crew members stayed hopeful. “Really, this sort of life has its attractions,” Alexander Macklin, one of the surgeons, wrote in his diary. “I read somewhere that all a man needs to be happy is a full stomach and warmth, and I begin to think it is nearly true.”

The men pitched tents and called their new home “Ocean Camp.” But the situation grew more dire as food supplies began running out and extreme hunger set in. They joked with one another about turning to cannibalism. Ultimately, they were forced to shoot and eat their dogs.

In early April of 1916, the men’s home on the ice began to melt. “The floe has been a good friend to us,” Shackleton wrote. “But it is reaching the end of its journey and is liable . . . to break up.” When the ice split beneath the men’s feet with a crack, Shackleton ordered them into three lifeboats. Afterward, they set out for the frigid open ocean toward land.

The crew spent six days at sea in the bitter cold. They braved storms—bailing water out of the boats as huge waves crashed in—and battled hunger and seasickness. They arrived cold and tired at the uninhabited Elephant Island on April 15. For the first time in 497 days, they stood on land.

But the journey to get home safely was still far from over—and there was little time to waste. On April 24, Shackleton and five others embarked on what has become one of the most renowned small-boat journeys of all time, aboard the James Caird, the strongest of the three lifeboats. They set out for a whaling station on the island of South Georgia to seek help rescuing the remaining men.

The crew sailed more than 800 miles through wind and storms aboard the lifeboat. They bailed water as sea spray hit their faces and frostbite set in. At one point, the boat nearly capsized.

The crew spent six days at sea in the bitter cold. They braved storms and battled hunger and seasickness. As the huge waves crashed in, the men dumped loads of water out of the boats. They arrived cold and tired at the uninhabited Elephant Island on April 15. For the first time in 497 days, they stood on land.

But the journey to get home safely was still far from over, and there was little time to waste. On April 24, Shackleton and five others set out on the James Caird, the strongest of the three lifeboats. They aimed to get to a whaling station on the island of South Georgia to seek help rescuing the remaining men. This has become one of the most well-known small-boat journeys of all time.

The crew sailed more than 800 miles through wind and storms aboard the lifeboat. They emptied out water as sea spray hit their faces and frostbite set in. At one point, the boat nearly turned over.

“Nothing in history quite compares to James Caird’s epic voyage,” says polar historian Michael Smith of the 16-day journey.

Against all odds, the men reached the island. But retrieving the remaining 22 men on Elephant Island would prove difficult. Shackleton set out on two different ships, neither of which was able to cut through the pack ice. Finally, on August 30, 1916—more than two years after embarking on the expedition—Shackleton, aboard a Chilean steamer, spotted Elephant Island. “I have done it,” he wrote in a letter to his wife, Emily. “Not a life lost and we have been through Hell.”

“Nothing in history quite compares to James Caird’s epic voyage,” says polar historian Michael Smith of the 16-day journey.

Against all odds, the men reached the island. But rescuing the remaining 22 men on Elephant Island would prove difficult. Shackleton set out on two different ships, neither of which was able to cut through the pack ice. Finally, on August 30, 1916, he spotted Elephant Island while aboard a Chilean steamer. More than two years had passed since the crew left for the expedition. “I have done it,” Shackleton wrote in a letter to his wife, Emily. “Not a life lost and we have been through Hell.”

Shackleton went down in history for his leadership in the face of hardship. Koehn, the historian, says he and the Endurance voyage can teach us something about what it means to brave another pandemic winter.

“Shackleton had no idea when that ship got stuck that it was going to take almost two years to get his men home safely,” she says. “Even though crises last longer than we think and at times can get more difficult than simpler to navigate, we have the stamina, the intelligence, and the emotional awareness to keep going on.”

Now, 100 years after the death of Shackleton, explorers with the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust are planning to embark on a voyage this February to uncover the Endurance’s wreckage in the Weddell Sea. The ultimate goal of this new expedition: to shed light on the story of the Endurance crew to inspire the next generation.

Says trust chairman Donald Lamont: “We hope that bringing this story to new generations will inspire them to explore, to overcome whatever challenges they may face, and to understand more about the Antarctic environment and how important it is.”

Now, 100 years after the death of Shackleton, explorers with the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust are planning to take a voyage this February to uncover the Endurance’s wreckage in the Weddell Sea. The ultimate goal of this new expedition is to shed light on the story of the Endurance crew to inspire the next generation.

Says trust chairman Donald Lamont: “We hope that bringing this story to new generations will inspire them to explore, to overcome whatever challenges they may face, and to understand more about the Antarctic environment and how important it is.”