The Transantarctic Epedition

By: russ

• Born 15 February 1874 in County Kildare, Ireland

• Grew up in in suburban London • And was homeschooled till the age of

eleven

• After home school he began his edeucation at Fir Lodge preparatory school

• This school just happened to be right next to his home in west hill

• Later in the year of 1887 he left Fir Lodge for Dilwich College

• Shackleton wanted to become a sailor and began at the age of 16, against his fathers wishes

• The HOGHTON TOWER was bound for Valparaiso round Cape Horn. They reached Cape Horn in the middle of winter and fought against storms for nearly two months before finally rounding the Cape. Battered by the seas, the HOGHTON TOWER reached Valparaiso in the middle of August. From there she sailed for Iquique, Chile where for six weeks she loaded nitrates. The HOGHTON TOWER returned to Liverpool at the end of April, 1891, with food and water running out. It was a hard, difficult trip, especially for a sixteen-year-old old novice.

• For the next five years shackleton sailed from the far east to the Americas

• In 1896, without much difficulty, Shackleton passed for First Mate.

• In April 1898, he was certified as Master.

• At the age of twenty-four he had qualified to command a British ship anywhere on the seven seas.

• Shackleton volunteered for an expedition to the south pole

• The captain of the expedition was Robert Falcon Scott.

• He was accepted and the expedition left on Christmas Eve 1901

• Traveling to Antarctica was very difficult and time consuming.

• The crew was inexperienced and became sick • Scurvy is what eventually contributed for

shackletons return home.• The expedition never made it to the south

pole.

• In 1908 shackleton began his own attempt at glory

• The expedition was another attempt at the south pole

• The ship was named nimrod• Crew members took the ships as far as

possible then they began to walk.• Soon the crew began to suffer from cold

hunger and exhaustion.• shackleton turned back only 97 miles of

the south pole.

• A new crew lead by Ronald Amundsen became the first to reach the south pole

• Robert Scott and four others reached the pole just behind them

• Scotts crew never made it out of Antarctica.

• Shackleton began a new goal to cross the full 1,800 miles of Antarctica.

• The ship named Endurance was made to withstand the polar ice. (“by endurance we conquer”)

• Another team was to set depots for the expedition.

• Shackleton advertized and many volunteered.

• 28 men left on December 5, 1914 at 8:15 a.m.

• 15 miles north of sanders island is were the endurance encountered pack ice.

• The ice soon began to thicken.• January set in and the men were

entertained by playing football.• The ship was frozen solid on January 19• The last day of sun was on may 1st (70

day Antarctic winter began).• Now the provisions were running low. • The endurance was stuck for good

• on November 21, 1915 the endurance sank• Christmas on Dec. 22nd was there last good meal

before the survival voyage across Antarctica• 2 life boats were carried along the ice and used

when the ice became too thin. • The men had not seen land in 16 months.• shackleton and 5 others began a voyage to south

Georgia• The going was very wet and rough. • Huge cross sea waves were experienced• They reached south Georgia on may 10th ,but on

the wrong side of the island.• May 15th shackleton and 3 others traveled across

south Georgia and bareley made it alive

• No man on shackleton crew died during this expedition.

• Shackleton never made it across Antarctica

• he only went back one other time and he died of a heart attack on the return journey.