Today is Ernest Shackleton's birthday

[red dog 1]

Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (Feb. 15, 1874 - January 2, 1922), was a polar explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic.

After the race to the South Pole ended in December 1911 with Roald Amundsen's conquest, Shackleton turned his attention to the crossing of Antarctica from sea to sea, via the pole.
To this end he made preparations for what became the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition,
(1914-1917).

Disaster struck this expedition when it's ship, "Endurance," became stuck in pack ice and was slowly crushed before the shore parties could be landed.
The crew escaped by camping on the sea ice until it disengaged, then by launching the life boats to reach Elephant Island.
Eventually, Shackleton and 5 other crew members sailed one of the lifeboats several hundred miles to the island of South Georgia.
Unable to reach the whaling station on the far side of South Georgia by boat, Shackleton and 2 others traveled across South Georgia on foot...an incredible feat that no one had ever accomplished before or since, until the 1950s.

An excellent book about this expedition is called:
"Endurance" by Alfred Lansing

[PJMcK]

1. "Endurance" is an amazing book!

About 20 years ago, I got stranded in the middle of New Hampshire during the winter. The cabin I was staying in was warm and comfortable but I had nothing to do.

"Endurance" was among the books in the book shelves and it was a wonderful way to spend a couple of days while stuck in a New England snow storm.

Shackleton was a true hero!

[red dog 1]

3. + 1

I bought Endurance on audio tape, and I've read it a couple of times.
It's an amazing story, and very well written.

I also bought "South" which was the book Shackleton himself wrote about the expedition, and it was dull in comparison to "Endurance"

[sinkingfeeling]

13. I'm reading "Shackleton's Boat Journey" written by navigator

F. A. Worsley right now.

[dhol82]

2. I visited his gravesite

Glorious setting.
Sad that it also overlooked an old whale oil rendering station. The story of the killing and harvesting was brutal.

[red dog 1]

4. Where was he buried?

[sinkingfeeling]

6. He's buried on South Georgia. I drank a toast to the "Boss" at his grave in Nov.

[red dog 1]

9. Thanks for that

I hadn't read the entire Wikipedia article about him.
It shows a photo of his grave site on South Georgia.

[sinkingfeeling]

11. Here's a picture of his grave.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/23ivgew][img][/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/23ivgew]IMG_0546[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/141503339@N07/]

[red dog 1]

12. Thanks for that

[dhol82]

7. Grytviken, South Georgia Island

Stopped there on my way to Antarctica.

[sinkingfeeling]

8. When were you at Grytviken?

[sinkingfeeling]

5. A true leader of men. The story of the crossing between Elephant Island

and South Georgia has to be one of the greatest naval accomishments in history.

[red dog 1]

10. + 1

And the size of the small lifeboat the six men were in makes it an even more amazing sea journey.

[kairos12]

14. Raymond Priestly Quote

“For scientific discovery, give me Scott; for speed and efficiency of travel, give me Amundsen; but when you are in a hopeless situation, when you are seeing no way out, get down on your knees and pray for Shackleton”