Endurance Expedition (1914-16)

Although Amundsen reached the South Pole in 1911, interest in the Antarctic continued. Shackleton solicited investment from donors to launch a trans-Antarctic expedition to carry the British flag across the continent from the Weddell Sea on the Atlantic side to the Ross Sea on the Pacific side by way of the pole. The largest contribution, £24,000, came from James Key Caird. Shackleton was also able to acquire funds from the British government (£10,000); the Royal Geographical Society (£1,000); Dame Janet Stancomb-Wills, daughter of a tobacco tycoon; and Dudley Docker of the Birmingham Small Arms Company. During his career Shackleton was able to raise the equivalent of what would today be £5 million for his trips.

Interest in the expedition was enormous: Shackleton received more than 5,000 applications for participation. He chose people he considered the most qualified candidates, either from his personal experience - eight came from the Nimrod expedition - or on the recommendation of his colleagues. Shackleton's interview process was unique: he frequently asked unconventional questions such as "what songs can you sing" or if the candidate "knew gold when he saw it." In this way he hoped to build group camaraderie for the difficult journey ahead. Shackleton also encouraged esprit de corps by dissolving traditional hierarchies. For example, all men were required to take shifts on watch and scrubbing the deck. In all, fifty-six men were chosen and divided into two groups, and Shackleton acquired two ships: Endurance for a Weddell Sea team and Aurora for a Ross Sea Party.

Endurance departed Plymouth for the Antarctic on 8 August 1914, with 28 men. As Endurance approached Antarctica, ice conditions worsened, until on 17 January Endurance became frozen in place, and Shackleton ordered the ship wintered.

In May, the Antarctic sun set for the last time before winter, and Endurance kept its position until spring in the hope that warmer weather would free the vessel from the ice. When spring arrived, however, the breaking of the ice and subsequent movement of giant ice floes splintered the ship's hull. Although Endurance withstood considerable stress, on 24 October she was forced against a large floe, and water began pouring in. After a few days, on 27 October, Shackleton gave the abandon-ship order, and on 21 November 1915, Endurance finally slipped beneath the ice at 69° 00' S, 51° 30' W. To supplement their diet in Antarctica the men ate penguins and seals found in the area. This ceased when the local animals migrated north for the winter; food became scarce, and the men resorted to eating their dogs. Mrs. Chippy, the beloved cat of the carpenter, Harry McNish, and the youngest of the pups born during the expedition were shot soon after Endurance was abandoned because Shackleton did not think they would survive the ordeal.

For almost two months, Shackleton and his men camped on an ice floe hoping that it would drift towards Paulet Island approximately 400 kilometres (250 mi) away. On 23 December Shackleton decided to start sledging towards the island. However, because of the constantly changing sea ice, the party only managed to march a few miles in a week before deciding to set up another more permanent camp (Patience Camp) on another floe and trust to the drift of the pack ice to take them in the right direction. By 5 March, their ice camp came close to Paulet Island but, separated by impassable ice, they were unable to reach the island as the floe continued to drift north.

On 9 April the ice floe that they were camped on broke into two, and Shackleton decided that the crew should enter the lifeboats and head for land. The question presented to the party was where to go. Shackleton decided to lead the crew to Deception Island, about 320 kilometres (200 mi) away. However, after a few days in the boats, the crew members realised that their scarce resources would not allow them to make that journey. On April 12 Shackleton discussed with his crew the possibility of reaching Hope Bay on the continent, now only 130 kilometres (81 mi) distant. However, ice conditions were treacherous and after another night the men looked "seriously worn and strained". Shackleton realised the closer Elephant Island was the only option. After seven days at sea in the three small lifeboats, the men landed at Elephant Island.

Elephant Island was an inhospitable place far from any shipping routes and thus a poor location to await rescue. Consequently, Shackleton felt it essential that he set out to find help immediately upon arrival, and to him, it was obvious that he must head back to South Georgia, even if it meant traversing 1,287 kilometres (800 mi) of open ocean in one of the lifeboats. The lifeboat James Caird was chosen for the trip. To prepare for the journey, Shackleton chose his strongest sailors to accompany him, John Vincent and Timothy McCarthy, as well as experienced officer Thomas Crean. Shackleton also selected the expedition's carpenter, Harry McNish, who immediately made improvements to the open lifeboat. Morrell argues that Shackleton chose McNish and Vincent to accompany him not only for their talent and toughness, but also because they were noted malcontents. He did not want the atmosphere on Elephant Island to be disrupted. Shackleton had frequently chosen to have the most rebellious crew members close to him, in order to quell discontent amongst the party. The difficult task of navigating the crossing was left to Frank Worsley. Ensuring they were on the correct course was of utmost importance as missing their target would certainly have doomed the team.

The waters that Shackleton had to cross in his boat of 6.85 metres (22.5 ft) are among the most treacherous in the world. Weather reports confirm that gale-force winds of 60 kilometres per hour (37 mph) to 70 kilometres per hour (43 mph) are present in the Drake Passage between South America and Antarctica on an average of 200 days per year; they cause ocean swells of 6 metres (20 ft), and Frank Worsley later commented on the poor weather conditions which complicated the task. Celestial navigation readings were only possible at four times during the 800-mile (1,300 km) journey. He also noted that waves of 16 metres (52 ft) were not uncommon.

Shackleton had refused to pack supplies for more than four weeks, knowing that if they did not reach land by that time the boat would be lost. And indeed, after 14 days, the crew was within sight of Cave Cove, South Georgia. To avoid a night landing on an unfamiliar shore Shackleton ordered the boat to sit out at sea until first light, during which time a storm with hurricane-force winds blew up. After battling against the storm for nine hours they were finally able to land. Leaving McNish, Vincent and McCarthy at the landing point on South Georgia, Shackleton travelled with Worsley and Crean over mountainous terrain for 36 hours to Stromness. No man had previously been able to venture more than 1 kilometre (0.6 mi) inland on the island; Shackleton's party were the first people to cross South Georgia. The next successful attempt was not until 1955. Staggering into Stromness, Shackleton and his team were welcomed into the whaling manager's house.

Shackleton's first three attempts to rescue his men on Elephant Island failed. Desperate, he finally appealed to the Chilean government, which offered the help of Yelcho, a small seagoing tug from its navy. Yelcho reached Elephant Island on 30 August, and Shackleton, in a quick operation, evacuated all 22 men, who had been stranded for 105 days. Meanwhile, the Ross Sea Party was still stranded at Cape Evans on Ross Island because Aurora had been stuck in ice for 10 months and could not reach them. Shackleton met Aurora in New Zealand and returned to rescue the Ross Sea Party. Although every member of the Weddell Sea Party that Shackleton had led survived, three members of the Ross Sea Party lost their lives.