The Heart of the Antarctic: The Farthest South Expedition 1907-1909In 1907, veteran Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton launched an attempt to reach the South Pole. It was a trek into the vast unknown -- a supreme test of man's endurance, in the most hostile environment on Earth. The party encountered obstacles from the start as the overloaded Nimrod was tossed in the icy, turbulent waters. But Shackleton and his men succeeded in ascending the 13,000-foot volcanic Mount Erebus, reaching the magnetic South Pole, and penetrating deeper into the continent than anyone had before. They defied death every step of the way -- traversing crevasse-riddled glaciers, facing constant exhaustion from short rations, combating snow blindness, sub-zero temperatures, and sudden blizzards -- and hauling hundreds of pounds of supplies over the frozen wasteland after the death of their Manchurian ponies. Then, only ninety-seven miles from achieving the dream, Shackleton and his party had to abandon their quest and execute a desperate forced march to reach the Nimrod before its departure date -- or face being marooned on the ice.... |
