Shackleton's AMAZING Endurance Expedition

Antarctica is a great place to curl up with a good book.

I recently read the most wonderful book called Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage. It is a gripping biographical account of Shackleton's harrowing failure of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition.

Shackleton attempted to lead a 27-man crew across the entire Antarctic continent in 1914
The book's title refers to the ship Shackleton used for the expedition, the Endurance. The ship was beset and eventually crushed by ice floes in the Weddell Sea leaving the men stranded and wandering on the pack ice for 2 years.

The book follows their subsequent struggle for survival and self-rescue. Two years later, the crew eventually sailed in a life boat over 1000 miles to the nearby inhabited whaling island of South George.

Shackleton did not lose a single man along the way.

Their entire journey thrilled me to my fingertips. These 28 men make Bear Grylls look like a Beverly Hills socialite.

People compare these guys to a modern day Red Bull team. But unlike today's adrenaline junkies who perform unnecessary, death-defying feats in order to get their rocks off, these men were TRUE extremists.

Having lived on this harsh continent myself, I am inspired by their survivalist spirit. They NEVER gave up. Although McMurdo Station would be considered the absolute Lap of Luxury in 1914, it is still a pain in the butt to live in Antarctica.

Well done, Boys!

Here is a series of images of their journey by the crew's photographer Frank Hurley. (Courtesy of the Getty Images Archives).

The handsome, heroic Ernest Shackleton: leader of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition.

Frank Worsley, captain of The Endurance.

I have this exact same outfit

Photographer Frank Hurley gets a high angle shot.

Frank Wild, second in command.

Lionel Greenstreet, first officer.

Navigating Officer Hubert Hudson with Emperor penguin chicks.

Second Officer Tom Crean with sled dog puppies.

Owd Bob, sled dog.

Crew take the dogs out on to the ice.

Third Officer Alfred Cheetham adjusts the signal flags of the Endurance.

John Vincent, Boatswain, mends a net on the Endurance.

The icebound Endurance

The Endurance at sunrise.

The wake of Endurance as she pushes through the ice of the Weddell Sea

Crew attempt to clear a path through the ice for Endurance

Endurance at night, illuminated by flashlight.

Charles Green, the cook, skins a penguin for dinner.

Physicist Reginald James outside his observatory

A Saturday evening toast to sweethearts and wives.

Typical Brits. Playing soccer in ridiculous weather conditions 

Not much changes here in 100 years. We still read books and put up photos of loved ones 

Evening amusements in "The RItz" aboard the Endurance

The sun rises on Endurance after the darkness of winter.

Endurance lists as she is squeezed by shifting ice.

Crew retrieve fresh ice to use for water.

Dog teams search for a way to land across the ice.

Scrubbing the floors of the "The Ritz" aboard Endurance.

"Ice flowers" form on the pack ice near Endurance.

Frank Wild, Second in Command, contemplates the wreck of the Endurance.

Crew members haul one of the lifeboats across the ice after the loss of Endurance.

The James Caird is launched from Elephant Island on a mission to reach South Georgia Island.

Crew wave farewell as the James Caird sets off for South Georgia Island in search of rescue.

The beach on Elephant Island where the expedition made its camp.