THE HISTORY

In the summer of 1914, Shackleton and his crew of 27 set sail to claim the last great prize of Antarctic exploration: crossing the frozen continent on foot. But their ship Endurance became trapped by pack ice and was eventually crushed, leaving the crew stranded on a frozen wasteland more than a thousand miles from civilization.

After camping on dangerous ice floes for five months, Shackleton's men boarded lifeboats they had been hauling since the loss of Endurance. Six very dangerous and exhausting days later they reached Elephant Island, a barren outcrop too remote to provide any hope of rescue. From there, Shackleton and five volunteers set out for South Georgia Island in an open lifeboat.

Seventeen days later, they miraculously reached their destination by crossing the Drake Passage, 850 miles of the deadliest seas on earth. Once on South Georgia, Shackleton and two men scaled a 2,000 foot glacier with just a single rope and an ice pick in order to reach the Whaling Station in Grytviken, where they summoned help. Every single one of his men survived.

Because of his extraordinary example of courage, optimism, and motivation, King George V called him "The greatest leader of men that God ever chose to place upon the earth"