Ernest Shackleton and the Long Wake of Endurance (note: Rewrite of Anna’s original article long version) Leadership, survival, and the making of a polar legend Few figures in Antarctic history cast as long a shadow as Sir Ernest Shackleton. His name endures not because he conquered the continent, but because he chose people over…
Shackleton’s island of return Some places become legends because history happened there. South Georgia is different. It answered. When hope thinned to a line and the Southern Ocean had the last word, this island gave Ernest Shackleton his way back. For the Ernest Shackleton, South Georgia was never incidental. It was a place he knew,…
Shackleton’s Early Christmas You may be surprised with how quickly Christmas seems to come round again every year. But115 years ago while attempting the Trans-Antarctic expedition, Sir Earnest Shackleton and his crew choose to celebrate Christmas three days early on 22 December 2015. Choose might not be quite the right word. The Situation was…
Ice 101: Understanding polar ice in the Arctic, Antarctic, and South Georgia Island Field notes from the world’s frozen front lines Ice is the single most formidable force in polar regions, shaping landscapes, ecosystems, wildlife habitats, and the very history of exploration. For centuries, navigating ice has defined polar exploration, whether by ship, ski, sledge,…
Few birds have carried human imagination across as many centuries—and oceans—as the wandering albatross. With the largest wingspan of any living bird (up to 4 meters), it’s no wonder writers, sailors, poets, and children’s authors have long cast it as everything from a good-luck omen to a symbol of endurance, faith, and freedom. A…