Antarctica, the southernmost continent on Earth, is surrounded by thick sea ice. Temperatures there can dip below –70 degrees Fahrenheit.
By 1910, Shackleton had already been on two Antarctic expeditions. His third voyage began when the Endurance departed from England in August 1914.
As the crew got closer to Antarctica, the trip became more difficult. The Endurance slowly sailed through cracks in the frozen sea until it could no longer move. As one crew member put it, the ship was “frozen, like an almond in the middle of a chocolate bar.”
When the crew was finally forced to leave the ship, they took food, equipment, and three lifeboats with them. They set up camp on the sea ice. The goal of the trip had changed—from exploration to survival.