1 00:03:37,250 --> 00:03:40,541 My father never... 2 00:03:43,250 --> 00:03:49,750 ...to any of us, his children, ever discussed that expedition. 3 00:03:50,208 --> 00:03:53,958 Occasionally, an odd statement came out... 4 00:03:54,208 --> 00:03:57,541 ...but he never let us read his diaries when he was alive. 5 00:03:57,708 --> 00:04:00,208 They were locked up. 6 00:04:01,916 --> 00:04:06,875 My father never spoke. He did say they had a tough time. 7 00:04:07,083 --> 00:04:09,208 We were a bit too young to listen to him. 8 00:04:10,875 --> 00:04:15,583 But apart from that at all, l never heard him speak much about it. 9 00:04:22,416 --> 00:04:25,791 The 1 9 1 4 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition... 10 00:04:25,958 --> 00:04:29,416 ...under the leadership of polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton... 11 00:04:29,583 --> 00:04:35,708 ...would have been the last great journey in the heroic Age of Discovery. 12 00:04:39,083 --> 00:04:41,041 It was a daring scheme. 13 00:04:41,208 --> 00:04:45,708 A small party was to cross the Antarctic continent for the first time. 14 00:04:45,916 --> 00:04:47,291 According to legend... 15 00:04:47,458 --> 00:04:51,541 ...Shackleton announced the expedition in a now-famous advertisement. 16 00:04:52,958 --> 00:04:55,958 ''Men wanted for hazardous journey. 17 00:04:56,166 --> 00:05:00,083 Small wages, bitter cold... 18 00:05:00,291 --> 00:05:02,375 ...long months of complete darkness... 19 00:05:02,583 --> 00:05:07,166 ...constant danger, safe return doubtful. 20 00:05:07,583 --> 00:05:12,708 Honor and recognition in case of success. Ernest Shackleton.'' 21 00:05:13,416 --> 00:05:17,250 My grandfather, Col. Orde-Lees, was always looking for an opportunity... 22 00:05:19,416 --> 00:05:21,041 ...to do something exceptional. 23 00:05:21,416 --> 00:05:25,375 And such an ad would have been catnip to my grandfather. 24 00:05:25,541 --> 00:05:28,166 He couldn't resist it. 25 00:05:29,375 --> 00:05:34,041 Chippy McNish saw an advertisement in the paper... 26 00:05:34,250 --> 00:05:36,541 ...looking for men to go to Antarctica... 27 00:05:38,750 --> 00:05:41,750 ...and it said that you might not return. 28 00:05:42,666 --> 00:05:45,791 So he went and seen about it and got there. 29 00:05:50,250 --> 00:05:51,875 Five thousand men... 30 00:05:52,083 --> 00:05:56,916 ...from sailors to Cambridge-educated scientists, responded. 31 00:05:57,416 --> 00:06:03,250 Like Ernest Shackleton, they were drawn by hopes of adventure and glory. 32 00:06:03,416 --> 00:06:06,208 l had a dream when l was 22... 33 00:06:06,375 --> 00:06:10,375 ...that someday l would go to the region of ice and snow... 34 00:06:10,541 --> 00:06:16,750 ...and go on and on till l came to one of the poles of the Earth. 35 00:06:21,458 --> 00:06:25,125 Exploration had earned Shackleton fame and a knighthood... 36 00:06:25,291 --> 00:06:28,750 ...but he had still not realized his dream. 37 00:06:28,916 --> 00:06:32,083 Twice before, he had set out to claim the South Pole... 38 00:06:32,250 --> 00:06:34,791 ...and twice he had returned defeated... 39 00:06:34,958 --> 00:06:39,875 ...ultimately losing this prize to Norwegian Roald Amundsen. 40 00:06:45,041 --> 00:06:49,125 Shackleton's new venture captured the British imagination. 41 00:06:49,291 --> 00:06:51,958 Not all, however, were impressed. 42 00:06:52,166 --> 00:06:55,125 First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill, for one... 43 00:06:55,291 --> 00:06:58,416 ...viewed the famous explorer as a mere adventurer... 44 00:06:58,666 --> 00:07:00,791 ...and dismissed his latest project. 45 00:07:00,958 --> 00:07:05,416 ''Enough life and money has been spent on this sterile quest, '' he wrote. 46 00:07:05,583 --> 00:07:12,041 ''The pole has already been discovered. What is the use of another expedition?'' 47 00:07:14,041 --> 00:07:19,208 Nevertheless, in August 1 9 1 4, after seven frantic months of preparation... 48 00:07:19,416 --> 00:07:25,666 ...Shackleton and his crew of 2 7 men were poised for departure. 49 00:07:26,916 --> 00:07:29,041 But even as his ship set sail... 50 00:07:29,250 --> 00:07:34,416 ...the world in which Shackleton's dream had been conceived was coming apart. 51 00:07:42,375 --> 00:07:45,208 World War I broke out in Europe. 52 00:07:46,208 --> 00:07:50,375 Shackleton offered his ship and men to Britain's war effort. 53 00:07:50,583 --> 00:07:56,208 The Admiralty declined the offer in a single word: ''Proceed. '' 54 00:07:59,750 --> 00:08:03,708 Shackleton's ship, Endurance, was named for his family motto: 55 00:08:03,916 --> 00:08:05,708 ''By endurance we conquer. '' 56 00:08:05,875 --> 00:08:10,041 The phrase that summed up Shackleton's own drive and resilience. 57 00:08:10,208 --> 00:08:12,541 He was determined not to repeat earlier mistakes... 58 00:08:12,708 --> 00:08:16,750 ...that had cost him the prize of the South Pole. 59 00:08:18,666 --> 00:08:20,708 Following the successful Norwegians... 60 00:08:20,916 --> 00:08:25,041 ...Shackleton brought along 69 Canadian sled dogs. 61 00:08:30,916 --> 00:08:34,375 Food supplies would also be depoted for the six-man sledging party... 62 00:08:34,583 --> 00:08:39,458 ...that would make the 1 500-mile journey across the Antarctic continent. 63 00:08:41,583 --> 00:08:44,291 Shackleton's own ship would approach Antarctica... 64 00:08:44,458 --> 00:08:48,916 ...from the ice-strewn waters of the little-known Weddell Sea. 65 00:08:50,791 --> 00:08:53,625 The sea's gateway was the island of South Georgia... 66 00:08:53,791 --> 00:08:56,250 ...the Endurance's last port of call. 67 00:08:56,416 --> 00:08:59,250 An outpost of humanity amidst the frozen wastes... 68 00:08:59,416 --> 00:09:02,708 ...the island was home to small whaling communities... 69 00:09:02,875 --> 00:09:05,666 ...run by company men. 70 00:09:06,875 --> 00:09:10,291 A local priest romantically described these whalers... 71 00:09:10,458 --> 00:09:13,916 ...as a ''motley race of former noblemen and other fallen creatures... 72 00:09:14,083 --> 00:09:16,958 ...who now strip blubber or render oil. 73 00:09:17,166 --> 00:09:22,041 Many, if not most, are at odds with life. '' 74 00:09:22,958 --> 00:09:28,375 Ernest Shackleton had something in common with these loners and outsiders. 75 00:09:28,541 --> 00:09:32,583 Born in Ireland, he had married the daughter of a well-to-do English lawyer... 76 00:09:32,750 --> 00:09:35,875 ...but he was an indifferent husband and father. 77 00:09:36,041 --> 00:09:41,541 A restless soul, he had always been happiest on his far-flung expeditions. 78 00:09:41,750 --> 00:09:43,375 He once wrote to his wife: 79 00:09:43,583 --> 00:09:48,125 ''Sometimes I think I am no good at anything but being away in the wilds. '' 80 00:09:48,291 --> 00:09:54,791 Shackleton was not your 9-to-5 man, your commuting type. 81 00:09:55,083 --> 00:09:59,416 He wanted to be a great man. He was searching for greatness, for reputation. 82 00:10:01,416 --> 00:10:04,625 And in a sense, l think he would have stuck at nothing... 83 00:10:04,791 --> 00:10:08,541 ...to achieve fame and fortune. 84 00:10:12,041 --> 00:10:15,708 For all of November, Shackleton and his crew waited... 85 00:10:15,875 --> 00:10:19,875 ...hoping that unusually icy conditions in the Weddell Sea that austral spring... 86 00:10:20,083 --> 00:10:22,291 ...would improve. 87 00:10:23,166 --> 00:10:26,750 Expedition photographer Frank Hurley began his record... 88 00:10:26,916 --> 00:10:31,750 ...by capturing images of exotic wildlife for an eager British audience. 89 00:10:31,916 --> 00:10:33,791 The sale of film and photo rights... 90 00:10:33,958 --> 00:10:37,583 ...had been crucial to financing the costly venture. 91 00:10:59,041 --> 00:11:01,750 Perce Blackborow, a young Welsh stowaway... 92 00:11:01,916 --> 00:11:04,625 ...sometimes served as Hurley's assistant. 93 00:11:04,791 --> 00:11:07,250 Blackborow had fallen in love with the Endurance... 94 00:11:07,416 --> 00:11:10,541 ...when she had docked in Buenos Aires on her way south. 95 00:11:10,708 --> 00:11:13,791 Mrs. Chippy, the carpenter's popular tomcat... 96 00:11:13,958 --> 00:11:18,208 ...also along for the ride, had fallen overboard on the outward journey. 97 00:11:18,416 --> 00:11:22,041 The ship had turned around to pick him up. 98 00:11:22,750 --> 00:11:27,041 The crew took advantage of their last opportunity to send letters home. 99 00:11:27,250 --> 00:11:30,291 Navigator Huberht Hudson wrote his father: 100 00:11:30,458 --> 00:11:34,208 ''Dear old Dad, just a line before we sail. 101 00:11:34,416 --> 00:11:38,875 We've had a very good time so far, and l think we shall do well. 102 00:11:39,041 --> 00:11:44,416 l hope to be home again within 1 9 months and go straight to the front. 103 00:11:44,583 --> 00:11:48,208 What a glorious age we live in!'' 104 00:11:50,375 --> 00:11:53,375 By early December, Shackleton could delay no longer... 105 00:11:53,541 --> 00:11:56,500 ...if he were to take advantage of the Antarctic summer. 106 00:11:56,708 --> 00:11:59,708 All his resources had been committed to the expedition... 107 00:11:59,916 --> 00:12:03,416 ...and behind him, Europe was at war. 108 00:12:03,583 --> 00:12:08,208 Twice before, he had seen his dream snatched from him. 109 00:12:15,458 --> 00:12:20,583 He was now 40 years old, and this was his last chance. 110 00:12:21,375 --> 00:12:27,875 On December 5, 1 9 1 4, the Endurance left the island and headed south. 111 00:13:21,708 --> 00:13:24,250 On the third day, they encountered the enemy. 112 00:13:24,875 --> 00:13:29,791 The huge, compacted chunks of surface water known as ''pack ice. '' 113 00:13:32,583 --> 00:13:34,583 The pack stretched to the horizon... 114 00:13:34,750 --> 00:13:38,458 ...broken only by gaps of open water known as leads. 115 00:13:41,083 --> 00:13:45,416 The challenge would be to navigate the shifting, 1 000-mile tangle of leads... 116 00:13:45,583 --> 00:13:48,375 ...all the way to the continent. 117 00:14:06,916 --> 00:14:11,250 Dr. Alexander Macklin, a Scottish surgeon and one of the dog minders... 118 00:14:11,416 --> 00:14:16,250 ...recorded his observations of the ship's high-spirited captain, Frank Worsley. 119 00:14:16,416 --> 00:14:20,208 Worsley specialized in ramming, and l have a sneaking suspicion... 120 00:14:20,375 --> 00:14:23,916 ...that he often went out of his way to find a nice piece of floe... 121 00:14:24,083 --> 00:14:28,083 ...at which he could drive at full speed and cut in two. 122 00:14:28,250 --> 00:14:30,875 He loved to feel the shock, the riding up... 123 00:14:31,083 --> 00:14:35,291 ...and the sensation as the ice gave and we drove through it. 124 00:14:55,958 --> 00:14:59,083 Some days, the ship was held up by ice. 125 00:14:59,250 --> 00:15:03,458 On others, she made long runs in open water. 126 00:15:07,416 --> 00:15:12,250 After six weeks of travel, the Endurance was only 1 00 miles from the continent... 127 00:15:12,416 --> 00:15:17,541 ...when she entered a field of heavy brash ice, slowing the ship to a crawl. 128 00:15:17,750 --> 00:15:21,375 Capt. Worsley recorded a fateful decision. 129 00:15:21,583 --> 00:15:25,583 The character of the pack has again changed. The floes are very thick. 130 00:15:25,750 --> 00:15:29,750 We cannot push through except with a very great expenditure of power. 131 00:15:29,916 --> 00:15:32,083 We therefore prefer to lie to for a while... 132 00:15:32,250 --> 00:15:37,041 ...to see if the pack opens at all when this northeast wind clears. 133 00:15:40,916 --> 00:15:44,541 When day broke, the men found the ice had closed around the ship. 134 00:15:44,708 --> 00:15:48,666 No water was visible in any direction. 135 00:15:48,875 --> 00:15:53,458 As the days passed, the ice showed no sign of relenting. 136 00:15:55,083 --> 00:15:58,708 The event that sealed their fate was recalled years later... 137 00:15:58,875 --> 00:16:03,250 ...in a radio interview by expedition meteorologist Leonard Hussey. 138 00:16:03,416 --> 00:16:07,375 On the 1 4 of February, 1 91 5, the temperature suddenly dropped... 139 00:16:07,541 --> 00:16:10,375 ...from 20 degrees above zero to 20 degrees below... 140 00:16:10,541 --> 00:16:13,708 ...and the whole sea froze over and we froze in with it. 141 00:16:13,916 --> 00:16:17,708 An unexpected lead opened up 400 yards ahead... 142 00:16:17,875 --> 00:16:20,958 ...offering a chance to reach open water. 143 00:16:21,166 --> 00:16:24,250 Of course we had no explosive to blast our way out. 144 00:16:24,416 --> 00:16:27,541 We just had picks and shovels. 145 00:16:46,875 --> 00:16:51,541 For 48 hours, the men attacked the ice. 146 00:17:54,875 --> 00:17:58,333 Frank Hurley, who filmed the men's exhausting bid for freedom... 147 00:17:58,541 --> 00:17:59,916 ...wrote in his diary: 148 00:18:00,083 --> 00:18:02,083 All hands hard at it till midnight... 149 00:18:02,250 --> 00:18:05,250 ...when a survey is made of the remaining two-thirds. 150 00:18:05,416 --> 00:18:08,708 Itis reluctantly determined to relinquish the task... 151 00:18:08,916 --> 00:18:13,041 ...as the remainder of the ice is unworkable. 152 00:18:36,750 --> 00:18:40,250 They were trapped until spring, some seven months away. 153 00:18:40,416 --> 00:18:45,666 Beyond even radio contact, no one in the world knew where they were. 154 00:18:46,375 --> 00:18:51,750 They had been thwarted only one day's sail from their destination. 155 00:19:00,041 --> 00:19:02,541 In his diary, Dr. Macklin wrote: 156 00:19:02,750 --> 00:19:05,791 Itwas more than tantalizing. Itwas maddening. 157 00:19:05,958 --> 00:19:10,458 Shackleton, at this time, showed one of his sparks of real greatness. 158 00:19:10,666 --> 00:19:17,166 He did not rage at all, or show outwardly the slightest sign of disappointment. 159 00:19:17,416 --> 00:19:21,333 He told us simply and calmly that we must winter in the pack. 160 00:19:21,541 --> 00:19:26,375 Never lost his optimism and prepared for the winter. 161 00:19:32,416 --> 00:19:36,541 Optimism was at the very core of Ernest Shackleton's personality. 162 00:19:36,750 --> 00:19:40,041 Known to all as ''the Boss, '' he was a born leader... 163 00:19:40,208 --> 00:19:45,208 ...who was, from his youth, driven by a romantic quest for adventure. 164 00:19:45,375 --> 00:19:48,250 At 1 6, he had shipped out as a cabin boy. 165 00:19:48,416 --> 00:19:53,041 By 2 4, he was certified as a master in the merchant marine service. 166 00:19:53,250 --> 00:19:55,875 Shortly after, he was chosen as an officer... 167 00:19:56,083 --> 00:20:00,291 ...on Robert Falcon Scott's historic first voyage. 168 00:20:00,916 --> 00:20:05,250 There, he saw tensions flare among men of different personalities and classes... 169 00:20:05,416 --> 00:20:07,875 ...thrown together in close quarters... 170 00:20:08,041 --> 00:20:12,750 ...and watched as morale eroded under Scott's inadequate leadership. 171 00:20:12,916 --> 00:20:16,666 Shackleton knew he could do better. 172 00:20:29,166 --> 00:20:31,541 Now his own expedition was in trouble... 173 00:20:31,750 --> 00:20:35,875 ...trapped in the pack ice, drifting helplessly north. 174 00:20:39,666 --> 00:20:42,708 The crew, restless. 175 00:20:56,458 --> 00:21:00,541 Col. Thomas Orde-Lees, the storekeeper and motor expert... 176 00:21:00,750 --> 00:21:04,083 ...irritated everyone with his superior airs. 177 00:21:04,250 --> 00:21:07,416 In a characteristic diary entry, he observed: 178 00:21:07,583 --> 00:21:11,458 l have made a point of sitting at the same table as the 4th officer... 179 00:21:11,666 --> 00:21:14,750 ...and the carpenter, who is a perfect pig in every way. 180 00:21:14,916 --> 00:21:18,750 l've done this to try and accommodate oneself to ideas and ways... 181 00:21:18,916 --> 00:21:21,416 ...less refined than one's own. 182 00:21:23,583 --> 00:21:28,000 Others shared his distaste for mingling with different classes. 183 00:21:28,208 --> 00:21:33,375 McNish, the carpenter, had blunt words of his own for the superior motor expert. 184 00:21:34,041 --> 00:21:39,958 Orde-Lees is laid up with a sprained back. He was shoveling snow yesterday. 185 00:21:40,166 --> 00:21:43,541 The first work he has done since we left London. 186 00:21:49,208 --> 00:21:52,666 Shackleton insisted the men keep to a strict daily routine... 187 00:21:52,875 --> 00:21:56,458 ...and carefully monitored their morale. 188 00:22:08,875 --> 00:22:13,041 When dissension threatened, Shackleton was prepared to act forcefully. 189 00:22:13,208 --> 00:22:17,458 John Vincent, a heavyweight wrestling champion caught bullying the sailors... 190 00:22:17,666 --> 00:22:20,083 ...was summoned to Shackleton's cabin. 191 00:22:20,250 --> 00:22:23,083 He left demoted. 192 00:22:24,958 --> 00:22:28,708 Everyone, including the Boss himself, would work together. 193 00:22:28,875 --> 00:22:31,208 Seaman Walter How remembered: 194 00:22:31,375 --> 00:22:35,541 Everybody mucked in. Itdidn't matter who they were or what they were. 195 00:22:35,750 --> 00:22:39,166 Their qualifications didn't count for anything. 196 00:22:39,375 --> 00:22:43,958 Scientist James Wordie found himself assigned to a cleaning brigade. 197 00:22:44,166 --> 00:22:47,458 Everybody was prepared to join in whatever was happening... 198 00:22:47,666 --> 00:22:49,875 ...whether it be scrubbing the floor.... 199 00:22:50,041 --> 00:22:53,708 And l think Shackleton himself, with his lrish background... 200 00:22:53,875 --> 00:22:58,791 ...and ability to communicate and join in, made everybody feel that they were one. 201 00:22:59,583 --> 00:23:04,375 Itwas a team and not a them-and-us situation. 202 00:23:21,458 --> 00:23:23,458 He also communicated to his men... 203 00:23:23,666 --> 00:23:27,416 ...that he put them above the object of the expedition. 204 00:23:27,583 --> 00:23:30,541 The object was great, but they were more important. 205 00:23:31,416 --> 00:23:35,750 Second-in-command Frank Wild had been with Shackleton in 1 909... 206 00:23:35,916 --> 00:23:38,708 ...when the Boss, running out of supplies... 207 00:23:38,916 --> 00:23:42,875 ...gave up the pole in order to save his party from certain death. 208 00:23:43,166 --> 00:23:48,875 Wild had watched him turn back just 97 miles short of the prize. 209 00:23:49,083 --> 00:23:52,125 One night, with both men close to starvation... 210 00:23:52,291 --> 00:23:56,750 ...Shackleton had forced upon Wild a biscuit from his own meager rations. 211 00:23:56,916 --> 00:23:58,208 Wild recorded: 212 00:23:58,375 --> 00:24:01,583 l do not suppose that anyone else can thoroughly realize... 213 00:24:01,750 --> 00:24:04,750 ...how much generosity and sympathy was shown by this. 214 00:24:04,916 --> 00:24:08,458 l do. By God, l shall never forget it. 215 00:24:16,250 --> 00:24:19,541 The floating landscape convulsed into pressure ridges... 216 00:24:19,708 --> 00:24:22,375 ...became more difficult to negotiate. 217 00:24:22,541 --> 00:24:27,000 Ice claimed their entire horizon. 218 00:24:32,583 --> 00:24:37,083 As they drifted, Shackleton was mindful of the fate of the ship Belgica. 219 00:24:37,250 --> 00:24:40,250 She also had been frozen for a winter on the pack... 220 00:24:40,416 --> 00:24:45,833 ...and her crew had succumbed to infighting, and ultimately, insanity. 221 00:25:02,791 --> 00:25:08,458 The men turned to the dogs, who quickly became indispensable companions. 222 00:25:19,458 --> 00:25:20,916 Hurley recorded: 223 00:25:21,083 --> 00:25:23,208 A few words about my dogs. 224 00:25:23,416 --> 00:25:26,875 Shakespeare, aliases Tatchco, the Holy Hound, and Bug Whiskers... 225 00:25:27,083 --> 00:25:30,708 ...is a magnificent animal, somewhat resembling an English sheepdog. 226 00:25:30,916 --> 00:25:33,375 He is a noble creature, dignified in gait... 227 00:25:33,541 --> 00:25:38,166 ...master of the team in battle and a leader in canine sagacity. 228 00:25:39,083 --> 00:25:42,708 A good leader will ferret out the best track through broken country... 229 00:25:42,916 --> 00:25:48,250 ...will not allow fights in the team, or indulge in capricious antics. 230 00:25:48,875 --> 00:25:52,625 A team of nine dogs can haul about 1 000 pounds. 231 00:25:52,791 --> 00:25:55,666 My team is one of the best. 232 00:26:34,291 --> 00:26:39,041 The birth of four puppies captivated the entire company. 233 00:26:39,250 --> 00:26:44,875 Tom Crean, tough sailor that he was, became their adopted father. 234 00:27:17,375 --> 00:27:21,250 The men passed the long months with soccer matches. 235 00:27:23,458 --> 00:27:25,541 With theatrical evenings.... 236 00:27:31,416 --> 00:27:33,750 With weekly gramophone concerts... 237 00:27:41,958 --> 00:27:45,416 ...and a memorable haircutting tournament. 238 00:27:45,583 --> 00:27:47,041 McNish recorded: 239 00:27:47,208 --> 00:27:52,083 We do look a lot of convicts, and we are not much short of that life at present... 240 00:27:52,250 --> 00:27:56,083 ...but still hoping to get to civilization someday. 241 00:28:07,250 --> 00:28:11,041 By May, they had been trapped for over three months. 242 00:28:11,208 --> 00:28:13,416 The sun disappeared beneath the horizon... 243 00:28:13,583 --> 00:28:18,458 ...leaving days dark as night until the end of winter. 244 00:28:21,250 --> 00:28:23,416 The neat piles of sledging supplies... 245 00:28:23,583 --> 00:28:28,208 ...mocked Shackleton's ambition and the dreams of his men. 246 00:28:32,708 --> 00:28:35,875 Meanwhile, ominous forces were at work. 247 00:28:36,791 --> 00:28:41,250 Ice, their old enemy, menaced the helpless ship. 248 00:28:43,416 --> 00:28:46,458 Under pressure of the tightly congested pack... 249 00:28:46,666 --> 00:28:52,083 ...huge blocks of ice buckled into ridges, threatening to crush her. 250 00:28:59,958 --> 00:29:03,041 In July, a blizzard raked the Endurance. 251 00:29:03,208 --> 00:29:07,791 As the ice groaned and heaved, Shackleton paced his cabin. 252 00:29:07,958 --> 00:29:09,916 Capt. Worsley recalled: 253 00:29:10,083 --> 00:29:14,375 He said to me, ''The ship can't live in this, skipper. 254 00:29:14,583 --> 00:29:20,583 lt's only a matter of time. What the ice gets, the ice keeps.'' 255 00:29:23,750 --> 00:29:29,958 The Endurance survived, but as winter turned to spring, assaults continued. 256 00:29:34,166 --> 00:29:38,041 In an interview 40 years later, sailor Walter How... 257 00:29:38,250 --> 00:29:41,250 ...still remembered the ship staggering under the blows. 258 00:29:41,416 --> 00:29:47,916 The ice got around to the starboard quarter, and lifted her bodily as it were... 259 00:29:48,083 --> 00:29:51,458 ...and then she listed very heavily to port... 260 00:29:51,666 --> 00:29:54,416 ...and the timbers began to crack and groan. 261 00:29:54,583 --> 00:29:57,208 Did you hear the timbers going as the ice tided? 262 00:29:57,375 --> 00:30:03,875 You couldn't avoid it. Itwas there like heavy fireworks and blasting of guns. 263 00:30:15,250 --> 00:30:19,541 Together, Shackleton and Wild surveyed ice damage. 264 00:30:21,583 --> 00:30:23,041 Orde-Lees recorded: 265 00:30:23,250 --> 00:30:26,583 Sir Ernest must have gone through terrible anxiety lately... 266 00:30:26,750 --> 00:30:31,416 ...though he is so inscrutable that no one could have detected anything unusual. 267 00:30:31,583 --> 00:30:35,208 l know for a fact that he did not once lie down for three days... 268 00:30:35,416 --> 00:30:39,291 ...and l don't think he had undressed for 1 0 days. 269 00:30:43,583 --> 00:30:47,583 Tirelessly, the men worked to cut the ice away from the ship. 270 00:30:47,750 --> 00:30:51,875 Even the usually stoic McNish was shaken. He wrote: 271 00:30:52,083 --> 00:30:56,916 There were times when we thought it was not possible the ship could stand it. 272 00:30:57,083 --> 00:31:01,208 Everyone got our warm clothes put up in as small a bundle as possible. 273 00:31:01,375 --> 00:31:05,208 l have placed my loved one's photos inside Bible. 274 00:31:06,291 --> 00:31:09,375 In late October, the ice struck with renewed force... 275 00:31:09,583 --> 00:31:14,791 ...opening planks of the starboard side. Water flooded the hold. 276 00:31:14,958 --> 00:31:20,875 All hands manned the pumps for three days and nights to save the Endurance. 277 00:31:21,541 --> 00:31:22,875 Hurley wrote: 278 00:31:23,041 --> 00:31:24,875 The ship groans and quivers. 279 00:31:25,083 --> 00:31:29,291 Windows splinter while the deck timbers gape and twist. 280 00:31:29,458 --> 00:31:32,291 Amid these profound and overwhelming forces... 281 00:31:32,458 --> 00:31:37,041 ...we are the absolute embodiment of helpless futility. 282 00:31:45,708 --> 00:31:51,416 On October 2 7, 1 9 1 5, 1 0 months after their entrapment in the ice... 283 00:31:51,583 --> 00:31:55,541 ...Shackleton gave the order to abandon ship. 284 00:31:55,750 --> 00:31:58,041 Seaman How recalled: 285 00:31:58,208 --> 00:32:01,166 Shackleton sent Frank Wild along forward... 286 00:32:01,375 --> 00:32:06,791 ...who explained to us that it was a case of ''get out.'' 287 00:32:18,708 --> 00:32:23,375 Previously, Sir Ernest had probably seen the red light... 288 00:32:23,541 --> 00:32:28,875 ...and sledges were packed with as much stores as possible. 289 00:32:41,916 --> 00:32:48,083 You've got to remember that a sailor is a sailor and that's his ship, his home. 290 00:32:48,250 --> 00:32:52,875 Once he's off that ship, he's at a loss. 291 00:32:54,208 --> 00:32:55,708 The adventurers of the expedition... 292 00:32:57,958 --> 00:33:01,958 ...the people that expected to stay, and knew what they were up against... 293 00:33:02,166 --> 00:33:06,875 ...like Tom Crean, Worsley, Shackleton himself, Wild... 294 00:33:07,583 --> 00:33:10,625 ...they adapted a little bit easier... 295 00:33:10,791 --> 00:33:12,833 ...but it was still tough. 296 00:33:21,375 --> 00:33:25,250 They had been reduced to a fraction of their original provisions... 297 00:33:25,416 --> 00:33:29,375 ...and to three of the ship's four lifeboats. 298 00:33:40,208 --> 00:33:43,708 It was minus 1 5 degrees Fahrenheit. 299 00:33:44,708 --> 00:33:46,958 Tents and clothing had been salvaged... 300 00:33:47,166 --> 00:33:50,708 ...but there were not enough fur sleeping bags to go around. 301 00:33:52,083 --> 00:33:56,708 William Bakewell, an American sailor, recalled the lottery Shackleton arranged. 302 00:33:57,583 --> 00:33:59,875 There was crooked work in the drawing... 303 00:34:00,041 --> 00:34:03,458 ...as Sir Ernest, Mr. Wild, Capt. Worsley and other officers... 304 00:34:03,666 --> 00:34:06,250 ...all drew wool bags. 305 00:34:06,458 --> 00:34:10,416 The fine warm fur bags went to the men under them. 306 00:34:14,916 --> 00:34:19,750 In the chill morning, Shackleton gathered the company to explain his plan. 307 00:34:19,916 --> 00:34:21,625 Dr. Macklin recorded: 308 00:34:21,791 --> 00:34:25,541 As always with him, what had happened had happened. 309 00:34:25,750 --> 00:34:29,041 Without emotion, melodrama or excitement he said: 310 00:34:29,208 --> 00:34:34,083 ''Ship and stores have gone, so now we'll go home.'' 311 00:34:40,916 --> 00:34:46,708 This calm front belied the night Shackleton passed, pacing the ice alone. 312 00:34:46,875 --> 00:34:51,541 The thoughts that came to me in the darkness were not cheerful. 313 00:34:51,750 --> 00:34:55,375 The task now was to secure the safety of the party... 314 00:34:55,541 --> 00:34:58,375 ...and to that l must apply every bit of knowledge... 315 00:34:58,583 --> 00:35:01,791 ...that experience of the Antarctic had given me. 316 00:35:02,250 --> 00:35:05,208 There is nothing that can crush a man... 317 00:35:05,416 --> 00:35:08,583 ...as to see his dreams crumble to the dust. 318 00:35:08,750 --> 00:35:12,625 But on the other hand, he realized... 319 00:35:12,791 --> 00:35:18,250 ...if the one goal had disappeared, we'll have another one. 320 00:35:18,416 --> 00:35:23,833 And so, if l can't cross the continent, l'm going to bring all my men back alive. 321 00:35:24,041 --> 00:35:28,541 Because you mustn't forget that polar exploration was littered... 322 00:35:29,291 --> 00:35:31,708 ...with dead bodies. 323 00:35:33,208 --> 00:35:39,666 This almost fanatic-- Itwas a fanatic desire to bring his men back alive. 324 00:35:39,875 --> 00:35:45,916 This then became the driving force. Itwas the only thing he cared about. 325 00:35:47,250 --> 00:35:53,708 That change from aiming to attain what you had set out... 326 00:35:54,291 --> 00:35:59,041 ...to extricating yourself from defeat... 327 00:35:59,250 --> 00:36:04,875 ...is a strain that has broken many a man. Itdid not break Shackleton. 328 00:36:09,666 --> 00:36:13,208 Shackleton's first impulse was to march to the nearest land... 329 00:36:13,416 --> 00:36:16,208 ...some 350 miles to the west. 330 00:36:16,416 --> 00:36:20,791 The men were allowed 2 pounds of possessions, with few exceptions. 331 00:36:20,958 --> 00:36:23,083 Hussey was allowed to keep his banjo... 332 00:36:23,250 --> 00:36:26,458 ...which Shackleton called ''vital mental medicine. '' 333 00:36:26,666 --> 00:36:29,291 But there could be no extra mouths to feed. 334 00:36:29,458 --> 00:36:34,708 On Shackleton's orders, three puppies and Mrs. Chippy... 335 00:36:34,916 --> 00:36:36,875 ...were shot. 336 00:36:38,416 --> 00:36:42,041 l feel sure that it is the right thing to attempt a march. 337 00:36:42,208 --> 00:36:44,541 lf we can make 5 or 7 miles a day... 338 00:36:44,708 --> 00:36:49,375 ...our chance of reaching safety will be greatly increased. 339 00:36:51,958 --> 00:36:55,916 Itwill be better for the men to feel they are on their way to land... 340 00:36:56,166 --> 00:36:58,458 ...than to sit down and wait. 341 00:37:02,750 --> 00:37:08,541 But after three days of hard slogging, they were still within sight of the ship. 342 00:37:08,750 --> 00:37:12,041 The march to land had proved futile. 343 00:37:12,583 --> 00:37:16,291 Now there was nothing to do but watch and wait. 344 00:37:43,750 --> 00:37:47,750 Food and supplies were salvaged from the collapsing ship. 345 00:37:49,041 --> 00:37:51,083 The men scoured her broken deck... 346 00:37:51,250 --> 00:37:54,916 ...retrieving what they could and hauling it back to camp. 347 00:37:56,416 --> 00:38:01,041 Frank Hurley conducted a salvage operation to his submerged darkroom. 348 00:38:01,250 --> 00:38:02,375 He wrote: 349 00:38:02,583 --> 00:38:05,375 l hacked through the thick walls of the refrigerator... 350 00:38:05,583 --> 00:38:07,875 ...to retrieve the negatives stored therein. 351 00:38:08,083 --> 00:38:11,208 They were located beneath 4 feet of mushy ice... 352 00:38:11,375 --> 00:38:16,541 ...and by stripping to the waist and diving under, l hauled them out. 353 00:38:32,166 --> 00:38:35,541 Together he and Shackleton selected 1 20 negatives... 354 00:38:35,750 --> 00:38:38,458 ...and sealed them in tin canisters. 355 00:38:38,666 --> 00:38:41,791 The remaining 400, Shackleton had Hurley destroy... 356 00:38:41,958 --> 00:38:45,375 ...so he would not be tempted to recover them later. 357 00:38:46,083 --> 00:38:51,541 Hurley retained a single vest-pocket Kodak camera and three rolls of film. 358 00:38:53,041 --> 00:38:58,041 On November 2 1, the broken ship sank for good beneath the ice. 359 00:39:00,375 --> 00:39:02,583 Shackleton recorded simply: 360 00:39:02,750 --> 00:39:05,916 At 5 p.m. she went down. 361 00:39:06,541 --> 00:39:09,250 l cannot write about it. 362 00:39:11,958 --> 00:39:15,750 Now nothing remained of the Endurance and her long battle... 363 00:39:15,916 --> 00:39:18,791 ...except Hurley's images. 364 00:39:28,958 --> 00:39:34,208 Once the ship had gone, my grandfather, l know... 365 00:39:34,416 --> 00:39:39,458 ...felt ill, not at ease on the ice. 366 00:39:39,666 --> 00:39:43,375 Itwas a new thing. l mean, he'd seen snow as a kid... 367 00:39:43,583 --> 00:39:48,666 ...but never set foot on an iceberg like that. So it was a new... 368 00:39:48,958 --> 00:39:51,541 ...a new ballgame, so to speak. 369 00:39:52,541 --> 00:39:56,625 ln their minds was, like any human being, l think: 370 00:39:56,791 --> 00:39:59,416 ''Are we going to get out alive?'' 371 00:40:05,250 --> 00:40:09,958 The drift of the pack had carried the men 1 300 miles since they were trapped. 372 00:40:10,166 --> 00:40:13,750 Now they hoped the same drift would bring them to land. 373 00:40:13,916 --> 00:40:18,041 If not, they were bound for open sea. 374 00:40:20,375 --> 00:40:21,708 Hurley wrote: 375 00:40:21,875 --> 00:40:26,416 Itis beyond conception even to us that we are dwelling on a colossal ice-raft... 376 00:40:26,583 --> 00:40:32,083 ...with 5 feet of frozen water separating us from 2000 fathoms of ocean. 377 00:40:32,250 --> 00:40:38,583 And drifting along under the caprices of wind and tides, to heaven knows where. 378 00:40:44,083 --> 00:40:49,041 Timbers from the ship were used to build a new home: Ocean Camp. 379 00:40:49,458 --> 00:40:52,208 The wheelhouse became the new galley. 380 00:40:52,375 --> 00:40:56,791 Hurley ingeniously converted part of the ship's boiler into a stove... 381 00:40:56,958 --> 00:41:00,875 ...which was fuelled by penguin skin and seal blubber. 382 00:41:03,375 --> 00:41:05,375 A daily routine was established. 383 00:41:05,583 --> 00:41:09,666 Hunting for penguins and seals became the main activity. 384 00:41:26,208 --> 00:41:29,541 Each man knew rescue was impossible. 385 00:41:30,041 --> 00:41:34,875 They were managing to stay alive, but to what end? 386 00:41:38,250 --> 00:41:41,708 They had a pretty miserable time on the ice. 387 00:41:42,541 --> 00:41:46,500 But having said that, in the end... 388 00:41:46,791 --> 00:41:49,208 ...at every turn... 389 00:41:49,750 --> 00:41:53,958 ...Shackleton's enemy was not the ice... 390 00:41:54,166 --> 00:41:59,250 ...but it was his own people in the sense it was their morale. 391 00:41:59,416 --> 00:42:03,875 That was the foe. He had to prevent their morale from crumbling. 392 00:42:04,083 --> 00:42:07,250 The ice was nothing. Anybody can deal with the ice... 393 00:42:07,416 --> 00:42:11,416 ...but to deal with the human spirit, that is very difficult. 394 00:42:50,791 --> 00:42:52,875 One month after abandoning ship... 395 00:42:53,083 --> 00:42:57,208 ...a bout of sciatica sent Shackleton to his tent for two weeks. 396 00:42:57,416 --> 00:42:59,583 Emerging after his forced confinement... 397 00:42:59,750 --> 00:43:04,166 ...he made the surprising decision to attempt a second march to land. 398 00:43:04,791 --> 00:43:07,541 In his memoir he related: 399 00:43:07,750 --> 00:43:12,958 A buzz of pleasurable anticipation went round the camp at this announcement. 400 00:43:13,166 --> 00:43:15,958 Nothing was further from the truth. 401 00:43:29,666 --> 00:43:33,666 The men dragged the loaded lifeboats weighing more than a ton apiece... 402 00:43:33,875 --> 00:43:38,458 ...hacking their way through pressure ridges that obstructed their passage. 403 00:43:41,375 --> 00:43:45,541 At times they trudged up to their knees in snow. 404 00:43:56,250 --> 00:43:59,166 On the fourth day McNish dug in his heels. 405 00:43:59,416 --> 00:44:04,375 Earlier, he had proposed to build a sloop from the wreckage of the Endurance. 406 00:44:04,583 --> 00:44:07,166 Shackleton had rejected the plan. 407 00:44:07,375 --> 00:44:12,041 Now McNish openly rebelled and refused to continue. 408 00:44:12,208 --> 00:44:17,375 His duty to obey orders, he asserted, had ended with abandonment of the ship. 409 00:44:18,916 --> 00:44:21,875 Chippy was a man who didn't like to be told what to do. 410 00:44:22,083 --> 00:44:25,541 You know what l mean? lt's all on who you were. 411 00:44:25,750 --> 00:44:29,041 lf Chippy didn't like it, Chippy would tell you. 412 00:44:29,250 --> 00:44:33,875 That's just the kind of man he was. l mean, authority meant nothing to him. 413 00:44:35,958 --> 00:44:39,416 Shackleton called the men together and read ship's articles... 414 00:44:39,583 --> 00:44:42,208 ...dramatically asserting his command. 415 00:44:42,416 --> 00:44:45,041 Despite the loss of the ship, he announced... 416 00:44:45,208 --> 00:44:48,708 ...all men would be paid wages until they reached port. 417 00:44:55,083 --> 00:45:00,208 McNish backed down. Mutiny was averted. 418 00:45:01,875 --> 00:45:04,791 No leader on the edge of survival can tolerate... 419 00:45:04,958 --> 00:45:08,458 ...the least threat to his authority. 420 00:45:08,666 --> 00:45:14,583 And Shackleton, in fact, was prepared to shoot the carpenter if necessary. 421 00:45:14,750 --> 00:45:19,416 And he would have been justified because there was a hidden danger here. 422 00:45:19,583 --> 00:45:24,291 That the carpenter was only voicing... 423 00:45:24,458 --> 00:45:27,791 ...the opinions of two or three other members of the crew... 424 00:45:27,958 --> 00:45:29,625 ...and more for all we know. 425 00:45:29,791 --> 00:45:32,708 And had this not been crushed immediately... 426 00:45:32,916 --> 00:45:36,291 ...the whole party would have disintegrated. 427 00:45:37,958 --> 00:45:40,375 Two days after the standoff with McNish... 428 00:45:40,541 --> 00:45:43,875 ...Shackleton was forced to realize his own error. 429 00:45:44,083 --> 00:45:47,041 He called a halt to the march. 430 00:45:48,166 --> 00:45:50,416 In his diary Shackleton wrote: 431 00:45:50,583 --> 00:45:53,875 Turned in but could not sleep. Am anxious. 432 00:45:54,041 --> 00:45:56,875 Everyone working well except the carpenter: 433 00:45:57,083 --> 00:46:01,708 l shall never forget him in this time of strain and stress. 434 00:46:08,791 --> 00:46:11,041 Shackleton had put down the rebellion... 435 00:46:11,250 --> 00:46:15,875 ...but he could not quell all doubts that threatened to erode his authority. 436 00:46:16,750 --> 00:46:21,083 A week of backbreaking effort had left his men worse off than before. 437 00:46:21,250 --> 00:46:24,458 Precious equipment had been left behind. 438 00:46:24,666 --> 00:46:29,541 Life at their new base, Patience Camp, would be much harder. 439 00:46:33,041 --> 00:46:35,958 More questions arose about the Boss's judgment. 440 00:46:36,166 --> 00:46:38,958 Food was running out, but Shackleton had imposed... 441 00:46:39,208 --> 00:46:43,583 ...strict limitations on the amount of penguin and seal meat stockpiled... 442 00:46:43,791 --> 00:46:47,041 ...insisting he would get them off the ice before winter. 443 00:46:49,750 --> 00:46:55,208 Lionel Greenstreet, the first officer, openly questioned the Boss' philosophy: 444 00:46:55,375 --> 00:47:00,625 His sublime optimism all the way through is, to my mind, absolute foolishness. 445 00:47:00,791 --> 00:47:05,208 Everything was going to turn out all right and no notice was taken of things... 446 00:47:05,375 --> 00:47:09,833 ...possibly turning out otherwise. And here we are. 447 00:47:10,416 --> 00:47:11,875 Shackleton retorted: 448 00:47:12,041 --> 00:47:14,666 You're a bloody pessimist. 449 00:47:15,416 --> 00:47:18,708 For once, Orde-Lees voiced the fears of many. 450 00:47:18,875 --> 00:47:21,250 They had to have meat, he put on record... 451 00:47:21,416 --> 00:47:24,375 ...in the event of another winter on the floes. 452 00:47:25,208 --> 00:47:29,750 Itwas important to have, just like ammunition, to have supplies. 453 00:47:29,916 --> 00:47:33,250 And the famous thing, the statement of Wellington, wasn't it? 454 00:47:33,416 --> 00:47:39,458 That ''the army marches on its stomach''? That seemed to him to be elementary. 455 00:47:48,541 --> 00:47:52,416 In the end, it was the Boss's vision that prevailed. 456 00:47:52,750 --> 00:47:58,875 Shackleton's great characteristic was the ability to compel loyalty... 457 00:47:59,083 --> 00:48:05,541 ...even against his men's better judgment. 458 00:48:06,750 --> 00:48:10,541 Now this has got to do... 459 00:48:10,750 --> 00:48:15,791 ...with some force of character, some flame that burns within a man. 460 00:48:19,416 --> 00:48:24,166 Game grew scarcer. There was no food for the dogs. 461 00:48:25,166 --> 00:48:27,458 Shackleton gave Wild the unhappy command... 462 00:48:27,666 --> 00:48:30,166 ...to shoot some of the dog teams. 463 00:48:31,291 --> 00:48:34,625 Hurley paid a last tribute to his old companion. 464 00:48:34,791 --> 00:48:38,875 Hail to the thee, old leader Shakespeare. l shall ever remember thee: 465 00:48:39,083 --> 00:48:42,541 Fearless, faithful and diligent. 466 00:48:48,875 --> 00:48:54,333 Within weeks, the remaining teams were shot, and this time eaten. 467 00:48:54,541 --> 00:48:56,125 McNish wrote: 468 00:48:56,291 --> 00:48:59,250 Frank Wild shot the last of our faithful dogs... 469 00:48:59,416 --> 00:49:02,208 ...of which we kept the five young ones for food. 470 00:49:02,375 --> 00:49:06,333 And their flesh tastes a treat after living so long on seal meat... 471 00:49:06,583 --> 00:49:10,708 ...and this last 1 4 days on almost nothing. 472 00:49:21,208 --> 00:49:23,416 As the men drifted to the edge of the pack... 473 00:49:23,583 --> 00:49:26,458 ...the ice began to disintegrate around them. 474 00:49:26,666 --> 00:49:29,666 One day Orde-Lees awoke feeling seasick. 475 00:49:29,875 --> 00:49:34,541 The ice had become so thin that the swell of the ocean could be felt through it. 476 00:49:34,750 --> 00:49:38,250 Soon, nothing would be left beneath them. 477 00:49:52,250 --> 00:49:57,583 Finally, Shackleton felt that they had to get onto their boats... 478 00:49:57,750 --> 00:50:02,666 ...and make for an island to escape from the ice. 479 00:50:03,208 --> 00:50:06,375 The problem then was, where were they going to go? 480 00:50:06,583 --> 00:50:11,375 And there's an intriguing collection of island silhouettes... 481 00:50:12,708 --> 00:50:16,625 ...which Worsley took with him so that when they saw a little land... 482 00:50:16,791 --> 00:50:18,875 ...they knew where they were. 483 00:50:19,083 --> 00:50:21,958 Otherwise how did they know what they would see? 484 00:50:22,166 --> 00:50:26,958 Their navigation, however brilliantly it was done, was primitive. 485 00:50:27,291 --> 00:50:31,791 And they embarked on this boat journey from the ice... 486 00:50:33,875 --> 00:50:36,833 ...not knowing where they were going to end up. 487 00:50:37,791 --> 00:50:40,041 Several landfalls were possible. 488 00:50:40,250 --> 00:50:45,750 The closest were Clarence and Elephant Islands, some 1 00 miles to the north. 489 00:50:46,583 --> 00:50:49,708 Deception Island, over 1 50 miles to the west... 490 00:50:49,916 --> 00:50:53,791 ...was known to have supplies for shipwrecked mariners. 491 00:50:54,750 --> 00:50:57,875 Shackleton chose Deception Island. 492 00:51:01,541 --> 00:51:04,375 Their three small lifeboats would carry all 28 men... 493 00:51:04,541 --> 00:51:08,375 ...on a journey that would last no one knew how long. 494 00:51:13,250 --> 00:51:17,583 Sailor William Bakewell recalled the landmark day of departure: 495 00:51:18,708 --> 00:51:20,416 Our first day in the water... 496 00:51:20,666 --> 00:51:24,375 ...was one of the coldest and most dangerous of the expedition. 497 00:51:24,791 --> 00:51:26,333 The ice was running riot. 498 00:51:26,541 --> 00:51:29,708 Itwas a hard race to keep our boats in the open leads. 499 00:51:29,916 --> 00:51:32,541 We had many narrow escapes from being crushed... 500 00:51:32,708 --> 00:51:36,083 ...when the larger masses of the pack would come together. 501 00:51:40,916 --> 00:51:43,166 During the first few days of their journey... 502 00:51:43,375 --> 00:51:47,125 ...they pulled their boats from the water each evening to sleep. 503 00:51:47,291 --> 00:51:50,416 Without the movie camera and with little film to spare... 504 00:51:50,583 --> 00:51:52,958 ...it would be left to artist George Marston... 505 00:51:53,166 --> 00:51:57,250 ...to record their tenuous camps on the drifting ice. 506 00:52:01,458 --> 00:52:06,416 Leonard Hussey and Walter How recalled the night when disaster struck: 507 00:52:06,583 --> 00:52:12,416 We were drifting over the sea on a piece of ice and we were cold and frozen. 508 00:52:12,916 --> 00:52:15,041 Pitch dark night once... 509 00:52:15,250 --> 00:52:18,625 ...and the ice split right across under the men's tent. 510 00:52:18,791 --> 00:52:21,375 There were eight of us turned in there. 511 00:52:21,583 --> 00:52:24,625 One poor chap, name of Holness... 512 00:52:24,791 --> 00:52:28,416 ...him and his sleeping bag dropped into the drink. 513 00:52:28,583 --> 00:52:30,541 Shackleton looked into the crack... 514 00:52:30,750 --> 00:52:34,083 ...and he saw a man floating in his sleeping bag. 515 00:52:35,041 --> 00:52:39,708 Shackleton grabbed Holness and lifted him in his bag up onto the ice... 516 00:52:39,875 --> 00:52:44,041 ...knowing he could survive only minutes in the freezing water. 517 00:52:45,583 --> 00:52:50,708 Seconds later the ice-edges came together with tremendous force. 518 00:52:53,458 --> 00:52:57,208 l remember Shackleton saying to Holness, ''Are you all right?'' 519 00:52:57,416 --> 00:52:59,541 ''Yes, sir,'' he said, ''l'm quite all right. 520 00:52:59,750 --> 00:53:05,166 Only thing l regret, my bloody tobacco's down there in the drink.'' 521 00:53:15,416 --> 00:53:17,083 Shackleton recorded: 522 00:53:17,250 --> 00:53:22,625 Constant rain and snow squalls blotted out the stars and soaked us through. 523 00:53:22,791 --> 00:53:28,833 Occasionally the shadows of silver, snow and fulmar petrels flashed close. 524 00:53:29,041 --> 00:53:32,125 And all around we could hear the killers blowing... 525 00:53:32,291 --> 00:53:36,958 ...their short, sharp hisses sounding like sudden escapes of steam. 526 00:53:46,583 --> 00:53:46,708 The sheer hardship of the rowing. 527 00:53:46,708 --> 00:53:51,041 The sheer hardship of the rowing. 528 00:53:53,250 --> 00:53:56,708 My father said that at the end of a watch... 529 00:53:56,916 --> 00:54:00,125 ...your hands had to be chipped off the oars. 530 00:54:00,291 --> 00:54:03,833 And it's very hard to imagine what it must be like... 531 00:54:04,250 --> 00:54:09,250 ...when you try to get some sleep. Your hands must be totally frozen. 532 00:54:09,416 --> 00:54:13,000 Your clothes are probably soaked and you're hungry. 533 00:54:13,791 --> 00:54:17,541 The days passed in painful rowing and bailing. 534 00:54:18,708 --> 00:54:20,750 Stable ice could not be found... 535 00:54:20,916 --> 00:54:24,708 ...and nights were now spent sitting helpless in the black sea. 536 00:54:24,875 --> 00:54:26,125 To complete their misery... 537 00:54:26,291 --> 00:54:29,875 ...many of the men were now suffering from dysentery. 538 00:54:30,958 --> 00:54:35,375 l think they only had one hot drink a day. 539 00:54:35,541 --> 00:54:42,000 And he said that they only ate a ship's biscuit... 540 00:54:42,875 --> 00:54:45,041 ...which in his own phrase: 541 00:54:45,250 --> 00:54:50,375 ''You look at it for breakfast, you suck it for lunch and you eat it for dinner.'' 542 00:54:53,583 --> 00:54:57,458 What kept them from cracking... 543 00:54:57,666 --> 00:55:00,958 ...was Shackleton's sheer willpower, his leadership. 544 00:55:01,166 --> 00:55:03,666 This flame that burns within him. 545 00:55:03,875 --> 00:55:07,291 And this was manifested in different ways. 546 00:55:07,458 --> 00:55:11,208 Either it was Shackleton playing... 547 00:55:11,416 --> 00:55:14,541 ...the consummate mariner at the prow of the boat... 548 00:55:14,750 --> 00:55:20,458 ...leading his little squadron to safety, or it was mothering his men. 549 00:55:20,666 --> 00:55:24,958 Suddenly turning around and comforting somebody or preparing food for him. 550 00:55:25,166 --> 00:55:28,208 And acting, basically, like a hen with one chicken. 551 00:55:28,416 --> 00:55:32,791 And the next minute he was a martinet, driving his men on. 552 00:55:38,583 --> 00:55:40,666 lt's hard to imagine... 553 00:55:40,875 --> 00:55:47,041 ...and yet they probably were seeing things of great beauty on that journey. 554 00:56:00,208 --> 00:56:02,666 We were all laced together, the three boats... 555 00:56:02,875 --> 00:56:07,541 ...on account of the bad weather, and during the night several whale... 556 00:56:07,750 --> 00:56:11,416 ...l don't know what species, were blowing around us. 557 00:56:11,583 --> 00:56:14,791 And had they gone over one of our tow ropes... 558 00:56:14,958 --> 00:56:18,083 ...the three boats would have certainly disappeared. 559 00:56:18,250 --> 00:56:21,041 And also us. 560 00:56:23,666 --> 00:56:28,750 For days and nights with no sleep, the helmsmen manned the tillers. 561 00:56:28,916 --> 00:56:32,875 When Worsley was relieved of his shift, he had to be lain in the boat... 562 00:56:33,083 --> 00:56:37,708 ...and opened slowly from his crouching position like a jackknife. 563 00:56:43,208 --> 00:56:48,041 Overwhelmed by misery and fear, some of the men broke down and wept. 564 00:56:48,208 --> 00:56:52,375 Now Shackleton knew he must make for land at any cost. 565 00:56:52,583 --> 00:56:57,083 Changing course, they struck out for Elephant Island. 566 00:57:00,750 --> 00:57:04,750 On the evening of the sixth day, the skies to the northwest darkened... 567 00:57:04,916 --> 00:57:07,208 ...and a gale swept down. 568 00:57:09,541 --> 00:57:14,166 Swamped with water, one of the lifeboats was in danger of sinking. 569 00:57:16,416 --> 00:57:19,708 Orde-Lees, who up until then had disdained to row... 570 00:57:19,875 --> 00:57:24,208 ...rose to the crisis and bailed for his companions' lives. 571 00:57:25,041 --> 00:57:29,875 My grandfather was always a man who wanted to do a feat. 572 00:57:30,041 --> 00:57:34,125 Rowing, there's no possibility of doing a feat. 573 00:57:34,291 --> 00:57:37,375 l mean, everybody's on the same oar rowing, like that. 574 00:57:37,583 --> 00:57:41,875 Bailing out? Saving everybody's life? Gosh, l mean, that's sort of... 575 00:57:42,041 --> 00:57:45,541 ...a part made in heaven for my grandfather... 576 00:57:45,750 --> 00:57:49,583 ...because everybody would be aware he'd been up all night bailing them out. 577 00:57:49,791 --> 00:57:52,708 So gentlemen don't row... 578 00:57:52,875 --> 00:57:56,833 ...but by Jove, they'd do anything necessary to save people's lives. 579 00:58:05,666 --> 00:58:08,166 When dawn broke, Shackleton recorded: 580 00:58:08,375 --> 00:58:10,541 The weather was very thick in the morning. 581 00:58:10,708 --> 00:58:13,541 lndeed, at 7 a.m. we were under the cliffs... 582 00:58:13,708 --> 00:58:17,208 ...which plunged sheer to the sea before we saw them. 583 00:58:18,958 --> 00:58:21,416 Elephant Island. 584 00:58:22,083 --> 00:58:24,750 The men had been seven bleak days at sea... 585 00:58:24,916 --> 00:58:28,083 ...and over five months on drifting ice. 586 00:58:28,250 --> 00:58:32,750 It was a year and four months since they had touched land. 587 00:58:47,375 --> 00:58:51,708 With frostbitten fingers, Hurley recorded the landing. 588 00:59:10,666 --> 00:59:12,750 In his diary, Hurley wrote: 589 00:59:12,916 --> 00:59:18,041 Many of the party were emaciated by exhaustion, fatigue and exposure. 590 00:59:18,208 --> 00:59:24,083 Many suffered from temporary aberration, or shivering as with palsy. 591 00:59:24,250 --> 00:59:27,375 The men reeled along the beach as if drunk... 592 00:59:27,583 --> 00:59:31,083 ...some burying their faces in the stones. 593 00:59:32,750 --> 00:59:35,750 Wordie recalled more chilling behavior. 594 00:59:35,916 --> 00:59:38,458 Some fellows were half-crazy. 595 00:59:38,666 --> 00:59:44,291 One got an axe and did not stop until he had killed about 1 0 seals. 596 00:59:57,166 --> 00:59:59,541 Shackleton ordered food prepared. 597 01:00:00,291 --> 01:00:03,833 It was the first hot meal in three days. 598 01:00:16,375 --> 01:00:19,208 Hurley described the first night. 599 01:00:19,416 --> 01:00:22,041 Tents were hastily erected, all turned in... 600 01:00:22,208 --> 01:00:25,916 ...and almost instantly were deep in slumber. 601 01:00:26,583 --> 01:00:28,958 How delicious to wake in one's sleep... 602 01:00:29,166 --> 01:00:33,708 ...and listen to the croaks of penguins mingling with the sea. 603 01:00:35,583 --> 01:00:39,291 To fall asleep and awaken again, and feel this is real. 604 01:00:39,458 --> 01:00:42,083 We have reached land. 605 01:00:44,583 --> 01:00:51,083 Land, such as it was, was a low sliver of beach that offered no shelter. 606 01:00:52,375 --> 01:00:54,833 Two days later, Shackleton led the men... 607 01:00:55,041 --> 01:00:58,500 ...to a second location on the western side of the island. 608 01:00:59,083 --> 01:01:03,458 The new campsite was called Cape Wild, after Frank Wild. 609 01:01:03,666 --> 01:01:07,791 To the sailors it was Cape Bloody Wild. 610 01:01:10,083 --> 01:01:12,916 The boats landed in sleet and rain. 611 01:01:13,083 --> 01:01:16,583 By night a gale blew up, ripping one of the tents to shreds... 612 01:01:16,750 --> 01:01:19,666 ...and blowing equipment out to sea. 613 01:01:20,083 --> 01:01:24,458 Men crawled under the boats for shelter, and lay shivering in their tunics... 614 01:01:24,708 --> 01:01:27,458 ...as the wind heaped snow upon them. 615 01:01:27,666 --> 01:01:31,208 The blizzard raged for five days. 616 01:01:37,875 --> 01:01:42,125 l think l spent, this morning, the most unhappy hour of my life. 617 01:01:42,291 --> 01:01:44,291 All attempts seemed so hopeless... 618 01:01:44,458 --> 01:01:48,083 ...and fate seemed absolutely determined to thwart us. 619 01:01:48,250 --> 01:01:52,750 Men sat and cursed, not loudly, but with an intensity that showed... 620 01:01:52,916 --> 01:01:57,166 ...their hatred of this island on which we had sought shelter. 621 01:02:10,208 --> 01:02:14,875 Shackleton had saved his men in the sense he'd got them all alive... 622 01:02:15,041 --> 01:02:20,750 ...out of the ice and on to terra firma. But now how to get back to civilization? 623 01:02:20,916 --> 01:02:25,250 Elephant lsland was off... 624 01:02:25,416 --> 01:02:31,583 ...any conceivable shipping route. Not only that, she was nowhere near... 625 01:02:31,750 --> 01:02:36,041 ...the routes of the whalers and sealers that used to come down there. 626 01:02:36,208 --> 01:02:41,541 So somehow Shackleton had to get his men... 627 01:02:41,750 --> 01:02:47,166 ...to a port of call, even if it was only a lonely island where the sealers came. 628 01:02:50,208 --> 01:02:55,791 Staring down impossible odds, Shackleton made a bold decision. 629 01:02:56,666 --> 01:03:01,083 He would not wait, he would sail for rescue. 630 01:03:02,583 --> 01:03:05,208 Cape Horn, the closest land, was beyond reach... 631 01:03:05,375 --> 01:03:08,458 ...as it would mean sailing against the prevailing wind. 632 01:03:08,666 --> 01:03:12,291 In the path of the westerlies was the island they'd set out from: 633 01:03:12,541 --> 01:03:14,291 South Georgia. 634 01:03:14,750 --> 01:03:17,250 The plan was made. 635 01:03:17,416 --> 01:03:20,875 Shackleton would take a 22-and-a-half-foot-long boat... 636 01:03:21,041 --> 01:03:25,458 ...800 miles across the world's most dangerous ocean. 637 01:03:29,083 --> 01:03:31,583 Work began immediately on the James Caird. 638 01:03:31,750 --> 01:03:35,791 Earlier, McNish had raised her gunnels with wood from packing cases. 639 01:03:35,958 --> 01:03:39,708 Now he scavenged the other two boats to reinforce her. 640 01:03:39,875 --> 01:03:43,916 The seams were sealed with Marston's oil paints and seal's blood. 641 01:03:44,083 --> 01:03:46,875 Her deck was canvassed. 642 01:03:47,708 --> 01:03:52,708 Itwasn't only that McNish was a good shipwright, a good ship's carpenter... 643 01:03:52,875 --> 01:03:57,416 ...but he appeared to have something extra. 644 01:03:57,583 --> 01:04:04,083 He had a streak of ingenuity... 645 01:04:04,875 --> 01:04:09,791 ...of the real ability to improvise... 646 01:04:09,958 --> 01:04:12,750 ...to make something out of nothing. 647 01:04:12,916 --> 01:04:19,333 And l think this is connected with a strain of perversity, of cussedness. 648 01:04:19,541 --> 01:04:26,000 And here's another paradox: This was the mutineer who'd come good. 649 01:04:28,708 --> 01:04:33,083 Shackleton chose the strongest and most seasoned sailors for the journey. 650 01:04:33,250 --> 01:04:38,208 With the greatest pride, McNish recorded his own inclusion in the 6-man crew. 651 01:04:38,375 --> 01:04:41,541 He would be joined by Tom Crean and Tim McCarthy... 652 01:04:41,750 --> 01:04:45,958 ...both Irish sailors and stalwarts of the voyage to Elephant Island. 653 01:04:46,166 --> 01:04:49,541 The demoted boatswain John Vincent was also redeemed. 654 01:04:49,708 --> 01:04:52,375 Shackleton recognized his strength and skill... 655 01:04:52,541 --> 01:04:57,791 ...the result of years on trawlers in the brutal conditions of the North Atlantic. 656 01:05:00,375 --> 01:05:03,916 Captain Frank Worsley had navigated the boats to Elephant Island. 657 01:05:04,083 --> 01:05:08,541 Now he would have to find a tiny speck of land in a limitless ocean. 658 01:05:08,750 --> 01:05:12,250 Pacing the shore, he checked and rechecked the chronometer... 659 01:05:12,416 --> 01:05:14,875 ...that would be critical to his navigation. 660 01:05:16,166 --> 01:05:21,166 Frank Wild, Shackleton's right-hand, would be in charge of those left behind. 661 01:05:21,375 --> 01:05:24,083 As the expedition was split for the first time... 662 01:05:24,250 --> 01:05:27,208 ... Wild's unenviable commission was the care of 2 1... 663 01:05:27,375 --> 01:05:33,833 ...demoralized, partially incapacitated men on a deserted, wind-raked island. 664 01:06:01,250 --> 01:06:07,333 On April 22, 1 9 1 6, McNish finished his work and the weather cleared. 665 01:06:28,916 --> 01:06:32,708 Moored offshore, the Caird was loaded with 2 tons of stone ballast... 666 01:06:32,875 --> 01:06:35,208 ...for stability in the towering waves. 667 01:06:40,916 --> 01:06:46,458 Water from ice laboriously melted over a blubber flame was stored in kegs. 668 01:06:48,708 --> 01:06:50,791 They took food for four weeks. 669 01:06:50,958 --> 01:06:54,708 Beyond this they knew they could not survive. 670 01:06:58,541 --> 01:07:02,250 Standing on the beach, Hurley captured the moment of departure... 671 01:07:02,416 --> 01:07:06,666 ...as the men left behind bravely cheered the Caird on her way. 672 01:07:11,708 --> 01:07:14,041 On board the Caird, Worsley reflected: 673 01:07:14,666 --> 01:07:17,041 The men ashore formed a pathetic group. 674 01:07:17,208 --> 01:07:19,791 As long as they thought we could see them... 675 01:07:20,041 --> 01:07:24,208 ...they kept up a wonderful appearance of optimism and heartiness. 676 01:07:33,875 --> 01:07:36,333 Elephant Island receded into the distance... 677 01:07:36,541 --> 01:07:40,458 ...as the Caird departed on a day of rare sunshine and calm seas. 678 01:07:53,541 --> 01:07:56,416 Soon the Caird was in rougher waters. 679 01:07:58,375 --> 01:08:01,041 By the second day, the weather had grown severe... 680 01:08:01,208 --> 01:08:03,916 ...and water began pouring into the little boat. 681 01:08:10,541 --> 01:08:12,583 Frank Worsley recalled: 682 01:08:12,750 --> 01:08:15,833 Bruised and soaked with never a long enough interval... 683 01:08:16,041 --> 01:08:18,708 ...for our bodies to warm our steaming clothes... 684 01:08:18,875 --> 01:08:22,291 ...our feet and legs had swelled and began to be frostbitten... 685 01:08:22,541 --> 01:08:26,250 ...with the temperature at times nearly down to zero. 686 01:08:27,916 --> 01:08:30,750 McNish alone attempted to keep a sea log... 687 01:08:30,916 --> 01:08:34,000 ...but on the ninth day, he abruptly broke it off. 688 01:08:35,666 --> 01:08:38,458 They worked round the clock in four-hour shifts... 689 01:08:38,666 --> 01:08:42,291 ...three men vainly attempting to sleep on the rocky ballast below... 690 01:08:42,458 --> 01:08:45,625 ...while three others held watch above, bailing, pumping... 691 01:08:45,791 --> 01:08:49,333 ...trimming the sails, fighting to keep the Caird afloat. 692 01:09:01,708 --> 01:09:04,208 They were in a 22-foot-6 little rowing boat. 693 01:09:04,375 --> 01:09:08,166 And it is absolutely staggering, the height of the waves. 694 01:09:08,750 --> 01:09:10,791 There were some incredible waves... 695 01:09:12,666 --> 01:09:15,666 ...which might nowadays be called non-negotiable waves... 696 01:09:15,875 --> 01:09:17,833 ...where you'd head up to the top... 697 01:09:18,041 --> 01:09:20,916 ...and not get over the top and you'd slide back down. 698 01:09:21,083 --> 01:09:24,666 So it was an extraordinary journey of survival. 699 01:09:32,583 --> 01:09:35,958 In the end, everything depended on Worsley. 700 01:09:36,166 --> 01:09:39,708 He had learned to navigate in the high surf of the South Pacific... 701 01:09:39,875 --> 01:09:43,083 ...but nothing could compare to his present challenge. 702 01:09:43,250 --> 01:09:45,041 To chart the Caird's position... 703 01:09:45,208 --> 01:09:48,625 ... Worsley needed to read the sun's relation to the horizon. 704 01:09:48,791 --> 01:09:51,750 But the sun rarely appeared in the overcast sky... 705 01:09:51,916 --> 01:09:56,000 ...and the horizon became almost impossible to find behind the waves. 706 01:09:56,208 --> 01:10:00,541 Even to attempt a sextant reading, he had to be braced by men on either side... 707 01:10:00,708 --> 01:10:03,958 ...as the boat heaved and pitched her way through the water. 708 01:10:06,708 --> 01:10:10,875 You mustn't forget, every degree mistake you make... 709 01:10:11,041 --> 01:10:14,208 ...is 60 miles of latitude. 710 01:10:14,375 --> 01:10:18,541 And they only had about 1 0 miles leeway... 711 01:10:18,708 --> 01:10:22,250 ...in 800 miles in order to reach safety. 712 01:10:24,166 --> 01:10:26,541 In 800 miles of stormy travel... 713 01:10:26,708 --> 01:10:29,708 ... Worsley was able to take only four sightings. 714 01:10:31,291 --> 01:10:34,750 The remainder of the journey he navigated by dead reckoning... 715 01:10:34,916 --> 01:10:38,625 ...the experienced sailor's instinctive gauging of speed and direction... 716 01:10:38,791 --> 01:10:41,333 ...or ''merry guesswork, '' as he called it. 717 01:10:46,208 --> 01:10:50,875 On the 1 0th day, Worsley believed that they were a little over halfway. 718 01:10:53,041 --> 01:10:54,541 He recalled: 719 01:10:55,166 --> 01:10:58,041 Two of the party were very close to death. 720 01:10:58,208 --> 01:11:01,208 Shackleton kept a finger on each man's pulse. 721 01:11:01,375 --> 01:11:04,916 Whenever he noticed that a man seemed extra cold and shivered... 722 01:11:05,083 --> 01:11:09,666 ...he would immediately order another hot drink to be prepared and served to all. 723 01:11:09,875 --> 01:11:13,791 He never let the man know that it was on his account. 724 01:11:16,875 --> 01:11:21,083 Vincent's upper lip was torn away by a frozen metal cup. 725 01:11:23,041 --> 01:11:25,583 Oh, God, it must have been desperate. 726 01:11:25,750 --> 01:11:28,583 That's all-- Itmust have been desperate. 727 01:11:30,375 --> 01:11:35,791 My father's ears, his two ears, suffered frostbite. 728 01:11:35,958 --> 01:11:38,875 They were like bones. 729 01:11:41,750 --> 01:11:44,916 On the evening of May 7, the 1 4th day at sea... 730 01:11:45,083 --> 01:11:47,666 ...a piece of kelp floated by. 731 01:11:48,541 --> 01:11:50,541 Land was near. 732 01:11:50,958 --> 01:11:52,958 Worsley recalled this moment: 733 01:11:53,166 --> 01:11:56,750 We looked at each other with cheerful, foolish grins. 734 01:11:56,916 --> 01:12:00,375 The thoughts uppermost were, ''We've done it!'' 735 01:12:06,875 --> 01:12:11,250 With land in sight, new ordeals arose to test their limits. 736 01:12:11,666 --> 01:12:15,541 A wind drove them perilously close to the island's cliffs. 737 01:12:15,708 --> 01:12:18,458 Soon this wind increased into hurricane force... 738 01:12:18,666 --> 01:12:21,375 ...descending upon them from the darkening skies. 739 01:12:22,541 --> 01:12:24,916 This is where Worsley came into his own... 740 01:12:25,083 --> 01:12:28,375 ...because he understood the way a sailing ship worked... 741 01:12:28,541 --> 01:12:34,458 ...and so he performed a miracle with a round-bottomed whaler... 742 01:12:35,916 --> 01:12:40,958 ...whose profession was making leeway, not built for sailing into the wind. 743 01:12:41,166 --> 01:12:46,666 Somehow he clawed his way offshore and into the wind. 744 01:12:48,041 --> 01:12:51,083 The hurricane raged for nine hours. 745 01:12:53,041 --> 01:12:56,958 Then the wind veered, carrying them from destruction. 746 01:13:00,541 --> 01:13:02,541 Shackleton recorded: 747 01:13:02,708 --> 01:13:07,208 We stood offshore, tired almost to the point of apathy. 748 01:13:10,750 --> 01:13:14,041 On the evening of May 1 0, the 1 7 th day at sea... 749 01:13:14,208 --> 01:13:17,750 ...the James Caird sailed into the entrance of King Haakon Bay... 750 01:13:17,916 --> 01:13:19,750 ...on South Georgia. 751 01:13:22,875 --> 01:13:27,833 In the gathering darkness, the boat ran in on a swell and touched the beach. 752 01:13:28,041 --> 01:13:32,791 A small stream flowed nearby and the men fell to their knees and drank. 753 01:13:33,250 --> 01:13:37,875 One of the greatest boat journeys in modern maritime history had ended. 754 01:13:55,041 --> 01:13:58,208 Above them, the hill was green with tussock grass... 755 01:13:58,375 --> 01:14:02,208 ...the first vegetation they had seen in 1 7 months. 756 01:14:05,375 --> 01:14:07,125 McNish recalled: 757 01:14:07,291 --> 01:14:11,041 l went on top of the hill and had a lay on the grass... 758 01:14:11,208 --> 01:14:13,875 ...and it put me in mind of old times at home... 759 01:14:14,041 --> 01:14:17,708 ...sitting on the hillside looking down at the sea. 760 01:14:24,916 --> 01:14:29,041 Suddenly home, rescue, seemed possible. 761 01:14:29,416 --> 01:14:31,125 There was only one catch. 762 01:14:31,291 --> 01:14:35,458 The whaling stations lay on the opposite side of the island. 763 01:14:38,291 --> 01:14:41,833 Neither crew nor boat were fit for another sea journey. 764 01:14:42,416 --> 01:14:45,666 The island would have to be crossed on foot. 765 01:14:49,583 --> 01:14:53,250 Itwas a terrible setback. 766 01:14:54,875 --> 01:14:59,791 l think that most men... 767 01:14:59,958 --> 01:15:03,791 ...under those circumstances, without Shackleton's leadership... 768 01:15:03,958 --> 01:15:10,083 ...they might've collapsed morally there and therefore not survived. 769 01:15:11,708 --> 01:15:14,583 He took it all in a very matter-of-fact way. 770 01:15:15,083 --> 01:15:19,083 He gave the impression that everything would be all right in the end. 771 01:15:20,208 --> 01:15:23,291 Their single map showed only the island's coastline. 772 01:15:23,458 --> 01:15:25,583 The interior was unknown. 773 01:15:25,791 --> 01:15:29,958 Icy and forbidding, prey to sudden blizzards and hurricane-force winds... 774 01:15:30,166 --> 01:15:33,166 ...the whalers considered it impenetrable. 775 01:15:36,375 --> 01:15:40,541 This chaos of peaks and glaciers had never been crossed. 776 01:15:46,375 --> 01:15:48,833 They had just survived 1 7 days at sea... 777 01:15:49,041 --> 01:15:52,000 ...and their feet were still numb from frostbite. 778 01:15:52,208 --> 01:15:56,291 But if rescue were to be made, they had to reach the other side. 779 01:16:01,208 --> 01:16:04,458 Shackleton decided to take with him Crean and Worsley... 780 01:16:04,666 --> 01:16:08,291 ...leaving behind the other men who were not fit for the journey. 781 01:16:14,083 --> 01:16:18,791 Using screws from the Caird, McNish improvised climbing boots. 782 01:16:19,083 --> 01:16:23,083 The frost of night would harden the snow, making it easier to cross. 783 01:16:23,250 --> 01:16:27,125 But there could be no stopping, or they would succumb to the cold. 784 01:16:27,291 --> 01:16:30,416 They were in a race for their companions' lives. 785 01:16:40,708 --> 01:16:43,458 Too weak to carry anything but bare necessities... 786 01:16:43,666 --> 01:16:46,041 ...the three men took a length of rope... 787 01:16:46,208 --> 01:16:49,291 ...and a carpenter's adz as their only equipment. 788 01:16:52,083 --> 01:16:52,208 Taking advantage of the full moon and calm weather... 789 01:16:52,208 --> 01:16:54,916 Taking advantage of the full moon and calm weather... 790 01:16:55,166 --> 01:16:58,208 ...they set out at 3 a.m. for Stromness Whaling Station. 791 01:16:59,250 --> 01:17:04,250 Beneath the deceptive blanketing of snow lay ice fields pitted with crevasses. 792 01:17:04,916 --> 01:17:07,375 One misstep could end in death. 793 01:17:09,791 --> 01:17:11,125 As the day grew longer... 794 01:17:11,291 --> 01:17:15,583 ...they struggled through a bewildering confusion of ridges and plateaus. 795 01:17:20,958 --> 01:17:23,541 Time after time they would ascend a summit... 796 01:17:23,708 --> 01:17:26,708 ...only to find a precipice on the other side. 797 01:17:38,083 --> 01:17:39,416 Shackleton recalled: 798 01:17:39,583 --> 01:17:43,250 We were now feeling the strain of the unaccustomed marching. 799 01:17:43,416 --> 01:17:47,958 We had done little walking since January and our muscles were out of tune. 800 01:17:53,750 --> 01:17:57,250 By evening, they were again high on a treacherous pass... 801 01:17:57,416 --> 01:17:59,791 ...too steep to climb down. 802 01:18:14,708 --> 01:18:19,583 Itwas of the utmost importance for us to get down into the next valley before dark. 803 01:18:19,750 --> 01:18:22,916 The night temperature at that elevation would be very low. 804 01:18:23,083 --> 01:18:25,291 We had no sleeping bags. 805 01:18:29,750 --> 01:18:31,458 Worsley recorded: 806 01:18:31,708 --> 01:18:35,041 Shackleton said, ''We've got to take a risk. 807 01:18:35,208 --> 01:18:38,708 Are you game? We'll slide.'' 808 01:18:39,208 --> 01:18:42,208 Coiling their rope into a pad, they sat down... 809 01:18:42,375 --> 01:18:47,583 ...then pushed off, not knowing what rocks or razor-sharp ice lay in their path. 810 01:18:49,291 --> 01:18:51,250 We seemed to shoot into space. 811 01:18:51,958 --> 01:18:55,791 Quite suddenly l felt a glow and knew that l was grinning. 812 01:19:00,208 --> 01:19:03,541 We finished up at the bottom in a bank of snow. 813 01:19:05,208 --> 01:19:09,583 We picked ourselves up and solemnly shook hands all round. 814 01:19:21,375 --> 01:19:24,500 All night into early morning, they marched on. 815 01:19:25,583 --> 01:19:26,666 Wrote Shackleton: 816 01:19:26,875 --> 01:19:30,708 At 5 a.m., we were at the foot of the rocky spurs of the range. 817 01:19:30,875 --> 01:19:35,041 We were tired and wind that blew down from the heights was chilling us. 818 01:19:35,208 --> 01:19:38,958 l thought we might be able to keep warm and have a rest. 819 01:19:40,041 --> 01:19:43,375 Within minutes, my two companions were asleep. 820 01:20:10,791 --> 01:20:14,791 l realized it would be disastrous if we all slumbered together... 821 01:20:14,958 --> 01:20:19,541 ...for sleep under such conditions merges into death. 822 01:20:21,041 --> 01:20:24,125 After five minutes l shook them into consciousness again... 823 01:20:24,291 --> 01:20:26,875 ...told them that they'd slept for half an hour... 824 01:20:27,041 --> 01:20:29,250 ...and gave the word for a fresh start. 825 01:20:43,291 --> 01:20:45,833 By 6:30 a.m., they had climbed a ridge... 826 01:20:46,041 --> 01:20:49,791 ...that looked down upon a site familiar from a year and a half earlier: 827 01:20:49,958 --> 01:20:51,708 Fortuna Bay. 828 01:20:51,875 --> 01:20:54,791 Stromness was around the corner. 829 01:20:58,041 --> 01:21:00,583 At 3 in the afternoon on May 20... 830 01:21:00,750 --> 01:21:05,791 ...Shackleton, Worsley and Crean stumbled into Stromness Station. 831 01:21:06,791 --> 01:21:09,833 They had been marching for 36 hours. 832 01:21:23,666 --> 01:21:26,541 At the home of Thoralf Sørlle, the station manager... 833 01:21:26,708 --> 01:21:28,791 ...they knocked on the door. 834 01:21:32,291 --> 01:21:35,916 ''Who the hell are you?'' Sørlle reportedly asked. 835 01:21:37,250 --> 01:21:40,208 ''My name is Shackleton, '' came the answer. 836 01:21:41,541 --> 01:21:47,875 The whaling manager couldn't recognize them because they were dirty, emaciated. 837 01:21:48,375 --> 01:21:54,833 They were soot-grimed because of living over blubber stoves for so long. 838 01:21:55,208 --> 01:21:58,166 Their clothes were filthy. Their hair was uncut. 839 01:21:59,541 --> 01:22:03,541 They were like men returning from the dead. 840 01:22:12,666 --> 01:22:15,166 That night the weather turned. 841 01:22:15,375 --> 01:22:17,583 Lying in bed in the manager's house... 842 01:22:17,750 --> 01:22:21,416 ...Shackleton listened to snow drive against the window. 843 01:22:24,375 --> 01:22:28,500 Had they been caught in a blizzard, nothing could have saved them. 844 01:22:32,958 --> 01:22:36,375 Years later, Shackleton would give a mystical account... 845 01:22:36,541 --> 01:22:38,875 ...of the crossing of South Georgia. 846 01:22:39,250 --> 01:22:43,083 l know that during that long and racking march of 36 hours... 847 01:22:43,250 --> 01:22:46,750 ...over the unnamed mountains and glaciers of South Georgia... 848 01:22:46,916 --> 01:22:51,125 ...it seemed to me often that we were four, not three. 849 01:22:51,291 --> 01:22:55,541 l said nothing to my companions, but afterwards Worsley said to me: 850 01:22:55,708 --> 01:23:00,958 ''Boss, l had a curious feeling that there was another person with us.'' 851 01:23:05,458 --> 01:23:07,875 The fourth man, l suppose, was the man above. 852 01:23:08,041 --> 01:23:12,458 They must have been deeply religious at the back of everything. 853 01:23:12,666 --> 01:23:14,166 They must. 854 01:23:20,208 --> 01:23:22,583 Three days after arriving in Stromness... 855 01:23:22,750 --> 01:23:27,541 ...Shackleton, Worsley and Crean set out for Elephant Island in a borrowed ship. 856 01:23:27,708 --> 01:23:32,166 Their three companions back at King Haakon Bay were given passages home. 857 01:23:34,208 --> 01:23:36,125 60 miles short of the island... 858 01:23:36,291 --> 01:23:39,583 ...the rescue ship was brought to a halt by their old enemy: 859 01:23:39,750 --> 01:23:41,208 Ice. 860 01:23:42,666 --> 01:23:45,208 There was nothing to do but return. 861 01:23:46,666 --> 01:23:50,625 Over the next four months, Shackleton made increasingly frantic attempts... 862 01:23:50,791 --> 01:23:53,541 ...to get through to his men on Elephant Island. 863 01:23:54,166 --> 01:23:56,041 At last, in late August... 864 01:23:56,208 --> 01:23:59,791 ...the Chilean government loaned him a small tug called the Yelcho... 865 01:23:59,958 --> 01:24:04,541 ...and Shackleton, Worsley and Crean set out on their fourth rescue attempt. 866 01:24:08,916 --> 01:24:10,541 Elephant Island. 867 01:24:11,166 --> 01:24:14,916 The rescue party was now at least 1 0 weeks overdue. 868 01:24:16,541 --> 01:24:18,750 In his diary, Orde-Lees wrote: 869 01:24:18,916 --> 01:24:21,791 August 26, 1 91 6. 870 01:24:21,958 --> 01:24:25,708 Another wretched day, very dull and draining. 871 01:24:26,541 --> 01:24:29,291 What little seal meat we have left is tainted. 872 01:24:29,458 --> 01:24:31,458 We've picked it over so often... 873 01:24:31,666 --> 01:24:35,041 ...that nothing but the most decomposed remains. 874 01:24:37,166 --> 01:24:39,666 The 22 men had passed a sunless winter... 875 01:24:39,875 --> 01:24:43,208 ...living in a small hut made from the overturned boats. 876 01:24:47,250 --> 01:24:50,583 Twenty-two of us lived in a tiny, dark little hut. 877 01:24:50,750 --> 01:24:52,416 The weather was just appalling. 878 01:24:52,583 --> 01:24:56,041 Blizzards and snowstorms almost the whole time. 879 01:24:56,208 --> 01:24:58,958 The great difficulty, of course, was lack of water. 880 01:24:59,166 --> 01:25:01,125 There was frozen water all round... 881 01:25:01,291 --> 01:25:03,916 ...but you can't suck ice at those temperatures. 882 01:25:04,083 --> 01:25:06,250 Itblisters your lips and your tongue... 883 01:25:06,416 --> 01:25:08,750 ...as though you'd sucked a piece of hot iron. 884 01:25:08,916 --> 01:25:10,875 So we'd take a few chips of ice... 885 01:25:11,041 --> 01:25:14,291 ...in our sleeping bags with us at night in a tobacco tin. 886 01:25:14,458 --> 01:25:18,083 And if you lay very still, a few of the chips would melt... 887 01:25:18,250 --> 01:25:21,958 ...and you'd have a spoonful of water for breakfast in the morning. 888 01:25:25,791 --> 01:25:27,250 Food was very short. 889 01:25:27,416 --> 01:25:31,250 We had little except a little seal and penguin whenever they came up... 890 01:25:31,416 --> 01:25:36,458 ...and Marston had a little cookery book, from which he'd read one recipe a night. 891 01:25:36,666 --> 01:25:39,375 We all lay around very quietly and very solemnly... 892 01:25:39,541 --> 01:25:42,208 ...suggesting, in turns, improvements and alterations... 893 01:25:42,375 --> 01:25:44,125 ...and when the last man finished... 894 01:25:44,291 --> 01:25:48,458 ...we dreamt of the second helpings we'd refuse when we were back home. 895 01:25:48,666 --> 01:25:51,625 lt's difficult to realize how hungry a man can be. 896 01:25:51,791 --> 01:25:53,541 When we'd eaten our rations... 897 01:25:53,708 --> 01:25:56,291 ...and such seals and penguins as we could catch... 898 01:25:56,458 --> 01:25:58,916 ...then and then... 899 01:25:59,083 --> 01:26:03,208 ...without any enmity, we looked at one another. 900 01:26:12,958 --> 01:26:16,875 Each day Wild roused the company from their bags with the cry: 901 01:26:17,041 --> 01:26:20,291 ''Lash up and stow! The Boss may come today!'' 902 01:26:20,708 --> 01:26:23,708 But by the end of August, even Wild had given up hope... 903 01:26:23,875 --> 01:26:26,166 ...that Shackleton would return. 904 01:26:28,750 --> 01:26:31,291 Orde-Lees summarized the situation: 905 01:26:31,791 --> 01:26:35,708 The idea of a ship ever coming now is getting more and more remote... 906 01:26:35,875 --> 01:26:40,333 ...as preparations are being pushed along for sending one of our two boats. 907 01:26:40,666 --> 01:26:44,041 Wild and four other members are to go in the Dudley Docker... 908 01:26:44,208 --> 01:26:48,041 ...and will make their way from island to island of the South Shetlands... 909 01:26:48,208 --> 01:26:50,583 ...until they reach Deception lsland... 910 01:26:50,750 --> 01:26:53,583 ...about 250 miles away. 911 01:26:55,041 --> 01:26:57,541 Itis a big undertaking. 912 01:27:01,875 --> 01:27:04,291 On August 30, 1 9 1 6... 913 01:27:04,458 --> 01:27:08,625 ...the men were gathered in their hut for a lunch of boiled seal backbone. 914 01:27:08,791 --> 01:27:13,458 Marston and Hurley remained outside shelling limpets picked in the shallows. 915 01:27:15,291 --> 01:27:18,041 Suddenly, Marston put his head inside the hut. 916 01:27:18,208 --> 01:27:19,708 Macklin recalled: 917 01:27:19,875 --> 01:27:24,041 Marston burst in asking if it would not be a good thing to send up smoke. 918 01:27:24,208 --> 01:27:26,625 Wild called out to know what was the matter. 919 01:27:26,791 --> 01:27:29,083 Marston replied with the magic words: 920 01:27:29,250 --> 01:27:30,958 ''A ship!'' 921 01:27:36,875 --> 01:27:41,000 From the deck of the Yelcho, Shackleton scanned Cape Wild through binoculars... 922 01:27:41,208 --> 01:27:44,708 ...counting the figures who poured out of the hut onto the beach. 923 01:27:51,083 --> 01:27:52,458 Frank Worsley recalled: 924 01:27:52,666 --> 01:27:56,541 Two, five, seven, and then an exultant shout: 925 01:27:56,708 --> 01:28:00,375 ''They're all there, skipper. They're all safe!'' 926 01:28:07,041 --> 01:28:08,708 Crean joined us... 927 01:28:08,875 --> 01:28:12,458 ...and we were all unable to speak. 928 01:28:28,375 --> 01:28:32,750 All hands were safe. Not one life had been lost. 929 01:28:44,041 --> 01:28:47,500 An ecstatic welcome greeted Shackleton in Punta Arenas. 930 01:28:47,708 --> 01:28:50,083 Although Germany was at war with Britain... 931 01:28:50,250 --> 01:28:53,750 ...the German community raised flags of celebration. 932 01:29:10,666 --> 01:29:13,541 The crew of the Endurance returned to a British nation... 933 01:29:13,708 --> 01:29:17,166 ...that little resembled the one they had left two years before. 934 01:29:17,666 --> 01:29:21,041 When Shackleton and his men had left England... 935 01:29:21,208 --> 01:29:23,458 ...the Great War had just started... 936 01:29:23,666 --> 01:29:27,916 ...and their minds were still in Edwardian England. 937 01:29:28,083 --> 01:29:33,375 When they returned to civilization now, they entered the modern world... 938 01:29:33,541 --> 01:29:39,375 ...and the war, as it turned out, was beyond their comprehension. 939 01:29:40,208 --> 01:29:45,875 And because of the dreadful carnage on the battlefields in Europe... 940 01:29:46,041 --> 01:29:48,500 ...Shackleton rather disappeared. 941 01:29:48,708 --> 01:29:53,791 And in any case, he was the wrong kind of hero for England at the time. 942 01:29:53,958 --> 01:29:56,208 The British wanted dead heroes... 943 01:29:56,375 --> 01:29:59,916 ...and they had lots and lots of dead heroes. 944 01:30:14,416 --> 01:30:16,708 l suspect in 1 91 8... 945 01:30:16,875 --> 01:30:21,750 ...the death of so many people in the trenches in the war... 946 01:30:21,916 --> 01:30:24,583 ...made them feel that they had been... 947 01:30:24,958 --> 01:30:27,375 ...l could've said, nearly cowards. 948 01:30:27,541 --> 01:30:31,583 That they avoided two years of the war and they were lucky to be alive. 949 01:30:35,208 --> 01:30:38,583 Most of the men entered the war upon their return. 950 01:30:40,708 --> 01:30:44,791 Frank Hurley went off to photograph the fighting in the trenches. 951 01:30:45,083 --> 01:30:49,708 Tim McCarthy would be killed at sea six weeks after enlisting. 952 01:30:55,541 --> 01:30:57,958 McNish emigrated to New Zealand... 953 01:30:58,166 --> 01:31:02,166 ...working on the docks before suffering a crippling injury. 954 01:31:02,875 --> 01:31:06,208 Most members of the expedition were awarded the Polar Medal... 955 01:31:06,416 --> 01:31:10,208 ...but Shackleton withheld this honor from McNish and three others. 956 01:31:10,791 --> 01:31:14,833 The carpenter's brief rebellion on the ice had cost him dearly. 957 01:31:25,375 --> 01:31:27,083 As Shackleton had known... 958 01:31:27,250 --> 01:31:31,041 ...the Endurance expedition had been his last chance at glory. 959 01:31:37,166 --> 01:31:40,625 In 1 92 1, he headed south once more... 960 01:31:40,791 --> 01:31:43,625 ...joined by a handful of the old Endurance crew: 961 01:31:43,791 --> 01:31:48,875 Worsley, Macklin, Green, Hussey and Frank Wild. 962 01:31:51,208 --> 01:31:53,916 The goal of the expedition was unclear. 963 01:31:54,083 --> 01:31:57,416 All that mattered was that they were heading south again. 964 01:32:01,375 --> 01:32:04,208 On the evening of his arrival in South Georgia... 965 01:32:04,375 --> 01:32:06,958 ...Shackleton had a heart attack and died. 966 01:32:07,166 --> 01:32:10,083 He was not quite 48 years old. 967 01:32:14,458 --> 01:32:16,208 At the request of his wife... 968 01:32:16,375 --> 01:32:19,916 ...his men buried him in the island's small whaling cemetery. 969 01:32:43,458 --> 01:32:47,791 Bereft, Shackleton's men continued their uncertain expedition. 970 01:32:48,583 --> 01:32:52,791 Along the way, they took time to visit a place they never thought to see again: 971 01:32:52,958 --> 01:32:55,208 Elephant Island. 972 01:32:56,166 --> 01:32:59,708 The expedition photographer recorded their visit. 973 01:33:17,208 --> 01:33:20,083 Confronting the site of their dark winter... 974 01:33:20,250 --> 01:33:23,458 ...they were overcome with unexpected nostalgia. 975 01:33:23,875 --> 01:33:25,208 Macklin: 976 01:33:25,375 --> 01:33:27,625 We have stood gazing with binoculars... 977 01:33:27,791 --> 01:33:31,250 ...picking out and recognizing old familiar spots. 978 01:33:32,916 --> 01:33:36,375 What memories, what memories! 979 01:33:37,666 --> 01:33:41,291 They rush to one like a great flood and bring tears to one's eyes. 980 01:33:41,458 --> 01:33:45,041 As l sit and try to write, a great rush of feeling comes over me... 981 01:33:45,208 --> 01:33:47,541 ...and l find l cannot express myself. 982 01:33:47,708 --> 01:33:51,458 Once more, l see the old faces and hear the old voices. 983 01:33:51,666 --> 01:33:54,666 Old friends scattered everywhere. 984 01:33:55,375 --> 01:33:58,833 But to express it all, l feel, is impossible. 985 01:34:09,250 --> 01:34:12,208 Shackleton's feeling about the Endurance expedition... 986 01:34:12,375 --> 01:34:14,375 ...was expressed in his memoir: 987 01:34:15,208 --> 01:34:18,041 ''We had seen God in his splendors... 988 01:34:18,375 --> 01:34:21,708 ...heard the text that nature renders. 989 01:34:21,958 --> 01:34:26,083 We had reached the naked soul of man. ''