Antarctic Trek Ends Tragically
January 26, 2016
British explorer Henry Worsley’s attempt to be the first person to walk across Antarctica unaided ended tragically with his death this past Sunday, January 24. Worsley was forced to end his trek just 30 miles (50 kilometers) short of his goal because of dehydration and exhaustion. Since the start of his journey on Nov. 13, 2015, on Berkner Island, Antarctica, Worsley had walked alone across the continent, battling extreme weather conditions without outside support, for 71 days. He covered 913 miles (1520 kilometers) before he could no longer continue. He requested help near the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf (see bottom section of map below). A rescue team flew Worsley to a hospital in Punta Arenas, Chile, where he died.
Antarctica (World Book map; map data © MapQuest.com, Inc.)
Worsley’s attempt to cross the frozen expanse of Antarctica recalls the gallant, yet ill-fated expeditions of British explorers Robert Falcon Scott and Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton. These expeditions took place in the first two decades of the 1900′s, a period often called the “Heroic Era” of Antarctic exploration, when explorers first reached the South Pole. In 1911, two groups of explorers raced across Antarctica to be the first to reach the South Pole. One group was led by Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, and the other by Robert Falcon Scott. Amundsen reached the pole on Dec. 14, 1911, about five weeks before Scott. Scott and the four other members of his group reached the pole, but they all died on the return trip. A search party found their frozen bodies inside their tent eight months later.
Sir Ernest Shackleton Credit: Library of Congress.
In 1914, Shackleton led an expedition into the Weddell Sea, where ice crushed his ship, the Endurance. His party escaped in boats to Elephant Island. Shackleton and five companions then made a daring journey by boat to South Georgia Island and crossed the island’s glacier-covered mountainous ridge to summon rescuers. As a result, his entire party was saved.
The Irish-born British explorer Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton began an expedition to Antarctica in 1914 aboard the ship Endurance. This photograph shows the ship in full sail. It later was trapped and crushed by sea ice. © Royal Geographical Society/Alamy Images
Henry Worsley, a distant relative of Frank Worsley, a member of the Shackleton expedition, was trying to complete the mission Shackleton had started more than a century ago. Worsley’s trek across Antarctica was done to raise money for the Endeavour Fund, a charity that provides assistance to wounded British veterans through sporting and adventure challenges. Worsley raised more than 100,000 pounds (143,000 U.S. dollars) before starting his trek. The Endeavour Fund is managed by the Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry of the United Kingdom.
Other World Book articles
