Since I have booked a trip to Antarctica, I went to the library to find a few books to learn about it first, and at least familiarize myself with vocabulary related to geography, navigation, and biology, so as not to be blinded when I get on the ship. Because the travel route is called In the Wake of Scott & Shackleton, I borrowed a copy of The Shackleton Voyages to find out who Scott and Shackleton are and where they are going. The book turned out to be surprisingly beautiful and hard to put down.
Earnest Shackleton went on four expeditions to Antarctica in the first 20 years of the 20th century and died of illness during the last voyage. It was an era when humans were just able to explore Antarctica, and it was also an era when automobile and airplane technology were just a little bit behind and therefore useless. Explorers relied solely on physical strength and willpower to travel through the Antarctic ice floes and continent. At that time, Antarctic exploration was a heroic activity similar to climbing Mount Everest.
Scott and Shackleton's names are often put together. People who don't know better think they are partners, but in fact they are rivals. This is quite interesting.
Shackleton first went to Antarctica in 1902. Scott is the captain, Shackleton is the second-in-command, and there is a man named Wilson. The three of them set out for the South Pole together. Finally, they reached 82 degrees 17 minutes south latitude and felt the limit. Scott had the consciousness that he must die. Wilson listened to Scott. , but the three finally turned back under Shackleton's persuasion. After returning to England alive, Scott continued to smear Shackleton, saying that he was holding back the team, pretending to be sick and refusing to move forward for fear of death. Shackleton held his breath and vowed to take revenge.
Shackleton started his second Antarctic expedition as captain in 1907. Scott asked him to write a promise not to start the expedition from the place where he landed last time. I guess it should be understood this way: Although there is no patent protection for "who developed the adventure route", the rule in their industry is "copying other people's routes is not considered a hero." But Shackleton finally took the same route as last time. Of course, he had to explore the route after the last turnaround point by himself. In the end, Shackleton and his three friends reached 88 degrees 23 minutes south latitude, which was only 1 Duduo was about to reach the South Pole, but Shackleton's first priority was always to come back alive, especially to ensure that his men could come back alive. He finally decided to give up halfway and turn back. When he returned to England, he was naturally welcomed warmly as a hero, but he knew that his record would soon be broken, and that his value was only to explore the way for future generations.
Here Scott quickly started his second Antarctic expedition in 1910. While he was mocking Shackleton for breaking his promise and taking the route he developed, he also followed Shackleton's extended route exactly. Go down - this is the virtue of the British. At the same time, Norwegian Amundsen was also heading towards the South Pole, and Scott's Antarctic expedition turned into a race. In the end, Amundsen reached the South Pole first and escaped unscathed. Scott, who was inferior in skills and determined to die, finally succeeded in getting the hammer. Although he reached the South Pole, he could not make it back alive.
Should Shackleton be happy now that his old enemy is dead? Not really. Scott's death has become a lifelong knot for Shackleton: people praise heroes who sacrificed heroically, but soon forget about Shackleton.
So Shackleton started his third Antarctic expedition in 1914, trying to set a new record: he wanted to cross the Antarctic continent through the South Pole instead of reaching the South Pole and turning back.
This time he had extremely bad luck, or essentially it was due to his ignorance and lack of preparation. In short, his ship was frozen by ice floes in the sea south of Argentina, unable to move, and could only drift aimlessly along with the ice floes. In the end, It was crushed by ice floes and sank to the bottom of the sea. He and his crew drifted on the ice floe for more than a year, and finally drifted to a small island called Elephant Island (now a popular spot for Argentinian Antarctic tours). Shackleton left 22 people waiting there, and he took 5 people to row a small lifeboat and sailed at sea for two weeks to seek rescue in South Georgia, where whaling ships gathered. In the end, Shackleton and his men were all saved, and no one died. If you look at this process, you will know that this is definitely the biggest miracle in the history of human navigation.
Based on the deeds of the third Antarctic expedition, Shackleton can definitely become a god. His men were all devoted to him and were willing to put their lives at his disposal. But it is a pity that Shackleton has never been a Super Star in the eyes of the public. He is just a loser, a troublemaker, and a person who does not fit in with society. He has never achieved much in the UK. He only has a little fame and a few rich friends who are attracted by his personality. If he has no money to spend, he will go to the rich friends to spend money. If he wants to go on adventures, he will find rich friends to invest. But these adventures are almost impossible. It didn't bring much in return. Shackleton could only make some money by giving lectures and writing books all over the world, but he was not a top-notch person, so he was always in a state of being short of money and in debt. He could only find his own love while sailing on the sea. Sense of presence. So, in 1921 Shackleton set out again.
The fourth expedition has no goals to challenge. Shackleton just wants to gather friends who have been through life and death together on the ship to reminisce about the past. Maybe he already knows that his end is coming. On the last day of his life, he was still talking about Scott, and he had been angry about this all his life: In this life, everyone who followed me came back alive, and I didn’t leave anyone behind. I am no more worthy of being called a hero than Scott. ?