Thursday, February 13, 2014

Chasing Shackleton by Tim Jarvis


Cover image for Chasing Shackleton : re-creating the world's greatest journey of survivalThis was a fascinating account of a crazy expedition. Six men tried to recreate Shackleton's "double." In 1914, Shackleton was on his way to attempt a land crossing of Antarctica, but got stuck in an iceberg on the way and was trapped for over a year! Eventually he and six men traveled by lifeboat (stage one) to the Island of South Georgia. Once they got there, they had to cross a glacier (stage two) to get to a whaling station where they could find help for the rest of their crew. They accomplished their goal, and were able to rescue the men left behind. Jarvis & crew traveled to Antarctica, to the starting point of the lifeboat journey. Using a replica lifeboat and materials and technology from the period, they recreated the experience. 
It was really interesting to read about both the back story of the expedition as well as the expedition itself. A crew accompanied them to film the experience for a documentary, also called "Chasing Shackleton." I appreciated learning the history of Shackleton's original expedition alongside the attempt by Jarvis. There were beautiful photos from both expeditions.
As someone who really, really hates being cold, I can't imagine willingly putting myself in that situation, especially using the period clothing and equipment.

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