In Shackleton's honour: Descendants' 900-mile trek
Exactly 100 years since the British polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton travelled further south than any human being, his and his team's descendants are to follow in his footsteps and undertake the gruelling 900-mile trek to the South Pole – on foot.
On 29 October 1908, Shackleton set out to become the first man to reach the South Pole. Two months later, after travelling south in severe weather conditions with temperatures dropping below -30C, the group, running perilously low on food, decided it would be too dangerous to continue and turned back. They were 97 miles short of their target. Three years later, the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen succeeded where Shackleton's Nimrod expedition failed.
On his return to Britain, Shackleton was hailed a hero and awarded a knighthood for his achievements.
Now, relatives of that expedition will attempt to follow the same route, setting off exactly 100 years to the day since that great trek, and attempt to finish a journey their ancestors first took. It will be led by Lt-Col Henry Worsley, a descendent of Frank Worsley, who was Shackleton's skipper. Accompanying him will be Henry Adams, a great-grandson of Jameson Boyd Adams, and Will Gow who, inspired by a desire to unite Shackleton's descendents at the pole, came up with the idea of recreating the voyage. Mr Gow is related to Shackleton by marriage.
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On 29 October 1908, Shackleton set out to become the first man to reach the South Pole. Two months later, after travelling south in severe weather conditions with temperatures dropping below -30C, the group, running perilously low on food, decided it would be too dangerous to continue and turned back. They were 97 miles short of their target. Three years later, the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen succeeded where Shackleton's Nimrod expedition failed.
On his return to Britain, Shackleton was hailed a hero and awarded a knighthood for his achievements.
Now, relatives of that expedition will attempt to follow the same route, setting off exactly 100 years to the day since that great trek, and attempt to finish a journey their ancestors first took. It will be led by Lt-Col Henry Worsley, a descendent of Frank Worsley, who was Shackleton's skipper. Accompanying him will be Henry Adams, a great-grandson of Jameson Boyd Adams, and Will Gow who, inspired by a desire to unite Shackleton's descendents at the pole, came up with the idea of recreating the voyage. Mr Gow is related to Shackleton by marriage.