South Georgia – Shackleton Walk

In my previous blog I posted a map of S. Georgia. On this map there is a red line called Shackleton’s Route, stretching from King Haakon Bay to Stromness Bay. For those that might not be familiar with one of Shackleton and Tom Crean’s most famous feats, I’ll give an abridged version as background to this blog.

In December 1914, a ship called Endurance, with Shackleton, Crean and 26 others on board, set sail from S. Georgia for Antarctica in an effort to be the first to cross the Antarctic continent from west to east, on foot. Before they hit land, the Endurance got stuck in the ice and was trapped for 9 months before eventually being crushed and sunk. They rescued 3 lifeboats and whatever supplies they could and set off across the ice heading for open sea. They eventually got to open sea (long story) and sailed off in the 3 life boats. Their destination was Paulet Island, where there were supplies left by some previous expedition, but the current pushed them to Elephant Island. They knew no one would look for them there so the only thing for it was to use the prevailing winds and currents and sail to S. Georgia. (Malvinas/Falklands were nearer).

Using bits of all 3 life boats they, cobbled together one seaworthy boat, the James Caird. 6 of them headed off in this and 22 stayed behind, using the remaining bits of boats as shelter. After a gruelling 15 days at sea, and an amazing piece of navigation the 6 finally arrived at Haakon Bay on S. Georgia. Unfortunately, this was the wrong side of the island and the boat was no longer seaworthy. So Shackleton, Crean and Worsley, had to embark on an alpine trek across the island to get to the whaling station in Stromness. They did this by remembering how many bays there were along this coastline. Don’t forget they had left from here 17 months earlier. Anyway, they miscounted and descended from the mountains into Fortuna Bay. So, they had to go back up and across to Stromness. Tough men. They made it.

This is where our story begins. So, as part of our cruise we were given the option of retracing the trek from Fortuna to Stromness. We were warned that this was a challenging climb and that the ship would not be waiting in Fortuna but would be sailing on to Stromness. Therefore, once dropped off by Zodiac, there was no turning back. Margaret was well up for this, but I couldn’t believe it when John said he was going too. And since he is 11 years older than me, I felt I had to rise to the challenge. (We did make sure first that the ship’s doctor was also going on the trek). So that just left Patricia – and she wasn’t going to be odd-man-out. Surprisingly, given the average age of the passengers, 39 people put their names down to go.

Next morning we were up at 5am for coffee and croissants. A snow storm arrived, a complete white out, and I thanked my lucky stars. But, as with all sailors, the captain had a forecast and knew that this would pass and we would have a 3 hour window before the next storm was due. So, off we went, into the Zodiacs, 37 passengers and 6 guides.

Getting togged out for the climb

Getting togged out for the climb

Dark - still very early morning

Dark – still very early morning

image

Patricia striding ahead - me (in the blue top) not quite at the back, for a change

Patricia striding ahead – me (in the blue top) not quite at the back, for a change

I have to confess to a momentary panic when the empty Zodiacs made their way back to the ship and the anchor was brought up. No going back now. My occasional hill walks in the Dublin mountains were no preparation for this. The first 30 minutes were really steep but I was determined not to be left at the back so started off much too fast. I had a blinding headache after about 10 minutes and thought I was going to die. (I was just recovering from a bad cold, which didn’t help). Margaret was miles ahead at this stage and I didn’t see her again until we got to a plateau at the top. I’m grand on the flat bits. Patricia was also up at the front and John was ahead of me for most of the time too. I just kept thinking of Shackleton and Crean and how they must have felt in their crappy wet clothing, eating seal, and doing this in much more inclement weather.

Corrie lake that Shackleton fell into

Corrie lake that Crean fell into

Margaret with Greg and Harry

Margaret with Greg and Harry

John heading down at last. This was the ridge that Shackleton stood on waiting to hear the whale station horn to guide him down

John heading down at last. This was the ridge that Shackleton stood on waiting to hear the whale station horn to guide him down. All the red dots in the delta are the rest of the passengers ahead of us

John on the left with the long awaited whaling station in the right hand corner

John on the left with the long awaited whaling station in the right hand corner

I have to say, the walk was really well organised by the guides, 2 each at the front, middle and back. The doctor had chocolate for us when we got past the worst incline. Because we had to complete the trek within 3 hours, the pace was fast but those of us at the back were cajoled along nicely.

We passed the waterfall that Shackleton, Crean and Worsley descended by rope and we finally stood on the peak where they listened out for the horn of the whaling station. When they heard the horn at 7.00am, after 36 hours of trekking, they shook hands and started the decent!! The views were amazing. I hope I’ve managed to capture them.

Waterfall that Shackleton and his men descended by rope

Waterfall that Shackleton and his men descended by rope

Whaling station getting closer

Whaling station getting closer

A look back at the ridge we've just crossed over

A look back at the ridge we’ve just crossed over

Where's the ship? Are we to be left here?

Where’s the ship? Are we to be left here?

We made it to the whaling station after just 2hrs and 45 mins. That was some achievement by all of us. The only one to fall was me – of course – but miraculously no damage done.

Margaret safely down and getting ready wot back on board  Vavilov

Margaret safely down and getting ready wot back on board Vavilov

We eventually rejoined the ship where they had a huge breakfast waiting for us.

255 thoughts on “South Georgia – Shackleton Walk

  1. Хотите получить идеально ровный пол в своей квартире или офисе? Обратитесь к профессионалам на сайте styazhka-pola24.ru! Мы предоставляем услуги по устройству стяжки пола в Москве и области, а также гарантируем доступные цены и высокое качество работ.

  2. Хотите получить идеально ровные стены без лишних затрат? Обратитесь к профессионалам на сайте mehanizirovannaya-shtukaturka-moscow.ru! Мы предоставляем услуги по машинной штукатурке стен по доступной стоимости, а также гарантируем устройство штукатурки по маякам стен.

  3. It’s a shame you don’t have a donate button! I’d certainly donate to this excellent blog! I suppose for now i’ll settle for book-marking and adding your RSS feed to my Google account. I look forward to fresh updates and will talk about this blog with my Facebook group. Chat soon!

  4. Хотите получить идеально ровные стены без лишних затрат? Обратитесь к профессионалам на сайте mehanizirovannaya-shtukaturka-moscow.ru! Мы предоставляем услуги по машинной штукатурке стен по доступной стоимости, а также гарантируем устройство штукатурки по маякам стен.

  5. Thanks for your personal marvelous posting! I actually enjoyed reading it, you might be a great author.I will be sure to bookmark your blog and will often come back sometime soon. I want to encourage continue your great writing, have a nice holiday weekend!

  6. Today, I went to the beachfront with my kids. I found a sea shell and gave it to my 4 year old daughter and said “You can hear the ocean if you put this to your ear.” She put the shell to her ear and screamed. There was a hermit crab inside and it pinched her ear. She never wants to go back! LoL I know this is entirely off topic but I had to tell someone!

  7. Hello would you mind stating which blog platform you’re working with? I’m looking to start my own blog in the near future but I’m having a tough time making a decision between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal. The reason I ask is because your design and style seems different then most blogs and I’m looking for something completely unique. P.S Apologies for getting off-topic but I had to ask!

  8. Lucky Jet приглашает вас в полет за большими выигрышами! Зайдите на luckyjet 1 win, чтобы начать свое азартное путешествие.

  9. I don’t even know how I ended up here, but I thought this post was good. I don’t know who you are but definitely you are going to a famous blogger if you are not already 😉 Cheers!

  10. It’s really a cool and helpful piece of information. I’m satisfied that you simply shared this helpful info with us. Please stay us informed like this. Thank you for sharing.

  11. I must thank you for the efforts you have put in writing this blog. I’m hoping to see the same high-grade blog posts from you in the future as well. In fact, your creative writing abilities has motivated me to get my own blog now 😉

  12. Have you ever thought about creating an e-book or guest authoring on other sites? I have a blog based upon on the same subjects you discuss and would really like to have you share some stories/information. I know my viewers would enjoy your work. If you are even remotely interested, feel free to send me an e-mail.

  13. Hey I know this is off topic but I was wondering if you knew of any widgets I could add to my blog that automatically tweet my newest twitter updates. I’ve been looking for a plug-in like this for quite some time and was hoping maybe you would have some experience with something like this. Please let me know if you run into anything. I truly enjoy reading your blog and I look forward to your new updates.

  14. Hello there! This is kind of off topic but I need some help from an established blog. Is it very difficult to set up your own blog? I’m not very techincal but I can figure things out pretty fast. I’m thinking about creating my own but I’m not sure where to start. Do you have any tips or suggestions? Thanks

  15. We are a group of volunteers and starting a new scheme in our community. Your site provided us with helpful information to work on. You have performed an impressive process and our whole community might be grateful to you.

  16. Heya just wanted to give you a quick heads up and let you know a few of the images aren’t loading correctly. I’m not sure why but I think its a linking issue. I’ve tried it in two different internet browsers and both show the same results.

  17. Have you ever considered about including a little bit more than just your articles? I mean, what you say is fundamental and all. However think of if you added some great visuals or video clips to give your posts more, “pop”! Your content is excellent but with images and video clips, this website could certainly be one of the greatest in its niche. Fantastic blog!

  18. Hi, i think that i saw you visited my blog so i got here to go back the choose?.I am trying to in finding things to improve my site!I assume its good enough to use some of your ideas!!

  19. When I originally commented I clicked the “Notify me when new comments are added” checkbox and now each time a comment is added I get four emails with the same comment. Is there any way you can remove me from that service? Thanks!

  20. An impressive share! I have just forwarded this onto a coworker who was doing a little research on this. And he in fact bought me breakfast simply because I found it for him… lol. So let me reword this…. Thank YOU for the meal!! But yeah, thanx for spending the time to discuss this matter here on your internet site.

  21. I have been surfing online more than three hours lately, yet I never found any fascinating article like yours. It’s pretty worth enough for me. Personally, if all site owners and bloggers made just right content as you did, the net shall be much more useful than ever before.

  22. You can definitely see your enthusiasm in the article you write. The arena hopes for more passionate writers like you who aren’t afraid to mention how they believe. Always go after your heart.

  23. Howdy! Someone in my Myspace group shared this site with us so I came to take a look. I’m definitely enjoying the information. I’m book-marking and will be tweeting this to my followers! Terrific blog and excellent style and design.

  24. Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems as though you relied on the video to make your point. You definitely know what youre talking about, why waste your intelligence on just posting videos to your blog when you could be giving us something enlightening to read?

  25. Howdy! I could have sworn I’ve been to this blog before but after reading through some of the post I realized it’s new to me. Nonetheless, I’m definitely glad I found it and I’ll be bookmarking and checking back often!

  26. The other day, while I was at work, my sister stole my iPad and tested to see if it can survive a twenty five foot drop, just so she can be a youtube sensation. My iPad is now broken and she has 83 views. I know this is completely off topic but I had to share it with someone!

  27. I am extremely inspired together with your writing talents and alsowell as with the layout for your blog. Is this a paid subject or did you customize it yourself? Either way stay up the nice quality writing, it’s rare to see a nice blog like this one nowadays..

  28. Excellent post. I used to be checking continuously this blog and I am inspired! Very useful information specially the ultimate phase 🙂 I maintain such info a lot. I used to be seeking this particular info for a long timelong time. Thank you and good luck.

  29. obviously like your website however you need to test the spelling on quite a few of your posts. A number of them are rife with spelling problems and I find it very bothersome to tell the truth then again I will certainly come back again.

  30. It’s in reality a nice and helpful piece of information. I’m glad that you simply shared this helpful info with us. Please stay us informed like this. Thanks for sharing.

  31. This is the right blog for anyone who would like to find out about this topic. You realize so much its almost hard to argue with you (not that I personally would want toHaHa). You definitely put a brand new spin on a topic that’s been written about for years. Excellent stuff, just great!

  32. I blog quite often and I genuinely appreciate your content. This article has really peaked my interest. I will bookmark your site and keep checking for new information about once a week. I subscribed to your RSS feed as well.

  33. What i do not realize is if truth be told how you’re not really a lot more well-liked than you may be right now. You are so intelligent. You recognize therefore significantly on the subject of this topic, produced me personally believe it from so many various angles. Its like men and women don’t seem to be fascinated unless it’s something to accomplish with Lady gaga! Your personal stuffs great. All the time take care of it up!

  34. I love your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you create this website yourself or did you hire someone to do it for you? Plz reply as I’m looking to design my own blog and would like to know where u got this from. thank you

  35. Thank you a bunch for sharing this with all people you really understand what you are talking approximately! Bookmarked. Please also discuss with my site =). We may have a link exchange agreement among us

  36. Do you mind if I quote a couple of your posts as long as I provide credit and sources back to your website? My website is in the very same area of interest as yours and my visitors would certainly benefit from a lot of the information you present here. Please let me know if this alright with you. Many thanks!

  37. I think this is one of the so much important information for me. And i’m satisfied reading your article. However wanna statement on few general things, The website taste is great, the articles is in point of fact excellent : D. Good activity, cheers

  38. Hmm it appears like your website ate my first comment (it was extremely long) so I guess I’ll just sum it up what I had written and say, I’m thoroughly enjoying your blog. I as well am an aspiring blog blogger but I’m still new to the whole thing. Do you have any tips and hints for beginner blog writers? I’d genuinely appreciate it.

  39. This is the right website for anyone who really wants to find out about this topic. You understand so much its almost hard to argue with you (not that I personally would want toHaHa). You definitely put a new spin on a topic that has been written about for many years. Excellent stuff, just excellent!

  40. I like the valuable information you provide in your articles. I will bookmark your weblog and check again here frequently. I am quite certain I will learn a lot of new stuff right here! Good luck for the next!

  41. you are really a just right webmaster. The site loading speed is incredible. It kind of feels that you are doing any unique trick. Also, The contents are masterpiece. you have performed a wonderful activity in this matter!

  42. This is very interesting, You are a very skilled blogger. I have joined your feed and look forward to seeking more of your fantastic post. Also, I have shared your site in my social networks!

  43. Howdy very nice web site!! Guy .. Beautiful .. Amazing .. I will bookmark your blog and take the feeds also? I am glad to find numerous useful information here in the publish, we need develop more strategies in this regard, thank you for sharing. . . . . .

  44. Normally I do not read article on blogs, however I wish to say that this write-up very forced me to take a look at and do so! Your writing taste has been amazed me. Thank you, quite great article.

  45. Hi there! Someone in my Myspace group shared this site with us so I came to take a look. I’m definitely enjoying the information. I’m book-marking and will be tweeting this to my followers! Outstanding blog and terrific design and style.

  46. Heya this is somewhat of off topic but I was wondering if blogs use WYSIWYG editors or if you have to manually code with HTML. I’m starting a blog soon but have no coding skills so I wanted to get advice from someone with experience. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

  47. Woah! I’m really enjoying the template/theme of this site. It’s simple, yet effective. A lot of times it’s very hard to get that “perfect balance” between superb usability and visual appeal. I must say you have done a awesome job with this. In addition, the blog loads very fast for me on Opera. Exceptional Blog!

  48. Fantastic goods from you, man. I’ve understand your stuff previous to and you’re just too magnificent. I really like what you’ve acquired here, really like what you’re stating and the way in which you say it. You make it entertaining and you still take care of to keep it smart. I can not wait to read far more from you. This is actually a great site.

  49. Hey there! I know this is somewhat off topic but I was wondering which blog platform are you using for this site? I’m getting tired of WordPress because I’ve had issues with hackers and I’m looking at options for another platform. I would be great if you could point me in the direction of a good platform.

  50. I loved as much as you will receive carried out right here. The sketch is tasteful, your authored subject matter stylish. nonetheless, you command get bought an nervousness over that you wish be delivering the following. unwell unquestionably come further formerly again since exactly the same nearly a lot often inside case you shield this increase.

  51. Today, I went to the beachfront with my kids. I found a sea shell and gave it to my 4 year old daughter and said “You can hear the ocean if you put this to your ear.” She put the shell to her ear and screamed. There was a hermit crab inside and it pinched her ear. She never wants to go back! LoL I know this is completely off topic but I had to tell someone!

  52. Heya! I realize this is somewhat off-topic but I had to ask. Does operating a well-established blog like yours take a massive amount work? I’m completely new to blogging but I do write in my diary everyday. I’d like to start a blog so I can share my own experience and thoughts online. Please let me know if you have any suggestions or tips for new aspiring bloggers. Appreciate it!

  53. Hi would you mind stating which blog platform you’re working with? I’m planning to start my own blog in the near future but I’m having a tough time selecting between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal. The reason I ask is because your design and style seems different then most blogs and I’m looking for something completely unique. P.S Apologies for getting off-topic but I had to ask!

  54. Wow, wonderful blog layout! How long have you been blogging for? you make blogging look easy. The overall look of your site is magnificent, let alone the content!

  55. I think what you postedwrotebelieve what you postedwrotesaidbelieve what you postedtypedsaidthink what you postedwroteWhat you postedwrote was very logicala ton of sense. But, what about this?consider this, what if you were to write a killer headlinetitle?content?wrote a catchier title? I ain’t saying your content isn’t good.ain’t saying your content isn’t gooddon’t want to tell you how to run your blog, but what if you added a titlesomethingheadlinetitle that grabbed people’s attention?maybe get a person’s attention?want more? I mean %BLOG_TITLE% is a little plain. You ought to peek at Yahoo’s home page and watch how they createwrite news headlines to get viewers to click. You might add a video or a pic or two to get readers interested about what you’ve written. Just my opinion, it might bring your postsblog a little livelier.

  56. hi!,I love your writing so much! proportion we keep up a correspondence more approximately your post on AOL? I need an expert in this space to unravel my problem. May be that is you! Taking a look forward to peer you.

  57. Undeniably consider that that you stated. Your favourite justification appeared to be at the internet the simplest thing to understand of. I say to you, I definitely get irked at the same time as other people consider concerns that they plainly do not realize about. You controlled to hit the nail upon the top as smartlyand also defined out the whole thing with no need side effect , other folks can take a signal. Will likely be back to get more. Thank you

  58. you are in reality a good webmaster. The web site loading velocity is incredible. It kind of feels that you are doing any unique trick. Moreover, The contents are masterpiece. you have performed a wonderful process in this topic!

  59. I am extremely inspired with your writing skills and alsowell as with the format in your blog. Is this a paid subject matter or did you customize it yourself? Either way stay up the nice quality writing, it’s rare to see a nice blog like this one nowadays..

  60. Wow that was strange. I just wrote an extremely long comment but after I clicked submit my comment didn’t show up. Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again. Anyway, just wanted to say great blog!

  61. Greetings from Colorado! I’m bored to death at work so I decided to check out your site on my iphone during lunch break. I really like the info you present here and can’t wait to take a look when I get home. I’m amazed at how quick your blog loaded on my cell phone .. I’m not even using WIFI, just 3G .. Anyhow, fantastic site!

  62. I absolutely love your blog and find nearly all of your post’s to be what precisely I’m looking for. Do you offer guest writers to write content for yourself? I wouldn’t mind publishing a post or elaborating on a lot of the subjects you write related to here. Again, awesome web site!

  63. Thanks for your marvelous posting! I genuinely enjoyed reading it, you will be a great author.I will always bookmark your blog and will often come back very soon. I want to encourage one to continue your great job, have a nice day!

  64. My programmer is trying to persuade me to move to .net from PHP. I have always disliked the idea because of the expenses. But he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve been using Movable-type on a number of websites for about a year and am nervous about switching to another platform. I have heard great things about blogengine.net. Is there a way I can transfer all my wordpress content into it? Any kind of help would be really appreciated!

  65. you are actually a good webmaster. The web site loading speed is incredible. It sort of feels that you are doing any unique trick. Moreover, The contents are masterpiece. you have performed a fantastic task in this matter!

  66. Howdy are using WordPress for your blog platform? I’m new to the blog world but I’m trying to get started and create my own. Do you need any coding knowledge to make your own blog? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

  67. Whats up are using WordPress for your blog platform? I’m new to the blog world but I’m trying to get started and create my own. Do you need any coding knowledge to make your own blog? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

  68. Hey! I know this is kinda off topic however I’d figured I’d ask. Would you be interested in exchanging links or maybe guest writing a blog article or vice-versa? My site discusses a lot of the same subjects as yours and I believe we could greatly benefit from each other. If you might be interested feel free to send me an e-mail. I look forward to hearing from you! Fantastic blog by the way!

  69. Hi there would you mind letting me know which webhost you’re working with? I’ve loaded your blog in 3 completely different internet browsers and I must say this blog loads a lot quicker then most. Can you suggest a good web hosting provider at a reasonable price? Many thanks, I appreciate it!

  70. Magnificent goods from you, man. I’ve keep in mind your stuff prior to and you’re simply too magnificent. I really like what you’ve received here, really like what you’re stating and the way by which you are saying it. You make it entertaining and you still take care of to stay it smart. I can not wait to read far more from you. This is actually a great website.

  71. I’ve been exploring for a little bit for any high-quality articles or blog posts in this kind of area . Exploring in Yahoo I finally stumbled upon this web site. Reading this info So i’m satisfied to exhibit that I have a very just right uncanny feeling I found out exactly what I needed. I such a lot certainly will make certain to don?t forget this site and give it a look on a continuing basis.

  72. I have been surfing online more than three hours lately, yet I never found any interesting article like yours. It’s lovely value enough for me. In my opinion, if all site owners and bloggers made just right content as you did, the internet will probably be much more useful than ever before.

  73. Have you ever considered about including a little bit more than just your articles? I mean, what you say is fundamental and all. Nevertheless just imagine if you added some great graphics or video clips to give your posts more, “pop”! Your content is excellent but with images and video clips, this website could undeniably be one of the most beneficial in its niche. Amazing blog!

  74. Hey I know this is off topic but I was wondering if you knew of any widgets I could add to my blog that automatically tweet my newest twitter updates. I’ve been looking for a plug-in like this for quite some time and was hoping maybe you would have some experience with something like this. Please let me know if you run into anything. I truly enjoy reading your blog and I look forward to your new updates.

  75. Hello! Someone in my Myspace group shared this site with us so I came to take a look. I’m definitely enjoying the information. I’m book-marking and will be tweeting this to my followers! Exceptional blog and outstanding design and style.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.