[00:00] Hello, friends!
[00:00] On 4th November 1914,
[00:02] the British ship Endurance,
[00:04] crossed stormy seas,
[00:06] and was moving
towards the world's most
[00:09] dangerous and mysterious continent,
Antarctica.
[00:14] A crew of 28 people
was aboard this ship.
[00:17] The command was led by an
explorer, Sir Ernest Shackleton.
[00:21] He desired to achieve that
which no one else had ever before.
[00:25] To walk across the
continent of Antarctica.
[00:31] You heard it right, friends.
[00:33] In a time with no smartphone,
no GPS, no modern technology,
[00:37] in the temperatures as brutal
as -50°C on this icy continent,
[00:41] in the midst of snowstorms,
[00:43] from one edge to the another,
[00:45] he wanted to cross
this continent on foot.
[00:47] He planned to reach the
coast of Antarctica on this ship
[00:51] through the Weddell Sea.
[00:52] Look at the map.
[00:54] Their plan was to
land here exactly
[00:56] and start trekking
to the South Pole,
[00:59] crossing which, he would then
walk across to the Ross Sea.
[01:03] In total, this trek
spanned 2,900 km.
[01:06] If everything went
according to the plan,
[01:08] it would've taken
about 120 days to finish.
[01:11] But how badly
did this plan fail,
[01:14] and the struggles they endured,
[01:16] neither they nor you
can imagine it, friends.
[01:29] On 5th November 1914,
[01:31] Endurance reached a whaling
station on the South Georgia Island.
[01:35] This was the last human
settlement on their way.
[01:39] If you look at the map,
[01:40] this group of islands is present
near the tip of South America.
[01:43] Just south of them is the
protruding part of Antarctica.
[01:46] This is called the
Antarctica Peninsula.
[01:49] Beside it is the Weddell Sea.
[01:51] A sea that is surrounded
by Antarctica on three sides.
[01:55] Because of this, the ice
cannot flow out easily.
[01:58] And there is a dense
permanent layer of ice.
[02:01] The weather was bad that day.
[02:03] So were the conditions
in the Weddell Sea.
[02:05] People told Shackleton
to delay this mission.
[02:10] Because continuing in those
conditions would be very risky.
[02:13] But Shackleton insisted.
[02:15] It didn't matter to him
and they continued.
[02:20] 5th December 1914.
[02:22] Endurance kept moving forward
[02:24] and soon, their
worst fears came true.
[02:27] The ice in Weddell Sea was much
heavier and denser than expected.
[02:30] But Shackleton
kept moving forward.
[02:33] 18th January 1915.
[02:35] After sailing along the
edges of the ice for a while,
[02:37] the ship got stuck completely.
[02:44] A few days later,
some crew members
[02:46] saw a 15 feet long chasm in the ice
about 50 metres away from the ship.
[02:49] This chasm was their
last hope to get free.
[02:53] For three hours, the ship was
driven at full speed of the engines,
[02:57] to try and get out of the ice.
[03:03] But the ship didn't
even budge an inch.
[03:05] The crew members
got out of the ship
[03:07] and tried to cut through the ice
with the tools they had at hand.
[03:10] But they failed.
[03:11] Gradually, the ice sheet
on which this ship was stuck,
[03:14] was drifting further
away from the land.
[03:17] The point on Antarctica where
the crew was planning to land
[03:20] is called the Vahsel Bay.
[03:22] But this ship was
drifting further away.
[03:25] They drifted away 60 miles.
[03:27] The problem was that
[03:28] there was water between the
ice sheet and the Vahsel Bay.
[03:32] So the crew couldn't simply
get down and walk to the Bay.
[03:35] And on the other hand,
the ship was stuck in the ice.
[03:40] Months and weeks passed
by trying to get the ship out.
[03:48] They knew that
winter was coming.
[03:50] And there, winter means
24 hours of darkness.
[03:54] For weeks and months, they won't
get even a single minute of sunlight.
[03:57] Shackleton ordered everyone
to spend the winter on the ship.
[04:01] But winter meant that it
would get even more colder.
[04:03] There'd be snowfall
and snowstorms.
[04:06] The ship was under
increasing pressure of the ice.
[04:09] A photographer, Frank Hurley, was
also present on this ship with his camera.
[04:13] These photos were
taken by him then.
[04:16] In these you can clearly see
how the ice surrounding the ship,
[04:19] was crushing it.
[04:21] On 30th September 1915,
[04:23] cracks were visible on the ship.
[04:26] But the crew hadn't lost hope.
[04:28] On 24th October
1915, at 6:45 PM,
[04:32] suddenly, due to the
immense pressure,
[04:38] the ice sheet broke apart and
one of the pieces hit the ship.
[04:41] A heavy piece of ice broke
Endurance's stern post,
[04:45] and water began
to seep into the ship.
[04:47] The crew members
set to work immediately.
[04:49] They tried to
pump out the water.
[04:52] They kept at it for
3 days continuously.
[04:56] But the water was seeping in
faster than it could be pumped out.
[05:00] The temperature was at -8.5°C.
[05:03] But the crew was neither
scared nor nervous.
[05:07] Some of them tried to loosen
the ice sheet surrounding the ship,
[05:10] to reduce the pressure on it.
[05:11] But this didn't work either.
[05:14] Water kept on
seeping into the ship.
[05:16] Quite rapidly.
[05:17] While the pressure of the ice
on the ship wasn't decreasing.
[05:20] Finally, Shackleton, gave up,
[05:22] and ordered the
crew to leave the ship.
[05:25] To de-board.
[05:30] Looking at the situation, a
crew member, Tom McLeod, said,
[05:33] that none of them would
get back to their home.
[05:37] The ship had been stuck
for more than 9 months.
[05:40] On 27th October 2015,
[05:42] a loud explosion was heard.
[05:46] When Shackleton turned back to
witness something truly shocking.
[05:50] The ship's rear had
suddenly risen 20 feet.
[05:54] The rudder and
stern post broke apart.
[05:56] The ship's wooden parts
started disintegrating.
[05:58] And the front of the
ship was filled with water.
[06:01] Thankfully, the crew members had
already abandoned the ship by then.
[06:06] After a while, the
water turned into ice.
[06:08] And because of this added weight,
the front of the ship began sinking.
[06:13] As the ship sunk,
[06:15] so did Shackleton's dream
of crossing Antarctica by foot.
[06:21] But something much
precious was at stake now.
[06:24] Could they return alive?
[06:27] The crew had no radio, no telephone,
no means to contact the rest of the world.
[06:32] They were stuck on an ice
sheet in the Antarctic Ocean.
[06:36] An ice sheet
floating in the water.
[06:41] On this sheet, there
was a big rock of ice,
[06:44] the crew set up
their camp there.
[06:46] First, they decided to check
account of their belongings.
[06:48] What did they have with them?
[06:50] How much food and
water did they have?
[06:53] They found that they
had three small boats.
[06:56] One sledge, with which they
could move on the ice sheet.
[06:59] Some important
personal items of the crew,
[07:01] and about one month's ration.
[07:03] Only one month's food.
[07:05] There was only a little
place to sleep at night.
[07:07] So many had to sleep on the ice.
[07:10] Most of them
slept close together
[07:12] to avoid being frozen.
[07:14] It was nearly impossible for a
ship passing by to find them there.
[07:19] Because they were
in the Antarctic Ocean.
[07:21] No other ship ventured there.
[07:23] It had been over an year since
they last saw other humans.
[07:26] The rest of the world didn't even
know for sure if they were alive or not.
[07:29] Neither could they
send any messages.
[07:31] Nor did they expect any help.
[07:33] Shackleton had only one thing.
[07:35] Faith on his skills
and experience.
[07:39] But how long could this faith
keep him and his crew alive?
[07:42] What would they do once
they used up the food?
[07:46] Setting up a camp on the ice
wasn't an infallible solution either.
[07:48] Because the ice
could break at any time.
[07:50] They needed land.
[07:51] Shackleton ran his
calculations and estimations.
[07:54] He believed that the nearest
land was the Paulet Island.
[07:59] About 550 km across the icy sea.
[08:03] An island at the
tip of Antarctica.
[08:06] Ironically, in 1903,
[08:08] after a Swedish ship got stuck, some rescue
gear was left behind on Paulet Island.
[08:12] So that if another ship got
stuck in Antarctica in the future,
[08:15] they could rely on
this island for rescue.
[08:18] That gear had been bought
by Shackleton himself.
[08:20] And, 12 years later,
Shackleton needed it the most.
[08:24] The crew collectively decided
to try to go to the Paulet Island.
[08:28] Carrying their stuff
with them on the sledge.
[08:32] And so Shackleton ordered
[08:33] that each person was allowed to carry
only up to 2 pounds of necessary luggage.
[08:37] Many of them had brought
their personal items from the ship.
[08:41] But Shackleton reminded them that
nothing was more precious than their life.
[08:45] Shackleton left behind some
gold coins and his Bible in the snow.
[08:50] The photographer Frank Hurley
had taken around 400 photos.
[08:53] He had the negatives
of the photos,
[08:55] but because of the
2 pound restriction,
[08:57] he could carry only
150 negatives with him.
[09:00] These 150 photos later presented
this historical event to the world.
[09:06] A few weeks later, due
to the shortage of food,
[09:08] the puppies living with
the crew had to be killed.
[09:11] They had nothing else to eat.
[09:23] After a few days of preparation, the
goods were loaded onto boats and sledges.
[09:28] Each boat weighed about 1 tonne.
[09:30] It wasn't easy to pull them.
[09:32] Fate wasn't on their side.
[09:34] Because by then, summer
had returned to Antarctica,
[09:38] and temperatures
were increasing.
[09:39] Causing the surface of the
ice sheet to became softer
[09:42] making it difficult
to pull their luggage.
[09:44] After 3 hours of hard work,
[09:46] when the crew looked back
[09:48] they saw that they
had crossed only 1 mile.
[09:52] The road ahead
kept getting worse.
[09:54] Shackleton decided to camp there
[09:57] until this ice sheet
floated closer to land.
[10:01] The ice sheet on which
they set up their camp,
[10:03] was later named Ocean Camp.
[10:06] Shackleton delegated some work
to each and every crew member,
[10:09] so that they won't be
bored or feel depressed.
[10:12] On 21st November 2015,
[10:14] the pressure on the rear of
Endurance had increased so much that
[10:17] the ship began
bouncing on the water.
[10:20] It was airborne for a while,
[10:22] before sinking
completely under the ice.
[10:29] The crew members were only a
few kilometres away from the ship.
[10:32] They witnessed
this entire incident.
[10:36] Although they had
already abandoned the ship,
[10:38] but seeing it sink like this,
[10:41] left a deep emotional
shock on them.
[10:43] As if their last link with
the world had broken.
[10:46] Only the ice sheet remained,
[10:48] and the Ocean
Camp they built on it.
[10:51] Over the next few
days, things went well.
[10:53] But a few weeks later,
[10:54] this ice sheet started
floating towards East.
[10:58] Further away from land.
[10:59] So on 23rd December 1915,
[11:01] Shackleton decided to
leave the Ocean Camp.
[11:04] And once again,
he decided to walk.
[11:08] But after walking
a few kilometres,
[11:10] suddenly, they were faced
with thin ice and water.
[11:13] They could neither
move forward nor back.
[11:17] Once again, they set
camp on this ice sheet.
[11:21] Looking at the food shortage,
[11:23] Shackleton put in
some strict controls.
[11:25] The crew was given
one biscuit a day.
[11:27] Some diluted milk, some
cocoa, and a small amount of
[11:30] high-fat meat paste from
the cans they were carrying.
[11:34] Apart from this, the crew started hunting
the seals and penguins they could find.
[11:39] In reality, there was a
frightening food shortage,
[11:41] but Shackleton would often lie to his
crew members about food quantities,
[11:45] to keep them motivated.
[11:47] "Don't worry, lads."
[11:48] "There's enough
food to keep us alive."
[11:50] He knew that if they wanted
to survive this situation,
[11:54] it would take a long time.
[11:55] As such, the thing
they'd need the most,
[11:59] was mental strength.
[12:00] This is true for
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[12:02] To overcome most challenges,
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[12:26] After she left the hospital bed,
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[14:13] Now let's get back to our topic.
[14:15] For many months, they
lived in this new camp.
[14:19] Thankfully, the ice sheet
moved in the right direction.
[14:21] Days changed into weeks
and weeks into months.
[14:25] Eventually, a new year begins.
[14:28] And in the morning
of 23rd March 1916,
[14:31] Shackleton could see
something beyond the fog.
[14:34] As the fog cleared,
[14:36] they could see mountains.
[14:37] Shackleton recognised
it as the Joinville Island.
[14:41] But being about to see
Joinville Island wasn't that great.
[14:43] Because this island was located
at the very tip of the peninsula.
[14:47] It meant that they had floated
so far on the ice sheet that
[14:51] they had left Paulette
Island behind.
[14:54] Joinville Island was only 57
miles away from Paulette Island.
[14:58] But in the west, at
a 90-degree angle,
[15:00] there was a lot of
ice in the middle.
[15:02] It was nearly impossible
to cross this ice.
[15:04] So, Shackleton
went back to his map.
[15:07] He could see that if they
continued floating towards north,
[15:11] there would be only two
more islands on the way.
[15:14] Clarence Island
and Elephant Island.
[15:16] After this, there would be nothing
but water for thousands of kilometres.
[15:19] An ocean with waves so high,
[15:22] that the chance of their survival
would go down to almost zero.
[15:28] The water between the
southernmost tip of South America and
[15:32] the northernmost tip of Antarctica
is called the Drake's Passage.
[15:35] It is the most dangerous
water body in the world.
[15:37] With waves as high as 12 metres.
[15:40] More than 20,000
sailors have lost their lives
[15:43] in Drake's Passage.
[15:44] And over the years, there
have been at least 800 ships,
[15:47] that have sunk in
this Drake's Passage.
[15:49] Friends, even now in 2025,
[15:52] if you try to cross
this passage on a ship,
[15:55] you will see such scenes.
[15:59] The Drake's Passage rocks
even the biggest cruise ships.
[16:05] So yes, Shackleton knew that
[16:07] if they reached Drake's
Passage floating on the ice sheet,
[16:11] they would all die.
[16:12] Meanwhile, the food
shortage had become severe,
[16:15] The waste meat scraps that
had been set aside for the dogs,
[16:18] humans had to now
eat the less smelly bits.
[16:23] To get drinkable water,
[16:24] everyone would hold a small can
filled with ice close to their bodies
[16:27] to melt the ice using
their body temperature,
[16:30] to get some clean
water to drink.
[16:32] But in these can, they could collect
only a few tablespoons of water at once.
[16:36] An interesting
fact here was that
[16:38] although there were
28 people in this crew,
[16:40] officially, they were
supposed to be only 27.
[16:43] In August 1914,
[16:45] when this ship
departed from Britain,
[16:46] the 28th person,
Blackborow, hid in the ship.
[16:50] Shackleton had already refused
to add Burrow to this crew.
[16:55] But still, he came
on board secretly.
[16:58] Later, when he was found out,
[17:00] Shackleton told him directly,
[17:02] that if they even
ran out of food,
[17:03] he would be the
first human they'll eat.
[17:07] Friends, you'd remember
the Miracle of Flight 571,
[17:10] I shared it with
you in this video,
[17:12] the survivors of that
flight had to resort to this.
[17:14] A shocking and
painful thing to do.
[17:16] Many people would
rather die than do this.
[17:19] But thankfully, Shackleton's
crew didn't have to go this far.
[17:22] They were lucky to have
spotted a sea leopard one day.
[17:26] They hunted it,
[17:27] to get about 1,000
pounds of meat.
[17:30] Apart from this, many crew
members killed their dogs
[17:32] to be eaten.
[17:34] After this, thankfully, for the next few
months, there was no shortage of food.
[17:38] 7th April 1916,
[17:40] floating on the ice sheet,
[17:42] the crew finally
spotted Clarence Island.
[17:44] They estimated that it was
about 83 km to the north.
[17:49] This island renewed their hope.
[17:51] But then suddenly, the
wind changed direction.
[17:54] The wind started
blowing eastwards.
[17:57] There were no
islands in the east.
[17:59] There was no land.
[18:02] In a few hours, Shackleton
and his crew lost all hope.
[18:07] The ice sheet on which
they had set up their camp,
[18:11] was getting smaller.
[18:13] By this point, it was
only 50 meters long.
[18:16] It was getting dangerous for the
crew to remain on this ice sheet.
[18:20] So, Shackleton decided
[18:22] to load the crew members
in these three boats,
[18:25] and move forward
towards Clarence Island.
[18:28] Not only did they have
to wade through water
[18:30] but also other ice
sheets and icebergs.
[18:33] Some way ahead, they came
upon another solid ice sheet.
[18:36] There, they set up a new camp.
[18:38] But as soon as they
set up their camp,
[18:40] a crack started forming
on this ice sheet.
[18:45] And accidentally, one of their
crew members fell into the water.
[18:48] That was Fireman Ernie Holness.
[18:51] The rest of the crew tried to
get him out of the water quickly.
[18:55] But before they got the
chance to catch their breath,
[18:57] this ice sheet
broke apart into two.
[19:00] Shackleton was left
alone on one part,
[19:02] and the rest of the crew was swept
away into the darkness on the other part.
[19:06] No one knew what to do.
[19:08] Their leader, their commander who
had been leading them for so long,
[19:13] suddenly disappeared
into the darkness.
[19:20] Luckily, they heard
Shackleton in the darkness.
[19:23] "Bring a boat."
[19:25] After this, some crew members
brought Shackleton back on a boat.
[19:29] After reuniting with his crew,
[19:31] Shackleton asked
about Holness first.
[19:34] He was shivering a lot.
[19:36] After falling into the water, the
risk of hypothermia increased.
[19:39] There was no
way to light a fire.
[19:41] If nothing could be done,
[19:42] he would die shivering.
[19:45] Shackleton used his skills
and experience once again
[19:48] and ordered him
to keep walking until
[19:51] his body heat could dry
the clothes on his body.
[19:55] This poor boy kept
walking the entire night.
[19:59] And eventually, this
helped dry his clothes.
[20:03] He stopped feeling
abnormally cold.
[20:05] Meanwhile, the wind kept
changing its direction repeatedly.
[20:08] The ice sheet would go
one way and then another.
[20:11] They changed their
target four times.
[20:13] First, they believed that they
would reach Clarence Island.
[20:15] Then they thought they would
reach King George Island.
[20:18] They even thought of Hope Bay.
[20:20] And finally, they decided
to go to Elephant Island.
[20:23] Elephant Island is the last
island before Drake's Passage.
[20:26] It was 160 km away from
them to the north-west.
[20:29] Since the iceberg was
already moving northwards,
[20:32] the temperature was
getting warmer slowly.
[20:35] The temperature
had reached -8°C.
[20:38] The ice cover around
them was getting lighter.
[20:39] But on the other
hand, it also meant that
[20:41] fresh water supply
was decreasing.
[20:43] They had almost
run out of water.
[20:45] Everyone's lips were swollen
and chipped due to thirst.
[20:48] Their throats were so dry that
it was difficult to swallow food.
[20:51] Everyone was given raw seal meat
[20:53] so that the blood would
make it easier to swallow.
[20:57] Meanwhile, their ice sheet was
slowly floating towards Elephant Island.
[21:01] They were only 50 km
away from Elephant Island.
[21:05] Shackleton ordered all boats to
be brought down into the water
[21:08] this last leg of their
journey would be on boats.
[21:11] On 15th April 1916,
[21:12] the crew could not
believe their fate.
[21:15] The three boats
reached the island safely
[21:19] and after being on
water for 497 days,
[21:21] the crew members were
finally standing on land.
[21:28] "Having been through hell,
[21:29] this desolate,
uninhabited, lump of rock,
[21:33] seemed nothing short of heaven."
[21:36] They couldn't believe that their
feet were actually on solid ground.
[21:41] And not on ice.
[21:43] Everyone was ecstatic.
[21:44] But they didn't know that
their problems weren't over yet.
[21:48] The legs of Blackborow, one of the
crew members, had stopped working.
[21:51] Another crew member, Rickinson, suffered a
heart attack after they reached the island.
[21:55] But somehow, he still survived.
[21:59] The biggest problem was that Elephant
Island was completely uninhabited.
[22:03] No humans lived there.
[22:04] Neither did it have rescue
supplies nor a way to contact others.
[22:08] This island was located in
a place where no one went.
[22:12] No ship passed by.
[22:14] Their problem remained the same.
[22:16] How could they get back home?
[22:18] Looking at the map,
Shackleton saw three options.
[22:21] First, going to Cape Horn,
[22:23] South America's
southernmost tip,
[22:24] about 800 km to the north-west.
[22:28] Second option, going
to the Falkland Islands,
[22:31] about 880 km away to
the east of South America.
[22:34] Or the third option
was to get help
[22:37] in South Georgia
Island to the north-east,
[22:40] 1,300 km away.
[22:42] Options 1 and 2 were closer.
[22:44] But going there meant traversing
through Drake's Passage.
[22:47] Shackleton chose
the third option.
[22:49] He believed that the sea and
the air would support them more
[22:53] if they went to
South Georgia Island.
[22:55] The crew was so exhausted that
[22:58] it was not possible to
bring everyone along.
[23:00] Shackleton decided to
take a small team of five
[23:04] to go to South Georgia by boat.
[23:06] Once there, they will
ask for help from a ship.
[23:08] And the team
stranded on the island
[23:11] will set up their camp
on Elephant Island.
[23:13] On 24th April 1916,
[23:15] Shackleton and his
team of five people,
[23:18] set out for South
Georgia Island.
[23:21] If you look at their
planned route on the map,
[23:24] you will see that they cannot
avoid Drake's Passage completely.
[23:28] They would need to cross
Drake's Passage to reach the island.
[23:32] But there was no better option.
[23:35] In this small paddle boat,
[23:37] they entered the world's
most dangerous water body.
[23:44] To travel such a long distance,
[23:46] they would take turns to
row the boat for 4 hours
[23:49] and rest for 4 hours.
[23:50] But how well could they
rest in this small boat?
[23:54] Their journey was spent getting drenched by
the waves, vomiting, and being exhausted.
[24:00] In April, winter
begins for Antarctica.
[24:04] The sun would be in the
sky for a few hours only.
[24:06] And they'd be in the dark
for more than 20 hours.
[24:10] These few hours of
sunlight were crucial.
[24:12] Because on then could
they use their sextant
[24:16] to navigate the direction.
[24:17] Whether they were sailing
towards the correct direction.
[24:22] They kept sailing for hours.
[24:24] Hours changed into days.
[24:26] On the way, water
would get into their boat.
[24:28] And they'd pump it out.
[24:31] A few times, there
were such big waves that
[24:32] it almost sunk the boat.
[24:38] For a while, it seemed like
the boat wouldn't survive.
[24:41] But by chance, they survived
and kept moving forward.
[24:43] They had some food
with them in the boat.
[24:46] But there was a problem.
[24:48] There wasn't enough space on the
deck for them to sit up straight and eat.
[24:51] That's why they couldn't
swallow the food properly.
[24:54] So they had to lie down to eat.
[24:57] The condition on this
boat was so difficult that
[25:00] Shackleton's courage
was slipping away from him.
[25:03] It was getting too
difficult for him.
[25:06] When a bird started
to circle their boat,
[25:09] he started shouting
at it in anger.
[25:11] This pent up frustration
was eating at his courage.
[25:20] But eventually,
after sailing for days,
[25:22] they were close
to their destination.
[25:24] They were only 3 miles away
from South Georgia Island.
[25:27] But before they could celebrate,
[25:30] there was a sudden sea storm.
[25:32] Their boat was
stuck in this storm.
[25:34] The waves got uncontrollable.
[25:37] The boat kept
bouncing and crashing.
[25:40] These people had
no more strength.
[25:43] They put their
paddles and gave up.
[25:46] The storm kept throwing
their boat this way and that.
[25:51] A few hours later, when
the winds calmed down,
[25:53] and the clouds started to clear,
[25:55] they saw the South
Georgia Island.
[25:59] There was only
one mile left to go.
[26:00] Seeing this island,
[26:02] they used all their
remaining strength
[26:05] all of them started paddling.
[26:08] The waves were
quite strong still.
[26:10] Shackleton started feeling that
[26:11] the end was near.
[26:13] The boat felt stationary.
[26:15] But in reality,
slowly but surely,
[26:17] they were moving
closer to the island.
[26:20] After fighting with the storms, winds,
and water for three consecutive weeks,
[26:24] finally on 10th May 1916,
[26:27] they set foot on the
South Georgia Island.
[26:34] The same island from
which they had set out
[26:36] on their journey to
Antarctica 522 days ago.
[26:39] A wave of happiness
ran through them.
[26:42] Shackleton and the crew
members hugged each other.
[26:44] But this wasn't the
end of their struggles.
[26:47] Actually, friends, the
South Georgia Island
[26:49] is more than 100 km long.
[26:52] The beach they had landed on,
[26:54] was on the other side
of the human settlement.
[26:57] Let's find the place where
they landed on the map.
[27:00] The human settlement
and the whaling station
[27:03] were exactly on the
opposite side of this island.
[27:06] They were now faced with two
ways to get to the whaling station.
[27:09] First, getting back on the boat
and travelling 130 miles by sea,
[27:15] to get to the
north of the island.
[27:17] And the second option was to
walk to the north of the island.
[27:21] They had to walk only 29 miles.
[27:23] But the problem was that there are such
dangerous mountains on South Georgia Island
[27:28] that no person in history
[27:31] had been able to
cross this island on foot.
[27:37] It was considered impossible
to cross this island on foot.
[27:40] So, obviously,
they chose the boat.
[27:43] But, of course, there
was yet another problem.
[27:45] Their boat had been so badly
damaged by the rough waves that
[27:48] it wasn't in a
suitable condition.
[27:52] They had no other
option than to walk.
[27:55] "The alternative was to
attempt crossing the island.
[27:58] The island of South Georgia had
never been crossed by anybody.
[28:02] The whalers regarded the
country as inaccessible."
[28:04] Shackleton was not
one to give up now.
[28:07] Not at this point.
[28:09] They had endured so
much over the past year,
[28:11] they couldn't give up now.
[28:13] To survive, they were
now faced with a challenge
[28:16] no human had ever attempted before.
[28:19] These 10,000-foot-high snowy
mountains had to be crossed some how.
[28:29] Shackleton decided to first rest
and build back their lost strength.
[28:34] So they stayed in a cave
and ate for the next 9 days.
[28:40] Thankfully, there was no
shortage of food on this island,
[28:42] the island was swarming with
albatrosses, seals, and penguins.
[28:46] After resting for 9 days,
[28:48] on 19th May 1916,
at around 3 AM,
[28:51] they set off from
the King Haakon Bay.
[28:53] He had only two other
crew members with him,
[28:55] Worsley and Crean.
[28:57] "Worsley and Crean
were coming with me.
[28:59] And after consultation, we decided
to leave sleeping bags behind,
[29:03] and make the journey in
very light marching order."
[29:05] And now their first
challenge was that
[29:08] no one knew where to go and how.
[29:11] The snow was up to their knees.
[29:14] The mountains were so high
that they couldn't see beyond them.
[29:17] They climbed the
mountains one after another,
[29:19] and looked for the
way from the top.
[29:21] If they couldn't find a
way, they would go back.
[29:24] This happened several times.
[29:25] They climbed as many
mountains as they could see.
[29:28] On some mountains, they found
deep gorges and on others, walls of rock.
[29:32] Whenever they couldn't
find a way to go ahead,
[29:34] they retreated
and got back down,
[29:36] to climb another mountain.
[29:38] "With the complete
clearance of the mist, we saw,
[29:40] to our sharp disappointment,
[29:42] what we had taken
for a frozen lake,
[29:44] was an arm of the sea.
[29:46] Shackleton said grimly,
[29:48] 'We shall have to go
on to the next, boys.'
[29:50] This happened three times."
[29:53] Over the next few days, they had
climbed all the surrounding mountains.
[29:56] Even after climbing
the last mountain,
[29:58] they couldn't find anything new.
[29:59] They were staring
at a deep valley.
[30:01] With a steep and
dangerous slope.
[30:05] "The situation
looked grim enough;
[30:07] fog had cut off our retreat,
[30:09] darkness covered our advance.
[30:12] it was useless to
continue in this fashion."
[30:14] By then, they couldn't
retreat any more.
[30:16] They tied themselves
along a rope
[30:19] and started cutting
stairs into the mountain.
[30:22] Literally, they made stairs
to climb down the mountain.
[30:26] After descending for some time,
[30:27] they spotted the
Stromness Whaling Station.
[30:30] And other humans!
[30:34] After climbing the
mountains for 36 hours,
[30:36] on 20th May 1916,
[30:38] Shackleton, Worsley, and Crean
[30:40] successfully crossed the
Allardyce mountain range
[30:44] and reached the
Stromness whaling station.
[30:51] It was the first
time in history that
[30:53] someone had crossed the
South Georgia Island on foot.
[30:56] The level of impossible
feat they achieved
[30:59] can be understood by
[31:01] after Shackleton, this
was done only in 1955.
[31:05] By expert climbers
with full preparation.
[31:09] Shackleton had neither
tents nor sleeping bags.
[31:13] They had courage,
determination, and a strong will.
[31:18] When Shackleton and his companions
finally reached the whaling station,
[31:22] it was difficult to identify
whether they were humans.
[31:26] Their beards had grown too long.
[31:28] Their faces were dark.
[31:30] With only their eyes visible.
[31:32] Their clothes were all torn.
[31:34] Eventually, the factory manager
at the station recognised them,
[31:38] and identified
him as Shackleton,
[31:39] the guy who had gone missing with
his team in Antarctica two years ago.
[31:43] Every person at the
South Georgia station
[31:46] knew Shackleton
and his crew's story.
[31:48] Everyone knew about
it as a painful incident.
[31:51] The man who died with his ship.
[31:53] They couldn't believe that the same man was
standing in front of them two years later.
[31:59] The factory manager gave them
food and new clothes immediately.
[32:02] And a bed to sleep in.
[32:04] The three bathed and shaved.
[32:06] And the next day, Worsley
arrived at King Haakon in a boat
[32:10] to rescue their three
other companions.
[32:13] The three people who were still waiting for
Shackleton on the other side of the island.
[32:17] But Shackleton's
real concern now was
[32:19] the 22 crew members
stranded on Elephant Island.
[32:22] It had been more than a
month since they last saw them.
[32:26] Were they still alive?
[32:29] In such dire situation, would you be able
to remain motivated enough to survive?
[32:33] Especially when
you don't even know
[32:35] if your Captains could successfully
cross Drake's Passage or not.
[32:39] On the other hand, will anyone
come to rescue you or not?
[32:45] Tell me the truth in
the comments below.
[32:46] How long will you be
able to survive like this?
[32:49] Shackleton tried his best to rescue them
from Elephant Island as soon as possible.
[32:55] But when he reached
there with another ship,
[32:57] once again, the rescue
ship got stuck in the ice.
[33:01] He tried again,
but it didn't work.
[33:03] The same thing
happened the third time.
[33:04] In three months, he tried thrice to
go to Elephant Island to rescue them.
[33:09] But he had to turn back
his ship all three times.
[33:12] As time passed, Shackleton's
kept getting more and more worried.
[33:16] He specially requested
the British government
[33:19] to give him an
ice-breaking ship.
[33:20] He was given a
ship called Discovery,
[33:22] but it would have taken
some more weeks to arrive.
[33:26] Shackleton was
in no mood to wait.
[33:28] He didn't know how long
would they be able to hold out.
[33:34] Another ship was requested
from the Chilean government.
[33:36] He was given a
ship named Yelcho.
[33:39] On 25th August 1916,
[33:42] he left for Elephant Island
again aboard this ship.
[33:50] It took him about 6 days,
[33:52] but this time, he reached Elephant
Island successfully on 30th August.
[33:58] He was shocked by what he
saw when he reached the island.
[34:03] Actually, these 22 people who
remained on Elephant Island,
[34:07] Shackleton knew that
they would need leadership.
[34:10] Or else, they would get
depressed and frustrated.
[34:13] So, Shackleton made one of
them, Frank Wilde, the leader.
[34:18] After Shackleton left,
[34:20] on Frank Wilde's orders, they built a
shelter by turning over the two boats.
[34:24] They remained
there for 128 days.
[34:27] They used to hunt penguins
and seals to feed themselves.
[34:30] Amidst the cold, hunger,
and disappointment,
[34:32] Frank Wilde repeated the
same thing every morning.
[34:35] 'Pack your bags, friends.
[34:37] The boss can come today.'
[34:38] Boss referred to Shackleton.
[34:40] But the boss didn't come.
[34:41] Days changed into weeks
and weeks into months.
[34:44] But every morning,
[34:45] Frank would get up and
repeat the same thing.
[34:47] 'Pack your bags, friends.
[34:49] The boss can come today.'
[34:50] Every morning, Frank
climbed the hill to check
[34:53] whether a ship arrived or not.
[34:54] And every evening, he
returned disappointed.
[34:57] After four months, people's
courage was beginning to wane.
[35:00] Things were
getting more difficult.
[35:02] Blackborow's leg
was grossly infected.
[35:06] It was a gangrene infection.
[35:08] So they had to cut off this leg.
[35:11] With every passing day,
[35:12] they were closer to
believing that Shackleton
[35:15] couldn't actually
reach South Georgia.
[35:17] His boat might have
sunk on the way.
[35:32] It had been 4 months and
6 days since Shackleton left.
[35:35] Frank Wilde had
decided to move ahead.
[35:38] At Frank's order, they
really packed their bags.
[35:42] But not in the hopes
of being rescued,
[35:43] this time, they
were planning to sail.
[35:47] They started preparing to
leave for Deception Island.
[35:52] But before they could
leave Elephant Island,
[35:55] they spotted
something far in the sea.
[35:58] A huge ship was
sailing towards them.
[36:02] This was the ship Yelcho.
[36:04] Once the ship was close enough, they
could see their commander and boss,
[36:08] Shackleton.
[36:09] "From the man on duty
outside, we heard a sudden yell.
[36:12] 'Wilde,' he shouted, 'Wilde!'
[36:14] 'There's a ship!'
[36:15] 'Haven't we better
light a flare?'"
[36:21] Their boss was finally
there to rescue them.
[36:24] Shackleton was
stunned to see them.
[36:26] All 22 of them were alive.
[36:28] They hadn't given up.
[36:31] After fighting with ice, mountains,
and oceans for almost 2 years,
[36:35] Shackleton and his
crew returned home.
[36:39] "When we landed, they
welcomed us so heartily,
[36:42] that they nearly pushed
us into the sea again."
[37:03] It was truly miraculous.
[37:05] Shackleton left with 27 people.
[37:07] And returned with all 27 people.
[37:11] It was possible only because of
Shackleton's leadership and courage,
[37:14] the determination of the crew,
[37:15] and their unbreakable teamwork.
[37:17] Friends, 106 years
after this incident,
[37:19] in 2022,
[37:21] investigators were doing
some research in the sea.
[37:24] Then, in the Weddell Sea,
10,000 feet below the surface,
[37:27] they found Shackleton's
ship, Endurance.
[37:31] "The state of preservation
is just absolutely brilliant.
[37:34] There are no wood-consuming
marine parasites in the Weddell Sea."
[37:37] It's truly amazing that
[37:39] it took us 106 years to find
the wreckage of this ship.
[37:42] And even after 106 years,
[37:44] since it sunk so
close to Antarctica,
[37:46] it is in remarkably
good condition.
[37:48] You can see the latest photos
of this ship on the screen,
[37:51] these were taken
a few years ago.
[37:53] And today, if you ever go
to South Georgia Island,
[37:56] you will find
Shackleton's grave there.
[37:58] He set out to
accomplish a historic feat.
[38:01] To be the first man to
walk across Antarctica.
[38:04] Although his
original plan failed,
[38:06] he did something
even more miraculous.
[38:11] Much more amazing.
[38:16] Friends, if you liked
this survival story,
[38:18] then an equally amazing
survival story is of
[38:22] the survivors of Flight 571.
[38:23] Another story
that tells you that
[38:26] if you have determination,
courage, and a strong will,
[38:31] you can make the
impossible possible.
[38:34] The link to join Dinaz's
Mind-Body Fitness Masterclass
[38:37] on Edarya is given in
the description below.
[38:39] And you can click here to learn
more about the survivors of Flight 571.
[38:43] Thank you very much!