# What an Antarctic Expedition Can Teach You About What’s Truly Valuable



## UncleJoe (Jan 11, 2009)

*It is unlikely that any of us here will ever find ourselves in such dire circumstances but this is, I feel, a good read to make folks think about what is really important when nothing but your survival matters.*

Tom McLeod, member of the 1914 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, stood anxiously on the deck of the Endurance. He looked out on a nearby ice floe where ten Emperor penguins stood wailing a mournful cry. None of the ship's twenty-eight member crew had seen such a large group of penguins gather together before, nor heard them issue such a strange and chilling sound. Surely, McLeod thought, this was a foreboding omen.

Ernest Shackleton, leader of the expedition, bit his lip. One did not have to be superstitious to feel the crew's prospects were bleak. The Endurance had been stalled out for months, having become trapped in an ice pack as it sailed towards the South Pole. The crew's aim was to launch an expedition that would traverse the Antarctic continent. But now the ice floes surrounding the ship had begun violently pinching and twisting it, tearing open holes in the hull through which freezing water poured. The men had worked for days in exhausting, round-the-clock shifts, pumping out the water by hand. But Shackleton knew their efforts were not enough to save the ship; the next day he ordered the Endurance abandoned. "She's going boys," he said. "I think it's time to get off." ...

...The men trudged out onto an ice floe, leaving behind what had been, all things considered, a warm and comfortable home. It was a farewell to their last tie to civilization. They had now entered a lone and dreary wilderness. The men set up their tents on a tenuous foundation that was likely no more than 6 feet deep and could crack open at any time - plunging them into the icy deep...

...Given the arduous nature of the task ahead, Shackleton solemnly informed his men that "nothing but the bare necessities are to be taken on the march, for we can not afford to cumber ourselves with unnecessary weight." Author Alfred Lansing writes in Endurance that through studying the outcome of past expeditions, Shackleton had come to believe that traveling light was absolutely paramount, as "those that burdened themselves with equipment for every contingency had fared much worse than those that had sacrificed total preparedness for speed."

Each member of the team was allowed the clothes on his back, plus two pairs of mittens, six pairs of socks, two pairs of boots, and a sleeping bag. Beyond these basic provisions, Shackleton ordered that each man only bring a maximum of two pounds of personal possessions.

Shackleton moved to set the example for his men. He took his Bible and ripped out the flyleaf upon which the Queen had inscribed: "May the Lord help you to do your duty & guide you through all the dangers of the land and sea. May you see the Works of the Lord & all His Wonders in the deep." Then he tore out the 23rd Psalm, as well as a page from Job he considered "wonderful"

Shackleton placed the torn pages inside his jacket and laid the Bible in the snow. He then reached into his pocket and withdrew a gold watch, gold cigarette case, and a handful of gold sovereigns. He gave the items one last look before tossing them into the snow as well.

It was a dramatic gesture, but Shackleton was determined to impress upon his men the absolute necessity of each man stripping himself of every ounce of superfluous weight. "No article has any value when measured against our survival," Shackleton intoned. "Everything is replaceable except your lives."

*What They Left and What They Kept*

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## redhorse (Dec 27, 2012)

Excellent article, thanks for sharing.


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## Lake Windsong (Nov 27, 2009)

Yes, great article. Thanks for sharing, Uncle Joe. I bookmarked it to reread from time to time. My favorite excerpts:

We may never face a situation of life and death survival as the members of the Endurance expedition did. Yet in a world of gray morality, shallow culture, and relentless consumerism, the survival of every man&rsquo;s values, happiness, goals, and manhood are ever at risk. Every &ldquo;mile&rdquo; matters in our personal journeys too, and the lighter we travel, the further we can get in the goal of becoming men of excellence. What kinds of things should we &ldquo;carry&rdquo; with us on life&rsquo;s journey, and what weighs us down and keeps us from ever getting where we want to go?
....
And the Conclusion:
If you were faced with the same kind of decision as the members of the Endurance crew, which of your personal possessions would you take and which would leave behind? What does the nature of your selections reveal about what you truly value in your life?

On a deeper level, what attitudes and behaviors are you carrying with you that are actually weighing down your progress on your own 20 Mile March? What negative habits have become a burden, keeping you from becoming the man you want to be?

Once you answer such questions, the most important question then becomes: are you putting your time and money where you mouth is? Are you investing the resources of your life into what you truly value, or are you wasting them on things, that, if push came to shove, you would ultimately leave behind in an icy grave?

...
From time to time on this forum, members search to find the gaps in their preps or remind each other to 'find balance' in their lives. This article is a fantastic illustration of preparing for what's truly important in the journey.

I am reminded of Brian Sokol's photojournal project called 'The Most Important Thing' where he photographed refugees from Syria and Sudan with the most prized possession they were able to carry with them on their journey. The items ranged from an elderly woman's ring given to her at age 10 by her mom, to an 8 year old's bracelets that she admits aren't her most important possession but a doll she left behind in her family's rush to escape Damascus one night. And there are the more practical, such as an elderly man's cane or a single pot for cooking a family's meals.


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

A very interesting article, thank you.

I would expect that what I kept would depend, to a great deal, on what my situation was. If I had given up on rescue after a plane crash and knew that all I had to do to survive was to reach civilization I would make one set of choices. Were I heading out to my BOL, never to return, I would make different choices.


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