The ITACE 2014 Team has the pleasure of announcing that The Honourable Alexandra Shackleton has agreed to become Patron of the Expedition, thus giving us her blessing and seal of approval. We are extremely grateful and proud to receive such an honour from the Granddaughter of the great man himself.

Alexandra Shackleton holding Sir Ernest’s Polar Medal.

Team ITACE plans to mount an expedition to traverse the Antarctic continent, along the same route planned by Sir Ernest Shackleton 97 years ago during the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914-17. This will be the first time ever a British expedition, made up of both men and women, follows his proposed route across the continent. An expedition that will truly honour the memory of the great polar explorer and all his brave companions. The story of Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition and its leader, Sir Ernest Shackleton KCVO, is a saga of heroism and human endurance that will forever be regarded as one of the greatest adventures of all time. The year is 1914 and Shackleton has set out to complete one of the biggest and most ambitious polar journeys ever attempted by man. By dog sled, Shackleton proposed to travel 1800 miles across the Antarctic continent with the sole intention of becoming the first expedition to achieve such a feat.

His plan was to sail through the uncharted waters of the Weddell Sea and land at Vahsel Bay prior to trekking towards the geographic South Pole. Upon reaching the pole he would then continue north towards the Beardmore Glacier and the Ross Sea. Upon arriving at McMurdo Sound his trans-continental trekking team would rendezvous with a ship bound for New Zealand.

Unfortunately however, disaster struck early during the expedition when his ship ENDURANCE became stuck in sea ice and was crushed by the immense pressure. Twenty-eight men were left stranded at the end of the Earth beyond all hope of rescue. Had he succeeded in his exploits, his trans-continental sledging party would have become the first to traverse the Antarctic continent – the last blank on the edge of the map!.

Clipping of newspaper article from The Daily Telegraph, 1916

However, in a desperate attempt to save his men, Shackleton escaped in three lifeboats to Elephant Island and eventually sailed the largest of the boats, the JAMES CAIRD, to South Georgia (the most remote outpost of the British Empire at the time). Shackleton organised four seperate relief expeditions to rescue the remainder of his crew but, it would take four long months of combined Norwegian, Uruguayan and Chilean effort to save the lives of the men left behind. Not a single life was lost.

Shackleton’s boat journey to South Georgia made him one of the most celebrated sailors and leaders in history but, what was forgotten, was the original goal of the expedition – a crossing of the Antarctic continent carrying a British Flag. He had big plans but, he never got to see them through. He tragically died of a heart attack in 1922 at the age of 47. Shackleton is now buried amongst the Norwegian whalers at Grytviken Whaling Cemetery, South Georgia.

The story of Shackleton and his men is an epic of the human spirit. It is the story of twenty-seven men driven bravely by the will to live, the story of one great leader determined heroically to save them all no matter what.