Exactly one hundred years ago, Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton rose to fame leading the 1908-10 Nimrod expedition to within 97 miles of the South Pole. Though unsuccessful in his aim to claim the Pole, he and three others became the first men to cross the Transantarctic mountains and set foot on the polar plateau and was knighted for his attempts. One hundred years on, descendents of Sir Ernest Shackleton and his team mates are aiming to finish the job.

The expedition is the launch event for The Shackleton Foundation, which aims to support individuals of all ages, nationalities and backgrounds who exemplify the spirit of Sir Ernest Shackleton: inspirational leaders wishing to "make a difference", in particular to the less advantaged.


Army Lt Col Henry Worsley (a relation of Frank Worsley, the navigator on Shackleton’s later Endurance expedition) will lead the team, which includes Birketts LLP shipping lawyer Henry Adams (great-grandson of Jameson Boyd-Adams, Shackleton’s number two on the Nimrod expedition) and Will Gow (related to Shackleton by marriage).

The team aim to walk 900 miles across Antarctica unsupported, pulling supplies weighing 150kg behind them in specially designed sleds. They will eat around 5,500 calories a day in a bid to cover the necessary mileage in the coldest, driest, windiest and highest place on earth.

The team have trained over the last three years in Arctic Canada, Norway, the Alps, Scotland and Greenland. They will set out from the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf on 12th November to complete the eighty day trek to the South Pole, following the same route as their predecessors. The team will be joined 97 miles from the Pole by three other descendants of Shackleton’s teams and by the winner of a competition for the final place, picked from 3000 applicants following a highly demanding selection process.

The team will be sending daily reports of their progress to their website at www.shackletoncentenary.org via satellite phone. The expedition will be covered on a special edition of Timewatch on BBC 2 early next year.