Matrix Shackleton Centenary Expedition Reaches The South Pole

January 19, 2009

After 66 days of hauling their sledges, and without any outside assistance, Henry Worsley, Will Gow and Henry Adams today arrived at the South Pole at 0330 hrs GMT. They have travelled 799 nautical miles (919 statute miles or 1471 km) to achieve their goal of completing “unfinished family business”.

The Matrix Shackleton Centenary Team has finally arrived at their destination. All told, their expedition took 66 days. That is not a speed record by any definition, but the Shackleton Centenary Team had other priorities with their expedition. One hundred years ago Ernest Shackleton made the same pilgrimage. He didn’t reach the Pole, but he did lead the way and show the future route that would eventually be opened up by Roald Amundsen. The Matrix Shackleton Centenary Expedition involved many people who were directly descended from Ernest Shackleton’s 1909 Nimrod Expedition. They explained that they had ‘unfinished business’ at the South Pole and wanted to finally bring that coveted piece of adventure back to their familys.

The team has posted a couple of photos of them at both, the ceremonial South Pole and the Geographic South Pole, and are now celebrating their accomplishment. There are still other members on this expedition who are gunning for the South Pole. They should arrive at some point today.

I have covered this expedition with quite the interest. I was even able to interview Henry Worsley before he departed for Antarctica. You can read that interview here, or you can read an overview of what all the fuss is about. This was a big expedition that offered some great insight into the previous history of Antarctic exploration. The Matrix Shackleton Expedition hit all the major points that Ernest Shackleton first discovered. They took their time and accomplished all of their goals. Way to go guys! In the process of this expedition, The Matrix Shackleton Centenary Expedition also made a discovery of their own. They discovered a previously unpublished poem by Ernest Shackleton tucked away in a book found in Chile. You can read the cool story on the poem’s discovery and even read the poem at the Shackleton Centenary Expedition website.

An interesting side-note: The Matrix Shackleton Centenary Expedition took the actual compass that Ernest Shackleton used on his Nimrod expedition. During the course of this latest adventure, The Shackleton Centenary Expedition would meet up with Todd Carmichael–the first American to go solo and unsupported to the South Pole. Todd was able to hold the compass in his hands and even talked of this meeting in one of his own audio reports. Little did he know that only a month later that he would be adding even more history to this historical artifact. Todd went on to break the solo and unsupported World Speed Record to the South Pole. Coincidence? I think Ernest was looking down upon all of them with a grin. Ernest may have never reached the Pole, but now his descendants have and so has his compass. Cheers, guys!

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