The Nimrod Expedition was the first of three expeditions to Antarctica led by Ernest Shackleton. It was privately funded and used imaginative trappings such as motor traction and ponies, which hindered the expedition. The team successfully climbed Mount Erebus and attempted to reach the South Pole, but failed. The expedition ended on June 14, 1909.
The Nimrod Expedition, more formally known as the 1907-09 British Antarctic Expedition, was the first of three expeditions to Antarctica led by explorer Ernest Shackleton, who would go on to become one of Antarctica’s most famous explorers. Despite its name, the expedition was not sponsored by the state or large institutions, but by wealthy individuals, who benefited from having natural features named after them.
The Nimrod Expedition, named after its vessel, the 300-ton Nimrod, departed Great Britain on August 7, 1907. The expedition was characterized by the use of imaginative trappings, such as motor traction and Manchurian ponies, which they hindered rather than helped her. The expedition also brought sled dogs, which in 1911 were used by Roald Amundsen to reach the South Pole, but these were only employed by Shackleton at base camp.
After traveling overseas from Great Britain to New Zealand, the Nimrod was towed by a government vessel in the Antarctic Circle, a distance of 1,650 miles (2,750 km). Upon first sight of the pack ice, the ship was cleared to travel under its own power. After several attempts to land on King Edward VII Land, the Nimrod Expedition had to change course to McMurdo Sound, which Shackleton had previously promised to leave entirely to the more popular Antarctic explorer Robin Falcon Scott.
After a difficult landing and unloading, the Nimrod Expedition camped at Cape Royds. To give his expedition an immediate purpose, Shackleton ordered an attempt to climb Mount Erebus, a 12,450-foot (3,790 m) high mountain on Ross Island that had never been reached. After a week of hiking up and down the mountain, the team successfully completed the summit and returned to Cape Royds “almost dead”.
Most of the journey had yet to begin. On October 28, 1908, a party of four, including Shackleton, began a march south, an attempt at the South Pole. From the outset, the party was cluttered with ponies it brought with it, with one pony needing to be killed every few days due to lameness from walking on icy surfaces.
After about a week’s journey, the Nimrod Expedition began venturing into unknown territory, ascending the foothills of the Antarctic Mountains and crossing them via the newly discovered Beardmore Glacier. During his ascent, they lost a pony – and almost a member of the expedition – in a deep crevasse.
After nearly a month of continuous travel over the mountains, the expedition reached as far as possible: about 100 miles (160.93 km) from the South Pole, or 88 degrees south. After 73 total travel days, the party returned to Cape Royds just in time to catch the ship before she had to leave to avoid getting frozen in the ice. Meanwhile, another separate party from the same expedition had reached the South Magnetic Pole and explored the McMurdo Dry Valleys region. Successful in numerous ways but failing to reach the South Pole grand prix, the Nimrod Expedition ended on June 14, 1909, when the party returned to England.
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