Pitched Unfairly

Endurance Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition

Help us walk across a continent.

Now hiring · London, 1914

The mission

Coast to coast, through the Pole.

  1. LandEndurance puts 14 men ashore at Vahsel Bay.
  2. CrossSix of them march to the Pole with 69 dogs and two motor sledges.
  3. MeetThe Ross Sea party lays depots up to the Beardmore Glacier.
Weddell Sea Ross Sea Vahsel Bay South Pole McMurdo Sound 1,800 miles

Why it matters

The Pole is taken. The crossing is open.

The last great journey left on Earth: sea to sea, through the Pole.

  1. 1909Our Nimrod party turns back 97 miles from the Pole.
  2. 1911Amundsen reaches the Pole first.
  3. 1912Scott reaches it second, and dies on the way home.
  4. 1912Filchner tries the crossing from the Weddell Sea. He cannot land.
  5. 1914 The first crossing of Antarctica. Unclaimed. Hiring now. You are here

The role

Twenty-eight berths. Six of them walk to the Pole.

6 Crossing party
March to the Pole and on to the Ross Sea.
8 Shore science
Graham Land, Enderby Land, and base camp.
14 Ship's company
Sail Endurance in, and bring her home.

Open roles

  • Surgeon
  • Physicist
  • Geologist
  • Biologist
  • Meteorologist
  • Photographer
  • Artist
  • Carpenter
  • Cook
  • Able seaman

What it's really like

We put the hard parts in the job ad.

  • Cold1,800 miles of sledging across the polar plateau.
  • DarkA polar winter: months on end without the sun.
  • IceThe Weddell Sea held Filchner's ship for six months in 1912.

Personal · Situations vacant

Wanted

for a long journey south.

Cold most days. Dark for months at a stretch. Pay modest. Safe return not guaranteed.

Story excellent.

Apply in writing to the Boss, London.

Who thrives here

Skills get you the interview. Temper gets you aboard.

Crossing party material

Signed on.

Report to Plymouth in August. Bring the banjo.

01The ship is frozen in for the winter. You:
02Can you sing?
03Personal kit is cut to two pounds a man. You save:

How we pick people

Five minutes, one odd question. We listen for the laugh.

Reginald JamesPhysicist

Asked

Good teeth? Varicose veins? Can you sing?

Answer

Whatever he said, it worked. History did not record the tune.

Hired
Alexander MacklinSurgeon

Asked

Why the spectacles?

Answer

"Many a wise face would look foolish without specs."

Hired
Leonard HusseyMeteorologist

Asked

You applied from where?

Answer

An archaeological dig in the Sudan. The Boss laughed.

Hired

What you get

Low pay. Long nights. A story for life.

Home around August 1916

Wages

Small. Steady.

Months without the sun

6

Glory

Immortal

The team you'd join

You'd sail with people who have been south before.

  • Frank Wild Second in command

    Three Antarctic expeditions, including our Farthest South.

  • Frank Worsley Captain, Endurance

    Says he applied after dreaming about the job.

  • Tom Crean Second officer

    Albert Medal for saving a life on Scott's last expedition.

  • Frank Hurley Photographer

    Already shot an Antarctic expedition with Mawson.

  • Leonard Hussey Meteorologist

    Brings a banjo. You will be glad.

  • Alexander Macklin Surgeon

    Wears spectacles. Wise face.

The process

Five thousand applied. Twenty-eight sail.

  1. 01Write inA letter to the Boss. Say why.
  2. 02InterviewFive minutes in London. Expect one odd question.
  3. 03Sign onSign the ship's articles. Kit issued.
  4. 04SailPlymouth, 8 August 1914. South Georgia by November.

5,000+

Letters

28

Berths on Endurance

1

Turned down, then reapplied from inside a locker. Also hired.

The ask

We sail in August. Bring a banjo.

Write to the Boss, London