{"id":36062,"date":"2013-10-07T18:06:39","date_gmt":"2013-10-07T23:06:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/?p=36062"},"modified":"2026-02-12T12:01:40","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T18:01:40","slug":"what-they-left-and-what-they-kept-what-an-antarctic-expedition-can-teach-you-about-whats-truly-valuable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/character\/manly-lessons\/what-they-left-and-what-they-kept-what-an-antarctic-expedition-can-teach-you-about-whats-truly-valuable\/","title":{"rendered":"What They Left and What They Kept: What an Antarctic Expedition Can Teach You About What\u2019s Truly Valuable"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Old<\/p>\n

“Do you hear that? We’ll none of us get back to our homes again.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Tom McLeod, member of the 1914 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, stood anxiously on the deck of the Endurance<\/i>. He looked out on a nearby ice floe where ten Emperor penguins stood wailing a mournful cry. None of the ship\u2019s twenty-eight member crew had seen such a large group of penguins gather together before, nor heard them issue such a strange and chilling sound. Surely, McLeod thought, this was a foreboding omen.<\/p>\n

Ernest Shackleton, leader of the expedition<\/a>, bit his lip. One did not have to be superstitious to feel the crew\u2019s prospects were bleak. The Endurance<\/i> had been stalled out for months, having become trapped in an ice pack as it sailed towards the South Pole. The crew\u2019s aim was to launch an expedition that would traverse the Antarctic continent. But now the ice floes surrounding the ship had begun violently pinching and twisting it, tearing open holes in the hull through which freezing water poured. The men had worked for days in exhausting, round-the-clock shifts, pumping out the water by hand. But Shackleton knew their efforts were not enough to save the ship; the next day he ordered the Endurance <\/i>abandoned. \u201cShe\u2019s going boys,\u201d he said. \u201cI think it\u2019s time to get off.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Shackleton<\/p>\n

The men trudged out onto an ice floe, leaving behind what had been, all things considered, a warm and comfortable home. It was a farewell to their last tie to civilization. They had now entered a lone and dreary wilderness. The men set up their tents on a tenuous foundation that was likely no more than 6 feet deep and could crack open at any time \u2013 plunging them into the icy deep.<\/p>\n

Shackleton strode from the Endurance <\/i>carrying a copy of the Bible given him by Queen Alexandria at the outset of their journey and made his way to the center of the hastily constructed campsite. Gathering his men around him, he told them of the new plan: they would begin a march across the ice towards Paulet Island, some 346 miles to the west. As they hoped to hit open water along the way, the men would have to drag two, one-ton lifeboats along with them, hauling them across a vast wasteland of ice and over ridges that could rise two stories high. \u201cWe cannot hope to make rapid progress,\u201d Shackleton told the men, \u201cbut each mile counts<\/b>.”<\/p>\n

Given the arduous nature of the task ahead, Shackleton solemnly informed his men that \u201cnothing but the bare necessities are to be taken on the march, for<\/b> we can not afford to cumber ourselves with unnecessary weight<\/b>.\u201d Author Alfred Lansing writes in Endurance<\/i> that through studying the outcome of past expeditions, Shackleton had come to believe that traveling light was absolutely paramount, as \u201cthose that burdened themselves with equipment for every contingency had fared much worse than those that had sacrificed total preparedness for speed<\/b>.”<\/p>\n

Each member of the team was allowed the clothes on his back, plus two pairs of mittens, six pairs of socks, two pairs of boots, and a sleeping bag. Beyond these basic provisions, Shackleton ordered that each man only bring a maximum of two pounds of personal possessions.<\/p>\n

Shackleton moved to set the example for his men. He took his Bible and ripped out the flyleaf upon which the Queen had inscribed: “May the Lord help you to do your duty & guide you through all the dangers of the land and sea. May you see the Works of the Lord & all His Wonders in the deep.” Then he tore out the 23rd<\/sup> Psalm, as well as a page from Job he considered \u201cwonderful\u201d:<\/p>\n

Out of whose womb came the ice?<\/em>
\n And the hoary frost of Heaven, who hath gendered it?<\/em>
\n The waters are hid as with a stone,<\/em>
\n And the face of the deep is frozen. (Job 38:29-30)<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Shackleton placed the torn pages inside his jacket and laid the Bible in the snow. He then reached into his pocket and withdrew a gold watch, gold cigarette case, and a handful of gold sovereigns. He gave the items one last look before tossing them into the snow as well.<\/p>\n

It was a dramatic gesture, but Shackleton was determined to impress upon his men the absolute necessity of each man stripping himself of every ounce of superfluous weight. \u201cNo article has any value when measured against our survival<\/b>,” Shackleton intoned. “Everything is replaceable except your lives<\/b>.”<\/p>\n

What They Left and What They Kept<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

\"Ernest<\/p>\n

Shackleton\u2019s men were faced with a series of heart-wrenching choices. Given the scant two-pound allowance, which of their cherished personal possessions should they keep, and which should they cast aside into what Shackleton called \u201cthe privacy of these white graves\u201d?<\/p>\n

Taking inventory of what the members of the Endurance<\/i> expedition decided to keep and what they left behind can teach us much about what is truly valuable — not only literally, in terms of material possessions — but as broader symbols of what matters most in life for all of us.<\/p>\n

We may never face a situation of life and death survival as the members of the Endurance <\/i>expedition did. Yet in a world of gray morality, shallow culture, and relentless consumerism, the survival of every man\u2019s values, happiness, goals, and manhood are ever at risk. Every \u201cmile\u201d matters in our personal journeys too, and the lighter we travel, the further we can get in the goal of becoming men of excellence. What kinds of things should we \u201ccarry\u201d with us on life\u2019s journey, and what weighs us down and keeps us from ever getting where we want to go?<\/p>\n

What They Left Behind<\/b><\/h3>\n

Money\/Jewelry\/Gold.<\/b> The thing that had the most value in the explorer\u2019s lives back home would have the least value on their Antarctic march. Or as Frank Worsley, captain of the Endurance<\/i> put it, \u201cthere are times when gold can be a liability rather than an asset.\u201d Heavy and worthless, their \u201cwealth\u201d would simply serve to weigh them down.<\/p>\n