Synopsis

During the autumn of 1999, NOVA ventured into the icy waters of the Antarctic and along the wild shores of Elephant Island and South Georgia, retracing the path of Sir Ernest Shackleton. The legendary explorer's 1914-1916 Endurance expedition remains one of history's most remarkable survival stories. Later, in April 2000, we documented Shackleton’s final ordeal—the perilous crossing of South Georgia—undertaken by three of the world's most celebrated mountaineers: Reinhold Messner, Conrad Anker,