Antarctic Expedition Events

At the Mountains of Madness cold.1

The expedition spots the twin volcanic peaks of Erebus and Terror on the horizon. When they were first discovered by James Clark Ross, Erebus was observed to be in eruption. Thankfully we find the mountains at peace.

"They rose grimly into the western sky; allowing us to distinguish various bare, bleak, blackish summits, and to catch the curious sense of phantasy which they inspired as seen in the reddish antarctic light against the provocative background of iridescent ice-dust clouds."

Halfway Hut cold.2

"The temperature of the hut is low, of course, but in every other respect we are absolutely comfortable. There is an unlimited quantity of biscuit, and our discovery at Pram Point means an unlimited supply of seal meat. An empty kerosene tin and some firebricks have been made into an excellent little stove, which has been connected to the old stove-pipe. Already we can regard it as a temporary home."

Missed the Mark cold.3

The expedition has realized that they have overshot on their route towards the next supply depot.

The End Is Near cold.4

The expedition is doomed. Utterly exhausted, frostbitten, and out of supplies, all that is left to do is await the cold embrace of death.

"Every day we have been ready to start for our depot 11 miles away, but outside the door of the tent it remains a scene of whirling drift. I do not think we can hope for any better things now. We shall stick it out to the end, but we are getting weaker, of course, and the end cannot be far. It seems a pity but I do not think I can write more." "For God's sake look after our people."

The South Pole cold.5

"The Pole. Unsullied, immaculate. The air glistened as if the snow possessed a light of its own; under our frozen feet must have laid a secret sun. "It's here." And we took measures, we registered every possible anomaly, "it's here, move the beacon," and then it was here, right before my eyes, and then it was there, closer to the sleds, but it was here. It was finally here, and its reflected pallor illuminated our tired faces. "Gentlemen, now we can rest." It is here."

Dog Meat cold.6

Supplies are running low for the Antarctic explorers. The crew debates the merits of killing some of the sled dogs, and dividing the meat between the men and the remaining dogs to increase their odds of survival.

"One cannot calmly contemplate the murder of animals which possess such intelligence and individuality, which have frequently such endearing qualities, and which very possibly one has learnt to regard as friends and companions." "We have agreed to shrink from nothing to achieve our goal! And besides if we do not do this, the dogs will surely die from malnutrition or exhaustion regardless."

Homecoming cold.7

"Glory. Victory. Cheers and parades. Absurd sums of money. Kind words. The repetition of the hero's shadow over one's own name. The crew. That precious group of indomitable bastards. Home. Days. Nights. How much I had missed the days and the nights, their calculated succession. The boredom of the routine. Waking up on my bed. Hot chocolate. Coffee. Tea. My favorite tartlets. How much I had missed the noise from this street."

Pack Ice cold.8

Broken pieces of sea ice start to cover the surface of the water as the expedition approaches its destination. The ship's hull tries to make its way through the cold mass by ramming and crushing, but the ice becomes stronger as they advance.

"It wouldn't be sound to confess that such a peril intrigued me, but the imminent arrival of our final goal, announced by the increasing sea ice that surrounded us, could not but terrify and fascinate me at the same time. The snow cover that extended over it had prevented the sea from reflecting our silhouettes or our ship's—there was nothing else to see: it was just us, and the pole."

Icebound cold.9

"The cold had reached us. The planks of antique oaks were now shyly hidden behind snow-laden layers of white, and the whole ship would have seemed deserted if it wasn't for the tremulous lights that we had managed to keep lit. The ice was engulfing us, and with its natural grace started to stab our precious shelter."

Whaling Station cold.10

… has successfully led the expeditionary crew to a whaling station on South Georgia, braving the journey from Elephant Island in an uncovered lifeboat with meager supplies. Tales of …'s heroism resound throughout the nation despite the failure of the expedition.

"During our last night camping under the ruthless white, our cook had asked me if it had been a tough decision, "going back," he had said, "after making it so far, wasn't it hard?". No, I wanted to say. No, it wasn't. What joy could the pole bring to a man, trapped between the sea and the mountain ranges, a starving silhouette of fog and cold? If the dry air had blown slightly stronger, we would all had dispelled, like diaphanous flakes of snow."

The Great Ice Barrier cold.11

As the expedition's ship turns to the side, the crew witnesses in awe a high, perpendicular face of ice; their only entrance to the continent.

"And there it stood. If it had a face, I know it'd be laughing at us. That ridiculous cracking sound—the ice breaking. And there it goes, there, a block falls into the sea. Threatening. Fatal. It's in the direction of our ship. This moment had haunted our minds since when we left the last harbor. Sailing had been difficult, but going into that uncharted continent would be like descending into the depths of a frozen hell."

The Transantarctic Mountains cold.12

The expedition has advanced through eternal days of snow marching until finding the impenetrable sight of the Transantarctic Mountains. A new challenge awaits, as their routes have been scarcely documented.

"The ever-gray sky had left us in a state of cruel anesthesia, incapable of discerning the line that separated snow from atmosphere, snow from footprints, snow from us. A sharper gray was laid before us, and in its numbness resided a familiar comfort. The wall of stone was covered in white, and it took us most of the day to understand that it was no vertical sky, no heaven falling upon us, the final chant, the doomed trumpets, a mirage. Those were mountains."

Strange Marks cold.13

During the expedition's advances through the snow a strange rock with unknown marks has been discovered, partly buried under their feet.

Expedition to Antarctica cold.101

The Antarctic Continent remains almost entirely unexplored. An expedition to this vast frozen waste would be expensive and fraught with peril, but the glory of being first to the Pole would be immense.

Murmurs and whispers soon fill the halls of the world's most prestigious science academies, as the prospect of reaching the final geographical discovery becomes much more than a fever dream.

A Polar Explorer cold.102

We must choose a leader for the upcoming expedition to the Antarctic Continent. A few promising candidates have distinguished themselves.

Few people are capable of rightly appreciating this heroic deed, this brilliant proof of human courage and energy. These men will sail right into the heart of the pack ice, which all previous explorers have regarded as certain death. These men are heroes—heroes in the highest sense of the word.