Alone in Antarctica…
Author: David Grann
What drives a man to leave his beautiful family to pursue incredibly dangerous adventures? Is it hubris? Depression? Mid-life crisis? Some intricately woven tapestry of all three? I argue that anybody who says they know – even the actual participants – is lying. I think it’s one big fat mystery. Nonetheless, it makes for terrific reading.
Starting in 2008, driven only by his own inner demons, Henry Worsley – a lieutenant colonel in the British Army – chose to pursue some of the most treacherous adventures possible, reenacting some of the greatest feats of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Adapted from an article originally published in The New Yorker, journalist David Grann tells the man’s remarkable true story in The White Darkness.
The Transantarctic Mountains.
Inspired by the heroics of explorer Ernest Shackleton from a young age, Worsley followed the example of his idol both in his life as a military man and an explorer. His obsession with the man grew even larger as he entered middle age and in 2008 he and two other men traced the path of Shackleton’s Nimrod expedition. This 1908 adventure had fallen just 97 miles short of the South Pole, but succeeded in setting a record for furthest south at the time. One hundred years later, Worsley and his partners – on skis and aided only by what they could drag on sleds – not only made it to the point where Shackleton had turned around, but went on to reach the pole, completing the trek in 66 days. Still obsessed, Worsley returned in 2012, retracing Norwegian Roald Amundsen’s path to the pole one hundred years earlier.
Henry Worsley in 2010.
Having already become the only human to repeat both Shackleton’s and Amundsen’s heroic adventures, what more did he have to prove? Even without his Antarctic feats, Worsley could have retired as a thoroughly accomplished man. He might have easily rested on his laurels, spent time with his wife and waited for grandchildren. But his persistent fixation knew no bounds and in 2015 – at the age of 55 – he decided to have one more go. And this time it was going to be more challenging than ever.
Setting out from the Atlantic side of the continent, Worsley loaded up his 325 pound sled, strapped on his skis and headed across the continent to the Pacific side. Completely alone. It was to be a journey of more than 900 miles over a period of 80 days and like each of his previous adventures, other than a satellite life-line, it was completely unsupported.
As he’s done in the past, particularly in the acclaimed Killers of the Flower Moon, Grann displays an aptitude for great storytelling. Succinctly and artfully, he conveys the passion and obsession that drives explorers like Worsley, although other than a presenting a “because it’s there” kind of logic, he doesn’t come any closer to really answering why people do this than anyone else has. Wisely balancing the story, he also manages to include perspectives from Worsley’s fellow adventurers, as well as the family members he would leave behind for months at a time.
Included in this slim volume are some fantastic photographs, many from Shackleton’s expeditions and others compiled from Worsley’s own collection. When scattered amongst Grann’s haunting prose, they create a very attractive and compact literary package that effectively captures the adventurer’s spirited approach to life.
How do you look at the man? Was he one of the toughest men to ever walk the planet? Or was he a monomaniac who chose to risk everything to pursue his obsession? Grann leaves it pretty wide open, allowing for both views to breathe the frigid polar air. Full of suspense, heroic deeds and plenty of mystery, The White Darkness is everything a great adventure story should be. Highly recommended.
— D. Driftless
Mountain photo by Hannes Grobe (CC BY-SA 2.5)/Worsley photo from National Museums Liverpool (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Check out Dave’s review of Killers of the Flower Moon. You can also check out his reviews of other books about icy adventures: Alone on the Ice / Swimming to Antarctica / In the Kingdom of Ice / Island of the Blue Foxes
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