View zoomable map
Ernest Shackleton's proposal for crossing the Antarctic from the Weddell Sea to the McMurdo Sound was an ambitious one.
Two ships, 'Endurance' and 'Aurora', would land sledging parties on either side of the continent. The aim was for the parties to meet on top of the Beardmore Glacier and sledge together to reach the Ross Sea.
Outline of expedition plan
Shackleton outlined his plan in the programme for the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition 1914-1917, which was published in 1914.
The inside front cover of the features a map of the proposed route. On it is marked the furthest point the explorer had reached with his 'Nimrod' expedition in 1909.
View zoomable illustration
On the inside back cover are drawings of the 'Endurance', the ship 'which will take out the Weddell Sea party' led by Shackleton.
In common with expeditions today, success or failure relied on adequate funding.
The expedition office typed and posted out hundreds of letters asking supporters for cash donations.