To the Edges of the Earth: 1909, the Race for the Three Poles, and the Climax of the Age of Exploration

332 Pages·2018·14.13 MB·English

by  Edward J. Larson

Dedication
TO MY WIFE,
LUCY,
WITH LOVE
Maps
Arctic Explorations Toward the North Pole with Robert Peary’s 1908–09 Route
British Antarctic Expedition with Ernest Shackleton and Douglas Mawson’s
1907–09 Routes
Portion of the Karakoram Range (Western Himalaya) with the Duke of the
Abruzzi’s 1909 Routes
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Dedication
Maps
Preface: The Wonderful Year 1909
Chapter 1
The Aristocracy of Adventure, Circa 1909
Chapter 2
The Audacity of Adventure, Circa 1909
Chapter 3
The Allure of Adventure, Circa 1909
Chapter 4
The Great Game
Chapter 5
The Peary Way
Chapter 6
Beyond the Screaming Sixties
Chapter 7
The Savage North
Chapter 8
Poles Apart
Chapter 9
On Top of the World
Chapter 10
The Third Pole
Chapter 11
Returnings
Epilogue
The Last Biscuit
Notes
Index
Photos Section
About the Author
Also by Edward J. Larson
Copyright
About the Publisher
Preface
The Wonderful Year 1909
THE ADVENTURES DESCRIBED IN these pages carried the dreams of the multitudes in
Europe, America, and Australia. “Never in the history of modern exploration
have efforts so widespread and persistent as those of the present been made to
uncover the mysteries of the unknown parts of the world,” the New York Times
commented in 1908. “Two explorers are seeking to solve the riddle of the North
Pole. Four parties have in view the ice-capped continent of the Antarctic. . . . In
the heart of Asia are impenetrable mountain ranges and vast deserts still
unknown to modern geographers.”1 With the adventure-enthusiast Theodore
Roosevelt in the White House and the like-minded though less active Edward
VII reigning over Britain’s far-flung imperial domains, new technologies easing
access to remote places, and empire in vogue, explorers vied to reach places that
previously seemed unattainable. Three unclaimed poles became the ultimate
goals: the North Pole, the South Pole, and the so-called Pole of Altitude in the
Himalayas, with the second sometimes divided into the south geographic and
south magnetic poles. With fame assured to anyone bold enough to try and tough
enough to succeed in reaching them, 1909 was shaping up as a climactic year in
the modern age of adventure-based exploration.
The expeditions of 1909 represented the culmination of long efforts in high
latitudes and altitudes by explorers with notable track records. The lead
American contender, Robert E. Peary, had mounted seven prior expeditions to
the high Arctic, with the last three aimed squarely at the North Pole. British
explorer Ernest Shackleton had tried once before for the South Pole. Then the
most famous of the three, Prince Luigi Amedeo of Savoy, the Italian Duke of the
Abruzzi, had made widely hailed first ascents on three continents as a
mountaineer and once led an Arctic expedition that set a farthest-north record.
Australia’s premier field geologist, Edgeworth David, went along with
Shackleton to try for the south magnetic pole, aided by future polar star Douglas
Mawson. These were celebrities of the day chasing immortality at the edges of
the earth.
The explorer’s instinct was not new. It is probably as old as human life itself.