1) Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition set sail in 1915 with the goal of crossing Antarctica, but their ship Endurance became trapped in ice in the Weddell Sea. 2) After drifting for months, Endurance was crushed by ice in October 1915, forcing the crew to camp on ice floes until the ice broke up in 1916. 3) Shackleton then led a group of men on a harrowing open boat journey across the treacherous Drake Passage to the whaling station on South Georgia Island to fetch help for the others left stranded on Elephant Island.