Monday, December 30, 2013

Monday Badass



Just finished reading Ernest Shackleton's epic The Heart of the Antarctic again. It is an incredible story of his three month journey attempting to reach the South Pole. After a frightening voyage over rough seas in an undersized, overloaded whaling vessel, Shakleton and his posse spent an entire Antarctic winter in a tiny improvised shack. Then, when the weather turned a balmy -25 F, Shakleton trudged through snow for three months pulling sledges, climbing mountains and nearly starving to death, all with primitive turn of the century equipment. A large portion of the book is his eloquent diary he kept during the march. He made it farther south than any other mortal, but never made the pole. After walking some seven hundred fifty miles he fell ninety miles short before having to turn back before starvation and the Antarctic winter caught up with him.

To use a cliché, Shakleton was from a time when "men were men." Long before such things as bottled water, heated seats, hand sanitizer, manscaping, sensitivity training or wind chill calculations.

I'm first struck by his awesome literary skills, while keeping his journal under the stress and strain of his ordeal. An ordeal which included frostbite, starvation and altitude sickness. Secondly, he NEVER whined or complained. Through snow blindness and dysentery he trudged onward, averaging about twelve miles a day. Incredible, considering the average Amërïkän would throw a hissy fit if the fast food worker forgets his extra cheese, and would weep uncontrollably if he had to walk two miles on a fine spring day in his pair of two-hundred dollar Nikes!


Shakleton's kind of willpower and resolve is a sad juxtaposition when compared with modern Western Man who, more often than not, confuses inconvenience for emergency. Today's whining, prissy metrosexual seems to think someone else is obligated to solve his petty problems for him. A sad population of fretful eunuchs, spending their days looking for reasons to feel "offended," while lamenting the fact that their cell phone isn't working.

Makes it hard to schedule a manicure.

9 comments:

  1. Excellent pick! I am not sure of the title of the book I read about his journey but my fingers hurt reading about their 'deal'...no Goretex, GPS, Northface....etc

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  2. I remember being impressed with Shackleton when I read a Arrow books Schoolastic edition in the 5th or 6th grade...and thinking what badasses they were....just reminded me I have a Kindle I received as a gift a few years ago....I should download the book, and read it in the comfort of modern abode...

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  3. You are on a roll Herm, brilliant synopsis of the man, the journey, the book, the times and the pissweak society we've become . . . the shack is still preserved as was. 11/10 brother.

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  4. New a girl who several years back rode her FLH 450 plus miles with multiple broken ribs.
    Shoot ,she was more of a man than most men I know now day's. Have a great new year.

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  5. pahh, walked the dog's wearing my short's today, cold, wet, my leg's were blue when i got home, hardcore or what?

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    1. Well Tim, You always have those groovy jammies and toewarmers to get into...

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  6. Vaquero. My favorite Shakleton tale is when his ship "Endurance" became icebound. In a twenty foot whale boat, with a jury-rigged mast, he somehow sailed to safety in what many consider the most incredible bit of seamanship in maritime history.
    Thanks Whitey, have to wonder where, (or if) we'll be in the next hundred years.
    Yeah BC, met some pretty tough chicks in my time as well, (good riders too). Happy New Years my friend.
    Larry, If Loveless walks through the muddy, pastoral countryside with his new slippers, the poor villagers around Derbyshire will become alarmed and, armed with pitchforks, will go afield searching for a glimpse of the elusive British Sasquatch.

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  7. check out Tim Jarvis's re-enactment of the boat trip to south Georgia island, saw it on the box a few weeks back,
    http://www.timjarvis.org/shackletonepic/

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    1. Thanks for the heads up Flarras. I watched the brief intro, will definitely check out the rest. Makes me almost wish I still had satellite.

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