Top 5 expeditions and top 5 doomed expeditions :)
omg heidi WHY
ok i don't know enough explorations to the depth of mentioning here so I will just do 5 doomed explorations because lets be honest .. they were all doomed lol.
I am someone who gets into a polar expedition and then will stock to it, but hey I know everything about them lmao
OK first the ultimate love of my life. TERRA NOVA EXPEDITION 1910-1913
I don't have to tell you why I guess, but yeah the tragedy!? THE ANGST THE HOPELESSNESS THE FRIENDSHIP THE LOVE!?
i will never be over this tbh... OK MOVING ON
2. THE BELGICA 1897 - 1899 MY BELOVED AKA THE ONE WHERE THEY ALL TURNED MAD, also not really doomed in the sense of the word because everyone survived except for Danco :((( who died of sth not related to being in the antarctic ...
what I love about them is that they were literally ALL crazy even before going to the South Pole and pls read the book "Madhouse at the end of the World" its sublime comedy but you will also cry.
3. ENDURANCE 1914 - 1917
HONESTLY the probably most doomed on on paper, but with Shackleton as a leader they somehow managed to have not one single person dead eventhough their ship literally sank in the middle of the packice, which made them have to MANHAUL all their belongings to safety and then build a ship out of driftwood and sail ACROSS THE DRACE PASSAGE IN A LIFEBOAT AND CLIMB A VOLCANO TO GET TO SOME FISHERS HUT AND CALL FOR HELP. I did not make this up.
4. EREBUS AND TERROR 1845 AKA FRANKLINS LOST EXPEDITION AKA the most doomed one and also the most famous one I guess because they all died and their ships are now on the bottom of the Arctic Ocean, also scientists reconstructed that they probably cannibalised the ones who died first that's how desperate and doomed they were.
if you are interested din this one please watch the TERROR its a miniseries and its amazing and there's a very wholesome and active fandom on this website :)
5. honestly I can't think of a specific one so I will just mention some
Metelitsa a soviet female cross arctic skiing expedition in the 70s ICONIC (Not doomed but needed to mention it because FEMALE POWER)
1596: Barentsz expedition to Novaya Zemlya (arctic Russia) this is an insane story, the men were forced to overwinter TWICE on this island because they wanted to find the north east passage and yeah it was the fucking 16th century... they had never seen a polar bear before and the diaries are insane.
The Denmark expedition (1906): basically Denmark needed to prove that Greenland is an island to claim the land and make it independent form the USA and so they mapped the country ONLY 2 MEN ALONE OF WHICH ONE OF THEM HAD NEVER BEEN TO THE ARCTIC BEFORE and they survived but they were forgotten by their crew or rather left behind (twice) and had to overwinter on the coast TWO YEARS and almost killed each other. Before and after picture of Eijnar Mikkelsen:
OK I CANT THINK OF MORE BUT I KNOW THAT THERE ARE PEOPLE ON THIS WEBSITE WHO KNOW SO MUCH MORE SO PLEASE FEEL FREE TO ADD <3 and thanks for asking!!!
