I seemed to vow to myself that some day I would go to the region of ice and snow and go on and on till I came to one of the poles of the earth, the end of the axis upon which this great round ball turns.

Meaning of the quote

The explorer Ernest Shackleton wanted to travel to the North or South Pole, which are the two ends of the Earth's axis. He imagined himself going deep into the cold, snowy regions until he reached one of these poles, the points where the Earth spins around. Shackleton was determined to be the first to reach these remote and challenging locations, even if it took him a long time to get there.

About Ernest Shackleton

Ernest Shackleton was an Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic during the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. He and his team achieved several remarkable feats, including setting new Farthest South records and climbing Mount Erebus. Shackleton’s most famous exploit was the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, where his ship Endurance was trapped and sank in the Weddell Sea, but he and his crew managed to reach safety after an epic journey.

More about the author

More quotes from Ernest Shackleton

Superhuman effort isn’t worth a damn unless it achieves results.

Ernest Shackleton

Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer (1874-1922)

I called to the other men that the sky was clearing, and then a moment later I realized that what I had seen was not a rift in the clouds but the white crest of an enormous wave.

Ernest Shackleton

Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer (1874-1922)

We had seen God in His splendors, heard the text that Nature renders. We had reached the naked soul of man.

Ernest Shackleton

Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer (1874-1922)

If I had not some strength of will I would make a first class drunkard.

Ernest Shackleton

Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer (1874-1922)

I seemed to vow to myself that some day I would go to the region of ice and snow and go on and on till I came to one of the poles of the earth, the end of the axis upon which this great round ball turns.

Ernest Shackleton

Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer (1874-1922)

Now my eyes are turned from the South to the North, and I want to lead one more Expedition. This will be the last… to the North Pole.

Ernest Shackleton

Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer (1874-1922)

Difficulties are just things to overcome, after all.

Ernest Shackleton

Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer (1874-1922)

The noise resembles the roar of heavy, distant surf. Standing on the stirring ice one can imagine it is disturbed by the breathing and tossing of a mighty giant below.

Ernest Shackleton

Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer (1874-1922)

After months of want and hunger, we suddenly found ourselves able to have meals fit for the gods, and with appetites the gods might have envied.

Ernest Shackleton

Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer (1874-1922)