The Nimrod Expedition 1907 - 1909

Episode two picks up where Scott had turned back, as Shackleton - now Scott's rival - returns to Antarctica as a seasoned polar explorer with his own "Nimrod" Expedition. His bold plan: to reach the South Pole and claim it for King and Country.

We join Ben and Dwayne as they pass Scott's previous furthest south and forge ahead on their own journey trying to relive the key moments from Shackleton's second foray into the great white wilderness. But now Shackleton and his three-man team face the biggest challenge yet, the formidable and unexplored Trans Antarctic Mountain Range, they finally settle on a 160km route climbing up the treacherous Beardmore Glacier. Ben and Dwayne take on their own ice mountain challenge, facing steep slippery waves of blue ice, deadly crevasses and relentless hauling up steep slopes to try to reach the barren and seemingly endless Polar Plateau.

Here both Shackleton, and Ben and Dwayne, face the worst weather and new challenges, as temperatures sink to mind numbing -40C with windchill and ferocious winds threaten to stop them in their tracks. After 73 days on the ice, Shackleton and his men are on their last legs and Shackleton, who is only 150km from the South Pole, makes the momentous decision to turn back and head home, in doing so he saved his men and his own life but gave up his dream of being the first person to reach the South Pole.