How Arctic Explorers Survived in the Old Days

The Polar explorers of any era face immense challenges. The cold, the darkness, the wind, the remoteness- they can be unbearable even with modern day equipment and supplies. For the men who went on Arctic and Antarctic explorations at the dawn of the 20th century the trials were far more dangerous. No communications, no electricity, dicey food, and wooden boats were just a few of the challenges they faced.

For many months of the year polar regions are without sun and can be dark for 4-6 months of the year depending on the area. Factor in below -freezing temperatures, lack of vegetation, lack of community and resources, and you’ve got a recipe for disaster. Once any expedition lost their way, suffered a ship malfunction or crash, or endured illness the chances of them surviving sharply decreased. And, yet, some crews did make it and there are a few reasons for their successes. So, how did they survive?

The Food Factor

Having adequate food was one of the biggest concerns of any crew stranded in any kind of weather. But, it becomes even more important when all one’s calories are spent fending off cold and surviving in brutal conditions. With limited food a number of other problems crop up.

Canned and preserved food has long been a sailor’s lot. Salt pork in big barrels, hard tack baked twice to drive out the moisture, alcohol or beer, and dried foods were the mainstays of their diet. Short term this is acceptable and provides calories. But, long term a diet lacking in vitamins, minerals, and fiber takes a steep toll on crew members. In normal times periodic trips to shore to eat local foods can stave off scurvy, a disease that occurs from lack of vitamin C. When crews are stranded in polar climes these options for supplemental food disappear.

Towards the end of the 19th century there were some improvements in canning and crews began to rely more on potted and tinned foods. Sadly, for the crew of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition (1914-17) headed by Sir Ernest Shackleton much of the tinned food they had been supplied had not survived the trip due to spoilage. When the ship became permanently lodged in ice due to unseasonably cold wether, the limited foodstuffs they had remaining forced them to find alternative nutrition.

One of the ways they survived was by hunting seals for meat. Not only are seals one of the few food sources in the area, seal liver and meat happens to be a decent source of vitamins D and C, the latter of which was sorely needed. In fact, prior to seal hunting the crew had begun to suffer from the effects of scurvy.

Location Is Everything

The location of a shipwrecked or stranded crew made all the difference. Not only did they need to make it to shore, they also needed to understand how to live in the harsh environment.

In 1831 on a privately-funded expedition to the North Pole to find the North Passage. There James Clark Ross is credited with discovering the magnetic North Pole. The crew was led by his uncle and they endured four harsh winters mainly due to contact with Inuit peoples in the are who gave them valuable strategies for hunting, making shelters, and withstanding the cold.

A similar expedition headed by John Franklin ten years later had no Inuit contact and perished, their ship only found in recent years. The contact with anyone local who could model or demonstrate some survival tactics specific to the region proved infinitely helpful to Ross’ crew. When they were shown how to hunt seal by local Inuit, then crew men suddenly had mush better sources of nutirents. For the men on Shackleton’s expedition their scurvy improved after eating seal meat, having taken to seal hunting when their food stocks ran low. All 27 of Shackleton’s men survived 3 years stranded in the Antarctic.

How to keep warm was also a set of skills that explores learned from local indigenous people’s, such as using seal fur for clothing and how to make shelters that retain heat. Without these it has been speculated that

Healthy Minds

One of the other problems in a situation where crew must be rescued is staying with it mentally. Boredom, fear, negative thoughts, delusions, and hallucinations are just some of the issues that can turn people against each other. Or to drink, or to make poor decisions. Unfortunately in a life or death situations this type of acting out can cost lives.

Arctic explorer Roald Amundsen is his book described a healthy amount of diversions for crew members and though he didn’t condone drunkenness, he advocated for a “tot” of alcohol at times to lift the spirits. Amundsen wrote, “It is a sad thing, someone will say, that men absolutely must have alcohol to put them in a good humour…But seeing that our nature is what it is we must try to make the best of it.”

As for other forms of entertainment and mental health maintenance music and reading were two very important ones. Some expeditions had gramophones aboard their ships, but luxuries such as these must be left behind if the crew has to evacuate the ship. When the crew of Endurance had to abandon the ship, Shackleton made sure that his meteorologist took his banjo, despite the weight of something not edible as it was “vital mental medicine”.

Some also memorized texts while waiting to be rescued as reading was another valuable tool in keeping one’s sanity during a dangerous expedition. It took a lot ingenuity, food, and warm clothing to overcome the cold, lack of shelter, and the crushing uncertainty of being a stranded polar explorer.