Henry Worsley dies attempting Antarctic crossing

[Rajan Parrikar]

Sad news.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-35398552

[francois]

Sad, indeed but we tend to forget that there's a real danger in those challenges.

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

It is very sad, but I think I can understand why he did it. And as a "distant relative" of Shackleton's Captain Worsley, I suspect he may have expected a miracle comparable to the one that led Shackleton to get back from his ordeal with all of his crew alive, against seemingly  impossible odds.

He surely had great satisfaction in knowing how much money he had raised for his soldiers' fund.

His final messages sound as if he accepted what was happening

[MattBurt]

Yeah he certainly knew the risks and lost the gamble. Sad that the stakes were so high for him and his family. Some people are just driven to do these kinds of things. I heard another report that said he was only something 30 miles away from finishing which is reminiscent of Sir Francis Scott's fateful last expedition. Brutal country out there!

[torger]

I don't know the full story in this particular tragic event, but it could be said that an extreme will to reach your goals can be dangerous in these type of situations. Knowing when you're beaten is also part of the game. I assume that he could have called for help earlier, but he probably did not understand exactly how ill he was and pushed and pushed to get to the goal instead of realizing that it was a lost cause and he should have aborted.

It could also have been the case that it could not get help any earlier, I don't know. In any case it's a tragic event.

I sometimes think that in our society we have an unhealthy fixation on strong wills and winners which push people to accept extreme risks... but it's hard to draw a line. We've always been explorers and I'm myself fascinated by these type of adventures, just as high altitude climbing.

[stamper]

I feel sorry for the family, less sorry for the person that died. To prove what??? The family will suffer for the rest of their lives because of a fixation the explorer had.

[Petrus]

This individual in question was much better prepared for the adventure than many, and he almost made it. Global communications, airborne help etc makes these much safer than ever before, he was also airlifted out alive, and at least to my eyes also take a lot away from the true challenge*. Practically all people skiing to the South Pole ski just one way and are airlifted out, but still expect the same veneration as the old explorers (these contemporary guys do not actually explore anything) who had to first to get there, but also BACK, which is the harder part actually. Mr Worsley at least was an honest old school man and tried to get there and back again under his own power, so much respect to him.

*) I suspect he did not call for help earlier, as he also understood the old rules of the game: you are alone in this. In the old days we would not have known what happened, only after a few years we would be more or less sure he had not made it, and his body would be possibly found a hundred years later or not at all.

[sierraman]

Where would we be without exploration. I think we all of some sense of adventure in us. Just some have more then others. 

[stamper]

Where would we be without exploration. I think we all of some sense of adventure in us. Just some have more then others. 

The trip wasn't about exploring??? He was mimicking what had been done before. Exploration means you travel somewhere where you expect to find places that others - to your knowledge - haven't been. This was an endurance contest which unfortunately ended in disaster. It was sad but preventable? 

[Jeremy Roussak]

The trip wasn't about exploring??? He was mimicking what had been done before. Exploration means you travel somewhere where you expect to find places that others - to your knowledge - haven't been. This was an endurance contest which unfortunately ended in disaster. It was sad but preventable?

Remove the question marks and I'll agree with you absolutely. I'm sorry for the man and sorry for his family but ultimately this was pure self-indulgence. "It's for charity" adds nothing: there are better, safer ways of raising money.

Jeremy

[Otto Phocus]

I don't know the full story in this particular tragic event, but it could be said that an extreme will to reach your goals can be dangerous in these type of situations. Knowing when you're beaten is also part of the game. I assume that he could have called for help earlier, but he probably did not understand exactly how ill he was and pushed and pushed to get to the goal instead of realizing that it was a lost cause and he should have aborted.

I wonder how much his pride factored into this also.

[sierraman]

The trip wasn't about exploring??? He was mimicking what had been done before. Exploration means you travel somewhere where you expect to find places that others - to your knowledge - haven't been. This was an endurance contest which unfortunately ended in disaster. It was sad but preventable?

My guess is that you have never done any "exploring" in your life as it has all been done before you came along. 

[Petrus]

I have to admit that I am somewhat annoyed by modern day "explorers", who actually do not find, or even try to find anything new, but use satellite images, store bought maps and GPS units to verify that they are where they should be. And do they actually publish anything except glossy photo books about their exploits, with sponsors' logos clearly visible? Adventure, much of that going on, more than ever (but done safely, with sat phones and airborne rescues). Exploration, practically none, Because everything has been mapped and and almost every place visited already.

[MattBurt]

I like that people push themselves on adventures like this if they are reasonably prepared. Calling it exploring might be a stretch but whether it's adventure or exploration I understand the appeal. In some of us there is a deep desire to explore or adventure and if we know the risks and our families accept that we are inclined toward this kind of thing then I feel like it can be a worthy pursuit. I'm not talking about the rich guys who just want to say they climbed Everest even though they aren't really mountaineers (which endangers sherpas and other climbers), but the people who live and breathe adventure and understand the risks. 
I recently watched the film Meru which features a personal hero of mine, Jimmy Chin climbing a yet un-climbed Himalayan peak. If not exploration, it's definitely adventure. Whatever we call it I'm fascinated and love to do my own scaled down (but challenging for me) adventures too.

[amolitor]

Describing these people as explorers is silly. Endurance athletes, on the other hand, that's a perfectly reasonable description and gives due respect.

[Zorki5]

Describing these people as explorers is silly. Endurance athletes, on the other hand, that's a perfectly reasonable description and gives due respect.

How about "explorers of the human endurance limits"?

[Colorado David]

. . . (but done safely, with sat phones and airborne rescues). . .

Calling arctic travel safe and with the potential of airborne rescue is not at all realistic.  Perhaps it is safer than a hundred years ago, but declaring it safe is ludicrous.  A college classmate of mine served on the U.S. Antarctic Research Station support crew.  There are nine months of the year where airborne anything is not possible.

[muntanela]

"What will drive me on is raising money for these wounded soldiers"

This statement seems to come from another century, from the Napoleonic wars or perhaps the succession wars of the XVIII century

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7wEUlpaYjY

[stamper]

My guess is that you have never done any "exploring" in your life as it has all been done before you came along. 

Correct!

[Jeremy Roussak]

How about "explorers of the human endurance limits"?

"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less."

Jeremy