Antarctic Ancestors

Sir Ernest Shackleton and his crew came within 97 miles of the South Pole on a 1908-09 expedition. Now six relatives of the team members are setting out to finish the trip, hauling their own supplies and carrying Shackleton's own compass.

Besides [Shackleton great-great-nephew Will] Gow, the group includes Shackleton's great-grandson, Patrick Bergel, 36, who works in advertising; Henry Adams, 33, a shipping lawyer and great-grandson of Jameson Adams; Tim Fright, 24, an MA student and great-great-nephew of Frank Wild; David Cornell, 38, a fund manager and another great-grandson of Adams; and ground leader Lt Col Henry Worsley, 46, a soldier in The Rifles, who is hoping to confirm family links to Frank Worsley, Shackleton's navigator on the Endurance. [Link]

The team should stop at Shackleton's Hut if they need provisions.

[Photo credit: The Lordprice Collection]

Did Polar Explorer Plant His Flag?

Anne-Christine Amundsen Jacobsen, a great-niece of polar explorer Roald Amundsen, wonders if he might have fathered some children while living in the Arctic community of Gjoa Haven in the early 1900s.

"You know, I don't think there are many Europeans having Inuit cousins so I would be very proud if I find some," she said.

At least one Inuk in Gjoa Haven claims to be related, Amundsen Jacobsen said, and she plans to meet with him after she arrives in the community Wednesday, accompanied by her husband and two children. [Link]