Episode 2 "Alone on the Ice" - Douglas Mawson's Antarctic Nightmare cover art

Episode 2 "Alone on the Ice" - Douglas Mawson's Antarctic Nightmare

Episode 2 "Alone on the Ice" - Douglas Mawson's Antarctic Nightmare

Listen for free

View show details

About this listen

 Episode 2 "Alone on the Ice" - Douglas Mawson's Antarctic Nightmare Summary: In 1912, Australian geologist Douglas Mawson found himself stranded 300 miles from base camp in Antarctica after both his companions and most of his sled dogs perished. When his teammate Belgrave Ninnis fell into a crevasse, taking their tent, most of their food, and the best sled dogs with him, Mawson and Xavier Mertz began a desperate retreat across the frozen wasteland. After Mertz died from what was likely vitamin A poisoning from eating dog livers, Mawson continued alone for 30 more days. With his feet literally falling apart—the soles detaching due to vitamin deficiency—Mawson improvised snowshoes from wooden equipment, cut his sled in half to lighten the load, and crawled when he could no longer walk. He reached his expedition's base camp at Cape Denison only to discover the rescue ship had departed just hours earlier, forcing him to endure another winter in Antarctica before rescue. His survival against the most extreme conditions on Earth remains a testament to human endurance and psychological resilience.

What listeners say about Episode 2 "Alone on the Ice" - Douglas Mawson's Antarctic Nightmare

Average Customer Ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Audible.com.au reviews

Amazon Reviews
No Reviews are Available
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.