Fantasy & Pulp Fantasy Core--Title Level and Pulp Adventurer Ideas 5

Previously.

The Explorers Continued
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Henry Hudson: Discovered the eponymous Hudson Bay in Canada. Battled ice floes and mutinous crews. He was forced to over-winter in the bay as encroaching ice closed them in. He, his son, and loyal members of the crew were set adrift in a boat by mutineers. Willem Barentsz, another Arctic explorer, also became trapped in ice and was attacked by polar bears.

Adolf Erik Nordenskiold: Made a failed attempt to walk to the North Pole. Later took a ship, Vega, across Russia’s northern border only to be trapped in ice for 10 months between Russia and Alaska.

John Franklin: British sailor that fought at Trafalgar. Survived a horrific overland attempt at finding the Northwest Passage in Canada, which included a bout of cannibalism. Became Lt. Governor in Tasmania until he was run out. Lead another expedition to find the Northwest Passage by sea. The HMS Terror and HMS Erebus became the “Lost Expedition,” after not being heard from for over two years. A large bounty was offered and 25 rescue missions would be launched to find them (at an extensive loss of life). The fate of the ships’ crews was discovered eight years later. Both ships became trapped in ice. Survivors attempted to retreat overland, but fell victim to scurvy, lead poisoning, cannibalism, and starvation.

American Charles Hall’s Polaris expedition to the North Pole met a similar, fatal ending. Ironically, one of his previous trips had found the graves of the Franklin party.

Fridtjof Nansen: Crossed Greenland overland. Attempted to get to the North Pole by allowing his ship to become trapped in an ice floe for three years. Unfortunately, it didn’t drift over the pole. From there, he attempted to go on on foot. The attempt failed, but he managed to build a catamaran from his boats to make it back to civilization.

Roald Amundsen: First to make it across the Northwest Passage. First to the South Pole, beating out explorer rival Scott. First across the North Pole in an airship. Died while doing a search and rescue for an airship downed near the Arctic. Robert Scott makes it to the pole second, finding Amundsen’s Norwegian flag there. His expedition perishes in the return attempt, leaving behind a rather grim diary.

Ernest Shackleton: His ship, Endurance, was trapped in Antarctic ice during an expedition.  It took three years and treacherous trips overland and in a small open boat to effect rescue.  Everyone in the expedition survived.  They returned home to England as heroes.  Depressingly, they also found found WWI raging across Europe at the time. 

To be concluded.