An Ominous Sign
As optimistic as Shackleton and the crew were, there was a sign that things may not be good for the explorers. As the pack ice started to show up again, they saw a mass of crabeater seals migrating north. Instead of the “Oh, look, seals!” reaction of a tourist, Shackleton knew this was bad. It was possible that the seals were migrating away from a hard winter with scarce food. But the Endurance continued its trek, making it through ice floes through December and January.
By mid-January, they were only eighty miles from Vahsel Bay. The ice continued to tighten and loosen until the packed ice tightened once again. But this time, it didn’t loosen. They were stuck in that position for a week, but the ice floes were freezing ever tighter together. Endurance became lodged within the ice floes. They were stuck 60 miles from Vahsel Bay.
