British explorer Henry Worsley dies crossing Antarctic, 30 miles short of goal-- Demi Tomasides 1st

This article was a sad one. It talks about the British explorer, Henry Worsley, who died crossing the Antarctic 71 days into his 900 mile journey. His mission was to be the first person to cross the (literally) coldest place on Earth (avg. temperature being -54 F and the lowest recorded being -128.5 F) alone, completely unaided. This mission was inspired by the earlier British explorer Ernest Shackleton, who tried to complete the same mission in the early 1900s. Shakelton didn't make it either (although, he did not die on the journey) but his legacy never died as this mission was in honor of and named after him. Worsley had to call for help with just 30 miles to go as his heath was so deteriorated. He was picked up and two days later died in the hospital from complete organ failure. His last statement from the Antarctic was this: "The 71 days alone on the Antarctic with over 900 statute miles covered and a gradual grinding down of my physical endurance finally took its toll today, and it is with sadness that I report it is journey's end -- so close to my goal." He was just 30 miles away.

This article made me really sad because for one thing it seemed like Worsley died believing he had failed his mission, which may be technically true, but he had gotten much farther than anyone else, which is more than anyone else could say and a major accomplishment whether 30 miles out or not. Also, he had two sons and a wife. His wife was the one that had to give his death announcement, which must have been the worst thing ever. It seems to be hard enough coping with it, but to announce it to the world much be horrendous.
In playwriting we just read a play called Terra Nova. The play revolved around the team of men that set out to be the first men ever to reach the Arctic. They were in a race against the Norwegians (who ended up getting their first) and time. The intense below zero temperatures finally caught up with them as they accepted death and died 11 miles from their goal. Both these stories just go to show how awful and horrendous that journey can be, not to mention lonely. My heart goes out to Worsley's family and friends and I hope that they can say his legacy has lived on just like Shakelton's.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/25/world/henry-worsley-explorer-dies-antarctic/index.html