An Amazing Escape

Choose the right word On December 14, 1912, Mawson and his two , Belgrave Ninnis and Xavier Mertz, were returning to base after successfully not dying for a few days… when Ninnis fell into a , dragging their sledge, their supplies, and most of their dogs down with him. They were around 310 miles from home in a when the . Eventually, Mertz died from cold and , leaving Mawson to all alone… Then, unbelievably (or perhaps totally believably), Mawson’s sledge got in the snow. He also fell into a canyon, where he “dangled helplessly above the abyss, with his sledge behind him edging towards the lip.” It was a struggle for him to get free. After pulling himself up from a frozen grave and surviving 32 days in the harshest environment on the planet, Mawson finally reached his hut. He himself the first aid. He was then told that he would have to wait 10 more months in Antarctica. The ship meant to take him back home had sailed off only a few hours earlier, believing him dead.