FORTITUDINE VINCIMUS ~ Endurance Sled Hill Mystery Cache
Hidden : 1/23/2010
Difficulty:
2 out of 5
Terrain:
2 out of 5

Size: Size: small (small)

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Geocache Description:


Once Upon a Time...

There was a great adventurer who had a dream to reach the South Pole, by trekking across the continent of Antarctica. In 1914 he gathered a crew of hearty adventurers and four days after the start of WWI he set sail on what might be the most incredible story of man's heroic-ism, determination, and leadership ever told. Ernest Shackleton you see made three attempts at reaching the South Pole, The Discovery, The Nimrod and The Endurance. The race to the South Pole ended in 1912, but Shackleton felt that the real need for Antarctic exploration was in the navigation of the continent itself and so set off on his journey to cross the continent of Antarctica on foot and sled while crossing though the South Pole.

Ironically Shackleton never even set foot on Antarctica on his Endurance expedition, but became stuck fast in sea ice and had to abandon his ship in the ice as the shifting ice tore it to pieces and hauled it into the watery depths when the ice broke up. In this time of despair and potential tragedy these seasoned adventurers rose to great heights and under the leadership of a very selfless and compassionate Ernest Shackleton they managed to survive a living nightmare.

Today the story of The Endurance serves as a testament to what the human being is capable of in the face of immense odds.

The Endurance adventure even inspired a recent local adventure race that took place partially in this area. That race included miles of skiing and winter mountain biking as well as a very long sled hill.

This cache is not at the posted location. But, I would recommend those coordinates as a good place to park. You will need to solve the puzzle to get the coordinates for this cache. When you come, bring your sled and your camera as you will want both. The sled hill is a blast and along the trail to the cache you will see one of the greatest views overlooking the city and surrounding area, a view that is only viewable by users of the trail and the one individual who has built his home on the plateau backing up to the Park.

The Coordinates are:
N 61 AB.CDE
W 149 FG.HIJ

Where:
A. The number of men on the Endurance expedition, minus 28.
B. The last date in May when Frank Worsley was able to take a sighting of the sun to navigate by. The rest of the navigation was done by dead reckoning aboard the James Caird.
C. Shackleton and his crew were on the ice for 49C days before touching solid ground again on Elephant Island. What is C?
D. The last digit of the date when Shackleton borrowed the Yelcho from Chilean authorities and set sail toward Elephant Island to rescue his crew.
E. The last digit in the year The Endurance finally broke up and sank below the ice and waters of the Weddell sea.
F. The last digit of the date in April when the lifeboat James Caird left Elephant Island in hopes of making the 800 mile crossing to South Georgia.
G. The first digit in the day that The Endurance finally broke up and sank below the ice and waters of the Weddell sea.
H. On what date in May did the crew of The James Caird catch a glimpse of South Georgia, only fourteen days after leaving Elephant Island?
I. The last digit in the year that Shackleton returned to Elephant Island to rescue the remainder of his crew after three unsuccessful attempts to get to Elephant Island due to sea ice.
J. The number of racers that make up an USARA National Championship Qualifying co-ed adventure racing team, minus three.

Placed under Chugach State Park permit #09-076

Puzzle Coordinate Checker: (visit link)

Additional Hints ()

Qrpba va n gerr

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)

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