Iced In

On Christmas Eve 2013, off the coast of East Antarctica, an abrupt weather change trapped the Shokalskiy-- the ship carrying earth scientist Chris Turney and seventy-one others involved in the Australasian Antarctic Expedition--in a densely packed armada of sea ice, 1400 miles from civilization. With the ship's hull breached and steerage lost, the wind threatened to drive the vessel into the frozen continent, smashing it to pieces. If nearby floating icebergs picked up speed, they could cause a devastating collision, leaving little time to abandon ship and potentially creating an environmental disaster. The forecast offered no relief--a blizzard was headed their way.