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==== Mendaki Gunung Erebus ====
[[File:Mount Erebus Aerial 2.jpg|thumb|left|[[Gunung Erebus]]]]
Sesudah ''Nimrod'' bertolak, es di permukaan laut pecah sehingga jalur laluan rombongan ke Perintang terputus. Dengan demikian, kegiatan persiapan pemberangkatan eretan dan pendirian depot mustahil dijalankan. Shackleton tidak ingin membuang-buang waktu pelaksanaan ekspedisi, dan oleh karena itu memerintahkan supaya usaha mendaki [[Gunung Erebus]] dilaksanakan sesegera mungkin.{{sfn|Riffenburgh|pp=171–177}} Gunung setinggi {{convert|12450|ft|m|}} tersebut belum pernah didaki manusia. Satu regu espedisi ''Discovery'' (dianggotai Wild dan Joyce) sudah pernah mengekplorasi area kaki gunung pada tahun 1904 tetapi mereka tidak beringsut naik melebihi {{convert|3000|ft|m|}}. Baik Wild maupun Joyce tidak termasuk di dalam regu utama pendakian Erebus di dalam ekspedisi ''Nimrod'', yang beranggotakan David, Mawson, dan Mackay. Dengan regu pendukung yang beranggotakan Marshall, Adams, dan Brocklehurst, usaha pendakian pun dilaksanakan pada tanggal 5 Maret.{{sfn|Riffenburgh|pp=171–177}}
Pada tanggal 7 Maret, regu utama dan regu pendukung bergabung di sekitar ketinggian {{convert|5500|ft|m|}} dan bersama-sama melanjutkan pendakian menuju puncak. Keesokan harinya, pendakian terpaksa ditunda lantaran [[badai salju]], tetapi kembali dapat dilanjutkan pada pagi hari tanggal 9 Maret. Petang harinya, puncak kawah utama yang lebih rendah berhasil dicapai.{{sfn|Riffenburgh|pp=171–177}} Ketika itu, kondisi kedua kaki Brocklehurst yang didera [[radang dingin]] sudah sangat parah, oleh karena itu ia tetap tinggal di perkemahan, sementara rekan-rekannya melanjutkan pendakian menuju kawah aktif, yang akhirnya berhasil dicapai sesudah mendaki selama empat jam. Mereka melaksanakan beberapa eksperimen meteorologis dan mengumpulkan banyak sampel bebatuan. Sesudah itu Perjalanan turun Thereafter a rapid descent was made, mainly by sliding down successive snow-slopes. Menurut Eric Marshall, rombongan akhirnya sampai pondok Cape Royds dalam keadaan "nyaris sekarat" pada tanggal 11 Maret.{{sfn|Riffenburgh|pp=171–177}}<!--
==== Musim dingin tahun 1908 ====
The expedition's hut, a prefabricated structure measuring 33 x 19 feet (10m x 5.8m), was ready for occupation by the end of February. It was divided into a series of mainly two-person cubicles, with a kitchen area, a darkroom, storage and laboratory space. The ponies were housed in stalls built on the most sheltered side of the hut, while the dog kennels were placed close to the porch.{{sfn|Shackleton|pp=81–91}} Shackleton's inclusive leadership style, in contrast to that of Scott, meant no demarcation between upper and lower decks—all lived, worked and ate together. Morale was high; as Brocklehurst recorded, Shackleton "had a faculty for treating each member of the expedition as though he were valuable to it".{{sfn|Riffenburgh|p=185}}
In the ensuing months of winter darkness Joyce and Wild printed around 30 copies of the expedition's book, [[Aurora Australis (book)|''Aurora Australis'']], which were sewn and bound using packaging materials.{{sfn|Mills|p=65}} The most important winter's work, however, was preparing for the following season's major journeys, which were to include attempts on both the South Pole and the South Magnetic Pole. By making his base in McMurdo Sound, Shackleton had been able to reinstate the Magnetic Pole as an expedition objective. Shackleton himself would be leading the South Pole journey, which had suffered a serious setback during the winter when four of the remaining ponies died, mainly from eating volcanic sand for its salt content.{{sfn|Riffenburgh|pp=171–177}}<!--
{{anchor|Southern journey}}
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