Photograph courtesy Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales

Two men lean into a blizzard to chop ice for drinking water, an essential daily chore during a three-year Australian-sponsored scientific expedition to Antarctica from 1911 to 1914.

Photograph courtesy Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales

Bred for strength and endurance, with thick fur to prevent frostbite, Greenland huskies pull a sledge on the ice early in the Australasian Antarctic Expedition. Of 38 dogs that began the expedition, only two survived to return home.

Image courtesy Australian Postal Corporation

In 1961, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the expedition, a 5d stamp was issued showing Mawson in his balaclava.

Photograph courtesy Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales

His face nearly covered by frost, Cecil Thomas Madigan, the expedition’s meteorologist, seeks shelter indoors. Such ice masks could form in as little as an hour out in the extreme conditions of Antarctica, where winds could reach 200 miles an hour and winter temperatures were typically -20°F or colder.

Photograph courtesy Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales

Born during the expedition, the beloved Blizzard, like all but two of the dogs, eventually had to be killed when they were no longer strong enough to pull sleds.

Photograph by Andrew Watson, National Geographic Stock

A sledge crew peers into a crevasse covered by a snowbridge only moments before. Douglas Mawson’s team traversed many crevasses before one swallowed colleague Belgrave Ninnis, six dogs, and vital gear, including their tent and most of their food.

Photograph by Morton Henry Moyes, Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW

Archibald Hoadley, Sydney Jones, and George Dovers were one of eight three-man teams sent out in different directions to map terra incognita. Only two men on the expedition had been to Antarctica before, and some had never before seen snow.

Photograph courtesy Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales

An icy tunnel was the only way into the Grottoes, a hut that was snowed over within days of being built.

Photograph courtesy Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales

At Main Base some 1,500 miles away, 18 men made maps, ran experiments, and cooked in a 24-by-24-foot living area. To unwind, they played records, gambled for chocolate, and listened to Mawson read aloud his favorite books.

Photograph courtesy Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales

In summer, a crew pitches a tent during a gale—a task that could take more than an hour in the incessant winds. Besides the bitter cold and strict food allotments, there was the ever present fear of getting lost.

Photograph by Archibald Lang Mclean, Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW

Two members of the Eastern Coastal Party manhandle a sledge. Trekking on the coastal ice shelf or polar plateau could be painfully slow, given the crevasses, ice blocks, and sastrugi—ridges of hard, windblown snow. Still, this team managed to cover 270 miles of unexplored terrain.

Photograph courtesy Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales

Adélie penguins provided a source of food for the expedition’s humans as well as its dogs. They also provided dubious amusement: The crew would sneak up on penguins standing near cliffs and knock them into the ocean.

Photograph courtesy Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales

A team member explores a massive ice cave less than a mile from Main Base hut, on the easternmost edge of Cape Denison.

Photograph courtesy Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales

Anchored off Cape Denison, the supply ship Aurora was the expedition’s only lifeline home. As Mawson raced to meet it at the tail end of his punishing solo slog to the Main Base, he spied the ship departing for Australia. He’d missed it by a mere five hours.

Photograph courtesy State Library of South Australia

A few years after his scientific expedition and ill-fated journey, Sir Douglas Mawson revisits artifacts on display in Adelaide.

Photograph by Paul Priday, Mawson’s Huts Foundation

Although their gear was state-of-the-art, some team members modified clothing like this balaclava to make it warmer.

Photograph by Paul Priday, Mawson’s Huts Foundation

Mawson tossed his crampons to save weight, then had to improvise a makeshift pair when faced with steep, solid ice.