He tried to be the first person to conquer the South Pole by organizing his own expedition.

Shackleton intended to go even further and conquer both the South Pole and the Magnetic South Pole after taking part in the Discovery Expedition. He led the Nimrod Expedition in 1908 for this reason. He didn't succeed in his major objective, but he did make several significant discoveries.

Shackleton, Frank Wild, Eric Marshall, and Jameson Adams set out on the so-called Great Southern Voyage on October 29, 1908. On that day, they attained the southernmost latitude of 88°23′S. Only 180 kilometers (112 miles) separated us from the Pole on January 9, 1909. They visited Beardmore Glacier during this exploration, where they roughly located the Magnetic South Pole. They were the first to view the Antarctic Plateau, walk on it, and climb Mount Erebus, the continent's most active volcano. With only half of their provisions left, they avoided famine for the majority of the trip back to McMurdo Sound. Shackleton earns appreciation from Frank Wild for giving up one of the day's scheduled cookies for him when he was ill. To board the ship in time, they scheduled a meeting with Hut Point.

Upon his return to the UK, Shackleton was greeted as a hero. Heart of the Antarctic, his exploration diary, was made public. According to Emily Shackleton, he once said, "A living donkey is better than a dead lion, isn't it?" in reference to his failure to reach the North Pole.