# Two Against the Ice

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{{Short description|Arctic expedition book}}
{{About|the book|the film|Against the Ice}}
{{Infobox book
| name              = Two Against the Ice
| author            = Ejnar Mikkelsen
| genre             = Non-fiction
| english_pub_date  = 1957
| publisher         = Rupert Hart-Davis
| image             = Two against the Ice book cover.jpg
}}

'''''Two Against the Ice''''' is a non-fiction book authored by [Danish](/source/Denmark) explorer [Ejnar Mikkelsen](/source/Ejnar_Mikkelsen). The book details the author's exploration into [Greenland](/source/Greenland), a journey made with his compatriot Iver P. Iversen in 1910. The book was originally published in Danish (1955) and later translated into English by Maurice Michael (first published in 1957).

== Summary ==
Mikkelsen recounts his round-trip 2,500 mile sledge journey from [Shannon Island](/source/Shannon_Island) to [Danmark Fjord](/source/Danmark_Fjord). A task which soon became a battle for survival as rations ran low, and the sled dogs began to starve to death, or were intentionally shot in order to provide food for the other dogs. The two adventurers became so hungry that they began to hallucinate. In a notable moment that typifies the hunger pangs that the men were suffering, Iversen no longer wished to carry his rifle out of a fear he may be compelled to shoot Mikkelsen.

The purpose of their travels was to locate the maps and journals of previous explorer [Mylius Erichsen](/source/Ludvig_Mylius-Erichsen) of the ill-fated [Denmark Expedition](/source/Denmark_Expedition). They found these articles in a cairn. Taking the journals with them they eventually made it back to their ship, only to find it crushed in pack ice, and with no sign of the other members of their expedition. The pair waited for two years in a small hut until finally being rescued by a sealing vessel.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ejnar Mikkelsen {{!}} Danish explorer and author {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ejnar-Mikkelsen |access-date=2022-04-11 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

== Historical relevance ==

=== Journals ===
The journals that were recovered by Mikkelsen included [Brønlund](/source/J%C3%B8rgen_Br%C3%B8nlund)’s diary and [Hagen](/source/Niels_Peter_H%C3%B8eg_Hagen)’s cartographic drawings, which helped settle the question of whether [Peary Land](/source/Peary_Land)—a vast area explored by American Robert E. Peary for the first time around 1892—was a peninsula or an island. In showing that it was peninsula, the expedition affirmed Denmark's claim to the land, rather than, potentially, America's.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shyr |first=Luna |date=2020-12-18 |title=A Mysterious Black Spot Offers Clues to a Doomed Explorer's Last Moments |url=http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/arctic-journal-mystery |access-date=2022-04-11 |website=Atlas Obscura |language=en}}</ref>

== Adaptation ==
A film adaptation, ''[Against the Ice](/source/Against_the_Ice)'', was released on [Netflix](/source/Netflix) on March 2, 2022. The film was watched for 30.73 million hours in its first five days, placing second on Netflix's top ten.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Global: February 28 - March 6, 2022|url=https://top10.netflix.com/films/2022-03-06 |access-date=2022-04-11 |website=Netflix Top 10}}</ref>

== References ==
<references />

Category:1957 non-fiction books
Category:Arctic expeditions
Category:History books about exploration
Category:Exploration of Greenland

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Two Against the Ice](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_Against_the_Ice) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_Against_the_Ice?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.