Warden Pass facts for kids

Warden Pass is a snowy mountain path in Antarctica. It's about 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) high. This pass goes from east to west, located between Fuchs Dome and Flat Top in the Shackleton Range.

Scientists from the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition first explored this area in 1957. The pass was later named by the United Kingdom Antarctic Place-Names Committee (UK-APC). It honors Michael A. Warden, who worked for the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). He was a general assistant at Halley Station from 1970 to 1972 and explored this very area.

An Exciting Journey Through Warden Pass

In 1970, Mike Warden and his team were exploring the Shackleton Mountains. They had been traveling for a month with their dog sleds. Two groups of explorers planned to meet up on Christmas Day. Their meeting spot was a supply base on the Slessor Glacier.

Bad weather delayed them, but Mike Warden and Peter Clarkson, a geologist, made a promise. They said they would reach the base by New Year's Eve, "come hell or high water." This promise turned out to be quite a challenge!

Sledging on New Year's Eve

On New Year's Eve, they started their journey at 11:15 AM. The sun was high, making the snow soft and sticky. This made it very hard for their two dog teams to pull the sleds. They moved very slowly.

Luckily, the uphill parts were gentle, and the downhill parts were fun. They decided to take a shortcut over a mountain path. This path is now known as Warden Pass.

At 8:00 PM, they reached the top of the pass. From there, they could see the other team's tent far away at the supply base. They then sledged down a long, steep slope onto the Slessor Glacier. The last part of the journey up the glacier had better snow.

Reaching the Depot

Their two dog teams were completely tired. They didn't even have energy for a final burst when they saw the base. They finally reached the depot at 10:45 PM.

Mike Warden wrote in his journal: "Both teams were exhausted. Eleven and a half hours of traveling, what a tough trip. 'Hell or high water' we said, and so it was. An amazing end to 1970." They had traveled 24.8 miles (about 40 kilometers). The dogs were rewarded with extra food, which they truly deserved.

The End of Dog Sledding in Antarctica

This trip in 1970 was the third and last time dog teams were used in the Shackleton Mountains. A few years later, all dogs were removed from Antarctica. This happened because of an international agreement. The agreement stated that all animals not originally from Antarctica should be removed.

Many of the sled dogs were born and raised on the continent for several generations. Even so, they were considered non-native. Removing the dogs ended an important era of exploration. Dog sledding was a very reliable and exciting way to travel in Antarctica.

To honor the dogs' huge help in exploring the continent, a statue of a husky stands outside the British Antarctic Survey headquarters in Cambridge, UK.

 This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Geological Survey document "Warden Pass" (content from the Geographic Names Information System). Lua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).