Keith Warburton (1927-1959) was a physician, mountaineer and adventurer who participated in the 1953-54 survey of South Georgia Island, and led an ill-fated expedition in 1959 to attempt the first ascent of Batura Sar (Batura I), the highest point in the Batura Muztagh, the westernmost sub-range of the Karakoram.
South Georgia Survey
editWarburton was the medical officer for the 1953-1954 expedition of the South Georgia Survey, but he became ill at the outset of the expedition, and was sent home shortly after arrival. He was again a member of the South Georgia survey team during the 1955-56 expedition, when he served as second-in-command, medical officer and mountaineer.[1]
Dispatch from Pakistan:
"Dawn in the high mountains has a beauty all its own. To the east, the sharp rock peaks become slowly rimmed with light, and the sky, above and beyond Yarkand and China, becomes a pale water-colour green. Tomorrow, in the first light of day, we plan to carry our loads through this short, unpleasant and rather dangerous region to the greater safety of the snows above."[2]
He is the namesake of Warburton Peak on South Georgia Island.
References
edit- ^ "Picture library catalogue: South Georgia Survey 1951-57". Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge. Retrieved August 16, 2012.
- ^ "The Most Perilous Sport". Sports Illustrated. August 17, 1959. Retrieved August 16, 2012.