Roald Amundsen - Through the Maze: The Northwest Passage

Second Voyage
June 16, 1903 - October 1906

Amundsen's Gjöa was the first ship to travel through the Northwest Passage Copyright/Source

After his voyage to Antarctica, Amundsen was able to be captain of his own ship. He bought the ship Gjöa, a fishing boat, and loaded it with supplies and equipment for a long voyage. Amundsen and his ship spent two winters in the arctic, taking measurements. He discovered that the magnetic North Pole moved a small amount each year. He also learned how to use a dog sled from the local Inuit.

In 1905, Gjöa started going west again. The ship reached the mouth of the Mackenzie River before becoming locked in the ice again. During the winter, Amundsen travelled through the Yukon and Alaska using a dog sled. In the spring of 1906, the Gjöa was freed from the ice. It reached San Francisco in October 1906, making it the first ship to travel through the Northwest Passage.

What a Mail Route!
During the winter, Amundsen journeyed 500 miles, to the nearest telegraph office to send news to the world of their success in conquering the Northwest Passage. On his way back, he noticed a black spot moving on the snow ahead.

"Another hour and we came up to a solitary man, his face black with smoke, accompanied not even by a dog, and dragging his toboggan behind him. This was Mr. Darrell, the mail carrier, taking mail from the mouth of the Mackenzie River over to the trading posts on the other side of the mountains. I could not believe my eyes. Here was a man, hundreds of miles from the nearest human being, cheerfully trudging through the Arctic winter across an unblazed wilderness, and thinking nothing at all of his exploit."

Amundsen, Roald. My Life as an Explorer, Garden City, New York: Double, Doran, 1928, p. 59.

It Wasn't Meant to Be
Amundsen was very impressed with the Scottish mailman, Mr. Darrell. They later wrote to each other and the mailman was to have a place on Amundsen's expedition to the South Pole. Unfortunately, before the time came, Mr. Darrell was lost at the mouth of the Mackenzie River and never seen again.