Mount Lucania

Climbing History

;First Ascent The first ascent of Mount Lucania was made in 1937 by Bradford Washburn and Robert Hicks Bates. They used an airplane to reach Walsh Glacier, 2670 m above sea level; the use of air support for mountaineering was novel at the time. Washburn called upon Bob Reeve, a famous Alaskan bush pilot, who later replied by cable to Washburn, "Anywhere you'll ride, I'll fly". The ski-equipped Fairchild F-51 made several trips to the landing site on the glacier without event in May, but on landing with Washburn and Bates in June, the plane sank into unseasonal slush. Washburn, Bates and Reeve pressed hard for five days to get the airplane out and Reeve was eventually able to get the airplane airborne with all excess weight removed and with the assistance of a smooth icefall with a steep drop. Washburn and Bates continued on foot to make the first ascent of Lucania on July 8 and moved on to Mount Steele, completing the second ascent on July 11. they hiked over 150 mi through the wilderness to safety in the small town of Burwash Landing in the Yukon.

Washburn's party was forced to abandon a great deal of gear—more than 1,000 pounds of cameras, surveying equipment and other supplies—on Walsh Glacier. In 2022, an expedition led by U.S. professional skier Griffin Post located Washburn's lost equipment, which had been carried 14 miles from its original location by the glacier. Assisted by officials from Canada's National Park Service and a team of archaeologists, much of the gear was collected and cleaned.

;Subsequent Notable Ascents The second ascent of Lucania was made in 1967 by Jerry Halpern, Mike Humphreys, Gary Lukis, and Gerry Roach.

Lucania was climbed via the southeast ridge, named Harmony Ridge, for the first time on May 5, 1977 by brothers Steven and Craig Gaskill. They returned to the summit on May 7 with Phil Raevsky and Mike Ruckhaus.

In April–May 2021, Pascale Marceau and Eva Capozzola summited the peak, the first all-woman team of climbers to do so.

References

;Notes

Literature

References

1. {{cite opentopomap. Mount Lucania. 61.0233333. -140.4655556. 2022-06-03. 12
2. {{cite peakbagger
3. {{cite cgndb
4. Roberts, David. (2002). "Escape from Lucania". Simon & Schuster.
5. Venables, Stephen. (2006). "Voices from the Mountains". [[Reader's Digest]].
6. Medred, Craig. (October 7, 2007). "Climber's exploits earned little recognition". [[Anchorage Daily News]].
7. Dreier, Frederick. (2022-10-27). "Famed Explorer Bradford Washburn Left a Cache of Gear on a Glacier 85 Years Ago. This Pro Skier Found It.".
8. (31 October 2022). "Explorers Find Cameras Abandoned by Mountain Climbers in 1937". Smithsonian Institution.
9. (1968). "Second Ascent of Lucania and Third of Steele".
10. (May 6, 2021). "Climbing Duo Finds 'Calmness and Harmony' on Canada's 3rd-Highest Peak".