Mount Lucania

{{Infobox mountain

| name = Mount Lucania

| photo = Mount Steele from the northeast, Yukon.JPG

| photo_caption = Mount Steele (centre), with Mount Lucania just left of it and behind it

| elevation_m = 5240

| elevation_ref = {{cite opentopomap|Mount Lucania|61.0233333|-140.4655556|2022-06-03|12}}

| prominence_m = 3040

| prominence_ref = {{cite peakbagger |id=517 |name=Mount Lucania |access-date=2011-05-09}}

| range = Saint Elias Mountains

| parent_peak = Mount Logan (5959 m)

| listing = {{unbulleted list

| World most prominent peaks 86th

| North America highest peaks 7th

| North America prominent peaks 15th

| Canada highest major peaks 3rd

}}

| map = Canada Yukon

| map_caption = Location in Yukon

| mapframe = yes

| mapframe-zoom = 8

| mapframe-caption = Interactive map of Mount Lucania

| country = Canada | region_type = Territory | region = Yukon

| coordinates = {{coord|61.0233333|N|140.4655556|W|type:mountain_region:CA-YT_scale:100000_source:cgndb|format=dms|display=inline,title}}

| coordinates_ref = {{cite cgndb |id=KADWU |name=Mount Lucania |access-date=2011-05-09}}

| topo_map = NTS {{Canada NTS Map Sheet|115|F|01}}

| first_ascent = 1937 by Bradford Washburn and Robert Hicks Bates

| easiest_route = Glacier, snow and ice climb

}}

__NOTOC__

Mount Lucania is a mountain in the Yukon territory, Canada. At {{convert|5240 |m|ft|0}}, it is the third-highest mountain in both Canada{{efn|Second-highest mountain entirely within Canada, as Mount Saint Elias's summit is shared with the US state of Alaska}} and the Saint Elias Mountains. A long ridge connects Mount Lucania with Mount Steele ({{convert|5073|m|ft|abbr=off|disp=sqbr}}), the fifth-highest in Canada.

Lucania was named by the Duke of Abruzzi, as he stood on the summit of Mount Saint Elias on July 31, 1897, having just completed the first ascent. Seeing Lucania in the far distance, beyond Mount Logan, he immediately named it "after the ship on which the expedition had sailed from Liverpool to New York," the RMS Lucania.{{cite book |last=Roberts |first=David |title=Escape from Lucania |url=https://archive.org/details/escapefromlucani00robe |url-access=registration |year=2002 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=1-4165-6767-4 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/escapefromlucani00robe/page/57 57]}}

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, {{convert|2670|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} 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, and in an epic descent and journey to civilization,{{cite book |first=Stephen |last=Venables |author-link=Stephen Venables |title=Voices from the Mountains |location=Pleasantville, NY |publisher=Reader's Digest |year=2006 |isbn=0-7621-0810-X |pages=[https://archive.org/details/voicesfrommounta00step/page/40 40–43] |url=https://archive.org/details/voicesfrommounta00step/page/40 }} they hiked over {{convert|150|mi|km}} through the wilderness to safety in the small town of Burwash Landing in the Yukon.{{cite news |first=Craig |last=Medred |date=October 7, 2007 |title=Climber's exploits earned little recognition |newspaper=Anchorage Daily News |url=http://dwb.adn.com/outdoors/story/9362435p-9276110c.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211142631/http://dwb.adn.com/outdoors/story/9362435p-9276110c.html |archive-date=2009-02-11 |access-date=2011-05-09}}

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.{{Cite web |last=Dreier |first=Frederick |date=2022-10-27 |title=Famed Explorer Bradford Washburn Left a Cache of Gear on a Glacier 85 Years Ago. This Pro Skier Found It. |url=https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/exploration-survival/bradford-washburn-explorer-cache-found-saint-elias/ |access-date=2022-10-30 |website=Outside Online |language=en-US}}{{cite web |last1=Osborne |first1=Margaret |title=Explorers Find Cameras Abandoned by Mountain Climbers in 1937 |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/explorers-find-cameras-abandoned-by-mountain-climbers-in-1937-180981048/ |website=Smithsonian Magazine |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |access-date=1 November 2022 |date=31 October 2022}}

;Subsequent Notable Ascents

The second ascent of Lucania was made in 1967 by Jerry Halpern, Mike Humphreys, Gary Lukis, and Gerry Roach.{{cite aaj|last1=Halpern|first1=Jerry|title=Second Ascent of Lucania and Third of Steele|date=1968|volume=16|page=158|article_id=12196815801|access-date=5 November 2016}}

In April–May 2021, Pascale Marceau and Eva Capozzola summited the peak, the first all-woman team of climbers to do so.{{cite news |date=May 6, 2021 |title=Climbing Duo Finds 'Calmness and Harmony' on Canada's 3rd-Highest Peak |website=CBC News |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/mount-lucania-climbers-marceau-capozzola-1.6016606|access-date=2022-06-03}}

Notes

References

Literature

David Roberts, Escape from Lucania: An Epic Story of Survival (2002), Simon & Schuster, {{ISBN|0-7432-2432-9}}.

External links

{{Commons category-inline}}

Category:Five-thousanders of Yukon

Category:Saint Elias Mountains