Evening star., 1932-05-19
CARPE AND KOVEN
HEROES IN. DEATH
Scientists Gave Their Lives
in Hunt for Lost Friends,
Says LindIey.
BY ALBERT d. LINDLEY.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
MOUNT MCKINLEY PARK, Alaska,
May 19 (NANA) ).-Solicitud for the
safety of their companions led to the
deaths of Allen Carpe and Theodore
Koven on Mount Mckinley, where they
had gone to make cosmic ray studies.
Our expedition was naturally glad to
be first up the mountain this year. we
were all rather elated by our success
in climbing both peaks, feat no Ior-
mer expeditions have attempted. 80
when we finally got down to the heao
of Muldron Glacier after strenuous
all-night session on Karstens Ridge,
we were eager to wake up Carpe ana
Koyen and tell them of our achieve
ment.
But to our great surprise we found
their tents with two days untrailed
new snow around them. Yet their
entire outfit was there as if they had
Just stepped out of bed-pack boards,
stove, food, all in good order.
Gone to Look for Friends.
We looked for notes. One, all crum-
pied up, said they had been packing
food up the ridge, preparatory to tneir
climb, and would return that night
But we had found their cache on the
ridge and had seen their old tracks
coming down Therefore we knew they
must have returned from that trip. Inc
presence of their pack boards in tne
tent also was sure sign they hao
come back.
we opened their diaries (Which were
personal and are being forwarded to
their families) and their last entry
verified this. They had returned Sat
,,-la- Nav Thau had UOnP mart
way up the ridge and had gotten back
safely. But their friends, who were
coming up the glacier to join them,
were overdue, and Carpe and Koven
were becoming anxious. So Sunday
morning, May 8, they had gone down
the glacier to look for their comrades.
OF these men, Edward P. BeckWltn
was later found i'll at the base camp OF
the Carpe expedition, and was taken py
plane to Fairbanks, Alaska. N. w.
Spadaveccia is missing. Percy T. Olton,
the remaining member of the Carpe
expedition, Is still at the base camp.
AS soon as we had determined that
Carpe and Koven had gone down the
glacier in search of the other members
of their party, we ate hurried meal,
our first in "a hours, put on our skis,
and started down. In miles we came
upon the scene of the tragedy, ana
saw Kovens body lying face down: We
reconstructed the tragedy as follows:
Carpe and Koven started down tne
glacier on skis, unroped, to look for
their friends. A heavy, fresh snowfall
had virtually obliterated the trail, con-
cealing many crevasses and making the
going very treacherous. They got
slightly off the trail and suddenly Carpe
fell through, skis and all
Koven tried desperately to help him.
In doing so he walked too close to the
edge of the crevaSse and also fell IN.
Carpe either was instantly killed or so
severely injured he could not help him
self Koven, though badly hurt, was
able to get out Nearly unconscious, he
staggered a little way back toward
camp. He fell partly into another
crevasse, recovered himself went on
little farther, then fell from exhaustion
and froze to death. Carpe died in the
crevasse
Possibly the situation was the othsr
way about. Perhaps Koven fell in first
and Carpe tried to help. But we all
sgreed on the first version.
Forced to Leave Body.
We did not actually see Carpe's body.
It was impossible to approach the
crevasse closely enough to look into it,
without endangering our entire party.
The surface nearby was fairly honey
combed with cracks. One of our party,
Grant Pearson, a park ranger, fell 40
feet to the bottom of wide crevasSe.
This happened while we were putting
Koven's body on a sled. Fortunately
Pearson was not badly hurt and We got
him out We carefully cached and left
the sled with the body. Then, all on
one rope, Erling Strom leading we
started down.
When we arrived at the camp in the
early morning mist, it had been just 40
hours since We broke camp at 1900
feet. 1t had been an ordeal
Now to take up the work OF our own
expedition. 1t took us almost week
to cut steps and pack our outfit up
Karstens Ridge. as there was difficult
stretch Of steep ice to traverse But We
were finally consolidated on Parker
Pass at $4,000 feet, at the top of the
ridge. I told in my first story of find
ing the thermometer left by Archdeacon
Hudson Stuck'S party in 1918 We found
that on May l, without any difficulty.
We had to shovel steps every foot of
the way down Karstens Ridge, as the
SHOWS and winds of the previous days
had covered all traces Of our old trail.
1t took us so long that night caught us
half way down. There was no stop
ping, so on We went, each man shovel
ing in turn. We reached the MuldroW
Glacier and the deserted camp Of Carpe
and Koven at 5 am. May II.
(Copyright 1882. by the North American