The Daily Alaska empire., 1937-06-11
Flood Waters Are Threatening 7ulsequaf
'LUCANIA CLIMB
 IS NOT STUNT, SAYS WASHBURN
Young Explorer and Party to Map Last Unknown
 ,000Miles in Section


 Bradford Washburn, who started ! life as skier, then branched into mountain climbing with such suc- cess that he is now, at 27. rated las Americas No. l junior explorer was a visitor in Juneau while the steamer Aleutian, on which he is la passenger to Valdez, was in port He is on his way, perhaps to a new mountain climbing triumph, the scaling of 17,l50-foot Mt. Lu- cania in the southwest corner of the Yukon Territory, the highest un- climbed peak in North America The Wood-Yukon expedition at tempted to reach the top of Luc- |ania in 1885, but was driven back
 Sponsored Party
 In Washburn's party, which is sponsored by the New England Mu- |seum of Natural History at Boston iand the eInstitute of Geographical Exploration at Harvard. are Russel Dow, of Woodsville, New Jersey, Robert Beats, of Philadelphia, and Norman Bright, of Sunnydale. Call ifornia. Norm. Bright was former ly of Chehalis, Washington. and was an outstanding mile and two- mile cinder ace of the Pacific Northwest.
 Dow is Ahead
 Dow preceded the others north, landing in Valdez, the party's start ing point in the middle of May to establish the first base camp for the climb. With the aid of Pilot Robert Reeves, equipment and sup plies were freighted in to the camp $500 feet above sea level on Walsh Glacier during the month of May, the plane taking off and landing at the Valdez mud flats on skis and setting down on a small patch of smooth ice located on the sur face of the glacier, 250 miles inland from Valdez in Alaska's most rug ged section. and 1,700 feet high Ter than any other plane landing in Alaska.
 2 Others Coming
 Beats and Bright are to leave Se- attle on the steamer Yukon tomor- row morning and will follow Wash burn and Dow into the Walsh Gla- cier camp by plane.
 Our attempt to climb Lucania is not just a stunt" Washburn de- clared here. "The expedition is for the purpose of mapping the last un- known thousand square miles of that section I was with the Na- tional Geographic Yukon expedi- tion that, in 1885 charted, from the air and ground. 5000 square miles in that district. We and the Wood expedition mapped from the east up to the immediate vicinity of Lucania, while the Internation- al Boundary Commission has map ped the sections to the west, leav- ing the one. islanded, unknown section which we intend to map from the air. 4.8s
 ? Climbs Proposed
 We propose to climb both Lu- cania and Mt. Steele 16,6O0 feet) for our ground contacts. The two peaks lie about 12 miles apart and we will map south of both peaks and north of both peaks, using the line between them as our base line for the survey. We intend to pene- trate from the south into the pass between the two peaks and climb west to Lucania and east to Steele.
 Our attempt presents two main problems, getting in and getting out. We have solved the problem of getting in by using the plane, but we are not sure about getting out. If we have not completed our work by the first of August. we will no longer be able to use the plane, as the glacier landing will have become too rough by thawing If we could climb the peaks in winter, when plane landing is easy, our task would not be so difficult, but, the peaks can be scaled only in summer.
 Depends on Weather
 Much depends on the weather. Perhaps, if all goes well. we can be finished before the end of July and fly out. At any rate, we are going in just as quickly as we can. If we are not gone in time. our getting out will be a real problem.
 The only route up Lucania is a 4000 foot sheer rise. We will have
 Continued on Page Three)