BRITISH ST. ELIAS RANGE EXPEDITION 2013

Having climbed a significant new route on the West Face o f Mount Alverstone in
2005 and the first alpine-style ascent o f the SW Ridge o f Good Neighbour Peak
(Mount Vancouver’s southern summit) in 2009, Paul Schweizer and I were keen to
return to the Wrangell St Elias Ranges on the Alaskan-Yukon border. This vast,
remote, heavily glaciated, moimtain wilderness is ideal for exploratory, lightweight
alpine-style mountaineering and still has many un-climbed challenges - one being the
North Spur o f Mount Saint Elais (5010m). This vast ridge, with a 3000m vertical
height gain had seen a couple o f previous half-hearted attempts, but offers a
compelling mountaineering objective (see map and photo). Ski planes are required to
access the glaciers at the foot o f these mountains and having flown into the range
previously from Kluane Lake in the Yukon and Haines in Alaska, both reached from
the Yukon capital o f Whitehorse. In 2013 we opted for a different approach from the
west at a road head named Chitina reached from Anchorage. The spring climbing
season works best around Paul’s academic commitments. We booked some
international flights to Anchorage in Alaska, registered with the Kluane National Park
authorities in Canada and we were on our way.
Having agreed by phone as to what technical climbing equipment, stoves etc were
required, a simple plan was devised. Paul and Simon would meet at Edinburgh
airport, travel to Anchorage in Alaska, purchase the remaining supplies and make
their way into the mountains. To climb the route we need to be dropped off by ski-
plane on the Columbus Glacier to the north o f the peak, nominally in the Yukon. The
closest bush pilots were the Alaskan operator - Ultima Thule Outfitters, headed by
Paul Claus who we chose to fly in with.