American Mount Logan Expedition. On June 11, bush pilot Don Sheldon, flew me from Chitina to the northwest side of Logan and landed on the Quintino Sella Glacier at about 9000 feet. The others, William E. “Smoke” Blanchard, Dr. Norton Benner, David V. Bohn, Jules M. Eichorn, Richard N. Kauffman and Clarence E. LeBell, were relayed by two other planes from Chitina to May Creek, near McCarthy, Alaska. This made a shorter haul to Logan for Sheldon, who had the only plane with ski-wheels. Sheldon completed his relays to Base Camp by 10:30 p.m. We commenced relaying our supplies up the Quintino Sella Glacier, into the King Glacier trough, and at King Col we continued via the Upper King Glacier to the long summit ridge. With generally good weather we established camps as follows: June 12, Camp I on the King Glacier at 12,000 feet; June 14, Camp II at King Col at 14,500 feet; June 17, Camp III on the Upper King Glacier at 16,000 feet; June 19, Camp IV on the same glacier at 17,000 feet. Eichorn developed a “strep” throat at Camp IV but continued on to Camp V on the Logan Plateau at 18,000 feet, where he became slightly delirious. During the period from June 19 to 24 Benner injected him with over a million units of penicillin. Eichorn and Benner reached no higher camp. From there, Blanchard and I traversed the great Logan Plateau and made the first ascent of the North Peak (ca. 19,000 feet), from which we had a tremendous view of the many peaks on the main summit ridge. On June 22 we five established Camp VI on the summit ridge at 18,600 feet, the highest ever made in North America, and on June 22 headed for the summit. Blanchard and I reached the West Peak (19,750 feet) at 12:45 and continued the four miles on to the Central Peak, the highest summit, where at 5 p.m. we found the temperature about — 20°F. with a 20 to 30 mph wind. I carried a six-foot bamboo pole to the top, as we did on McKinley in 1947. Meanwhile Bohn, Kauffman and LeBell on the other rope reached the West Peak at four; this was as far as they cared to go. After our return to Base Camp, we waited for several days until the weather would permit Sheldon to return for us. He managed to get Bohn and LeBell out on July 2. He returned on July 5 to complete relaying the rest of us.

William D. Hackett