Glaciology in the St. Elias Range. A long-term program for the scientific investigation of a glacial area in terms of its total environment was initiated in 1961 under the dual sponsorship of the American Geographical Society and the Arctic Institute of North America. The program is under the direction of Walter A. Wood, and the months of July and August were devoted to a reconnaissance of a portion of the Icefield Ranges, St. Elias Mountains. The 1961 field party based its operations at the south end of Kluane Lake, Yukon Territory, from which point the project’s aircraft— a Helio Courier equipped with wheel-skis—airlifted some sixteen tons of equipment and personnel to a site at 8500 feet on the watershed between the Hubbard and Kaskawulsh Glaciers. At this point a semi-permanent research facility was erected and preliminary studies were initiated with the aim of assessing the scope and emphasis of the proposed extended program. Members of the party included Walter A. Wood and Robert W. Mason, both A.A.C., and Richard H. Ragle, pilot and glaciology, Ralph Lenton, meteorology and electronics, Philip Upton, pilot, and Philip Dodd, field assistant.

Walter A. Wood