Mount Blackburn’s East Ridge

Craig Gaskill

ON MAY 21, 1982, we stood on the summit of Mount Blackburn. The mountain rises to 16,390 feet (4996 meters) in the Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park and Preserve in southern Alaska. Michael and Glenn Ruckhaus, David Johns and I took in the views and experiences from this high point and began our descent.

Our expedition had started on May 2 when we were flown from the Galkona airport to 7000 feet on the Nebesna Glacier, below Mount Blackburn. In less than twelve hours after we had left Denver and our civilized lives, we had been transported to a vast expanse of snow and ice, where the word civilization was a thought buried by crashing avalanches. Our route would take us up the unclimbed east ridge of Blackburn via Rime Peak and the east summit of Blackburn.

Our first three camps were established without problems. A minor storm, hidden crevasses and deep snow hampered our progress a little, but after five days we had gained 4900 feet, climbing with 500 pounds of gear between the four of us. Camp IV was established by climbing the north face of Rime Peak and descending onto the east ridge of Mount Blackburn. We put in 1500 feet of fixed rope to ease the carrying of our gear to the camp.

Camp IV was situated on the low side of a long and difficult ridge which we had to cross. We nicknamed it “Phantom Ridge” because when we first saw it in a blizzard, the snow towers on the ridge loomed through the mist like snow phantoms. Signs of trepidation were noticeable throughout the group after seeing the ridge. For two-and-a-half days we were stuck in the tent as a storm raged. Yet, we lounged about in easy thought and relaxation as the storm masked the ridge and our fears. When the storm finally subsided, we were mentally ready for the challenge of Phantom Ridge. It was windy, exciting and feasible. Climbing the ridge was a slow process which took careful stepping and utmost concentration. We fixed 2000 feet of rope on the knife-edged, corniced ridge. When we finally established Camp V on the high side of the ridge, we believed the crux of the climb was behind us.

From a technical standpoint, the crux was passed, but the hardest was still to come. At Camp VI, on a spin-drift knoll at 15,700 feet, a howling storm stranded us for four-and-a-half days. We could not see the ridge, just ten yards away. We were unable to cook outside. Cold blasts of wind and snow penetrated whenever a tunnel tent door was opened. We exhausted our books and grew tired of card games and oblivious to the flapping of the tent, dreaming of chocolate bars and steak. I huddled for 105 hours in my sleeping bag. I was pleased to be there and glad to be warm. Climbers do not conquer mountains. Mountains conquer climbers.

The storm finally broke. The day we left Camp VI, we made the summit and looked down upon the world below. What a view, what a sense of triumph, of exultation, of accomplishment! We left the summit full of good feeling and camaraderie. Our descent down a different ridge, the north “Japanese” ridge, began with an easy walk but soon turned into a climbers’ nightmare. A ground blizzard moved in with zero visibility on the slope. We could see distant peaks, but not a crevasse three feet in front of us. As the ridge got steeper, more ice séracs and crevasses appeared, forcing us to camp on the windy ridge far above our destination. The next morning was stormy, but at least we could just see a route down a face and off the side of the ridge. Despite the avalanche danger, the alternatives were worse. We descended as quickly as possible out of danger.

For the next five days we skied and hiked out the Nebesna Glacier to our pickup point, 50 miles distant. Though anticlimactic after the climb, it would have made an excellent trek with light packs. Mount Blackburn, Rime Peak, the Atna Peaks, Mount Sanford, Mount Jarvis and the smoking volcano, Mount Wrangell, loomed above us. The upper reaches of the Nebesna Glacier were smooth and snow-covered; the lower sections of rock and ice were jagged. Hundreds of Dali sheep danced on the cliff tops. The wild glacier streams gouged out canyons in the ice. There were the high alpine reaches where the tundra began and the forested expanses where the grizzly ran wild.

When we finally were flown out from Orange Hill, we were tired, restless and sad about leaving, but we shall never forget the twenty-six action-packed days.

Summary of Statistics:

Area: Wrangell Mountains, Alaska.

New Route: Mount Blackburn, 4996 meters or 16,390 feet, over Rime Peak

and East Ridge, descent via North Ridge, Summit on May 21, 1982 (whole

party).

Personnel: Craig Gaskill, Michael Ruckhaus, Glenn Ruckhaus, David Johns.