Kluane National Park and Reserve, summary. Kluane’s icefields saw the least number of visitors in many years, with 50 people participating in 15 mountaineering expeditions, accounting for 1,017 person-days. The Mt. Logan massif saw only 11 parties, of which four summitted.

Of note this season was a true big-mountain expedition by two Poles. They arrived by boat at Alaska’s Malaspina Glacier and snow-shoed to Logan’s East Ridge. After summiting they descended the King Trench and the steep, broken icefalls of the Ogilvie Glacier to the massive Logan Glacier, which flows west into Wrangell-St. Elias National Park in Alaska. The pair then worked down the Chitina Glacier to the Chitina River where a raft and a much-needed food cache were waiting. An eventful rafting run down the river brought them to the end of their expedition, 34 days later and several pounds lighter.

Mts. Kennedy and Hubbard were the only peaks in the icefields other than Logan that saw attempts this year. A group from British Columbia had a successful early May climb of Kennedy.

No major search and rescue operations occurred during the climbing season. Registration is mandatory for all overnight mountaineering activity in Kluane National Park and Reserve. Anyone interested in mountaineering may phone 1-867-634-7279 or check out our website at www.pc.gc.ca/kluane.

Scott Stewart, Kluane National Park and Reserve