{{short description|Mountain in Yukon Territory, Canada}} {{Use dmy|date=July 2025}} {{Infobox mountain | name = Mount Lucania | image = Mount Steele from the northeast, Yukon.JPG | image_caption = [[Mount Steele]] (centre), with Mount Lucania just left of it and behind it | elevation_m = 5240 | elevation_ref = <ref name=otm>{{cite opentopomap|Mount Lucania|61.0233333|-140.4655556|2022-06-03|12}}</ref> | prominence_m = 3053 | prominence_ref = <ref name="pb">{{cite peakbagger |id=517 |name=Mount Lucania |access-date=2011-05-09}}</ref> | range = [[Saint Elias Mountains]] | parent_peak = [[Mount Logan]] (5959 m) | listing = {{unbulleted list | [[List of mountain peaks by prominence|World most prominent peaks]] 86th | [[List of the highest major summits of North America|North America highest peaks]] 7th | [[List of ultras of North America|North America prominent peaks]] 15th | [[List of the highest major summits of Canada|Canada highest major peaks]] 3rd }} | map = Canada Yukon | map_caption = Location in Yukon | mapframe = yes | mapframe-zoom = 8 | mapframe-caption = Interactive map of Mount Lucania | country = [[Canada]] | region_type = Territory | region = [[Yukon]] | coordinates = {{coord|61.0233333|N|140.4655556|W|type:mountain_region:CA-YT_scale:100000_source:cgndb|format=dms|display=inline,title}} | coordinates_ref = <ref name=cgndb>{{cite cgndb |id=KADWU |name=Mount Lucania |access-date=2011-05-09}}</ref> | topo_map = [[National Topographic System|NTS]] {{Canada NTS Map Sheet|115|F|01}}<ref name=cgndb/> | first_ascent = 9 July 1937 by [[Bradford Washburn]] and [[Robert Bates (mountaineer)|Robert Hicks Bates]] | easiest_route = Glacier, snow and ice climb }} __NOTOC__ '''Mount Lucania''' is a mountain in the [[Yukon]] territory, [[Canada]]. At {{convert|5240 |m|ft|0}}, it is the third-highest [[mountain]] in both Canada{{efn|Second-highest mountain entirely within Canada, as [[Mount Saint Elias]]'s summit is shared with the US state of [[Alaska]].}} and the [[Saint Elias Mountains]]. A long ridge connects Mount Lucania with [[Mount Steele]] ({{convert|5073|m|ft|abbr=off|disp=sqbr}}), the fifth-highest in Canada.
Lucania was named by the [[Prince Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi|Duke of Abruzzi]], as he stood on the summit of [[Mount Saint Elias]] on July 31, 1897, having just completed the first ascent. Seeing Lucania in the far distance, beyond [[Mount Logan]], he immediately named it "after the ship on which the expedition had sailed from [[Liverpool]] to [[New York City|New York]]," the [[RMS Lucania|RMS ''Lucania'']].<ref name=Roberts2002>{{cite book |last=Roberts |first=David |title=Escape from Lucania |url=https://archive.org/details/escapefromlucani00robe |url-access=registration |year=2002 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=1-4165-6767-4 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/escapefromlucani00robe/page/57 57]}}</ref>
== Climbing History == ;First Ascent The first ascent of Mount Lucania was made in 1937 by [[Bradford Washburn]] and [[Robert Bates (mountaineer)|Robert Hicks Bates]]. They used an airplane to reach Walsh Glacier, {{convert|2670|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} above sea level; the use of air support for mountaineering was novel at the time. Washburn called upon [[Robert Campbell Reeve|Bob Reeve]], a famous Alaskan [[bush pilot]], who later replied by cable to Washburn, "Anywhere you'll ride, I'll fly". The ski-equipped [[Fairchild F-51]] made several trips to the landing site on the glacier without event in May, but on landing with Washburn and Bates in June, the plane sank into unseasonal slush. Washburn, Bates and Reeve pressed hard for five days to get the airplane out and Reeve was eventually able to get the airplane airborne with all excess weight removed and with the assistance of a smooth icefall with a steep drop. Washburn and Bates continued on foot to make the first ascent of Lucania on July 8 and moved on to [[Mount Steele]], completing the second ascent on July 11.<ref name=aaj_1938/> In an epic descent and journey to civilization,<ref name="venables">{{cite book |first=Stephen |last=Venables |author-link=Stephen Venables |title=Voices from the Mountains |location=Pleasantville, NY |publisher=[[Reader's Digest]] |year=2006 |isbn=0-7621-0810-X |pages=[https://archive.org/details/voicesfrommounta00step/page/40 40–43] |url=https://archive.org/details/voicesfrommounta00step/page/40 }}</ref> they hiked over {{convert|150|mi|km}} through the wilderness to safety in the small town of [[Burwash Landing]] in the Yukon.<ref>{{cite news |first=Craig |last=Medred |date=October 7, 2007 |title=Climber's exploits earned little recognition |newspaper=[[Anchorage Daily News]] |url=http://dwb.adn.com/outdoors/story/9362435p-9276110c.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211142631/http://dwb.adn.com/outdoors/story/9362435p-9276110c.html |archive-date=2009-02-11 |access-date=2011-05-09}}</ref>
Washburn's party was forced to abandon a great deal of gear—more than 1,000 pounds of cameras, surveying equipment and other supplies—on Walsh Glacier. In 2022, an expedition led by U.S. professional skier Griffin Post located Washburn's lost equipment, which had been carried 14 miles from its original location by the glacier. Assisted by officials from Canada's National Park Service and a team of archaeologists, much of the gear was collected and cleaned.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dreier |first=Frederick |date=2022-10-27 |title=Famed Explorer Bradford Washburn Left a Cache of Gear on a Glacier 85 Years Ago. This Pro Skier Found It. |url=https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/exploration-survival/bradford-washburn-explorer-cache-found-saint-elias/ |access-date=2022-10-30 |website=Outside Online |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="SI">{{cite web |last1=Osborne |first1=Margaret |title=Explorers Find Cameras Abandoned by Mountain Climbers in 1937 |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/explorers-find-cameras-abandoned-by-mountain-climbers-in-1937-180981048/ |website=Smithsonian Magazine |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |access-date=1 November 2022 |date=31 October 2022}}</ref>
;Subsequent Notable Ascents The second ascent of Lucania was made in 1967 by Jerry Halpern, Mike Humphreys, Gary Lukis, and [[Gerry Roach]].<ref name=Halpern1968>{{cite aaj|last1=Halpern|first1=Jerry|title=Second Ascent of Lucania and Third of Steele|date=1968|volume=16|page=158|article_id=12196815801|access-date=5 November 2016|links=off}}</ref>
Lucania was climbed via the southeast ridge, named Harmony Ridge, for the first time on May 5, 1977 by brothers Steven and Craig Gaskill. They returned to the summit on May 7 with Phil Raevsky and Mike Ruckhaus.<ref name=aaj_1978/>
In April–May 2021, Pascale Marceau and Eva Capozzola summited the peak, the first all-woman team of climbers to do so.<ref name=cbc2021>{{cite news |date=May 6, 2021 |title=Climbing Duo Finds 'Calmness and Harmony' on Canada's 3rd-Highest Peak |website=[[CBC News]] |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/mount-lucania-climbers-marceau-capozzola-1.6016606|access-date=2022-06-03}}</ref>
==See also== * [[Mountain peaks of Canada]]
==References== {{Reflist|30em|refs= <ref name=aaj_1938> {{cite aaj | article_id=12193811900 | title=The Ascent of Mount Lucania | department=Feature Article | first=Bradford | last=Washburn | year=1938 | volume=3 | issue=2 | pages=119-126 | access-date=2025-07-06}}</ref> <ref name=aaj_1978> {{cite aaj | article_id=12197840600 | title=Harmony Ridge — Lucania's Southeast Ridge | department=Feature Article | first=Steven | last=Gaskill | year=1938 | volume=21 | issue=2 | pages=406 | access-date=2025-07-06 | links=off}}</ref> }} ;Notes {{notelist}}
==Literature== *{{cite book|first=David|last=Roberts|author-link=David Roberts (climber)|title=Escape from Lucania: An Epic Story of Survival|year=2002|publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]]|isbn=0-7432-2432-9}}
{{NA highest}} {{NA prominent}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lucania, Mount}} [[Category:Five-thousanders of Yukon]] [[Category:Saint Elias Mountains]]