A DeVry "Lunchbox" model motion picture camera discovered on Walsh Glacier in Kluane National Park and Reserve/Teton Gravity Research, Leslie Hittmeier

A historic cache of camera equipment and mountaineering gear abandoned by legendary mountaineers Bradford Washburn and Robert Bates in 1937 has been found on the remote Walsh Glacier in Kluane National Park and Reserve in the Yukon.

The mountaineers abandoned the gear while attempting to escape the mountains with their lives. Outdoor exploration media company Teton Gravity Research (TGR) said the cache of gear was discovered during a recent expedition led by mountain explorer Griffin Post.

A significant portion of Washburn’s Fairchild F-8 aerial camera was extracted from the ice. It’s believed to be Washburn’s first aerial photography camera — a format in which he gained worldwide notoriety. Two motion picture cameras — a DeVry “Lunchbox” model and a Bell & Howell Eyemo 71A, with film still loaded in both motion cameras — were retrieved along with several pieces of mountaineering equipment.

Griffin was joined by glaciologist Dora Medrzycka, who leveraged glacial mapping processes to determine where the cache may have moved over decades on the glacier. A University of Ottawa team, led by Luke Copland, supported her remotely.

The expedition team documented the location of the cache and then reported the find to Parks Canada. In collaboration with Kluane First Nation, Griffin, Medrzycka and a Parks Canada team returned to the glacier a few weeks later to retrieve what they could while following the best practices as determined by Parks Canada archaeologists.

“While there’s the obvious historical value in retrieving these artifacts, particularly the camera and film from one of the most legendary aerial photographers in history, the scientific value of the find is equally important, providing researchers with a data point to calculate glacier movements in the area that predates any other data point by decades,” Post said in a news release.

Canadian glaciologist Dorota (Dora) Medrzycka was part of the team that discovered the historic cache/Teton Gravity Research, Leslie Hittmeier

Until now, scientists only had data on the glacier's movements dating back to the 1960s. Now they will be able to better understand how the velocity and thickness of Walsh Glacier have changed over a longer period than is available from almost any other data source, TGR said in a news release, adding that the new information could help scientists working to decode the impact of climate change on glaciers and the world.

“The rediscovery of the Washburn-Bates cache after 85 years locked in the ice adds a tangible dimension to an exciting story of exploration and survival at almost unbelievable odds,” said Parks Canada archaeologist Sharon Thomson. “From a cultural resource management perspective, it presents a rare and valuable opportunity to study change over time on an archaeological site in a dynamic glacial environment.”

A TGR expedition film crew documented the discovery and recovery and a film is in the works. 

Parks Canada conservators — working from labs in Ottawa and Winnipeg — are now working to preserve the artifacts. The agency hopes to share these objects and stories of historical significance with the public.

Kluane is cooperatively managed by Parks Canada, Champagne and Aishihik First Nations, and Kluane First Nation. Part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it’s home to extensive icefields with 17 of the 20 tallest mountains in Canada. An important element of the human experience in the park is the history of mountaineering in the icefields, which are part of the traditional homelands of the Lhù’ààn Mân Ku Dań, the Kluane Lake People.