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Eklutna Glacier Military Training Site

1950's to 1960's
Name of Skiing Area: Eklutna Glacier Military Training Site
Location: Eklutna  Glacier (and Whiteout Glacier) in the Western Chugach Mountains east of Anchorage
Type of Area: A large glaciated area accessed by roads from the Glenn Highway to Eklutna Lake and then 13 miles along and past the lake to the glacier terminus
Dates of Operation: 1950's to 1960's (still researching)
Elevation:

Camping area at the end of the Eklutna Lake Road: ~900'; Whiteout Pass: ~5200'
Facilities: Military campground at the end of the Eklutna Lake Road.  Wooden and cable suspension bridge across the Eklutna River for access to the glacier
History: Military training for arctic warfare took place here in the 1950's and 1960's.  Little at present is know by ALSAP about the history of these military training operations.  A caption on a picture below indicates that in September 1963 Company A, 1st Batallion, 60th Infantry performed ski training here.  People still occasionally ski in this area, but military training no longer occurs here.

For history of the 23d Infantry in Alaska, Gary Carter maintains a blog on this military history at www.23d-infantry.blogspot.com/

If anyone has stories or pictures to share about military arctic warfare and ski training at the Eklutna Glacier, please contact us so the military skiing history of this area can be preserved and shared.  Thank you!
Sources of Information:

Tim Kelley / photo acquired from Dave Ludwig of San Antonio, TX (see below); Fred Trimble; Gary Carter

~  PHOTOS  ~
1963 Photo of 60th Infantry Troops Skiing Across Whiteout Glacier towards Whiteout Pass and the Eklutna Glacier

[Photo Credit: SP-5 Henry J. Hamilton]
Tim Kelley note: I'm guessing this shot was taken near Whiteout Pass looking south across Whiteout Glacier.  Possibly the peak in the center is Hut Peak.  If anyone believes differently ... please let me know.  Thanks.
Zoomed in view of the 1963 Hamilton picture, click on this picture to expand it even more

24864       FORT RICHARDSON, ALASKA
Arctic Infantrymen master the rugged weather
and terrain in the "Land of the Midnight Sun",
adapting modern Army concepts of mobility to
the far north.  Overwhite clad combat troops
of Co A, 1st Bn, 60th Inf, 172 Info DO (Mech),
perfect tactical skiing techniques during a
training exercise on a snowfield more than a
mile high in the Chugach Mts.  Base at Fort
Richardson, near Anchorage, Alaska, these
tough Infantrymen undergo constant training
geared to their mission as the Key to
Landpower on America's Northern boundary.
                               12 September 1963

Photo by SP-5 Henry J Hamilton

Above: Text on backside of the Hamilton picture

This topo map shows the East Branch of the Eklutna Glacier where military training operations took place.  The arrow points to the campground which is now Eklutna (Native) Inc. land.  The X marks the estimated location of the Hamilton picture above.  Next to the X there still exists a military reservation area that allows military helicopter landings.  Land surrounding the military reservation is now Chugach State Park.  Here is the survey document for the military landing area.

This satellite map shows the location of the Eklutna Glacier in the Western Chugach Mountains.

Research Correspondence 
[Tim Kelley - notes]

In the past I, and others, have found remnants of military crampons on the medial moraine of the Eklutna Glacier near its terminus.  Fred Trimble mentioned that old iron pitons could be found in the early 1970's in cracks in the rocks near where the campground existed.  Troops would practice setting pitons in this area.
[Gary Carter - 03 March 2009 email]
 
I was stationed with the 23d Infantry at Ft Rich Jan 61 to April 63, and am creating a blog of the 23ds history at that time.  There are and will be several photos of the Eklutna Mountain/Glacier training there.
 
Look at www.23d-infantry.blogspot.com.  There are more to come as I've only gotten started.
 

 

 

Do you have further information, stories or pictures that you would like to contribute about arctic warfare and military ski training on the Eklutna Glacier?