Fonds pertains to 3 photograph prints of members of the St. Elias expedition in the Yukon, a large-format black and white print of a mountain range [possibly including St. Elias], 11 typed letters to Wright from W.E. (Smoke) Blanchard dated January-May 1965 discussing the expedition, 2 typed one-pa…
1 cm of textual records (18 pages ; 21.6 x 27.9 cm) ; 4 photographs : b&w and col. ; 29.2 x 21.8 cm or smaller
History / Biographical
Dr. Gerald Wright (1917-2007) grew up in Brecon, South Wales, and studied medicine in Wales and London, England, throughout the 1940s. He served in the British Army in the Royal Army Medical Corps from 1942-1946 in North Africa and Italy.
In 1951 Wright moved to Lethbridge, Alberta, due to its close proximity to the Canadian Rockies, where he maintained a general practice as a member of the Hunt Clinic. He went on to serve as Chief of Medicine at St. Michael's Hospital and the Lethbridge Municipal Hospital until his retirement in 1988.
Shortly after arriving in Canada he became a member of the Alpine Club of Canada and attended many annual camps, often as camp doctor. He also participated in ACC expeditions to Mount St. Elias (1967, unsuccessful), Mount Alberta (1967, successful as part of the Alberta Team), and Mt. Waddington (1969). He also successfully summited Mt. Robson on his third attempt at the mountain. Wright hiked extensively throughout Nepal, Switzerland, South America, and New Zealand in addtion to the Rockies.
He was also a member of the Skyline Trail Hikers of the Canadian Rockies and was a founding member of the Castle-Crown Wilderness Coalition, where he served on the Board of Directors, helping to plan and lead many annual hiking trips.
Scope & Content
Fonds pertains to 3 photograph prints of members of the St. Elias expedition in the Yukon, a large-format black and white print of a mountain range [possibly including St. Elias], 11 typed letters to Wright from W.E. (Smoke) Blanchard dated January-May 1965 discussing the expedition, 2 typed one-page summaries of the attempt on the mountain [one written by Blanchard and includes a hand-drawn map of the area around the mountain], a Xerox copy of a letter written on University of Oregon Medical School letterhead listing the members of the St. Elias party and recommended medical tests to have completed prior to the expedition, a two-page typed list of gear & equipment, and a hand-written list of expedition members and the University of Oregon Medical School doctor and their contact information.