Close-Up Sighting Documented

CLOSE-UP SIGHTING DOCUMENTED BY A MINERAL CLAIMS SURVEYOR
Montana Mountain, near Carcross, Yukon Territory, Canada. March 16, 1988

by Des Clark

Note: this case has been on our web site since 1999 but photographs
of a field trip to the location were added in Sept 2002.-Martin Jasek

Des Clarks' UFO sighting took place outside a cabin near "Feather Claim" on Montana Mountain shown above. The cabin is located high above the treeline. The UFO came in approximately over the ridge indicated. Montana Mountain is located just south of the community of Carcross in the Yukon Territory.

INTRODUCTION – by Martin Jasek

In March of 1999 an Engineer who I have known for some time came to our office at my day job with regards to "normal" business. He mentioned that he had read our recent UFO article in the local newspaper. He then went on to describe a UFO sighting which a friend of his had about 11 years ago near Carcross, Yukon, about a 45 minute drive south of the capital City of Whitehorse.

He also mentioned that he had a copy of the man’s work diary where the sighting was described in some detail. The witness, Des Clark, was contacted for his permission to obtain a copy of the diary. We are grateful that he agreed. He also gave his permission to use his name in the story. A copy of the diary was obtained from the files of an engineering firm in the City of Whitehorse.

At the time, Des was part of a survey team laying out a grid for a VLF magnetometer survey for a mineral claim for his client "Feather Gold". He was the only one, of about 6 people involved, who stayed on site 24 hours per day. The others normally left after daylight ran out and returned each morning. He maintained a cabin for the survey crew, was involved in the survey work during the day, and performed calculations on the data late into the evening. He spent about 30 days up on the mountain and maintained a diary of the day's activities for his client. It was in this diary that he documented his UFO sighting, just hours after it occurred. At the end of the project he handed the journal to his client, never to see a copy of it until 1999.

Cabin that served as a base camp for the mineral claims survey that was being conducted in this valley between the peaks of Montana Mountain

The excerpt from the diary starts off with a description of the normal day's activities on March 14 and 15th, 1988, the UFO sighting account early on March 16^th, followed by the normal day's activities on the 16^th. This places the sighting into some context and adds wonderfully to the candor of the narrative.

EXCERPT FROM DIARY OF DES CLARK:

Monday 14 March
Spent most of last evening doing interim report to ??? at 0230 hrs this morning – got up @ 0800 – J.W. in @ 0820 hrs closely followed by Larry and Bill B. and Lamberton crew. Waited until 0930 for Larry W. to return radio call – no luck. Went to work @ 0940 and called again @ 1000 hrs re: time of Larry’s (W.) visit – he’s not coming. Phoned twice more during day – loosing radio again @ 1530 hrs called Larry W. again – he may have radios by tonight – hope so. Screamed our lungs out on the hillside for 2 hours – gave up @ 1730 could have worked until 1900. Completed 43 sta’s today (including 4 substa’s) John TT and helper did well also.

Tuesday 15 March

John, Bill & Lamberton crew up @ approx 0830 – 0845. Both crews out to survey in south valley. Larry B. & Larry W. showed up @ 1130 hrs – gave us radios. Damned radios have got same frequency as Lamberton’s and don’t have any CNT channels that we can reach! This radio thing is one big screw up! Tough going for our crew today – they are on ground with not enough snow for skidoos. Only got 26 stations in today while Lamberton crew got 43 over easier ground. On this ground the no. of sta’s completed in working day is not necessarily indicative of effort.

Throttle cable broke on Whelans skidoo today @ 1700 – had to shut down to talk to Whse. Bill waited until 1800 for radios & EDM batteries from Lamberton crew. John Tom Tom & assistant stopped for tea & discussed progress of the day. 1930 made supper and washed dishes. Had ham and chips. After clean up made a big stew so that crew can share it if they wish. Put in carrots, potatoes, onions, celery & cubed steak after browning. Cabin very hot from cooking stew and wood stove – went for walk @ 2430 hrs.

Had experience of a lifetime! Coming back and almost to cabin, aircraft came over south ridge very slowly lost altitude and hovered around sta’s 26-1 à 26-2. Craft was so called UFO – blueish aura on periphery of inverted bowl – very low pulsing hum; no wind so everything quiet except for barely discernable humming noise. Cannot describe blue/grey light – didn’t seem to have any specific source – just all over edge and upper overt. Craft was below the ridge to the west of cabin so distance easy to determine due to our survey grid lines – large diameter – noticed blueish light or glow on my hands and clothing – dog and I are being observed I’m sure of it as the craft sideslipped to within 150-200 meters horizontal and possibly 30 meters above us – damn! Could almost touch the bloody thing – when craft slipped in, dog started barking and ran behind the wood pile at the cabin – first impulse was run to cabin and get shotgun – stupid – just stayed there – not frightened somehow – cannot determine if any control surfaces – seemed omni-directional – no port, starboard, nose or tail – movements were smooth and I sense very deliberate. Christ! I’ve been at this cabin 3 weeks and even as I write I know some will think I’ve gone crackers. I’m bloody sure we (dog and I) were being observed but so overwhelmed did not notice ports, windows or such. Seemed like forever that craft in the valley. The machine left in a tight 180 degree turn to the NE quadrant; through east and up through the south – gained altitude with tremendous acceleration although no propulsion noise except humming and no sound of air displacement -- the latter I found strange as it defies physical law! Will not call this UFO because it isn’t – it’s a bloody flying machine – true and simple. Although not frightened when all was happening; went into cabin and it took me 4 matches to light the propane stove – noticed that dog wasn’t around – went back outside to call him – no dog – back into cabin – had to hold my cup of tea with both hands to keep from slopping it all over. The time is 0222 hrs of the 16^th March and it has taken me and hour and a half to stop shaking enough to put this to paper – dog isn’t outside – he just crawled out from beneath the bunk – he has been hiding under the bed all this time! As I write this the impact of the experience is coming home – I know I’ll never be the same again and why wasn’t there someone else here to witness it also – if only dogs could talk!

In April 2000 a trip was conducted by UFO investigators to locate the cabin where the UFO sighting took place. It took over an hour to find the location. The road that starts in the far valley above near the Community of Carcross could not be followed on snowmobiles all the way to the site. Steep side-slopes due to snow drifts made it very treacherous. In places the road has completely washed out with very steep drops of about 100 metres. The investigators had to find a round about way through areas of deep snow as well as wind swept sections that had no snow, making for difficult snowmobiling.

Martin Jasek stands in front of Des Clark's Cabin.

Snow drift covers doorway to cabin.

Des was standing about 5 meters in front the door with his dog when the UFO sighting took place. The UFO came over the ridge at upper right and hovered down inside the valley and above the height of the cabin casting a bluish-grey light on this alpine bowl including Des and his dog.

Another view of the Cabin and ridge on Montana Mountain.

Inside of Cabin on Montana Mountain. In the centre there is a table and chair where Des Clark likely wrote the diary entry describing the UFO account. At right is the bed which the dog had been hiding under.

Wed 16 March

Got up late this morning – didn’t get 2 hrs sleep last night with all the excitement. John up and followed by everyone else. Didn’t think I’d make it but once I felt the fresh air it felt O.K. We worked the valley and east slope around camp to fill in holes left in the survey grid. John TT and partner off to survey on the south and central area. Heard the sta’s he’s calling out on the radio – the son of a gun is poaching on our easy pickings – he’s surveying the plateau and getting all kinds of sta’s in while Bill is tearing his ass off walking and climbing the side-hill. Bill is going to be so skinny on this job he’ll have to run around in the shower to get wet! About 1030 hrs I went back to cabin to make out cheat sheet showing holes in the grid – on the way by I gave that black skidoo a good kick – made me feel better – I’ve grown to hate that machine – good thing I don’t carry the gun in the field. Got back to survey point to find that J.W. had rolled his new skidoo – only cracked the cowl but a shame anyway cause it looks so new and shiny – John wasn’t hurt – guess he just stepped off when it rolled down the hill, -- I must remember that trick!

FURTHER DETAILS

Further details of Des’ sighting came forth through telephone interviews. Des also gave a compelling verbal description on the Sightings on the Radio show with host Jeff Rense. You can hear Des describe the sighting in his own words by clicking here if you have the free or full version of Realplayer plugin for your browser. The UFO*BC portion (2 hours) of the show starts one hour into the program. It contains Des’ interview as well as other interesting cases. Here are some details of Des’ sighting which are not covered in his diary:

The UFO was about 18 to 25 metres (60 to 80 feet) in diameter and approximately 4.5 to 6 metres (15 to 20 feet) thick. It was flat on the bottom. There were no point sources of light or any other structure on the UFO, just a blue–grey glow. The UFO lit up the area around for a fair distance but was not painful to look at.

The manner in which the craft approached the cabin ("in a smooth arc directly towards us, and then just dropped in") indicated to Des that the act was very deliberate. It was not like this thing was flying around and then noticed him and changed direction to approach him.

Des was particularly impressed at the craft’s sudden departure. There was no noise other than the low hum, which was not loud enough to account for propulsion. There was no wind that night. Des went on to describe the departure: "You just don’t move an object rapidly through the cold dense air like that and produce no noise. This thing accelerated like you wouldn’t believe, and it didn’t bank to turn. Even if the propulsion unit was totally silent you should have at least heard the air displacement. It had tremendous acceleration, totally awe-inspiring. It left and disappeared over the ridge."

"You just don’t forget something like that!"

For a 15 to 20 minute period prior to the sighting, Des’ dog appeared very agitated, unsettled by something. Speculation has it that he may have been able to hear the UFO, which may have been outside the range of human hearing. The emotional effect on the dog after the sighting lasted for quite some time. It was very skittish, tail down between its legs, walking down close to the ground, "very slinky" for two days after the encounter.

When asked about the object’s origin, Des replied: "There is no doubt in my mind that it was not from our world".

"HISTORICAL YUKON SIGHTINGS"

"THE YUKON REPORT"

Monday 14 March Spent most of last evening doing interim report to ??? at 0230 hrs this morning – got up @ 0800 – J.W. in @ 0820 hrs closely followed by Larry and Bill B. and Lamberton crew. Waited until 0930 for Larry W. to return radio call – no luck. Went to work @ 0940 and called again @ 1000 hrs re: time of Larry’s (W.) visit – he’s not coming. Phoned twice more during day – loosing radio again @ 1530 hrs called Larry W. again – he may have radios by tonight – hope so. Screamed our lungs out on the hillside for 2 hours – gave up @ 1730 could have worked until 1900. Completed 43 sta’s today (including 4 substa’s) John TT and helper did well also. Tuesday 15 March John, Bill & Lamberton crew up @ approx 0830 – 0845. Both crews out to survey in south valley. Larry B. & Larry W. showed up @ 1130 hrs – gave us radios. Damned radios have got same frequency as Lamberton’s and don’t have any CNT channels that we can reach! This radio thing is one big screw up! Tough going for our crew today – they are on ground with not enough snow for skidoos. Only got 26 stations in today while Lamberton crew got 43 over easier ground. On this ground the no. of sta’s completed in working day is not necessarily indicative of effort. Throttle cable broke on Whelans skidoo today @ 1700 – had to shut down to talk to Whse. Bill waited until 1800 for radios & EDM batteries from Lamberton crew. John Tom Tom & assistant stopped for tea & discussed progress of the day. 1930 made supper and washed dishes. Had ham and chips. After clean up made a big stew so that crew can share it if they wish. Put in carrots, potatoes, onions, celery & cubed steak after browning. Cabin very hot from cooking stew and wood stove – went for walk @ 2430 hrs. Had experience of a lifetime! Coming back and almost to cabin, aircraft came over south ridge very slowly lost altitude and hovered around sta’s 26-1 à 26-2. Craft was so called UFO – blueish aura on periphery of inverted bowl – very low pulsing hum; no wind so everything quiet except for barely discernable humming noise. Cannot describe blue/grey light – didn’t seem to have any specific source – just all over edge and upper overt. Craft was below the ridge to the west of cabin so distance easy to determine due to our survey grid lines – large diameter – noticed blueish light or glow on my hands and clothing – dog and I are being observed I’m sure of it as the craft sideslipped to within 150-200 meters horizontal and possibly 30 meters above us – damn! Could almost touch the bloody thing – when craft slipped in, dog started barking and ran behind the wood pile at the cabin – first impulse was run to cabin and get shotgun – stupid – just stayed there – not frightened somehow – cannot determine if any control surfaces – seemed omni-directional – no port, starboard, nose or tail – movements were smooth and I sense very deliberate. Christ! I’ve been at this cabin 3 weeks and even as I write I know some will think I’ve gone crackers. I’m bloody sure we (dog and I) were being observed but so overwhelmed did not notice ports, windows or such. Seemed like forever that craft in the valley. The machine left in a tight 180 degree turn to the NE quadrant; through east and up through the south – gained altitude with tremendous acceleration although no propulsion noise except humming and no sound of air displacement -- the latter I found strange as it defies physical law! Will not call this UFO because it isn’t – it’s a bloody flying machine – true and simple. Although not frightened when all was happening; went into cabin and it took me 4 matches to light the propane stove – noticed that dog wasn’t around – went back outside to call him – no dog – back into cabin – had to hold my cup of tea with both hands to keep from slopping it all over. The time is 0222 hrs of the 16^th March and it has taken me and hour and a half to stop shaking enough to put this to paper – dog isn’t outside – he just crawled out from beneath the bunk – he has been hiding under the bed all this time! As I write this the impact of the experience is coming home – I know I’ll never be the same again and why wasn’t there someone else here to witness it also – if only dogs could talk!		In April 2000 a trip was conducted by UFO investigators to locate the cabin where the UFO sighting took place. It took over an hour to find the location. The road that starts in the far valley above near the Community of Carcross could not be followed on snowmobiles all the way to the site. Steep side-slopes due to snow drifts made it very treacherous. In places the road has completely washed out with very steep drops of about 100 metres. The investigators had to find a round about way through areas of deep snow as well as wind swept sections that had no snow, making for difficult snowmobiling. Martin Jasek stands in front of Des Clark's Cabin. Snow drift covers doorway to cabin. Des was standing about 5 meters in front the door with his dog when the UFO sighting took place. The UFO came over the ridge at upper right and hovered down inside the valley and above the height of the cabin casting a bluish-grey light on this alpine bowl including Des and his dog. Another view of the Cabin and ridge on Montana Mountain.