A camera from a 1937 explorer was discovered on a Canadian glacier. Scientists are trying to develop the 85-year-old film loaded inside.

 In 1937, legendary aerial photographer and cartographer Bradford Washburn abandoned hundreds of pounds of camera gear, surveying equipment, and supplies when he ran into bad weather while exploring Canada's frigid Yukon region.

In August, 85 years later, a team of scientists and professional mountain explorers discovered the long-lost historic cache of gear buried in the ice on the remote Walsh Glacier.

The team didn't find the cameras until a second, shorter trip out to the glacier in August. "We were pretty much close to giving up because all our efforts were just giving us nothing," Medrzycka said.

On the penultimate day of the trip, Medrzycka came up with a new theory about where the artifacts might be located. Glaciers typically move at a constant rate from year to year, but Walsh glacier is a rare "surging" glacier, she said, meaning it moves faster for a year or two every few decades.

She noticed piles of debris had traveled the glacier's entire length, which she believed was caused by the surge. That clued her in on how and when the glacier had flowed in the past. The observation allowed her to calculate a new estimate of where the items might be, which was three or four miles further down the valley and approximately 14 miles away from the spot where Washburn had left them.

Her hunch ultimately led the team to the missing gear. "It was an amazing feeling, and I felt relief that I didn't fail at finding the cache," Medrzycka said, adding, "It was an epic moment for everyone."