Mount James Turner – Whistler Museum and Archives Society

Early Mountaineering in the Coast MountainsEarly Mountaineering in the Coast Mountains

October 3, 2023 Whistler Museum 0 Comments

This September marked the 100th anniversary of the 1923 Neal Carter and Charles Townsend expedition. These two avid explorers climbed several of our local mountains, starting with Wedge Mountain and ending with the “most exciting” Mt Diavolo. It was a two week journey from September 9 to 20. Many of these climbs were recorded as first ascents, in which they gave their own names to some of the peaks, ridges, glaciers, and lakes they encountered.

During this expedition, the pair took photographs and detailed notes. A collection of these photographs were given by Carter to Myrtle Philip, who hosted them at Rainbow Lodge. They used the lodge as their starting off point and rest stop in between destinations.

Though small, each image has detailed labels and notes on the back. Combined with Townsend’s comprehensive accounts in “The B.C. Mountaineer,” we can get a pretty good picture of their venture. Carter and Townsend traversed through difficult, untracked terrain and changing conditions, but also witnessed spectacular views and were even treated to an eclipse.

*Charles Townsend beside a cairn on the summit of Wedge, with Mt. James Turner in the background (September 10, 1923). Carter Collection*

It was not just for kicks that these two went out to explore the area. There was a strong purpose amongst mountaineers at the time to map the region and share what they had learned with others. Carter was a talented cartographer and created topographical maps from this trip and several subsequent ones. His insight into the region assisted in the first official Garibaldi Park map in 1928.

However, these were not the only two that contributed to this major development. A group of Vancouver mountaineers formed the B.C. Mountaineering Club (BCMC) in 1907 and focused on exploring the Coast Mountains. As far as they knew, there were no records or maps of the mountains they set their sights on and they assumed that they were largely unexplored.

The mountaineering community in Vancouver started off small, consisting of both men and women, and grew over time. The BCMC welcomed newcomers through their summer camps, at which both Carter and Townsend joined in the early 1920s.

*Neal Carter on Chaos Glacier (formally Turner Glacier), on Mt. James Turner (September 12, 1923). Carter Collection*

By this time, the BCMC had covered much of the area surrounding Garibaldi Lake. William Gray, president of the club in 1912, developed a sketch map that showed Black Tusk as the northernmost part of the district.

From years of exploring the Garibaldi region, the group was captivated by its natural environment and grew interested in its preservation. Logging and mining companies had establishments throughout the corridor, so the group campaigned to the provincial government to protect this area. In 1920, the Garibaldi district became a park and, before the decade was out, was then designated as a Provincial Park.

The latest temporary exhibit at the Whistler Museum, Mapping the Mountains, takes a closer look at Carter and Townsend’s 1923 expedition and its cartographic results. Visit the Museum to learn more and see closeups of some photographs until November 14.

Blending Old With New, part 2 – A Virtual Tour of the First Ascent of Mount James TurnerBlending Old With New, part 2 – A Virtual Tour of the First Ascent of Mount James Turner

September 29, 2012 Whistler Museum 2 Comments

This week we resume our virtual recreation of Neal Carter & Charles Townsend’s 1923 exploratory mountaineering expedition. This video, the second of three, depicts the first ascent of Mount James Turner. (Check last week’s clip here).

Though lower and less well-known than its neighbour Wedge Mountain, Mount James Turner is still a formidable peak, revered for its remoteness and technical challenges by hardcore climbers and ski-mountaineers. For a more recent episode of James Turner lore, check this account of the mountain’s first ski descent by local ski builder and steep-ski pioneer Johnny “Foon” Chilton. Note that Foon and friends skied Turner’s massive north face, while Carter and Townsend approached from the south.

Our story will conclude next week as Carter and Townsend head up the Fitzsimmons Creek Valley to spend a week based out of a now-gone prospector’s cabin in Singing Pass. Watch for some striking photos from the undeveloped summit of Whistler Mountain, and their gripping attempt on the aptly named Mount Diavolo.

Neal Carter climbing albumNeal Carter climbing album

October 29, 2011 Whistler Museum 6 Comments

Among the tens of thousands of historical photos that the Whistler Museum holds in our archives, I think Neal Carters’ are my favourites. Carter was one of the most prolific mountaineers on the BC Coast during the 1920s and 1930s, gaining several first ascents. He also managed to turn his climbing hobby into a career, working as a surveyor first on Hydro crews around Garibaldi Lake, and then playing a major role in creating the first official topographic map of Garibaldi Park in 1928.

The mountains immediately surrounding Whistler were of special interest to him. Not only did he personally map much of the area (original copies of his massive topo map are in the Vancouver City and BC Provincial Archives), he was also instrumental in convincing the Provincial Government to expand Garibaldi Park in 1928 to approximately its current boundaries, including the Spearhead Range and the Wedge groups of peaks.

His first excursion into our local mountains occurred in September 1923 when he, along with fellow Vancouver climber Charles Townsend, spent two weeks bagging first ascents in the region. Beyond the sheer joy of two weeks climbing in such sublime terrain, the two were also on the lookout for potential sites for future BC Mountaineering Club summer camps, which had been held almost exclusively in Black Tusk Meadows for the last decade.

carter-wedge-camp — Their first night’s camp on the flanks of Wedge. Tent pole technology has come a long way in the last 88 years.

Using Rainbow Lodge as their base (they gave Myrtle Philip copies of their photos from this trip, which is how the museum ended up with them) they first scrambled up Wedge Creek with a week’s worth of provisions. Townsend’s very matter-of-fact account printed in the BC Mountaineer belies their huge, gruelling days of bushwacking, navigating crevasse mazes, and scrambling up terribly steep and loose talus slopes in uncharted terrain.

carter-wedge-view — The view south from Wedge to our familiar W-B backcountry: (l to r) Overlord, Pattison, Fissile, Trorey, Davidson, Castle Towers and Decker.

They managed to bag the first ascents of the twin giants of Wedge Mountain and Mount James Turner (whose summit was almost too small to build a cairn), while surveying and naming many of the surrounding peaks and glaciers, over seven days. Along the way they were treated to remarkably clear conditions, which, combined with Carter’s substantial technical skills as a photographer (crucial for accurate topographic surveys), produced some striking images of the surrounding landscape.

carter-turner-cliff — Getting radical near Mt. James Turner.

Returning back to Rainbow Lodge, they revelled in a massive dinner and comfortable night’s sleep in a bed, but were back at it early the next morning heading for the “largely unexplored” Spearhead Range. They first headed for Singing Pass-then known as “Avalanche Pass” and spent a night in the prospector’s cabin.

carter-whistler — Impressive solitude near Whistler’s peak.

The rest of that week was spent climbing surrounding peaks such as Fissile (then known as Red Mountain), Overlord, and a further excursion for the first ascents of Mount Diavolo, which they named for their difficult experience on its steep and exposed north ridge.

This is just a small sample from more than fifty photos in our collection that Carter produced over the two-week dream trip. Most of them are beautiful in their own right, but are just as interesting as a unique perspective on a landscape that has become so familiar to us. Scanning through the images, you get a sense of Carter’s excitement and wonder as he peered out over vast expanse of completely undeveloped, largely unknown terrain.