Garnet Peak

Garnet Peak is a mountain in east-central British Columbia, Canada, located between Goat Creek and Azure Lake. Situated in the Cariboo Mountains of the Columbia Mountains, it is the third highest mountain in Wells Gray Provincial Park with an elevation of 2876m. Garnet Peak is a prominent mountain as one drives the Clearwater Valley Road into Wells Gray Park and is first visible from 80km south at the Clearwater Valley Overlook.Garnet Peak stands alone as a pyramidal peak. From Clearwater Lake, it appears to be part of the Huntley-Buchanan Ridge which extends most of the length of Azure Lake on its north side. It is actually located about 3km north of Tryfan Mountain and the two are connected by a broad hogsback at an elevation of 2400m. This fact becomes obvious as one travels north on Clearwater Lake by boat; Garnet Peak actually gets smaller and eventually disappears behind the Huntley-Buchanan Ridge. Garnet Peak is not visible from anywhere on Azure Lake.First ascentGarnet Peak was first climbed on August 29, 1974, by Hugh Neave, Barb Hargreaves and Tor Schmid. Hugh Neave was a latecomer among the explorers of Wells Gray Park, but he was drawn by the scenery and the challenge of mountaineering, rather than by the wealth of mining, trapping or guiding. In 1966, he made his first expedition to the Huntley-Buchanan Ridge and was a regular visitor to those peaks for the next 20 years. An ascent of Garnet Peak had been Neave's dream since he first saw the mountain in 1966 and he organized three expeditions which were all turned back by severe weather. He blazed the first trail from Azure Lake to Huntley Col and improved it with each trip. Today, it is the only trail from the lakeshore and is maintained by its users. Finally, in 1974 at the age of 65, Neave achieved his dream when he summited Garnet Peak and he named the mountain for the small garnets he found in rock formations near the summit. Neave died in 1988 and Mount Hugh Neave, just north of Garnet Peak, was named the following year in recognition of his climbs in northern Wells Gray Park. Later in 1988, members of the Kamloops Mountaineering Club carried his ashes to the top of Garnet Peak.