Neal Marshall Carter (December 12, 1902 – March 3, 1978) was a Canadian

marine biologist Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms that inhabit the sea. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology clas ...

cartographer Cartography (; from , 'papyrus, sheet of paper, map'; and , 'write') is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an imagined reality) can ...

, photographer,

mountaineer Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become sports ...

and

surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. These points are usually on the ...

. He is most famous for his explorations in

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, especially in the

Coast Mountains The Coast Mountains () are a major mountain range in the Pacific Coast Ranges of western North America, extending from southwestern Yukon through the Alaska Panhandle and virtually all of the British Columbia Coast, Coast of British Columbia sout ...

where he made several

first ascent In mountaineering and climbing, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in climbing guidebook, guide books), is the first successful documented climb to the top of a mountain or the top of a particular climbing route. Early 20th-century mountaineers a ...

Biography

Carter was born on December 14, 1902, in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, British Columbia. He was educated at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

and then at

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

where he earned a PhD in organic chemistry. Carter was a marine biologist in his professional life, having worked in fisheries research from 1930 to 1962. He was introduced to mountaineering and to the

British Columbia Mountaineering Club The British Columbia Mountaineering Club (BCMC) is a mountaineering organization, based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Founded on October 28, 1907 as the Vancouver Mountaineering Club, it became one of the centres of Canadian Mountaineering, part ...

by Tom Fyles. Carter remained as a member of that organization from 1920 until 1926 when he left to become a member of the

Alpine Club of Canada The Alpine Club of Canada (ACC) is an amateur athletic association with its national office in Canmore, Alberta that has been a focal point for Canadian mountaineering since its founding in 1906. The club was co-founded by Arthur Oliver Wheeler, ...

. The Coast Mountains of British Columbia were Carter's first favorite place for climbing mountains. Here, he explored new peaks and made several first ascents in what is now

Garibaldi Provincial Park Garibaldi Provincial Park, also called Garibaldi Park, is a wilderness park located on the coastal mainland of British Columbia, Canada, 70 kilometres (43.5 mi) north of Vancouver. It was established in 1920 and named a Class A Provincial ...

. Carter was a skilled surveyor, photographer and cartographer, having created the first

topographic map In modern mapping, a topographic map or topographic sheet is a type of map characterized by large- scale detail and quantitative representation of relief features, usually using contour lines (connecting points of equal elevation), but histori ...

s of Garibaldi Provincial Park and of the

Tantalus Range The Tantalus Range is a subrange of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in southern British Columbia, Canada. The range is easily viewed from the "Sea to Sky Highway" that travels from Vancouver to Squamish, British Columbia, Squamish and W ...

in the 1920s. In the 1930s, Carter explored peaks at the head of the

Lillooet Lillooet () is a district municipality in the Squamish-Lillooet region of southwestern British Columbia. The town is on the west shore of the Fraser River immediately north of the Seton River mouth. On BC Highway 99, the locality is by road abo ...

and Toba rivers. Carter along with mountaineers Alec Dalgleish, Alan Lambert and Eric Brooks attempted a first ascent of

Mount Waddington Mount Waddington, once known as Mystery Mountain, is the highest peak in the Coast Mountains of British Columbia, Canada. Although it is lower than Mount Fairweather and Mount Quincy Adams, which straddle the United States border between Alaska ...

in 1934. Their attempt ended in tragedy on June 26, 1934, when Dalgleish fell to his death as a result of his climbing rope having been severed by a sharp-edged rock. In the early 1940s, Carter surveyed the Seven Sisters Peaks, a multi-summit

massif A massif () is a principal mountain mass, such as a compact portion of a mountain range, containing one or more summits (e.g. France's Massif Central). In mountaineering literature, ''massif'' is frequently used to denote the main mass of an ...

near

Smithers Smithers is a surname of English origin. It derives from the Middle English term "smyther", referring to a metalsmith, and is thus related to the common occupational surname Smith. The name Smither is related. People * Alan Smithers (born 1938) ...

in the

Bulkley Ranges The Bulkley Ranges are a mountain range in northern British Columbia, Canada, located between the Skeena and Bulkley Rivers south of Hazelton, north of the Morice River and Zymoetz River. It has an area of 7851 km2 and is a subrange of th ...

of the

Interior Mountains The Interior Mountains or Northern Interior Mountains are the semi-official names for an expansive collection of mountain ranges that comprises much of the northern half of the Canadian province of British Columbia and a large area of southern Yu ...

. He was the first to climb Weeskinisht Peak, the highest point of the Seven Sisters Peaks. The first ascents of

Monmouth Mountain Monmouth Mountain, commonly known as Mount Monmouth is one of the principal summits of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains of southern British Columbia. At , it is the highest summit of the Chilcotin Ranges. It stands just north of the Li ...

and Mount Gilbert, two peaks situated in the Coast Mountains, were made by Carter in the 1950s. In 1974, Carter was made an honorary member of the Alpine Club of Canada. He was also named a fellow of the

Royal Canadian Geographical Society The Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS; French: ''Société géographique royale du Canada'') is a Canadian nonprofit educational organization. It has dedicated itself to spreading a broader knowledge and deeper appreciation of Canada, i ...

for his mapping work. Carter died on March 15, 1978, while vacationing in

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

of the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

and engaging in recreational diving among

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in group ...

s. Mount Neal and Carter Glacier at the north end of Garibaldi Provincial Park were named in honour of him.

First ascents

*1921 Grizzly Mountain north ridge *1922 Isosceles Peak *1923

Wedge Mountain Wedge Mountain, prominence: , often locally referred to as The Wedge or simply "Wedge", is the highest summit in the Garibaldi Ranges and therefore also Garibaldi Provincial Park, and is among the nearest of the many peaks visible from the Whi ...

*1923 Diavolo Peak *1923 Angelo Peak *1923 Mount James Turner *1929 Mount Davidson *1931 Mount Job *1931 Capricorn Mountain *1931

Devastator Peak Devastator Peak, also known as The Devastator, is the lowest and southernmost of the six subsidiary peaks that form the Mount Meager massif in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. It is located west of Bralorne. Geology Devastator Peak is a ...

*1931 Mount Meager *1931 Plinth Peak *1931 Pylon Peak *1941 Weeskinisht Peak *1951

*1954 Mount Gilbert

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Neal 1902 births 1978 deaths Artists from Vancouver Canadian marine biologists Canadian mountain climbers Canadian cartographers Canadian surveyors Fellows of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society University of British Columbia alumni McGill University alumni Sportspeople from Vancouver 20th-century Canadian photographers 20th-century cartographers