Paleo Peak

Overview

Paleo Peak is the highest peak within a group of peaks located in the Bulkley Range, Hazelton Mountains called the Coal Creek subsection. The 1st ascent was in 1962 by A. Shives, A. Armour-Brown, G. Woodsworth and R. Culbert. (route from A climbers' guide to the Coastal Ranges of BC - Culbert said:"from camp in pass to SE ascend through bush and meadows to ridge E of the 2 highest summits. Follow ridge until it is feasible to traverse right onto glacier leading to col between Paleo Pk to the S and Coal Crag to the N. Climb steep snow to ridge E of Paleo Pk and scramble to summit. 4 hrs up from camp. The areas is richly endowed with fossils.")
Paleo peak has a prominence of 990 meters.

Getting There

Paleo Peak is accessed from Smithers BC. From Highway 16. Follow the Hudson Bay Mountain ski hill signs until on the Hudson Bay Mountain Road. Travel the HBM road until the fork located around 15 km from the start of the road and then turn left onto the McDonnell Lake Forest Service road. Turn right onto the Mulvain Forest Road at the junction above McDonnell Lake. Continue until just past the 55 km sign and turn onto a small spur road to almost the end. Just before the landing on the left (north)side of the road there is a flagged route.

Follow the flagging to the alpine. This is not a trail but a flagged route expect some bushwacking. Some poor flagging continues to the left (northwesterly) until a basin is reached. Above the basin is a remnant glacier and headwall. The headwall separates Pale Peak with Coal Crag (a rock tower).

Red Tape

No red tape involved. The peak is not in a park. It is within the Provincial Forest but permits are not required.

Camping

There are no designated campsites in this area. This peak can be done as a long day from the road. Camping is wilderness. Fires may not be permitted during certain times during the summer. A good level campsite near water is located approximately 3.5 km in. This campsite provides a good base for any of the routes.

External Links

Routes

There are three different routes to the summit.
Route 1 - Northwest glacier - Alpine II (class 3 scramble to peak)
Route 2 - Ridge - unknown but suspect 4th class scrambling.
Route 3 - Ridge - northeast glacier - Alpine II (class 3 scramble to peak)

Images

View Paleo Peak Image Gallery - 4 Images