Canadian alpine climbs: Mount Resplendent, Robson Park

Mount Resplendent 3425m

Mount Robson Provincial Park, British Columbia

Mount Resplendent from The Dome near Robson

Mount Resplendent rises as an adjacent neighbour to The King of Rockies peaks, Mount Robson and is sometimes ascended as a consolation prize when conditions aren't right on Mount Robson. That is exactly why we ended up doing it. To reach the mountain, is a very long day to Berg Lake to be close enough to climb this peak. We were already at The Dome on Robson, so were closer. It normally takes 2 full days to the Dome for most parties (and us too!) There were about a bazillion crevasses on the way up Robson Glacier: Serious stuff for a party of 2, roped or not.

A view up Robson glacier with Mount Resplendent on the left of center. Photo taken on approach to the Dome.

In camp at The Dome, with the summit ridge of Mount Resplendent behind. This was an unusually hot September weekend and the snow didn't firm up properly overnight. As a result, were could not safely climb the 50 degree Kain Face on Robson. We opted to descend and bag Mt Resplendent since it is one of the big Rockies' peaks too. All the Rockies peaks were in great shape right then, including Mount Assiniboine and The Goodsirs. A friend did Mount Alberta that same weekend, so we were pretty annoyed to have failed on the easier Mount Robson!

Descending the icefall below the Dome on Robson in early morning to get over to Mount Resplendent. There are many seracs and wide crevasses here making route-finding a challenge. Fortunately, we followed wands left by an Alpine Club of Canada General Mountaineering Camp that had been there earlier that summer.

Mount Robson (3954 m) from near the top of Mount Resplendent, a perfect viewpoint for the Kain Face of Robson. The Helmet is also a Rockies 11,000 footer. Mount Resplendent is occasionally done as a mountaineering ski ascent in Spring with the roundtrip time being 4-5 days. The ski run back down is reportedly fantastic. Our long walk was considerably less exhilarating. Slower, too.

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