Resolute Mountain

Resolute Mountain

August 13, 2011

Mountain heights:
        Lion:                    3120m
        Lioness:              3080 m
Total elevation gain:   1800 m
Ascent time:                5:30
Descent time:              4:00

Scrambling with Wietse.

Were it not for 11,000 er Mount Cline towering above Resolute Mountain, the latter, at a healthy height of 3120 m (10,234 feet) would probably see far more visitors.

Wietse and I were looking to do an ascent along the David Thompson Highway.

There were plenty of options described in The David Thompson Highway – A Hiking Guide by Daniel Kyba and Jane Ross and on various websites, however, when I suggested the infrequently ascended double summits of Resolute Mountain (Lion Peak and Lioness Peak), neither of us could resist. I had found a very brief route description on the Custom Outdoor Experience website and it appeared to be a long, but straightforward trip.

We started hiking along a good trail on the east side, as opposed to the west side that eventually takes you to the Mount Cline bivy area.

Travel was fast and the trail generally easy to follow. However, when the trail started gaining elevation on an outlier and moving away from the creek, we decided to abandon it and descend to the creek. This turned out to be a mistake as we encountered impassable bush lower down. Retracing our way back to the trail we did find other animal trails leading in the right direction and so we followed them. Wietse led the way, setting a good, brisk pace.

Soon after, our side-sloping/bushwhacking woes came to an abrupt end when we found another decent trail heading up the valley. Some interesting highlights of this section of the trip were the impressive, vertical walls of rocks emanating south from Mount Cline and the fire ravaged, blackened trees. Above treeline pleasant forest scenery gave way to rugged rock scenery and terrific views of Lion Peak. An easy but foreshortened slog brought us to the Cline/Resolute col and yet another wonderful view – this time of the very impressive trio of mountains comprising the Whitegoat Peaks.
As promised in the route description, the summit of the higher of the peaks, Lion Peak, was reached with ease in about an hour. Views of the surrounding mountains from the summit were fantastic, although only a handful have earned an official title.

After a relatively short summit stay we set our sights on the slightly lower Lioness Peak. Again the descent to the col and ascent to the summit was easy and required very little effort. Views from Lioness were as good as those from Lion.

On return, a slight detour to find a quicker route down to the valley did not yield any obvious results so we descended the way we came. The remainder of the descent though easy was far longer than anticipated. Fortunately Wietse again set a breakneck hiking pace that got us back to his vehicle before dark set in.

An excellent day on a relatively obscure mountain that deserves far more attention. Thanks for the company Wietse and leading mosty of the trip.

The first decent look at Lion Peak - the west summit of Resolute (photo by Wietse)

Wietse leads the way up the valley

The southeast wing of Mount Cline

The blackened trees

The first decent view of Resolute (left)

Wietse in the scenic upper valley

Same as above; Cline at the far left, Resolute (Lion Peak) in the center

Various rock colours in the valley

Looking back down the valley (photo by Wietse)

A very large, white boulder in the creek

Wietse starts up towards Lion from the col

The three Whitegoat Peaks and the glacier on the east side of Cline

More the westerly Whitegoat (photo by Wietse)

Dwarfed by the Whitegoats (photo by Wietse)

Same as above (photo by Wietse)

Wietse approaching the upper slopes of Lion

The westerly Whitegoat again

The interesting southeast side of Resolute

More views of Whitegoat

Andromeda, Athabasca, and Kitchener

Cline

The summit view to the east; Lioness at the right

Wietse at the summit

Both of us (photo by Wietse)

Looking back to Lion Peak

Wietse side-slopes around Lion

Heading to the Lioness

Wietse at the summit of Lioness

Distinctive colours on one of the innumerable unnamed peaks in the area

Same as above (photo by Wietse)

A closer look at one of the Whitegoats

Abraham Lake in the distance

Looking back to Cline, Lion, and the Whitegoat Peaks

The east view from Lioness

Looking for the shorter route down

Wietse descends

The impressive walls surrounding Lion Peak

Same as above

Same as above

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