Mount Richardson is the highest mountain

Mountain

Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...

 of the Slate Range located beside Pika Peak

Pika Peak

Pika Peak is a mountain located between Mount Richardson and Ptarmigan Peak in Banff National Park. The mountain was named in 1928 after the pika, the small "rock rabbit" that inhabits alpine regions....

 in Banff National Park

Banff National Park

Banff National Park is Canada's oldest national park, established in 1885 in the Rocky Mountains. The park, located 110–180 kilometres west of Calgary in the province of Alberta, encompasses of mountainous terrain, with numerous glaciers and ice fields, dense coniferous forest, and alpine...

. The mountain was named in 1859 by James Hector

James Hector

Sir James Hector was a Scottish geologist, naturalist, and surgeon who accompanied the Palliser Expedition as a surgeon and geologist...

 after Sir John Richardson

John Richardson (naturalist)

Sir John Richardson was a Scottish naval surgeon, naturalist and arctic explorer.Richardson was born at Dumfries. He studied medicine at Edinburgh University, and became a surgeon in the navy in 1807. He traveled with John Franklin in search of the Northwest Passage on the Coppermine Expedition of...

 who was the ship's surgeon and naturalist

Natural history

Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...

 on John Franklin

John Franklin

Rear-Admiral Sir John Franklin KCH FRGS RN was a British Royal Navy officer and Arctic explorer. Franklin also served as governor of Tasmania for several years. In his last expedition, he disappeared while attempting to chart and navigate a section of the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic...

's 1819 and 1825 expeditions into the Arctic

Arctic

The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...

.

The Lake Louise Mountain Resort

Lake Louise Mountain Resort

The Lake Louise Ski Area is a ski resort located in Banff National Park, near the village of Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada. It can be reached from Banff, from where it is a 35 to 45 minute drive west on Trans-Canada Highway, or Calgary, a 2-hour drive...

 is developed on the southern slopes of the Merlin Ridge, which includes Mount Richardson, Ptarmigan Peak, Pika Peak. A campground is located at the foot of the mountain, near Hidden Lake

Hidden Lake (Alberta)

Hidden Lake is a small glacial lake in the Skoki Valley of Banff National Park, Canada. It is located in the Slate Range of the Canadian Rockies....

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The first ascent was made in 1911 by L.L. Delafield who was guided by Edward Feuz jr..

Routes

The scrambling route (rated easy/moderate) begins from Hidden Lake and ascends the southern slopes to the top. The only real challenge on the ascent are a few rubbly gullies just above the lake. A traverse to Pika Peak

Pika Peak

Pika Peak is a mountain located between Mount Richardson and Ptarmigan Peak in Banff National Park. The mountain was named in 1928 after the pika, the small "rock rabbit" that inhabits alpine regions....

can be made via the Richardson-Pika col and the west ridge, however this undertaking is much more difficult.