Victoria by the South Face. During our stay at Lake O’Hara we also made the first 1955 ascent of Victoria, and that by a new route up the south face. We cut diagonally up and across the moraine at the foot of the valley between Huber and Victoria and climbed the south cliffs of Victoria with a fine view down to Lake Oesa on the right and across to our left an imposing view of Huber. The climbing was straightforward until we were confronted by a tremendous cliff band which appeared to overhang its base all along. We contoured to the right and continued up the cliffs until we reached the black band, through which we climbed in a chimney of three pitches. The last pitch necessitated a lay-back. This brought us to the prominent step on the regular route about 1,000 to 1,500 feet above Abbot Pass. From there to the summit we followed the orthodox route. This route is more direct and offers more and better climbing than the regular route from the O’Hara side (that is, around Huber, across the Huber Glacier and up the Western cliffs of Victoria).

James Tarrant