Mt. Victoria (3464m), Banff National Park, Canada

Toyohashi Alpine Club
Mountaineering in the Canadian Rockies

Mt. Victoria (3464m), South Ridge

Banff National Park, Canada
August 1997
Report by Darren DeRidder
Party: Iain Williams, Darren DeRidder, and Rob Marson

After successful climbs on Mt. Temple and Mt. Edith, Iain and I considered our options. When we were planning our trip to the Rockies, Mt. Victoria had been one of our original objectives and so we settled on that. It meant we probably wouldn't get up Assiniboine, because that would require at least three days, and the mountain seemed to be out of condition - still.

So we booked the Abbott Pass Hut. And we stayed at the Alpine Center/ Youth Hostel in Lake Louise, which is a fantastic facility. It is really really nice, and the cafeteria has awesome food and a good atmosphere too. We stayed there several times and met some interesting people.

Anyway in the morning we drove out along highway 1A to the Lake O'Hara parking lot where we sorted our gear for the next couple days and walked up to catch the bus at 10:00. They don't let cars up the road to Lake O'Hara. You have to take a Parks Canada bus, because the area is "fragile". What that means is that it is absolutely incredibly beautiful. There is a lodge at the lake which costs hundreds of dollars to stay in, and there is a campground nearby, and an ACC hut, the Elizabeth Parker cabin, which is always full. One guy at the campground told us it would take us about three and a half hours to get up to Abbot Pass.
It was loose and slippery and pieces of rock occasionally fell off the towering walls on either side of us. We started out like true mountain men by going the wrong way around the lake. But there was a natural drinking fountain that had good water, so after a long drink we went back the other way around. The trail was perfect. It was very well maintained and on the steep parts, boulders had been arranged into steps and everything. At Lake Oesa, we could see Mt. Lefroy and Mt. Huber and part of the big scree slope we had to climb to get to the pass. We stopped to talk to a couple of climbers who were also on their way up, and the older one recommended that we try to do Lefroy that afternoon. We said we would consider it.

After Lake Oesa, the trail wasn't so nice anymore. We followed the trail up to the left and over a couple of snow patches. The trail got worse and worse and pretty soon it was every man for himself just trying to pick the path of least resistance up a long loose scree slope. It was loose and slippery and pieces of rock occasionally fell off the towering walls on either side of us. After a while I could see the hut and pretty soon we were there. It had taken us three and a half hours just like the guy said.

[Editors note 20/08/2022: sadly, in the summer of August 2022, the Abbot Pass Hut was dismantled and completely removed, owing to the instability of the slope on which it sat. Thawing permafrost had rendered the entire structure susceptible to collapse, and thus an icon of Canadian Rockies Mountaineering succumbed to the impact of global warming along with many of the glaciers, snowfields and climbs that were once considered 'trade routes'.]

The Abbot Pass Hut is one of the best of the ACC huts in terms of its location and appearance. It was built in 1922 by Swiss guides working for the Canadian Pacific Railway out of stones from the Abbot Pass. It was modified recently to make more room on the main floor for cooking and dining. We met some interesting people there, too, including Doug and Sarah from Calgary. They had been up Lefroy and were planning on climbing Victoria the next day, like us. We were glad that other people would be climbing the mountain, too. Before long, the two climbers we had met at Lake Oesa appeared. They started sorting their gear and said that they would go up Victoria part way and see what they could see. One of them was named Randall. We didn't think anyone else would show up, because it was unlikely anyone would have taken the 6:00 bus in to Lake O'Hara and then started the hike up to the hut.
It started to get late, and then we remembered that we hadn't seen Randall and his climbing partner back yet. Iain tried calling for them but got no answer. Iain yelled so loud he sounded like a yodeller with laryngitis. It was getting dark and we called and called but didn't hear any reply. Finally I thought I heard something. Iain went back towards the cabin. I tried calling out again, heard a reply, and then saw two figures appear at the crest of the ridge. I shouted to see if they were OK. "Yep", came the answer. Fair enough. 

We went to bed. Before long the climbers came in, but there were three. One had come up from Lake O'Hara after all. The new climber was Rob. In the morning , Iain and Rob and I were up getting ready. We started talking. Interestingly enough, Rob was from London England too. And lives, as it turned out, about two blocks away from Iain. Rob was planning on climbing Victoria too, but he didn't have a partner, so we asked him if he cared to join us. He was quite happy to, and we were glad to have him. Rob turned out to be a very experienced ice climber. His experience was helpful in getting us to the summit, without a doubt. Rob led casually up steep snow looking very secure, and Iain and I followed, somewhat hesitantly. We would probably have felt more comfortable on the rock next to the snow, but given the rotting condition of the limestone ridge, the danger of slipping was probably greater there.

We departed from the hut at first light. I carried the rope over my shoulders, resting on the top of my pack. It was quite cool outside. Immediately behind the Abbot Pass hut, a rock headwall rises up towards the crest of the ridge of Mt. Victoria. This has to be climbed to the crest of the ridge. There are various ways to go, but careful route-finding will keep you on the best path. The rock is low-angled, and there are many ledges. However it is all very loose and covered with scree, so great care has to be taken to find the more solid rock. The climb is so popular that there was almost a trail leading up this first part. At one point we stopped to discuss the best way to move ahead. Here Iain dropped his sunglasses and they went almost right down to the Abbot Pass. We had climbed up only 150 meters or so, so he decided to go back and get them. It didn't take more than 20 minutes and he was back, minus the nose-piece. They would be alright for the climb, he said, so off we went again. Passing below two mushroom-shaped formations, we moved right to where the rock looked easier and the angle lower. In fact, the actual route goes up between these two mushrooms. We moved up easily over this rock and came to some snow.

At this point we decided to rope up and also removed some sweaters and fleeces as we were getting warmed up. We were not yet on the crest of the ridge but Rob led up the snow and we followed, front-pointing near the top. At the top of the snow we scrambled over some rock to the crest of the ridge, which we then followed along. There were footsteps in the snow, a regular path. The crest of the ridge was snow covered and knife-edged. It dropped away steeply on both sides. On the right, we could see Lake Louise far below and seemingly far away. It looked so small! In front of the Lake we could see the Plain of Six Glaciers and the deep valley that ran up into "the Death Trap", which in turn led to Abbot Pass from the Lake Louise side. This route is not recommended these days. We heard a few avalanches echoing around in the big space between the cliffs, but didn't see them.

We were on the northeast face of the mountain on steep, rotten ice. Above was a vertical rock cliff and below was 2000 feet of space, dropping down to the Victoria glacier. 

Soon we came to "the Sickle", which is a deep depression in the ridge. The Sickle can be clearly seen from Lake Louise. The snow is still very "pointed" here, and the ridge very narrow. Iain went first down the steep snow to the lowest point on the sickle, about 25 meters away, while I belayed him with a standard boot-axe belay. Iain didn't like the looks of the belay. He carefully moved down the snow, facing in. At the bottom of the Sickle, he waited while I took off the belay and proceeded down. Rob belayed me from above this time. The snow was good. It was soft but not slushy or powdery. It was firm enough to hold the shaft of an ice axe.

Reassured by Iain's descent, I started out. Plunging the shaft of my axe into the snow and using the footsteps made by Iain and the previous climbers, I moved down into the Sickle, facing outwards. Before I reached the low point, Rob had to begin his descent because of the limiting length of the rope between us. Care had to be taken at every step.

Going up the other side was a little easier. Rob moved in front again and we continued over easy ground (snow) along the ridge. Soon we were confronted with a rock step. This feature can also be clearly seen from Lake Louise. The guide clearly stated to pass this on the right. The diagram as well indicated that the proper route bypassed this rock "fin" in its entirety on the right (northeast) side. We discussed this and then proceeded, even though it looked as if there was an easy way up through the rock onto the crest of the ridge. Trusting the guidebook we moved onwards and got into a very hairy situation. We were on the northeast face of the mountain on steep, rotten ice. Above was a vertical rock cliff and below was 2000 feet of space, dropping down to the Victoria glacier. Rob moved along passed a rock horn which he slung and then on across a steep ice field to the rock band, where he put in a piton.

Neither Iain nor I were liking this very much. I went to put my right foot down , and the snow came away. My foot skated out from under me. On my side, I began to slowly slide down. In my left had I had my ice axe, and I swung the pick into the frozen snow, gaining support and stopping myself. We clung to our stances trying not to move too much while Rob went on to see what the route was like. We were no longer sure we were in the right place, and were considering whether to go on or go back. Rob said it seemed that after about 20 or 30 meters we could regain the ridge. My foot skated out from under me. 

At this point Doug and Sarah appeared on the ridge behind us, just below the rock step. They stared at us and were very quiet. They didn't say anything, but Doug came along the ridge to the base of the rock step. Iain asked him where the route went, and Doug said "I think it goes up the ridge!" So we decided we had goofed up and we went back. It was a big relief. Standing in such an exposed place on front-points while Rob worked his way out front had shaken me. Iain had been at the rock belay, a more secure position. I didn't tell him until later that I was pretty much scared spitless.

Doug and Sarah disappeared up the notch that led through the rock band and onto the crest of the ridge again. We worked our way back and then proceeded that way ourselves. From then on the going was easy. At times the route went between the rock on the left and the snow on the right, like a trench. We met Doug and Sarah, who had been to the summit and were on their way down. They passed us and Iain said to have some coffee on for when we got back.

The last obstacle before the summit was a very knife-edged and narrow section of the ridge. The snow on the right was very very steep, and the snow on the left was almost vertical. The footsteps went right along the crest, like a balance beam. There was a groove just below the top where climbers had shuffled their feet across. Rob went over it first, moving his feet carefully along the lower groove, one hand on the top of the ridge, ice axe in the other hand, sticking the shaft into the steep snow on the other side of the ridge. He was bent right over the ridge. It looked really precarious. I went next and tried to do like Rob did, but found one foot on the very top and one foot down in the groove worked better. I tried plunging the shaft of my ice axe into the snow on the right side, but the snow was so soft, it offered no support. About in the middle I straddled the ridge. This didn't work at all and was a real pain in the arse. But the narrowest part was already done, so I managed to get up and step carefully across to where Rob was belaying me. Then we belayed Iain across. Iain didn't bother taking any chances and just straddled the ridge and scooted across like a cowboy riding a bucking bronco. And then in a few minutes we were on the summit. We took photos and ate Mars bars. Then we went down.

Getting down was as much of a climb as going up was. We had to go back through the sickle and then down steep snowy sections to the rock. We belayed much of it. Once on the rock above the hut we had to be very careful since it was so loose. We took off the rope since it was only getting caught on the rocks between us and causing pieces to fall down on us. We slowly worked our way down, looking for the path. We got on the right path, which led between the mushroom formations we had passed below on our way up that morning. There were some parts that were quite steep and others that were covered in loose scree and so we had to be very careful not to lose our footing. We had taken off our crampons earlier so that helped. Rob was less happy on rock than on snow, especially this loose and rotting limestone. But we got down without any problem and then, about 11 hours after we had started, I was trotting up to the outhouse (the highest outhouse in Canada, and the one with the best view, guaranteed).

In the hut, Sarah had prepared a bottle of orange juice for us, which was very refreshing. Well, that's it. We'd done it. I honestly didn't let my breath out all the way until we had set foot back inside the hut. (I didn't let my breath out all the way in the outhouse for other reasons). I was shaken from hanging around on the steep and icy face where we'd gone off route, but it was a great climb anyway.

It was evening, and we canceled our plans to descend to Lake O'Hara and camp. We stayed instead in the hut again. Some more people had come; a couple from Vancouver and a couple from Germany. Only the couple from Germany planned to climb Victoria the next day. Rob was going to try Lefroy. Iain was considering going with him. I would lend him my stiffer boots. Doug and Sarah were going down. In the end Iain decided he'd go down too so the four of us went down in the morning to Lake O'Hara. As we left the hut Doug and I saw Rob making his way up Lefroy. The face looks so steep, but we could see that he was walking up, switchbacking left and right up the snow.

Going down the scree slope was much easier than coming up. Doug was an expert at it, and practically leaped down it. Digging my heels in, I surfed the scree and came down shortly behind him. Sarah and Iain were right behind and we enjoyed the good trail, the sunshine, the spectacular views, and the sweet-smelling alpine air on the way back to Lake O'Hara. It had been a very rewarding and enjoyable climbing experience.

When to go:

As with so many of the mountains, the first part of August is one of the most promising times to do this climb. Weather is generally settled and the routes are generally in good summer condition by this time, meaning less risk of avalanches. As usual, an alpine start (before dawn) is wise in order to insure return to the hut before nightfall. Some parties will take longer than the suggested 6 to 10 hours, depending on experience.

What to take:

This route is suited to alpine short-roping. Since there is hardly any solid rock, wending the rope between boulders and rocks as you climb is your best bet. In many places I simply wrapped the rope around a rock protrusion in leu of a belay. No pro should be necessary for this climb, provided you stay on course. Nevertheless, a couple of pins and maybe an ice screw are reassuring to have in case you get into a pickle. If you are staying at the hut, all you need to bring is your sleeping bag, food, and white gas for the cooking stoves. There are plenty of cooking utensils and comfy foam mattresses upstairs in the loft. There's a coal stove, and a big pot for snowmelt, the water source. Don't eat the yellow snow.

Where to stay:

It is possible to climb the route in a day from the campground at Lake O'Hara. Up and down it would be a very, very long day however. Most people stay at the Abbot Pass Hut overnight and climb Victoria the following morning, returning to Lake O'Hara. The hut is operated by the Alpine Club of Canada and may be used by members. Reservations are required. The ACC's main office is in Canmore.