I climbed the NE Ridge to the north summit of Mt. Victoria this morning with a couple friends. Here is what we found:
Weather: Good freeze overnight with a temperature of 4 degrees at 3:30 am at 2300m and -5 at 10 am on the summit. Clear skies until about noon and then high overcast kept things cool for the descent.
Travel Conditions: Strong bridging in the morning and a generally settled summer snowpack on the lower glacier. Crevasses are starting to open, but still many options for travel. The bergschrund is easily crossed and there is still continuous snow on the slope to the Vic- Collier col (see picture). Somebody had been up there on a hot afternoon recently and left us a nice staircase to the col which made things easier given the frozen conditions. The upper ridge was either firm snow or ice.
Beautiful, but cold day out in the mountains!
Ian Jackson
ACMG Aspirant Guide
