A very big icefall crevasse may present difficulties when accessing the routes on this face.
All routes start on the Balfour Neve
Routes
| Reference | Title | Grade | Length | Pro | Quality | Operations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hippo Takes A Holiday, 6 | 6 | |||||
Ascend a corner system 50 metres left of the Direct route. Exit onto the Torres-Tasman ridge just above the buttress, above the col. |
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| Direct, 6 | 6 | |||||
Begin up the gully left of the Sissons Buttress, then ascend a narrow gully and rock pitch to gain the ridge edge of a prominent snowfield. Head up a pitch of steep bulging ice (crux), and then follow the broad gully out right. A fierce climb. |
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| Mortimer-Sissons Gully, 5+ | 5+ | |||||
The route heads up a deep gully left of the Sissons Buttress. The gully widens out, and the route tends right and leads to an amphitheatre. Move right again and up to the ridge. |
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| Sissons Buttress, 5 | 5 | |||||
Ascend the prominent rib just right of centre of the face. The rock is comparatively solid and the climbing sustained. The rib peters out and is followed by 200m of snow and ice. |
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| Balfour Rib, 4 | 4 | |||||
The bottom section of buttress is avoided by snowslopes beside the Balfour Face (although the first ascent climbed the buttress). Then it is up, around, and through ice bulges to the Tasman-Torres ridge. |
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