The New Zealand people have honoured the memory of Joseph Ivess by naming the tallest peak in the Victoria Ranges near Inangahua in the South Island “Ivess Peak”
A look at the Victoria Range ( Comments from a rock climber ) Haven’t you ever noticed those shapely rugged peaks lying to the right of the road as you travel from Murchison towards Springs Junction on the way to the Lewis Pass? I’ve admired them for a long time, and after a flight over them in the summer I was drawn by the complex array of ridges and tarns that are sprinkled along the whole range. And so…..Rahu Saddle, just west of Springs Junction, giving access to Lake Stream, which we followed through wonderful bush for some 3 hours to a clearing with a dirty 2 bunk biv. Low cloud and drizzle called an early halt to the day, with a ‘Winnubstian’ early start the next day as we headed up for a look at the ridges leading north to Ivess Peak, at 1749m the highest in the range.Still in the mist we scrambled amongst sharp ridges of sound rock to the base of Ivess, with only fleeting glimpses through the cloud to help us choose a route. This all looked like fast country on the map!Steep ground and a lack of both climbing gear and time forced us to retrace our steps in the now brilliant sunshine with peak after peak appearing from the mist. This was indeed compelling country with complex ridges and peaks in abundance……if only more of the tops were named on the map, trips would be so much easier to plan!With the views now clear for our return to the car, we couldn’t help but notice the soaring crags of clean grey granite rimming the glaciated cirques. There was no evidence of loose scree slopes at their base and I got a feeling that these cliffs hold great potential for rock climbing – in fact I don’t remember a loose bit of rock all day!
