Mount Kosciuszko

Mount Kosciuszko
View of Mount Kosciuszko from the east
Highest point
Elevation	2,228 m (7,310 ft)AHD
Listing	Ultra
Coordinates	36°27′21.53″S 148°15′48″E
Geography
Mount Kosciuszko New South Wales, Australia
Parent range	Great Dividing Range / Main Range
Climbing
First ascent	1840 by Paweł Edmund Strzelecki
Easiest route	Walk (dirt road)

Mount Kosciuszko is a mountain located in the Snowy Mountains in Kosciuszko National Park. With a height of 2,228 metres (7,310 ft) above sea level, it is the highest mountain in Australia (not including its external territories). It was named by the Polish explorer Count Paul Edmund Strzelecki in 1840, in honour of the Polish national hero General Tadeusz Kościuszko, because of its perceived resemblance to the Kościuszko Mound in Krakow.

The name of the mountain was previously spelt "Mount Kosciusko", an Anglicisation, but the spelling "Mount Kosciuszko" was officially adopted in 1997 by the Geographical Names Board of New South Wales. The traditional English pronunciation of Kosciuszko is /kɒziːˈɒskoʊ/, but the pronunciation /kɒˈʃʊʃkoʊ/ is now sometimes used, which is substantially closer to the Polish pronunciation [kɔɕˈt͡ɕuʂkɔ] .

Various measurements of the peak originally called Kosciuszko showed it to be slightly lower than its neighbour, Mount Townsend. The names of the mountains were swapped by the New South Wales Lands Department, so that Mount Kosciuszko remains the name of the highest peak of Australia, and Mount Townsend ranks as second. The 1863 picture by Eugene von Guerard hanging in the National Gallery of Australia titled "Northeast view from the northern top of Mount Kosciusko" is actually from Mt Townsend.

Reaching the summit

Like many of Australia's highest peaks, Mount Kosciuszko is not particularly difficult to climb. There is a road to Charlotte Pass, from which it's an 8-kilometre (5 mi) walk up a path to the summit. Anybody with a modest level of fitness should be able to walk it. Until 1976 it was possible to drive to Rawson's Pass close to the summit. The walking track to Mount Kosciuszko from Charlotte Pass is in fact that road, which was closed to public motor vehicle access due to environmental concerns. This track is also used by cyclists as far as Rawson's Pass, where they must leave their bicycles and continue onto the summit on foot.

The peak may also be approached from Thredbo, which is a shorter 6.5 kilometres (4 mi), and should take about 1 hour 45 minutes to reach the summit. It's not a difficult walk and is supported by a chairlift all-year round. From the top of the chairlift there is a raised mesh walkway to the summit to protect the native vegetation and prevent erosion. Both tracks meet at Rawson's Pass for the final climb to the Kosciuszko summit. Australia's highest public toilet was built in 2007 at Rawson's Pass at an altitude of 2,100 metres (6,900 ft). As over 100,000 people are now visiting the mountain each summer, human waste management is becoming a serious issue.

The peak and the surrounding areas are snow-covered in winter and spring (usually beginning in June and continuing until October or later). The road from Charlotte Pass and the track from Thredbo are marked by snow poles and provide a guide for cross-country skiers.

Mount Kosciuszko Mount Townsend (behind and obscured by cloud) Snow pole line Head waters of the Snowy River Kangaroo Ridge, Charlotte Pass

Looking north from the summit towards Mt Townsend

Kosciuszko National Park is also the location of the downhill ski slopes closest to Canberra and Sydney, containing the Thredbo, Charlotte Pass, and Perisher Blue ski resorts. Mount Kosciuszko may have been ascended by Indigenous Australians long before the first recorded ascent by Europeans.

Each year in December, an ultramarathon running race called Coast to Kosciuszko (aka C2K) ascends to the top of Mt Kosciuszko after starting 246 kilometres (153 mi) away from the beach. Paul Every, who is credited as being the one who thought of holding such a race, was the inaugural winner in 2004.

Higher Australian mountains

Higher peaks exist within territory administered or claimed by Australia, but outside the mainland/continent:

• Mawson Peak (2,745 m (9,006 ft)) on Heard Island
• Dome Argus (4,030 m (13,220 ft)), Mount McClintock (3,490 m (11,450 ft)) and Mount Menzies (3,355 m (11,007 ft)) in the Australian Antarctic Territory.

Higher peaks in the Australian geological continent, but outside the mainland/country:

• Puncak Jaya (4,884 m (16,024 ft)) in New Guinea. It is the highest island mountain in the world and the highest in the Australian continent.
• Puncak Trikora (4,750 m (15,580 ft)) in the Papua province of Indonesia.
• Mount Wilhelm (4,509 m (14,793 ft)) in Papua New Guinea. It is the highest mountain in that country.
• Mount Victoria (4,072 m (13,360 ft)) in Central Province, Papua New Guinea.
• Mount Giluwe (4,368 m (14,331 ft)) a volcanic mountain in Papua New Guinea. It is the highest volcanic summit in the Australian continent.

Cultural References

Australian rock band Midnight Oil performed a song called "Kosciusko" on its 1984 album Red Sails in the Sunset, referring to the mountain. The spelling was updated to "Kosciuszko" for the group's 1997 compilation album, 20,000 Watt R.S.L.

Gallery

• 
  Mount Kosciuszko from south side
• 
  Mount Etheridge from south side showing high elevation toilet at Rawson Pass
• 
  East side of the mountain
• 
  The plate at the top
• 
  The base of a survey trig marker at the top.
• 
  Lake Coopatamba, the lake on the highest place in the Australian continent
• 
  A view from the track to Mount Kosciuszko
• 
  Thredbo from the Australian Alps Walking Track.

See also

• Australian Landmarks
• Mount Townsend

External links

• Mt Kosciuszko Inc. — a very comprehensive website
• Peakware - World Mountain Encyclopaedia — photo