Mt Kosciuszko (7,310) by Brian Schultz Saturday November 23, 2013
Roundtrip mileage: 8 miles
Elevation gain: 1,285'
Participants: Lee-Anne, Anthony, Colin, Brooke, Brian
I jumped at the invitation from Lee-Anne and Colin to visit them in Australia after our Aconcagua climb in 2012. Neither of them had climbed their own continental highpoint and it would be a great opportunity to climb together again as well as take in some sights as a tourist. The planning began in early 2013 and by March, we confirmed a date in November that worked out with Lee-Anne's super busy schedule as a doctor. I went ahead and booked my flight and over the summer planned my itinerary.
I chose Sydney, Australia as my base and and arrived on November 14th. I spent my first week visiting the Great Barrier Reef and New Zealand before flying to Melbourne, where both Colin and Lee-Anne live. Colin picked me up at the airport on Thursday November 21st and I overnighted with him and his girlfriend Brooke at his place. Our plan was to drive on Friday to Thredbo, a ski village at the base of Mt Kosciuszko, and meet Lee-Anne and her boyfriend Anthony later that afternoon. We weren't surprised to get a call Thursday evening from Lee-Anne saying she had to work until noon on Friday and wouldn't arrive until much later Friday night.
Since we didn't need to get to Thredbo as early as planned, Colin asked if I wanted to do a hike in the morning. I was easily persuaded and we drove over to a popular hill in Dandenong Ranges National Park in Melbourne called One Tree Hill, a hike also referred to as the "Thousand Steps". This hike gains 1,000 feet on the Kokoda trail with a roundtrip mileage of 2.5 miles. After finishing the fun and easy hike, we drove back to pick up Brooke and load up our luggage. The three of us drove up to Thredbo via the coast and stopped in a town called Lakes Entrance for a superb fish and chips lunch before continuing on.
We crossed the Snowy River, the same one from the movie "The Man from Snowy River", and soon arrived at Kosciuszko National Park. Mt Kosciuszko is located in the Snowy Mountains and requires an entrance fee of 16.00 (AUS)/night per person. The apartment that Colin booked turned out to be extremely nice and was located perfectly for our approach to the peak. We ate dinner in the village long before Lee-Anne and Anthony showed up at 10:00. After they arrived, the five of us stayed up late and spent lots of time catching up and reminiscing about our Aconcagua climb before turning in.
Saturday November 23: Summit day
Climbing Mt Kosciuszko is ridiculously easy compared to the other Seven Summits, even more so because you can ride the chair lifts up the slopes. We weren't in any hurry to start early because the climb would only take a few hours roundtrip, so we mulled around the village for a while. There are two lifts; the Koscuiszko Express lift was closed for maintenance so we used the Snowgums lift, at a cost/person of 33.00 (AUS). Riding the lift shaved off 1,549' of elevation gain and we rode it to the Merritts Nature trail. The elevation gain from the top of the lift to the summit is 1,283' and thus began our climb at 11:00 AM. The Merritts trail continues a short distance up to the Mt Kosciuszko Track and from there we followed a nice trail leading all the way to the summit (four miles one way from the top of the Snowgums lift to the summit). We reached a large snow patch covering the trail within thirty minutes.
We thought foot traffic to the summit might be light today because the village seemed deserted last night but not so. Even though it was cold and windy (0 degrees C) when we started, many hikers had begun early and were already passing us on their descent. We paused to take photos of the highest lake in the National Park and as the trail took us higher, we stopped at a junction for a short break. We hiked up another snow patch covering the trail and were now within twenty minutes of reaching the summit.
The trail looped around to the summit and we arrived on top at 12:50. We had lots of company on the spacious summit but it was too cold and windy to stay much more than 15 minutes. It was great to have half our Aconcagua team on the summit and we thought of the others who weren't with us. Pete and Angel couldn't make this trip as each had already used vacation time for other climbing trips. Lee-Anne texted Paul on our descent (yes-there is cell coverage on Kosciuszko!) to let him know we made it and he replied, "so jealous!" Our return to the lift went quickly and the ride to the bottom finished at 2:45. We spent a relaxing afternoon in the village and one more night in the apartment.
Colin and Brooke left Thredbo early the next morning. I rode with Anthony and Lee-Anne back to Melbourne, stayed overnight with them, and spent a fun day in Melbourne on Monday before flying back to Sydney. It was great to spend time with Colin and Lee-Anne and we talked of getting together for another climb, maybe in the U.S. and hopefully getting the rest of our Aconcagua gang to join in.
