Mount Kosciusko

Mount Kosciuszko
View of Mount Kosciuszko from the east
Mount Kosciuszko
Elevation	2,228 metres (7,310 ft) AHD[1]
Location	New South Wales, Australia
Range	Great Dividing Range / Main Range
Coordinates	36°27′21.53″S 148°15′48″E / 36.4559806°S 148.26333°E / -36.4559806; 148.26333Coordinates: 36°27′21.53″S 148°15′48″E / 36.4559806°S 148.26333°E / -36.4559806; 148.26333
First ascent	1840 by Paweł Edmund Strzelecki
Easiest route	Walk (dirt road)
Listing	Ultra

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).^[1] 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.^[2]

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,^[3] which is substantially closer to the Polish pronunciation [kɔɕˈt​͡ɕuʂkɔ] ( listen).

Various measurements of the peak originally called by that name showed it to be slightly lower than its neighbour, Mount Townsend, and the names were thereupon transposed by the New South Wales Lands Department, so that Mount Kosciuszko still remains the name of the highest peak of Australia, and Mount Townsend ranks as second.^[4] 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.^[5]

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 by 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 with human waste management becoming a serious issue.^[6]

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

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. Its first year was in 2004 and Paul Every pioneered the race.

Higher Australian mountains

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

• Mawson Peak (2,745 m/9,010 ft) on Heard Island
• Dome Argus (4,030 m/13,200 ft), Mount McClintock (3,490 m/11,500 ft) and Mount Menzies (3,355 m/11,010 ft) in the Australian Antarctic Territory.

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 of the top
The monument of the top	Lake Coopatamba, the lake on the highest place in the Australian continent	A view from Mount Kosciuszko	Thredbo from the mountain

Notes and references

See also

• Australian Landmarks
• Mount Townsend

External links

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

v • d • e Australian States and Territories Highest Points Bimberi Peak (Australian Capital Territory) • Mount Kosciuszko (New South Wales) • Mount Zeil (Northern Territory) • Mount Bartle Frere (Queensland) • Mount Woodroffe (South Australia) • Mount Ossa (Tasmania) • Mount Bogong (Victoria) • Mount Meharry (Western Australia)