The Top of Australia : Climb Mount Kosciuszko

How to summit Australia's highest peak in both summer and winter!

Charlie Boscoe

Images

kozzie walk path.jpg
Kosciuszko summit eco-friendly walk path

by Jan Clarke

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Kosciuszko summit view

by Jan Clarke

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Merritt's Nature Trail start - Thredbo Village

by Jan Clarke

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A creek on the Merritt's Nature Trail valley section

by Jan Clarke

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Merritt's Nature Trail - valley section

by Jan Clarke

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Eagle's Nest station (top of Kosciuszko Express)

by jan Clarke

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Beginning/end of loop in Thredbo Village

by Jan Clarke

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Top of Merritt's Nature Trail (section 1)

by Jan Clarke

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Beginning of Dead Horse Gap Trail (section 2)

by Jan Clarke

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Descending to Dead Horse Gap (section 2)

by Jan Clarke

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Near end of Dead Horse Gap Trail (section 2)

by Jan Clarke

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Start of River walk (section 3)

by Jan Clarke

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River Walk wildflowers (section 3)

by Jan Clarke

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by Andrew Fysh

Description

For peak baggers out there, Mount Kosciuszko is a dream objective - it's the highest peak in an enormous country and yet doesn't require a huge amount of effort to climb. The peak sits just beyond the edge Thredbo mountain resort and is a day trip in both summer and winter for those with basic skills and reasonable fitness levels.

Thredbo resort is a pretty remote spot, lying 2.5 hours drive from Canberra, and 5.5 and 6.5 hours from Sydney and Melbourne respectively. It would seem a shame to drive all that way for a one day adventure so in this guidebook we've included some suggested warm up routes. In summer, that's a half day hike starting and finishing in Thredbo which will take you to the opposite side of the valley from Kosciuszko itself, and in winter it's a long and adventurous freeride line - Dead Horse Gap Run - accessed from the Thredbo lift system. You could feasibly do that line in the morning followed by the trip to Kosciuszko's summit in the afternoon, but spending a day blasting around the pistes of Thredbo and doing some freeride lines is a great use of a day, and a good way of getting your ski legs back before tackling Kosciuszko.

If 2 days skiing in this amazing area isn't enough - and it really isn't - then there's plenty more to go at the nearby resorts of Perisher (https://fatmap.com/guidebooks/28794/ski-down-under-:-guthega-and-mount-tate-tours/@-36.3689731,148.3606135,3488.0382264,-20.1998130,0,1798.9822746,normal) and Charlotte Pass (https://fatmap.com/guidebooks/28898/australia's-hidden-gems-:-charlotte-pass-ski-tours/@-36.3938731,148.2982842,3279.8481311,-90,0,2024.9537417,normal).

For those looking to make a longer summer trip out of summiting Kosciuszko, it's "only" 4 hours (next door by Australian standards!) to Falls Creek, where hiking and biking (https://fatmap.com/guidebooks/1514/the-best-of-falls-creek-mountain-biking/@-36.8619334,147.2677141,11334.9118200,-36.7627276,0,1724.5280951,normal) adventures abound!

Adventures

Thredbo Village to Mt Kosciuszko Summit

Once up out of the Thredbo Village (via Merritt's Nature Trail), the hike from Eagle's Nest (top of Kozzie Express chairlift) to the summit is easy and mostly on wide metal walkway. (The full walk is 9.8 km one way only)

Thredbo Loop

This loop follows Merritt's Nature Trail up out of the valley, traverses the Rams Head Range via the Dead Horse Gap Trail, and then follows the Thredbo River Walk back to Thredbo Village.

Dead Horse Gap Run

A local favourite, dropping 400 vertical metres not too far from Thredbo dropping down to Dead Horse Gap car park.