Kosciuszko in an afternoon: the peak that embarrasses the list

You can climb Kosciuszko, the highest point of mainland Australia and one of the 7 summits, between lunch and dinner. From the top of the chairlift at Thredbo it is about 13 kilometres there and back, on a raised walkway and a gravel track, and most people take four or five hours.

It sits on the same list as Everest. That is the whole charm of it.

Up by chairlift, then on foot

The Kosciuszko Express chairlift lifts you from Thredbo village to about 1,930 metres, near the Eagles Nest. From there a metal-mesh walkway runs out across the alpine herbfields. It keeps your boots dry and keeps thousands of feet off the plants.

At Rawson Pass, about 2,100 metres, the track meets the one from Charlotte Pass. The last 1.4 kilometres loop gently up to the summit cairn at 2,228 metres. On a clear day you see rounded tops in every direction. Then you walk back to the lift.

The longer way, from Charlotte Pass & Hannel's Spur

If you want to earn it, start at Charlotte Pass instead. The old Summit Road, long closed to cars, climbs about 390 metres over roughly 18.6 kilometres there and back, past the stone refuge of Seaman's Hut. It takes six to eight hours, and you will meet far fewer people.

If you really want to go for it, do the Hannel's Spur route. It's the highest altitude difference that's possible in Australia, about 1800m5,906 ft. Its a 2 day trek, so double Carstensz Pyramid :)

Easy is not the same as safe

Kosciuszko is a walk, but it is a walk across open alpine country with no shelter from the weather. The wind can be fierce, and summer storms build fast over the Main Range. Seaman's Hut was built in memory of a walker who died in a blizzard nearby.

Carry a warm layer and a rain shell, check the forecast, and turn round if it closes in. In winter the whole range is under snow, and the walk becomes a ski tour or a snowshoe trip, covered in the FAQ on Kosciuszko in winter.

No permit, one small fee

There is no climbing permit, and nothing to apply for. If you drive into Kosciuszko National Park you buy a vehicle pass for the day, and the chairlift is a separate ticket from the resort. The permits chapter has the current prices.

Why it is on the list at all

Kosciuszko is the summit Dick Bass chose for Australia when he drew up the first list in 1983. Reinhold Messner later argued for Carstensz Pyramid in New Guinea instead, a far harder climb, and both versions survive. Our post on the two lists explains the argument.

Many climbers who follow the Messner list climb Kosciuszko as well, because it costs them a single afternoon and settles the question for good. The Kosciuszko guide has every route, from the chairlift walk to the two-day climb up Hannels Spur.