Mount Kosciuszko

Mount Kosciuszko is a mountain located in the Snowy Mountains in Kosciuszko National Park, New South Wales. With a height of 2,228 metres (7,310 ft) above sea level, it is the highest mountain in Australia. It was named by the Polish explorer Paul Edmund Strzelecki in 1840, in honour of the Polish national hero and hero of the American Revolutionary War General Tadeusz Kościuszko, because of its perceived resemblance to the Kościuszko Mound in Kraków.

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 /kÉ'z"/iː/ long 'e' in 'bead'">iːˈÉ'skoÊŠ/, but the pronunciation /kÉ'ˈʃʊʃkoÊŠ/ is now sometimes used, which is substantially closer to the Polish pronunciation [kÉ"ɕˈtÍ¡É•uÊ‚kÉ"].

There are several native Aboriginal (Ngarigo) names associated with the mountain, with some confusion as to the exact sounds. These are Jagungal, Jar-gan-gil, Tar-gan-gil, Tackingal, however all of them mean "Table Top Mountain."

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 Mount Townsend.

When considering all of Oceania as a continent, Mount Kosciuszko is overshadowed by Puncak Jaya in Papua, Indonesia, also called Carstensz Pyramid. Different versions of the Seven Summits climbing challenge depend on which is chosen to be the "Australia" peak.

Reaching the summit

Mount Kosciuszko is the highest summit in Australia. There is a road to Charlotte Pass, from which an 8-kilometre (5 mi) path leads to the summit. Anyone with a modest level of fitness can walk to the top. Until 1977 it was possible to drive through Rawson Pass to within a few metres of 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 Pass, where they must leave their bicycles at a bicycle rack and continue onto the summit track on foot.

The peak may also be approached from Thredbo, which is a shorter 6.5 kilometres (4 mi), taking 3 to 3.5 hours for a round trip. This straightforward walk is supported by a chairlift all-year round. From the top of the chairlift there is a raised mesh walkway to protect the native vegetation and prevent erosion.

Both tracks meet at Rawson Pass (2100m), from where it is about 1.6 km to the summit. Australia's highest public toilet was built at this pass in 2007, to cope with the more than 100,000 people visiting the mountain each summer.

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 is marked by snow poles and provides a guide for cross-country skiers and the track from Thredbo is easily followed until covered by snow in winter.

Recreation

Kosciuszko National Park is also the location of the downhill ski slopes closest to Canberra and Sydney, containing the Thredbo, Charlotte Pass, and Perisher 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 the Coast to Kosciuszko ascends to the top of Mount Kosciuszko after starting at the coast 240 kilometres (150 mi) away. Paul Every, who is credited as being the one who thought of holding such a race, was the inaugural co-winner in 2004.

Higher Australian mountains

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

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

Higher peaks in the region, but outside the mainland continent:

• Puncak Jaya (4,884 m or 16,024 ft) in New Guinea. It is the highest island mountain in the world, the highest mountain in Indonesia and the highest in the Australian continent and Oceania.
• Puncak Mandala (4,760 m or 15,620 ft) in the Papua province of Indonesia. It is the second highest mountain of the Australian continent, Oceania, Australasia, New Guinea and Indonesia.
• Puncak Trikora (4,750 m or 15,580 ft) in the Papua province of Indonesia.
• Mount Wilhelm (4,509 m or 14,793 ft) in Papua New Guinea. It is the highest mountain in that country.
• Mount Victoria (4,072 m or 13,360 ft) in Central Province, Papua New Guinea.
• Mount Giluwe (4,368 m or 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

See also

• List of mountains of Australia
• Mount Townsend

Notes and references

External links

• Mt Kosciuszko Inc. â€" page for information about explorer P.E Strzelecki â€" and news about Mount Kosciuszko
• Peakware â€" World Mountain Encyclopaedia â€" photo
• Hiking Mount Kosciuszko