Mt Kosciuszko

Hi Fatso
You can't drive close - well it depends on what you think of as close. You can drive to either Thedbo or Charlotte's Pass. From Thedbro, it's a chair lift or a steep climb and a long walk and from the latter it takes a good three hours - but it may be four - I can't really remember. It's a wonderful walk - Google it - there'll be heaps of info.
All the best.
Megan

Hi Fatso,

The chairlift to the top station is followed by a six km walk to the summit (a bit over twelve k's return). It's mostly on a metal grid walkway so a comfortable pair of walking shoes is recommended. This is the closest you can drive to the summit.

The hikes mentioned in the previous post are from Charlottes Pass, the longest one being approx. 32 k's return. You can ride pushbikes on these paths except for the last km or so to the summit.

You can get info. from Thredbo or the internet.

SB

Fatso,
To quote the web site about Charlottes Pass to Mt Kosciuszko:

"Time: 6 hrs
Starts 0.5 km NW of Charlotte Pass. There is car access and parking near the start and end of this walk
Length: 18.5 kmKosciuszko National Park
Climb: 610 m
Style: Return
[Track: Hard]

This popular walk starts at Charlotte Pass and follows the Old Kosciuszko Road, as it winds through the mountains, to Rawsons Pass, then continues to the top of Kosciuszko. The walk passes the well known Snowy River and Seamans Hut. From Rawsons Pass it is a fairly short walk up the footpath to Mt Kosciuszko's peak. On a clear day the views span all the way to the horizon in every direction from the highest spot in Australia."


I've done both the walk and the ride from here. Neither was easy but not impossible. I was 48 at the time and not necessarily all that fit either.

WBS

Thanks for your replys.
I googled it & there is plenty of information there.
We were just thinking about going there on our next trip leaving in January.
I thought you could drive to within a short walk & it seems you once could.
But times & attitudes change.
I don't think we will be doing it. We carry to many scars from our young lives & it would be a massive effort to do that walk at the moment.
I shouldn't say that.
Once I was sleeping in the valley outside St Catherines Monastery in the Sinai Peninsular with my girlfriend & at about 3 AM we were woken by this group of very elderly Greek Orthodox Christian ladies passing us on their way to the summit of Mt Sinai. That is no easy feet for most healthy people, let alone arthritic 80 or 90 year olds.
They were on some pilgrimage.
So reflecting on that, I will say that I just am not motivated enough to do the walk.

I drove to the summit with my parents in about 1959.

A snow storm started as we started to come down, and that was fun in a 1952 Commer Station Wagon with bald tyres, but we made it.

I still have a photo with the "Harlottes Arse" sign in the background.
Regards Philip A

The highest mountain that I have driven is Pikes peak in Colorado - 14,000 and something feet - awesome. Poor rental car, had no guts past about 8,000ft, nearly not going at 14,000ft.

90 degrees F at the bottom, blizzard at the top. They watch the weather carefully and close the road frequently if it gets too bad.

Also they check your brake temps with a IR thermometer on the way down at 1/3 down. If they are too hot, you stop for an hour. Mine were OK at that point aas I had only used the gears (you are warned to use the gears, not brakes) but I had fun the rest of the way and no brakes at the bottom so used the gears instead - I drove rally cars at the time.

Too many people have been killed relying on their brakes on this mountain which is why the brake temp check.

Stevesub

"REAL MEN DO NOT NEED GUARD RAILS" - my favourite saying from Pikes Peak.

It might be easier to do it from Thredbo - that is where we have done it from. You get the chairlift up to Mt Crackenback and it is a 13km return walk to the summit. There is a boardwalk the whole way and no steep climbing - just a gradual incline - very doable :)