On Saturday 7th March Ben, Michael and I took on the challenge and climbed Mount Kosciuszko.
Our journey started early in morning with a two and a half hour drive, not without a coffee stop of course, to Thredbo, NSW. We reached the national park just after Midday and it was full of competitors for a downhill mountain bike tournament.
We were all so excited and full of energy, what an adventurous and spontaneous day.
We took the chairlift up the base of the mountain to avoid the downhill racers, it was such a beautiful view. The chairlift stopped about 6.5km from the summit of the mountain, which meant there was a 13km round trip ahead of us. As soon as I got off the chairlift I instantly felt a change in temperature and altitude, it was absolutely freezing. I definitely underestimated how cold it was going to be, lucky my boyfriend was prepared and brought extra jackets. I ended up wearing five layers of clothing (pants, sports bra, top, jumper, jacket and vest), which still wasn’t enough. The wind was going straight through my chest, making it harder to breathe. It wasnt until about 2km into the jounrney that i noticed my body begin to adapt to the conditions, easing my breathing a little.
It took us an half and a half to climb Mount Kosciuszko and we reached the summit at 1:50pm, stopping off along the way to take photos.
Here above the clouds, on top of Australia (2,228 metres above sea level), the three of us unpacked our bags and set up a little picnic of tuna, crackers and popcorn. It was so beautiful and peaceful at the top of the mountain, I could of sat there for hours. How many people can say they have had a picnic at the top of Australia above the clouds. It was absolutely amazing and such a wonderful experience.
We packed up our picnic and headed back down the mountain just before 3:00 to make the last of the chairlifts to the bottom. I was in absolute agony by the end of the walk. Every inch of my body was sore I could hardly walk any further (I really need to work on my fitness, there were people triple my age doing the walk with ease and in T-Shirts!)
Sunday was a recover day as all three of us could hardly move. The weather was amazing that day so we took a drive to cotter dam and relaxed in the sunshine. It was such a great weekend and experience. I cannot wait for winter to go back and do it all over again in the snow… except I think next time I will train in preparation for the climb haha.
