Recommended treks by the world’s greatest climber alive

Reinhold Messner
Photographed by A.Savin

Reinhold Messner is regarded by many as the world’s greatest climber alive.

He was the first person to climb all mountains higher than 8,000 metres (the "Eight-thousanders", there are 14 of them), and the first to climb Everest alone and without supplementary oxygen.

I just read a great article in the Financial Times, where he is sharing four of his favourite treks.

These are:

• Seti Khola, Nepal (a 6,993m peak never been climbed and for him the world’s most beautiful mountain)

• Tre Cime di Lavaredo, Italy (a six hours trek around five beautiful peaks in the Dolomites)

Tre Cime di Lavaredo, Italy - photographed by Günter Seggebäing

• HieloContinental Norte, Chile (one of the most beautiful and challenging treks he has ever done)

Southern Patagonian Ice Field - Grey Glacier in Torres del Paine National Park by Boludo

• Nanga Parbat, Pakistan (the most scenic of any of the treks on the 8,000m peaks) 

Nanga Parbat, Pakistan from Wikipedia

More details in  the Financial Times article.

The pictures are sourced from wikipedia.

Spend the Easter Weekend in the mountains!

Hello,

Happy Easter!

Just read in the NSW National Parks and Wildlife newsletter that a number of activities will be organised for you and your family’s enjoyment at the Perisher Resorts this Easter weekend. 

Another reason to organise your Easter or/and School Holidays in the mountains!

There will be a FUN RUN, the annual Perisher Fun Run (you can walk if you like) between Perisher Gap and Charlotte Pass at 9am on Saturday 7 April 2012.

Other activities include:

• the Great Perisher Duck Race – 4pm Saturday 7 April
• the Guthega Super Sleuth Treasure Hunt – Sunday 8 April
• NSW National Parks and Wildlife Discovery Program
• Guided Walks
• Social Gatherings.

Drink stops, medical supervision and return transport from Charlotte Pass will be provided.

The Guthega Hotel will be open all Easter and JAX will be open for drinks, finger food and the Perisher Fun Run presentation on Saturday evening.

Charlotte Pass Resort will also open The Chalet for lunches and beverages over Easter.

Location: Perisher Range cross-country ski trails

When: Ends Monday 9 April, 6:00PM

Bookings: Sally Miller (NPWS) on 02 6450 5616, sally.miller@environment.nsw.gov.au or David Read (Slopes) on 0418 419 938, djread@bigpond.com

More information: Visit the event website

Kosciuszko - Part 3: Decide when to go / checking the weather

Welcome back!

So you have trained, maybe done a few adventure races with our good friends at Maximum Adventure and you are ready to climb Mt Kosciuszko!

The best season to walk to the top of these two mountains is between April and November. 

The weather is more stable and warmer at this time, but severe storms, strong winds and even snow are possible any time of year. You need to be ready for cold, wet and windy conditions at all times (and pack accordingly!). 

Summer temperatures range from -1° to 30°C while winter goes from -12° to 10°.

Just check the pictures below to get an idea of how the weather can change within 24hrs:

Start of the track on Saturday  

  

End of the walk on Sunday

We started the walk with really sunny and warm weather and wore shorts and tee shirts. The very next morning, it was raining, windy, colder and foggy. 

A gore-tex/waterproof jacket (my loved one - above - is a Kathmandu Armstrong that I use for all my outdoor activities (running, adventure racing, etc.) to stay dry and a fleece to stay warm are must haves! I will go through the gear you need to pack with you in detail in a next post. These pictures are more to show you practically what to wear and what to expect!

The weather will clearly be the main deciding factor in choosing “the” weekend to go to the Kosciuszko National Park.

I would recommend checking it regularly using the great Bureau Of Meteorology (BOM) website and the forecast for the Perisher Valley area:

http://www.bom.gov.au/nsw/forecasts/perisher.shtml 

As you need to drive the Friday afternoon, I would suggest making the call to go there on the Thursday afternoon after the latest update from the BOM (generally the BOM issue a forecast update around 4/5pm). 

Being Thursday, you can then do late night shopping to get last minute items or food you need for the trip... and pack! 

In the next post, we will talk about how to get there!

Kosciuszko - Part 2: Prepare - Fitness

G'day!

So you want to go to the top of Mt Kosciuszko and Mt Townsend but now you are wondering how fit you need to be?

Well, while going to the top of Mt Kosciuszko is nowhere close to the effort required to climb Mt Blanc, it still requires a decent level of fitness and endurance.

The Main Range Track is a 28 kilometre loop from Charlotte Pass with a 1,259 metre climb (remember that you will be carrying a big backpack). This took us exactly 24 hours with an overnight camp. Better to plan for a day and a half walking at a comfortable pace (back to the car around/after Sunday lunch).

Walking with a big backpack

The Main Range Track Loop

Not to be too dramatic, while you can go by yourself, it's more fun to go with friends and preferably by group of three (or more) to be safe (if someone gets injured, one stay with the patient and one go to get help). The advantage is that you can also share the load and travel lighter!

If you exercise regularly and can bushwalk for a day with a 10/15kg backpack or you do adventure racing (like the Kathmandu Adventure Races), you should be fine.

While there are some elevations, most of them are gradual and not extremely steep. Apart from the weather (if it is too hot or raining) I think the most difficult part might be carrying a heavy backpack. 

If you are unsure as to your level of fitness, or you are not used to carrying a backpack, go for a day long bushwalk with friends. Load your backpack with 10/15kg of stuff (up to you with what ;) and see how you go. That should be a pretty good acid test to assess if you are fit enough/ready or not.

In the next post, we will talk about when to go and the weather!

Kosciuszko - Part 1: Prepare - Background

Welcome back!

In this post, I will provide you with links and documents to kick off your preparation to get to the top of the two tallest mountains in Australia!

 

Mt Kosciuszko (2,228 m) and Mt Townsend (2,209 m) are both situated in the Kosciuszko National Park and are the two tallest mountains in mainland Australia.

Mt Kosciuszko was named by Polish explorer Count Paul Edmund Strzelecki in 1840, in honour of a Polish national hero.

For the mountaineers, Mt Kosciuszko is part of the Seven Summits, the highest mountains of each of the seven continents. Summiting all of them is regarded as a mountaineering challenge!

If you are not a mountaineer, that's ok, something to brag about at your next cocktail/BBQ party. 

The National Park has put together an extensive document: the Kosciuszko Visitor Guide that can be downloaded for FREE.

The best season to walk to the top of these two mountains is between April and November.

While there are several tracks to go to the top of Mt Kosciuszko, the one I will describe (the one I did) is the Main Range Track. 

Sign in the National Park showing the tracks

The Main Range Track is a great overnight walk starting from Charlotte Pass. 

  

It does provide breath-taking views of the Kosciuszko National Park, goes to the top of the two tallest peaks in Australia, offers views of the glacial lakes and finally crosses the famous Snowy River!

Start of the Track!  

  

Wilkinsons Valley

A great and succinct document detailing this walk is accessible on the wild walks website. 

If you are interested by other/additional tracks, check the section specific to walks in the Kosciuszko Visitor Guide.

In the next post, we will talk about the level of fitness required!

Two tallest Australian mountains in a weekend?

Ok, so you would like to do something different next weekend...

You want to go away,  have fun,  be active and outdoors!

How about going to the top of Mt Kosciuszko and Mt Townsend (the two highest mountains in Mainland Australia)?

View of Mt Kosciuszko from Mt Townsend

At the top of Mt Townsend

 And camping in between them for the weekend?

Camping in Wilkinsons Valley

There are a few things you should do!

1. Prepare - Background
2. Prepare - Fitness
3. Decide when to go / checking the weather
4. Going there
5. Book accommodation
6. Prepare - Gear 

In the next few posts we are going to go through each point in more detail. Stay tuned!