Editing Mount Kosciuszko (section)

==Reaching the summit==
Mount Kosciuszko is the [[Extremes on Earth|highest]] summit in mainland Australia. Until 1977 it was possible to drive from [[Charlotte Pass, New South Wales|Charlotte Pass]] to within a few metres of the summit, but in 1977 the road was closed to public motor vehicle access due to environmental concerns. The road is open from Charlotte Pass for walkers and cyclists for {{convert|7.6|km|mi|0}}<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/~/media/429F16DDC80E428A8A0F25550ED8808E.ashx/ |title=National Parks' 'Southern Kosciuszko walking tracks factsheet' |access-date=10 January 2017 |archive-date=5 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241005163128/http://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/~/media/429F16DDC80E428A8A0F25550ED8808E.ashx/ |url-status=live }}</ref> to Rawson Pass, at an elevation of {{convert|2100|m}} above sea level. From there a {{convert|1.4|km|mi|0|adj=on}} walking path leads to the summit.

The peak may also be approached from [[Thredbo, New South Wales|Thredbo]], taking 3 to 3.5 hours for a round trip. This straightforward walk starts from the top of the Thredbo Kosciuszko Express [[chairlift]], which operates all year-round. The walking path is popular in summer, and is a mesh walkway to protect the native vegetation and prevent erosion. It is {{convert|5|km|mi|1}} to Rawson Pass, where it meets the track from Charlotte Pass, and from where it is a further {{convert|1.4|km}} to the summit.
The walk to the summit is the easiest of all the [[Seven Summits]].<ref name="ctss">{{cite book |title=Climbing the Seven Summits: A Comprehensive Guide to the Continents' Highest Peaks |last=Hamill |first=Mike |year=2014 |publisher=The Mountaineers Books |isbn=978-1-59485-649-5 |page=275 |url={{GBurl|id=fiSgyRhsUrgC}} |access-date=24 April 2017}}</ref>

Australia's highest [[public toilet]] was built at Rawson pass in 2007,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/celebrating-the-centenary-of-australias-rooftop-playground-20061206-gdozhr.html |title=Celebrating the centenary of Australia's rooftop playground |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=6 December 2006 |access-date=10 November 2018 |first=Daniel |last=Lewis |archive-date=10 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181110200010/https://www.smh.com.au/national/celebrating-the-centenary-of-australias-rooftop-playground-20061206-gdozhr.html |url-status=live }}</ref> to cope with the more than 100,000 people visiting the mountain each summer.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://web2.encom.com.au/peter/tidings/2007maytidings.pdf |title= The rush to complete Australia's highest dunny |date=3 May 2007 |publisher= Department of Environment and Climate Change, NSW |pages=6–7 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141109233226/http://web2.encom.com.au/peter/tidings/2007maytidings.pdf |archive-date= 9 November 2014}}</ref>

The third and often overlooked route up Mount Kosciuszko is up the very challenging and historic '''Hannel's Spur Track''' ({{cvt|15.5|km|disp=or}}), which approaches from the NW and is the only route to pass through the Western Fall Wilderness Zone – passing through four different bio-diversity bands along the ascent. The Hannel's Spur Track is officially Australia's biggest vertical ascent of {{cvt|1800|m|ft}}. This is the same route that explorer Paul Strzelecki climbed and discovered Kosciuszko in 1840 and also the same annual route that the stockmen once brought the cattle up/down from the valley almost {{cvt|2|km}} below to graze in the alpine meadows of Kosi throughout the summer. The various aboriginal tribes from the Murray valley also used this same route annually for millennia to access Kosciuszko to harvest the delicacies of Bogong moths that were abundant throughout the summer months and to socialise with other tribes from the coast and northern plains. The Hannel's Spur Track trailhead (sign) is about a {{convert|1.4|km|adj=on}} hike SSE of the Geehi Rest Area on the Alpine Way road between the towns of Thredbo and Khancoban.

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 skiing|cross-country skiers]], and the track from Thredbo is easily followed until covered by snow in winter.

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[[File:North from Mt Kosciusko.jpg|704px|thumb|center|Looking north from the summit towards Mount Townsend]]

[[File:Mount Kosciuszko with snow.jpg|thumb|Mount Kosciuszko with snow, viewed from Guthega Peak]]

=== Recreation ===
[[File:Mt Kosciuszko map Stevage.png|right|thumb|343x343px|Topographic map of Mount Kosciuszko including the approaches from Charlotte Pass and Thredbo.]]
Kosciuszko National Park is also the location of the downhill ski slopes closest to [[Canberra]] and [[Sydney]], containing the [[Thredbo, New South Wales|Thredbo]], [[Charlotte Pass, New South Wales|Charlotte Pass]], and [[Perisher Ski Resort|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 {{convert|240|km|mi}} away.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.coast2kosci.com/ |title=Coast to Kosciuszko |publisher=Coast2kosci.com |access-date=18 June 2012 |archive-date=15 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120615144305/http://www.coast2kosci.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref>