Ten Peaks October 2016 - Part 4

We slept really well and dawn came quickly. We had a more leisurely start today. With only 4 peaks to climb across an expected 7-hour journey we could afford a later start. We had a hot breakfast in the resort restaurant; with the sun streaming in through the floor to ceiling windows and a hot cup of tea in hand I could have quite happily settled into a corner for the day and read a book or two.

We picked up our lunch packs, jumped back in the cars and headed for Thredbo where we caught the ski lift up about 1.5km, not quite to the top of the ski lift area. Ski lifts make me nervous; all that potential to really stuff up the exit. I managed a smooth and dignified dismount and was relieved to have not dropped anything on the way up. Actually, I barely moved in my seat and felt sick each time Meg pulled her phone out to take photos. I didn’t dare move a muscle in case I clumsily bumped her and made the phone fall into the abyss below. She probably would have pushed me out after it.

We had to climb a nasty little 500m section to reach the start of the hike to Peak 7, Rams Head. That hurt a bit as we stretched and worked our tired and tight muscles.

We headed for Peaks 7 and 8 – Rams Head and Rams Head North. These two peaks had a lot of granite boulders and rocks to negotiate. I liked this aspect of working out where to go next, how to get over and around tricky spots and how to get off from where you’d climbed. We did a bit of bum sliding to get off Peak 8 and back on the track to Peak 9. A metal walkway leads most of the way to Mt Kosi but there was very little visible in parts due to the heavy snow cover.

Heading to Peaks 7 and 8.

At Peak 7

Getting off Peak 7 was a hoot; I slid down first and Meg followed my trail. She filmed as she came down and crashed into me. We lay in the snow, laughing too much to get up and keep going.

At Peak 8

Today had a more relaxed feel to it; still challenging but less peaks, less hours walking and an easier trail with more exposed ground.

At times on day 2 it felt like we were leading ourselves, out on a Girls Own Adventure, picking our own track across the snow and up and over the rocky outcrops. A couple of times we’d only be able to tell which way to go by following footprints in the snow or we’d pick our own path by making a beeline for the next peak in the distance. This was particularly the case when heading to Peak 9, Unnamed Peak. When we finally arrived, the lead group packed up and left after a few minutes. We waited a little longer to snack and have a little rest before making our own way down, balancing precariously on unstable rocks and slippery grass as we went.

On the way to Peak 9 we made it onto the raised walkway for a distance before turning right and heading up.

At Peak 9 - it was really windy!

 At the bottom we caught up with part of the group at the lookout before beginning the climb to the biggest prize of all – the Mt Kosciuszko summit. You can see climbers in the background.

We were a small group of 5 and I led the way. About half way up I started counting 20 steps at a time; we’d break for 10 seconds or so then push on. This was another one of the moments where I was so thankful I’d done all the hard work on the step machine at the gym. It was hard but totally doable. We met other folk on their way down. One man told us that when you got to the top you weren’t really there yet - there was another kilometre to go across to the summit; his wife said no, that it was only a few hundred metres. The wife was right. I told our small group that we were nearly there – because, looking up, we could only see blue sky – but upon reaching the crest we still had a little way to go. The last bit was easy because the prize was within reach!

And finally, there we were – on the very top of Australia with a beautifully clear 360-degree view. Suddenly, a glider flew right past us; it was so close we could see the pilot’s smiling face and his waving hand. He circled a couple of times then disappeared.

Meg and I hugged and couldn’t stop smiling; everyone was happy and laughing. We took photos but didn’t get to sit and savour the achievement for too long as we had to make sure we were back at the ski lift by 4pm to catch the last ride out – otherwise it was a long walk down.

Peak 10!! We made it all the way!!

Photo bomber!!

What goes up must come down – and we took full advantage of the steep slope we’d just climbed and slid a long way down, chortling all the way. The walk back to the ski lift was flat, made easy by the knowledge that there were no more hills to climb. Our sense of satisfaction, relief and joy at achieving our goal helped propel us along the concrete and metal walking tracks and through the melting snow.

The 500 metres down to the operating ski lift was the last physical exertion we’d have to expend. Meg took photos again as we travelled down in the swinging chair; I sat really still again and made another successful dismount. 

We gathered at a local pub for an early dinner and laughed and cried and shared our stories. It was a happy couple of hours where we were all linked by our common awesome experience.