Erin successfully climbed of Mt. Kosciuszko on February 11, 2018.
Continent – Australia
Country – Australia
Gateway city: Melbourne/Sydney
Route: Charlotte Pass
Cost: $20 Australian Parks Pass + Travel expense
Peak Season: Dec-March
Length: 18km
Elevation – 7,319 feet (2,228 m)
The biggest risk on Kosciusko is blisters and sunburn. A simple day hike at low altitude, many 7 Summit attempts seem to either start or end on Kosciusko’s Peak. Kosciusko starts with a fun road trip then by summoning the motivation to hike, you can quickly have the confidence of one of the “7 Summits” under your belt. For those looking to end here, family and friends often come along to celebrate the accomplishment of a lifetime with a picnic and a bottle of Australian wine.
The region is gorgeous, and the rolling hillsides of the Snowy Mountains provide a great day of exercise and getting back into beach-shape after a few days drinking Australia’s famous Shiraz.
In Erin’s words:
“On August 1st, 2017 I underwent a major facial reconstruction, and I had my larynx reconstructed in November 2017. By January, my confidence had returned, but I wasn’t sure yet about my strength or endurance. Still scared by the challenges of the world, I applied for a passport, and received my first travel document ever with a giant “F” in the “sex” demarcation… AND, it was finally in my own name.
I set my ambitions on international travel, trading 70,000 frequent flier miles to fly down under to take on my first exploration as a woman. I rented an outlandishly decorated, though cheap, camper van in Sydney and headed south to the Snowy Mountains of Australia.
Australia was the perfect backdrop for my first big adventure. What I needed was a spirit-lifting girl’s trip to clear my brain of the chaos my life had emerged from, and Oz provided the perfect backdrop. While Australia isn’t known as the mountainous proving ground I was seeking, it is well-known for laidback countryside, beaches, food, and wine. This was a perfect escape for a weary soul after a hard year.
While I was there, I parked my Cheech & Chong-themed travel van at the base of Mt Kosciusko, and silently solo’ed Australia’s tallest mountain with a day hike; but, it was what came next which I’ll always remember. After I finished my peak, I moved on to living in anonymity I hadn’t known for months in the small, blue-collar, rural towns. I passed through, without notice or incident, and felt the peace of the mountains, ocean, and Shiraz-bearing countryside.
It was a perfect girl’s trip of healing, adventure, road tripping, and summiting a peak; really, it was everything I needed to heal and learn about myself during a solo trip on the road. When I left for Australia it would be my first trip traveling and living full-time; I had so many questions about how I would survive. Despite a few challenges I returned home assured that things might just be okay as I looked forward to the next six summits. Australia allowed me to have confidence again in the skills I’d learned traveling before, and helped me understand I still had the aptitude to take on international travel and adventure if I just remembered all that the world had already taught me…”