Kosciuszko

7-Summits The quest for the highest mountain in each of the seven continents, Update #7.
November 16th, 2004 from Foresthill, CA.

Hello everyone. Good news! – I have just completed the 7-Summits. After a full year of haggling with the Indonesian Government, all to no avail, I decided to finish the project with Kosciuszko located in Southern Australia. You might recall that my original objective was to climb the undisputed 7-Summits (i.e., both Elbrus & Mt Blanc, and both Carstenz & Kosciuszko) and reach both the North and South Poles. I had to settle for the original version of the 7-Summits which was first completed by Dick Bass in 1985 and included Kosciuszko. This makes me the 91st person, and oldest American at time of completion, to have climbed the 7-Summits Kosciuszko-Version.

Even this straight forward climb included some uncertainly. I had been so busy with my job that I neglected to do much research about what time of year was best to climb in this part of the world. While on the plane I started reading my Lonely Planet guide only to find out that the route I was planning to attempt was located at the end of an 8-mile road that is not maintained during the winter. There is normally snow cat service a small ski area located at this remote location, but I was catching the early spring and several weeks earlier the ski area had closed for the season and there was no longer any over-snow transport available. After arriving in Sydney, I called to a nearby town and learned that there was different route that started on the opposite side of the mountain and that the road was clear to that location. So I rented a car and Doris and I started the 6-hour drive to Thredbo, a ski resort located deep within Kosciuszko National Park. However, we had one little problem. Our schedule only allowed a 2-day window to climb the mountain and a storm was moving in the next morning with snow forecasted to accumulate as low as 5000’. This meant that after taking possession of the rental car at 8:30 AM, negotiating our way through the most horrific traffic congestion in the entire free world while driving on the wrong side of the road, and driving another 6-hours we would have to climb start late in the afternoon and finish in the dark just ahead of the approaching storm. So to make a long story short, the officer who pulled me over 40 kilometers from Thredbo said I was speeding at 30 kilometers per hour (KPH) over the posted speed limit of 100 KPH. I explained that I was trying desperately to climb Kosciuszko before the storm moved in, to which he yelled “is climbing Kosciuszko worth loosing your drivers’ license for 3-months and paying a $579 fine?” Now with every ounce of my being I wanted to say “Yeah,” but wisdom prevailed and after getting lecture number “17A” I was back on my way. The officer let me off with a ticket for 15 KPH over the posted speed limit of 100 KPH which is a $208 fine. Keep in mind that 15 KPH is 9 MPH over the 60 MPH speed limit. After arriving at Thredbo we learned that even though the ski season was over the chair lift still operated for sight seers and hikers. We took the lift to cut 1800’ off the ascent and began our climb at 3:30 in the afternoon. Doris and I did indeed summit just about sunset and ended up hiking down in the dark which brings us to our next great adventure. We only had one headlamp between us, so I let Doris use it while I relied on my night vision and the moonlight filtering through the building storm clouds. About halfway down the chair lift, with the village light shimmering far below us, we encountered a Wombat. What is a Wombat you ask? Well in the dark I thought it was a rather big bear that did not appear to be the least bit afraid of me. It turns out that it is a marsupial, sort of like a Koala on steroids, which is generally not too aggressive. So we did not get eaten, however, I thought Doris might kill me as she had read that Australia has many poisonous snakes and in the dark she was convinced that a venomous attack was immanent. While driving back towards civilization in the middle of the night with a storm approaching we saw another marvel – an 8’ tall (and exceeding well endowed) Kangaroo lumbered across the road in front of us to his harem of about 15-smaller kangaroos. We stopped and watched them for a few minutes before moving on and finding a place to stay for the night. Back to the speeding ticket. I asked myself what are the odds that I will ever return to Australia. Not likely, so the question is do I pay the fine or not? I paid it.

I will still complete the “Adventure Grand Slam” if all goes well next April by reaching the North Pole on skis. So as of this date, here is the Grand Slam tally: Denali (20,320’, North America), Aconcagua (23,000’, South America), Mt Blanc (15,772’, Europe), Elbrus (18,510’, Europe), Everest (29,035’, Asia), Kilimanjaro (19,340’, Africa), Mt. Vinson (16,067’, Antarctica) and the South Pole (9,514’), Kosciuszko (7,310’, Australia). Based on available statistics I would be the 1st American, the oldest person, and the 4th ever to complete the “Adventure Grand Slam.” Will I go to Carstenz Pyramid (16,023’, Australasia)? Absolutely, just as soon as I can figure out a way to get there and back safely.

I’ll keep you posted from time to time. Also, once again a big thanks to my sponsors. Without them I could not have done these expeditions. Please give them your support. They include: Abram Interstate, Donner Ski Ranch, Epiphany Sales Inc, Foresthill Beacon, Foresthill Messenger, Foresthill Telephone, Grant Hardware and Plumbing, Guard Transmission, Klinger Construction, Monte Verde Inn, Power Play Energy, Ragen MacKenzie Investment Services, Pasco Scientific, Power Play Energy, SciTech Astronomical, Townsend Design, VG Donuts and Bakery and numerous individual contributors. Keep in mind that the Foresthill Divide Web page has copies of all of my 7-Summits updates at http://www.foresthilldivide.com/7summits.htm.

Summit of Kosciuszko, October 27th, 2004, Australia

Randy Peeters
4404 Morning Star Place
Foresthill, CA 95631 USA
(530) 367-5561 Home
(916) 390-4464 Cell
rlpeeters@msn.com

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