Australia’s 16 Highest Peaks [experienced overnight hike]

Cover photo by Antoine

Note: not answering the questions will result in an immediate rejection.

Most of Australia’s highest peaks are within a 10km radius of Charlottes Web Pass.

Peakbagging is the activity of climbing multiple mountain peaks, and some clinically insane people (I say this with nothing but admiration) have summitted 16 of these within a handful of hours on a single day.

Join Antoine and I (Sudarshan) on a slightly less clinically insane endeavour, after exams finish for the year 🙂

The “16 Highest Peaks” route covers about 50km and a total elevation gain of 2300m, and is best completed over 2-3 days. Explore our planned route here: Australia’s 16 Highest Peaks Route. We will be walking 15-20km per day.

The route includes lots of off-track walking, and several rock scrambling sections to get yourself to the top of these hills.

This is in the Alpine regions of Australia and regardless of a world-scale comparison, the weather can always be extreme, with snowstorms and heavy winds even occurring in Summer.

Dates:

• Drive down Wednesday 9th December, departing Sydney early afternoon. Set up camp for the night at Island Bend.
• 3-day hike: Thursday to Saturday, enjoy peakbagging. 
• Camp at Jindabyne on Saturday night, and drive back to Sydney on Sunday morning.

How to join:

You need overnight hiking experience and some other relevant difficult walking experience.

Simply answer all the questions at the bottom of this post into the comment box to sign up. 

Please note: Being accepted on this website does not guarantee you a spot on the hike. 

You will also need to join us on a long single-day hike while carrying a full pack (”training hike”) near Sydney at some point before then, just to confirm fitness (and that you don’t hate my guts). Your spot on the trip is not confirmed until then. 

What to Bring:

• Hiking pack – a proper hiking pack* with a waist strap, around 60L capacity (depending on how efficiently you pack!)
• Clothes – long sleeve shirt (very sunny), well cushioned socks, wide brimmed hat, sunglasses. A spare set of clothes to sleep in. Jacket, beanie, thermal. 
• Rain jacket, rain pants – Alpine weather is notorious for randomly deciding to rain or very heavy winds.
• Shoes – solid hiking boots.
• Tent – consider sharing a tent* with others to save weight (can coordinate on group chat once you’re accepted)
• Sleep system – a warm sleeping bag* as temperatures overnight even in summer can reach less than 5ºC, a sleeping mat*.
• Water – At LEAST 3L of storage capacity. Water purification tablets, or a water filter, or a jetboil, as we will collect water along the way. Gatorade or other electrolytes are good to have as well.
• Food – enough food for 3 days and lots of snacks. High energy, light weight, and easy to cook/prepare. A camping stove* (with fuel), matches/lighter, pot, etc. Ask if you need suggestions. No campfires allowed.
• Medical Stuff – an emergency blanket*. Any personal medications, and hygiene products if applicable.
• Miscellaneous – a charged head torch, basic toiletries, sunscreen, phone and powerbank.
• A Poo Bag*. You are not allowed to poo on the main range and must carry your waste out. 
• Optionals – rubbish bag, hiking poles, camera, compass, insect repellent. Inflatable pillow if you’re fancy like that. Sandals for camp.

You need all of this gear, but please make sure to keep your pack as light as possible. Things marked with an asterisk* can be borrowed from the club IF AND ONLY IF you let us know now what you need, as the Gear Cupboard is closed in the holidays. Preferably, you have most of your own though.

Questions

Include these answers in the “Comment” box on the website. No need for whole paragraphs, be concise. 

1. Previous overnight hiking experience. Include off-track experience.
   • Longest days you’ve done with an overnight pack? We will have 20km days.
2. How much of the gear you need to borrow from the club
3. Do you have a car you can drive down? If not, do you have a license to share the driving?
4. It’s not a club trip without a funny question: What’s the highest place you have been in the world?
5. Are you available for the Training Hike on the 14 or 15th November? If not, list other dates that you are available.

If you have any issues or queries feel free to email me (Sudarshan) at president@unswoc.org