MOUNTAINEERING INFORMATION ARTICLES

Kosciuszko - Climbing History

Even before the first recorded Climb to its summit, Kosciuszko was almost certainly Climbed by the Aborigines already. It would thus be safe to assume that its Climbing History began even before the recorded Climb. However, because it is lying in the heart of the Snowy Mountains, it wasn't until 1824 that it was first seen by white men.

In 1839, the Polish explorer Sir Paul Edmond de Strzelecki arrived in Australia and investigated the remote southeastern corner of the country, the present New South Wales. On 15 February 1840, he reached the summit of what he believed to be Australia's highest mountain. He named it after a famous fellow countryman named Tadeusz Kosciuszko, a Polish revolutionary who helped the Americans against the British in the 1770s as well as aiding his countrymen in their fight for independence from Russia. Much of it was because Strzelecki thought that the peak bore similarity to the shape of Tadeusz Kosciuszko's tomb at the Wawel Cathedral in Krakow, Poland.

It should be noted that the name of the Polish patriot was first recorded incorrectly - Kosciusko. However, since 1940, there has been growing pressure to return the name to its correct form. With the backing of such notable people as the late Pope John Paul II, who was himself Polish and was from Krakow, and former Australian prime minister Gough Withlam, the movement finally succeeded and in March 1997, the NSW Geographical Names Board formally added the z.

Kosciuszko is the smallest of the Seven Summits. Aside from that, it is also relatively easy to Climb and does not require technical equipment to reach its summit. Because of that, numerous people have already succeeded in Climbing it. So it would be a good idea to take on this mountain first if you are planning to take on the quest of Climbing the Seven Summits then gradually going to the other, more technical ones.

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