Also known as the Aussie Top 10, this partly off-track Snowy Mountains bushwalk visits the Top Ten Peaks of Australia (the highest peaks in Australia are all located in the southern end of the Kosciuszko National Park along the Main Range). It adds few other side-trips and “lesser peaks” that explore the spectacular alpine landscape – and being a busy long weekend the route tries to avoid the busy “tourist tracks”. Over half this Top Ten Peaks bushwalk is off-track; you could visit the same peaks via a variety of easier routes… but this wouldn’t be as much fun!
A quick synopsis of the three-day loop bushwalk:
- Day 1: Charlotte Pass to Little Twynam. From Charlotte Pass, we follow the Snowy River along a high-grade track to the Illawong Swing Bridge. A steep ascent on a rough track gets us up onto the main range, where we leave the track and find a camping site below Little Twynam. 11.4km / 612m ascent, mostly on-track.
- Day 2: Little Twynam to Mount Townsend. A big day, starting with an ascent from our campsite to traverse Mount Twynam. After a side-trip to the spectacular Mount Sentinel, we follow the busy Main Range Track past Carruthers Peak, Mount Nortcote and Muellers Peak. At Muellers Pass we leave the tourist track for an off-track loop over Alice Rawson Peak, Mount Townsend and Mount Du Faur (we skip Abott Peak), before finding a campsite on the ridge above the Mount Townsend walking track. 20km / 1,147m ascent. About half the route is off-track.
- Day 3: Rams Head Peaks. From our campsite on the ridge above Lake Albina, we follow the valley down to the Wilkinsons Creek Campsite and around the back (western side) of Mount Kosciuszko, reaching Rawsons Pass just before midday. After a bit over a kilometre on the Main Range Track boardwalk, we veer south to climb Rams Head North and Rams Head. We complete our loop by taking an off-track route from near the Cootapatamba Lookout straight down the valley, to pick up the Mount Kosciuszko Summit Walk near the bridge over the Snowy River. 21km / 554m ascent. Mostly off-track.
Day 1: Charlotte Pass to Little Twynam (11.4km / 612m ascent)
Our Kosciuszko bushwalk (Connor is joining me on this walk) starts at Charlotte Pass with the paved Main Range Track, which descends to the Snowy River. Home of the oldest and highest ski resort in Australia, Charlotte Pass is named after Miss Charlotte Adams, the daughter of the Surveyor General and the first woman to climb to Mount Kosciuszko.
Just above the confluence of the Snowy River and Club Lake Creek, we turn right onto a walking trail that follows the Snowy River down to Guthega. This upgraded track is part of the new Snowies Alpine Walk, and is one of the short sections of “tourist track” we are taking (you could also head diagonally up the steep slope to avoid this formed trail). On the opposite side of the river, a track continues up past Blue Lake and along the main range to Eagles Nest at the top of the Thredbo chairlift.
Despite my general dislike of boardwalks, it’s a pleasant start to our three-day hike, as we follow the side of the valley a short distance above the Snowy River.
Immortalised in cultural folklore through Banjo Patterson’s poem The Man from Snowy River, the river has a length of just over 350km as it drops from 2,220m near the base of Mount Kosciuszko to the Bass Strait.
After 5km the track crosses Spencer Creek over a steel bridge, which is Australia’s highest suspension bridge. Constucted in 2021, it was the final “critical piece of infrastructure” required to complete the second stage of the Snowies Alpine Walk. Much higher up Spencer Creek (between the Charlotte Pass and Perisher ski resorts) is the Spencer Creek weather station. This small snow recording station has been run by Snowy Hydro since 1954, and the snow depth measure from here “has become the gold standard used and reported online by many resorts”.
Soon Illawong Lodge comes into view just below the tree line, an arguably grandiose term for a small mountain hut. Originally called Pounds Creek Hut when built in 1925-26, the hut was restored and extended in 1956 as a ski club lodge. Lodge members were also responsible for building Illawong Bridge, a suspension swing bridge across the Snowy River. Illawong Lodge and the Illawong Swing Bridge are now classified by the National Trust of Australia, and the hut is managed by the Illawong Ski Tourers (IST).
The Illawong Bridge is also where we part way with the Snowies Alpine Walk trail, which continues down the river another 2.5km to Guthega. A steep and rough trail heads up from the river to the main range.
This is the biggest single ascent of our three-day walk, as we climb from about 1600m to 2000m. The low scrub of the (relatively) lower elevation changes to open, grassy meadows as we climb up the ridge.
As we reach the top of the main range, we leave the walking track and head directly up towards the peaks of Mount Twynam and Little Tywnam. This is as far as we go on Day 1, after a mid-afternoon start. We find a suitable campsite near the top of Pounds Creek, in a valley between Mount Twynam and Little Tywnam.
Although its not one of the Top Ten Peaks, we’ve got enough time to leave our heavy backpacks at our campsite for a quick ascent of Little Tywnam.
It’s an easy scramble to the top of Little Twynam (2,131m), which offers sweeping views from the summit. (Both Little Twynam and Mount Twynam are named after Edward Twynam, the Chief Surveyor for NSW in the 1890s.)
To the north are a series of small tarns along Pounds Creek; above the creek is Mount Anton (2,000m), Mount Anderson (1,997m) and Mount David (1,920m).To the south-west is Carruthers Peak (2,145m), and the angular summit of Mount Townsend (2,209m).
Without packs, it’s a quick trip back to our campsite, where we watch the daylight slowly fading away.
Day 2: Little Twynam to Mount Townsend (20km / 1,147 ascent)
It’s an early start for a big day, as we tackle most of the tallest peaks. We’re off around 7am, as the sun emerges from behind the mountains.
Our first peak is Mount Twynam, a short walk up from our camp and a gradual ascent up the (mostly) grassy meadow.
We approach from the north-eastern side, picking a route up the boulders on the lower flank of the mountain.
We’re soon on the top of the expansive Mount Twynam peak, with views towards the east and south-east, including Little Twynan below.
The “true summit” of Mount Twynam (the third highest peak at 2,195m) with its trig point (TS4487) is soon in sight. You could comfortably camp on the large summit area – but you’d have to carry all your water up to the top.
From the trig point there’s a 360-degree view over the barren alpine landscape.
You can see a long way out to the north-west over Watsons Crags and Tenison Woods Knoll which at 2,136m would (or should?) be the ninth-highest peak – but it’s not an officially-named peak. Beyond Tenison Woods Knoll is Sentinel Ridge, and then a series of lower peaks.
To the south-west are several of the “Top 10 Peaks” which we’re heading towards: Mount Kosciuszko, Mount Northcote, Muellers Peak and Rams Head North (and, arguably, Etheridge Ridge).
We descend the western side of Mount Twynam, soon picking up what looks like the remnants of a very old road before reaching the well-trodden trail that runs along the top of the Kosciuszko Main Range.
The walking track zig-zags along the top of the range, but we soon veer off this, heading west down a gully towards Mount Sentinel.
Reaching a small saddle along a tributary of Strzelecki Creek, we find the Sentinel Ridge track and ditch our backpacks as we continue our detour out along the long, spiny ridge.
The track follows the steep and narrow ridge, which traverses a couple of saddles as it heads out to Mount Sentinel. Almost directly below on the northern side of the ridge, Strzelecki Creek drops over a series of cascades and waterfalls.
It’s an impressive track, with views in all directions from the knife-edge ridge.
Before the last ascent, the track is blocked by two gendarmes, requiring a scramble over the two ribs of rock (there’s not much exposure, but it would dangerous if the rock was wet or icy).
Although Mount Sentinel (or The Sentinel) is only 1,905m in height, it offers a spectacular view and has been described “one of the most striking alpine peaks on the mainland with its diamond shape and knife edge ridge” (SummitPost).
Being at the (western) edge of the Main Range, there’s an unobstructed view to the west towards Geehi of a dramatic series of ridges and peaks, stretching out as far as the eye can see.
As we head back along the ridge towards the top of the Main Range, The Sentinel juts out prominently above the surrounding ridges. (It’s hard to believe, looking at the steep sides of the mountain, that in winter there’s a ski run known as the “Fridge Run” down the southeast face.)
We soon reach the Main Range Track, as the weather closes in and mist sweeps across the ridge; there’s a last view of Mount Sentinel which is now behind us.
For the first time today we encounter a few people on the popular Main Range Track, which forms part of a popular loop day-walk from Charlotte Pass.
The Main Range Track passes right next to our next Top Ten Peak, Carruthers Peak at 2,145m. It’s a little underwhelming after The Sentinel – and because of the mist we don’t actually see much… Carruthers Peak was named in the summer of 1906-07 during a Summer Camp Excursion to the Kosciuszko summit after the Premier of NSW Joseph Carruthers.
From Carruthers Peak we’re on the Main Range Track for just over two kilometres, with views of Club Lake to the east. Although it’s not much fun walking along this tourist highway, the steel boardwalk protects the fragile alpine environment along a very popular trail. It’s also an impressive engineering feat, costing about $1m per kilometre to construct.
We veer off the track and up the ridge to Mount Northcote., which looms just above the steel boardwalk. A scar formed by the previous walking track shows the long-term impact damage to flora; the track was re-routed to avoid damaging an extremely fragile windswept feldmark plant community. (“Surveys indicate that the entire Australian population of feldmark grass occurs in a single population extending about 1 km along the ridge top from the Mount Northcote side of Northcote Pass to the summit of Mount Lee” – DCEEW.)
As we ascent the gentle ridge on the northern of the mountain (or hill!), there’s a great view of Lake Albina to the west.
At the top is a stone cairn marking the summit of the very flat summit, and some old wire and posts – perhaps remnants of fencing from when the alpine meadows were used for seasonal grazing from the 1830s to the end of the 1960s. There was also a ski-tow and ski lodge on Mount Northcote that was built in 1954 which at the time was “the best ski tow in the Kosciuszko area”, until the Northcote Ski Tow Hut burnt down in 1956. It was one of only two ski lodges on the main range – the other one (Kunama) was destroyed by an avalanche,
Mount Northcote (2,131m) is the tenth highest peak – or thereabouts, depending on what you consider a peak, and was named after the third Governor-General of Australia, Lord Henry Stafford Northcote (1846-1911).
“When ascending the mountain… the opportunity being taken of naming one of the most prominent peaks, overlooking Lake Albino [sic], after his Excellency Lord Northcote… and a narrow defile encircling Mount Northcote was named Northcote Pass, and the gorges which Mount Northcote overlooked were christened Lady Northcote gorges.
From the flat-topped summit of Mount Northcote there are sweeping views down Club Lake Creek Valley to the north-east, and almost directly to the south is Mount Kosciuszko.
We descend down the southern ridge of Mount Northcote to re-join the Main Range Track – but not for long. Just before Muellers Pass, we turn off the track and start climbing the ridge up to Muellers Peak.
We’re soon clambering up the rocky peak to the summit of Muellers Peak.
Muellers Peak (2,129m) is by my reckoning the twelfth highest peak, but it seems rude to bypass this summit which is only a short detour. The views from the top are nice, but not spectacular – you can see Lake Albina to the north, and Club Lake Creek to the north-east. Initially called Mount Clarke, the peak was re-named in re-named after German botanist Ferdinand von Mueller in 1981.
The plan is to follow the top of the ridge to our next peak – but after some painfully slow negotiating of boulders and thick scrub, we drop down the ridge to pick up a bushwalking track where we encounter a few other bushwalkers heading towards Mount Townsend. We ditch our bagpacks near a small creek and potential campsite, and continue with day-packs along the bushwalking track.
There are some nice views as we approach the base of Mount Townsend… but before ascending this peak, we bear north towards the rocky Alice Rawson Peak.
It’s an easy scramble to the top of Alice Rawson Peak (2,160m), the sixth-highest peak, which offers 360-degree views. Alice Rawson, after whom the peak is named, was the daughter of Sir Harry Holdsworth Rawson, a British Admiral and Governor of NSW from 1902 to 1909.
To the north is Mount Jagungal and Jagumba Mountain; to north-west is the long Geehi Flats valley standing out between the high ridges; and to the west Mount Bogong and Granuaille Mountain.
We descend the peak and head directly for the higher Mount Townsend, which is to the south of Alice Rawson Peak. Near the base of Mount Townsend is “hanging rock”, which was first documented over a hundred years ago:
At noon we began the descent, noticing on our way down over the boulders the Hanging Rock, an enormous wedge-shaped boulder perched on two huge upright ones, forming an archway through which a four-in-hand might be driven. In less than half an hour we had regained the valley where we had left our horses.
Sydney Morning Herald, 3 February 1885
Even without climbing to the top of Mount Townsend, there are some great views looking back to Alice Rawson Peak and to the west toward Geehi.
It’s an easy scramble up the rocky side of the mountain, which you can ascend from pretty much any direction. It looks formidable from a distance, but as you get closer there’s a variety of routes to the summit.
As Australia’s second-highest mountain (and trig point), Mount Townsend (2,209m) offers some pretty spectacular views – without the crowds of Mount Kosciuszko. (Although I think the views from the slightly lower Alice Rawson Peak were slightly better.) The mountain is named after Thomas Scott Townsend, who surveyed the entire Main Range, including the Ramshead Range. To the north is Alice Rawson Peak, and in the far distance Mount Jagungal and many of the high peaks along the Rolling Grounds. Looking south-west is Abbot Peak and Mount Du Faur, and beyond these peaks is the Ramshead Range.
We’re not quite done yet… we descend the western side of Mount Townsend as we head to our last peak for today.
As we weave between boulders, we startle (or we are startled, or probably both) a Highlands Copperhead snake, which is described as “venomous but shy”.
We skirt around Abbott Peak (2,145m), picking a route over and between the boulders, as we aim for the saddle between Abbott Peak and Mount Du Faur. Abbott Peak was named by the Austrian zoologist Dr Robert von Lendenfield when he visited the area in 1885, after Robert Palmer Abbott, the NSW Minister for Mines at the time.
Abbott Peak and Mount Du Faur are next to each other along Abbott Ridge, so we figure ‘bagging” the higher of the the two peaks is the way to go! A short and easy scramble gets us to the peak of Mount Du Faur (2,159m) which is the seventh-highest peak – but it’s technically not a named peak so it’s often excluded from the list of Top 10 Peaks in Australia.
Mount Du Faur is unofficially named after Emmeline Freda du Faur (1882-1935) who was one of Australia’s first female mountaineers and the first woman to climb Mt Cook in New Zealand in 1910. The name was never officially gazetted, as the local Council in 2004 objected to the name on the basis that Freda du Faur had no association to this area. Which seems a little unfair to Freda, considering that most of the other peaks were named after (male) politicians and dignitaries who also have no relevance to the area. Perhaps a little misogyny in the mountains?
We’re now on the home stretch, back to where we left our backpacks. Rather than re-tracing our steps, we descend the eastern side of Mount Du Faur, and traverse the southern side of Abbott Peak, back to the Mount Townsend walking track. We’re back by about 4pm, allowing plenty of time to find a suitable campsite and replenish our water from one of the many small creeks.
It’s being an enjoyable day, with only a few short stints along the busy tracks, as we tick off seven of the top ten highest peaks we’ve set out to conquer…
Day 3: Rams Head Range
We start a little later today, as we head south towards the highest peaks of the southern Rams Head Range. Keen to avoid the tourist tracks, we continue down the wide valley towards Wilkinson Creek, which starts as an easy, downhill stroll.
We’re soon at the headwaters of Wilkinson Creek, which is a popular, dispersed camping area near the top of the Hannels Spur trail, below Muellers Pass.
We don’t see anyone for the next couple of hours, as we follow the wide valley along the base of the steep ridge below Mount Kosciuszko. The bad news is that we soon hit a never-ending stretch of low, thick scrub, interspersed with boulder fields (which are often also covered with thick scrub). The thick scrub conceals potholes that are over a foot deep. It’s slow going…
…but our slow progress is compensated by the spectacular scenery. To the west is a series of ridges and valleys stretching as far as the eye can see.
Ahead of us in the wide valley are a number of interesting rock formations.
Below us in the middle of the valley are some picturesque alpine lakes.
This is one of my favourite stretches of our Top Ten Peaks bushwalk – and an area I’d like to come back and explore further.
With more time, we would have continued further along the valley past Lake Cootapatamba and up to Etheridge Gap… but we still have a couple of peaks to tackle, so we decide to exit our picturesque valley via the saddle on the southern side of Mount Kosciuszko then follow the side of the mountain around to Rawsons Pass. It’s an easy walk up the grassy saddle.
As we reach the top of the saddle, there’s a last view of the undulating ridges to the west, while to the east we now see Lake Cootapatamba.
Our route takes us along the side of Mount Kosciuszko – it would be pretty easy to make a beeline to the top, but NPWS aren’t too keen on bushwalkers bypassing the official track to the summit. The Main Range boardwalk can be see on the opposite side of Lake Cootapatamba, which is the highest elevation lake in Australia.
We cross the top of Rawson Pass just below the junction of the Main Range Track and the Kosciuszko Walk to the summit. It would be a pretty quick walk up to Australia’s highest peak – but we have no desire to queue up for a selfie at the top or to visit the highest public toilet in Australia! The section of track between Rawson Pass and the Mount Kosciuszko summit receives the highest use of any track in Kosciuszko National Park, with over 110,000 people per year walking to to the summit.
(If you’re at Kosciuszko during a holiday weekend, pack a warm jacket and a head-torch, and do a sunset walk to Mount Kosciuszko to avoid the crowds.)
There are a lot of people on the Main Range Track walking from the top of the Thredbo chairlift to Mount Kosciuszko, but we soon leave the busy boardwalk and skirt around the side of two low peaks as we head towards the last couple of Kosciuszko mountain summits on our list!
It’s an easy walk up the grassy slope, and our first target is soon in sight.
Rams Head North might be better described as a very big pile of rocks than a mountain, and it’s the trickiest of all the peaks to climb. There’s no exposure, but a bit route-finding and scrambling is required to reach the top.
The views from the top of Rams Head North (2,177m) are pretty impressive, as the small and rocky summit means you get views in every direction.
We continue south from the base of Rams Head North, through a landscape dominated by granite rocks and tors. Our next peak – Rams Head – is directly ahead of us, looking like a giant bulge in the alpine meadow.
There are some nice views as we cross a small saddle between Rams Head North and Rams Head.
The bulge gets more intimidating as we get closer… but it’s an easy ascent straight up the northern face, with nice views as you climb up.
There’s a panoramic 360-degree vista from the top of Rams Head (2,190m) – it’s the fourth highest peak and arguably offers the best views of all the Top Ten Peaks. The Aetherius Society – a religious movement founded by George King in the mid-1950s resulting from his contact with extraterrestrial intelligences (whom he referred to as “Cosmic Masters”) – considers Rams Head to be one of its 19 holy mountains. So it looks like our Ten Peaks Walk was not just a bushwalk – but a pilgrimage!
From the summit you can see at least seven of the Top Ten Peaks, as well as many more ridges and mountains across the Kosciuszko National Park (tap or scroll the image below to see the major peaks).
Looking directly north is Mount Kosciuszko with Lake Cootapatamba below it, and to the south-west the large cleared valley is the Tom Groggin on the NSW/Victoria border.
Having completed our quest, we descend the same way we came up and re-cross the grassy meadow.
The Main Range track is soon in site again, and we debate how to complete our loop back to Charlotte Pass: back along the boardwalk to Rawsons Pass and then along the Kosciuszko Summit Walk road – or straight down the valley to Merritts Creek.
With increasingly weary legs and recalling our slow progress through thick scrub in the morning, we decide on the “sensible” option of taking the track back. Until we reach the boardwalk, see all the people and decide that the risk of a bit of scrub-bashing is a much more appealing option than following the crowds! We cross the boardwalk and find a fairy easy path through what is mostly grassland. A couple of small creeks which we cross are the very start of the Snowy River, which not surprisingly has the highest headwater source of any river in Australia.
We make surprisingly quick progress for the first half of our off-track route, reaching a vantage point where we can see our destination – a concrete bridge over the Snowy River.
Although we hit a few scrubby patches just after the half-way mark, it’s an incredibly scenic route. We follow a creek which flows into the Snowy River, past small cascades and tempting pools (it’s a bit too chilly for a swim, despite being the middle of summer). To the west is Etheridge Ridge, often claimed as one of the Top Ten Peaks, but I consider it a spur rather than a peak.
Although we’d intended to cross the Snowy River via the concrete bridge along the Mount Kosciuszko Summit Walk, we thread our way through a series of tarns and boulder-hop across the river
Unfortunately, all good things must come to and end and we re-join the crowds (which have thinned out a lot, being late afternoon) as we reach the Mount Kosciuszko Summit Walk. Calling it a “Walk” is a little misleading – it’s an unsealed road that runs from Charlotte Pass to Rawons Pass, and is used by NPWS vehicles to access the base of Mount Kosciuszko. Until 1977 you could drive through Rawson Pass to within a few metres of the Mount Kosciuszko’s summit
While walking along a road is not the most pleasant way to end a three-day bushwalk, the Mount Kosciuszko Summit Walk would have to be one of the most scenic roads in Australia. It’s also a pretty flat and easy walk for the last 4.5km back to Charlotte Pass.
It’s been a fantastic three-day walk exploring the southern part of the Main Range, and (mostly) avoiding the busy tracks and trails. The breakdown of the route is:
- Tourist tracks (boardwalks, engineered tracks) – 15km (29%)
- Bushwalking tracks / pads – 9km (17%)
- Off-track – 28km (54%)
There’s definitely easier ways to summit the highest peaks of Kosciuszko, but part of the appeal of the Snowy Mountains is that you can create your own routes and find secluded camping spots – even on a long weekend.
Getting to Australia’s Top Ten Peaks
This Top Ten Peaks loop walk starts at Charlotte Pass, at elevation of about 1,830, which means there isn’t a significant climb to reach the Main Range. The signposted trailhead at the end of Kosciuszko Road (which passes through Perisher) is about 41km (35min drive) from Jindabyne and a 5.5hr drive from Sydney. You can park all the way along both shoulders of Kosciuszko Road – but on summer weekends you may need to park up to a kilometre from the end of the road. It can get very busy! You could also start at Guthega, which would make the walk slightly longer by adding a couple of kilometres along the Snowy River via the Snowies Alpine Walk track.
An alternate and easier route if you just want to “bag” the highest peaks would be from Eagles Nest at the top of the Thredbo chairlift, using the Main Range Track (boardwalk) to do an “out and back” walk (or a one-way walk with a car shuffle, finishing at Charlotte Pass. You could do this as a two-day walk.
What are Australia’s Top Ten Peaks? A Controversial Question!
There is some contention over the list of Australia’s highest mountains; an unnamed peak along Etheridge Ridge (about 2,180m) is often considered in the Top 10 – interestingly, Geoscience Australia gives it an official height of 2,180m, while the NSW Geographic Names Board claims “Etheridge Ridge, at about 2185m AHD, is the fifth highest point on the Australian Mainland”. Mount Du Faur at 2,159m is fourteen metres higher than the nearby Abbott Peak but is no longer recognised by the NSW Geographic Names Board. Tenison Woods Knoll (at 2,136m) has never officially been named and is more a high point on the ridge than a true peak.
#1 2,228m Mount Kosciuskzo
#2 2,209m Mount Townsend
#3 2,195m Mount Twynam
#4 2,190m Rams Head
2,180m Etheridge Ridge (technically a spur, not a peak)
#5 2,177m Rams Head North
#6 2,160m Alice Rawson Peak
#7 2,159m Mount Du Faur (no longer an officially recognised peak)
#8 2,145m Carruthers Peak
#8 2,145m Abbott Peak (next to the higher Mount Du Faur)
2,136m Tenison Woods Knoll (has never been officially recognised as a peak)
#10 2,131m Mount Northcote
#11 2,130m Little Twynam
#12 2,129m Muellers Peak
The peaks as summited in this walk are in the order listed below:
#11 2,130m Little Twynam
#3 2,195m Mount Twynam
-- 1,905m Mount Sentinel ("The Sentinel")
#8 2,145m Carruthers Peak
#10 2,131m Mount Northcote
#12 2,129m Muellers Peak
#6 2,160m Alice Rawson Peak
#2 2,209m Mount Townsend
#7 2,159m Mount Du Faur
#5 2,177m Rams Head North
#4 2,190m Rams Head
More information
- Mountainwatch – How The Peaks Of the Kosciuszko Main Range Got Their Names
- Protect our Winters – The untold story of Spencers Creek snow monitoring and climate change
- Kosciuszko Huts Association – Illawong Lodge
- SummitPost – The Sentinel
- Perisher Historical Society – Northcote Ski Tow Fire
- Kosciuszko Huts Association – Tourists on the Summit [PDF]
- NSW Intelligence Department – Across the Alps in NSW 1907 [PDF]
- The Aetherius Society – Pilgrimages to holy mountains
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