The Aussie 10 Challenge is to summit all 10 of Australia’s Highest Peaks in the Kosciuszko National Park.
In our normal Aussie 10 Challenge we complete these summits over an amazing four day adventure. The scenery is superb and provides the adventurer with stunning photo opportunities in an Aussie Adventure of a lifetime.
On Friday 17th May young adventurer Alyssa Azar traveled to the Kosciuszko National Park to undertake the Aussie 10 Challenge in under 24 hours.
This meant back to back peaks working through the night for as long as it took.
Alyssa had previously completed the Aussie 10 some years ago when she was only 10 years old. She is currently in training to tackle Mount Everest in 2014.
Her current accomplishments are already quite impressive and include:
* Kokoda – twice (first time as an 8 year old)
* Aussie 10
* Mount Everest Base Camp – twice
* Mount Kilimanjaro
* Mount Cook – Alpine Climbing Course
Coming up this year Alyssa will attempt:
* Manaslu (8,100m), and
* Mount Aconcagua (6,960m)
Aussie 10 in 24 hours
The adventure commenced with Alyssa and her team of James Holden and Glenn Azar (Dad) driving to Charlotte’s Pass. The weather was quite nice with a little bit of ice but not too cold at all.
From there they made their way to the Snowy River and hopped across the rocks before commencing the long walk to Mount Twynam (2195m) . The tactic was to summit the mountain systematically from closest to farthest away.
At 11:00am they summited what they thought was Mount Twynam however a minor error saw them on top of the feature next to Twynam. 30 minutes later this was rectified and they sat on top of Twynam and felt the relief of the first peak under the belts.
Next they located Carruthers Peak and made a bee line straight for it. There are no definable tracks out here so bush bashing and finding your own way through is the name of the game.
In order the team then summit Carruthers (2145m), followed by Alice Rawson Peak (2160m), Mount Townsend (2209m), Abbott Peak (2145m) and Byatts Camp (2159m).
The team were six peaks down and the sun was setting fast. They made a bee line towards Australia’s Highest Peak – Mount Kosciuszko (2228m) in the hope of getting there before the sun set.
They finally stood on top of Mount Kosciuszko at 7pm and cooked up a hot meal and drank hot chocolate. The weather was cool and it was time to get moving to complete this challenge.
They next completed the unnamed peak on Etheridge Ridge (2180m) before setting off for the two Rams Head Peaks which were the furthest away.
There was no moon and so navigating in the dark with only a head torch proved quite a challenge for Alyssa and her team.
Finally at 10pm the team completed Rams Head (2190m) and Rams Head North (2177m).
Now it was time for the 3.5hour trek back to Charlotte’s Park and the warmth of the car.
The team completed this challenge at 1:30am – 17 hours after setting out. An amazing feat and one they were very relieved and excited to have completed.
If you would like to join our expert Adventure Leaders on our four day tour of The Aussie 10 Challenge in October, drop us an email info@adventureprofessionals.com.au and we will send you all the information you need.
On top of Mount Kosciuszko – Australia’s Highest Peak
