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> Miura also skied Mount Kosciusko, the highest peak in Australia This is stated as if it's supposed to be impressive, so I think the author is unfamiliar with

by mkl 5y ago

> Miura also skied Mount Kosciusko, the highest peak in Australia This is stated as if it's supposed to be impressive, so I think the author is unfamiliar with Mount Kosciuszko! (They used the old spelling, too.) I "climbed" it as an ordinary 10-year-old. You literally take a ski lift [1] up to a flat plateau, walk along a well-maintained path (which used to be a road!) for a while, then walk up a little hill [2]. Cars have been taken to the top [3]. [1] The first one was built in 1958, before Miura's trip. [2] https://www.atlasandboots.com/travel-blog/climbing-mount-kosciuszko-australia/ https://www.atlasandboots.com/travel-blog/climbing-mount-kos... [3] https://www.flickr.com/photos/87791108@N00/3201954921/in/photostream/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/87791108@N00/3201954921/in/pho...

cinntaile 5y ago
What does walking to the top have to do with skiing it downhill? Does it use the same route?
- piceas 5y ago
  It's a fair description of the topography. Very much more family friendly hike than a downhill skiing challenge.
- femto 5y ago
  I've skied Kosciuszko, after about 3 days of beginner lessons. I've also mountain biked it (up and down, as we we were too cheap to pay for the lift). It's all the same route as it is in a national park, so there are limited trails though the trees. Kosciuszko is the highest mountain on the Australian mainland, but on the international scene it doesn't rate as difficult. It's a bit incongruous to see Kosciuszko mentioned in the same breath as Everest when talking about the seven summits, but that's how it is. The above is not to cast aspersions, but a measure of Australia's landscape. It's such an ancient landscape that most of the big hills have worn away. Antiquity is the reason to see it. A bit of trivia: the highest point in Australia is actually off-shore on Heard Island. Edit: Turns out if one goes by the continental shelf the highest mountain on the Australian continent is in Papua. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Summits#Australia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Summits#Australia
  - cinntaile 5y ago
    Thanks for explaining, now it makes more sense to me.

by mkl 5y ago

cinntaile 5y ago

What does walking to the top have to do with skiing it downhill? Does it use the same route?

piceas 5y ago
It's a fair description of the topography. Very much more family friendly hike than a downhill skiing challenge.
femto 5y ago
I've skied Kosciuszko, after about 3 days of beginner lessons. I've also mountain biked it (up and down, as we we were too cheap to pay for the lift). It's all the same route as it is in a national park, so there are limited trails though the trees. Kosciuszko is the highest mountain on the Australian mainland, but on the international scene it doesn't rate as difficult. It's a bit incongruous to see Kosciuszko mentioned in the same breath as Everest when talking about the seven summits, but that's how it is. The above is not to cast aspersions, but a measure of Australia's landscape. It's such an ancient landscape that most of the big hills have worn away. Antiquity is the reason to see it. A bit of trivia: the highest point in Australia is actually off-shore on Heard Island. Edit: Turns out if one goes by the continental shelf the highest mountain on the Australian continent is in Papua. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Summits#Australia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Summits#Australia
- cinntaile 5y ago
  Thanks for explaining, now it makes more sense to me.