hey im going to be climbing mt. Kosciuszko in december, specifically between the 18th or december and the 4th of janurary... l have a few questions.

1) how far (aprox.) is it from sydney to ''base camp'' or just the base

2) do l need any climbing gear? l looked at the trail and it didnt look roped but l wanna make sure. do l need ascenders to clip into a fixed line?

3) How long (aprox) does it take to climb the mountain?

4) what is the weather like in december in australia, l know its summer but how extreme or how mild is the weather?

5) can my 50 year old parents make it, or should they stay at the car? lol

6) how busy is the trail?

if you have climbed it then please help me out, anything will help. thanks!!
i live in colorado and im a pretty big climber

me and my dad go out all the time but its my mom im worried about...

she doesnt have any medical problems but high altitude can pick on healthy people as well as sick...

With a height of 2,228 meters or about 7K feet its not some thing a 50 year old should do unless they r used to that activity. Mt. Kosciuszko is not a technical climb, more of a hiking trail. so no u wo not need anything odd. an old ski pole for a walking stick. Most people use Charlotte is pass, but Thredbo is shorter & there is a chair lift for the farts. Both trails end at Rawson is pass, from there u head to the Kosciuszko summit. Do not forget to visit Austraila is highest toilet while u r there.. If u stand on it, u can be high on pot while you're there!..lol

Oh yea the weather, it will be nice there count on some where around 45.°C. Take normal precautions & Mt Kosciuszko get around 100-125K visitors a year, u could run into 100-500 people on the mountain any given day.

This continental high is just a hike on a trail.

It is about 7000 ft, so (in theory) your parents should not have any problems, assuming that they are in reasonable health. Make sure they drinkg plenty of water to help with the altitude, though.

l am planning on ''climbing'' it in two years.

Check out summitpost.org for more info.

good luck