Mount Townsend
via Mount Clark
A climb to Australia’s second highest peak - Mount Townsend. Via Mount Clarke
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Location: Kosciuszko National Park / Main Range
Date walked: December 2022
Duration: Long day walk
Distance: 23 km
Elevation gain: 846 m
Route type: Alpine return walk from Charlotte Pass via Club Lake Creek, Mount Clarke and Mount Townsend
Difficulty: Hard; long distance, sustained climbing, exposed alpine terrain and changeable mountain weather
Maps: Perisher Valley 1:25k topographic map
Conditions: Open alpine country, lingering snow patches, wide Main Range views and storm clouds building later in the day
Notes: This is not a route guide. Alpine conditions can change quickly, even in summer.
High on the Main Range, Mount Townsend rises among Australia’s highest summits. Our route crosses Mount Clarke before turning toward Australia’s second-highest peak, winding across open alpine plateaus and wide Snowy Mountains horizons, with patches of last winter’s snow lingering among the weathered granite tors.
Crossing Club Lake Creek
Looking up to Carruthers Peak (2,145 m)
Climbing Mount Clarke
Moraine Pass and Mount Northcote behind
On the Main Range, with last winter's snow
Mount Townsend
view north-west from Mount Townsend
Mount Kosciuszko from Mount Townsend
Mount Kosciuszko
Upper reaches of the Snowy River
Albina Lake, Mount Northcote on right
Albina Lake
Main Range - storm clouds move in
Mount Northcote
The Blue Lake
On the way back to Charlotte Pass
Looking back at Mount Northcote
The final climb from the Snowy River up to Charlotte Pass
Snowgums, Charlotte Pass
Mount Townsend, top left. Charlotte Pass, bottom right