Within sight of the lookout offering the first glimpse of Kosciuszko's summit,I remember phone calls made from here,by friends wanting to spread the joy at being in such a glorious place. My mobile has good reception,so I call one of those friends to say I've finally made it,too - hooray,I finally get it.
He listens to me rave about the weather,then warns that high-altitude sunburn is particularly painful and I should slap on more sunscreen."Yeah,yeah,"I reply,taking no notice. I'm too busy taking in the crystal-clear streams,the hazy yonder,the other walkers and the ravens as I close in on the lookout. Along the way,march flies try to bite. Next time,I'll pack repellent.
The lookout brings another surprise for this Kosciuszko first-timer. If it weren't for a plaque pointing out which of the non-dramatic mounds in front of us is Australia's highest peak at 2228 metres,I never would have guessed. From here,the summit looks a bit anticlimactic. The plaque explains that although the Snowy Mountains once towered over this land,millions of years of ice,wind and rain have ground them to the stumps we see today.
One set of parents with littlies starts the two-kilometre return walk to the chairlift but everyone else is keen to picnic on top of Australia. We meet the ridge-top trail bringing cyclists and hikers 7.7 kilometres from Charlotte Pass and from here the foot traffic thickens (cyclists must park their bikes at this junction). An official with a clipboard tells me precisely how busy it is:140 people have passed by in the past half-hour."It's busy now it's lunchtime,"she says.
So we don't have a monopoly on the idea of taking lunch on the peak. Everyone has the same idea. At the summit,walkers have perched on just about every available rock to munch their sandwiches and rehydrate.
Some primal urge is also making them queue to clamber up a stone cairn,to be just that bit higher than everyone else and have their lofty moment immortalised in pixels. One couple kisses at length,as though there's no audience and they're not teetering on the most precarious point on the mountain top.
The children make a beeline for a splodge of snow holding out against the sun's heat and promptly start a snowball fight. They bring handfuls of snow to us for closer inspection. We let it melt all over us. We do star jumps because we can. We linger,soaking up this bright shiny light,extending the joy,snapping photo upon photo.
Only later,back in Thredbo,do I realise how much sunshine I got up there. The sunburn keeps me confined to a shady river bank next day,where I glow quietly while others splash around and skim stones. My plan to walk - or skip or canter - the four kilometres to Dead Horse Gap will have to wait until next time.
FAST FACTS
Getting there
Thredbo is about a 6½-hour drive or 500 kilometres from Sydney. Self-caterers can buy supplies at supermarkets in Cooma and Jindabyne. Entry to the Kosciuszko National Park is $16 a day for a car outside the winter season,which extends from the June long weekend to the October long weekend.
A two-day Thredbo resort pass costs $72 for adults,$41 for children and $163 for families. Other tickets cover chairlift only,chairlift combined with bobsled and more. See thredbo.com.au.
The annual Thredbo Jazz,Funk&Groove Festival is on April 15-17;the Thredbo Blues Festival is held every January.
Staying there
Thredbo YHA is centrally located in the village and has a communal deck,barbecue,kitchen and dining area,with television and computers upstairs. Outside the winter ski season,four-bed dorms cost from $27.50 a bed,twin rooms cost from $67.50 a room and twins with a private bathroom start at $79 a room.
At 8 Jack Adams Pathway,Thredbo,6457 6376,yha.com.au.