Location: South 36:29.507, East 148:15.588 (GPS on the summit)
4th highest mountain in Australia
Kosciuszko National Park, Australia
Climbed July 2 2003.
Information:
How to get there:
See the description under Kosciuszko, 2228 m. Route description:
This description covers the option of climbing this nice peak on the
return from Mount Kosciuszko (2228 m). After the traverse south on the
west side of Etheridge, ski down to Etheridge Gap ( 2070 m), then climb
(continue straight south) the northern end of the Rams ridge to about 2140 meter.
(You leave the normal return trail which will head slightly more east of Rams ridge.)
At this point you will see the distinct rock point (approx. 2170 m) to your left and
the more gentle North Rams Head (approx. 2190 m) straight ahead (south). Climb North
Rams Head (GPS: South 36:29.210, East 148:15.779) and the higher
Rams Head will come into view further south. Continue down
to the flat, interconnecting saddle, then more steeply up to the summit.
From the summit, it is easy to ski down on the east side. Continue north-east and connect with
the main route from the alpine ski lift to Koscuiszko just above the highest lift. Comments:
See general comments under Kosciuszko, 2228 m. The elevation of
this peak may be higher than most references list. I saw one source list
this peak at 2190 m, another at 2193 m. However, my Garmin GPS had consistently given
10 meter higher readings than the map on peaks and saddles all day. It read 2210 meter
at Rams Head. This should imply an elevation very close to 2200 meter.
The map has the summit well within a 2180 contour. North Rams Head also has
a clear 2180 contour around its summit, our reading on North Rams Head was 2200 meter, consistent
with an actual height of about 2190 meter (which one also would get from interpolation). Rams Head
is clearly higher, we therefore assign the height of 2195 meter to this peak. Now, Mount Twynam is listed
at 2196 meter and rated as Australia's third highest peak. It seems that Rams Head may compete well for
this distinction. Until we obtain more authoritative information we will assume that Rams Head is the
fourth highest Australian mountain.
The most complete guide to Australian mountains seems to be "Tables of Australian Mountains" by
Bill Wilkinson. His guide uses a primary factor of 150 meter to define a mountain. This seems
a bit too restrictive when compared to practice in Europe and the USA, in particular, when
the relative low altitude of Australian mountains is taken into account. This book therefore
excludes Rams Head, it also lists Mount Twynam at 2180 meters, appearently by just listing the
highest contour from some reference map.