Federation Peak

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Federation Peak
Federation Peak from the Eastern Arthur Range
Elevation	1,224 m (4,016 ft)
Location	Tasmania, Australia
Range	Arthur Range
Prominence	600m
Coordinates	43°16′17″S, 146°28′32″E[1]
First ascent	John Bechervaise, Bill Elliot, Fred Elliot and Allan Rogers - 27 January 1949

Federation Peak is a prominent mountain (elevation 1,224 metres) located in the Southwest National Park of Tasmania, Australia. The peak, 90 km from Hobart, was named after the Federation of Australia and is often described as one of the hardest Bushwalking challenges in Australia.

Contents 1 History 2 Climbing routes 3 Images 4 References 5 External links

[edit] History

The first westerner to notice the peak was the surveyor James Sprent who was carrying out a trignometrical survey of Tasmania and who described it as "the Obelisk".^[2] It became known as Sprent's Obelisk, however in 1901 it was officially named Federation Peak in honour of the Federation of Australia which took place that year by Thomas Bather Moore while cutting a track from Hastings to Port Davey via Old River.

The years between its first sighting by Sprent and the first successful summit expedition almost 50 years later saw a mixture of hardy pioneer adventurers trying to bag the peak. The thick horizontal scrub, mixed with ancient cool temperate rainforest which dominates the area proved to be the barrier between men and the mountain. Together with the harsh weather generated by the roaring forties the mountain did not give itself easily. It is a testiment to the wildness of the Tasmanian South West that it took almost 50 years to reach its heart and jewel.

After several unsuccessful attempts by various groups in the late 1940s, a party from the Geelong College Exploration Society led by John Bechervaise summited on the 27 January 1949.^[2]

One of the more remarkable ascents in recent times has been that of Warren Macdonald, an above knee double leg amputee, who climbed the peak in early 2000. Having lost his legs two years before in a bushwalking accident on Hinchinbrook Island, off the coast of northern Queensland, and dragging himself up Cradle Mountain only 12 months later, taking 3 days to do so, he travelled with a dedicated team of friends for 28 days along the Aurthur Plains, up Luckman's Lead, and across the rugged Eastern Arthurs to reach Federation Peak. The climb up the actual peak took all day, and several hours more to descend. The journey was well documented by film maker Gary Caganoff, who won half a dozen awards for the film, The Second Step. Most notably the Grand Prize at the Banff Mountain Film Festival in 2002. The film screened globally on National Geographic Channel.

[edit] Climbing routes

There are a number of graded climbing routes to the summit made by rock climbers, most notably Blade Ridge (grade 18), which is a steep knife edge ridge rising out of the cool temperate forest at the foot of the mountain. The ridge joins the main face of the peak a few hundred metres beneath the summit. The climb from the end of the ridge is then up an exposed but well protected face to the summit, some 600 metres above the valley floor.

Most bushwalkers with minimal or no climbing gear take the exposed 'Direct Ascent' scramble from the Southern Traverse of the peak above a drop of 600 meters (1800 feet) into Lake Geeves.

Access to the base of the peak is generally from Geeveston via Farmhouse Creek and Moss Ridge or Scotts Peak via the Eastern Arthurs. The first route is the shorter of two - generally three days to the peak. The Eastern Arthurs via Scotts Peak Dam takes at least 7 days finishing at Farmhouse Creek: up to 10 days with bad weather.

[edit] Images

Federation Peak from a distance on the Farmhouse Creek route

View of the Arthur Range from the Summit of Federation Peak

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Federation Peak - John Chapman
• Lysis Films - Quicktime video of above knee double leg amputee Warren Macdonald's 2000 ascent of Federation Peak.