Photos from my first ascent of Queensland's highest mountain on Saturday 8th Sept 2007. I took four hours (9:40 am to 1:40 pm) to reach the summit, and another four hours to come down. The long steep descent meant that for the latter half of the descent my legs were so fatigued I could hardly walk.

Even starting at 700 metres asl near Topaz on the Atherton Tableland, it is a strenuous climb and in places, really quite dangerous because of deep crevasses between the giant granite boulders that the track requires you to negotiate.

The peak is not above the treeline, although there are small open glades some way below the summit. I'm not sure if they are frost hollows, have a droughty microclimate or are too exposed to wind for tree growth. As far as I could see the open areas were all on the west-facing slopes so I think dryness does play a part.

The vegetation on the top is somewhat similar in broad character to that you find on northern New Zealand and New Caledonian mountaintops, but not very diverse or interesting on the whole. The Thelymitra orchids are very beautiful, and it is interesting to see two species of palm (Laccospadix australasica and Linospadix minor) and a treefern growing right on the summit.