Mount Feathertop

Mount Feathertop is the second-highest mountain in the Australian state of Victoria and is a member of the Australian Alps located entirely within the Alpine National Park. It rises to 1922m and is usually covered in snow from June to September. Unlike many other Victorian mountains, Mount Feathertop has steep summit slopes instead of a rounded summit dome.Mount Feathertop's proximity to the Mount Hotham ski resort has led to it becoming a popular backcountry skiing destination. A sizable snow cornice usually forms along the summit ridge in winter, the collapse of which has claimed the life of a number of people who stood on it. Snow remaining in the summit gullies in spring gives the appearance of feathers - hence the name "Feathertop".HistoryMount Feathertop was named in 1851 by Jim Brown and Jack Wells, stockmen who worked on Cobungra Station and were the first Europeans to systematically explore the Bogong High Plains.Dr (later Baron) Ferdinand von Mueller was the first non- aboriginal to climb Mount Feathertop. Unaware that the peak had already been named, he proposed that it might be named Mount La Trobe after Charles La Trobe who was Victoria's lieutenant-governor at the time. Members of the Bright Alpine Club made the first winter ascent in September 1889.