Mount Franklin (Australian Capital Territory)

The Road to Mount Franklin was created by the Canberra Alpine Club in the 1930s

Mount Franklin is a mountain in the far west of the Australian Capital Territory on the border of the Australian state of New South Wales. He is part of the Brindabella Ranges, the bulk of which is located in the Bimberi Nature Reserve in New South Wales. The eastern slopes of the mountain to the summit of Mount Franklin is in the area of the adjacent Namadgi National Park in the Australian Capital Territory.

From the Mount Franklin Road a well- designated trail leads to the summit not difficult. In winter, the 1,646 m high mountain is often covered with snow and it was from the 1930s, the Australian Skipionieren as a base. Today, cross-country skiing is possible in the area, when the snow allows.

Origin of the name

Approx. 10 km north of the mountain is located on the River Goodradigbee the settlement Brindabella where the Australian writer Miles Franklin spent her childhood. The mountain was named after her family.

Skiing at Mount Franklin

1938, a ski chalet was built for the Canberra Alpine Club. You created some downhill runs and improvised ladders. The chalet later became a museum, but was burned down during the bushfires in Canberra in 2003. From students of the University of Adelaide, a new shelter was built and opened in 2008. It serves several purposes, including as a base for rescue personnel to coordinate search and rescue operations in future forest fires. The boundary between New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory runs through the ruins of the old Franklin Chalet.

Today can be operated at Mount Franklin and its neighboring mountains cross-country skiing when snow conditions allow it.