Loo With a View Plumbs the Heights

Australia's highest mountain can't compete with the stature of Everest, K2 and Kilimanjaro. But Mount Kosciuszko in the New South Wales Snowy Mountains will soon boast something few others can: a state-of-the-art loo.

A toilet resembling a hobbit hole is to be built on the freezing rooftop of Australia, 2,108 metres (6,900ft) above sea level.

According to the National Parks and Wildlife Service, it will be Australia's highest "dunny", or outhouse.

It is thought that about 70,000 people visit Kosciuszko National Park, with about 30,000 making the four-hour return journey to the summit each year.

"It's been pretty obvious on the main walks from Thredbo and Charlotte Pass that people need to go," said Andrew Harrigan, the alpine area manager with the NPWS.

"They were ducking behind the rocks in various places and on a still day on the rocks on top of Mount Kosciuszko itself you might get the waft of urine."

The construction of permanent toilet facilities has been considered for several years in an attempt to protect the 21 rare alpine plant species and various native animals whose natural habitat has been under threat.

But building a loo in an area regularly hit by 124mph winds and blanketed in snow for six months each year required some imaginative solutions.

The facility, which will include three urinals and three unisex stalls, will be built 20ft into the side of the mountain.

So that it does not impact on the aesthetics of the alpine region, it will be camouflaged with trees and shrubs when construction is finished.

"It will be built like a hidden bunker, not your typical brick shithouse," Mr Harrigan said.

Sewage will be pumped from a system of sealed tanks and transported down the mountain to treatment facilities outside the park.