Aoraki / Mount Cook, New Zealand

The Aeronautical Conquest of the Southern Alps


a short walk
Wayne McMillan next to the Pegasus of the Mount Cook Ski Planes that has just landed in the heights of the Southern Alps.
Zigzag Mist
Mist fills a gorge in the Southern Alps on New Zealand's South Island.
Lake Pukaki-Southern Alps-New Zealand
The Great Southern Alps
Peaks overlooking the Southern Alps, around Aoraki Mount Cook.
To Command
Wayne, one of the Mount Cook Ski Planes pilots in the cockpit of his Pegasus.
a fearless refuge
A cabin erected almost balanced on a cliff below Aoraki Mount Cook.
Tasman ice
The rugged top of the Tasman glacier, right in the Southern Alps.
walk in the heights
Passengers on a Mount Cook Ski Plane on a snowy plateau in the vicinity of Aoraki Mount Cook.
Southern Alps Shades
New Zealand's Highway 8 runs along the shores of Lake Pukaki, against the backdrop of the Southern Alps.
rock vs snow
Semi-snow covered cliffs in a canyon below Aoraki Mount Cook.
Tasman Glacier below
Mount Cook Ski Planes plane flies over the top of the Tasman Glacier.
Altitude poses
Mount Cook Ski Planes passenger couple are photographed on the mountain above the Tasman Glacier.
The Great New Zealand Glacier
the curving ice river from the Tasman Glacier, the longest glacier in New Zealand.
track in sight
Mount Cook Ski Planes Ski Planes about to land on the Mount Cook runway.
Tasman Lake
Large lake formed by the melting of the Tasman glacier, enlarged by the Southern Hemisphere summer.
New Zealand Ceiling
The sharp summit of Aoraki Mount Cook, the highest mountain in the Southern Alps and New Zealand.
In 1955, pilot Harry Wigley created a system for taking off and landing on asphalt or snow. Since then, his company has unveiled, from the air, some of the greatest scenery in Oceania.

On the other end of the line, in the fashion of good managers, Richard Royds sounds as diplomatic as he is pragmatic. “Are you in Twizel? Great! It's close enough. Come walking over here. You may have to wait a while but I should get you something soon.”

We had recently added NZ$250 to a still short list of speeding tickets in the downunder. We make an effort not to go overboard in haste.

After Flying Low, Over the Southern Alps

Still, after 25 minutes, we parked in front of the Mount Cook Ski Planes offices at Mount Cook Airport. Better than promised, with 25 more losers, we are boarding the Pilatus Porter PC6 from Mount Cook Ski Planes.

In a taxi, Wayne, the pilot in charge of the flight, gives us and two Asian couples – one Indian, the other Japanese – a brief safety briefing. Then, against the wind, as the rules dictate, we soar above the frigid waters of Lake Tasman.

Lake formed by the Tasman Glacier, Southern Alps, New Zealand

Large lake formed by the melting of the Tasman glacier, enlarged by the Southern Hemisphere summer.

As we ascend, Roaring Forties concentrated down the long canyon onward slam into the aircraft and cause passengers to cling more tightly to the front seats.

Wayne remains undaunted and unruffled: “It's okay, don't worry. I have been working this route for a long time, for too long, I dare say.

This wind is here almost always. If planes don't let me down, I won't let them down either.” secures while retouching the stick and adjusting knobs and knobs. “Do you know what bothers me? This heat.

Ski plane over Tasman Glacier, Southern Alps, New Zealand

Mount Cook Ski Planes plane flies over the top of the Tasman Glacier.

They came at the right time. Some 20 years ago, ice occupied a large part of what is now a lake, down there. If these summers continue like this, it won't be long, only the top will remain, where we will land.”

A Tasman Glacier Flight Above, Aimed at Aoraki Mount Cook

Pilatus Porter penetrates an unexpected cloudiness but breaks free in three stages. In an already completely clear sky, we lost the coziness of the valley and approached the most imposing peaks and fjords in the Southern Alps, Tasman, Dampier, then Teichelmann.

Mist, Southern Alps, New Zealand

Mist fills a gorge in the Southern Alps on New Zealand's South Island.

Shortly after, we also identified the aoraki Mount Cook slightly prominent due to its higher altitude and the prism shape of the summit, at that time sheltered by a curious lenticular cloud.

Lenticular Hat, Mount Cook, New Zealand

Summit of Aoraki Mount Cook accompanied by a lenticular cloud.

We went around New Zealand's Queen Mountain twice. Repetition allows us to admire the sumptuousness of the Southern Alps and, to the west, the wild coastline of the Tasman Sea, much more visible than we ever thought possible, considering the altitude at which we flew.

The initial purpose of the flight was fulfilled. Wayne points again to the ice bed of the Tasman Glacier that we flew over to the formation zone.

There, he reverses the direction of flight once more, lowers the ski-plane and lands on surface snow. Against the slope and friction, the plane does not take long to come to a standstill.

Pilot Wayne McMillan and Mount Cook Ski planes, Southern Alps, New Zealand

Wayne McMillan next to the Pegasus of the Mount Cook Ski Planes that has just landed in the heights of the Southern Alps.

Wayne takes advantage of the silence and announces with a heavy kiwi accent: “Here are the great New Zealand sets. Have fun". We were, on a majestic mountain glacier, just a few hundred meters above the peaks that countless climbers had aspired to climb.

Revolutionary Innovation Now at the Service of Mount Cook Ski Planes

A few decades ago, this easy access to the top of the mountain range also proved to be a huge achievement. The person responsible was the founder of Monte Cook Ski Planes, the company that had granted us the privilege of adventure.

In 1953, Harry Wigley, a former New Zealand Air Force pilot, was already taking scenic flights around Aoraki Mount Cook and over the glaciers.

Around that time, he realized the need for a retractable ski system that would allow planes to take off from normal runways and land on snow.

Wayne, Mount Cook Ski Planes Pilot, Southern Alps, New Zealand

Wayne Mc Millan, one of the Mount Cook Ski Planes pilots in the cockpit of his Pegasus.

Fixed skis already existed but an international investigation revealed that the retractable system had not yet been developed.

On the other hand, stationary skis could only be used part of the New Zealand winter, in seasons when the Monte Cook airfield had its runway covered with snow.

Wigley didn't conform. He invested hundreds of hours in creating a wheel that would stand out through the ski during take-off and landing on asphalt.

And a way for the ski to descend during the flight to allow landings on the high snowfields of the Tasman Glacier.

Passengers, scenic flights-Southern Alps, New Zealand

Passengers on a Mount Cook Ski Plane on a snowy plateau in the vicinity of Aoraki Mount Cook.

On September 22, 1955, Harry Wigley landed there the first ski plane – an Auster – equipped with the new system.

One of the most famous passengers to benefit from it was Sir Edmund Hillary who, seven years earlier, had conquered his beloved New Zealand roof, but nevertheless failed to visit.

Later, the concept and design were perfected and the skis were given plastic bases and hydraulically operated.

The introduction of a more powerful aircraft, the Cessna 180 allowed Mount Cook Ski Planes to operate year round and carry more fortunate passengers like us.

The Landing High Above the Tasman Glacier

The Indian couple is the first to leave. They take a few steps and, in a cold but romantic micro-climate, possibly on a honeymoon, they embrace. Japanese youths move away towards lush rock shapes and have themselves photographed in comic and eccentric poses.

Couple next to ski plane, Southern Alps, New Zealand

Couple is photographed by the ski plane of Mount Cook Ski Planes, above the Tasman Glacier.

We started to climb the ice field with the aim of peeking again beyond the highest edge of the mountain range.

Wayne lives his routine and little strays from the Pilate Porter.

He tells us we wouldn't have time for that, so we've given up on the little expedition.

Instead, we let ourselves be dazzled by the white grandeur of the scenery and the insignificance to which the colored aircraft were subject.

Tasman Glacier, Southern Alps, New Zealand

the curving ice river from the Tasman Glacier, the longest glacier in New Zealand.

Return to Starting Point, via the same route as the Tasman Glacier

Around it, at an altitude of 3.000 meters, stretched the vast base of the largest ice river in Oceania, 27 km long, 4 km wide and no less impressive 600 meters thick.

The day was drawing to a close and the smudge of light that hit the valley was diminishing to the eye like the tenuous heat that had hitherto caressed the passengers.

Wayne checks his watch and gives instructions to return to the plane. We glide over skis and snow once again with surprising smoothness and return to the heights delimited by the valley.

Ten minutes later, we're running on the aerodrome's abrasive tarmac.

Landing view from cockpit, Southern Alps, New Zealand.

Mount Cook Ski Planes Ski Planes about to land on the Mount Cook runway.

The dynamic landing device was working perfectly again.

Thus, we complete another part of the feat that Harry Wigley insisted on accomplishing.

Nelson to Wharariki, Abel Tasman NP, New Zealand

The Maori coastline on which Europeans landed

Abel Janszoon Tasman explored more of the newly mapped and mythical "Terra australis" when a mistake soured the contact with natives of an unknown island. The episode inaugurated the colonial history of the New Zealand. Today, both the divine coast on which the episode took place and the surrounding seas evoke the Dutch navigator.
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Finally, on the way

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The Antipodes Great Outdoors

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Journey along the Path of Maority

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The Divine Earth Shard of the Banks Peninsula

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The Sacred Ceiling of North America

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Back to the 30s - Calhambeque Tour

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When traveling, it happens that we find ourselves confronted with the lack of time to explore a place as unmissable as it is high. Medicine and previous experiences with Altitude Evil dictate that we should not risk ascending in a hurry.
glaciers

icy blue planet

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New Zealand's Cursed Wizard

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Mount cook, New Zealand

The Cloud Piercer Mountain

Aoraki/Mount Cook may fall far short of the world's roof but it is New Zealand's highest and most imposing mountain.
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The Fjords of the Antipodes

A geological quirk made the Fiordland region the rawest and most imposing in New Zealand. Year after year, many thousands of visitors worship the sub-domain slashed between Te Anau and Milford Sound.
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Safari
Chobe NP, Botswana

Chobe: A River on the Border of Life with Death

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Muktinath to Kagbeni, Annapurna Circuit, Nepal, Kagbeni
Annapurna (circuit)
Annapurna Circuit 14th - Muktinath to Kagbeni, Nepal

On the Other Side of the Pass

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Architecture & Design
Senglea, Malta

An Overcrowded Malta

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Boats on ice, Hailuoto Island, Finland.
Adventure
Hailuoto, Finland

A Refuge in the Gulf of Bothnia

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Ceremonies and Festivities
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Festival of the Ksour: Sand Castles That Don't Collapse

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Cities
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Tombstone: the City Too Hard to Die

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Meal
Singapore

The Asian Food Capital

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Impressions Lijiang Show, Yangshuo, China, Red Enthusiasm
Culture
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An Impressive China

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Sport
Busselton, Australia

2000 meters in Aussie Style

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jet lag avoid flight, jetlag, turbulence
Traveling
Jet Lag (Part 1)

Avoid Post-Flight Turbulence

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on this side of the Atlantic
Ethnic

Island of Goreia, Senegal

A Slave Island of Slavery

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Portfolio, Got2Globe, Best Images, Photography, Images, Cleopatra, Dioscorides, Delos, Greece
Got2Globe Photo Portfolio
Got2Globe Portfolio

The Earthly and the Celestial

Bonaire, island, Netherlands Antilles, ABC, Caribbean, Rincon
History
Rincon, Bonaire

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Streymoy island, Faroe Islands, Tjornuvik, Giant and Witch
Islands
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Up Streymoy, drawn to the Island of Currents

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Geothermal, Iceland Heat, Ice Land, Geothermal, Blue Lagoon
Winter White
Iceland

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José Saramago in Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain, Glorieta de Saramago
Literature
Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain (España)

José Saramago's Basalt Raft

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Agua Grande Platform, Iguacu Falls, Brazil, Argentina
Nature
Iguazu/Iguazu Falls, Brazil/Argentina

The Great Water Thunder

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Sheki, Autumn in the Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Autumn Homes
Autumn
Sheki, Azerbaijan

autumn in the caucasus

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Everglades National Park, Florida, United States, flight over the Everglades canals
Natural Parks
Everglades National Park, Florida, USA

Florida's Great Weedy River

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Albreda, Gambia, Queue
UNESCO World Heritage
Bar a Kunta Kinteh, Gâmbia

Journey to the Origins of the Transatlantic Slave Trade

One of the main commercial arteries of West Africa, in the middle of the XNUMXth century, the Gambia River was already navigated by Portuguese explorers. Until the XNUMXth century, much of the slavery perpetrated by the colonial powers of the Old World flowed along its waters and banks.
In elevator kimono, Osaka, Japan
Characters
Osaka, Japan

In the Company of Mayu

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Princess Yasawa Cruise, Maldives
Beaches
Maldives

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Maksim, Sami people, Inari, Finland-2
Religion
Inari, Finland

The Guardians of Boreal Europe

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On Rails
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Society
Military

Defenders of Their Homelands

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Ditching, Alaska Fashion Life, Talkeetna
Daily life
Talkeetna, Alaska

Talkeetna's Alaska-Style Life

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Wildlife
El Tatio, Chile

El Tatio Geysers – Between the Ice and the Heat of the Atacama

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Scenic Flights
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The Alaskan Dog Mushing Summer

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