Mountains are fascinating...I was fortunate, decades ago, to, once, catch sights of the majestic Himalayan ranges, from a visit to Kathmandu...

This past week, while looking (virtually) around NZ-SI scenery, a bit, I'd come across Mt. Cook, so, I wished to pay one more visit to this remarkable mountain. Regarding my choice of plane for this post, the PA28-140 Cherokee, along with its cousins Archer and Arrow, have been all highly regarded as staple a/c for pilot training, and are considered great for learning to fly...in the RW...! So, today, in the library, when, I came across, a freeware Piper Cherokee variation, curiously, fitted with floats, I wished to merge this Cherokee with a bit of mountainous flying around Mount Cook.  

Mount Cook (normally referred to as "Aoraki / Mount Cook") is, indeed, special...At 12,218 ft, it may be nearly two-and-a-half times less tall than Mt. Everest, but, it certainly packs a punch of its own...! "It is a technically challenging mountain with a high level of glaciation. Its level of difficulty is often underestimated and can change dramatically depending on weather, snow and ice conditions. The climb crosses large crevasses, and involves risks of ice and rock falls, avalanches and rapidly changing weather conditions..."

In other words, it has very similar characteristics as those typical of the the incomparable Mt. Everest. Mt Cook is where (Sir) Edmund Hillary got started and sharpened his mountaineering skills, so, it was his training ground for the (eventual) conquest of Mt. Everest. In February 1948, with three other fellow climbers, Hillary made the first ascent of Mt. Cook's South Ridge. Five years later, on 29 May 1953, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay (from Nepal) became the first climbers confirmed to have reached the summit of Mount Everest. The Lukla airport (and Mt. Everest base Camp), in Nepal, has been, since, renamed Tenzing-Hilary Airport in honor of these two mountaineers.

Separately, in NZ, in order to celebrate the life of Hillary, in August 2011, the South Ridge (of Mt. Cook) was renamed as Hillary Ridge. Today, in my virtual world, this Cherokee would pass just past the same Hillary Ridge, south of the Mt. Cook summit (i.e the summit is seen to the left of the plane, passing by at ~ (8,000-9,000) ft; see screenshot #7). For this flight, I've lifted off Lake Pukaki, from the south direction of Mt. Cook (and also south of Mount Cook Aerodrome, NZMC). It's worth noting that the water of Lake Pukaki has a distinctive blue color because it is fed, at its northern end, by the Tasman River, which has its source in the glaciers around Mt. Cook (you can spot glaciers around Mt. Cook in below images; and, maybe, also, the (virtual) blue of my Lake Pukaki water...🙂...). Also, searching on-line for "Images of Lake Pukaki" is worth it, if you're so interested. This lake was formed when the terminal moraines (soil, rock etc.) of the receding glaciers blocked their respective valleys i.e. so to speak, the forces of nature did not fulfill the (Tasman) river's instinctive desire to find a path to the nearest ocean...!

Here, for my landing, in (imposed) twilight conditions, once (safely) past the summit, I've (descended) from ~9,000 ft, and, floated back on to the water surface (see concluding images), just off the northern coastlines of the South Island, on the Tasman Sea, which separates the landmasses of New Zealand from Australia.

Hope you enjoy the symbolic images from this flight...and this Cherokee plane...!

Thanks for viewing and good flying...!!

Edited August 22, 20214 yr by P_7878

Nice shots! 😉 

Another great set of shots, nice plane u used !

cheers 😉