Aoraki / Mount Cook

Aoraki / Mount Cook from Hooker Valley

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The Aoraki or Mount Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand ( 3724 m). It is located in the Southern Alps on the South Island in the Mackenzie District of the Canterbury region.

Mount Cook is the center of Mount Cook National Park, which was established in 1953 and covers 707 km ² with more than 140 mountains above 2,000 meters. 40 percent of the park is glaciated. The most famous glacier is the Tasman Glacier (27 km) on the slopes of Mount Cook.

History

The mountain is named after the British explorer James Cook. He got his name when the area was mapped in 1851 by Captain Stokes. He named the mountain after James Cook, as this 1769 drive around the islands of New Zealand first and it had adopted for the UK. The name, however, comes from the Aoraki Ngai Tahu dialect - Māori language. In Māori high-level language, the name of the mountain Aorangi is ( in German: " Piercer of the clouds "). In the language dispute, which plays a role in the naming of many New Zealand locations, it has been agreed to the compromise, officially called the mountain " Aoraki / Mount Cook ."

Mount Cook lost the early morning of December 14, 1991 ten meters in height, as ice and boulders in a landslide slid from its peak to valley. In this case, 12 to 14 million cubic meters of material across the ice of the east side of the mountain are slipped into the valley and come only in the ice rink of the Tasman Glacier to a halt. The landslide has moved with an average speed of 200 km / h over a distance of 7.5 kilometers into the valley. The avalanche has caused neither property nor personal injury, although a group of climbers prepared at the time that less than 300 meters away from the crash site on the rise. The landslide has also caused an earthquake of magnitude 3.9 on the Richter scale.

A new survey by GPS in November 2013, it was found that the height of Aoraki as previously thought is not 3754 meters, but only 3724 meters.

First ascent

In 1882 there was the first attempt at an ascent by two Swiss, who failed, however. 1894 made ​​it then the three New Zealand mountaineer Tom Fyfe, George Graham, Jack Clarke to the summit. The Swiss Matthias Zurbriggen made ​​it a year later, to climb the mountain alone. 1948 also boarded the later New Zealand national hero Edmund Hillary Mt Cook.

Important ascent routes

The Mount Cook has already climbed to well over twenty routes from all sides, the main increases are today:

• Linda Glacier: The ( lightest ) " default route " leads from the Tasman Glacier (plateau hat, self-catering cottage ten hours from Mt Cook Village, or by air) via the Linda Glacier on the Linda Shelf and on the Summit Rocks to the summit ( at least three days ). Depending on the weather, you should allow at least seven to ten days for this route. Difficulty: AD ( French scale), rock -III ( UIAA ), firn to 45 °. Best time (weather): Late summer ( January / February)
• Zurbriggen Ridge: Instead of ascent over the Linda Glacier directly ( 50-55 ° ice) to the Linda Shelf and from then on the more normal route. Difficulty: AD . Best Time: November to January
• East Ridge: Very long climb over the eastern ridge, usually with bivouac. 45-50 ° ice, descent via Linda Glacier. Difficulty: D

First Paramotor Flight Over

The first Paramotor flight over Mount Cook was held on 16 January 2008, when Constance Gerhard Mayr with a motor glider flew over the mountain. After flight over the Fox Glacier was flying over the mountain, completely from west to east, at a flight path over 64 miles. The flight time was 2.02 hours at a top speed of 84 km / h As equipment a paramotor, paraglider, harness, reserve parachute, navigation device, data logger, and protective clothing was used.