5/5 W R E. 8 months ago on Google
Aoraki/Mount
Cook
in
Maori,
it
means
"Sky"
or
"Cloud
Piercer."
Climbing
Aoraki/Mt
Cook
is more
technically
difficult
than
Everest according
to
a
Nepalese
sherpa
who
has
conquered
both
mountains
and
nearly
lost
his
life
on
New
Zealand's
highest
peak.
Sherpas
are
some
of
the
most
gifted
mountaineers
in
the
world.
With
their
amazing
ability
to
cope
with
the
low-oxygen
atmosphere
of
mountains
due
to
a
genetic
mutation
that
gives
them
a
unique
metabolism.
The
blue
(turquoise)
colour
of
the
lake
can
be
seen
from
space
and
is due
to
fine
silt
particles,
or
glacial
flour,
in
the
water.
This
is
a
result
of
glacial
erosion
of
the
mountains.
Mt
Cook
mountain
is
relatively
young
in
geological
terms
and
was
formed about
ten
million
years
ago.
The
Southern
Alps
are
among
the
fastest
rising
mountains
in
the
world.
If
it
wasn't
for
erosion,
the
Southern
Alps
would
be
colossal,
about
six
times
their
present
height
–
that
would
make
Mount
Cook
2.5
times
the
height
of
Everest.
Being
located
in
the
latitude
of
the
Roaring
Forties,
it
is
being
eroded
just
as
fast
by
wind,
rain,
ice,
snow
and
avalanches.
Mount
Cook
suddenly
became
10
metres
shorter
after
a
huge
avalanche
shed
14
million
cubic
metres
of
rock
and
ice
from
its
summit.
The
Alpine
Fault
is
approximately
600km
long
and
creates
the
mountain
ranges
of
the
Southern
Alps.
It
runs
through
the
entire
length
of
the
South
Island.
It
is
expected
to
generate
a
magnitude
8
earthquake
approximately
every
330
years.
The
last
event
occurred,
in
1717
AD
around
300
years
ago,
so
the
Alpine
Fault
is
way
overdue
and
will
be
the
Mother
of
all
earthquakes.
It
is
the
highest
mountain
in
New
Zealand
at
3,724
metres
(12,218
feet).
It
is
part
of
the
Southern
Alps
range
which
dominates
the
landscape
of
the
country’s South
Island.
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