Ghiacciaio del Lys (IT-0785)

Ghiacciaio del Lys

🔗 Sun, 01 Dec 2024
— @Pugliapilot at Ghiacciaio del Lys, Italy Reply

ATTENTION THIS TRACK IS FOR EXPERIENCED MOUNTAIN RIDERS ONLY!!! MOUNTAIN PILOTS ONLY!!!!

The Lys glacier, a stone's throw from the Capanna Regina Margherita on Monte Rosa, is today the highest point where you can place the skis of a Piper.

Landing at almost 4,200 meters is not very easy. The two big differences compared to lower altitudes are the performance of the plane, which is practically at its ceiling, and therefore unable to climb at the rates we are used to, and the wind, which however favorable the day, is to be considered practically always.

On the other hand, the advantages are the always good snow (it is difficult for the temperature to rise above zero by much even during the summer. I landed on the Lys on June 14, with a temperature a couple of degrees below zero, at 11 in the morning) and the possibility of landing and taking off in different directions.

Although it cannot be considered a rule to follow, I managed to land practically against the wind (red arrow) and take off with a crosswind (green arrow), basically using it to decrease the take-off speed and find myself off the ground almost immediately.When landing, it is best to stay high, aiming for the slight slope that is about a hundred meters below the hill.

In this way, there will still be a way to stop on the next slope, before the hill, on the ground you can maneuver easily and it will be possible to choose to take off even across the glacier, parallel to the Lyskamm ridge, in the case of a north wind.

Although with some difficulty, on the ground you can still speak to the Biella airport 123.050, while it is not possible to maintain contact with Aosta or Milan Information.

It would also be possible to land a little higher, in the pass between the Capanna Regina Margherita and the Punta Zumstein, but here we are already in Switzerland.