What's the highest you've ever driven?

[Tayne]

And not after you've been smoking the special cigarettes.

 

Inspired by talk of hilly roads in Tiff's thread here's my list.

 

This the Corrieairack Pass, its an old Wade Road between Lagan and Fort Augustus and peaks at 2502feet on the far side of the corrie.

 

The Corrie by Tayne, on Flickr

 

Now there's not enough tarmac for most of you there so lets take the Cairnwell Pass (2199 feet) as my highest in the UK.

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=glenshee+ski+centre&ll=56.880406,-3.410225&spn=0.046053,0.356884&client=safari&oe=UTF-8&fb=1&gl=uk&hq=glenshee&cid=0,0,16488640104170653377&t=h&z=13&layer=c&cbll=56.879345,-3.409754&panoid=taJHNu7nt2DsRpYNZ0eAkg&cbp=12,173.33,,0,2.73

You may also have driven it if you've been up to the Glenshee Ski Centre.

 

I will say that the Applecross road has it beaten for spectacular scenery but at 2031 feet its winning nothing in this thread

 

 

Staying in Europe (just), here's my rental Ford Fiesta on the Transfagarasan Highway in Romania.

Fiesta par Tayne, on ipernity

The altimeter was reading 6648feet in the car park at the top, there was snow on the ground, and the three cylinder Fiesty coped surprisingly well.

The photo was taken here if you want to go exploring.

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=pitesti&ie=UTF8&ll=45.584551,24.622593&spn=0.029494,0.178442&client=safari&oe=UTF-8&hnear=Pite%C8%99ti,+Arge%C8%99,+Romania&gl=uk&t=h&z=14&layer=c&cbll=45.584608,24.622486&panoid=9Snzl9ZonXFsu2Q2Day1Cg&cbp=12,90.62,,0,5.3

 

 

Moving a little further afield, Route 24 in Chile leaves Calama in the Andes and heads straight across the Atacama Desert to the coast.

I think this is the highest point (over 10,000feet on my altimeter) 

https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=-22.318001,-69.0065&spn=0.155944,0.713768&t=h&z=12&layer=c&cbll=-22.318056,-69.006535&panoid=3MZFzKaBwCKt0Dw479eZJQ&cbp=12,266.08,,0,4.85

And the Kia Soul I was driving was really struggling here, annoyingly I can't find any pictures of said motor in the desert.

Putting higher octane fuel in for the run back made a huge difference though.

 

 

So go on, tell us your altitude motoring experiences.

 

[overrun]

/Thread Over

 

Nice efforts!

[seth]

Grand Ballon, Alsace this August.  The peak is at 1424m (4672'), the car park a little bit lower, I'm guessing about 1375m (4511') as Rootes didn't see fit to put an altimeter in the car.  A bit higher than the peak of Ben Nevis anyhow.

 

 

We towed home over the Col du Bonhomme, 949m (3113')

 

 

[Lankytim]

Nice work there Seth, really enjoying retro motoring!

[Tayne]

It is quite a cool feeling to be driving a car at a higher altitude than the highest part of the UK.

 

The altimeter is a smart phone app which uses GPS by the way.

[Negative Creep]

Through the NZ Alps in winter, in a Vanette with no blower motor

[Jim Bell]

I never drive while high.

 

Best I can do is the M62.

[beko1987]

Been up over the pennines to manchester with dad before. Beautiful road until you hit mancs, and prob the highest I've been from sea level

[Honey Badger]

Hartside pass in cumbria 1904ft, bright sunshine, roof down and a cafe to have a brew at the top, what more could you want?

 

 

 

Pic of the S2000 at the top

 

[phil_lihp]

7000ft at a ranch in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado last month.  Absolutely incredible.

[dollywobbler]

8385ft or 2500m on the Col du Galibier in Eastern France. The road to the summit (another couple of hundred feet) was closed due to snow so we were forced to take the 2.5km high tunnel. It wasn't much fun to be honest and the view was crap!

 

The day before, a coolant pipe had split, so was bodged up with gaffer tape and hope. It wasn't snowing when we started the climb but by the time the other teams arrived at the base, the road had been closed due to snow. We paused on the way up for these shots.

 

The low coolant light came on just as we entered one of the highest tunnels in Europe. Which is traffic-light controlled and quite long! When we came out the other side, it was full on blizzard conditions so we had to force ourselves out of the car to top the coolant up. We then discovered a coffee shop owned by a Renault Avantime owner who'd just driven up the other side! We had a quick hot drink and had the most terrifying descent I've ever undertaken, in an under-tyred Citroen BX with very powerful brakes. 

 

Was a right bloody good adventure!

[cort16]

Up the pyrennes last year in a ginger Honda.

 

[dollywobbler]

Forgot about taking the 2CV to Switzerland. This is the town of Saas-Fee, which is car free - hence the giant multi-storey car park in the mountains at 5900ft.

 

This is also the highest I've ever ridden a subway! It goes up to over 11,000ft, starting at 9700ft. It was a cable car ride to get that high. How on earth did they get it up there?!

 

I have no idea where this is in Switzerland, or how high it is. Fairly.

[Wilko220]

Probably Mont Ventoux in the south of France (6,273ft / 1,912m). Sadly, unlike the cool people in this thread who took something like a Hillman Minx or Citroen 2CV up a mountain, I just did it in a hired Fiesta.

[fotorabia]

1990....2750m in a Berlin Mk2 Ford Escort in Sierra Nevada-Granada...walked up to 3500m ..on acid...and watched the most amazing sunrise...and ran all the way down...slipped on the final snow ice..slid under the car and ripped my hand open..

[KruJoe]

Highest in a car: 2,565m (8,415 ft) Doi Inthanon, Thailand in a Toyota Avanza (RWD mini MPV, six up).

Highest on a bicycle: 5,300m (17,400 ft) Rongbuk Glacier, north face of Everest. On a bicycle. (No acid required.)

[Sloth in a bowl]

I've driven up Arthurs Pass in NZ which isn't that high (2400 ft ish) but does have great train snowplough footage

 

You tube of Arthurs Pass snowploughs

[Junkman]

Being an Austrian native, I naturally have driven pretty much all Alpine passes. And since I only ever owned Autoshite, I did them all with Autoshite. Best one EVAH (not highest one though) was the Gavia, because I once did it with a 1960 Buick LeSabre convertible, 300hp 364-4v, no power steering, no power brakes, all drums, yank quality*.

I've been across the Rockies many times, a few times in 1957-63 Imperials which I bought with considerable enthusiasm during my former life.

 

However, the highest pass I ever crossed by car is the Abra del Acay near Salta in Argentina, which is 4,895 meters (16,060 ft). So it doesn't win me the altitude record, but possibly the shite record - I did it with an Argentinian Renault 4 hire car. With the car came a nice little wooden box containing a carburetter, a spanner, two screwdrivers and a laminated instruction sheet how to change it. Also a spark plug spanner and a little brass wire brush that had the grip end carefully filed to 0.8 mm thickness. They told me to change it above 3500 meters and leave the air filter off.

[Tayne]

KruJoe would win if it was a "highest you've ever cycled" record, but you've driven the highest so far Junkman.

[M'coli]

Krujoe: you must have had blood thick as jam to get up there by bike: how long had you been at altitude for before you tried that?

[drum]

Being an Austrian native, I naturally have driven pretty much all Alpine passes. And since I only ever owned Autoshite, I did them all with Autoshite. Best one EVAH (not highest one though) was the Gavia, because I once did it with a 1960 Buick LeSabre convertible, 300hp 364-4v, no power steering, no power brakes, all drums, yank quality*.I've been across the Rockies many times, a few times in 1957-63 Imperials which I bought with considerable enthusiasm during my former life.However, the highest pass I ever crossed by car is the Abra del Acay near Salta in Argentina, which is 4,895 meters (16,060 ft). So it doesn't win me the altitude record, but possibly the shite record - I did it with an Argentinian Renault 4 hire car. With the car came a nice little wooden box containing a carburetter, a spanner, two screwdrivers and a laminated instruction sheet how to change it. Also a spark plug spanner and a little brass wire brush that had the grip end carefully filed to 0.8 mm thickness. They told me to change it above 3500 meters and leave the air filter off.

I'm amazed that Renault 4 didn't have a pulmonary embolism!

[Barry Cade]

Jeez, you guys are well travelled. I rode my Honda Domnator to the top of Falkland Hill once.

[Junkman]

KruJoe would win if it was a "highest you've ever cycled" record, but you've driven the highest so far Junkman.

Oh?

 

I'm more impressed with KruJoe's effort though, since he did it with pushbikeshite, which would have simply killed me 2500m lower. No idea how he did it, because even 'only' 4900m made me wheezing on three cylinders, misfiring, almost popping my eardrums, my eyes going blurry, and pretty much all joints aching. When I lit up a fag it felt like there is smoke coming out of each and every one of my orifices. And yes, I took Viagra. It is not at all a pleasurable experience though, trust me on that. The people living there must have entirely different lungs than we have.

When I arrived back in Salta the next evening, I recovered surprisingly quickly, then went to the pub. I had ONE beer and I was OMGWASTD! When have you last been completely pissed for 9p?

 

Interestingly, that Renner worked a treat! I did change the carb when it was feeling like it's running a tad rich and the car did pull on formidably all the way up. I guess that second carburetter was fitted with smaller jets. There were also 5 litres of pure alcohol in the boot, which were to be used when carburetter icing is experienced, something very likely when you lean the mixture too much. You just gave it a mouthful directly down the throat and it would run for another few miles until the carb iced up again.

 

KruJoe must have 20W50 blood and a circulation like a horse.

[jbz2079]

I have driven a Coach over the Pyrinese on the way to Lourdes.

An old Daf MB 200.

Going up was hard work, comming down was interesting with a full load of people and luggage.

The propshaft retarder got a right hammering, to the point it was filling the coach with hot oily smoke.

[Tayne]

Oh?

 

I'm more impressed with KruJoe's effort though, since he did it with pushbikeshite, 

 

KruJoe must have 20W50 blood and a circulation like a horse.

 

Yes, cycling at that height is impressive. But not what was asked.

I am curious as to why he took a bike up a glacier...

 

Also, I reckon altitude sickness doesn't affect everyone.

I'd say I'm averagely healthy but didn't feel any affects at 4300m.

[Junkman]

Yes, cycling at that height is impressive. But not what was asked.

I am curious as to why he took a bike up a glacier...

Because he could?

 

Also, I reckon altitude sickness doesn't affect everyone.

I'd say I'm averagely healthy but didn't feel any affects at 4300m.

I think it kicks in at a certain threshold, which may be different from person to person.

I don't think I felt too unwell at 4300.

[Cavcraft]

I went up/down Dinas Mawddwy (the highest road pass in Taffland) in  a 4 cylinder Iveco Cargo, which is the motoring equivalent of Stephen Hawking climbing Everest blindfold.

[dollywobbler]

I went up/down Dinas Mawddwy (the highest road pass in Taffland) in  a 4 cylinder Iveco Cargo, which is the motoring equivalent of Stephen Hawking climbing Everest blindfold.

 

Crikey. Is that true about the highest road? Came screaming down there in the 2CV last year and very, very nearly cooked the brakes. They were just starting to fade as the sharp bends approached...

[saucedoctor]

Glenshane Pass (main Belfast-Londonderry route), years ago in my knackered Audi Koop. It's not that high, but the day I went up in the Audi the weather was doing weird things and I drove UP through low cloud. Apparently there's some sort of micro-climate in the area. May account for the fact that Derry folk are ODD.

[Des]

During the summer I drove an old car up onto a pair of ramps without the buggers skitting away.