The highest man in the world, Sir Edmund Hillary. Photo by Graeme Mulholland.
I stood there, motionless for three seconds that lasted five minutes. I took in my surroundings, energized by my daring and accomplishment. I briefly let sink in the splendor of my new vista, this unique view of the world I had granted myself. Then I looked down and realized the predicament I was truly in. Ensnared by branches, leaves, and bugs; one hand almost useless to me as I used it to hold the shears I had brought with me on this perilous journey. I contemplated for a fraction of second if in this moment I felt ready to die, if they found my mangled corpse on the ground, days later, would they notice a strangely serene and satisfied expression. Then I remembered the kitchen was a mess and refused to be buried with that hanging over my head and I resigned myself to make the perilous journey back from whence I came. I planned my escape from entanglement, took in a deep breath, and (shaking ever so slightly) made my way back down all four steps of the ladder. My trees had once again been pruned for the season.
I am not, strictly speaking, afraid of heights, but I am far from a thrill seeker. Though I can understand, from my own wimpy and pathetic exploits, that desire to reach dizzying new heights in defiance of gravity. And gravity is the law. And it’s fun to defy the law. That’s why getting high is fun.
Wait, I think I got off track…
Not counting commercial flights (or space shuttles for engineerd™s), what’s the highest you’ve ever been? Wait. What’s the highest altitude you’ve ever been?
Not counting buildings either?
456 feet on this bastard.
http://rcdb.com/2832.htm
Last summer in Peru, we drove from Arequipa to Colca Canyon, and that crossed a mountain pass at 16,020 feet, according to the GPS on my camera (EXIF data available on Flickr):
<img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4089/4949641769_33fcfac6f3.jpg" width="500" height="334" alt="wks_9366">
Beautiful. On mountains, the highest I've been is 10,000+ in the Rockies.
this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lone_Peak
followed by this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Olympus_(Utah)
I really need to visit Utah.
Are you in Utah? After a trip through last summer, Mrs. Alff and I agree that it is one of the prettiest (and underrated) places in the country. Don't worry, though, I won't tell anyone else. I saw what happend to Western Washington after the rest of the world figured out it isn't all rain and lumberjacks.
Yep, I live and work in SLC and I can see both peaks from my desk:
<img src="http://i55.tinypic.com/25zgi8z.jpg">
Mount Olympus is the closer bald peak with no snow on it. The white one kinda behind it is Twin Peaks which I believe is the tallest on the Wasatch Range, and then the far one is Lone Peak.
Farther south and out of the picture is Mt. Timpanogos http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Timpanogos that gets up to 11,700 and has the carcass of a crashed B-25.
So yeah, we have some really beautiful mountains here.
Yes, you do. I came close to accepting a job in SLC just for the view from what would have been my office. Six months later, they closed shop and relocated willing victims to Pittsburgh.
Although we saw more dramatic splendor in Utah, this was the family's favorite stop…
<img src="http://www.sangres.com/dimages/utah/stateparks/Coral_pink_sand02.gif"width=500>
I'm going to be in SLC again this weekend for work. Want to grab a beer?
hell yes! Sunday I am going out to Miller Motorsports park for the offroad races, you outta come! If not, I am always available for a beer. Shoot me an email at masterschmo-at-gmail-dot-com.
However high up the Eisenhower pass goes. Weird to be in the middle of July and it was snowing like mad as we drove that poor little 2.2L S-10 up over the mountains.
Way cool.
Same here. I've been up to the top a couple of times.
Tioga pass going into Yosemite, about 10,000 feet. I was driving an RV that was NOT tuned for driving at that altitude, and it was a rather unpleasant drive for me. Everyone else was having a great time, however. The bastards.
There are so many pretty mountains there. I'd love to go there, but as you say, altitude sickness is no fun, and sometimes lethal. Show me some more pictures and I'll put ice cubes down my pants, breathe into a paper bag and imagine real hard.
It's an incredible region. I live next to the Rockies in Alberta and they're amazing, but the scale of the central Asian mountain ranges makes the Rockies seem like bumps. Here are some more pics:
http://www.mirpur.net/storage/users/2/2/images/15… http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/29397… http://i690.photobucket.com/albums/vv261/utrebo/w…
Very pretty. I'd hate to have a breakdown on that road, it looks mighty lonely. Thanks for the links!
Don't know the specific number but I did a couple of 13ers in CO a few years ago. Also drove Mt. Evans, highest road in continental US at 14,240 ft.
Correction: Highest paved road
Urg. Too high for me. I'd have to admire everything from the ground, but I'd love to go see.
Yeah, but Peru is amazing…I'd recommend it to anyone…on this trip we started near sea level, in the Amazon jungle, went up to Cuzco at 10,000 feet, hiked to Machu Picchu, which is absolutely stunning, then went to Arequipa, and Colca Canyon where these guys live (Andean Condors with 6+ foot wingspans):
<img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4149/4949642757_2bf2fa41a5.jpg" width="500" height="334" alt="wks_9460">
<img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4133/4950235148_9fbfa1e9bb.jpg" width="500" height="334" alt="wks_9444">
and these little guys:
<img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4107/4950235644_31efd88224.jpg" width="500" height="334" alt="wks_9454">
<img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4083/4950234634_62de437b36.jpg" width="500" height="334" alt="wks_9326">
<img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4152/4950232556_e18f138f91.jpg" width="500" height="334" alt="wks_9217">
Actual ft. above sea level was probably snowmobiling outside Winter Park, CO. We went above the tree line ~10,000ft. In a building, top/observation deck of the Sears Tower 1353 ft. above ground. I've been up in small single engined private planes a couple of times, that was probably 5,000 feet or so. If planes don't count, I've been in a blimp (the Sanyo blimp) at about 1,500 ft.
I've camped at 10,000 feet in the High Uinta mountains in the Road Condo, climbed a few peaks higher than that in the Wasatch Mountains outside of Salt Lake, and skiied down them in the winter (between Brighton and Alta). Been to the top of the World Trade Center many a time as a kid, and parachuted numerous times while I was in the Army. Oh, and I've been to the edge of the second biggest cliff in the country, after Half Dome in Yosemite, Notch Peak, in the Utah West Desert.
Notch Peak? I must google this!
holy crap! Road trip! I gotta see that. Also Utah has one of the deepest caves in North America, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neffs_Cave_(Utah)
Notch Peak is way cool. There is a valley at the very top of it, Amasa Valley, that has an abandoned mining operation. Lots of machinery left, last time I was there. http://desertislands.org/amasa.htm http://desertislands.org/notch.htm
Snowmobiling has put me up to about 15000 ft , don't have any large or tall buildings anywhere near me so I'll go with that .
The Chief is awesome. Ever make it up to Black Tusk and Garibaldi Lake? It's an amazing hike and the scree skiing on the way down is a blast.
<img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_8a7FL1E4xO0/SM3uCdpHUII/AAAAAAAAAlQ/ZW_Fru7ezTs/P1010285.JPG" width="500" />
I've been to Garibaldi/Black Tusk, but that was a _long_ time ago, as in child seats weren't mandatory, and one could still smoke at work.
Damn, did I just say that?
Yikes, I thought I was bad not having been there for 10 years. Still, there is no way in hades I'd make it now.
11,815 ft at the top of Castle Peak in the White Cloud mountains, central Idaho.
Awesome place for a bunch of 14 year olds. Beautiful views into MT, WY, OR & WA from there, too. Our guides were able to identify peaks in each state.
Loveland Pass over the Rockies in Colorado. Not much lower is the Grand Mesa in Western Colorado.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Mesa
It is the largest mesa in the world, and right near my hometown of Fruita, Colorado. Been camping/fishing/hiking and off-roading all over it my whole life.