The Highest Rides

The Altitude Review - Part 1

How high can motorcycles go? Who has been where, how high and when? Here is a little background to motorcycles at altitude, and the altitude world record in a 3 part blog post. Let's kick off part one with some of the more well known locations for riding high!

The highest motorable road in the world … at least that’s what it claims of itself, is Khardung La, a pass on the Leh - Siachen Glacier road in the Northern Indian region of Ladakh. The road has been ridden by thousands of motorcyclists over the years. The sign at the pass (see below) says 18,380 feet (5,602 metres). Now we don’t know how you precisely define “motorable”, but defining feet and metres is a much simpler game. The reality is Khardung La is actually 5,359 metres (17,582 feet) as defined by GPS surveys, satellite mapping, etc. That's a whopping 800 feet below what is claimed on the sign - which is in itself a whopping lie. So if Khardung La is only 5,359 metres, then the first thing that is apparent is that altitude claims on Indian road signs are of particularly limited value (apart from for the sake of illusory glory photos), especially when anecdtal evidence from locals tells of how the altitudes were deliberately falsified on the signs for the sake of providing superlatives … such as the “highest motorable road” on the planet. Certainly there are other higher, even more motorable roads across the border in Tibet, such as Semo La, which is verified at 5,565m (18,258 feet) and asphalted! So in reality, Khardung La is neither the highest motorable road in the world (in fact my more recent research has Khardung La not even making the top 100 highest roads in the world - see World's Highest Roads page), nor is it 18,380 feet above sea level. The sign at the pass is false in every sense, and deliberately so.

Also in the Indian Himalaya, Marsimik La is claimed by others (Indian local authorities) to be the location of the highest road / track in the world though it’s a little less “motorable” than Khardung La. It’s a military road that does require special permission to be there. Never-the-less, Marsimik La has seen frequent 2 wheeled expeditions from numerous Indian motorcycle clubs – often on  100-150cc bikes! Respect !! Legendary Swedish explorer Sven Hedin crossed the pass in the early 20th century, but alas he was not on a Husaberg nor indeed on any motorcycle.

Strangely enough, the Indian authorities cant agree its altitude and indeed have multiple random guesses as to the altitude of Marsimik La. The original Cairn built by the road builders states:

Marsimek-La

Worlds Highest Motorable Road

Alt 5590 Mts (18634 ft)

The first thing that jumps out at me is the mathematics is incorrect. 5590 metres would be 18340 feet. So ommediately the credible of the authority behind the sign is questionable. However, while the conversion maths is poor, the claimed altitude in metres is close to correct, a mere 8 metres out. The altitude in feet is however overstated by around 300 feet.

Then they had a change of heart, updated the faded old sign, and added 187 metres and 319 feet to it -  (just for a laugh I guess) claiming it to be now 18,953 feet / 5777 metres.  A bit ridiculous.  The more recent sign is sponsored by the Indian Army sign atop Marsimik La (see below) who claim its altitude is 18,953 feet – 5,777 metres.  While the maths this time stacks up, we know that Indian Army altitude claims are far removed from reality. 

[The newer sign at Marsimik La states (claims) "Marsimik La.  Ht  18953 ft, 5777m.  You are at the highest motorable pass in the world". ... but as we know, it is 18,314 feet.}

And then you get people just adding more and more height to it ... This home made sign proclaims it to now be 19,600 feet .... but if we escape from fantasy land, it is still 18,314 feet.  Soon someone will claim it is 25,000 feet:

Top Gear: While its definitely not motorcycling, it was watched by a large audience and is therefore a quite well known piece on vehicles at altitude. In the Bolivian special, the top gear chaps went higher and higher up the mountains on the Chilean edge of the Bolivian Altiplano in their 4WDs; eventually reaching 17,200 feet (5,243 metres). They began suffering from headaches and potentially fatal hypoxia (not enough oxygen in the blood) and had to turn back.  As extreme as they made it sound, it is worth bearing in mind that they were still on pretty well worn gravel roads that kept going higher, and their effort is a still below the hundreds of people who cross Khardung La (5,359 m) every day. Still, it made for dramatic TV.

Matthias Jeschke: A frequent record setter on Ojos del Salado in the automobile category is German adventurer Matthias Jeschke.  Jeschke set a car record in 2005 when he reached 6,359m (20,863 ft) behind the wheel of a Toyota Landcruiser.  He returned in a heavily sponsored Jeep Wrangler in 2007 and reached 6,646m (21,804 feet), declaring it an amazing record that will stand for a very long time.  Unfortunately it was an unwise prophecy, as the record was broken just a month later by a local Chilean team.

The Chileans strike back:  A month after the Jeep Wrangler expedition (with a rumoured budget of over USD 700,000) reached 6646m, Chilean team of Gonzalo Bravo and Eduardo Canales ran a home modified Suzuki Samurai (modified with a twin turbo V8 engine) up to 6688m (21,942 feet) and grabbed the outright record that stands to this day.  Chilenos do not like foreigners coming to their country to take their altitude records!

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The Altitude Review - Part 2

In this second part of the series, we begin to take a look at some of the great rides of the past; the rides of previous record holders Shinji Kazama and Istvan Juhasz. We also take a look at the more recent (and well documented) ride of Damon I'Anson on one of the heavier bikes to see the upper side of 5,700m.  All of these rides took place in the highest mountain range on earth, the Himalaya - from China, from India and from Nepal. Lets start with perhaps the greatest extreme adventure record holder of them all - Shinji Kazama.

Shinji Kazama: The legendary Kazama-san was seen in Michael Palin’s Pole to Pole documentary series flying a motorcycle to Antarctica so that he could ride a bike to the South Pole … and indeed he did.  On top of that the Japanese adventurer has ridden a bike across the North Pole’s pack ice, the same pack ice that saw Jeremy Clarkson struggle in his 4WDs.  Where Clarkson struggled, Kazama powered on and reached the North Pole.  Kazama was an amazing rider.  He competed in 4 Dakars.  He even won the 500 cc class one year in the days when 500cc was small by Dakar standards.  The amazing Kazama then turned his extreme motorcycle habit to altitude.  He went to Everest; the South (Nepalese) side and took his bike up to 5,880 metres (19,291 feet) in 1984.  He returned to Everest, this time on the North (Chinese) side with a team of helpers in 1985 and made it to 6,005 metres (19,701 feet).  This stood as an unofficial record for many years.  In fact for a decade Kazama was not only the highest rider on the planet, he was the only person to have ridden to both poles (and still is).  Walter has nicknamed his Husaberg "Kazama-san" in honour of this "emperor" of extreme adventure motorcycling.

Before Kazama, a number of Bultaco backed rides had proved the benchmark. In 1973 five Bultaco Sherpa-T 350 bikes set a new world record when they reached 5,156 m (16,916 ft) in the nepalese Imja Khola glacier near the Island Peak base camp after taking the Everest Base Camp trail much of the way). The expedition also hired 55 sherpas (lugging 35kgs each) to take all the material needed (aeronautical gas was needed due to the poor quality of the nepalese gas combined with the high compression engines). The story is in a book called "Himalaya Namasté" from Dimas Veiga, one of the expedition members.  The story and a video has recently been put online here: http://www.motosclasicas80.com/noticias/35-expedicion-bultaco-himalaya-1973.html

The 1974 Igualada-Kilimanjaro expedition: Jaume Travesset and Santi Godó rode two Bultaco Sherpa-t 250 bikes from Barcelona across Africa and to the top of Kilimanjaro's Uhuru Peak - 5,891 m (19,327 ft). They reached the summit at 5pm on October 26, 1974. The expedition took 4 months and 20.000kms through Spain, Morocco, Spanish Sahara, Mauritania, Senegal, Malí, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Dahomey, Nigeria, Cameroon, CAR, Zaire, Rwanda and Tanzania.

It wasn't until the mid 1990s that Shinji Kazama's 6000 metre feat would be challenged.  In 1995 a solo Hungarian in a striking all red outfit, Istvan Juhasz, rode an XL250R up the side of Gauri Shankar, a Nepalese mountain in the Himalaya, with the assistance of a trekking company and its porters, and reached an impressive 6,183m (20,285 feet) where cold and fuelling limited progress.  Istvan Juhasz has a pretty strong claim to have been the first person to cross the 20,000 foot mark on 2 wheels.

The Chinese:  Kicked of the current Guinness recognition of the motorcycle altitude game by getting a 2002 ride with considerable support and backing, up the North side of Everest suitably certified and verified.  (there is a lot of verification involved with Guinness). They too crossed the 20,000 foot barrier before topping out at 6,113 metres (20,060 feet).

Damon I’Anson: Possibly unaware of the other significant rides, British moto journalist I’Anson went to Ladakh to set a world altitude record for bikes and document it for the UK’s Bike magazine in 2007. He creditably rode his XT660R from the UK all the way to the 5,582 metre pass, Marsimik La, then with his Indian co-rider Pankaj, found a way up the scree covered hillsides until exhaustion and lack of traction took their toll and they could go no higher. They reached 5,713 metres (18,743 feet) and reckoned it was probably about as high as anyone had ever been on a bike. “I was able to ride a Yamaha XT660-R to 18,743ft, which I believe is the highest anyone has ever ridden”. It was, however, still a long way below the efforts of Shinji Kazama, not to mention the 2002 Chinese Guinness World Record that was standing at the time 400 metres higher, and Istvan Juhasz’s ride another 70 metres higher again. I'Anson's documentary article also noted the absurd discrepancies between altitudes claimed on Indian signs and reality as seen by his GPS.  He now runs tours in the Indian Himalaya.

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The Altitude Review - Part 3

In this third and final part of this series, we take a look at the most recent high rides, and of course the highest rides of all.  While a few of these rides have taken place in the usual suspect range, the Himalaya, you will note quite a bit of recent attention moving towards the Andes mountains in South America.  We see the logic of this, which is why we too will be heading to the Andes mountains in South America for our little altitude ride.  And on that note, let’s start off in the Andes:

Miles McEwing, a Canadian race car driver and his wife Tracey took on a different speed when they headed to South America with a 2WD Ural sidecar rig in 2011.  Always up for a challenge, the mercurial McEwing took his Ural sidecar rig up to an impressive 5,300 metres (17,388 ft) in Peru / Chile.  We reckon that’s possibly a sidecar altitude record ... unless someone has gone over Khardung La in a sidecar.

Joe Pichler: KTM’s legendary “Ambassador of Adventure” rode a regular garden variety, touring equipped, hard metal boxed 990 Adventure up to 5,796 metres (19,016 feet) in 2007 on the sides of a Uturuncu volcano in the Bolivian Andes, while on a 2-up tour of the continent with his wife Renate.   Renate only jumped off at 5,600 m, which in itself has to be a record for 2-up riding at altitude.  Overall we reckon Joe's 990 is the biggest bike to ever make it up to the rarefied air of 19,000 feet. (http://josef-pichler.at/) [edit: since surpassed by the Africa Twin effort in 2017 detailed later]

Globebusters:  The BMW affiliated UK based motorcycle tour company regularly guides its clients through Tibet on a route that takes the clients, including their female Expediton Guide Tiffany Coates, as well as several female clients, up to Qieshan Pass along the G219 Trans Tibetan highway at 5,384 metres (17,665 feet).  We reckon this is quite possibly a women’s motorcycle altitude record as of 2011.

Craig Bounds / Tamsin Jones: British Dakar rider Craig Bounds and his Dakar riding girlfriend Tamsin Jones set out in November 2011 to attack the world altitude record for bikes. They target was Everest, and like Kazama’s record ride (6,005m), tried the Northern side. They made it about 150 metres above Everest Base Camp, to 5,359 metres (17,581 feet) and Tamsin claimed a women’s “Everest record”. Which I guess means the highest a woman has been on a bike specifically on the slopes of Mt Everest. It’s actually exactly the same height as the number of women who have ridden bikes to Khardung La, and 27 metres lower than the Tiff Coates and the other women riding in Tibet with Globebusters.

The Catalans: There is an incredible story out there about some Catalan riders who flew to South America in 1977 to try to ride their Bultaco bikes up Aconcagua, the highest mountain in South America, and indeed the highest mountain outside of Asia.  Their story is a great read but it is peppered with factual inconsistencies and inaccuracies that ultimately make their claim to have reached somewhere around 6,820 metres (22,375 ft) very difficult to believe.  The jist of their story is that they got to the Berlin Refugio which they claimed to be at 6,800 metres (n.b. an updated edition of this story on the internet is now claiming the Berlin Refugio to be at 6,400m), sheltered a week during a storm then scrambled another 20 - 25 metres or so higher in the storm which was not letting up, before weather beat them back.  The biggest problem with the story is that the Berlin Refugio is at 5,930 m (19,455 ft), approximately 900 metres (3,000 ft) lower than their claim.  (As a side note, anyone who understands altitude medicine would tell you that if you were in a hut at 6,800m for a week, you would barely be able to stand and walk by the end of that week - let alone to battle a storm and go higher on a motorcycle).  

We reckon they made it to somewhere about 5,950m (19,521 ft) which would still have been a record ride for that time.  Further they had no altitude measuring equipment with them at all (odd since they were attempting an altitude record), and all heights mentioned in their story are pure guesswork.  On further investigation when you try to correlate the claimed altitudes with the verifyable landmarks such as the Berlin Refugio, all heights in their story prove to be completely inconsistent with the facts and appear to just have been made up - the narrative simply does not match up with the facts.  Stories like this do justify quite strict verification standards.

Chilean / Swiss / Austrian Motorecord project: In early 2008, a well organised team took trials bikes with sand tyres to Ojos del Salado in Chile, managed to get up to 6,220 metres, (20,406 feet) and in doing so scored a new Guinness World Record and overtook the unofficial record of Juhasz (by about 40 metres) which had stood for over a decade.  Perhaps worth noting, the bike was not a road registered vehicle.  The fuelling was an issue on the trials bikes, and there was talk the team would one day return to Ojos del Salado for a second project, this time with better sorted fuel injection.   [edit:  to date, I do not believe the Motorecord guys returned]  

North Kolkata Disha:  A motorcycle club from Calcutta, India; we take our hats off to these guys.  Six guys set off from steamy Calcutta in late 2008 to take the Guinness World altitude Record for bikes away from the Motorecord project and bring it back to the Indian Himalaya: and indeed they did it, topping them by just 25 metres, and it is the record that stood at the time we flew to South America.  These guys got to 20,488 feet (6,245 metres) on 29^th August 2008, by first heading to Marsimik La and then making their own trail over 600 metres higher, above the pass.  Sadly I am unaware of any write up of this ride, nor of any photos.

[Edit: a further more recent altitude claim by the North Kolkata Disha is blatantly fraudulent and as such casts significant doubt about their previous claimed world record as well. For more detail see: https://andesmotoextreme.blogspot.com/2019/11/new-motorcycle-record-sorta-kinda-maybe.html]

Nationalism: It's worth mentioning how much nationalism is involved in some of the rides.  In earlier reports we mentioned how altitudes on signs have been inflated so that India can claim (incorrectly) the highest this and the highest that. And some of the nationalism visible in some of the rides is quite overtly apparent (see pic below - with a sign inflated by a ridiculous 1300 feet!).  The Chinese Guinness World Record was similarly obviously a nationalistic project - an attempt to somehow illustrate the superiority of the Chinese  over all others.  We are very pleased to say that as a multinational team, we are clearly NOT involved in a futile attempt to prove the superiority of one group of people over others based on the type of passport we happen to hold.  We are just a group of friends who just want to have fun and try to ride higher than anyone else has before.

And that basically takes us to where we are today ... with a multinational trio from the US, Austria and the UK, about to ship 3 Husaberg motorcycles to South America ... to take on this mountain ... and the existing motorcycle record of 6,245 metres (20,488 ft).

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Altitude Review Part 4 ... The Postscript

As the records keep coming along and the benchmarks keeps getting higher, we thought we would keep this reference page updated for others looking at what records are there to be beaten.

2012: Sherri Jo and the Womens world record. As part of our logistic toing and froing up the mountain, we were able to ensure Sherri Jo Wilkins rode the Husaberg from the highway to Camp Atacama (5265m). From here we told her that she was going to get a world record for women if she could ride the Husaberg above 5400m.  She did that and then improved on it by over 500 vertical metres, reaching 5,903m (19,367 feet) and the end of the access trail at Ojos del Salado, a new mark for the highest woman on a bike.

2012: The Andes Moto Extreme expedition succeeded in beating the 6,245m mark and on 18 March 2012 reached 6,361m / 20,869 feet (taken from the average of 3 GPS readings ranging from 6,359 to 6,363m all with an accuracy of +- 3m) on Ojos del Salado.  This improved the last record by 119 metres.  The ride used the team of three with one motorcycle format.  The Indian record before had one motorcycle and a team of 6.  While the Chilean Motorecord team before that had one motorcycle in a team of four people.  If there was one thing that we left Ojos del Salado convinced of, it was that it was definitely possible to get higher than we got on a bike.  We were out of time and energy, but there were routes that we didnt take that would definitely be do-able and get us higher.

2013 - The Honda Cub attempt: Apparently inspired by Andes Moto Extreme a year earlier, a bunch of Irish guys (http://hondavstheworld.com/the-highest-honda-cub-in-the-world-ever/) reckoned this high altitude business is probably easier than it actually is, and wanted to get their Honda Cub at least up to 5565m (the highest road in the world), Tejos (5820m) and maybe even higher.  After all if a girl (Sherri Jo) can get to 5903m, then surely 3 determined Irish guys can do it too right - especially if they follow the same route?  The guys made their way to Ojos del Salado and found it hard going on the Honda Cub, taking around 5 hours to ride the 22 km from Murray (4530m) to Atacama (5265m) which takes just 20 minutes on the Husabergs, and they eventually made it to 5708m / 18,728 feet (an average of their GPS readings between 5706 and 5711m).  While they didn't reach the end of the trail at 5900m or Tejos at 5820m, they do have an excellent claim to be the highest bike under 100cc.  Again these guys used the 3 guys and 1 bike approach.

2014 - The Truck Record: Matthias Jeschke was back with another world record attempt.  Having had his "unbeatable" 4 wheeled world record of 6,646m beaten just a month later in 2007, Matthias Jeschke was determined to recapture the title he has held twice before and feels is rightfully his.  With Mercedes Benz providing him with a low geared truck and sponsors equipping him royally, Jeschke was almost surely going to recapture "his" record when he went to Ojos del Salado in December 2014.  Initial reports came in during December that he had reached a new record 6,704m (21,995 feet), but that soon faded away and Jeschke had to readjust both his height to 6,675m (21,900 feet) and adjust his aim to set a Truck World Record as opposed to the outright surface vehicle world record.  I have no doubt he is gutted and will surely be back to again attempt to recapture the outright record.

2015: Gianfranco Bianchi, A Chilean on a Suzuki RMZ 450 reached 6,472m (21,233 feet) (taken from the highest of two GPS readings of 6,469m and 6,472m both with an accuracy of +-3m) also on Ojos del Salado, with the help of two mountain guides, on 22 March 2015.  This ride pushed the record higher by a further 111 metres.  Again this ride used the "team of three with one motorcycle" format.  I kinda think if you have two or more different GPS readings, you dont just pick the most  convenient one and use that for your claim.  If you have multiple GPS readings, the proper thing to do would be to claim a median value.

Also in 2015, Dakar Rider Chaleco Lopez went to Ojos del Salado with a KTM Freeride electric bike, and reached the glacier at 6080m (19,948 ft).  I think we can call that a record altitude for an electric  motorcycle.

Read more about that here:  http://enduro21.com/index.php/40-general/384-lopez-reaches-the-dizzy-heights-of-6080m-with-ktm-s-freeride-e

In 2016, The North Calcutta Disha tried to bring the record back to the Himalayan mountains, and did the research that identified a trekking trail that went up to the summit of 6622m high Chamser Kangri.  They claim to have summitted but don't have good evidence of it.  The only one piece of evidence they actually do have is a picture of a watch with a barometric (not GPS) altimeter in which the watch claims 21,524 ft (6,560m) which for starters is very inconsistent with claims they summited the mountain.  Secondly, a barometric altimeter measures air pressure.  Without knowing the sea level air pressure at the exact location at the exact time the reading was taken, the measurement WILL be inaccurate.  It is inconceivable to me that in 2016 a team of 6 would attempt a world record for altitude without a GPS device to determine the altitude, and determine a clear margin of error.  Guinness has declined to certify the attempt as I am sure they have the same doubts about the credibility of the information as we do.   I have written more in the blog about the credibility issues with this claim, and have concluded the team reached no higher than 6,145m (20,161 feet).   https://andesmotoextreme.blogspot.com/2019/11/new-motorcycle-record-sorta-kinda-maybe.html

In 2017, an Irish team of three guys and one lady went to several peaks in the Andes to see if there was a world record for the taking, including Monte Pissis in Argentina, before also settling on Ojos del Salado in Chile.  While the guys did get their KTM 350 Freerides above 6000m, they didnt threaten the records.  The lady on the trip did ride up from Base camp and just pipped Sherri Jo Wilkins ride 5 years earlier on the Husaberg, when she reached 5903m.  Irish grandmother Mide Maher took her KTM 350 Freeride 12 vertical metres higher to 5915m to set a new benchmark for the ladies at the same location, above Refugio Tejos on Ojos del Salado. (The GPS was reading between 5911 and 5918, and when you are getting fluctuating results you really have to take a median reading so I am calling it 5,915m (19,406 ft), which is what Mide herself called it as in the video of her record)  

Also in 2017, a heavily backed expedition by Honda and Metzeler arrived at Ojos del Salado to attempt world records for the new Honda Africa Twin and the Metzeler MC360 tyre.   The team was filled with motorcycling professionals and they achieved a world record for going from sea level to 5,900 metres in less than 24 hours ... accompanied by severe altitude sickness.  The team managed to claim a world record altitude for twin cylinder bikes for the Africa Twin, using a professional enduro rider, and reaching 5,960m / 19,554 feet thus overtaking the effort of Joe Pichler from 2007.

You can read more about that here:  https://enduro21.com/index.php/rally/1953-honda-s-africa-twin-hits-new-record-heights-in-chile

And here: https://www.cyclenews.com/2017/03/article/metzeler-mc-360-sets-three-world-records-climbing-nevado-ojos-del-salado-volcano/

February 2020 and Ojos del Salado (by now the default location for global altitude records) saw a team organised by Swiss endurance legend Urs Pedraita (who has a string of world records HERE) attempt world altitude records in three categories; 4 wheeled vehicles, buggies and motorcycles.  The Motorcyclist, Jiri Zak, came away with a new world record, verified by Guinness World Records, at 6,546m (21,476 ft) - about 70 metres (200 feet) higher than the previous mark set in 2015 by Chilean Gianfranco Bianchi, who was himself about 80 metres higher than we achieved in 2012 (6361m).

[just my personal opinion but having been to the mountain, ridden up it, and knowing the possible vehicle routes and contours, it seems to me that 6690 / 6700 metres is definitely possible at Ojos del Salado. That means there are more records to come from that location and this will not be the last. The main factors are preparation and acclimatization - then once fully prepared and acclimatized you have basically one shot at the record as your body weakens from the altitude before you need to go back down to near sea level to recover.  If Graham Jarvis wants a world record, its there for the taking]

Top Spanish trials rider Pol Tarres, has been heavily promoting the Yamaha T700 adventure bike this year, even riding one in the Africa Eco Race, a rally that follows the original route to Dakar, had earlier in 2022 become the first rider to take a twin cylinder bike above 6,000 metres on Cerro Mercedario in the Argentine Andes, ultimately reaching 6,157.5m (20,202 ft) to update the multi cylinder bike world mark and take it from the Africa Twin mark from 2017. Pol looks like he was using oxygen to avoid / assist acclimatization but stunningly rode straight up the side of the hill from 3500m up.  

I have no doubt, that if he had attempted this at Ojos del Salado, he would have an world record for all motorcycles.