Highest road you've been on?

[donkmeister]

coppice said:

I lived for years on the western edge of the North York Moors and when conditions were right I could see the radar thingie from home, with binoculars - I reckon 50miles away . What is in it ?

If you are asking a more literal "what is inside the golf ball", the answer is "mostly air".

The radome you see is effectively a big transparent tent (transparent at the frequencies used by the radar inside) for the radar itself to live in. Depending on the radar, if you were inside you'd see a dish or antenna array that has the benefit of not being left out in the weather (or where people can get a good look at it).

[Lotobear]

England's highest pass is the A689 between Weardale and Alston in Cumbria, around 630 metres if I recall correctly

[Riley Blue]

England's highest paved road is to the top of Great Dun Fell in Cumbria at 840m. Unfortunately these days it's a bridle way and not open to vehicles but if you have the legs, you can cycle up it.

Edited by Riley Blue on Sunday 18th July 20:10

[LochTay]

Well I've been a passenger up Great Dun fell...

Iirc, Cairnwell is the highest road in UK? Plenty of times I've been up there.

I was born at 2200m in the Himalayas. So arguably my first car ride was at that height...

I've also been up to Avoriaz, 2450m iirc.

[walamai]

I can't beat Rich_AR, but I drove over the Karakoram Highway in Pakistan a few years back.

It goes up to 4,714 m (15,466 ft). We got a flat tyre going over and I was completely knackered changing it because of the altitude!

[J__Wood]

Debaser said:

Outside of Europe, probably the top of Mauna Kea.

Like Debaser Mauna Kea, surfing Banyans early morning then jump in crappy hire car and drive for 1:30 hours to top of Mauna Kea.
Involved ignoring 4x4 only signs, in woefully under powered low tech 2 litre hire car and snow at the top.

Sea level to 4,200 m / 13,800 ft a bit of an altitude sickness risk but no more than the reef at Banyans and the locals at Banyans and the not always the best roads for making good progress on.

[dcb]

Done:

1. Otztal Glacier Road - 2829 m

2. Stelvio - 2757 m

3. Kaunertaler - 2750 m - also highest bus stop in Austria ;->

4. Eidelwiessspitze - 2572 m

5. Gross Glockner - 2504 m

6. Umbrialpass - 2501 m

and most of the top twenty in Austria.

In comparision, Harthope Moor, just south of St John's Chapel, at 630 m in UK is a tiddler.

[Lotobear]

dcb said:

Done:

1. Otztal Glacier Road - 2829 m

2. Stelvio - 2757 m

3. Kaunertaler - 2750 m - also highest bus stop in Austria ;->

4. Eidelwiessspitze - 2572 m

5. Gross Glockner - 2504 m

6. Umbrialpass - 2501 m

and most of the top twenty in Austria.

In comparision, Harthope Moor, just south of St John's Chapel, at 630 m in UK is a tiddler.

To be fair, those passes are not that handy (Harthope is only 40 mins away for me) and the thread is about the highest in the UK

[mikey k]

Finlandese said:

Col de la Bonnet claims to be the highest in europe. I drove it in a sixties Alfa Spider.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ywOJgWJfKY

True but only if you do the little loop at the top.
Its not always possible

Eurohoon 2011 28 289 by Mikey K 675LT, on Flickr

[silverfoxcc]

There is a road near Yosemite Nat park on the eastern side which is marked as being IIRC 14500ft or so I onl got up to 8000 on the road going to the General Sherman tree

[maxdb]

Mines the Applecross pass at 2054ft according to Google.

[Lodelaner]

Drove the Alpine Loop and Black Bear Passes near Silverton in Colorado a few years ago.



Hurricane Pass was 3880 metres. Stunning visibility up there.

|https://thumbsnap.com/bt1WTkeo[/url]

A month before we'd been to the Alps and enjoyed a few high passes inc Col Du Parpaillon (2780m). Thats the highest tunnel I've ever driven through for sure.



|https://thumbsnap.com/KqUoNKuz[/url]

|https://thumbsnap.com/RSdMcMjd[/url]



And there was the Tizi n'Tichka (2260m) in the High Atlas. An easier drive, but with trucks coming the other way, with cattle on the roof going from North to South.

[MC Bodge]

La Cumbre Pass Argentina-Chile border, 3,832 metres. Graded dirt, covered in snow. The rental Ecosport couldn't quite get to the top as it was 2wd on road-biased tyres (It's n/a engine was a bit breathless at that altitude too)





[url|https://thumbsnap.com/PCwANfNE[/url]

Edited by MC Bodge on Tuesday 20th July 14:51

[MC Bodge]

Lodelaner said:

And there was the Tizi n'Tichka (2260m) in the High Atlas. An easier drive, but with trucks coming the other way, with cattle on the roof going from North to South.

I travelled in a minibus along there. The butcher's stall at the roadside "services" we stopped at was interesting.

[Starfighter]

HasToBeV8 said:

Pikes Peak in Colorado. Just over 14000ft. Rental car was noticeably down on power from about 11,000ft. The last climb at the top to the car park, it was essentially foot to the floor to maintain 20-30mph up the hill (in a fullsize Ford 3.5 litre V6 of some kind).

Same here. 5.6l V8 Nissan Armada very weezy and well under the stated 365 horses.

[Maximus Decimus Meridius]

A18 - Isle of Man, over the mountain.

Only 422 metres at the road's highest point (the mountain is taller) between Bungalow and Hailwood Heights but absolutely stunning nevertheless.
Oh, and no speed limit. Petrolhead Nirvana.

[Winterway]

Hahntennjoch on the way back from Innsbruck ~6200ft/1900m at the top.

Nothing too much considering it was in Austria, it wasn't really a driving holiday as such as we we're in St Johann for a few days and then in Innsbruck - we didn't do Grossglockner or anything, but you don't hear much about Hahntennjoch, it's a decent road. You turn off the A12 at Imst, then it takes you up into the Lech valley.

[Nimby]

Highest been driven : El Alto airport bus to La Paz (4061m).

[stevemiller]

flight147z said:

coppice said:

I lived for years on the western edge of the North York Moors and when conditions were right I could see the radar thingie from home, with binoculars - I reckon 50miles away . What is in it ?

It's an air traffic control radar

I think you can see it from Shap Fell too which is also pretty far away

I worked on the building of the "New" Radar station back in 1985/6. We made the record books for working through the longest (At least then) continuous freeze in the UK. The duration was around 40 days of sub-zero and a recorded wind chill of -49 C. Still have the pictures somewhere, it was bloody cold!

[Johnnytheboy]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Tahat

2,900 odd metres up.

In a Land Rover.

Toilet at the summit consists of a building out over a sheer drop with a square hole in the floor. Through which one could see a several hundred metre scree of frozen st and pink loo roll.