00:00 [ Music ]
00:16 >> We're on the road with Land Rover for the Road
00:17 to the Clouds adventure in Argentina.
00:19 We've just spent the night at Camp Colomay, a campsite 8,000 feet
00:22 above sea level in the Andes Mountains
00:24 in the northern region of Salta.
00:26 >> All right.
00:26 Morning, it's day two of the Land Rover Argentina 2007 trip.
00:30 As you can see, camp's already broken up.
00:32 We put the sleeping bags and the tents in the cars,
00:35 loaded up all the LR3s.
00:38 We're about to have breakfast and then head out.
00:40 It's a cold night, but it was a good sleep.
00:43 It was a rough day yesterday.
00:46 And we're off today.
00:47 Should hit about 12,000 feet and do some serious climbing.
00:50 So let's get to it.
00:52 >> Our mission today is to drive up Routes 40.
00:54 That's Route 40 for you gringos.
00:56 It should be quite a trek.
00:58 We'll be climbing over 8,000 feet
00:59 in elevation before this day is done.
01:01 Our goal is to summit Abra Dalachay, which is over 16,000 feet
01:05 above sea level and apparently the highest drivable pass
01:07 in both North and South America.
01:10 In comparison, Pikes Peak,
01:11 America's most famous high elevation road,
01:13 is only 14,000 feet above sea level.
01:16 [ Engine Running ]
01:21 >> Okay, we're making a gas and bathroom stop somewhere
01:26 on the way to lunch.
01:28 So a little bit more of a town over here.
01:30 As you can see, there's a bar.
01:32 Looks pretty cool.
01:32 Wish it was open, but it's not.
01:34 We're going to have a road in a sec.
01:36 We've been doing mostly dusty switchbacks today.
01:39 Not a lot of hardcore rock climbing.
01:41 That's apparently after lunch.
01:42 So you'll see it when I see it.
01:45 >> For much of this trip, even as we ascend higher and higher
01:47 into the Andes, we've been crisscrossing the Kouchi River
01:50 and taking time to test the LR3's water fording ability.
01:53 It's loads of fun and a nice break
01:54 from all the dust and rocks.
01:57 [ Music ]
02:04 >> All right, we're stopping along the Kouchi River.
02:06 It's kind of a pea break, but it's beautiful out here.
02:09 It looks like Arizona or Montana or something out here.
02:13 It's just red rocks.
02:14 Got the Kouchi River in front of me.
02:17 Looks like we're going to be following it for a little while
02:19 down that way, and then cross the stream apparently a couple
02:24 of times, and then start heading up into the high elevation.
02:27 Apparently we're going to meet a llama lady.
02:28 So let's keep going.
02:31 Running in and out of these rivers is exciting,
02:33 but a bit dangerous.
02:34 Razor-sharp rocks are everywhere,
02:36 as is the risk of puncturing a tire.
02:37 It's like I'm jumping into another truck while they fix
02:42 this one.
02:44 Typical journalist, not helping out,
02:45 just along for the ride.
02:47 >> Like an off-road NASCAR team,
02:51 our Land Rover support crew gets our flat tire swapped in no time.
02:54 It's a good thing, because our lives depend
02:56 on the very next stop.
02:57 >> All right, now in the city of La Palma.
03:03 We've stopped to get some empanadas.
03:05 These are the national food of Argentina,
03:09 the little fried little meat pies.
03:14 They're really tasty.
03:16 As you can tell, it's really windy,
03:18 and we're starting to climb now.
03:20 We're about 9,000 feet above sea level,
03:22 and it's only getting higher from here on out.
03:23 So I'm going to finish these up, and I'm going to hit the road.
03:27 >> Here's where our climb begins in earnest,
03:28 up a dirt road that snakes into the Andes.
03:30 It's a bit more dangerous out here, no guardrails anywhere,
03:33 and it's a long way down.
03:35 We're also rising quickly, to the point where both man
03:38 and machine are starting to feel the ill effects
03:39 of the high elevation.
03:41 No wonder there are few living things out here.
03:44 Well, except for the llama lady.
03:46 >> All right, so we're here at an elevation
03:49 of about 12,000 feet above sea level.
03:52 They call this spot the Llama Lady's House,
03:54 because apparently it's a lady who tends to some llamas.
03:59 It's really kind of in the middle of nowhere.
04:01 There's no more cactus around.
04:03 There's a lot less vegetation.
04:04 It looks kind of like the surface of Mars.
04:08 Otherwise, it's pretty beautiful.
04:09 There's still some water running down here,
04:11 the Acache River apparently, and we're going to check
04:13 out what this llama lady has, say hi to her dogs,
04:16 maybe pick up a few things from her, and then be on our way.
04:20 At 16,000 feet is next, and then we'll be sleeping
04:23 at an altitude of about 12,000 feet.
04:26 >> So this woman lives out here with her daughter,
04:28 tending to some llamas and selling gloves
04:30 and hats to travelers like us.
04:32 Apparently, she kicked her husband out a while back
04:34 because he was not providing for the family.
04:36 At 12,000 feet above sea level,
04:38 in a hard, scrabble environment like this,
04:40 you can see why that would be a big problem.
04:43 Next up is a summit, Aba de Acai.
04:45 By now, the LF3's diesel engines are really suffering.
04:48 We have to floor the throttle just to get any response,
04:50 and even then, it feels like we've lost a good amount of power.
04:53 Some of the humans in our party aren't doing so hot either.
04:56 Headaches, dizziness, and nausea are beginning to set in.
04:59 I'm lucky I'm just feeling a bit tired.
05:02 (wind howling) (indistinct chatter)
05:19 (wind howling)
05:43 People tend to get a little crazy at elevation.
05:45 Despite repeated warnings about obstitutes sickness
05:47 and moving around too quickly,
05:48 the excitement and high spirits about reaching our goal
05:50 will have some of these happy campers
05:51 sucking on oxygen later in the evening.
05:53 (upbeat music)
06:02 All right, so we just made it through the highest point of our trip.
06:04 That was about 16,300 feet above sea level,
06:07 just under 5,000 meters.
06:09 Temperature is about 44 degrees Fahrenheit.
06:12 As you can tell, it's really, really windy out there.
06:15 Really have a hard time standing up, as you can see from the video.
06:18 I don't know if you can hear me, but it was blowing like crazy.
06:20 And it's pretty cold.
06:24 The cars we're in are doing fine.
06:25 They're a little bit down on power.
06:26 You have to really throttle down to get up and down here.
06:29 But so far, they work great.
06:30 Haven't gotten stuck.
06:32 We're headed down now.
06:33 So we're just still at over 16,000 feet.
06:36 And as you'll see as we pan out here,
06:39 I guess the farthest mountains in the distance are Bolivia.
06:42 And a lot of these peaks around here,
06:43 about 19,000 feet above sea level.
06:45 We're not going that high, thank God.
06:47 (whooshing)
06:50 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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