Everything You Need to Tackle the World’s Wildest Road Trips
At an elevation of more than 8,000 meters, Mount Everest majestically towers over the Himalayasastheworld’stallest peak. Protected by its harsh terrain and dangerously thin air, Everest was once off limits to anyone but the world’s bravest mountaineers. Today, though, some of the highest roads on Earth allow travelers to drive to the base camp in Tibet, making the journey to Everest one of the world’s most epic road trips!
The journey takes you across some of the world’s most beautiful landscapes, through the Tibetan Plateau and into the Himalayan mountain range whose 13 other peaks surround Everest. While this adventure is unlike any other road trip in the world, scaling 5,000 meters to base camp, even by car, it is extremely challenging.
At altitudes above 3,000 meters the air becomes noticeably thinner. By 4,000 meters, many people begin to suffer nausea, headaches and insomnia and at 5,000 meters it can even be difficult to breathe normally. So, to embark on this kind of journey it takes considerable preparation and the right equipment.
Taking Everest to Everest
A road trip like this requires meticulous preparation and planning. After all, there are no convenience stores along the way, so every detail must be considered in advance. No other piece of equipment, though, is more important than the choice of vehicle that can handle the altitude, temperature changes and Tibet’s harsh mountainous terrain.
“The reason the Ford Everest is the perfect choice for a trip like this is that it combines the capability, ride quality and power needed both when the going is easy and when it gets tough,” said Dale Reid, Product Marketing Manager at Ford Motor Company. “That part of the world is home to some of the most arid, rugged and unforgiving terrain known to mankind. Which is exactly what the Everest was designed for.”
“The intelligent Terrain Management System and powerful engine options give drivers the ability to confidently tackle any situation, and its advanced suspension ensures maximum ride comfort on both rocky and punishing unsealed roads as well as smooth highways,” explains Reid. When the sky’s the limit, pack the oxygen Unlike your normal driving routes a road trip to Mount Everest is an entirely different experience.
Altitude sickness often sets in above 3,000 meters forpeoplewhohavetraveledtooquicklyfromlow to high elevations. On one stretch of the famous G318 highway, which runs for 5,500 kilometers from Shanghai to the Everest Base Camp in Tibet.