The Guinness World Record for THE HIGHEST ALTITUDE REACHED BY A MOTORCYCLE was first set by the Chinese more than six years ago, in May 2002 by two Chinese adventurers who rode up the slopes of the North Face of Mt Everest to reach an altitude of 20,065 feet.

Six years later, on 19 March 2008, Roland Hess (Chile/Switzerland), German Hess (Chile/Switzerland), Johann Janko (Chile/Austria) and Giovanni Sanguedolce (Argentina/Italy) finally bettered the six year old record by taking their Honda 4RT 2007 motorcycle to an altitude of 20,406 ft 9 in on the slopes of Ojos del Salado, Atacama, Chile.

But Team OutThere did not want to wait for another six years to break the record. In September 2008 three OutThere Adventurers - Chandan Lahiri, Burgess Cooper and Sarosh Cooper - took their custom-built motorcycles to Ladakh with the hope of bettering the record, less than six months after it was broken. Chandan, Shams, Rehan and Ashok left for Ladakh by road on Sep 17 while Burgess and Sarosh flew in to Leh on Sep 20.

The signs from the Gods were unfavourable from then on. As the team crossed Rohtang Pass in the evening of Sep 19, the clouds opened up and the road to and from Rohtang on one side and the one in Baralacha La on the other side were completely snowed in. In fact the roads reamined shut for more than a week, people were stranded for days, and the Indian Air Force had to air drop food and clothing and evacuate women and children.

Given the weather conditions and information from sources saying that the situation would get worse over the next few days, it was decided to abort the attempt.

The road trip went ahead nevertheless while the motrocycles were trucked back to Delhi as soon as the road to Rohtang opened.

Please visit our sponsors. They have been a great source of inspiration and without their support, it would have been impossible to mount The Cliff Riders expedition.
Gabriel Shock Absorbers are the best in the market and having them on the vehicles provides a great sense of peace.	In the middle of nowhere, miles from civilation, the tasty and wholesome Veetee foods will remind us of a home cooked meal	The GPSs sponsored by A&S Creations are required by Guinness World Records to verify the altitude reached.
Anand Group has been a source of great help and support. Apart from Gariel, they also wanted to sponsor the Purolator Filters.	A&S Creations are the exclusive India distributors of Suunto  and provided the altimeter will be used in the attempt.	In freezing temperatures and howling winds the gear provided by Zanskar will keep us warm, snug and comfortable.
Relay are our marketing partners and a great help in ensuring that the expeditions we think of come to fruition.	Without them, The Cliff Riders was a non-starter. Manu and his team have prepared the motorcycles and worked on the Gypsy.	Our charity partner, we want to extend our cooperation in the work they are doing for the underprivileged and under served.

Follow the ride through Chandan's daily report. Feel the misery of the people stranded in the avalanches, share the frustration as the decision to abort the expedition is taken and enjoy the incredible Himalayan road trip to Leh by clicking here.