And an H2/H1/H3 couldn't do this?

[DRTYFN]

Euro trash. GM needs to get off its butt and challenge these records. Hell, Pewter Power could drive to the top of that hill. ... I don't remember seeing any Toerags up on Lion's Back or any where else in Moab.

http://autoweek.com/news.cms?newsId=102309

Record Ascent: German explorer takes a Volkswagen Touareg to new heights
JONATHAN WONG
Posted Date: 5/6/05
Look out Land Rover, Volkswagen has moved into the off-road record book by reaching the highest elevation ever for a stock vehicle.

Last January German adventurer and veteran off-roader Rainer Zietlow set out to conquer Chile’s Ojos del Salado, the world’s tallest volcano. When it came time to choose a vehicle for the ascent, Zietlow sought the services of Volkswagen and its Touareg.

Zietlow’s decision to use a Touareg for his record-setting mountain climb may come as a surprise, because, after all, the Touareg is Volkswagen’s first and only SUV. However, Zietlow contends, “The Touareg has the best off-road and on-road capabilities of all the SUVs sold in Europe.”


Zietlow’s Touareg, an expedition model available only in Europe, came equipped with a roof rack, spotlights, underbody protective skid plates, locking rear differential and a winch, along with the base 3.2-liter
240-hp V6.

It was important for Zietlow that his vehicle be capable straight out of the box, because unlike other hillclimbers, he does not boost his vehicles with performance modifications. “My name is [synonymous] with using stock vehicles,” Zietlow says. “The Touareg we used is exactly what came from the factory, with no modifications.”

Zietlow’s reputation for expeditions in stock vehicles is why Mercedes-Benz hired him to pilot one of its M-Class SUVs across the grueling African continent.

Zietlow’s record-breaking journey in the Touareg began with a run through the Atacama Desert, one of the world’s driest areas, to the team’s base camp at 14,435 feet above the salt lake Laguna Santa Rosa. From there they tackled the slopes of the volcano, encountering giant roadblocks en route.

Many large, impassable boulders blocked the path and had to be moved with the help of the Touareg’s winch. The team navigated through the volcano’s relentless terrain that included snow, volcanic sands and rock-strewn trails reaching an 80 percent gradient.

Along with setting a new altitude record, a seismographic station was also established on Ojos del Salado—a primary goal of the expedition. The station makes it possible to register earthquakes above potential eruption hot spots in a region of Chile that is in constant danger of such activity.

On Jan. 29 both the Touareg’s onboard navigation system and the team’s altimeters read 19,950 feet, recognized by The Guinness Book of World Records as the highest elevation reached by a stock vehicle.


The trip to the summit took eight days to complete, but it took the team just three hours to get back down the mountain.

Already a Toyota Land Cruiser has gone higher. The truck, sporting a modified suspension giving it greater ground clearance, climbed to 20,859 feet. While the overall record is lost, Zietlow’s record for a vehicle in stock form remains intact.

Not one to rest on his laurels, Zietlow intends to try and break his own record one day. “If Volkswagen and my sponsors come back,” says Zietlow, “we can go another 35 meters.”