MOTORING AT 14,000 FT

New Zealand Times, Volume LII, Issue 12042, 21 January 1925, Page 8

MOTORING AT 14,000 FT

HIGHEST ROAD IN WORLD PIKE'S PEAK THE MONARCH OF MOUNTAIN HIGHWAYS. EERIE EXPERIENCES. Can toe Himalayas, the Andes, or the Rockies show higher carriage roads than those of the Alps? Almost the answer is in the negative, for nowhere lias the art of road building been developed on so, wide and varied a scale as m Europe, and this in spite of the fact that toe higher mountain ranges to he found in each hemisphere alike are in warmer latitudes. None toe less there are sundry isolated exceptions that eclipse the pride of the famous .Stelvio Pass, and chief among these is the Pike’s Peak “Auto Highway,”, which is at once the most modern and the most lofty motoring road in the world. It rises to no less a height than 14,109 feet, and is easily toe monarch among mountain highways. This wonderful road is nowhere less than 20 feet wide, while in places even four- cars could meet or drive abreast. It is throughout, moreover, on the true Alpine method, with an average gradient of seven per cent, and a maximum of lOf per cent. Ita eighteen “hairpin” corners are of the most liberal kind, having no less than a 40ft radius. In only one aspect does it compare unfavourably with alpine roads of the more modern type, in that it has neither fences nor sugar-loaves; but, on toe other, hand, toe great width of the roadway these practically superfluous. * LOCATION AND HISTORY.

Pike’s Peak is in Colorado, and is one of the giants of the American Rockies, to derives its name from, Lieut. Zebulon Pike, who discovered it in 1806,i But, after trying in vain .to'reach the summit. declared that it could never be scaled by human beings. Indians discovered a way up, and then came prospectors in the search for gold. The belief that gold existed at toe summit resulted in the making of a rough road in 1888 j and later on a cog railway, nine miles in length, was also constructed. . Then, in 1914, Mr Spencer Penrose, of Colorado Springs, conceived tho idea of building a properly engineered motor ing highway to the summit, and, althoug!fc»there were sceptics innumerable, even among engineers themselves, to declare the -project wholly impractiche was able, with the aid of enthusiastic colleagues, to carry it te a successful issue, at a cost of £60,000. or about £333 per mile. The road was opened in 1916, and in its very first eeason it was ascended by more than 18,000 persons. Last year no fewer than 110,000 persons made the journey to the summit, either in private care or by the fleet of nine public service cars maintained by toe Pike’s Peak Auto Highway Co., and by the end of the present season it-is expected that a total of 150,000 will have been exceeded. It is climate, of course, that makes it. possible to carry a road to so great , a height and to keen itfiopen for an appreciable time each summer. Pike’s Peak is in latitude 38.50, and is thereby 800 miles nearer the equator than is London. Hence- the motor highway can be opened for traffic on June- Ist, and remain in use until October loth, whichis a full! month longer than is possible •on the Stelvio Pass, although it, is only 904 ft in height, as against the 14,109 ft of its Colorado rival; “GARDEN OF THE GODS.” -. The Peak itself, although naturally of barren rock, -is embosomed in a great forest below, and the road journey offers every variety of picturesqueness. On, the earlier portion it runs through the l Ute Bass, through which, hundreds of.; yeaxs ago, “a constant stream of Indian i moccassins carved a trail from toe red j rock of toe canyoh” to tho “magic springs” of Manitou, Then comes the notable “Garden of the Gods,” famous for its wonderful stone formations and Its exquisite, blending of colours. But, toe most-remarkable feature of, the route, to European eyes, is the height to which the zone of trees extends. In Alpine latitudes the pines and Sts grow thickly at 5000 ft, hut disappear entirely before a 7000 ft altitude is reached.- On the Pike’s Peak road, however, the trees are not legt behind until a' height of 11,880 ft is attained. 12 miles from Colorado Springs. A mile onwards the road begins to zig-zag up to the summit with outlines that are strongly reminiscent of, the Jaufen Pass, between Sterzing and Meran, and two miles further-a point is reached, on toe crest of the Rampart Range, whence one may look across an almost limitless expanse of mountain peaks, extending for hundreds of miles, while the plains are visible thousands of feet below. There are nearly forty mountains of over 14.000 ft in the Colorado Rockies. and many of these are visible from toe point named on three sides. FAR ABOVE THE CLOUDS.

From the 14to to the 16th milestone the rise is one of 340 ft only, hut the last two miles to the summit represent a rise of 934 ft, There is an observatory at the summit, and a gigantic searchlight was also erected here in 1905 by the Government to maintain a nightly look-out for fires in the national forest preserves.'below. These comprise no less an aTe-a than 1.093,156 acres, with 1,100,000,000 ft of growing and annually ;ield more than 5,500,000 ft of lumber. The forest is also a game preserve, in ’which deer, elk, bison, and other species are afforded national protection.

It is said to be no uncommon experience for visitors to the summit to stand in sunshine, far above the clouds, and watch a rainstorm playing on the canyons and plains below. The features attendant on the journey to Pike’s Peak, in fact, are in many ways analogous to those on the ascent of an Alpine Highway,- hut with the signal difference in altitude which the Colorado eminence, with its southern latitude, presents. v As a further illustration of what a difference in climate renders possible, it may be mentioned that, although the observatory on Pike’s Peak has been described as “the highest, building in America,” there is. a shepherd’s hut-in toe Andes at the extraordinary altitude of 17,000 ft, hut that, of course, is in a still more southern latitude.

The highway up the mountain , side is the scene of an annual road race to the summit, and, of various endurance tests, and on such occasions as many as 15,000 spectators make toe trip to, points of vantage or to the summit. The wellgraded ascent of 4959 feet in 18 miles, from Colorado Springs to tho summit, presents no difficulty to a decent touring car, and it is small wonder that the route lias proved so popular, conferring, as it does, a journey that is not’only exhilarating in itself, but opens up vast and glorious prospects of mountain and forest ranges.