Pol Tarrés is a man, a myth, and a legend accustomed to seeing his accomplishments measured in titles, championships, podiums, and medals. He has distinctions such as the title of Junior Trial World Champion in 2011 and finished 5th in the 2022 Africa Eco Race. But he added a new mark of success to the list in 2020: Altitude.
On board a Yamaha Tenere 700, on March 14, 2020, he set a Guinness World Record for two-cylinder ADV motorcycles by reaching an altitude of 20,202 feet in the hills of Cerro Mercedario, in the Andes. Since then, he has added two more altitude records to the list.
Two more records
Tarrés rode a Yamaha YZ450FX to 22,165 feet on March 6, 2024, while climbing the world’s highest active volcano, Ojos Del Salado, located in Chile. In doing so, Tarrés once again put his name in the Guinness Book of World Records, this time for setting an altitude record aboard a wheeled machine.
Instead of resting on his achievements, Tarrés descended the volcano and prepared to climb it again the next day. But this time, he would be riding a motorcycle with more than twice the weight of his YZ450FX, as he returned to his faithful Yamaha Tenere 700 World Raid.
Less than 24 hours after solidifying his name in the record books on March 7, Tarrés placed his Tenere 700 World Raid in first gear to climb the volcano once again. He didn’t stop riding until reaching an altitude of 21,909 feet, beating his own ADV altitude record from 2020 by 1,707 feet. The feat is incredible, but the way Tarrés entered the record books this time is even more impressive.
When Tarrés broke the ADV motorcycle altitude record in 2020, he used an oxygen tank, which he carried in his backpack. Even so, due to low oxygen levels and the monumental physical task, he burned about 20,000 calories per day while riding towards the altitude record. But this time, he didn’t use an oxygen tank – he was simply powered by natural breathing.
