A Plymouth motoring adventurer and his intrepid team are waiting to find out if they’ve set a new world record for the highest pint ever extracted after completing a mission to South America. Ben Coombs runs a tour guide company for car enthusiasts, and when he’s not tinkering with his cars at his home in North Hill, he often travels around Europe in classic cars.
Ben was featured on the BBC top gear I joined this program after planning and participating in various road trips over the past 15 years. As a result, he has traversed over 80 countries and logged over 100,000 miles.
The 44-year-old’s latest adventure started with the idea of taking his classic Mini to the highest possible heights. He calculated it as a route up Ojos del Salado, the world’s tallest volcano at 6,893 meters in Chile’s Atacama Desert. The idea gained traction when Ben enlisted the support of Connor Johnson, who runs Bulletproof Brewing in Muttley Plain.
ben said herald Conner said they used Bulletproof Brewing’s taproom to brew a special beer called Mini 6000 to commemorate the trip, in collaboration with Arizona-based Motosonora Brewing.
“A small portion of the proceeds went toward the cost of the expedition,” Ben said. “From there, the idea of pumping the world’s tallest pint was born.”
Ben completed the Mongol Rally in 2006, drove a Mini to Mongolia, drove across Africa in an old Porsche, and drove to the other side of Asia in a Corvette. There he said that his latest adventure was unusual even for him.
Ben explained: “I had done many long distance trips in various vehicles, so instead of just seeing how far I could go, I thought there might be something else I could do. The idea was to see how high I could go and maybe a car would come.”
The Mini, which Ben has owned for 17 years, required three years of restoration and modification to complete. The expedition finally began in November last year, and on New Year’s Eve the Mini reached an altitude of 5,920 meters, making it the highest car on Earth as the new year began.
The team, which also includes Aglaia Wieland and Fraser Pestana, had spent the previous 23 days climbing the mountain while drinking beer at a “rooftop bar.” They pulled up what is believed to be the world’s highest pint on New Year’s Day this year, at an altitude of 5,894 meters – descending slightly to find level ground.
Although the pint in question did not touch his lips, Ben said that his fellow adventurer had some negative effect. “Drinking alcohol at 6,000 meters is definitely not a good idea,” he added. “I didn’t drink anything, but his friend Fraser did and passed out in the back seat straight away. But he was fine and it was more fun than really worrying.”
The team recently returned from an away trip and the Minis are currently on their way home, with plans to return to Devon in early March. Meanwhile, Ben said they are waiting to see if their record attempt will be approved.
“I applied to the Guinness Book of Records,” he said. “But it usually takes three months to decide whether to add a new category like this, so we’re just waiting.”