Mount Chacaltaya is an 18,000-foot step into the Bolivian Andes, small only in comparison to the 20,000-foot giants peering over her shoulders. It was here that we decided to set our world record. My love for mountains was fueled by my passion for climbing them. I find great joy in moving up steep slopes of rock and ice but I always find the descent to be the hardest struggle. I racked my brain for modes of descent and came up with the luge. Only now that I have become a snowboarder has my mountaineering come full circle.

The expedition was my first to South America. I had worked out the logistics day and night for a year, but nothing prepared me for the sheer size of the Andes. I couldn't help feeling like I had left something at home, like my parachute. Arriving in La Paz, the capital city of Bolivia, was my first taste of altitude. The airport is at 12,300 feet and just gathering our luggage left the entire team feeling weak and breathless.

"My sled accelerated much faster than I had anticipated. The glacier was covered with nothing more than a dusting of snow and it took all my strength to hold onto the sides of the luge....."

After several days of acclimatizing at a local volcanic plug, rock climbing and sucking in the thin air, we set off for Mount Chacaltaya. We bivouacked at 14,500 feet and climbed ice. Staying active helps the body to adjust to the thin air. We then moved up to high camp at 16,800 feet. My sleep was restless partly due to the dryness in my throat (making me choke all night) and to the thought of a luge ride off the side of the mountain. The next day we woke up early and went for the summit.

Mike Daly, Christine Coyne, and I made our way to the top of the peak. It took all our effort to concentrate on putting one step in front of the other. A summit is first realized when, through intense concentration, you find you can climb no higher. We had made it! For a full hour, on the clearest day I have ever spent in the mountains, we studied the terrain. It was treacherously steep from all sides, so we descended until the degree of the slope became more sane.

We double-checked our Avocet altimeter watches, which read 17,200 feet. We then mounted our Laser Luges and waited until Christine descended low enough to video our run. One look down told us we had no business here. A large gully in the center looked okay, but on either side was a 4000-foot drop off the side of the mountain. Christine raised her arm, meaning it was a go.

"...I ran the glacier until there was no more glacier to run...."

Mike and I looked at each other and I finally asked, "Can I go first?" Mike laughed, "Be my guest." I wondered aloud, "You’re not going to ascend a few feet higher to beat my record, are you?" He winked at me and with a nervous laugh said, "Would I do that to you?" I took my crampons off my boots, strapped on my Performer 1000 helmet and shoved off.

My sled accelerated much faster than I had anticipated. The glacier was covered with nothing more than a dusting of snow and it took all my strength to hold onto the sides of the luge. I felt, then heard the rocks scraping beneath me. My sled was being scored down its left runner. The sled raised up and flipped over and before I knew it I was sliding down the mountain face first with my sled on top of me. I dug my fingers into the ice and scraped 30 feet down the mountain before stopping.

As I lay on the ice with my mangled fingers, I went through the usual checking and re-checking of bones to see what was broken. Surprisingly enough, I was in pretty good shape. It was still a long way to the bottom. What else could I do? I got back on and began my final descent. Coming within inches of Christine, I ran the glacier until there was no more glacier to run. Seeing my misfortune, Mike Daly chose a smarter descent route. His run was absolutely flawless. Thus, we decided: the first run went to me but the most elegant went to Mike. Both were at a confirmed altitude of 17,200 feet. If anyone out there is thinking about breaking this record, feel free to call me.

There were important safety considerations that we overlooked such as a self-propelled parachute and a brake specially designed for ice. Our next Bolivian adventure will be a new route on a 20,000 foot peak but that is a story for another day...

—Michael Coyne, MountainZone.com Pubster