The Pointe South Mountain: Fill & Download for Free

No one else will provide a specific answer, so I’ll come to the rescue again.I’ve seen just about every point of interest in the United States. I have a list of precisely these types of ridiculous - yet fascinating - GPS coordinates, and I frequently post them on Quora for the curiosity seekers. There’s the point in South Dakota farthest from any coastline, the point in Idaho farthest from any Google street view, the drifting point in Missouri that serves as the center of the U.S. population, and so on and so forth. I’ve seen them all.And then there is this point, completely unpublished, seemingly secretive, a point in the middle of Wyoming’s Yellowstone National Park farthest from the nearest road.To get there, it’s a 43.7-mile hike during which you’ll dodge elk, moose, bison, wolves, and grizzly bears. The holy grail, the secretive location, that precise point where you’ll be farthest from any road in the 48 states is located at the GPS coordinates 44.146870 N, 110.073406 W. You’re welcome.This is the satellite view of the point, amidst a bunch of fallen trees way down in the southeast corner of Yellowstone.Below is a wider view of the point situated in a valley at the base of a nearby mountain (the point is only 3.78 miles west of the southeast corner of Yellowstone).The nearest point of interest, and a great point of reference to get there, is the Thorofare Ranger Station. If you can get here, it’s only 2,028 feet and 6 inches east to the most remote point in the 48 states.The picture below shows the ranger station view from ground level. Just walk 0.38 miles toward that mountain peak and you’ll arrive.Are you curious about the nearest road? Well, there are actually 3 of them.1.) Highway 14 (21.67 miles north) is the nearest paved road. Looking south through this valley from Highway 14, that mysterious remote point is out there somewhere. But there are no official trails from here.2.) 30065 Forest Service Road (Turpin Meadow Loop) is equally far away from the most remote point (21.67 miles south). This unpaved road contains a few houses.3.) Road 6WX (21.67 miles east) is the other unpaved road that lies closest to the most remote point.Are you interested in taking the 43.7-mile hike?You’ll need to park at 44.317354 N, 110.598421 W, just off Highway 89 to catch the Continental Divide Trail. The entrance to the parking lot looks like this:The trail will take you south and then back north the your final destination, although that final stretch was rather treacherous and not well marked.Once you pass Bridger Lake, you’re almost there, only 1.78 miles from the most remote point in the contiguous U.S.You might also find these interesting:Most remote place in the 48 statesShortest path between the Atlantic and Pacific coastline within the United StatesCenter of U.S. Population drifting through MissouriMost remote fast food restaurants in the worldLeast known city in the U.S.What’s on the other side of the world from your house?

When I studied road construction at University, many many years ago, the professor told us this story:In the old times, when a road had to be built up a hill, the team of prospector would lead a donkey or a mule up the incline. The donkey would not go straight up along the shortest route, but would instinctively follow a path with a moderate incline, or grade, very similar to the maximum grade considered safe for roads (8 to 10%).The prospectors would hammer stakes in the ground after the donkey and then measure the position of the stakes, draw all the points on a map and start drawing the road profile after joining the dots.When the prospectors felt that the donkey had gone too far from the desired direction, or when an obstacle was met, they would turn the donkey around and it would continue climbing in the opposite direction with the same incline. The point where the donkey changed direction would be the location of a hairpin turn.Image from the internet: this incredibly winding road is somewhere on the Andes range in South AmericaA powerful car with adequate gear ratios (and adequate grip) can go up a very steep incline but a loaded freight vehicle or a bus full of passengers cannot. As many have pointed out in their answers, going downhill on a very steep incline can be extremely dangerous.An incline, or grade of 8% is considered the limit for a major road. For short distances, 10% 15% and even 20% grades can be considered acceptable on minor roads, but must be accompanied by adequate signage.Some very exceptional grades exist on some mountain roads, but I would not want to travel with a truck on such a road:EDIT: Note that “grade” and “angle” of a slope are two different measures since “grade” indicates how much one climbs given a certain distance travelled in horizontal.For example, if you travel 1000 m (1 km) in a horizontal direction and at the same time climb 100 m, then the grade would be:100 m/ 1000 m = 1/10 or 10%One good thing of expressing the rate of climb this way is that it is independent from the unit of distance that you use, as long as it is the same for horizontal and vertical distances. If you measure horizontal distance and climb in miles you will reach the same result as when using metric units (but not if you measure distance in miles and climb in feet!)A grade of 10% corresponds to an angle of about 6° and a grade of 50% corresponds to an angle of 27°. A slope with an angle of 45° would have a grade of 100%Those who are keen on trigonometry, or who have recollections of it from school, will recognize that the “grade” is equivalent to the “tangent” of an angle, apart from the unit, which for the trigonometrical tangent is a pure number, while grades are expressed in percent (%) or per-thousand (used in railway engineering, where grades are very small) to get rid of decimals.

It depends on where you are.The image below is taken from Google Earth. If you look carefully, you’ll see that the summit of Everest lies exactly on the border between Nepal (to the south) and Chinese-ruled Tibet (to the north).So, behind Everest from the point of view of someone standing in Tibet is Nepal.And behind Everest from the point of view of someone standing in Nepal is most likely Tibet.If you're off to one side, it depends on your position, but you get the picture :).Incidentally, mountaineers climb Everest from both Nepal and Tibet.The usual route on the Nepalese side is often referred to as the ‘standard’ or ‘easy’ route, via the Khumbu Icefall, Western Cwm, Lhotse Face, South Col and South East Ridge.The more difficult North Ridge route is the one attempted by George Mallory’s expedition in 1924 (the ‘Kingdom of Nepal’ was closed to foreigners at the time, and until 1951). Sadly, their expedition ended in tragedy…. Not only did their summit attempt end in failure, but George and climbing partner Sandy Irvine both lost their lives in a fall, high on the mountain, far away from help.