The Highpointers with the Bargo Brothers

- [Narrator] "The Highpointers" is made possible by Burnsville North Carolina, a small town with big adventures, big peaks, and home to Mount Mitchell.

Information on hiking and more available at explorerburnsville.com.

Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh - [Narrator] Acroball advanced ink pens, engineered for extremes.

Pilot, power to the pen Ohio Caverns, adventure for the whole family.

See and discover formations year-round.

More information at ohiocaverns.com.

America's most colorful caverns.

FRBO, bringing owners and renters together to find vacation rentals online.

Live local, feel at home.

FRBO.com.

Gossamer Gear, makers of lightweight packs, trekking poles, and shelters.

Take less, do more.

- This week we're visiting Wheeler Peak the high point of New Mexico.

- Welcome to the Land of Enchantment.

We are the high pointers.

(upbeat percussive music) - My name is Brandon Bargo.

My brother Greg and I have been climbing mountains all over the world for years.

Our obsession is high pointing.

We find the highest natural point wherever we are and do whatever it takes to stand on top of it.

Sometimes it's a mountain, other times a molehill.

But we've learned the real excitement is found in the journey to get there.

So join us as we climb to the top of all 50 US states.

We are the high pointers.

(mellow synth music) - [Branndon] Greg, if you notice, today, I'm wearing my lucky jacket and I brought the beard back.

So of course, you know what that means.

- My guess is you forgot to do laundry and you didn't bring your shaver.

- No, it's because we are doing one of the big ones.

Wheeler Peak in the off-season.

- Anytime you do a big high point, it can be tough.

But when you take on a peak like Wheeler, it presents big challenges.

That's why we got the shun list.

Location, elevation, precipitation, gear identification and regulation.

Wheeler is considered a high altitude peak.

So let's focus on elevation and precipitation.

Wheeler Peak's 13,161 feet with over 3000 feet of elevation gain.

So slow and steady is the name of the game.

Second is precipitation, which means less predictability and temperatures well below freezing.

Reports from the trail are saying we need to be prepared for snow and slippery conditions.

- Weather is only one of the unknowns when you climb a big mountain like Wheeler Peak.

There are no guarantees we'll make it to the top.

But that's what we like about high pointing.

- Well, let's get to bed and get some rest because tomorrow we start our adventure.

(air whooshing softly) (air whooshing loudly) We're starting our adventure in Albuquerque, the hot air balloon capital of the world.

We're supposed to take a balloon flight this morning but the weather isn't cooperating.

So instead, we're heading to the International Balloon Museum to learn why people come from all over the world to experience ballooning in New Mexico.

(gentle synth music) Good morning, I'm Greg.

- Good morning nice to meet you, Greg.

- You too, good to meet you.

- Good morning.

- Hi welcome to the Anderson Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum.

- Mm-hmm, that's an impressive title for an impressive place.

- Yeah.

- This morning we were supposed to take a hot air balloon flight and then the weather came in.

So we were a little bit bummed.

But now that we're here, it's like such a cool place.

So thank you for accommodating us this morning.

- We're so happy to have you.

And there is nothing like getting to ride in a hot air balloon, so I hope you get one sometime very soon.

But in the meantime, you've found a great place to visit and learn about ballooning.

- Well, we're excited to see all of these different exhibits 'cause they look so impressive.

- Yeah - We've got so much to show you.

- All right.

- Let's go.

(mellow groove music) - So this is a replica of a hot air balloon basket and burner here.

- Wow.

- And of course, we've got our propane tanks, that's our fuel.

- So if you run outta propane, is that a bad thing?

- Yes.

- Okay, all right.

- But a experienced balloon pilot would never run outta propane.

- Ah, got it.

- I mean, I'm guessing it's almost like flying a plane.

There's lots of calculations you're having to do and go over all your checks.

- Exactly and a fun fact, there is no steering wheel in a hot air balloon.

They navigate with the winds.

So a pilot has to know which way the the winds are going at different elevations.

- Got it, okay.

- Well, I'm looking at this burner right here.

This is, can we actually pull this?

- Yeah, give it a pull, see how it goes.

- Yank it.

(air hisses loudly) - Wow.

- All right.

- That's a cool- - That is.

(air hisses loudly) - You can move it.

- Yeah, it's pretty awesome.

Wow, this is great.

Thanks for showing us this, Nan.

I did see there's this capsule and it shows a stratosphere jumper.

Could we go take a look at that?

- Yeah, let's go see it.

- Okay.

- Let's go.

(mellow synth music) - All right, Nan, so what are we looking at here?

Because I see this big pod.

What is this?

- So New Mexico has a long history of stratospheric jumps and launches.

And so here we have the strato lab and all the history that goes along with stratospheric jumps right here in New Mexico.

There's so much to learn about.

And this was really the first time that anyone got anywhere near space was in a gas balloon.

- So why do the stratosphere jumpers, why do they jump from here in New Mexico?

Is there a reason for that?

- Well, it's the same reason that we have the most popular balloon fiesta in the world.

It's because of our low winds, and our wide open spaces, and just our desire for exploration and understanding of what's above us.

- [Greg] Yeah, I think it's impressive.

Like, we're from Texas, so we always say like, Texans go big, but there's something about New Mexico.

- Yeah.

- It's like, it's beyond just going big.

- Yeah.

- It's about adventure, really.

- Yeah.

- And exploration and the unknown.

- Thank you, Nan, for showing us.

This museum, I mean, I can't say it enough.

It's just so spectacular.

And it really gets us in the mood, in the mode for climbing the high point of New Mexico.

So thank you.

- We're- - We really appreciate it.

- So glad you came to visit us.

Come back anytime.

- [Greg] Yeah, for sure, thanks.

(air gusting softly) - You know, I'm still kind of bummed that we didn't get to fly in the hot air balloon.

- I know, I didn't know what to expect with the museum but that place was really cool.

- Well, after visiting the balloon museum, I'm still thinking about that last stop where we saw the stratosphere exhibit, because our guest is Alan Eustace.

Alan has the world record highest balloon flight and highest sky dive from nearly 136,000 feet.

- It sounds terrifying, but, man, that guy's gonna be really cool to talk to.

- Well, the good thing is we've got plenty of time to talk to him at the Rancho de Chimayo restaurant.

- I'm hungry, let's go.

(mellow synth music) (air whooshing softly) (mellow synth music continues) (singer vocalizing harmoniously) (gravel crunches softly) (singer vocalizing harmoniously) Hey, Alan, nice to meet you.

- Very nice to meet you as well.

- Hey, Mr. Eustace, I'm Brandon.

- Hi, Brandon.

- So I was googling about you and I heard that you went to the stratosphere and it took you one balloon to get to space.

Is that true?

- That's true.

Absolutely true.

- Well, I've got two of these and I can tell you my foot is already starting to float away.

- You still have another foot on the ground.

Alan, don't worry about him.

Everybody in my family this he's weird.

- Hey, the other foot's starting to float, guys.

It's floating, it's floating.

(mellow guitar music) Alan, whenever we climb a high point, we always try to find little tucked away restaurants.

And I feel like this might be the best one we have ever found.

It's tucked away here in the middle of the New Mexico mountains, and they're known for some of the, are they, I don't know if they're the hottest, but some of the best chilies in New Mexico.

- [Alan] Yeah, the Chimayo pepper.

- The Chimayo pepper so.

- Ouch.

(all laughing softly) (mellow guitar music) - Well, really, we just kind of want to get an idea of what makes Alan tick, because you jumped from almost 136,000 feet.

So now that's kind of become your claim to fame.

That's what people know you for.

- I've seen a video of your jump from the stratosphere, and I mean your engineering background probably helped that, right.

Really going through all the checks and balances of figuring it out.

- Yeah, if you looked at the background that would be most helpful.

People would assume that's skydiving, you know, having 500 jumps or something like that.

That was helpful.

But this isn't anything like a normal skydive.

But the engineering mindset of how do you break down a problem into smaller problems, and then how do you de-risk each of the sub pieces, and how do you, I mean, it's a science experiment, so it's a chance to learn at a level where you never get to learn.

- Like you had all these different experiences and knowledge, right, and it was like that perfect storm that came together and- - It kinda linked together.

- Yeah.

- It's like this is the intersection- - Yeah.

- Of three areas that I love.

- Yeah.

- It's an intersection of skydiving, it's an intersection of engineering and it's an intersection of piloting and flying.

- Yeah.

Alan, we would love to continue to have this conversation.

If you wanna join us on Wheeler Peak.

What do you say?

- I'd love to.

(air whooshing loudly) (gentle guitar music) - We're headed to the small town of Abiquiu, north of Santa Fe, to visit the former home of Georgia O'Keefe.

She's one of the originators of American Modernism.

But it's her unique way of painting nature that makes her a true pioneer.

(gentle guitar music continues) Hello, I'm Brandon.

- Hey.

- Hi, I'm Greg.

- So nice to meet you.

- Good to meet you.

- Nice to meet you.

I feel like when I'm in a place like this, I can just feel nature.

- Yeah.

- Yes, definitely.

Here in the Rio Chama Valley in Abiquiu we have a lot of that going on.

- Well, I feel like Georgia O'Keefe is the perfect artist, because she represented nature and she's simple.

So I feel like this is the right place for us.

- Yeah, I think you're gonna like a lot of what we have inside.

- Okay.

- Yeah, let's go check it out.

- We're excited.

(gentle guitar music continues) So in your opinion, what makes Georgia O'Keefe like one of the greatest artists of the 20th century?

- She came out here and she was doing something no one else was doing.

Even back in New York when she was painting those flowers what she was really doing was asking people to pay attention to nature.

Because in the city, people were just so disconnected from the natural world.

So she said, if you blow up a flower to this size, how can you ignore it.

And so when she was coming out here, she just kept trying to get closer and closer to nature, that proximity that sometimes we lose if we're not careful.

But she was also going out into the landscape.

She bought herself a Model A Ford, customized it so the passenger seat could be removed, could set up a table with her paints and her paint brushes.

The driver's seat swiveled around to the back, so she could use the backseat as an easel.

Mobile studio.

So there was just endless inspiration, whether it was right out her window, or whether she had to drive, you know, 100 miles in one day to get to a specific landscape that she had heard about from a friend.

So she was willing to explore and she just loved these landscapes that were all so different from one another.

And that's something you can really only find here in New Mexico.

- Well, we appreciate it.

Thank you so much Guistina.

Greg, I think we should go paint something.

- I mean, I'm feeling the inspiration.

- Ah, I'm feeling it.

Well, thank you so much.

We really appreciate it.

- Thank you so much.

- Yeah.

- Thank you.

(air whooshing softly) - All right, Greg, I'm feeling inspired, but I think we need to take it up to another level.

How about a little brotherly competition?

Three minutes to paint the best beautiful art piece of all time.

- Yeah, I'm feeling it, man.

- Okay.

- And plus, I'm the artistic one, so.

- Well, we'll see about that.

All right, three minutes.

Ready, set, go.

(lighthearted guitar music) Are your clouds happy, Greg?

My clouds are happy.

- Always happy, always- - Happy.

This mountain, he's angry.

He's angry, this mountain, angry mountain, angry.

(lighthearted guitar music) All right, Greg, time is up.

Obviously, I have the better painting.

- I mean, I don't know about that, but art is pretty subjective.

So who are we gonna get to judge it?

- Well, we're out here in the middle of nowhere.

I think the only people that are here are the crew.

Crew, what do you think, you wanna judge?

(lighthearted guitar music continues) We've got my painting, the best.

And then we've got Greg's.

Crew, what do you think of Greg's painting?

(lighthearted guitar music continues) All right, how about Brandon's painting?

(lighthearted guitar music continues) - Yes.

(Greg laughs softly) - No.

- Yes.

- Wait.

- Two to two and a half, I'll take it.

Two for me, one for you.

- [Brandon] Now give us the real react.

Which one is it?

(Greg laughing loudly) - [Greg] Are you looking at the two?

(mellow guitar music) - We're leaving O'Keefe's home and studio and heading north to Taos Ski Valley where we're meeting up with Alan to prep our gear for a big and cold climb of Wheeler Peak.

(mellow synth music continues) Well, Alan, we love to go over gear right before we climb a high point.

Since we're going really early tomorrow morning, we thought we would go over it tonight to make sure that we have everything.

So Greg, what do we got?

- Yeah, so a, a peak like Wheeler, we need a lot of gear.

And this actually isn't everything.

But I'm gonna go over kind of two main points.

So one is layering and the importance of layering.

So if you start to sweat, then you can take a layer off and then if you get cold, you can put a layer back on.

But the thing is, when it's cold outside, you don't want to be wet.

So that base layer needs to be something that's gonna wick the moisture away from your body.

So, you know, importance of layering is big.

And then good chance there could be some snow or ice packed trails out there.

So something like a micro spike, it basically just stretches right over your boot or whatever type of shoe you're wearing.

And it's not very sharp, but it has spikes on the bottom and it grips to the ice.

And they're light, which is nice.

- I saw that you guys potentially could use micro spikes on this particular peak.

So I got this set here, I just ordered it.

I've never used them.

I've only used crampons before.

- They're great alternative to crampons.

Crampons are usually for much steeper mountains.

And since we're not gonna have a really steep mountain and a lot of ice, this is a really good light alternative.

- [Greg] Yeah.

- Well, a few guys are ready, we got an early morning.

It's gonna be probably pretty cold.

- Yeah, gonna be chilly - If you guys are ready.

- I'm ready.

- Wheeler peak tomorrow morning.

(birds chirping softly) - Yeah, buddy.

- All right guys, here it is.

The Williams Lake Trail.

Cold, crisp morning.

(Alan exclaims softly) This is my favorite.

This is my favorite kind of day.

So Alan, we like to start with a little celebration at the beginning and end with a celebration.

We like to do that with a high five.

So if you guys are ready to head out.

- Woo-hoo, let's go.

(hand smacks softly) - All right, Alan, let's do it.

- Yeah.

- [Alan] Woo-hoo.

(inspirational orchestra music) (singer vocalizing harmoniously) - [Brandon] All right, guys, good job.

- Yeah.

- Our first sign of snow.

Alan, how you feeling?

- I'm feeling good.

- Well, Alan- - yeah, I'm good.

- I'm thinking about yesterday when we were eating at that amazing restaurant, we were talking all about your jump.

And I just keep thinking, what was it like floating into the stratosphere as it gets darker and darker, and then you've got this balloon, and then you just have to release and just fall through space?

- Well, it's an interesting sensation because you think it would be all adrenaline and high heart rates and then, you know, but it's exactly opposite.

You know, when you're floating up, it is relaxation.

It's like a slow motion rise all the way up there.

And then when you get up there, you know, the atmosphere starts to look below you.

You see these beautiful feathered cloud layers and stuff in there.

And then I'm basically trying to fall asleep because- - Really?

- The more relaxed I am, less oxygen than I use.

- Wow.

- And then when you get up there, then things, the pace quickens, you know because you are gonna wanna get yourself ready or wanna practice the last few time, you know, there's a countdown.

Five, four, three, two, one.

And boom, they release me.

I just get in the right position.

And then it's totally different because you are weightless.

There's no sense of sound, anything like that.

You're just falling.

It's just the most strange feeling with no sense of wind.

And then about 50 seconds in, you reach the top speed Mach 1.22 - Which is breaking the sound barrier.

- Breaking the speed of sound and- - Is that like 800 and something?

- Yeah, something, it's over 800 miles an hour.

- I feel like the stratosphere is this forgotten place.

I mean, it's so important to our planet, and yet it hasn't really been studied.

Is it because it's so hard to get there?

- Absolutely, it's very hard to get there.

It's pretty easy to get up to, you know, normal jet liner.

But as soon as you get above that, it gets progressively difficult for anybody to spend any time there.

And as a result, you know, I probably hold the record for the most time in the stratosphere on just three, you know, three times up there so.

- Wow.

- And it was, I mean, it's a beautiful place.

- Well, if you guys are ready, I'm starting to get a little chilly.

- Oh yeah, me too.

- we need to get moving again.

- You guys ready?

- Yeah, I'm good.

- All right, let's set out.

(mellow synth music) - [Greg] Brandon and I are big proponents of getting people outside, but as more and more people discover the outdoors, you start to lose that sense of solitude.

This summit is actually inside the Wheeler Peak Wilderness Area, which is the highest level of federally protected wildlands.

Some things to remember to help reduce your impact is go in the off-season.

That may be the fall, late spring, or early summer.

And always remember the seven leave no trace principles.

(mellow synth music) - [Brandon] Welcome to Williams Lake.

- Man, this is beautiful.

- What a spot.

We're at 11,000 feet.

This is a great spot to take packs off.

- Yeah.

- Sometimes when we're taking breaks, Alan, we'll like to do packs on stops or packs off.

And when you have a stop like this, packs off is the way to go.

- I mean, I was thinking like we may need to put an extra layer under the vest, but the sun's out, feels good.

- Oh man.

Greg and I, we've climbed mountains for so many years.

And the aspect of climbing a mountain, and the danger, and the unknown that comes with all of that, I feel like team is essential.

And for you, when you were jumping, you know, from the stratosphere, what were some of those aspects of your team that you felt like were so absolutely necessary to keep you safe?

- Well, one of the things I loved about the project was that there were so many different skills that had to be brought to bear on that project.

It was a mindset that everybody had that they were gonna protect me.

They were gonna do whatever it take to protect me.

If that means they had to test something over and over and over again to get it to work exactly as expected.

The whole point was to think things through enough so that we had a lot of confidence in our team, in our equipment.

It comes from the science.

It comes from the exploration.

It comes from the fun.

It comes from the teamwork.

Those are the things I remember.

The actual record number, it's just a number.

- Yeah.

- Mm-hmm.

- And it's gonna get beat someday, guaranteed.

- Well, we appreciate getting to spend time with you here and Wheeler Peak.

And I mean, when we find guests, we want to, you know shine a light on people like you, really just to emulate the way that you go about living.

So we just appreciate getting to spend time with you today.

- Oh, it's fun to meet the two of you too.

- Yeah.

- And hear about all these adventures on all these peaks with all these interesting people.

- [Greg and Brandon] Yeah.

- Well, if you guys are ready.

- Yeah, bluebird skies.

- Yeah.

- We still got 2000 feet to go.

- 2000 feet.

So I think even though right now it's sunny, I think we're gonna have to add some layers before we make it to the summit.

- Yeah.

- You guys ready?

- I'm ready.

- Okay.

- Let's go.

Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh (mellow guitar music) Ooh-ooh-ooh-Ooh (mellow guitar music) Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh - When I'm climbing a big mountain like Wheeler Peak, I'm always thinking about how to be more efficient.

And the two things to focus on is your breathing and how you step.

The technique is called rest step.

Every step I take, it's small and I'm resting on my frame and not my muscles.

And what that does is allow you to take breaths in between each step.

(mellow guitar music) (hand claps rhythmically) (mellow synth music) Nice job, guys.

The top of New Mexico.

- Yeah.

- Good job, Alan.

- Woo-hoo.

(hand claps loudly) - It is.

- Yeah.

- That one wasn't easy.

- No, we had to work for that one going up the snow.

And as we were walking up, I realized, I was like, I don't think I told Alan he has to come up with the most unique high five of all time.

But you're creative, so I'm sure you got something.

- Okay.

Are you ready?

- Okay, yeah, you gotta show it to us.

- Okay, here we go.

We're gonna start here.

- Okay.

- We're gonna go up like a balloon.

We're gonna high five.

We're gonna go down.

And then our parachutes are gonna open.

And we're gonna gently come back up.

- Okay.

- Yes.

- All right.

- Appreciate, Alan, this has been great.

- Oh, thank you- - thanks for climbing with us.

- For the opportunity, this has been fantastic.

- Such an awesome time with you.

So thank you so much.

- And thanks to the beautiful day.

- [Greg and Brandon] Yeah.

- It was awesome.

- New Mexico is a land of vastness and diverse landscapes.

- And it's that vastness that provides inspiration for dreamers to do big and bold things, like taking a balloon to space.

- Or painting unique, one of a kind artwork.

- Our guest, Alan Eustace, reminds us that when we step out into the unknown, we need to take courage and not be afraid.

- Our boldness doesn't come from eliminating fear, but in allowing ourselves to have faith and trust in others.

So until next time.

- [Greg and Brandon] We'll see y'all on the next summit.

(hands smack softly) - [Brandon] For more information on the Bargo Brothers High Point Adventures visit us at thehighpointers.com or at @TheHighPointers on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook.

- [Narrator] "The Highpointers" is made possible by Burnsville North Carolina, a small town with big adventures, big peaks, and home to Mount Mitchell.

Information on hiking and more available at explorerburnsville.com.

Acroball advanced ink pens, engineered for extremes.

Pilot power, to the pen.

Ohio Caverns adventure for the whole family.

See and discover formation's year-round.

More information at ohiocaverns.com.

America's most colorful caverns.

FRBO, bringing owners and renters together to find vacation rentals online.

live local, feel at home, FRBO.com.

Gossamer Gear, makers of lightweight packs, trekking poles, and shelters.

Take less, do more.