World's Tallest Pine 2011 - 268.29 ft. Ponderosa (272.3' 2022)
Plus Oregon Ponderosa AF points champion.
by Mario Vaden
October 2015 update: Michael Taylor posted today that he just measured a 273 ft. tall Sugar Pine in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. This is a later discovery than the Ponderosa pines this page was written for. That means Sugar Pine again became the tallest pine species known. It was 7.7 ft. diameter dbh. October 15th, Taylor sent another note that he found a taller leader 273.79 feet. The 2015 pine discovery was found by Michael Taylor, John Montegue, and one anonymous ranger.
July 2022 update: Michael Taylor said he remeasured the Ponderosa discovered 2011 and it grew to at least 273.3 feet tall, almost 1/2 foot per year. He reported that the leader is healthy and "shooting up like a rocket". Since July is part way into the growing season, it's probably even taller.
I will mix this news into my redwood pages and Facebook. Michael co-discovered Hyperion, Helios and other tallest redwoods.
2011
Taylor & Vaden Pine Expedition, January 3, 2011
Discovery of 4 new world's tallest pines and 12 new tallest among Ponderosa Pine. Southern Oregon at the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. The height of the tallest pine according to the laser measurement in January, reached 268.35 feet. Eight of the 12 pines became new height records for this species. The tallest one is called Phalanx. October 13, 2011, Ascending the Giants of Oregon, climbed the tallest pine to measure with a tape drop to the ground. The climber and tape drop measure came within a millimeter of Michael Taylor's laser rangefinder measurement. In 2020, I returned and remeasured one of the pines. Using a drone, here's a top to bottom pine video on youtube
For as long as it remains online here is the original news headline 2011: The Mail Tribune Tallest of the Tall from Paul Fattig. Sunday Edition, January 23, 2011. KGW News Tallest Pine repeated this article.
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October 2011 Expedition with Ascending the Giants
The October 2011 measuring was covered by other news articles and KOBI 5 video. How long these remain online is unknown, but these were the links:
Article Land of the Giants
Article Surprise Among the Pines
KOBI 5 Tallest Pine Video Coverage
The image to the right shows Will Koomjian of Ascending the Giants, climbing Phalanx, October, 2011.
The photo below shows the lower trunk of that same tallest known pine in the world found January 3, 2011, in the Oregon Rogue River - Siskiyou National Forest. Pulling away the tape is Michael Taylor.
Taylor also discovered Hyperion the tallest redwood, with Chris Atkins in 2006. Together, they have found dozens of the world's tallest known redwoods.
On the 9th using a tripod, we got a measurement of 268.35 feet.
Then the same day not far away, west of Canyonville, we also measured the world's tallest (known) sugar pine. The sign said 265', but our new measurement found it to really be 255 feet.
Between 2011 and 2019, as I re-edit this page, we haven't been back to remeasure Phalanx. One of my goals for 2019 is to return and measure it again, using an Impulse 200LR laser.
The discovery was entered January 2011 at conifers.org
For a size comparison, the 268 footer pine is as tall as most all coast redwoods in 559 acres of Muir Woods National Monument. Sources list 258 feet as the tallest in Muir Woods, which puts the tallest Ponderosa above that grove of Sequoia sempervirens. There are taller redwoods in other parks, but that gives a comparison for visitors who have seen that park.
On January 18, 2011, Paul Fettig from the Mail Tribune drove up to the forest with us, along with Julia, the photographer.
We were glad that Frank Callahan from Jacksonville, Oregon, arrived too, so we could share these finds. It's the first time I met Callahan, who is a local naturalist and minerologist.
The group spent most of the morning exchanging information and taking photos. We showed the news team the measuring equipment and how it's used.
At the end of the day after we parted ways with the reporter and Callahan. Then Michael and I explored nearby and added 2 more pines to the total discovery. Altogether 12 Ponderosa that are tallest known among that species.
This newly discovered Ponderosa pine was literally a stone throw from a huge Douglas fir with a sign for timber harvest. We anticipate that the Forest Service will provide good stewardship of the habitat. Feedback from them sounded promising.
The image to the right is a 131 foot tall Ponderosa pine in Beaverton, Oregon. This should give some idea how short a person would look next to a 268 tall pine.
The one here with the woman at the base is less than half the height of the 2011 world record height 268 feet. Had she been standing next to the tallest, Phalanx, my camera would be twice this distance to fit the entire pine in the image, and the woman a speck.
Here's are some of the measurements:
Species, Height and dbh
P. Ponderosa 81.79m (268.35ft) 5.7' dbh
P. Ponderosa 81.1m (266 ft) 6.1' dbh
P. Ponderosa 79.8m (262 ft) 4.5' dbh
P. Ponderosa 79.1m (259.5 ft) 4.8' dbh
P. Ponderosa 78.3m (257 ft) 5.2' dbh
P. Ponderosa 78.2m (256.5 ft) 5.4' dbh
P. Ponderosa 76.4m (250.5 ft) 4.4' dbh
P. Ponderosa 76.2m (250 ft) N/A
P. Ponderosa 75.9m (249 ft) 4.2' dbh
P. Ponderosa 75.3m (247 ft) 4.6' dbh
Update February 9, 2011
Taylor went back to the pines area with Callahan to meet news man Joe Camarlinghi from KOBI 5. Michael said afterward they found a 257' Ponderosa with a trunk 7 feet diameter, in the same region. According to Taylor, this 257 footer was a new Oregon Ponderosa champion on the AF point system, where height, girth and canopy width points are added.
Not a height record, but a points champion.
Update June 3, 2011
We revisited this valley and discovered one more 250' Ponderosa. Before leaving, Chris Atkins measured one more time from a new window farther back. Using his tripod mounted Impulse laser, he got 268.73 feet.
This means they are continuing to grow.
Leads welcome !
If you know of a forest area with an extra-ordinary conifer top, but never knew how to find the base, Michael Taylor is interested.
Taylor doesn't maintain his website anymore. But feel free to email and I can forward your leads and information to him. Just use my contact email. Add your name, phone, location and a short description.
Thank you.
2020 measure pine in the grove 264.55 feet