Up and up they go

Question

What's the answer to this puzzle?

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Answer 1

The answer is:

SKY HIGH

The podium beside the triangle represents:

the first and last letters of countries that are home to the 3 tallest mountains (hence the peak-shaped triangle) in the world: INDIA, PAKISTAN and NEPAL.

Whilst the podium beside the rectangle represents:

the first and last letters of countries that are home to the 3 tallest skyscrapers (hence the uniform tower-like rectangle) in the world: CHINA, MALAYSIA and UNITED ARAB EMIRATES.

And in fact the names of each of these can be inserted into the underscores beneath:

C(HIN)A: [S]HANGHAI TOWER
M(ALAYSI)A: MERDE[K]A 118 (currently under construction)
N(EPA)L: MOUNT EVEREST
U(NITED ARAB EMIRATE)S: BURJ K[H]AL[I]FA
P(AKISTA)N: K2
I(NDI)A: KAN[G]CHENJUNGA

Extracting the numbered letters in these words and ordering them numerically (with the given 'Y' in third position) we get our answer:

SKY HIGH - a fair description for all of these particularly tall mountains and buildings! Also very fitting with the title: 'Up and up they go'...

Note:

At first sight, I misled myself into thinking we were looking at 2-letter country codes, although there is no 'IA' (and 'PN' is the relatively tiny 'Pitcairn'). The 'US' and 'CA' are particularly good at leading you astray into thinking you are looking at something relevant to the United States and Canada - both wrong here!