I suggest you put the extensions on the blower at the store before buying it to see if you are able to control it. It takes better than average arm strength at over 12 feet plus the ability to look straight up and move around without getting lite headed.

Looks like it should work on paper but as mentioned above, the torque at that length is tough to work with.

Have you consider gutter caps to avoid this necessity in the future?

Thanks for the responses. I have considered all the different gutter covers around, all have pros and cons. They may successfully keep the stuff out of the gutters, but the leaves and pods will still be collecting up there, on top of the covers and I would still have the problem. The best solution I saw, but not available in my area, is the system where the gutters flip down -- you pull it down with a long stick -- looks like the easiest thing in the world, but again, not available by me. Thanks again.

It's my experience that there's no method that works well besides getting on a ladder to the gutters and pulling the stuff out directly.

You'll never really know how effective the blower/vacuum method is because you can't see it. I suspect that even if it worked, it would be so slow that it would be frustrating.

If you can't do it yourself, pay a couple of kids to do it for you.

I've had gutter covers for 4 or 5 years, my Mom's house has had them for 7 or 8 years, and there is no down side. We have the kind shown in the link. Oh, and we both have a lot of tall trees.

The small amount of stuff that collects above the cover either blows off in the wind or slides off with the snow. I check them every year, and I haven't had issues with any of them. They are inexpensive.

Our homes don't have steeply pitched roofs, so I was able to install them from the roof. Doing it from a ladder would be more of a pain, but it's a one-shot deal. I LOVE not having to clear my gutters and downspouts!

Here is a link that might be useful: gutter covers

I made the rig you describe for cleaning my church's gutters, about 17' off of the ground. It's powered with a shopvac and made with 1 1/2" PVC. I heated and partially flattened the business end and aimed it about 45 degrees from vertical.
I can't say it's especially easy to manouver, and I get rained on by a lot of wet leaves, but it's much better than moving and climbing a ladder along 160 feet of gutter.

My hate-heights husband is phobic about clean gutters. Since we do not have a very steep hipped roof, the fastest and easiest method for us is me on the roof with a leaf-blower clearing the gutters as I walk near the edge....takes 10 minutes max which includes ladder placement, climbing, and hoisting cords/blower. If my husband's male vanity reigns supreme...30-45 minutes with me worrying that he is going to tumble off at any moment...his reaction to being on the roof makes me a nervous wreck!

I would hate cleaning the gutters from below...way too messy for me...runny mud and decaying crud in the face...yuck! If being on the ground or on a ladder were my only option, I would definitely do a section of the gutters with inexpensive gutter guards to see how we'll they worked before investing all the effort to do the entire gutter system.

If the primary debris in the gutters is pine needles, trying to blow them out is just an exercise in frustration.