Issue link: https://bluemagazine.uberflip.com/i/25241
Bhutan provides the ideal backdrop for a one-wheeled trip. The Bhutanese travelers who cross the Rodang La by yak or horse would scoff at a Westerner's dream to traverse the daunting alpine corridor by wheel. The still-active 1,300-year-old trade route through clefts in Bhutan's snowy Himalayan crags, has been used to link Asian kingdoms for epochs, The steep, rocky pass simply can't accommodate vehi- cle travel-unless you need only one wheel. This spring, Kris Holm, a cult hero in the emerging sport of mountain unicycling (MUni), rode the Rodang La on his custom-built fat-tire unicycle with fellow rider, Nathan Hoover, Holm has unicycled along the Great Wall of China, across bridge rails at rush hour in his home- town of Vancouver, BC, and down the slopes of Mexico's 18,41 O-foot Pico de Orizaba, the third highest peak in North America, His trip through Mexico and ultimate descent down that country's tallest peak was doc- umented on film last year, While making the Mexico film, Holm and filmmaker Sean White thought of filming MUni in Bhutan, They searched for a route through rugged, photogenic terrain that would also be steeped in color- ful human culture, where they could make an action documentary that was as much about the land as about Holm's single-wheeled tricks, The Rodang La trek-a 12-day hiking route that traverses the worn Himalayan pass-fit all their criteria , For centuries pilgrims, traders and monks beat the path that cuts through most of Bhutan (called Druk Yul or "the Land of the Thunder Dragon" by locals), a Buddhist kingdom between India and Tibet. It winds through rolling green foothills hung with prayer flags, through dense bamboo forest. past thousand- year-old monasteries, through villages and around sacred snow peaks, believed by the Bhutanese to house divine beings. Bhutan's one major highway has many miles only wide enough for one car. So, the last remain- ing question for Holm was whether the mountain pass would be rideable even by unicycle. Without a his- tory of MUni or even bicycling in the country (Bhutan's first official bike shop opened this spring), the only way for Holm to find out was to go. "Of course we couldn't call ahead and ask. Most Bhutanese had never seen a unicycle, so they had no idea." Holm is widely held to be the best technical unicycler in the history of the sport. What he lacks on his versatile single wheel for the momentum and speed of a bicycle, he makes up for in maneuverabil- ity. Holm. with White and Hoover. flew into Bhutan's only airport in Paro, and drove to the city of Jakar. The two unicyclers spent the first afternoon riding a singletrack found in the valley around Jakar. The pair were able to acclimatize for the higher altitudes using the foothills and orchards around the valley that already sit at 8.000 feet above sea level. Bhutanese law required the itinerary for the 12-day trek to be pre-approved and booked in advance-not that the unforgiving terrain offered much variation . "I was asked several times whether what I was doing was what everyone did back home," he Holm would ride into a small village and within moments he'd have 40 children chasing after him. "Everybody would be laughing their heads off," he said. "Unlike many adventure sports such as white- water rafting or kayaking, where the action often happens in a remote environment far from people-with MUni there's huge opportunity to meet and learn from local people at the exact same time that you are shooting the action stuff." SEAN WHITE'S FILM INTO THE THUNDER DRAGON WILL AIR ON THE OUTDOOR LIFE NETWORK THIS FALL. CHECK OUT WWW.OLNTVCOM OR WWW.SEANWHITE.NET FOR MORE INFORMATION. 21