Why Bhutan? It’s the Altitude, Dreamers (Video)
Cold? Check. Sore? Check. Altitude sickness? Check. World view altered for a lifetime? Priceless. (Photo Courtesy: WhyBhutan/via Flickr)
When we set off on November 5 for the first passage of our 42-day, border-to-border, human-powered crossing of Bhutan, our four Expedition Bhutan endurance athletes, 12 trekkers, film crew of five, 16 Bhutanese cooks, guides and medics marched off into the wild—52 pack horses in tow—intending to traverse the Jomolhari Trek. Jomolhari is one of the most famous routes in Bhutan for travelers on foot or bike. However, heavy snowfall had wiped out a crucial bridge. We needed to re-route.
Permission was granted to attempt the Naro Six Pass Trek, a difficult trip even for Bhutan, not usually completed in total by tourists. Nine days of physically demanding and visually stunning hiking threaded us through inhumanly high passes at 10 to 15 miles per day, and a total of 42,000 feet of elevation gain and loss.
The view of Mount Jomolhari from its base camp in Jangothang needs to be shared; so here it is.
This expedition hopes to do more than take an audience on an exploration of Bhutan’s beauty from border to border. The athletes worked for more than a year with the Bhutan Olympic Committee (BOC), chaired by His Royal Highness Prince Jigyel Ugyen Wangchuck, brother to the King, to coordinate the project. The prince made clear that this small country has big dreams.
Bhutan recognizes the change in its population; people are moving away from the traditional rural lifestyle and into cities. Youth count for more than 60 percent of the population, and the BOC intends to instill a culture of athleticism in the younger generation. The dream is to create high-altitude training centers in Bhutan for athletes from around the world. To showcase the terrain, the Expedition Bhutan team is working with the BOC to organize a multi-day footrace open to the international running elite.
Marathoners should prepare to be equally challenged and awed.
This post comes from the Why Bhutan? film team, which is currently following four endurance athletes as they make their way across Bhutan by foot and by bike over 42 days in an unprecedented border-to-border crossing. Follow the jouney at whybhutan.com.
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