The Kora

High in the Himalayan hinterlands of southwest China, three majestic mountains soar above sprawling floodplains that spill into the country’s sweltering lowlands. Over the centuries, various Dalai Lamas have ordained these towering peaks as sacred, and the Tibetan people who inhabit this isolated region revere them as granite gods. A pilgrimage around the base of these 19,000-foot-high giants is considered a holy undertaking, and those lucky enough to finish this arduous circuit—known as the ‘Yading Kora’—hope the effort will purify a lifetime of negative karma. Inspired by this time-honored rite of passage, three adventurers set out to complete this kora on mountain bikes, carrying everything they need to survive the 10-day mission themselves.


Featuring
Brice Minnigh as 'Lǐ Hóngqí'
Sam Seward as 'Xióngmāo Bǎobǎo'
Joey Schusler as ‘Zhǔxí'


A film by Joey Schusler

Written by Brice Minnigh
Cinematography by Joey Schusler and Brice Minnigh
Editing by Aidan Haley
Sound by Ridgeline Sound
Color by Dylan Hageman
Art by Good Fortune Collective
VFX by Shotgun Infinity & Solid Alpha

Media Partner
Bike Magazine

Supported By
Yeti Cycles, Thule, SRAM, RockShox, ENVE, Smith Optics, Outdoor Research, Big Agnes

Tibetan Narration
Dorje Yashi

Mandarin Narration
Brice Minnigh
Language Coordinator
Jessica Dicarlo

Camera Tracking
Chris Jimmo

China Logistics
Alex Tang

Music
Tibetan Singing Bowls
Tibetan Singing Bowls

Another Ballad for Heavy Lids
Starts of the Lid

Scene 1: Prologue in Heaven
Opéra du Sichuan

Mansion Door
Written by Alejandro Rose-Garcia, Rayland Baxter, Christopher Boosahda, Patrick O'Connor, Jonathan Shaw
Performed by Shakey Graves
Courtesy of Dualtone Records and Words & Music, A Division of Big Deal Music, LLC

Les coups de coeur