At the age of 14, instead of becoming vulnerable to 8^th grade drama, now sophomore, Nina Beidleman took on several hobbies that are unusual, adventurous and impressive.

Beidleman first began with unicycling. There is a story behind how this small town girl began riding around town on an 18-inch unicycle.

“I always saw people riding unicycles in the Fourth of July parade and I thought it was so cool. I have also wanted to be taller, so when I ride my unicycle I feel like a giraffe,” Beidleman said.

Unicycling causes much attention to Beidleman as she takes 6-mile rides up Independence Pass with her GPS watch strapped on to her wrist.

“It’s a good conversation starter and makes me feel more interesting as a person I love to ride around town and see people’s faces and reactions,” she says.

If you think hiking up Highlands Mountain is hard, try unicycling down.  Beidleman has ridden down Highlands Mountain a few times but has yet to face the daunting mountain again since a flat tire that happened the last ride down when she caught an edge.

The way Beidleman describes the kind of talent a unicycler must have makes one think you must be a yogi in order to ride it.  The two most crucial things to getting on the wheel are “balance and confidence,” she says.

The crazy hobbies of Nina Beidleman don’t stop there! When Beidleman isn’t unicycling, she enjoys spending her free time kayaking at the ARC during the winter just about every Tuesday night.

“I kayak down North Star just to get used to the boat and the way the water moves in a river. The first time I went kayaking, I tried getting out of the kayak, but ended up flipping over with a leech down my wetsuit bottoms,” Beidleman recalled

Summer is the idealistic time for kayaking as well as climbing, another one of Beidleman’s several hobbies. Being the daughter of a man who climbed Mt. Everest sets the bar pretty high for a sophomore girl who juggles unicycling, and kayaking on top of climbing. Not only is Nina’s father, Neal Beidleman, a climbing legend, but he was also featured in the book Into Thin Air and is playing a stunt double in the upcoming movie. Neal has climbed Everest twice and is currently returning for a third time as a camera crew joins him on the adventure.

“He will climb his way to the top as they film him and the other climbers. My dad will be playing a couple people such as Jon Fisher. In Hollywood they will film the dramatic scenes with actors that will play my dad,” Beidleman explained.

Beidleman has climbed some iconic mountains herself. At the young age of thirteen, Beidleman and her father set out to Africa to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro.

“My dad and I took a seven-day trip up and down. I lost my yo-yo on the top doing ‘around the world’ and I am looking forward to someday when I can go back up and get it,” Beidleman said.

When Nina Beidlemen isn’t unicycling down Highlands Mountain, kayaking down North Star, climbing treacherous mountains, or losing yoyos at the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro, you can find her at Aspen High School taking her daily classes. Next time you see her, ask for an autograph; it just might be worth something someday.