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“But while we have no control over time itself, we do have a choice in how we orient to it, how we inhabit the moment, how we own the past and open to the future - a choice that shapes our entire experience of life, that ossuary of time. And just as it bears remembering that there are infinitely many kinds of beautiful lives, it bears remembering that there are infinitely many ways of being in time.” - Maria Popova, The Marginalian 

‍Change of environment

I put on my ski gear, and pull my boot bag up on my back. Covered head to toe, I step outside. My skis are perched on my left shoulder, and my poles are in my right hand. I walk carefully down the snowy path and up through the village to the lift. It’s a sacred ten minutes of meditative rhythmic walking to warm me up for the day ahead. 

New snow has fallen – about twenty centimetres. The snow cats have groomed the mountain during the night. It’s early and I'll be on the first lift up to the slopes. 

This is the change of environment I crave the most at this time in my life. The movement from posed stability to energetic vulnerability, from the familiar to the serendipitous unknown, from the routine to the spontaneous. Here on the mountain I feel like I live life to its fullest. I feel more alive here than anywhere else. Curiosity is my catalyst — I could rest today, I could contemplate other days gone by, but I'm curious:  What will the snow be like? What will my balance and form be like? What shapes of clouds will appear? What breeze will freeze my nose? Where will the trail take me? It is ski season; adventurous, mysterious and invigorating. It provides another form of lifestyle filled with the sort of vulnerability I love.

Of course everyone knows that change is constant, but there is nowhere else in the world where I see, feel, hear, touch and taste this truth more clearly than here on the side of my favourite mountain.

This magic mountain that I've skied for years and years changes all the time. It's ironic really, as it is made of stone and rock, ice and dirt  - elements so strong and stable, so unmoving and unbudgeable, so unforgiving and invincible, yet it is forever changing. Of course everyone knows that change is constant, but there is nowhere else in the world where I see, feel, hear, touch and taste this truth more clearly than here on the side of my favourite mountain. Such a curious phenomenon — this alpine environment that moves and changes constantly, just like me. The weather forecast looks good today, colder than yesterday, but mostly sunny in the morning with the wind rising in the afternoon. Of course, this could change too.

‍Letting change flow

Arriving at the base of the mountain, I put on my ski boots, tuck my shoes away for the day, and once again perch my skis on my shoulder. I use my poles to help me navigate the steps up to the gates; it’s the beginning of the season and this morning routine of getting to the lifts still has me feeling a bit winded as I get used to the altitude. My friend is waiting for me. She and I smile brightly at each other and, seconds later, the buzzer goes off and the gates are activated. We are the first ones through, proud of ourselves for our early rising and excited to experience the thrill of another ski day together. We banter about the beautiful day ahead, our slight aches and pains and need for some stretching.

My friend is confident and bold — an expert skier. Me, I am not as confident and I am no expert. But I am bold, and she inspires me. Most of all, I am grateful for the change of scenery, communing with nature and the joy of being together again on the mountain.

Tensing up in anticipation of a coming bump or turn will surely cause a fall. The key to serenity on skis is letting change flow, becoming one with the change, and then being the change.

As we descend each run at our own pace, our skis pushing us beyond our unique comfort zones, we each experience individualized moments in the quiet rhythm of skiing. Every day on the slope is different, every turn of every carve into the snow is different, at times smooth and other times choppy. At all times, our minds must stay connected to our bodies. It is invigorating and mystifying, as we must disconnect from all worries and all other actions and stay absolutely present. Tensing up in anticipation of a coming bump or turn will surely cause a fall. The key to serenity on skis is letting change flow, becoming one with the change, and then being the change. 

After a few hours of skiing our favourite trails, I tell my friend I want to stop at a lookout spot, not because I’m tired but because I want to breathe in my surroundings. She says she’ll let me have a bit of alone time and we decide she’ll do another run and meet me back here. The sky is vast and filled with a multitude of blue hues, the clouds are fantastical and bright white. The fresh cold air is thinner up here; it smells minty as it passes through my nostrils and it tastes minerally as it drips down my throat. The steam rises from my scarf as I breathe in and out, feeling the warmth of my body. This change of environment is essential to my well-being. It’s not just any change of environment though. 

‍Chrono-diversity

It’s being up at altitude that thrills me most. The physicist Carlo Rovelli in his book “The Order of Time” captures the essence of my pause at the lookout spot. He writes, 

“I stop and do nothing. Nothing happens. I am thinking about nothing. I listen to the passing of time. This is time, familiar and intimate. We are taken by it…. Our being is being in time.”

I lived and worked in this village just below the slopes for ten years, all through my thirties, and now that I am retired, I return here as much as possible. Initially when I moved away, down to sea level and no longer at altitude, it took me a long time to adjust and to adapt to being in a different time zone, but not just a different chronometric time zone, but a different “chrono-atmospheric” time zone. 

I am fascinated by the way Rovelli explains how altitude changes time. He writes, “Let’s begin with a simple fact: time passes faster in the mountains than it does at sea level…

I am fascinated by the way Rovelli explains how altitude changes time. He writes, “Let’s begin with a simple fact: time passes faster in the mountains than it does at sea level… This slowing down can be detected between levels just a few centimetres apart: a clock placed on the floor runs a little more slowly than one on a table. It is not just the clocks that slow down: lower down, all processes are slower.” 

When I read this, I started to understand and accept why I had found it so challenging to transition from life up on the mountain to life in the valley. All of my processes had to become slower; my mental and physical, even spiritual relationships towards time had to change in order for me to adapt and to adjust to my new surroundings. It was a very unnerving time at first, and I found myself longing to return to the mountains. Despite the fact that I enjoyed my new job, raising my children and making new friends in a different culture, my personal processes, like my coping mechanisms, had slowed down and I needed to give myself time to accept the newness of this “chrono-diversity” at sea level.  

Some consider winter a time to slow down and rest, imitating elements of nature that hibernate and tuck in to escape the cold. But for me, it is this change of environment, this other way of being in time, this speeding up and expanding of time, that I long for in the winter months.

During those years, my friend stayed in the mountains; she never returned to life in the valley. And I believe this makes us different in the way we now measure time. Maybe her time does actually pass more quickly than mine? She is a speed queen and can get a million things done in one day. She thinks faster than I think, and certainly skis faster than I ski. 

Some consider winter a time to slow down and rest, imitating elements of nature that hibernate and tuck in to escape the cold. But for me, it is this change of environment, this other way of being in time, this speeding up and expanding of time, that I long for in the winter months. It’s the rigour and rhythm of mountain time. Rovelli writes, 

‍“Two friends separate, with one of them living in the plains and the other going to live in the mountains. They meet up again years later: the one who has stayed down has lived less, aged less, the mechanism of his cuckoo clock has oscillated fewer times. He has had less time to do things, his plants have grown less, his thoughts have had less time to unfold ... Lower down, there is simply less time than at altitude.” 

I guess the proof is “in the physics.” As I’ve learned, it is the changeability of time in the mountains that keeps me skiing through life. Even if it seems a bit ironic and mysterious to me, I imagine I will always feel this type of change to be constant in my life. Though I suppose, that could change too.

BEST GOURMET GETAWAY

Le Bristol Paris

Paris, France

Sleuthing cinephiles will recognize the sprawling Panoramic Suite at Le Bristol Paris from 2011’s Midnight in Paris, but serious foodies know the hotel’s biggest star is its cuisine. With Executive Chef Éric Frechon at the helm, 114 Faubourg has held one Michelin star since 2013, and Epicure the highest possible three stars since 2009. At the latter “absolutely French” restaurant, Frechon writes in the menu, “There is no cooking without the finest products,” and the evidence is on the plate, including a macaroni stuffed with black truffle, artichoke and duck foie gras, topped with Parmesan gratinée. To age that cheese, the hotel installed its own cave, along with a flour mill for “living bread” made from heritage wheats, a chocolate factory where Chef Chocolatier Johan Giacchetti creates 3,000 pieces every week and, most recently, a pasta laboratory. Partaking of it all in one trip is an impossibility—thankfully L’Épicerie packages up some of those delights and delicacies to-go.

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BEST BEACH HOTEL

Constance Lemuria, Seychelles

Anse Kerlan, Seychelles

The secluded golden sands of Grand Anse Kerlan, Petite Anse Kerlan and Anse Georgette aren’t entirely empty. Constance Lemuria, Seychelles shares these three pristine Praslin beaches with a few discerning hawksbill sea turtles and employs a Turtle Manager to attend to their specific needs. Unsurprisingly, these marine reptiles aren’t the only guests treated well. While there is no wrong room, as all are set steps from the shoreline, the singular Presidential Villa comes with a private swath of sand and dedicated service. Should a holidayer decide their job is more than just beach, they can hit the fairway or the forest—the resort is home to the only 18-hole championship golf course in Seychelles, and the Vallée de Mai Nature Reserve where the rare coco de mer grows is only six miles away.

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BEST WELLNESS RETREAT

Villa Eden – The Private Retreat

South Tyrol, Italy

After a visit in 1870 from Empress Elisabeth ‘Sissi’ of Austria that saw the health of her young daughter Marie Valerie improve within a manner of days, Merano, Italy became renowned as a spa destination. Housed within a restored Art Nouveau villa, Villa Eden – The Private Retreat carries on the South Tyrolean town’s grand health and wellness tradition, albeit for adults only. For weekly programs, the resort employs its own eponymous method. Following a comprehensive check-up and diagnosis, each guest is given a menu of “Mindful Cuisine,” fitness sessions, mental balance practices and treatments through the Longevity Medical Center and Spa. With three doctors on staff, the intervention options span prescribed supplements to aesthetic surgeries. Said to have her own rigorous exercise and beauty regimes, Sissi would have loved this holistic Eden, if only it’d opened in 1882 and not 1982.

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BEST ADVENTURE GETAWAY

Nimmo Bay Resort

British Columbia, Canada

Referred to as the Amazon of the North, Canada’s Great Bear Rainforest spans 15.8 million acres, which is roughly the size of Ireland, along 250 miles of British Columbia’s coastline. The protected area is home to thousand-year-old cedars, cougars, coastal wolves, sea otters, orca, grizzly bears, to name a few, and Nimmo Bay Resort, an all-inclusive, fly-in resort on a picture-postcard parcel of that wilderness. Cabins, ocean-facing or in the forest, shelter guests from the elements, but the idea is to soak up as much of the outside as possible. Bear viewing, whale watching, kayaking, and helicopter tours to remote hiking spots are all on the menu, as is locally caught and foraged fare to replenish energy spent. While the environment is rugged, there’s no roughing it—the only real test of one’s mettle is enduring a cold, Pacific Ocean plunge to gain deeper appreciation for the warmth of the sauna that floats offshore.

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BEST FAMILY HOTEL

Hotel Xcaret Mexico

Riviera Maya, Mexico

When plotting out a treasure map for kids, X marks the spot. When planning a vacation for them, X also marks the spot. In Playa del Carmen, only a 45-minute drive from Cancun International Airport, oceanfront Hotel Xcaret Mexico takes an “All-Fun Inclusive” approach, which means airport transfers, food and beverages and unlimited access to all Grupo Xcaret parks—those being, Xcaret, Xel-Há, Xplor, Xplor Fuego, Xoximilco, Xenses, Xavage and Xenotes—are included. Oh, and a Xcaret Xailing ferry ride to Isla Mujeres and another that goes to Cozumel. When the young ones need a break from their guardians, the Xiquillos Kids Club entertains ages 4 to 12 until as late as 10 p.m., immersing them in Mexican culture through art, dancing and cooking. It all adds up to a bounty of treasured moments.

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BEST FAR-FLUNG ESCAPE

COMO Uma Paro and COMO Uma Punakha

Bhutan

On the eastern edge of the Himalayas, where ancient monasteries still cling to mountainsides, Bhutan is a land that leans into natural rhythms. The carbon-negative country is, amazingly, 70 percent forest, and tucked into this preserved landscape are two in-tune properties. Arrived at just 10 minutes after touching down on the international airport tarmac, COMO Uma Paro with its 29 rooms atop a pine-tree hill, begins the immersion into this other world through authentic experiences—say, a lesson in archery, the national sport, or a day walk to the most iconic rock-perched monastery, Taktsang or Tiger’s Nest. Following a few nights there, COMO Uma Punakha, five hours’ drive north, takes it further. The 10-room hideaway overlooks the Mo Chhu, and one can raft those surging waters below, or hike up the valley to Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten temple. It’s all restorative, but when the body needs more particular care, the COMO Shambhala Retreat at each delivers a hot stone bath and massage that’s uniquely Bhutanese.

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This article was originally published by Kiwi Collection. You can find it here.