4 days in Verbier - the reality behind the dream life with fairytale views

SOME KIDS NEVER GROW UP

Welcome to Verbier, Val de Bagnes and La Tzoumaz! This is my first ever, very relaxed and super happy vlog from 4 (tot 6) very eventful days in the alp paradise Verbier in the beginning of February 2020. I might have misspelled some words and names, I might have forgotten to add logos, there might have been a background song on top of a mountain that needed to be removed after publishing, I might have not cared about some transitions and effects, I might have used raw clips with no time or prio on retakes. But mind that what it loses in quality is gained in experiences hehe, and yes my mobile camera sucks and the audio experience is terrible, but I really hope you enjoy watching it and feel welcome into my every day life with a lil twist! :)

(The whole thing was supposed to be English but the result is rather very Swenglish, sorry about that. If there’s many people watching it I might upload one with subtitles as well).

So - we were a group of 5. There was Sassa who was our duck mom and organizer (she’s also a pro jazz singer!). Then there’s Petter who works for Tiger of Sweden and was nominated for Sweden’s best dressed man last year, Bingo who is a pro photographer and super influencer, Joel who is the founder and editor in chief for Icon Magazine (I called him Per the whole trip because his name is @lifeofpolarnper on instagram and since I tagged him in a lot of posts I just couldn’t let that name go haha. Also he looked like a Per. And his middle name actually is Per so it’s ok hehe). And then there was me, a pro adventurer, "fjäll"-leader (guide), designer, photographer and micro influencer living a combo lifestyle to the fullest!

We were out together with a group of British journalists and we did almost everything together with them. Then there was super sweet Elise who is PR manager for Verbier and our organizer.

VERBIER

Verbier is the Mecca of excellent freeriding. On this press trip, lovers of off-piste skiing met in Verbier to share and live their passion. The playground is unlimited: Mont-Fort, Mont Gelé, Bec des Rosses: a few highlights to discover during a stay in the resort. The Xtreme Verbier, final of the Freeride World Tour, hosts the best freeriders of the planet. But freeriding is not only riding, it’s also knowledge: learning your limits, the environment, the risks and how to use the correct tools. And most of all, Verbier has a lot more to offer than free riding… it’s a huge playground for mountain lovers and livsnjutare (”life enjoyers”) living an active or sporty lifestyle.

INFO & SOCIAL MEDIA

@verbier #PureEnergy

Web: http://www.verbier.ch/

Twitter: @VerbierResorts – www.twitter.com/verbierresorts

Instagram: @verbier – https://www.instagram.com/verbier/

Facebook: Verbier – https://www.facebook.com/verbierswitzerland

Snap: @verbier_live

USEFUL TIPS!

Restaurants/food: Chez Dany, Le Dahu, Cabane Mont Fort, Le Rouge, La Pergola. Even though I’m vegan and it’s not a well-used term and way of cooking in Verbier, they all managed to bring out the best tastes even of a simple salad, and the pizza at La Pergola was probably the best pizza I ever had - Verbier sure knows how to cook!

Accomodation: Hotel Les Chamois and Cabane Mont Fort

Goggles & sunglasses: SunGod @we_are_sungod - the official eyewear partner of the Freeride World Tour for the third year running. Here you can design your own. They also have a Limited Edition Goggle Strap and microfibre in collaboration with environmental charity Protect Our Winters (POW).

Beer microbrewery: Vie Montagne (they use fresh mountain water)

Yoga: Wholey Cow

Karün Lodge Weekend in Fjällnäs

Hola world!

In March I had a hectic work-month and I've needed some time to get back to balance and in step with things. It started with a trip to Fjällnäs with some some 10 girls and Karün for split/ski touring, then I went straight to Lövåsen in Grövelsjön to celebrate dad's birthday with the whole family and my siblings families. After a week of splitboarding, remote working (UX design) and birthday celebration I continued heading south to Sälen/Fulufjället for a long weekend of dog sledding with Adventure Stories x Fjälläventyr. Then we drove to Stockholm for a meeting with Stadium/Everest (Adventure Stories collad) and again back to Sälen/Fulufjället for yet another long weekend of dog sledding. After a month I got back to Åre and since then have spent my days with UX-design, meetings, upcoming talks in Lofoten and Åre, upcoming Adventure Stories events and admin, Antarctica planning, workouts, friends visiting and other projects that I haven't had too much time to work on during March. So if you've been missing my posts, this is why. But here's an update split into different posts!

SO! As a starter, last month was kicked off with an invitation to join the Karün community to Fjällnäs, a small town in Härjedalen near Norway which was actually my favorite place in the world when I grew up. My family used to spend winters and summer up here and to me it was the dream of all dreams, with all the white fluffy snow, the uncrowded slopes, the kind people, the food we ate, the white views on the other side of the lake that we used to cross for day missions. Fjällnäs was actually my reason for falling in love with the Swedish mountains and wanting to move up there, so it was amazing to be back! We arrived Friday night to Karün's "office" (huge house by the lake) where we spent two nights. On Saturday we went split touring up Storskarven while experiencing all weathers at the same time and enjoying great views. For the first time I felt ok after my 2 months of influensa which of course was a great feeling, and I could really enjoy both the walk up an the ride down. The evening was spent doing yoga, hot tub sunset session, eating great food, drinking wine, talking about Karün's work with sustainability and just enjoying the gathering of a bunch of super inspiring girls! On Saturday we visited that yellow house where we used to spend time when I was little, with new owners of course and a bit different concept, but bringing memories from the smells, vision and views, the sound of walking the same floors and the things and furniture in the house that made my heart melt completely.

So grateful, both for being back and for being invited to a group of women 10 years younger that myself. I tend to forget my age and I still feel like I'm 23, still do the things I did back then, still work with different jobs simultaneously, and I've still got the same drive and energy. Some people even get surprised and say I look younger than my actual age (I don't though haha), the only difference is the numbers that have changed.

Thanks Karün and Lucia Nebrada for inviting us and thanks Ebba Forsgren, Nicole Modigh, Mercedes Lundström, Sallie Skött, Alex Edebo, Andrea Holm, Emma Gabrielsson, Lif Hydén and Emma Harrysson for an amazingly fun weekend together in Fjällnäs!

Photoshoot with Polyver boots

Last week I was out shooting with Martin Olsson and Darren Hamlin for Polyver boots to a story about me for their story campaigns. The weather has been quite "shitty" in Åre this winter to be honest, with rain and storms, melting snow and icy mountains, so we really did have some great timing with the sun, some fresh snow and cold temps! Even though work days like these require some hours preps and packing and work from 9am-9pm without breaks other than for lunch, I feel so lucky and I have to pinch myself sometimes for being able to call this my job and my home. It's not that it's the first time I do this, I've been doing shoots since 2011 when I first started blogging for Outside Magazine and today it's become more frequent and part of my work for income, but it still never gets old. I'm still grateful for have created and still have the opportunity to design my lifestyle around my biggest passions and today it covered it all - splitboard, tent, mountains, -16°C, no wind, bluebird, fresh snow, pro photographers/filmmakers, great company, friends and lots of laughter! The campaign will be out this fall.

Also, for those with cold feet, I need to mention (and this is not paid for!): THESE BOOTS..! <3 I've never not been frozen somewhere for a full day out in the cold without external heaters, but I can't believe that these boots kept me warm all day in -16 from 9 in the morning to 9 at night. To me that is magic! I was 18 when I first got insanely cold and white body parts even just for a chilly summer breeze. It's not about "just run a bit, do burpees or put wool socks on and you'll get warm", it doesn't work like that. On midsummer parties I had to wear thermal pants and in the winter I had to bring my biggest backpack (90L+) filled with gear just to be on the safe side with my temp problems, and since I'm an outdoor person and have adventuring and expedition guiding as my job, I've experimented a lot into deepest detail with what would solve my issues or keep them from getting critical. Sometime I succeeded, sometime I didn't, and today I have two big toes that I can't feel. And today my greatest love which I can't be without is charged heaters with extra batteries, expedition clothing, polartech, layers, critical exposure covers, Nalgene bottle with hot water, AND Polyver Boots hehe. True story!

Pics coming later, here are some snaps from my phone.