Andermatt
Switzerland
Loving life in
January 2024
Issue # 3
Guten Rutsch!
It means “Have a good slide,” in Swiss-German, and it’s used as a New Years greeting. But in this particular village they take the phrase quite literally. They close the main street to traffic and cover it with snow so that everyone can go sledding into the new year!
This is my second time visiting Andermatt because I felt right at home last year. Read on to discover what it’s like, and why I’ve placed it on a very short list of my Ideal Nomad Destinations.
Where I am:
The town of Hospental to be exact. It’s next door to the Andermatt ski resort.
What it's like:
My alarm goes off at 6:30, before the hostel comes to life. It takes me about an hour to write Morning Pages, and by that time the breakfast buffet has been set and the powder hounds are getting dressed. I take the first bus to the slopes, and spend a few hours riding down the mountain. If the conditions aren't great I'll slide into one of the cozy mountain huts and get a cappuccino. My lunch is a medley of smashed or chilly snacks that I stuffed into my pockets earlier. Around 2:00 or 3:00 I'll go home, take a shower, and do some work on my laptop until dinner time.
The meals here are one of me favorite parts. Maria doesn't speak any English, but she makes the best homemade local dishes and she always has a smile on her face. Jürg, the host, welcomes everyone and introduces the meal. We all eat together, so it's a natural melting pot of travelers and avid skiers, sharing tips and stories from our day or our home countries. Sometimes the conversations linger well after dinner, especially on the nights when we have fondue or raclette. Occasionally we'll play board games before everyone heads to bed. I usually stay up a couple more hours working on personal projects until my body tells me to get some sleep, so I can do it all again tomorrow.
Why I'm here:
Snowboarding every day + my favorite hostel
How long:
Almost a month
What I’ve seen:
a sampling from my camera roll
What I’ve thought:
[ Four things on my mind ]
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The real trick of being a Digital Snowmad is leveraging the time zone difference. I can get a full day of snowboarding in the Swiss Alps before New Yorkers even get to the office. If that weren’t sweet enough, there’s affordable lodging that also includes breakfast and dinner. It’s an unbeatable combo if you like to ski and can work remotely.
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I get the sense that men and women have different, almost opposite ideas of safety. Obviously I'm speculating in broad terms, but it seems to me that women want to feel safe from what's out there, while men want to feel safe to go out there. Speaking for myself, I do not want to stay where it's "safe," I want to be trusted that I will return safely.
The purpose of skiing is not merely to arrive at the end; it's to feel the experience of doing it. Making art is similar. The real magic is not what gets published or framed; it's what happens within me while I'm working on it. Increasingly I'm trying to make more art for myself —creating things that are interesting to me— rather than trying to make something that others will like.
I make a lot of lists, but until now I’ve never made a list of my favorite lists. That’s right, list-makers, eat your heart out:
- “My Definition of Success”
- “How I want others to feel around me”
- “Things I packed but never used on my trip”
- “My Favorite Feelings in the World”
- “Becoming Stephen” — attributes that I want to be true of me
- “Goals for 2024” — P.S. my newsletter subscribers got to see this one ;)
What I’ve felt:
The sensation of weightlessness, as if I'm literally floating (snowboarding on a deep powder day)
Snow-blind vertigo. I can't tell if I'm moving or stopped, if I'm going to run into a wall or off a cliff
Like I'm not doing enough
My toes thawing in a hot shower
A swollen cheek after bashing my goggles into my face.
The exhilaration of going 100 kmh on a snowboard
What I’ve made:
A Decade of One Second Films
Every single day of the past ten years I’ve picked up a camera to record a short moment of my life. These tiny moments become films that have influenced me in big ways. They have served as a witness to my most incredible and most painful days alike. Personally, these films are more than a project; they’re a way of doing life.
Last week marked the completion of my tenth year. If I were to play back every scene in order the entire film would be over an hour —my first feature film ;)
In any case, here’s a look back at 2023 in 365 Seconds:
What’s in my bag:
[ aka product reviews ]
JBL Clip 4
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Nothing sets a mood faster than music, and nothing is more underwhelming than playing music from my phone’s speaker. Whether I’m settling in for a chill night or I need some motivation to get through a long bike ride, having a portable speaker is essential for me.
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The JBL Clip 4 is small in size, big in sound, and waterproof enough that I never worry about it. I've taken it to hot springs, clipped it on my backpack while snowboarding, used it for music and navigation on a motorcycle and even while kite surfing. The battery lasts for days too, so it doesn't require much maintenance. And, like all my electronics, it has a USB-C interface, so I don't need a different charger for it.
To whom I am
grateful:
Jürg, the gracious host who stayed up late to welcome me and provided dinner after a long day of traveling.
Maria, who cooks and cleans the hostel. She even kept the bouquet of flowers that I gave her last year.
Libby, who is traveling with me, and never complains about waiting on a snowboarder.
Thomas, the freeride mountain guide who took me on an epic backcountry run, and later patched me up when my face was dripping with blood.
Nick, the kindred spirit Aussie who inspired me with his dedication and determination to send it.