Where did you say? Mallnitz? Ja genau, that place with 30 kilometer of slopes. This town with 842 inhabitants, where nothing is going on. No, neither did I have any idea where it was or how I’d survive four months going up with its only anker lift.
Not that I’ve had this conversation, but I have to admit that this is what I sometimes thought. Telling people that I would work in Mallnitz for the season often got answered with eyebrows pulled up. I worried about getting bored and especially about feeling lonely. As well people here are asking me with curiosity how I actually ended up working in Mallnitz, surprised to hear that I hadn’t been here before.
But now I know that my worries about living here for a bit are opposite to reality. It actually made clear what Peru was trying to tell me. Mallnitz shows me that I do know what I want.
This is it.
1. Time and space
NOTHING is going on in Mallnitz. My expectations on this were right. Nights are silent, there are few bars to go. This means I haven’t ever been sleeping so much and didn’t have such a good day-night rhythm for a long, long, long (never) time. I have time home alone. Time I use for things I generally do less than I would want to (and still), and to finally get the things of my to-do list which have been on there way too long.
Almost every day after work time is invested in some kind of exercise, whether (trail)running, yoga, (tour)skiing or climbing. Daily I am trying new recipes (and eating too much). And there is time to study some German, to read and to write. But ok, time is not used for that.
2. Integrity
Whoever is looking for big party wouldn’t be in Mallnitz. Rather than being in an area dominated by après-ski and getting into the bars daily, I spent maybe a night or two a week in one of its rare bars. Just to have a few drinks and a chat with colleagues. Of course we love to do crazy dances in its only disco, but it doesn’t seem to be what people are looking for. People come here because they always have been here, because they love this place or because they want to profit from what it has to offer outdoors.
3. Nature
The area of Mallnitz is part of a national park. And there is reason for that. The area is gorgeous and still has something I’d actually call nature. It had been a few years the last time I went on a skiing holiday. In the meantime, I ever continued to care more about nature, environment, sustainability. This year I really started to think about the fact that we are crazy people, filling the mountains with lifts and slopes. And for the first time this is really bothering me in the way that it makes me feel that I don’t want to contribute to this infrastructure. That doesn’t mean that skiing will be a no-go for me; there are many amazing -maybe more sustainable- ways to enjoy winter in the mountains. How great would it be to do a multiple day trekking on tour skis, for example? I feel happy that here in Mallnitz and its surroundings there is actually some remote nature to discover left. Running and jumping and playing, hiking, climbing, skiing -you name it- around in the woods and mountains (without being distracted by other people) gives a person energy.
4. Adventure
Less slopes = more adventure. Most looking for a winter job whether as a skiing instructor, chalet staff or anything else, might try to work in a massive skiing area with as many kilometers of slopes as possible. But where the slopes are, is no powder (not to suggest that this winter there is powder to be found anyway). And where slopes are, are people. The lack of slopes invites to discover and explore mountains and nature to the fullest and to leave the beaten… slope.
5. Mountains
To be short, there is a thing I couldn’t deny anymore even if I wanted to: mountains are a necessity in my life at this moment. Being in Huaraz made me feel so good, and I know now that one of the reasons for that was the easiness to get outside, to go climbing and to be surrounded by mountains. Also here in Mallnitz I find myself often just enjoying the views while skiing or going outside for a walk or a run, to return filled with fresh air and energy. Mountains motivate!
(Except for the last one, photos in this post are of me, not by me.)
[:nl]
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