Lily Owen

Ten green bottles. The familiar, English nursery rhyme that has been employed to encourage recycling practices, knocking over each bottle, one by one, until none are left standing. Now, from singing to skiwear, activewear brand Dare2b are putting this tune’s morals where their manufacturing mouth is. From ten to thirty-million and counting, a series of fallen recycled bottles have been re-purposed to produce this season’s wardrobe of sustainable skiwear, and the next.

The day starts with fantastic coffee. “We’re very lucky to work with a local roastery just down the mountain in Lausanne and their coffee is amazing, really butterscotchy.” Tom Avery, world record holder, ski mountaineer, polar explorer and Founding Director of Ski Verbier Exclusive starts his day just like the rest of us.

Marlow. The place where Mary Shelley conjured up her tale of Frankenstein: a young scientist who undertakes an unorthodox experiment that unleashes a horrific monster into the world. Today, far from otherworldly and monstrous, the town’s current master of experimentation is none other than chef Tom Kerridge. His culinary lab, The Hand and Flowers sits tucked at the end of a bustling high street, serving up concoctions that resemble no monster, but familiar faces and friends.

When he commissioned the creation of a Royal Observatory in 1675, King Charles II hoped that an improved study of the moon and stars would perfect navigation at sea. The architect tasked with such a mission: Sir Christopher Wren. It is only appropriate that now a beacon by the same name, the Sir Christopher Wren hotel in Windsor sits perfectly on the banks of the River Thames, guiding sailors into the capital and out to the North Sea.

T.S. Eliot wrote “In the mountains, there you feel free.” Metaphorically, it is the tops of mountains that epitomise a human understanding of greatness. ‘Top of the world.’ ‘Moving mountains.’ ‘The climb.’ At the top lies success, self-actualisation and happiness. But, as Eliot’s poetry paints, the mountains are a landscape to be immersed within, explored in their entirety. The only way is not up. Mountain Trip takes you across, by way of the Telluride Via Ferrata.

The girl’s trip. Where chaos ensues, your cheeks ache from smiling too much, the bubbles are always on ice and bonds are formed that will never be forgotten. The ski trip. Where powder day beats Christmas Day, your heart pumps endless supplies of adrenaline, everything is seen through rose-tinted goggles and the days end with orange, glowing mountain tops. Now introducing the ultimate girl’s ski trip, Women Who Ski.

1st Century Roman gourmand, Apicius was the first to adorn the phrase, “We eat first with our eyes.” Now a well-known consideration amongst the finest chefs, if flavour is the music to which our tastebuds dance, then presentation is turning up the volume. This season, Purgatory Ski Resort are practically blasting their culinary chords, with a unique dining experience that commences before you have even entered the restaurant.

As one cuts through the morning’s fresh powder, another snowfall brings new chances to carve even deeper tracks. From a piste decorated with the day’s routes, a new blank canvas is revived. Breaking things down for them to be built back and better. Much like this joyous cycle experienced every ski season, the Les Arcs Film Festival celebrates a world of European cinema to recognise what differentiates us and what binds us.

I wrote this article as part of a pitch to Tourism Australia to become part of their writing team and create some youth-targeted travel content for their website. It surrounds a road trip that I took whilst living in Australia and all of the photos are taken by me.