Camping at -11 degrees with a group of outdoor coaches felt like a reset for me. I had been busy, taking little time for myself and for being in nature. Together with some coaches and guides of the Chamonix Coaching Collective – all connected to nature and outdoors – we decided to go camping. I love camping in the mountains, but this night it was particularly cold.
We hiked up the mountain with heavy bags, set up our tent while the sun set, and prepared our freeze-dried meal with melted snow. Our feet got slowly colder while we watched the orange sky above the horizon.
A small campfire kept us warm a little bit longer, but as soon as the campfire sunk down in the snow it had melted around its flames, we started to shiver and crawled into our sleeping bags.
It was the kind of cold that gets into your sleeping bag, even though I wore ten layers and tried to keep all little openings closed. I stayed cold for a while, but eventually I warmed up and fell into a deep sleep that I can only have while camping in nature.
The next morning, the fresh sun warmed us up. We sat next to a lake to take in the awakening forest. Drinking our warm coffee and hot chocolate, we discussed how we can connect as coaches. How we can help the local community with the problems they face. And how we can join forces on sustainability.
The cold camping reset reminded me of things that I knew but had forgotten in the rush of daily life:
What a luxury it is to have a house with a roof, shower and warm bed
How to be silent in the forest, using all your senses to experience it. Which changes more than a million words
The energy it gives me to work with enthusiastic people on the two subjects that I love: personal development & nature + sustainability
That experiences like this make life one big exploration for me
When was the last time you went out camping in nature? What was your experience?