Have you ever wanted to book onto a retreat but talked yourself out of it? Me too! Did you think, 'Oh, I’m too old. Everyone else will be fitter and younger than me. I’ll be the odd one out." Me too! Did your self doubt almost stop you booking but somehow you found the courage to book on anyway? Congratulations! You did the right thing. If my experience on the Unlost Retreat is anything to go by, you will not regret it - I promise.

Skiing, mountains, and Alpine air are three of my favourite things, and I was delighted to be able to revel in all of them earlier this year thanks to Chilly Powder, a company run by Francesca and Paul Eyre, who run a number of excellent chalets in the Morzine-Avoriaz ski areas of France. They have lovingly built their business from scratch, starting in the mid '90's and are still thriving now with the successful yet-still-personal set of chalets they run today.

My name is Phill Toomasian, but as I am a long distance hiker or “thru-hiker” I often go by the trail name “Flamingo” when out in the field (or really the mountains). In highschool I commandeered a pair of bright pink pants out of my church’s costume box. They were so goofy and simply had to be mine even if I did not have a plan for them.