If you dream it you can do it: Life in White

Photo: Approaching the Llaima Volcano in Chile, a magical place where you feel the planet is alive.

Many people want to leave everything behind to pursue their true passion, but not everyone succeeds. Today we tell you the story. of a couple of snowboarders who live a life of emptiness, chasing the dream of surfing virgin snow in the most remote places on the planet: Laura Martinez and Gabriel "Gabro" Mojón.

We had the opportunity to interview Laura, and this is what came out ;)

What is Life In White and how did the project come about?

Life in White was born from a passion for NaturalThe beauty and snow of two people. There was never a project as such; everything just flowed, and in the end, we decided to give our lifestyle and adventures a name.

What does snow and frost mean? Naturaleza as a whole for you?

For us it is everything, it is our oxygen, what directs our lives. Having contact with the NaturalBeing connected to your surroundings is as necessary as eating or sleeping. It's the best therapy there is. in which we live and be more aware that we are a small ant on this incredible planet full of life, and that we are slowly drowning.

How far have you traveled in search of powder to surf?

We've traveled together all over the world, from our beloved Pyrenees, where we grew up, to the Alps, Japan (Hokkaido and Honshu), Iceland, Argentina, and Chile. Gabriel, for his part, had been to Canada, the USA, New Zealand, and Australia before meeting me.

Photo: Driving through the Araucaria trees is truly spectacular; it seems like a dinosaur might appear at any moment. Chile, Araucaria.

Any treasures you have discovered along the way?

The greatest treasure has been finding each other, although if you multiply the powder craze by two, it sometimes becomes unsustainable, and it would be nice if one of us could slow down every now and then.

Another great treasure has been to awaken a little from the lethargy that frenetic modern life induces in us. Spending so much time traveling in contact with nature naturalLife is when you understand more about what life is all about, it makes you more aware and teaches you that we are not the epicenter of this planet, we are just another inhabitant and the planet will manage perfectly well without us when we are gone.

What is your next destination?

This winter, after spending practically the entire last year searching for perfect snow conditions around the world, we were eager to spend more time at our base camp, the Austrian Tyrol, and explore a bit of Eastern Europe or Iceland. The truth is that conditions are challenging right now, but we're planning new adventures while enjoying our beloved Tyrolean home, which we're in love with.

What is the camper lifestyle and why did you choose it?

It's about having a simpler life, although at the same time, wanting fewer "ties" often makes it more complicated as one moves away from the comforts of modern life. For us, the feeling of freedom it gives us is undoubtedly the best thing in the world. We can't live without our camper, and that's why wherever we go, we take our little house with us.

Photo: Our daily routine in the RV after a great day of snowboarding in Bariloche, Argentina.

Do you consider this lifestyle Help to reduce the impact that people have on the environment?

Well, the truth is that it depends….Really, if we wanted to reduce the impact, we would have to start by being in one place and not depending on fossil fuels... On the other hand, if you compare it to living in a "normal" house without using renewable energy, etc., then you do reduce the impact.

It's a very complicated topic when it comes to traveling, because as we've said, it's quite ambiguous. It's really difficult to travel sustainably. Every trip has an impact on the environment, although we try to offset this by being very conscious and careful with the planet in other areas such as food, recycling waste, changing shopping habits, avoiding plastic packaging, etc.

How do you manage your waste? Does this lifestyle allow you to recycle?

We're very concerned about this issue and try to recycle wherever we go, but there are countries where, unfortunately, you have to throw in the towel and can't recycle. Living somewhere isn't the same as traveling in a van. Since you're not local, it's difficult to dispose of your waste in the most sustainable way possible. If you're not in a place like Europe, where you find recycling bins on every corner, it's crazy. In Japan, for example, the plastic issue is crazy. Everything, absolutely everything you buy, is wrapped in plastic, and there were days when we had to throw out the trash twice because of the amount of plastic we ended up accumulating in the van.

Fortunately, this issue is not as extreme in Europe, but it is still very serious. In Austria, where we live, recycling is a big priority, and we love it. We try to avoid all products wrapped in plastic, but sometimes it's almost impossible… As consumers, we have all the power, so we have to do our best to avoid products unnecessarily wrapped in plastic, like fruits and vegetables.

Also, Help It really depends on the type of food you eat. If you don't buy a lot of pre-cooked or processed products, it's actually easier to look for products with alternative packaging, such as legumes, nuts, cereals, etc.

In our humble opinion, instead of spending so many resources on recycling and waste management, those resources should be spent on not generating that waste at all. Recycling is great and necessary, but it's a way of cleaning up after ourselves. Wouldn't it be better not to litter? We have many options available to us to stop polluting so much, and from the top down, we should heavily regulate the use of plastics and incentivize companies to stop using them and invest in much more sustainable packaging.

Photo: The daily routine after coming down the mountain.

What kind of diet do you follow?

We try to eat the most balanced diet possible with the lowest possible environmental impact. This is very important to us and a fundamental pillar of our lifestyle. Our diet is based on vegetables, fruit, grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, and berries, although we occasionally eat eggs and cheese from the most organic sources possible.

We don't eat meat or fish because we don't think it's necessary for a balanced diet, and the price both the planet and poor farm animals are paying is too high for humans to have supermarkets full of products that either shouldn't be consumed or should be consumed very sporadically due to the suffering and damage they cause, as we've said before, to our blue planet and our fellow animals.

In addition, we try to ensure that the products are local, even if they are sometimes more expensive. In the end, we create demand for local products. HelpWe're going to change the supply-demand policy. Sometimes it's complicated because there's no choice for some products, and you have no choice but to go through with it, but you have to try.

Another thing we believe is vital is to eat seasonal products. It's part of consumerism and human stupidity to want to eat strawberries in December and oranges in July, and it's something we have to get rid of. Let's learn from our mistakes and reverse certain things, because what we often call evolution is actually involution.

Photo: In the end, our conversion using recycled materials worked perfectly and allowed us to cook comfortably in the van.

I imagine there's a lot of work, effort, and dedication behind Life in White. How did you manage to pull it off?

It's a matter of priorities. With work, dedication, and effort, everything can be achieved in the end. Working hard for many months, and sometimes saying no to many job offers that many people would like, having less so we can have more. Our free time comes at a very high price ;) so if you want something, you have to go for it, no matter what it takes.

What would you say to all those people who are thinking about living a lifestyle like yours but don't dare?

If they really want to do it, let them do it. It's not easy, but neither is it easy to not do what you most want in this life and spend your life deceiving yourself and telling yourself that you're doing what you're supposed to do at every stage of your life... it's difficult to achieve that balance we all seek, but our motto is: if you dream it, you can do it.