About yourmountain.life

At yourmountain.life we aim to make you enjoy mountain life as much as we do.

We want you to experience the breathtaking scenery, local cuisine, the active lifestyle and the healthy and clean environment of the French Alps. There is so much to feel, see and especially do, all year round. From skiing, hiking, biking, building fires, chopping wood and more….

I am Martijn

and I have been in the hospitality business forever. As a former chef, I set up cooking schools, restaurants and catering businesses in the Netherlands and beyond. Blending this experience with my second great love: The mountains (Maartje being the first of course), I ended up running a hotel in Switzerland for three years in the holiday weeks.

In 2019 I seized the chance to spend more time in the mountains and bought an existing catered chalet company here in Les Arcs. After some convincing, my wife Maartje joined me in this step and in the end we decided to move our life here permanently. We now live our dream life here and welcome guests all year round.

I love almost every mountain activity, summer and winter. If I would have to choose then snowboarding, climbing and hiking are the highlights for me. And through my background I am of course an absolute food and wine lover. The chalet menu and wine selection is my territory, as is training the staff how to cook to our standards.

We manage all the properties in Courbaton / Arc1600.

meet our team

and I am Maartje

I married Martijn in 2018. In the past I only loved beaches and exotic faraway travels, the further, the more exciting, the better. In 2017 I met Martijn who introduced me to the mountains. I fell in love with mountain life, the activities, the surroundings and the fresh, clean air.

After 26 years behind a desk I was ready for a big change. No more working for bosses! We have now set up and are working in our own company: yourmountain.life We sold our house in the Netherlands, packed-up and moved to France, calling Courbaton – Les Arcs * Paradiski our home.

My background as an office manager and a few years as a primary school teacher has been of great help in being the organiser behind the scenes. I find joy in making sure our guests have a hassle free, well planned vacation, from the moment they send their first inquiry email to the moment they say goodbye.

Meet our team

I am Chris

It is true when I say the mountains have been a magnet to me.

In my early years I lived a short while in Chamonix where I was climbing mountains in summer and winter. A few years later I began photographing them. And now, after a life long travelling from warzone to famine as a professional photographer, I’m back in the mountains again. I can’t wait to meet you and share my passion for this beautiful environment.

I manage chalet Algonquin in Moulin and chalet Les Mélèzes Sud in le Villaret, in the Peisey&Vallandry ski resort.

I am Jan Willem

And I have been working in the hospitality business more then 20 years in bars, hotels and restaurants.
After 17 years in Amsterdam, I sold my house and started travelling with my love Ellen. We are now 7 years happy together.

The last two winter seasons Ellen and I managed a chalet in the Austrian Alps. I always dreamed to live in the mountains and manage my own chalet.
And now is the time!

I will be super happy to welcome you in our chalets Le Chazalet or Le Rôkh to give you a lovely, well earned holiday.

meet our team

and I am Ellen

after completing my studies in Tourism and Human Resource Management, I did office work for many years.

But sitting at the desk was just not for me and that’s why I’ve decided to do other things in life.

For a period of three years Jan Willem and I did seasonal work in Austria and between the winter seasons we traveled in Asia, New Zealand and Australia.
When we returned, we settled in the Netherlands again, but we missed the mountains so much that we decided to come back for good. This time to Peisey&Vallandry in France, where we are looking forward to welcoming you in our properties.

I am Ester

and I thrive helping other people enjoy their mountain experience : either as a cook, nanny or as host in our chalet.

I first discovered the mountains 25 years ago as a devoted partner of my cycling-mad boyfriend (now husband and father of our 3 boys) Stijn. So when we felt the stars were aligned for us as a family to make a life changing move, we thought Bourg Saint Maurice had everything we were looking for. And we haven’t regretted it since!

We designed Chalet Sportif Le Cotaret with guests in mind that enjoy an active life during the day and a relaxing evening amongst friends or family. So we hope you’ll come and let us help you make the most of your holiday!

Meet our team

I am Stijn

And I have been in love with the mountains and with cycling since I first came to Val d’Isère more than 30 years ago.

Having done office work for all of my career, my wife and I finally decided to make the jump and leave Belgium to move to the mountains in the summer of 2020.First we started our cycling holiday business Alp&Bike and now we’re super excited to start running our own, newly built chalet : Chalet Sportif Le Cotaret.

I’m looking forward to welcoming you all and helping you to get the most out of this amazing part of the Alps.

Meet our team

I am Georgia

or call me G ?

Growing up in The Yarra Valley region of Melbourne (Aus.), surrounded by mountains and small villages, my dad always encouraged me to travel as much as possible to find MY home.
In my 20’s I based myself in beautiful Edinburgh for 13 years whilst I travelled many places around the world and built a career in financial based and office management roles, whilst teaching fitness classes in the evenings. But something was missing, and I wanted to live in a different environment.

So in 2017 I decided to finally do a ski season and everything has fallen into place since. I now live where I want to holiday, snowboarding all winter long, and summers filled with mountain biking, teaching fitness, camping, BBQ’s and much more. I am the Operations Manager for the self catered chalets and apartments in Courbaton/Arc1600.

Life is awesome.

I am Daan

I used to be a physical education teacher. Two years ago Merel and I left our jobs in the Netherlands to start traveling.

We ended up in Les Arcs working for yourmountain.life. We found the perfect combination of being in a sporty and beautiful environment and still keep our freedom to travel and work somewhere else during the summer months. I have worked in the kitchen for years and love cooking delicious meals for my guests. Besides cooking, I really enjoy snowboarding, skateboarding and kitesurfing. The more adrenaline the better.

This year we start a new chapter by managing our own chalet La Grange d’Alice and we would love to host you in this beautiful chalet.

meet our team

I am Merel

After finishing my studies in Sport management I started traveling together with my boyfriend Daan in our self-built campervan.

In the past two years we traveled with our van through Europe and we did a lot of seasonal work. We worked two winter seasons as a chalet hosts in one of the yourmountain.life chalets and we organise kitesurf group travels in and out of Europe. I love to give my guests an unforgettable time during their holiday.

I always had a huge passion for winter sports, so living and working in the mountains is a dream come true.

From 2023 we started managing chalet La Grange d’Alice and we can’t wait to welcome you in our chalet.