AMNIMAKEN
Wind & Mind
LINES · WAVES · THOUGHTS
Ski touring, surfing and practice meet here.
Different ways of exploring mountains, ocean and mind.
WHAT IS AMNIMAKEN
AMNIMAKEN is a personal project by Oleg Gritskevich, built around journeys through mountains, ocean and mind.
Some journeys are mainly about skiing, splitboarding or surfing. Others focus more on meditation, Tsa Lung and breathing practice. Sometimes these directions naturally become part of the same journey.
ABOUT AMNIMAKEN
In 1997, while waiting for a flight at John F. Kennedy Airport, I happened to come across a book called Snowboarding to Nirvana. My English at the time was only good enough to understand the title. But that was enough. It sounded almost like a plan.
Since then, that plan has taken me through snowboarding, mountain guiding, publishing, travels across the East, meditation and Tibetan practices, with quite a few unexpected turns along the way.
Today I still spend much of my life in the mountains, while surfing has opened a new relationship with the ocean. Somewhere between moving over frozen and liquid water, meditation, Tsa Lung and breathing practice have become part of the same exploration.
WIND & MIND
In the Tibetan Tsa Lung tradition, wind is one of the fundamental energies. It moves through space and within us through the breath, closely connected with the movement of the mind.
Outside, wind transfers energy into the ocean, creating swells that may travel across half the world before a surfer joins their movement for a few seconds. In the mountains, wind moves snow, shapes terrain, opens some lines and makes others dangerous.
We cannot control the outer wind, but we can learn to move with it. Through breath and practice, we can also work with the inner wind and, through it, with the state of mind.
That relationship between outer and inner movement is what Wind & Mind means to me.
THREE DIRECTIONS
MOUNTAINS
Selected ski-touring and splitboarding journeys, from one-day tours to remote camps and expeditions. Small groups, interesting terrain, quality skiing and enough flexibility to follow the actual conditions.
OCEAN
Surfing and freediving offer another way of meeting movement, breath and attention. Ocean programs combine time in the water with meditation, Tsa Lung and breathing practice.
MIND
We are born with a body and mind, but no manual. Meditation, Tsa Lung and breathing practices offer practical ways of working with awareness, energy and the state of mind. They can be practised on their own, or become part of a journey through mountains and ocean.
WHO THIS MAY SUIT
AMNIMAKEN is for people who enjoy being close to nature, prefer small groups to mass tourism, and are curious about both movement and inner practice.
You do not need previous meditation experience, and most ocean programs do not require previous surfing or freediving experience. Mountain programs have their own technical requirements, described on each program page.
MY ROLE
My role varies with the journey. In the mountains I may guide directly; where specialist instruction is required, such as surfing or freediving, I work with qualified professionals. I remain responsible for bringing the different parts of the program together.
Upcoming Journeys
Where I’m planning to go next
I organise only a limited number of group journeys each year. Some return to places I know well; others explore somewhere new.
STILL WILD MOUNTAINS
Guidebooks, Ski Trip Design and Winter Expeditions
Still Wild Mountains is the part of my work dedicated to guidebooks, mountain research, route development and expedition design. It is where exploration becomes practical knowledge: books, routes, custom ski trips and expeditions.
GET IN TOUCH
A journey can begin with a simple message
You may want to join something already planned, or perhaps you have a place, route or idea of your own. Write to me directly and I will tell you whether I think I can be useful.