Optimization culture is taking a break in the Andes. Mammut’s new social series, Unwellness Retreat, flips the script on traditional wellness by adopting discomfort rather than seeking it. The project challenges the idea that life should be scheduled, controlled, and quantified through data.
A retreat without comfort
Participants step off the grid to face the elements at high altitude. Spencer Harkins, described as an “unwellness guru,” guides three experts through a reinterpreted retreat. The group tackles challenges that push beyond conventional wellness practices, including finding balance on a highline, stretching and recovering during a first-ever ice climb, and taking a snow plunge afterward.
Outdoor environments cannot be fully controlled or optimized for personal growth. This unpredictability creates a space for lessons that data cannot measure. As the group faces down a 10,000-foot peak, the numbers fade away. The experience forces a confrontation with vulnerability and resilience.
For Harkins, the philosophy stems from his own time in the mountains. He believes the unexpected lesson comes from doing things that take you out of your comfort zone. “The unexpected lesson is how much you can stand on your own shoulders by doing things that take you out of your comfort zone,” he says. “My perspective on what I was capable of changed when I went to Denali.”
Looking for your own pose
All episodes of the series are now available on Mammut’s Instagram and YouTube channels. Viewers are encouraged to take their own wellness practices into the outdoors through the #extremepose “Add Yours” challenge on Instagram Stories.
Assessing risk and safety is vital when adventuring in the mountains. Mammut had highly qualified mountain professionals lead the participants in in-depth instruction, equipment management and safety preparations before every event.
Mammut, a Swiss outdoor company founded in 1862, provides high-quality products and unique brand experiences for mountain sports fans around the world. For more than 160 years, the brand has stood for safety and pioneering innovation, combining function, performance and contemporary design across hardware, footwear and apparel.
