Outdoor Retailer - Summer 2020 - 61

group of strangers is genuinely nerve-wracking. Rassekh makes introductions and lays the ground rules for the session: This is a safe space;
avoid offering people advice; be OK with group silence. Then he says,
"Just jump in when you are ready." For me, the moment feels as fraught
as standing 30 feet above a swimming hole, deciding whether or not to
go through with the cliff jump.

WHEN RASSEKHAND STACYBARE,ALONGTIMEWILDERNESSTHERAPY
practitioner, founded Adventure United this winter, they assumed
they'd be running courses outside. Then the pandemic hit. They pivoted
to the Zoom courses just to maintain professional momentum, but after
just a few, they realized they had stumbled onto something revolutionary. Not only were the courses proving surprisingly impactful; in some
ways, they were superior.
One reason is that Rassekh schedules a 30-minute intention-setting
call with each participant in the days before the course and a follow-up
call a week or so afterward. According to Rassekh, the first call fosters
a more receptive and self-aware mindset, which will help individuals
and the group as a whole go deeper than they
might otherwise.
The exit interview is even more crucial.
One of the great failings of outdoor therapy
and personal growth programs is they don't
follow up with participants. "We have no idea
how the courses impact our students down
the road," says Mitsu Iwasaki, an Adventure
at Home participant, CEO of the American
Alpine Club, and the former Northwest
Outward Bound School director. "Following
up with participants a week or three weeks
later would help crystalize and then integrate
the learnings and increase the impact of every program I can think of."
On my intention-setting call with Rassekh,
I describe my inability to stay focused in my
work and home life-far beyond my alreadydiagnosed ADHD. "Sometimes that behavior
stems from anxiety," he says. "What exactly
are you afraid of?"
For one thing, the world seems to be collapsing and taking my career with it. The looming
recession is bankrupting publications, and
even if I pivot to other work, I'll lose the vocation on which I've built my entire self-esteem.
"Achievement can fill in for people who are shy,
and who never felt enough," Rassekh tells me,
and I feel myself sliding into a more vulnerable
open place. "Let this discussion percolate inward and bring it to our first meeting," he says.
Adventure at Home's other advantage is

it's open to those who might otherwise not attend. "Juggling work and
family life can be really stressful, but many people can't spend half
their vacation days on a wilderness expedition," says Bare.
Convenient access is also critical for those facing physical challenges. Louis Arévalo is a Salt Lake City photographer who lost the use of
his legs in a ski accident this winter. He participated in Adventure at
Home a few weeks before my own course. "I'd only been home from the
hospital a week when it started," he says. "I wasn't sure what I'd have the
bandwidth for, but listening to the others have their own adventures
and realizations motivated me to have my own."
Arévalo spent his time outside testing his new wheelchair, rolling
around his neighborhood, and thinking about the intention he'd set for
the course: to consider the implications of his loss of independence. "I'd
look at the plants and think about how they are dependent on the rain
and how the birds I noticed were dependent on the seasons," he says.
"Acceptance is a process."
On day three, he decided his adventure would be a short drive. With
his wife behind the wheel, he spontaneously decided they should head

Photo courtesy Stacey Bare

I DESCRIBE MY INABILITY TO STAY FOCUSED
IN MY WORK AND HOME LIFE-FAR BEYOND MY
ALREADY-DIAGNOSED ADHD. "SOMETIMES
THAT BEHAVIOR STEMS FROM ANXIETY," HE SAYS.
"WHAT EXACTLY ARE YOU AFRAID OF?"
DIGITAL CAMPFIRE
Participants say they felt
safe in the online format
because it puts everyone
in an equal space.

Summer 2020/ OUTDOOR RETAILER 61

Outdoor Retailer - Summer 2020

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